Thanks again for the wonderful response this fic has gotten, I really appreciate the support. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.

As they entered the church, Beckett noticed a few of her old college friends and gave them a small wave and smile but didn't speak to anyone as they made their way down the aisle to take a seat. There would be time to talk to others at the reception but for now, Beckett just wanted to prepare herself for seeing her old friends and Hannah again with Castle as her boyfriend and to actually enjoy the wedding of one of her good friends.

Castle was disappointed when Beckett released his hand as they took their seats but then she flashed him a shy smile and the loss of warmth in his hand was forgotten as he concentrated on the press of Beckett's shoulder and thigh against his as they sat on the hard church seats.

Not long later, music started playing and everyone in the church turned to watch Hannah walk down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning in her white dress as she grinned and walked towards her future husband at the front of the church.

The wedding passed quickly after that and without incident for either of them, both watching the beautiful couple at the front of the church as they exchanged vows and rings and were proclaimed husband and wife.

The reception was at the hall next to the church so after the bride and groom had departed, people slowly started to stand and make their way to the reception hall.

"We're going to have to try hard if we're going to make them jealous," Castle said as they were making their way down the aisle, voice low in her ear, only for her.

"Hmmm?" Beckett hummed, looking confusedly at Castle as they left the church, thoughtlessly reaching over and taking his hand in hers once again.

"We were going to make Hannah jealous of our love, remember?" Castle asked, referring to the conversation they'd had when Beckett had first asked him to join her at the wedding and he laughed as her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I remember," Beckett replied, hoping her nerves didn't show, Castle's hand still clasped tightly in her own. It was true, she did want to make her friend jealous but that would be no small feat since her friend had just gotten married but it would be fun to pretend with Castle, see if they actually could make Hannah jealous of their relationship.

"Do you know many of these people?" Castle asked as they made their way further into the room, finding the table they'd been assigned to for dinner. There were many other tables scattered around the room, with one main table up the front of the hall for the main wedding party. Just in front of that table was a space which had been left clear from dancing and a band area sat off to the side, currently empty though as the hall was only just beginning to fill.

"A few, mostly just people from college, a few of them I was pretty close with at the time."

"You don't see them much any more?"

"Not really, not with how busy we are with work, the last time I saw them was at another friend of ours wedding." Castle had known that she didn't get much time out of work to socialise, and most of that free time is spent with the boys, Lanie and himself but he found it sad that she'd mostly lost contact with people she'd been close with in the past.

Beckett seemed to sense where Castle's mind had gone as she continued, "but it's fine, I see them when I can and if I saw them more often, I wouldn't have as much time to spend with you."

Beckett nudged his shoulder with hers as they stood side by side, taking in the decorated hall and all the guests, Castle flashing her his signature grin in response.

Castle was about to reply when someone called Beckett's name from behind them, causing them both to spin around to see who had spoken her name.

"Ben!" Beckett said, catching sight of the man who had spoken, a grin breaking across Beckett's face as she stepped forward to accept the hug he was offering.

"Kate, how are you?" Ben said as he took a step back, grinning at her in return.

"I'm good, you?"

"I'm good too, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"Yeah, I was just saying that I hadn't seen any of you since Hayley's wedding," Beckett replied, excited to see her friend who she hasn't seen in a few years but mentioning the conversation she had just been having with Castle made her realise she hadn't introduced them yet.

"Sorry, this is Ben, a friend from college," Beckett said, gesturing to the man in front of her before she turned to Castle, winding her arm around his back so she fit into his side before she continued, "and Ben, this is my boyfriend, Rick."

Castle slipped one of his arms around Beckett's shoulders, pulling her close against his side as he offered his free hand forward for Ben to shake, "it's nice to meet you."

Ben smiled warmly at Castle and Beckett was about to speak, find out more about how Ben had been since she'd last seen him but Castle spoke before she could, "so Ben, do you have any good stories of Beckett from when you were in college together?"

Ben laughed but then realised what Castle had just called her, wondering why they were on a last name basis, "Beckett?"

"Sorry, work habit," Castle said, wondering if they should refer to each other as Kate and Rick for the evening to avoid further confusion.

Ben still looked confused so Beckett clarified, "we work at the precinct together and you are under no circumstances to tell Castle anything about my past."

"You're no fun," Castle grumbled, causing Ben to laugh at the two of them.

"I'll catch up with you later," Ben said, seeing someone else he wanted to talk to over Beckett's, giving them a quick wave as he departed.

"He seems nice," Castle said, once he was out of earshot, trying to ignore the fact that they still had their arms around each other, hoping Beckett wouldn't notice either and pull herself away. It was nice, just standing together like this, it could make him believe that they really were dating and attending her friend's wedding together as opposed to two friends who were just pretending for the sake of Beckett's competitive streak with her old friend.

"Do you think we should be calling each other Kate and Rick while we're here, to avoid any confusion?" Beckett asked, mirroring Castle's thoughts from before, while she removed her arm from around his waist, disappointment flooding through him as she did. He wasn't disappointed for long though as she threaded her fingers through his, holding his hand once again, something that already felt so comfortable and normal between them now.

Beckett hadn't wanted to let him go, wanted to stay pressed up next to him forever, felt comfortable and safe in his embrace, but she couldn't keep doing that to him. It wasn't fair to give him hope when she wasn't ready to follow through on her actions and once the wedding was over, they'd have to go back to the way things were between them. She needed to step away from him because it was hard to remember the reasons why they weren't already dating when he was so close to her.

"I was thinking the same thing before," Castle laughed, amazed at how in sync their minds could be at times, thankfully distracting Beckett from her thoughts.

"Okay, it's settled then, I'm Kate and you're Rick," Beckett replied, his name falling softly from her mouth. She'd said her name just before and that had surprised him, not used to his first name being spoken by her, but it seemed suddenly really intimate as they stood close together, talking quietly, hands twined between them. He found he liked it, a lot, and he hoped she'd use his first name more often in the future.

Castle noticed that people had started to move towards the tables spread out around the room, taking their seats. He also noticed that a couple of the people she'd waved at earlier were starting to fill the seats around their table and Castle saw another opportunity, "come on, let's go take our seats so I can see if I can find out more about your college past."

Beckett quickly hid the smile that threatened to spread across her face and faked a groan instead to cover her amusement at Castle's attempts to find out more about her younger self. She let him tug her forward by their joined hands but it didn't take her long for her to realise that maybe that groan shouldn't have been fake after all as he was quite possibly leading her towards her doom. For one thing, there were some stories that she definitely didn't want Castle to hear that her friends may be eager to tell him and number two, she would have to continue pretending that Castle was really her boyfriend when she wished so desperately that she had to courage to make that come true.

Attending this wedding together probably hadn't been a good idea, not when she already felt so deeply for him but couldn't properly act on it. But who knows, maybe tonight was the thing that would give her the courage to do just that.

Thoughts?