Kate curls into Castle's side on the couch, twisting her engagement ring around her finger. He finishes typing his thought, hits save, and closes his laptop before wrapping his arms around her.
"We're getting married tomorrow," she whispers, her hands fisting into his shirt.
"We are. We even have the marriage license to prove it. Good timing too," he says, placing a kiss to the crown of her head. "Your mother's murder case is finally closed."
"One down, two to go."
He scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion. "What?"
"Bracken down, 3XK and Addie's parents to go," she rephrases.
"Oh," he laughs, hugging her tighter. "Things we don't need to worry about right now."
"Yeah, that's for after the honeymoon."
"Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Addison asks, walking into the living room.
"I'm not really a superstitious person," Kate shrugs.
"Well I am, but I'm still not going anywhere," Castle says. "I abide by more of it's bad luck to see the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding."
"Specifics," Addison mumbles.
"You going to be okay here with Martha and Alexis while we go on our honeymoon?" Kate asks.
"Yes, I'm perfectly capable of existing without you for two weeks."
Kate raises her eyebrows at her.
"What? Just because I panic when your life is in danger you don't think I can handle it? I'm 14, Mom, not 5."
Kate sighs. "Teenagers."
"You know, speaking of teenagers, she told me she wants the keys to your bike when she's old enough to drive," Castle says.
She looks around Castle to see Addison throwing him an 'I can't you believe you told' look.
"My Harley? Absolutely not. You're not driving that."
"Why not? You bought it in high school, didn't you?"
Kate smacks Castle on the arm. "What sort of things do you tell her?"
"I umm," he stammers. "Just making conversation."
"How would you like it if I went off and told Alexis some of the things you've told me?"
He shakes his head. "Please don't."
Addison laughs. "You guys are too precious. Truly."
Castle starts laughing too and Kate just shakes her head.
"So uh," Addison starts. "After the wedding, you're going to officially adopt me, huh?"
Castle nods. "You okay with that?"
She smiles, nodding. "It's weird you know. I still think about my parents every day, but I'm happy here with you guys. I hate the way in which it had to happen, but I'm really glad I got to find my birth mom. And you too, Castle."
"Gee thanks," he says, tossing a pillow at her.
"Hey! I was being nice," Addison says, defensively.
"Sounded like more of an afterthought."
"Okay you two," Kate says, untangling herself from Castle and stepping between them.
"Ah come on, Mom," Castle whines. "We were just having a little fun."
Addison nods in agreement.
Kate sighs, moving into the kitchen. "I'm marrying a child tomorrow."
"Pretty sure that's illegal in the US," Addison calls after her.
"I hate both of you."
"Do not!" Castle protests, throwing a pillow in her direction as well.
He misses, but Kate picks it back up and chucks it at him, hitting him in the head.
"You need to work on your aim, babe," she smirks.
"Head shots are only going to get you kicked out of the game," he tells her.
"Too bad. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go order us some take out."
Castle was already gone when she woke up. He'd left her a note on his pillow, saying that he had some last minute details to take care of. Whatever that meant. So she busied herself with getting ready. She was marrying her best friend today.
Kate steps out of the bedroom at his Hamptons house, wait, their Hamptons house, more than ready to walk down the aisle to him.
"Mom, you look…wow," Addison breathes.
Kate smiles, swishing the tulle of her dress back and forth.
"Yeah," Lanie agrees, nodding. "Wow."
"Dad's not going to know what to do with himself," Alexis says, smiling.
"It just needs one finishing touch," Martha says, handing her a small jewelry box.
She opens the box to reveal a pair of glittering sapphire earrings.
"Oh wow, they're beautiful," she says, moving to the mirror to put them in.
"They were given to me by my mother to wear on my wedding day, and by her mother before," Martha explains. "Only women of substance have worn these. They've been waiting, Katherine – for you."
"I'm so honored, Martha," she says, pulling the women into a hug. "Thank you."
"Darling, they look exquisite on you."
"Have you heard from Dad yet?" Alexis asks, looking down at the yard and watching as guests start to trickle into their seats.
"Yeah, he called me just a little bit ago. He's on his way," Kate tells her.
"Well he better hurry himself up before the crowd gets too antsy down there," Lanie says, joining Alexis at the window.
"Don't worry," Kate says, adjusting one of the bobby pins in her hair. "He'll be here."
He never came. Instead she gets a phone call from State Patrol about his car being found crashed on the side of the highway. She gets there and sees his vehicle engulfed in flames.
When she first sees the fire, all she can do is stand there. Her heart drops out of her chest as she stares at the burning car. Castle's car. Her fiancé's car. The flames get bigger and that spurs her into action.
She barely registers someone calling her name, telling her to stop, but she doesn't. Her only thought is that she has to save him. She can't let him die. They're supposed to be getting married. She's supposed to be is wife right now, dammit.
Her foot slips in the dirt, or maybe catches on the dress, and she falls. She's ruining her dress, her mother's dress, but she's too focused to care. She has to get to him. She has to save the man she's already started referring to mentally as her husband.
But she soon realizes there's no way to get to the car without burning herself. She can't save him. She can't –
His name rips from her throat as she falls to her knees on the ground. Her chest heaves, a hysterical crying fit trying to force its way out of her lungs.
But then she feels rain. Water pelting her skin and soaking her dress, and all she can do is sit there and marvel in its contrast from the heat of the fire. She looks around the scene in a daze. Her head is pounding, her chest aches, her eyes hurt with the force of the unshed tears. She quickly realizes it isn't rain at all, but a fire hose. They're putting out the fire now; she can get to the car.
Kate pulls herself up, tugging at the now muddy hems of her white gown, and slowly walks up to the car. She's not prepared to see him like this, but maybe he got out, got away. She won't let herself get her hopes up though. The moment she starts thinking he may still be alive, is the moment she finds his charred remains behind the wheel.
She winces as she peaks into the driver's side, anticipating the worse. But there's nothing there. No body, no bones, no flaming tuxedo.
Her chest expands with the sudden ability to breathe again. He's not in the car. He's not in the car. He's not in the car.
She yells the phrase back up at the others, suddenly realizing she isn't the only one here who cares.
He's alive. Castle's alive. Or maybe…no! She can't let herself go down that road, can't let herself think that he isn't. Because the moment that she does she will collapse in on herself. And then he'll never get found.
Kate trudges back up the hill. It feels like there's an iron fist clamped around her heart. Everything feels numb. Who took him? Why is he gone? Why today?
She feels something connect with her side, lithe arms encircling her waist. Addison. She manages to return the girl's hug, her mind still left in a foggy daze.
"What happened to him?" Alexis asks no one in particular, tears streaming down her face.
"Someone must have taken him," Martha says, through tears of her own. "There's no way he would have left Katherine like this. He did not leave and miss the wedding by choice."
Ryan and Esposito start spinning theories, but Kate is barely listening. She can't get the images of Addison's brutally murdered parents out of her head. The thoughts that their case is connected to one of hers. That Bracken may be locked up, but what's to stop his lackeys on the outside from seeking revenge? And then there's that flashdrive and Tyson and Kelly Neiman.
"I think I'm going to be sick."
She pulls away from Addison and wanders off further down the road. She can't be around them and their bickering theories now. She needs evidence. She needs clues. She needs to find him. Because the more she lets herself think about the what ifs, the higher the chance that she'll actually be sick.
Kate can hear someone jogging after her, their shoes squishing in the wet grass from the fire hose. She knows it's her daughter without even turning around.
"You'll find him," she tells her. "Just like he found you."
"It isn't that simple, Addie," she says, her eyes already scanning the road, her detective instincts pushing to take over her emotional state.
"Why not? He didn't know where you were. He didn't even know you had gone undercover until he got to the precinct."
"Because he's not undercover, someone took him. And I don't know what they want with him or if they're doing this to get to me… If something happens to him, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
"But you didn't have anything to do with it."
Kate finally turns her gaze to her daughter. "I brought him into this life. He fell for me and he's never left. If he wasn't my partner, his life wouldn't be in danger right now. He's an author, a writer. He's not a cop. He shouldn't…he's not a cop."
Her voice breaks and she finally succumbs to the tears that have been threatening to spill over. The numb feeling is back and she can't help but fall to her knees, clutching her sides as her sobs wreck her body. Addison is on her in seconds, kneeling in front of her and holding her while she cries. The girl starts crying too and they stay like that until Esposito comes to get them. He helps them stand up, giving Kate an extra long hug in the process.
"Do you want to change first or just dive in?" he asks.
She looks down at her now ruined dress. "Probably change."
Ryan meets them as well, giving her a hug of his own.
"When did you hear from him last?" Ryan asks.
"Uh, he called me like an hour and a half ago telling me he was on his way. He was already gone when I woke up this morning. Left a note about needing to finish some last minute details. Did he talk to either of you about that?"
The boys exchange a glance and shake their heads.
"He was getting you a wedding present," Addison says softly. "It was supposed to be a surprise."
Kate turns to her with wide eyes. "Do you know from where?"
She shakes her head. "That's all he would tell me this morning when I saw him."
"How did he sound on the phone when you talked to him?" Esposito asks.
Kate shakes her head. "Happy."
"We'll find him, Kate," Ryan assures her. "He's just as much our family as he is yours."
AN: I took out her "previous marriage" because that really doesn't need to be a thing. Let's all ignore it together. I do not own the dialogue from "For Better or Worse." And I had to go the finale route with this because I'm kind of addicted to writing post-eps for it and wanted to include Addison in one of them. I have a plan for what happened to him for now, but if I like canon's better I may tweak my original idea. Thank you everyone for your support thus far! This story is far from over. 4 more days of hiatus guys! We can do this!
