A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. Shout out to wendydk, Manxkid and kramerjp as it was nice to hear from some new people. That goes to you anonymous reviewers too since I can't tell if you're the same people reviewing each chapter or new ones. One comment from two people was that there wasn't much detail on the last chapter and that it felt a bit rushed (it was), so I've gone back and tweaked a few sections. Feel free to reread or not to bother, since it is mostly the same. Also, jellybean96, I threw something into this chapter for you. ;) I hope you all enjoy this chapter.


He let her sleep in. The flight onto Bora Bora wasn't for hours anyway. But while he was lying awake, propped on one elbow, staring down at his wife, he found himself perhaps wishing that he'd thought to split their time between Tahiti and Bora Bora. So far the Polynesian island was proving to be simply divine. The sunshine warmed his face as it filtered through the thin curtain drifting in the window on the faint sea breeze. The water the night before had been…bliss. The sheets he was shrouded in, well they were more silken that anything he could possibly think of. Everything was just exquisite.

Coulson really was right to call it a magical place.

He was drawn out of his head by Kate shifting and stretching, the rustling sheets and her chuckling groan like music in his ears. Before she could move, he pressed a kiss against her shoulder blade, pulling another pleasurable sound from her.

"What's the time?"

"Ten," he said with a shrug, letting her roll over before kissing her again.

"Ten? Shouldn't we be going?"

"Our flight to Bora Bora's not till this evening. We've got plenty of time before we need to even think about leaving this bed."

"The bed?"

"Yes, the bed. I want you all to myself, Mrs Castle."

She was laughing as he assaulted her neck with his lips, teeth grazing her skin just enough to leave a mark. And then she was reciprocating, her fingernails scratching his scalp as she ran her hands through his hair before tugging his head up so she could claim his lips.

After a moment, she pushed against his shoulders, getting him to hover over her. "So having me all to yourself? Do I get breakfast any time soon?"

"Your wish is my command." He shot her a goofy grin before grabbing the phone off the bedside table.


"You know, I'm sad to leave." It was murmured as she gazed back out the car window at their hotel.

He took her hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it before replying, "We'll come back." It was a promise. She wasn't the only one who'd fallen in love with Tahiti. "But who knows? Maybe Bora Bora will be even better."

She nodded, thinking ahead to what else he might have planned for their honeymoon. If their activities in Tahiti were anything to go by, he wouldn't have just left every single day for them to sunbathe for two weeks. She thought she trusted him to plan it all by himself (not that she can work out how he's managed it, since he seemed to be the one doing most of the wedding planning), but now she worried that he might have not known what she would want to do on her honeymoon. She was so used to being busy, working practically every day, that she didn't think she would be able to cope with just lazing around on a beach or a boat day in day out.

The drive back to the airport was familiar, but she still found herself looking out of the windows, wanting to savour the island, keep it in her memories because, even if it was just for one night, Tahiti was perfect.

As she stepped out of the car and Rick took her hand, a thrill ran through her. How she ever thought that the spark between them would disappear, she didn't know. After all, when she finally gave in to her feelings for him, she found her presumption that things would be different if they were in a relationship ridiculous. It gives her heart wings to still feel like an inexperienced teenage girl on her first date when he holds her hand or pulls her close.

They were the first people on the plane, shown to their seats and left to watch everybody else sit down around them.

"Ooh, banker and his mistress," Castle said, pointing surreptitiously towards the open door of the plane where a man dressed in an impeccable suit had just walked in, followed swiftly by a woman obviously many years younger than him.

Kate leaned around him to take a peek. "I don't know, Rick, she could just be his daughter."

"Please, they look nothing alike." He wasn't exactly pleased she was spoiling his fun. It was his writer's habit to make assumptions about people from just one glance and careful observation.

"So, Alexis, doesn't look a thing like you," she pointed out. "Unless this is you trying to tell me you're secretly a redhead and you've just been dying your hair all these years."

"You got me," he joked, holding up his hands.

"And here I was thinking your dye job was to cover up all those grey hairs I keep finding on your pillow."

"I can assure you, Kate, that I have yet to find my first grey hair. In fact, I feel as if I could still be in my twenties. Would I be corny if I said you make me feel young?"

"Although the sentiment is nice," she said, her lips curling into a wry grin, "I think your dodgy knee would beg to differ."

"You wound me."

She rolled her eyes at that old hat remark of his. The only thing missing was the 'Beckett' at the end, and she had to admit it felt odd to not hear him say it. She'd yet to decide whether she would continue using her maiden name at work or if she'd take his. She was swayed to one side purely by the problematic nature of the fact that for the remainder of their partnership, if anyone simply said 'Castle', neither of them would know to which of them people were referring to.

Castle continued to mutter into her ear as the last of the passengers boarded their flight to Bora Bora and then she just had to sit through the pilot's safety instructions, not paying the slightest amount of attention. Instead, she was rifling through her carry on in search of her glasses case so she could keep the sunglasses safe while she no longer needed them.


Rick waved to the uniformed man who held a sign bearing his name.

"Mr Castle?"

"That's me, call me Rick," he replied, depositing the bags at his feet to shake hands with the man.

"Ari. I work on the concierge desk. I will take you bags now."

"Great thanks, it's just these two," Rick said, pointing to the two suitcases at his feet.

"They will be in your hotel room when you return," Ari promised.

Kate gave Rick an odd look, wondering what else he had up his sleeve and how on earth he'd managed to organise it all from another country. If she was being completely honest, she would have appreciated the opportunity to go to their hotel and relax for the rest of the day. It had only been a forty five minute flight and it was still early afternoon, but she hadn't even eaten anything since breakfast. She hated to say it, but Rick seemed to be neglecting to think about what she really needed, and food was probably her top priority right then.

After leaving the airport, he towed her out into the streets, weaving between them (though how he even knew where to go left her completely bewildered) until they reached a harbour with a vast array of boats. He bypassed the dinghy's and the larger, gleaming white boats that didn't even have a use for sails for they were so large before pausing in front of a sailing yacht called Harbinger.

"This is us," he said.

"A boat?"

He just grinned in the face of her surprise. "Yep, this is where we having lunch."

It was excessive and totally unnecessary, but it was also completely Castle to plan such a thing, and by that point Kate had long since been used to his spontaneity and extravagant plans. Honestly, their first official date was probably the most meticulously planned affair to have graced the earth. There was a car to pick her up and take her out shopping, where the store had already been given instructions for what Kate needed and orders to just put everything onto Rick's account with them. After the shopping, the driver took her off to a salon for a hair appointment and a full pampering session. After that, her doorbell seemed to ring continuously. The first time it was just a letter he'd sent by courier. The second time it was a basket of goodies for her bath, so she could relax for an hour or so before getting ready. The third time it was a plate of crackers in case she got hungry waiting for dinner. She'd almost forgotten she was meant to be going on a date with Castle by the time he'd turned up at her door with the biggest bouquet of red roses, red chrysanthemums, lilacs and pink tulips she'd ever seen. She was smart enough to guess that he was sending her a message with those. He took her to dinner then, a quiet place with musicians (the very band who'd played their wedding reception, in fact) and wined her and dined her before accompanying her for a late stroll through the streets, placing his own jacket over her shoulders when she caught a chill. Really, in comparison to all that, lunch on the boat was almost nothing. Ever since then, she'd known that it was best to just go with the flow when it came to her husband because most of the time he got it right.

So instead of questioning him, she simply smiled and took a few steps towards the Harbinger. He held her hand whilst she stepped off the dock and onto the gangway, allowing her to go first. She was in the process of being seated when he stepped onto the polished deck.

Her foot ran up and down his leg, almost of its own accord, while she sipped her glass of white wine. His hand was itching to reach out and catch her leg, smooth his hands up until he reached her knee, but instead, mindful of the fact that there were still other people on board: their servers and the chef, he busied his hands with his phone, checking his emails and messages.


She was stuffed. It was just all so delicious. The canapés. The zesty fresh salad they'd had for a starter. The ia ota's marinated tuna. The refreshing pineapple and coconut smoothie for dessert. All of it was amazing. And she couldn't help but think that yet again Castle had done something fantastic.

It had been so peaceful, just the two of them, occasionally interrupted by the local woman acting as their sommelier to top up her wine glass. The smell of the ocean all around them only added to the atmosphere.

Finished eating, Rick took a final sip of water and signalled their server.

After the plates had been cleared, the server asked Kate if she would like a comfier seat and showed her to a cushioned seat in the cabin. She paused in the doorway and glanced back questioningly at Rick, wondering what was going on.

"They're going to take us out to one of the lagoons now," he explained.

"You coming in?"

"I'm going to stay out here for a moment, enjoy the breeze."

She nodded, watched as he looked back out at the ocean and leaned against the railing around the prow of the boat, then decided maybe she didn't need a seat after all. She sidled up to him at the prow just in time to join him in getting soaked when the boat was cast off and crested a large wave.

"Sorry," he said, unable to not laugh as he took in the hair plastered to her face. After pulling her wet hair off her forehead and out of her eyes, Kate smirked at the bit of seaweed draped artfully on top of Rick's head.

"You've got a little something here," she told him, gesturing to the crown of her own head.

"I have?" Rick felt around, pulling a face as he found the seaweed and peeled it away, holding it in Kate's face before lobbing it back into the sea.

In the sun and the light breeze, it didn't take long for them to dry off, and though they were constantly surrounded with the smell of salt, it didn't spoil their mood. Once they were dry, Castle towed her past the cabin to the steering wheel.

It only took a quick word with the captain for Castle to take his place at the wheel and steer their sailboat.

"You can sail?"

Rick nodded, giving her a brief grin.

She was impressed, she had to admit it.

"You gonna teach me?"

He chuckled before beckoning to her and letting her stand between his chest and the wheel. Her hands were covered by his as they both steered the boat.

When their feet began to ache from standing still for so long, Rick took her over to the sails, showing her when to lower and raise the sail depending on the wind speed, how to change the direction of the sail using the boom and how to control the sail's shape using the boom vang.

Seeing Rick so at home on a yacht, faultlessly pulling the rope through his hands, was kind of exhilarating, she decided.

Finally, they pulled the sails down and dropped anchor, having arrived at the lagoon. They sat together, squeezed onto the small ledge at the back of the boat with their bare feet dangling in the water.


She flopped backwards on the bed, her soaking wet hair fanned out around her. The towel wrapped around her had slipped and one of her legs was no longer in it, but she couldn't care less. The day had just been too good.

After exploring the lagoon, the yacht had taken them back to the harbour, where they were picked up and brought back to the hotel. They headed up to the room and freshened up after practically getting dunked in the sea before getting a late dinner and sneaking into the closed swimming pool to relax in the Jacuzzi together. She'd never been much of a rule breaker until he came along, though whenever that came up in conversation, he always proclaimed his innocence. Still it had been a fantastic day. She just couldn't wait to start exploring the island.


A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. If there are any discrepancies concerning the yacht, please accept my sincerest apologies. Although I live by the sea, I still have not been on a boat of any kind except a ferry and I know next to nothing about sailing or boats.

I'm afraid this is the penultimate chapter, but I am working on a sequel to follow up this story and finish parts of the storyline. I just need a bit more time to plan it.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Do let me know what you think if you've got time. Reviews are love. ;)