Once again, the crowd turned to watch her walk down the aisle, but this time there was much more tension in the air. It seemed as if everyone was waiting for her to bolt again. Everyone but him, that is. Rick was looking at her so intensely, she could feel it in her soul. He even wore an expression of deep concern for her. She didn't break eye contact with him until she made it to the front of the room. Jim untangled his arm from hers and kissed her on the cheek.

"I wish you nothing but happiness, my sweet Katie. Your mother and I love you very much." It was all whispered against her ear, but it still brought the sting of tears back.

Quickly swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned to face her—was he her fiancée if they never actually met? She had known for a few weeks that she would be married, she just didn't know to whom.

Focus, Kate, she chastised herself as she gave her full attention to the man standing across from her. Before the minister could say anything, Rick gently took one of her hands and quietly asked, "Is everything okay?"

The nervous butterflies in her stomach suddenly became nervous pterodactyls screaming through her body and she could feel her hands shaking just a little. A blush crept through her face, but she managed a small smile as she glanced down at the flowers she was still holding. "Yeah, I'm sorry. You just took me by surprise is all." She looked up at him then and saw some of the concern fade, replaced with something that seemed to be much closer to what she was feeling at the time.

He softly let go of her hand and nodded to the minister who nodded back and then introduced them to one another. "Richard Castle, meet Kate Beckett. Kate, this is Richard."

There was laughter from the crowd. Rick shook his head a little in disbelief as Kate once again made eye contact with the floor. Her nervousness made its appearance as a smile and a bubble of laugh that wouldn't be contained. When she looked back up at Rick, she noticed that there was something in the way he was looking at her. She smiled at him.

The minister continued on with the ceremony and finally got to the vows after what seemed like forever and no time at all. Rick and Kate never broke eye contact, except when they were getting the rings. They said the vows, slid on the rings, and were pronounced husband and wife. The minister said something about how they could kiss if they wanted to, and Rick looked at her as if to say, 'We don't have to, but I will if you will.'

Kate paused for a fraction of an instant, debating on whether or not to kiss this stranger who was her husband. Looking at Richard Castle, she thought about all he had done for her before they had even met, and decided to thank him. He wouldn't know that, of course, but to Kate, this kiss was a way to say thank you for entertaining my mom, thank you for leaving me with a small piece of her, thank you for giving me solace from the black hole that was my life.

Placing her hands on his biceps, Kate leaned in. Their lips met, so tentative at first, as if to figure out how the other worked. She closed her eyes and pressed more firmly into him, breaking their first, hesitant kiss for a second, more meaningful one.

They heard the crowed whoop for them as his hands slid gently to her waist. They broke apart and looked at one another, smiling, already feeling like more than strangers. The crowd stood and applauded as Rick surprised Kate by reaching down and wrapping an arm around her upper legs, hoisting her up. She looked completely shocked as she looked down and saw the many faces of laughing friends, her father beaming up at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rick's other fist thrown into the air, signifying his victory.

For the first time that day, Kate actually laughed. Her whole face lit up with it. Maybe it was starting to dawn on her that she had just gotten married, maybe it was the fact that the guy she married had shown genuine concern, genuine fear, and genuine joy all within the span of 30 minutes. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so playful and goofy that caused her breath to catch as he placed her down on solid ground once again.

Kate had no idea what it was that had her feeling so exhilarated, but she took Rick's outstretched hand and they made their way out of the room as husband and wife.

XXXXXXXXXX

The doors closed firmly behind them as the guests were escorted out another door. Rick and Kate were finally alone. Not really knowing what to do, they both just kind of stood there awkwardly, waiting for the other to say or do something.

Rick noticed that they were still holding hands. "Oh, uh, sorry," he said as he unlaced his fingers from hers and let his hand drop lamely to his side.

A nervous puff of a laugh escaped Kate's lips and she said, "It's okay. I mean, we are married."

He laughed, but didn't make a move to hold her hand again. Just as well; she didn't actually know him.

"So, the minister said your name was Kate, right?" His face turned an amusing shade of pink as he rambled on. "I'm usually so good with names, but I guess I was just so nervous and it was all such a blur that I just forgot it, like I heard him, but I wasn't listening."

Kate smiled to reassure him. It was fair that he didn't know who she was; if she hadn't read so many of his books, she'd be in the exact same boat. "Yeah," she began, "I'm Kate. Kate Beckett." She held her hand out to him to shake and he took it, holding on for just a little too long.

"That was some kiss," Kate added randomly, internally kicking herself for her lack of consciousness.

Rick seemed to be putting more thought into his reply than was necessary. "Yeah, it was," he began finally. "It almost seemed like it had something to do with you running out." Kate blushed furiously and her stomach dropped. "You had the same look in your eyes," he explained. "Which, by the way, are gorgeous," he added for good measure.

Kate offered a small smile and said, "Thank you. And I am sorry about running out on you like that. I don't want you to think it was because I didn't want to go through with this or anything like that."

"Your dad told me you would explain it to me later," Rick suggested. Kate looked at him for a moment before deciding that he was being completely unassuming; he wasn't expecting an explanation right now. Honestly, she didn't want to give it; not here, not on their wedding night.

Kate grabbed his hand once again, squeezed it firmly, and said, "I will, Rick, just not tonight. Let's get to know each other first."

XXXXXXXXXX

Rick explained to Kate that he had been married twice before, but both women had turned out differently than he had originally thought. He said that his reasoning for applying for this experiment was that since he couldn't seem to find someone suited for him, surely four professionals could. He then went on to tell Kate about his living arrangements. He lived with his daughter, who was 15, and his mother, whose ex had wiped her bank account.

Kate thought it was endearing that he took such good care of the women in his life, but left the nitty gritty questions about his ex-wives for later. Instead they talked about Alexis, his writing, her job, and general get-to-know-you things. By the time they were collected to take wedding photos, they felt more like friends than two people who had met no more than two hours ago.