Two chapters in two days! I am still super bored at my internship which means that you guys are lucky because I have loads of time to write haha, so here is chapter 6 for y'all! Hope you enjoy and I always love me some reviews! x
Kate adjusted her thick scarf around her neck and buried her hands back in her coat pockets. New York was getting colder by the day and she cursed at herself for forgetting her gloves. Her long grey winter coat, which was normally oversized, would barely button anymore. She huffed annoyed. Her plan was to take a cab back to the loft but some kid stole it right in front of her, "who does that to a pregnant lady" she grunted and sighed as she continued walking, not even feeling like taking a cab anymore, all she wanted was to just get home.
Walking a steady pace through the icy weather she remembered her dad saying to her, back when she was a child, that if she was cold she just had to imagine herself being on Hawaii or another warm place, it never worked for her though, but she kept trying it anyway. Soon the vague image of Hawaii with the blue sea and palm trees turned into a clear vision of the house at the Hamptons where she imagined herself walking by the beach, the late afternoon sun warming her shoulders as she was holding her husband's hand, the cold of his wedding ring touching her skin, there was no awkward baby bump in front of her anymore but the sight of their son walking beside them, his little chubby legs trying to keep up with his parents as he was picking up little seashells that they would keep for memory's sake. Coming back to reality of the cold New York streets a smile appeared on her face, the picture of a bright future in her head actually seemed to warm her up and she reminded herself to thank her dad for it later. With the happy image in her head it didn't take her long before she arrived at the loft where the temperature of the building embraced her like a warm welcoming hug.
"Hey!" Castle said with a smile welcoming his soon-to-be wife when she came through the door. Kate was welcomed by the amazing smell of dinner and was relieved to see him stirring in a pan instead of bend over some old evidence files. She let out a relieved breath and dropped her heavy bag and unbuttoned her barely fitting coat. She walked over to her fiancé and let herself fall into his strong arms, her face buried in his shoulders as she huffed out.
"You ok?" Castle asked as he freed his right hand to turn down the stove a bit before embracing her fully.
Kate smiled and looked up, giving him a quick peck on the lips before returning to her previous pose, her cold nose buried in his warm sweater "yeah just tired, good to be home" she answered, her voice muffled by his shoulder.
They kept standing like that for a minute before Kate freed herself "i'm going to change in something more comfortable"
Castle raised his eyebrow and smirked.
Kate playfully slapped him "not that kind of comfortable" and walked towards the bedroom.
"By the way, Lanie called to ask me about the size of my suit… any idea why?"
Kate halted in her steps, her face turning as red as the sauce Castle was preparing for dinner "I-um-"
"So Lanie is planning the wedding?" Castle asked, the conflict on his face noticeable.
Kate took a careful bite from the hot pasta sauce and nodded "yep". She had silently cursed Lanie in her head for spilling the beans so quick, it wasn't like she wasn't gonna tell him, but now she couldn't ease him into it.
They were sitting on the couch, not even bothering to lay the table, as both Martha and Alexis weren't home. Kate looked quite comical, her plate was balanced on the round surface of her pregnant stomach that seemed to work fine for her but made Castle a bit nervous.
"I hope you don't mind, I told her to just keep the wedding small and about us… Just the thought of having to plan it all over again is a bit much"
Castle shook his head "it's not that, I am actually very happy she wanted to do this for us and I trust her but…"
"but what?"
"who is gonna tell mother?"
Kate started to laugh, holding onto the edge of the plate so it would slide off "we can still give Martha a role in the wedding"
Castle grunted "and how did that turn out last time?"
Kate squinted "oh, yes, right" thinking back to Martha's wild wedding ideas that included a wall of flowers arranged so it would look like a portrait of the two of them.
Castle took another bite from his pasta and smiled "honestly I am just glad we're going forward with this"
Kate smiled back at him "yeah, me too. First I was scared but now it feels…"
"right"
Kate nodded and swallowed her food down and placed the plate onto the coffee table in front of her. She moved back onto the couch and grabbed his hand
"I'm so glad you're back" as she gently squeezed his fingers
"I'm sorry Kate" he said whispery, his voice stricken with guilt
"It's ok" she answered "let's just focus on the future right now, ok?"
Castle nodded, she could still sense that he was feeling down
"Let me tell you about this daydream I had of our future when I walked to the loft"
"You walked? Kate you are almost 8 months pregnant! And the weather-"
"Yeah, yeah I know" she said as she waved him off "wanna hear my day dream or not?"
Castle grunted as he tried to let go of his concern of her walking alone down the New York streets in the cold "yeah sure"
"Ok, so we were walking down the beach at the Hamptons house, I imagined our son collecting seashells just like we did that first day we went there"
Castle sat up as he put his plate away too, a big smile on his face "how did he look?"
Kate shrugged "it was all a little vague but he had your gorgeous blue eyes"
Castle's smile widened "yeah?"
"Brown hair, disheveled by the wind… the cutest little chubby legs" Kate breathed out, a big smile plastered on her face "it was amazing Castle, he was amazing, we were amazing"
Castle squeezed her hand "we're getting there, Kate"
"Promise?"
Castle nodded "promise"
"Lanie!" Kate called out as she walked to the morgue in a steady pace, she missed the dominant sound of her heels tapping on the tiled surface of the floor but she had to let go of those power heels a long time ago. She was glad she wasn't yet waddling because that wouldn't look very convincing, as she was about to scold her friend and opened the door.
"Lanie!" she repeated but words stuck in her throat as she saw the ME making out with her fellow detective "Espo?" both of them had turned around, both a busted look on their face.
Esposito nervously smiled "Oh hi Beckett, I-I will leave you guys to it" and disappeared through the door.
Kate raised her eyebrow and smirked "I see"
Lanie folded her arms before her chest "what's wrong? You two aren't the only ones who are allowed to have a romance at work"
Kate laughed, "of course not, I just didn't expect to see you here making out with Espo"
"Girl, we were barely making out"
"Then what do you call it when his tongue is down your throat?" Kate teased.
Lanie giggled, "stop it" as Kate laughed with her, momentarily forgetting why she was annoyed at her friend.
"To be fair we didn't expect for you to barge in"
Kate grunted "well I was going to confront you about why you had called up my fiancé to ask him what his suit size was"
Lanie shifted her weight "yeah I'm sorry about that, I thought I could since you were already heading home and I presumed you had already told him"
Kate sighed, "yeah I thought you did, it's ok, but I hadn't yet"
"Why though? You left just after lunch, I mean you had plenty of time"
Kate shook her head "I went back to my apartment"
Lanie frowned "really, why? It's not like there is anything left there right? You are not getting cold feet right?"
Kate shook her head again "no, no, nothing like that"
"Then why?"
"Well there is something left there, I never felt like moving it to the loft, let alone look at it"
Suddenly Lanie understood "the wedding dress"
Kate nodded "yeah, my mom's wedding dress, it's totally ruined but I loved it so much and when we talked about the wedding I just needed to look at it"
"Oh honey, I'm sorry, I bet we'll find a new one that you'll love too"
Kate faintly smiled "yeah you're probably right"
"So you guys are still on board with me planning the wedding?"
Kate nodded and then smirked "yeah, but are you sure I don't have to plan yours and Espo's soon?"
Lanie gasped, "shut up!"
"You look stunning!" Martha gasped at her soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Alexis nodded with a smile on her face while Lanie was just clapping her hands. The three women had to drag Kate away from her desk and to the appointment with the famed wedding dress designer Niels Gombert that many women would kill for.
Kate looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit that the dress was gorgeous, white, flowey, perfectly fitted around her bump and simple yet stunning. But it wasn't it for her and it was evident on her face.
The designer raised his eyebrow. He was younger than she thought he would be. His natural blonde hair tied up in a bun with a bit of a scruffy beard that was a contrast to the very nice suit he was wearing that was combined with the brightly colored sneakers at his feet. He smiled, his blue eyes kind "if it's not what you like, we'll look further," he commented, a hint of a Dutch accent in his voice. He held her hand, coaching her back to the changing room.
"That's like the 30th wedding dress she has put on, and they were all gorgeous" Martha sighed, seeing Kate disappear through the curtains.
Alexis nodded "she just keeps comparing it to the one she had…"
The three women kept talking until Kate appeared again, again with a gorgeous gown but without the matching blushing bride in it. Kate shook her head, barely even looking in the mirror and turned to the designer "look Niels, it's gorgeous, they are all gorgeous and they are gonna make some girl very happy but to be honest I keep comparing it to the one I had, it was my mom's and-"
Niels frowned "but why aren't you wearing it then?"
"I- it's a long story but it got ruined by mud and water and it has a big tear in it, it's beyond repair"
The three women behind her nodded in unison.
The designer shook his head "honey, nothing is beyond repair when it comes to me, why don't you bring it over and see what I can do with it"
Kate faintly smiled "that's very sweet of you, but honestly it's so damaged, I can't ask you to do that"
Niels shook his head "nonsense, I have never failed to make a bride happy and I am not gonna start now. Just bring it over and I'll try to fix it for you, probably adjust it a bit" he said smiling as he pointed at her midsection "-and don't worry about it, you're not paying this price for nothing"
Kate's eyes shimmered with tears that she had no control over anymore since she got pregnant and nodded "thank you, thank you so much"
Niels smiled "look, that is the smile I was looking for all day, come on I'll help you out of the dress"
Kate nodded happy and looked at her 'team' behind her who seemed just as pleased as she mouthed 'thank you' at them, feeling her heart swell of being able to wear her own wedding dress again.
Of course everyone tried to convince her to just go back home, but being her stubborn self she reminded them she still had some paperwork to do as it kept piling up her desk. So she returned to the precinct, needing to get rid of the musty smell of the scented candles from the wedding boutique that made her nauseous anyway.
Soon it was time to go home and Gates had urged her to go. She wasn't sure if it was out of the kindness of her Captain's heart or the fact she could get a lot of people mad at her if she let a pregnant lady do overtime… it didn't matter anyway as she gathered all of her stuff and was about to go. Something stopped her though as she looked at the phone on her desk. She sighed and picked it up, her fingers hovering above the keys before dialing the well-known digits. It went to voicemail. She waited for the beep and took a deep breath "hi dad, I just wanted to let you know that Castle and I are getting married soon, not that we have a date set yet or anything" Kate took another deep breath "I know you are still mad at him for leaving me dad but I'd love you to be there… please call me back when you have time alright? I love you, bye" and quickly hung up. Sighing, before pulling on her coat and facing the cold New York streets again.
Ok so my best friend is called Niels and he asked me if he could be written into the story so I did to surprise him. He loves (bridal) fashion so that's why haha. Again this hasn't been beta'd but I still hope you enjoyed it. Reviews keep me motivated :) x