A/N: "Enjoy when you can and endure when you must." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

David still couldn't believe that his best friend was now married. As he wandered from the bathroom back towards the big hall, he was so lost in his reverie of old college times that he almost ran into the little girl that suddenly appeared in front of him. With big, surprised eyes she looked up at him, her head angled to one side as if she was trying to assess him. Somehow she looked familiar.

"Hi! Sorry, I didn't see you" he apologized and smiled, his green eyes sparkling. "Who are you, little one?" he asked, trying to put on his 'I'm not going to harm you, you look totally adorable'-face.
"My name's Johanna Elizabeth Castle" she told him confidently. Ah, now he remembered her; she was Alexis' younger sister. He couldn't believe how much she had grown since he had last seen her.

"And who are you?" the girl asked, her little eyebrows rising suspiciously. His grin spread wider. That girl knew no insecurities.
"I'm David. I'm a friend of the lucky man that just married your big sister. How old are you, Johanna Elizabeth Castle?" he asked and hooked his fingers through the belt loops of his dress pants.
"I turned six last week," she said proudly.

"And are you going to school yet, Miss Castle?" David wanted to know, rocking back on his heels, content and highly amused.
"Yes, I…"
"She's too smart for school" Rick suddenly interrupted, coming up behind his daughter in the hallway and ruffling her hair. "They want to put her in second grade because she gets so bored that she drives the teachers insane."

David could hear the pride in the older man's voice and saw it in the way his eyes lit up.
"Did she get that from her father or her mother?" he asked, trying to figure out whether Richard Castle remembered him or not.
"The driving insane part, or the smart part?" Rick chuckled. "I'd say it's fifty-fifty."

He turned around when he heard heels clicking behind him, just in time to watch Kate roll her eyes.

"Meaning the smart part is all my doing and the driving insane part is one hundred percent his fault" his wife told David and slid her arms around his waist.

"Did you hear that?" Rick mocked and held a cupped hand to his ear. "I think I just heard something, but it might have just been a fly or something..."

Both female Castles rolled their eyes again.

"Come on, you have to admit that this time it was your doing" Kate insisted.

She turned towards their acquaintance and at his raised eyebrow elaborated: "He taught her how to read and write when she was three and a half, so it's no wonder she gets bored."

David smiled. "Oh I'm sure he could have done worse."

Kate flinched and narrowed her eyes to slits. "I don't even want to think about it…"

"David, right?" Rick asked and the young man nodded. Apparently, he did remember him. "Why don't we go back inside? The hallway is no place to celebrate a night like this."

David nodded his head and held his hand out to the littlest Castle. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Johanna Elizabeth Castle."

Jo gracefully took the hand, but watched him curiously with her bright eyes as she shook it.

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Kate wanted to know, turning in her husband's arms. He dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"I was looking for our little runaway. But now that I've found her, let's go and start this party!"

He started it with a dance. Of course, it was tradition that way. The father was allowed to dance with his newlywed daughter.

As Rick took Alexis' smaller hand in his, he had to choke back tears. Feeling the soft fabric of her dress and then her even softer skin beneath his other hand, he took a deep breath.

When she accidentally stepped on his foot because he had moved in the wrong direction, they had to laugh. Suddenly the tears were forgotten and huge smiles graced both their faces. Nothing had changed much.

"Yo, I thought they took dancin' classes before this!" Javier Esposito asked no one in particular, watching from the side of the dance floor. To his surprise, it was Jo who answered.

"They did, but dad is really nervous today. You can see it because he taps his finger on her back to stay in rhythm" she told him seriously, her gaze not leaving the swirling pair.

Javier tried to focus on Rick's hand. "Gurl, you should play poker…"
Jo shook her head and tore her eyes from her family to look up at the detective. "Dad showed me, but mom doesn't allow it. She says I'm too young."

She pouted and Javier saw a glimpse of the 6-year old that she was. "Everyone always says I'm too young! I wish I could be a grown-up like you!" she protested and cutely crossed her arms. Javier couldn't help but reach out to pat the girl's head.

"You'll grow up soon enough, sweetie. Trust me."

They both turned back to the father and bride to watch Rick make place for the groom. His time with Alexis was up. He kissed the back of her hand and gently turned her over to her husband. Stepping away to make room for the couple, he was taken back to a day half a year ago.

…

I came to see her daddy

For a sit down man to man

It wasn't any secret

I'd be asking for her hand

...

I guess that's why he left me waiting

In the living room by myself

With at least a dozen pictures of her

Sitting on a shelf

...

Playing Cinderella

She was riding her first bike

Bouncing on the bed

And looking for a pillow fight

Running through the sprinkler

With a big Popsicle grin

Dancing with her dad

Looking up at him

...

In her eyes I'm Prince Charming

But to him I'm just some fella

Riding in and stealing Cinderella

…

It wasn't quite the same now, Rick pondered. Somehow the sadness over seeing his little girl grow up had made way to a sense of pride. He was happy that she had found happiness, he realized and a smile spread on his face again.

When he felt a hand tug on his tux, he looked down. The smile grew even bigger.

"May I have this dance, milady?" he asked and bowed jokingly. Johanna giggled.

"You may, milord" she said and curtsied. Her father took her hands into his and they gently swayed towards the middle of the dance floor.

Jo giggled again. "This is fun, dad!" she told him as he swirled her around. And it was.

Two hours later Rick had found his way into his wife's arms once more. As he pulled her onto the dance floor, she asked what had made him stop being grumpy and start enjoying this night.

He thought about it for a second and started talking when the music changed to a slow ballad.

"Things change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse and sometimes we don't know until later on" he told her and raised his arm to let her spin beneath it. "Sometimes even the best things come with casualties, a small price to pay for your happiness."

He pulled her close and rested his cheek on hers, his mouth right by her ear.

"And sometimes things that make you sad and miserable at first, turn out to have their benefits in the end" he whispered, his eyes on their intertwined fingers as he slightly pulled back.

"Like us?" she asked, whispering as well because the moment called for it, despite the rather loud music.

"Like love," he said and she squeezed his hand. "Like us."

"You've always had a way with words."

He swept his gaze from their joined hands and the glimmering wedding band on his wife's finger to her equally sparkling eyes. They fluttered closed just as their lips met. The kiss was short, but sweet, filling him with the glorious feeling of love that had prevailed the entire day.

"Will you marry me?" he asked as they parted. Her smile beamed brighter than the dance floor lights.

"I already did. I thought you'd remember such a thing" she joked. His thumb caressed the back of her hand as they continued to sway to the soft music as the song faded. Then they pushed even closer to each other when the band started a tango.

"Would you do it again?" he murmured against her ear as he guided her across the floor with perfect ease. The tango was the dance they both enjoyed the most. The passion and temper resembled so much of their relationship that every move came from within.

She was in the mood for teasing, so she waited a beat and dragged her nails across his chest as the cello player brought her instrument to musical heights. Appreciating and enjoying the music, Kate swirled around Rick, her dress hiked up around her bared thighs. She ensured that every man's glance was on her body before answering with an indecisive hum. "Hmmm, I don't know. Do you have time next Friday afternoon? I think I might be able to squeeze a wedding into my schedule then if you insist."

His response was a chuckle and then he surprised her by dipping her, catching her around her waist just as her hair brushed the floor. He slowly pulled her up again. "If I dragged you to a chapel next Friday, would you say yes?"

She distracted him for a second by wrapping a leg around his. Her fingertips ghosted up his arms, along his neck and into his hair, as his dug into her thighs. Their gazes locked.

"Let's find out."

A/N: This is it for this story. As you may have noticed because it has been a while since I updated, I was kind of struggling with it. I think my sweetness saturation level has been reached and I hope that yours has been, too.

Feel free to check out my other stuff, but don't expect everything to be as cheesy as it was in this fic. And please take a look at the rating before you start reading...

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story or added it to their favorites or alerts. It really means a lot to me.