Chapter 41
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A little knock sounded on their door – opened a crack that morning by Castle after he had returned from the bathroom, anticipating their little girl wanting to join him and Kate for a snuggle – before the muffled sound of tiny footsteps could be heard across the carpet.
"Mommy," Zoey whispered, creeping up on Kate's side of the bed.
"Hey sweetheart, I think mommy's still sleeping." Castle propped himself up on one elbow to peer over at Zoey, "Why don't you come over here and I'll lift you up?"
She puttered over to Castle, an arm around her stuffed bunny. He bent over the edge of the bed and picked her up with an exaggerated oof. The little girl giggled. "Daddy, you're so cuckoo sometimes."
"Cuckoo?" he said, kissing her cheek, "Who taught you how to say 'cuckoo'?"
"Suzy Carmichael did at school. She calls her little brother that all the time."
"Oh, well, if Suzy Carmichael does it…" Castle teased, thinking that it was only in elementary school that you couldn't just say a friend's first name. It had to be their full name. "Is Lexi still asleep?" he asked Zoey, tucking the covers up around her.
"Mhm. I didn't try to poke her this morning," Zoey answered soberly, referring to the incident the previous morning where Alexis had swatted at her in her still-asleep state.
"Yes, your sister never did like people waking her up," Castle said.
"Like mommy."
"That's right," he agreed, "Exactly like mommy."
"Are you two talking about me behind my back?" Kate murmured, turning over to face them.
"Never." Castle answered.
"Daddy!" Zoey chastised, "You're not supposed to lie." She inched over to Kate. "Yes, mommy. Daddy said that you don't like people waking you up."
"Good girl," Kate said, kissing her daughter on the nose for her honesty. She wrapped an arm around Zoey and hugged her tight. "But I don't mind when you wake me up, Zozo."
Zoey beamed. "Because I'm a good snuggler, right?"
"Yup," Kate said, brushing back Zoey's mess of curls so that they weren't sticking up around Kate's face.
Castle wiggled closer to the pair, voice eager like a puppy's, "I'm a good snuggler, too, right? Right?"
Kate looked at him wryly, "No, Castle. You're not."
"Oh really?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "That's not what you said la—"
Kate clamped a hand over Castle's mouth. "—you keep going and I'll make sure we don't snuggle again for the rest of this trip."
Castle scoffed and said something incomprehensible.
"What was that?" Kate said, removing her hand with a gleam in her eyes.
"I said: as if you could resist."
Zoey's head had been turning back and forth between her parents until—
"—hey Zo?" Kate said, "I think it's been a long time since we've tickled daddy, don't you?"
Zoey shrieked yes at the same time that she pounced on top of Castle's stomach.
"Not fair!" Castle yelped, "Turning our daughter against me!"
"Oh my god." The door to their room opened fully to reveal Alexis. With her arms crossed, Alexis was more amused than upset at being woken up at six-thirty during what was supposed to be her vacation. "You guys are so loud!"
"Come join us, Alexis," said Kate, with a laugh, "We're attacking your dad."
Alexis bounced across the room and onto the giant bed. "Gladly," she said, with a laugh of her own.
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"Merry Christmas, grandpa!" It was later that morning and they were all eating breakfast outside, underneath clear blue skies and a light breeze. Zoey had Castle's cell held up against her ear and she was sitting back in the teak chair – legs dangling – feeling important for being the first one on the phone. She made a face when Kate offered her another piece of grapefruit and continued talking. "Yup! I did go swimming and we went on a boat and saw some fishies – they were really colourful – and I'm wearing the hat you gave me for Christmas and I'm having a lot of fun but, you know what? Lexi forgot to put on sunscreen yesterday and now she looks like a tomato... And guess what? Mommy has a surprise to tell you! She and daddy are getting marr—"
"Whoa!" Kate took the phone out of Zoey's hand before she could innocently spill-the-beans. She waggled her finger. "You silly girl," she said, chuckling, and then into the phone, "Hi dad. Merry Christmas."
"What are you and Rick doing?" Jim said, amused at the shuffling that had gone on.
Kate took a deep breath and replied, "How quickly do you think you can pack?"
"That depends," Jim said, "Where am I going?"
"Maui." Kate looked over at Castle, smiling widely as their eyes met. "Rick and I are getting married."
"When? Today?" Jim sounded shocked and pleased all at the same time.
"Well, day after tomorrow," Kate replied, "But I'd like you to be here for it… I mean, I know you're supposed to be driving up to see Aunt Louise but—"
"—Katie, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Kate could hear her father bustling around and she imagined him climbing up the stairs and pulling out his old suitcase. "I assume you and Rick have already made arrangements for the flight?" he asked, humour lacing his question.
Kate smiled. "Of course. Your flight is leaving fr—" She paused when Castle made a motion to hand the phone over to him "—hang on, dad. Castle's going to tell you – we, well, he had to pull some strings with the airline since it's the holidays and kind of last minute."
"Hi, Jim," Castle said, taking the phone from Kate, "Merry Christmas." He started to stand up, mouthing 'too loud' to Kate, before moving away from the breakfasters.
"So," Alexis started, drawing Kate's attention back to the table, "Grams and I think we should go dress shopping today."
"Oh," Kate waved her hand, "I don't want anything fancy."
Alexis forked some scrambled eggs. "Yeah, I figured as much, but you still need something to wear – something new and all that – besides, Grams all but insisted."
"I'm not getting out of shopping with your grandmother, am I?"
Alexis grinned. "I'm afraid not."
.
"Wakey, wakey…"
Kate wiggled her nose at the persistent itch. It was the 27th. The day of her wedding. And she had been hoping to sleep in. But—
"Kate…Kate…Kate."
—somebody was calling her name.
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes. A pair of deep brown ones blinked right back at her and she sat up with a bolt.
"Finally. Girl, you are a sound sleeper."
"Yeah, when I'm on vacation!" Kate exclaimed and then leaned in to hug her best friend. "Lanie, what are you doing here?"
"It's your wedding day! Where else would I be? Certainly not in New York when I could be getting my tan on in Hawaii."
"But how… what—"
"Your boy flew us out."
"Us?"
"Me and Javi… Ryan… Jenny… your dad…"
"Oh, I'm gonna—"
Lanie slapped her arm. "I can't believe you were going to get married without me!"
"Lanie, I didn't think—"
"—that's right, you didn't think!"
"Hey," Kate pointed a finger at Lanie, "When I called you yesterday, you didn't say anything!"
"Well, duh." Lanie rolled her eyes. "It was supposed to be a surprise. No private jet unless we kept our mouths shut."
"He flew you guys out on a—Richard Castle!" Kate yelled out the last part.
Within seconds, Castle poked his head into the room. "Yes, dear?"
Kate glared at him. "When you said that you 'pulled a few strings' to get my dad out here, I thought you meant that you called in a favour or something."
Castle grinned. "I did call in a favour. To my pilot buddy, Jack."
"You—"
"So, I pulled some bigger strings," he said, "You can't honestly be mad."
"Yeah, give Writer Boy a break," Lanie chimed in, "At least he knew I wouldn't be happy with a wedding video."
Kate flopped back onto her pillow and sighed – though both fiancé and best friend knew that Kate was only putting on a front. "You two are unbelievable."
"I'm going to go and get the girls up," Castle said, tactfully giving Lanie and Kate some time to catch up.
As the door eased shut, Lanie pushed Kate over on the bed and jumped in next to her. "Your dad and the boys are settling into their rooms."
"Don't tell me you guys are next door."
"No, your boy's not that good. We're a few floors below you." She twined her left arm around Kate's right. "Still, you should probably get up and get dressed."
Kate nodded but they continued to lie there in silence, both pairs of eyes staring at the ceiling and contemplating where their lives have taken them. It was a few minutes later when Kate broke it.
"I'm really glad you're here, Lanie."
Lanie nudged her. "I know."
.
They were going to have their wedding in the early evening – just as the sun would be setting – on the beach in front of Roman and Martha's villa.
Kate was getting ready in one of their guestrooms while the fuss of setting up was still going on outside. Castle hadn't wanted Kate to see the venue until they walked out for the first time.
"Final touches, final touches!" Martha called, exiting from the ensuite with Zoey and Alexis in tow. "You already have your something new," Martha said, indicating Kate's gorgeous dress, "So, let me give you your something old."
From behind her back, Martha revealed a beautiful necklace containing strands of tiny pearls.
"Martha," Kate said, breathless, "Thank you."
Martha shook her head, eyes slightly misty, "Don't thank me, dear. You just take care of it and hopefully, one day, you'll be able to pass it on."
Alexis blushed when her grandmother looked over at her. "Grams!"
"What?" Martha stepped back, eyes wide and innocent, "I'm just saying…"
"Okay, okay," Lanie said, saving Alexis from further teasing, "My turn."
Kate turned to her best friend. "Lanie, what did you—"
"Don't worry, Kate, I'm only lending these to you," Lanie said, grinning. She took out a Tiffany blue box and opened it up to hand Kate the same crystal earrings that she had worn for her wedding with Esposito.
Kate gave Lanie a hug. "Thanks," she said, and then in jest, "I'll make sure these get back to you in one piece." Kate walked the two steps to the mirror and found that her hands shook as she tried to put in the earrings. Stop it, she told herself.
"Kate," said Alexis, coming up behind her, "I have something for you too."
"Oh, Alexis," Kate breathed out, "You didn't have to—"
"—it's nothing, really," Alexis cut in. She ran into the washroom and came back out with fresh blue flowers. "I thought we could put them in your hair and, you know, something blue."
"That's a great idea, Alexis." Kate smiled and the two of them worked a couple of petals into her hair, which was swept back into a simple updo.
A knock at the bedroom door interrupted the moment and Kate was silently glad because it was way too early for her to be getting so emotional. And then her dad entered and she knew that her plans of staying dry-eyed until the ceremony would not be happening.
One look at his daughter and Jim Beckett immediately started tearing up.
"Okay, come on, ladies," Martha said, shooing everybody out the door and giving Kate a wink, "Father-daughter moment."
Jim approached and Kate let her dad twirl her around so that he could get the full effect. Her dress was an off-white, strapless affair with a gazaar and silk crepe sheath over a bodice and an asymmetrically draped skirt. It skimmed the floor, which was perfect because Kate wasn't planning on wearing shoes.
"My beautiful daughter," he said, clearly feeling sentimental.
Kate hugged him. "This is really happening, daddy."
"And you're happy?"
She nodded. "Really, really happy."
"Good," he said, "That's all I've ever wanted for you."
Kate smiled. "Thanks dad."
"Katie, you know that I'm so proud of you."
She peered up at him. "For what?"
He smiled softly. "For everything. For being strong and tough. For asking your old man for help sometimes…. for being my daughter."
"Dad," Kate sniffed, "You're going to make me cry."
He chuckled when she pulled away in order to grab tissue from the bathroom.
"And Katie?" he said, just as she reached the threshold.
She looked over her shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Don't worry about your mom. She's watching over us tonight. I know it."
.
"Are you prepared?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Castle, your blindfold is ruining my makeup."
"It's gonna blow your mind."
"Castle, our friends and family are staring at us."
"How do you know? You're blindfolded."
"CASTLE."
"Okay, fine, fine. Sheesh."
Standing behind her, he gently undid the silk scarf.
They were standing on the porch steps and what met Kate's eyes was something she didn't even know she wanted. All she saw was lights: a fiber-optic wonder that had a figure eight – the infinity symbol, Kate quickly realised – hovering in the middle of the beach, with tiny LEDs draped in and dangled around it. Beautiful old-fashioned lanterns hung from every tree and precious fairy lights surrounded the area, making it look breathtakingly otherworldly. A trail of candles led from the porch to where their friends and family were gathered and this was all, naturally, under a blanket of blossoming starlight.
It wasn't a private beach, of course, and there were passers-by who were equally stunned by the display and had stopped to watch in curiosity. For once, Kate found that she didn't mind. These complete strangers were about to feel the sheer force of love that she and Castle felt for each other and she became too happy and smitten and enchanted to even notice.
She tilted her head towards Castle, unable to let her eyes wander from the sight. "This is a dream," she murmured.
"I'm glad you like it," he whispered into her ear before dropping a kiss on her bare shoulder.
She reached up her hand to capture one of his that had rested against her arm and pulled him in front of her. "I love it," she said, kissing him sweetly.
"So," he said, "Are you ready?"
She nodded. "I'm ready."
They took each other's hand and walked down together.
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"And now," said the Officiant, Henry, "Before you exchange your vows, your daughters have something they would like to say."
"It's a story!" Zoey blurted out, before the two of them had even taken their spot – with little notebooks in hand – in front of Kate and Castle.
"That's great, Zozo," Castle said, amongst chuckles from the others.
Alexis cleared her throat and everybody quieted. She started: "The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy there. It was, after all, his cage..."
Zoey needed a little prompting from Alexis before she remembered it was her turn. "Then…" she read, "…along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur…"
As the two of them continued reading, the gathering crowd surrounding the wedding ceremony stopped shuffling and whispering as much, suitably beguiled.
"…together they stand on the hill telling each other stories…" Alexis smiled at her dad when she read that part.
"…and that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs to—" Zoey looked up at Alexis for some help. "Oh yeah," she said, after Alexis whispered the word into her ear. "Together. For the sun is warm…"
"…And the World is a beautiful place."
"The end," Zoey finished.
It was during the clapping – and Esposito's and Ryan's whistling – that Kate started to feel nervous about the next part of the ceremony, which just happened to be—
"—the vows," said Henry, "I understand you've written your own?"
"Yes," Castle answered, taking out his slip of paper from his right pocket and Kate's – sealed in an envelope so he wouldn't peek – from his left.
"Who would like to go first?" Henry asked.
Castle squeezed Kate's hand. "Actually," he said, addressing Henry, "We're going to read each other's."
"Each other's?" Lanie interjected, "As in—"
"—less nerve-wracking this way," Castle said, sliding his finger against the seal of Kate's envelope, "But, I'll go first."
"You guys are weird," Esposito chimed in. Kate turned around and gave him a look. "Not weird!" he amended, "…special."
Kate rolled her eyes but felt some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She watched as Castle scanned the piece of paper – the final copy out of dozens that she had gone through in search of the perfect words – and knew, from the look on his face, that she never had anything to worry about.
After a protracted silence, Castle finally decided to share:
'Then, one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life… you give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore.'
Neil Gaiman said that.
The thing is, Castle, you carry such a big piece of me now that I'll be yours forever.
He looked up from the paper and met Kate's eyes, his own a little misty.
"Not my own words, I know," she said to him.
He bent to kiss her cheek. "But the ones that were, were perfect." He offered her his vows. "Your turn."
Kate unfolded the piece of paper and was met with many lines that he had struck out:
If love were a place…
…more than anyone on Earth (and Mars and any undiscovered universes)…
...and I like you better than everything in the sky…
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous—
...you smell like home.
Until, finally:
Kate,
I can picture a thousand words to say, but in the end, I only need three.
A/N: I know it's been a while but I'll be doing regular updates again from now on (at least, once a week for at least one of my on-going stories)!
(P.S.: Anybody know how to do a strikethrough on this site? I tried everything and it wouldn't let me cross-out those few lines in Castle's vows... grr...)
Anyway, PLEASE review and let me know what you think of this chapter, whether any flow was lost, whether any love was lost (from you guys)!