A/N: Thank you to everyone who has added this story to their alerts and/or favourites. Special thanks go to wendykw, TORONTOSUN, hfce, Guest, jellybean96, PrettyLittleGG and alwayscastle2 for their reviews. I really needed the encouragement this week.
"Door's open!" Lanie called, both of her hands full as she held onto the handle of the griddle she was cooking tuna in and the tongs she was using to brown the sides of the steaks. Kate let herself into her best friend's apartment as Lanie continued to speak into the phone cradled between her shoulder and ear and said, "I told you, Javi, no. You can't come over so I can teach you how to do a bow tie. I've already shown you so many times. Get Ryan or Castle to help you."
Kate shook her head, amused by her two friends' inability to get their act together. Now she knew how everyone else had felt watching she and Castle for the first four years of their partnership.
Lanie let go of the pan handle to disconnect the call and return her cell phone to the kitchen counter.
"Sorry about that. Tuna steaks okay for you?"
Kate nodded and set down her overnight bag before kneeling down to untie the laces on her ankle boots. Castle had already taken their suitcases for the honeymoon to the hotel with the boys, and her wedding dress was in Alexis and Martha's care for the evening since they weren't joining she and Lanie. Martha was supporting her students' final performance before they began rehearsals for their Christmas performance and couldn't make the dinner so Alexis had elected to wait for her grandmother before the bridal party made their way to the hotel.
"Have you heard anything from Madison?"
"I'll check my phone," Kate said, sliding her iPhone from her jeans pocket and finding a text to alert her that she had been caught up with an issue at Q3 and would be forced to meet them at the hotel. "She's running late."
"Looks like it's just us then. Shall I get the red out?"
"I'll get it," Kate answered, stepping into the kitchen and squeezing past Lanie to open her fridge and retrieve a bottle of their preferred wine from the same place Lanie always kept it.
As they sat on the sofa after eating, Lanie commented, "It feels like ages since we've done this."
Kate nodded. It was true they hadn't had a wine evening for over a month; work and planning for the wedding and the bachelorette party getting in the way. Still completely in the dark over the honeymoon – Rick hadn't even let Kate pack her suitcase aside from choosing between shirts and shorts and dresses and skirts – she didn't even know when she and Lanie would be able to have another evening of gossip with a rom-com playing in the background.
When the doorbell rang, Kate downed the dregs of her wine and followed Lanie to the door to meet Alexis and Martha. And then the four of them were off, flipping the light switches in the apartment and locking the door.
"Let's get this show on the road," Martha said, walking out in front.
"You don't think we can just pop down and see the girls? They should be here any minute."
Ryan shared a grin with Castle. "If you want Lanie back, you know what you've got to do."
"Bro, what? I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't even say anything about Lanie," Esposito said, holding his hands up as his eyes darted between his partner and Castle, glaring slightly as they scoffed at him. "I just wanted to see Kate and tell her good luck since, you know, we're not gonna see her until she comes down the aisle."
"Well, what about tradition?" Ryan countered. "You know, Castle's not allowed to see Kate till tomorrow."
At that point, Castle held his hand up, "I'm all for breaking tradition – just throwing that out there." He knew Kate probably wouldn't be of the same opinion, but he would take any chance to see her.
Putting his foot down, remembering promising Kate to keep Castle away from her that evening and the following morning whilst she was getting dressed, Ryan said, "No, we're staying in this hotel room, having a beer each and watching the game."
"I've got money riding on the Mets, so they better win." Esposito jumped the back of the couch, landing heavily on one of the leather-covered and sending a rush of air out of it. "You definitely picked a great hotel, Castle. Any chance of some room service? You can't catch a game without having chips and dip."
Castle passed Espo the phone as he joined him on the couch, leaving space for Ryan in the in the middle once he retrieved three bottles of ice cold beer from the room's mini fridge.
"So, your feet warm enough, Castle?"
"Never toastier, Ryan," he replied, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "I've been waiting for tomorrow far too long to back out now."
"Glad to hear it, Bro."
Whilst the boys were staying up late to watch the game, it was a completely different story in the girls' suite. All of them had gone to bed as soon as they had checked in, catching a night of beauty sleep so they could be up early enough for their appointments with the hair and make-up professionals who would be coming to work on them.
One of Paula and Gina's requisites after the backlash of Rachel's murder had been the release of a single photo of Kate and Rick after the ceremony being to Page Six, and subsequently that professionals be hired to take care of the hair and make-up.
Kate yawned as another pin was fed into her hair, pulling back a length of curls and feeding it into the elegant knot at the back of her head. She was seated in a chair in front of the dressing table, the hairdresser hovering behind her, softly combing through her tangled locks. At her side, the make-up artist leaned in front of her view of the hairdresser's progress in the mirror, smoothing blush over her cheeks until she had a rosy glow.
On either side of her Lanie and Alexis were being similarly treated, though they were already wearing their deep fuchsia bridesmaids' dresses.
When her hair was done, she pushed back the chair and stared at her reflection, feeling her heart pound as the realisation that she was only an hour away from getting married. Their photographer snapped a quick photo of her reaction, as he'd been doing all morning. Even the dress, hanging on the outside of the wardrobe had been documented in all its glory. While Kate was getting into her dress, Lanie tying it up the back for her, Madison and Alexis were being arranged with their bouquets of pink tulips, lavender, white hyacinths, gypsophila and pink orchids.
"Girl, you look so beautiful today," Lanie told her quietly.
"Thanks," Kate smiled.
"Excited?"
"I feel like my heart's sprouted wings," she admitted, feeling heat suffuse her cheeks. As they appeared before the photographer, Alexis and Maddie gasped.
"Kate, you look amazing," Alexis gushed.
"Bride in the middle please," their photographer, Nick, requested, calling out instructions for Lanie to stand on her left hand side, Alexis on her right and Madison beside her. Kate tried to refrain from blinking at the camera flash, but the quick succession of photos made it difficult.
In the flurry of photos, Martha showed Jim into the room, and the pair of them stopped dead.
"She's a vision of beauty and elegance," Martha said. "Katherine, dear, you're an Aphrodite."
Again, Kate found herself blushing and ducked her head, tucking a loose curl behind her ear to give herself time to control how pink her cheeks looked. Although Rick often made it clear how pretty he found her, she'd never been told so many times in one day that she looked beautiful.
"Let's have one of the bride and her father," the photographer said, waving Jim forward and directing him to take Kate's arm once they had finished hugging.
Jim had to wipe his watery eyes on the back of his hand and clear his throat before speaking softly. "Katiebug, you're stunning. Rick's a lucky man."
"Thanks, Dad."
The experience of so many photos was dizzying, but on the floor below, it was a similar experience for the boys, though their photographer was willing to allow them to have some more fun with the snaps by having them pose every so often. Perhaps the best picture to come of the day was the one of Esposito carrying Ryan in his arms as if they'd just been married, and Espo, as the man of the pair, was taking his 'wife' across the threshold of the new house.
They were still laughing over some of the photos as they took the elevator down to the ground floor and took their limo to Trinity Church.
Whilst Kate put the few final touches to her make-up, reapplying a fresh coat of lip gloss and checking how well her veil was woven into the tiny braid travelling over the round of her head, Jim struck up conversation with Martha before she hurried back down to make her own way to the church.
"So, how's Rick this morning?"
"Oh, fine. He's buzzing a bit, practically bouncing on his feet with excitement. I'll be watching his face when Kate makes her entrance, that's for sure." She called a cheery goodbye to Kate and hugged Alexis before leaving.
From then, Kate and her entourage were quick to get into the wedding car (a limo that had been painted to resemble a New York Police Vehicle) and there were just a few more photos before they were on their way to the ceremony. Thankfully, the Plaza Hotel had erected a barrier to keep away the reporters and paparazzi, though for the most part they seemed to have taken Paula and Gina's announcement that media presence at either venue would not be tolerated to heart. The threat of Kate or one of her colleagues making arrests was obviously enough to keep them at bay.
Filled with nervous energy, Kate let the others do the talking during the short journey and focused on controlling her breathing as they drew closer to the church.
Madison was first out of the limo, adjusting the strapless bodice of her dress to make sure her cleavage was appropriately on show before stepping aside to let Lanie and Alexis out.
The deep breath that Kate shakily drew in attracted Jim's attention more than her silence.
"You okay, Katie?"
"Yeah, Dad, I'm just- I'm just nervous I guess." It seemed ridiculous to her. It was going to be the most perfect day of her life – surely she should be racing to get into the church and start her life as a married woman, not hiding away in the car, trying to force her legs to cooperate and step down onto the sidewalk.
Jim chuckled. "You know, waiting for Pachelbel's Canon to start playing and for your grandfather to put Johanna's hand in mine was the longest moment of my life. I was so scared your mother would change her mind, realise she deserved so much more than me, that I think Jonathan, my best man, was about ready to punch me."
Kate nodded as she listened to her father's story. It calmed her to know that nerves seemed to almost be a requirement of every wedding. And she was reassured by the implication that standing inside the church, Rick was probably just as anxious as she was, if not more because she was keeping him waiting. Her hand closed around her father's wrist, squeezing lightly as she murmured, "Thanks, Dad, for everything," before finally getting out of the limo and joining her bridesmaids, her father not far behind her.
"All set?" he asked, taking Kate's hand in his left and threading it through his crooked elbow.
She nodded. "Let's do it."
Lanie, Alexis and Maddie arranged themselves behind Kate, taking her train and lifting if off the floor before it could get too dirty. There were a few more photos to be taken but then they were entering through the heavy, wooden, double doors of the church and walking down the aisle to the soft, growing strains of Pachelbel's Canon on the piano and violin. Kate heard the shuffle of material as every person sat inside the church turned in their pews to watch her progress down the aisle, but her eyes were glued to Rick's form, taking in both his suave appearance in his black, perfectly-tailored suit and the crinkles around his happy eyes as he gazed at her in wonder.
A/N: I decided to split this chapter into two, so that I can go into more detail on other aspects of the wedding (and so I have longer to think about what to put in their vows!) Let me know what you think so far. Thanks for reading!
