A/N: Thank yous go to jellybean96, hfce, htbuzz and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing the last chapter! I promised a chapter on Sunday/Monday, so here it is. I was a bit busy at the weekend – my sister practically demanded I watch Pan's Labyrinth with her and my mum since I've never seen it – and so it was a rush to write this chapter and I haven't had as much time as usual to check it for mistakes and such, so apologies if there are any. If you spot any, just let me know (either by review or PM) and I'll gladly make corrections.


Castle followed Kate to her Dodge Charger, unaware that he in turn was being pursued by their wedding planner until she began calling out.

"Wait!"

Kate span on her heel, causing Castle to crash into her, his hands instinctively grabbing the first part of her they could. Righting themselves, both of them glanced down at his hands resting on top of her breasts.

"Really, Castle?" Sometimes she swore he just couldn't keep his hands to himself. It was just like him to use their collision as an opportunity to touch her up.

His voice was tight, an octave lower, as he replied, "Right, sorry," and pulled his arms back, the movement jerky.

Both of them turned at the sound of Rachel's voice. "I understand what you're saying, Detective Beckett, but the venue is booked and the deposit has already been paid-"

"-How exactly has the deposit been paid? I don't recall handing out my credit card details or authorising this payment," Castle said calmly.

"I thought Paula spoke with you about this. The payment was cleared by her. I've just been following her instructions-"

Again Rachel was interrupted, this time by Kate cursing.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Rachel asked, confusion suffusing her voice as she looked from Kate to Castle.

"Kate and I haven't had much time to discuss what we want, but neither have we given Paula any instructions." His eyes flicked to Kate to take in the tight line her lips had flattened into and he vowed there and then to have another word with Paula.

"I swear I didn't know." Rachel shot a frantic look at Kate and the slight bulge under her jacket, knowing there was a gun hidden there in a holster. "I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with the Plaza Hotel and October fifteenth for the big day now, but I'll do whatever else I can to give you the wedding you both want. Why don't we start with a discussion of what ideas you've had so far?"


Esposito shot Kate a look as she breezed into the precinct with one more person than usual trailing her.

"Don't even ask," she muttered, stopping at his desk.

After noting the hard set of her jaw and the wary looks Castle kept shooting Beckett's way, Javi wisely didn't mention the perky blonde standing awkwardly in the middle of the precinct and instead said, "Lawyer's name is John Jones-"

"-Does he happen to have green skin and come from Mars because that would make this case even better?"

Kate rolled her eyes at Esposito and took the file he was offering her, striding away to the interview rooms, her chunky heels echoing off the laminate flooring with every determined step. She left the door open for Castle and took one of the seats opposite her interviewee. She didn't even look up at the sound of the door closing, instead quickly scanning the information provided by Espo.

"Mr Jones, I'm Detective Beckett," she finally said, looking up and making a quick inspection of the lawyer. "This is Rick Castle."

The greying lawyer nodded at them both. "I understand this is about Jason Robinson case?"

"Yes, what can you tell us about it? When did Jason first approach you with his case?"

"Jason came to my offices after setting up an appointment with my receptionist, Erica. It must have been about two months ago, I can get the exact date from Erica – she's very meticulous with the books."

Kate nodded, making a note in the space at the bottom of her file to get in contact with the receptionist to verify a date.

"And Jason wanted a restraining order?"

"Yes, he said he'd been having trouble with a stalker-"

"-Did he not contact the police?" Castle asked.

"Jason said he had spoken with the police, but that there was nothing they could do to help him in this instance as they found no evidence of Ms Everson having any involvement with him aside from working together."

Kate glanced behind her at the two-way mirror, knowing that it would be enough to get Javi to dig up the reports in question.

"Ms Everson?"

"Yes, Kathleen Everson, Jason's ex-fiancée."

Kate didn't miss the triumphant look Castle shot her, but refused to meet his eyes and allow him to gloat. "How was the case going?"

"Jason and I expected to attain the restraining order. Ms Everson's defence wasn't as strong as our case. Jason was going to testify tomorrow."

Kate nodded. "You've been very helpful, Mr Jones. Thank you for taking the time to come and talk with me."

As Kate and Castle left the interview room, he was crowing. "I knew it! Didn't I say it was going to be an ex-girlfriend!"

Kate walked right to the murder board, shooting Castle a look to shut him up. He watched silently as she grabbed the black pen and wrote underneath suspects, 'Kathleen Everson'.

"Ryan, we've got our first suspect. Find an address for Kathleen Everson."

"On it," he called back, already typing a search into his computer. "You were right about the killer taking to fire escape as their way out. CSU found some partial prints on the handrail. Oh, and Lanie called. She said she's found something."

"Great, thanks." Kate left the folder on her desk, trying not to appear fazed by the fact that Rachel had exited the observation room and taken up residence in Castle's seat beside her desk.

"Detective Beckett, are you available for the discussion yet?"

"Sorry, I've got to get down to the morgue and speak with the Medical Examiner, but I'm sure Castle can tell you everything you want to know. Right, Castle?"

Castle looked up from where he was staring at the murder board, completely oblivious to Kate and Rachel's conversation. "What?"

"You can have that discussion with Rachel while I go down to the morgue can't you?"

Leaving him no choice, Kate hung her jacket over the back of the chair and hurried away. There was nothing particularly wrong with Rachel, per se, and she had gone up in Kate's estimations since she'd promised to plan the wedding they wanted. The look of respect and admiration that seemed to be constantly in her eyes when she was facing Kate, however, was slightly disconcerting if not annoying.

When she stepped in to the morgue, Lanie took one look at her and said, "Never thought I'd see the day, Kate Beckett looked flustered."

Kate shot her a look. "You have something for me?"

"Over there on the counter," Lanie answered, using her head to point rather than her hands which were still inspecting the cadaver's intestines.

Kate pushed aside the magazine, searching for a piece of paper related to her case, but finding none. "A wedding magazine? I kind of meant something about Jason Robinson over there."

"Well, I can tell you something about him too. I've narrowed down the possibilities of the murder weapon." She peeled the latex gloves off her hands, careful not to smear blood over her wrists, and led Kate over to one of her computers. "I got one of the techs to create a 3D model of the murder weapon."

"Is this a head massage implement?"

"Looks that way, though I'd say the legs would have had to have been sharpened to create cuts like the ones on our victim." Both Kate and Lanie glanced over at the body laid open on one of Lanie's slabs. "You know who did it yet?"

"Got a suspect, his ex-fiancée."

Lanie nodded, trusting her friend to get Jason Robinson the justice he deserved. "Where's Castle?"

"I left him with the wedding planner," Kate murmured, still looking at their victim's body.

"Excuse me? Did you just say 'wedding planner'?"

"Yeah," Kate sighed.

"And I was going to invite you to my place for a girl's night and look through that magazine with you. What are you hiring a wedding planner for?"

"We haven't hired a wedding planner."

Lanie was slow in replying, "Then how is it you've got one?"

"Paula," was Kate's only answer.

"Now you're definitely going to have to come over and give me the proper story, girl."

Kate nodded her agreement. It would be nice to spend some time with Lanie. She hadn't had a proper chat with her since the proposal, and she knew Lanie probably still wanted all the details. And she should probably try and lay down some groundrules for her bachelorette party before Lanie made any outrageous plans.

"Hold up, did you say you left Castle alone with the wedding planner?"


"Kate said that you wanted a small wedding? Just close friends and family?"

Castle nodded.

"How many people would be invited then? Just an estimate," Rachel asked, giving Rick a friendly smile when panic took over his features.

"Err…maybe one hundred," he guessed without really thinking, just hoping he was saying the right thing.

"The Plaza requests two hundred guests, but with the publicity they'll get from having you and Detective Beckett as customers, I'm sure we can manage a compromise with them. I'll speak to them straight away." Castle nodded. "Have you and Kate discussed a colour scheme at all?"

"No."

"What about flowers?"

"No."

Trying another tact, Rachel asked, "Have you and Kate made any decisions regarding ushers and bridesmaids?"

"I know Kate's asked Lanie to be her Maid of Honour, but I haven't asked anyone to be my Best Man yet." Rick shot Rachel an apologetic look. He and Kate hadn't gotten very far with their planning at all, and all these questions about colour schemes and flowers, he was sure Kate would have been the better person to ask. He wanted what she wanted, he just didn't know what that was yet.

"Do you want the ceremony in a church?"

Castle was stumped. He had no idea whether Kate would want them to be married in a church with a vicar.


"Yeah, I left Castle with the wedding planner," Kate replied, not getting what was making Lanie so panicked.

"Are you crazy?! You're going to end up a Star Wars themed wedding or something!"

Kate's jaw dropped. Would Castle really make those kind of decisions without her? She didn't really want to find out.

"What are you still doing standing here?" Lanie demanded, giving Kate a push towards the door. Set in motion, Kate dashed out the room, Lanie calling out after her, "Don't forget to tell me what happens! And don't forget about tonight!"

The journey back from the morgue had never felt longer. In the lift up to homicide, Kate impatiently tapped her foot and nervously clenched and relaxed her hands while staring at the panel indicating which floor the lift was currently on, willing the elevator to move faster. The doors were barely open when she burst through, startling two uniforms waiting on the other side, and bolted to her desk.


"Mr Castle?" Rachel asked again.

"I should probably talk to Kate before I answer that one," he told her. "We really haven't had a lot of time to talk about this."

He looked up as Kate suddenly appeared, skidding to a stop beside her desk, her hand placed on his shoulder for support as she leaned forwards and tried to catch her breath.

"Castle, we are not having a Firefly themed wedding!" she wheezed.

"O-kay. I wasn't going to suggest one," Castle answered, looking at her with concern.

"Why don't I give the two of you a couple of days to talk things over, decide together what kind of wedding you want?" Rachel suggested, looking considerably freaked out as she vacated Beckett's chair and collected her folders. "Here's my card. Get in contact when you're ready."

As soon as Rachel was out of earshot, Kate asked, "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing," Castle replied, trying to remain reassuring though even he heard the defensive shade his tone had taken. "That's why she wants us to talk things over."

She held his gaze for a few moments before nodding.

"This would have been a whole lot simpler if Paula had just let us alone to make these decisions ourselves," she muttered, sitting down and remembering about the case as she caught sight of the folder on Jason Robinson's court case tidied away at the edge of her desk. "Ryan, where are we with Kathleen Everson's address?"

"I got it right here." Ryan passed Beckett a sheet of paper bearing Kathleen Everson's basic information, including her next of kin, which was still listed as Jason Robinson. "The headteacher at Adam's Prep said she'd called in sick this morning, so I sent uniforms round to her address."

"She's a teacher?"

"Yeah, teaches tenth grade. I've also got an APB out on her car and put an alert out to airlines and train stations."

Kate nodded her thanks. "Javi, you manage to find the reports filed with the police for Jason's stalker?"

"Got 'em right here," Espo nodded, holding up an open manila folder. "Robinson reported harassment at work, that his desk was broken into and a picture of him and Lucy was vandalised and the feeling that someone was following him. The vandalised picture and break in were written off as students messing around, one of them even owned up to it."

"Motives then?"

"Simple," Castle said. "She was jealous. He was moving on, getting married to someone else."

"You really think it's that straightforward?" Ryan asked.

"All the signs point to that conclusion."

Kate nodded as she updated the murder board with the new information from Javi and Lanie. It did indeed look like Kathleen Everson had been unable to deal with the fact that Jason had moved on.

"The murder weapon is one of those head massage things? Really?" Esposito asked, looking disgusted.

"Jenny loves those."

"She wouldn't if she saw Jason Robinson's scalp," Ryan's partner replied, eyes fixed on the crime scene photo attached onto the board with a magnetic clip.

As if he hadn't heard, Ryan continued, "Especially now she's getting headaches because she's not drinking coffee anymore."

Lips curling into a grin, Castle asked, "And why isn't she drinking coffee anymore?" He knew exactly why Jenny had stopped drinking coffee – and wine as well, as he recalled from his engagement party – there was only one reason a woman stopped drinking caffeinated coffee. But he wanted to hear Ryan say it and he was enjoying immensely the way Ryan's mouth hung open, as he blatantly hadn't really realised exactly what he was saying outloud.

"Because…" he trailed off, searching for an excuse.

"It's okay, Ryan, you don't have to tell us. You and Jenny should announce it together when you're both comfortable," Kate said, jumping to his rescue, still looking at the murder board, however, and tapping the capped end of the pen against her chin.

"Kate," Castle whined, "you're spoiling all the fun."

"If that's your definition of fun, then I'll obviously have to show you something better," she replied, sinking back down into her seat opposite him, smirking despite her nonchalant tone at the look of arousal he shot her.

"You tease," he whispered, jumping as one of her feet ran up the inside of one of his legs. "I thought in the workplace was forbidden!"

Rolling her eyes, Kate dropped her foot. "Guess you'll have to wait till we get home then."

Castle groaned and closed his eyes, making Kate smother a laugh behind a fake cough. Both of them stopped playing around the second the phone on Ryan's desk began to ring though.

"Ryan," he answered. "I see." Covering the receiver, he announced, "Uniforms are at Kathleen Everson's apartment. According to neighbours, she left last night at around midnight and never came back."

"Fits the timeline," Kate muttered to herself, checking the murder board even though she had the timeline memorised. "Have some uniforms wait in plain clothes overnight to see if she comes back." Ryan nodded and passed the instructions on down the phone. "I doubt she'll return to her apartment, so let's call it a night and speak to her friends and family tomorrow, find out if there's somewhere else she would be able to go to hide. Javi, Kevin, can you hit her school and speak to the other teachers?"

"Sure, Beckett."

"We'll get onto finding her parents," Beckett finished, scanning the profile on their suspect again and finding no mention of her parents. It was going to take some digging to find them, but it would have to wait till the morning because she was beat and Kathleen Everson wasn't going anywhere whilst they had every authority on the lookout for her.


The second Lanie opened her apartment door, she was saying, "Girl, please tell me you're not having a sci-fi wedding!"

"Thankfully, no," Kate replied, accepting her friends hug before removing her coat. Lanie was quick to hand her a glass of wine and direct her to the living room where the floor and coffee table were literally completely covered with an array of wedding magazines. "Lanie, where did you get all these?"

Ignoring Kate's quirked eyebrow and incredulous tone, Lanie answered, "I have a monthly subscription."

"For how long? There's probably four years' worth of magazines here! And, unless you're the world's best secret keeper, you've never even been engaged, Lanie."

"Doesn't mean I can't start planning now," Lanie replied serenely, sitting in front of the couch, with her wine glass resting beside her, and grabbing a magazine at random. "I think you'd look best in something strapless."

Kate shook her head as she realised that apparently their first conversation was already over and the topic had changed to her wedding dress. Sitting down beside Lanie and picking up her own magazine to flip through, she murmured, "Well, that idea may not be the most sensible since it's been determined that I'm going to be getting married in October. It might be too cold for a strapless dress."

"Sorry, rewind a second! You've set a date already?"

"No, Paula and our wedding planner have set a date already. Oh, and we're getting married at the Plaza."

"The Plaza! Castle's credit card is gonna take a beating," Lanie said with wide eyes.

"I know," Kate sighed. "I think we've managed to convince Rachel to listen to us about everything else though."

"I sense a story here, Kate Beckett."

Kate grinned. "I may have let rip on her."

Lanie laughed. "I bet her face was a picture. No-one can survive the wrath of Detective Kate Beckett once it's been unleashed."

Kate exhaled and simultaneously choked, trying not to snort and almost spewing a mouthful of red wine over Lanie's magazines and carpet. "It was kind of full on," she admitted, remembering Rachel's surprise and the indignant look on her face when she was on the receiving end of someone not letting her speak.

"What does Castle have to say about all of this?"

"Well, he's not exactly happy with Paula."

"Neither am I," Lanie said. "I thought she was his publisher, not his PA."

"Apparently she's doing all this because we have to 'have the wedding of the century.'" Kate replied, her voice turning hostile as she quoted Paula. "The whole thing's ridiculous and she won't listen to reason. Castle's already called her once, but he said he would again tonight. She authorised the booking of the Plaza with his account without even telling him."

"Maybe you should put her in her place too," Lanie suggested, already picturing Kate going toe to toe with Castle's harsh, all-business publisher, a contest Kate would win any day. Even without seeing Kate in interrogation, she knew that.

"Maybe," Kate conceded with a small smile. She didn't particularly want to have cross swords with Paula though and make things worse for Rick.

"You could always wear a stole around your shoulders," Lanie suggested, showing Kate a faux fur one in her magazine. When Kate said nothing, she couldn't help feeling concerned. "Is everything okay?" She was barely paying attention to her magazine, flipping the pages without really seeming to look at the dresses or articles.

Kate shrugged. "The dress doesn't really seem that important right now. Castle wanted to know whether I wanted to get married in a church."

"Well do you?"

"Neither Castle or I are religious but I guess I always imagined getting married in a church when I was younger. My parents were."

"Then you've got your answer."

"You don't think Castle will mind?" Kate asked, worrying about being selfish.

"Girl, that man would do anything for you! Of course he's not going to mind! Heck, he'll insist you get married in the same church your parents did – you know he will!"

"You're probably right."

"You know I'm right. Now, if you're not going to look at a dress for you, at least decide what I'm going to wear."

Kate smiled to herself. Sometimes Lanie knew just the right thing to say.


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! (And apologies again if there are mistakes/typos!) The next chapter will be put up later this week!