A/N #1: Thank you so much for all the great reviews. It feels wonderful to be back and to hear from all of you.
A/N #2: The song 'In My Veins' is written and performed by Andrew Belle. Trivia: This song was also featured in an episode of 'Grey's Anatomy.' I remember yelling at my TV that they couldn't play Castle and Beckett's song.
SUMMARY: We're off to the reception. This chapter will act as a filler for what is to come.
In My Veins
Chapter 2: Dancing and Corny Speeches
"That was a nice ceremony," Espo commented as he stood with Ryan and Jenny.
The pool area had been set up with a small dance floor and a buffet table which was being prepared by a staff of caterers. The area was decorated with tiki torches, giving the area a festive glow.
"It was," Jenny Ryan agreed. "Kate's dress was beautiful."
"Where is the bride and groom anyway? I'm starving," Espo looked around for his friends.
"Wedding photos," Ryan informed his friend. "I have to admit that was my least favorite part of the wedding. That, and constantly being asked when we were going to have a baby."
"Well, you have one of those now, so you can stop complaining," Espo looked around at the guests who were beginning to make the trek into the reception area. "Ryan," he nodded to a woman who was standing about 20 feet away.
"Evelyn," Ryan walked toward the woman, with Espo and Jenny following close behind him. "Evelyn?"
Evelyn Montgomery looked up and smiled. "Ryan! Esposito!" She hugged both men. "It's wonderful to see you!"
"Evelyn, this is my wife, Jenny. Jenny, this is Evelyn Montgomery, Roy's wife."
"I've heard so many wonderful things about Roy," Jenny shook Evelyn's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"You, too. Roy would've been so happy to see Kate and Castle married. It's all that he talked about."
"But they weren't a couple—"
"Oh, I know. But Roy knew that it was just a matter of time."
***CCC***
"My face is beginning to hurt from smiling," Kate whispered to Castle as they posed for yet another wedding photo.
"He'll be done soon. Can I just say how stunning you look?"
"Thank Lanie and my dad."
"Are you feeling better now that we're finally married?"
"Yes. I kept envisioning something awful happening to you on your way here. That would've been the icing on the cake that has been our week."
"What? Did you think that I was going to get thrown off the road or kidnapped?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"I told you that you couldn't give up. That was the deal, remember?"
"I remember," she kissed him, leaning her forehead against his. "Tell me about the Rolls Royce, Castle."
"We're going to go to the airport tonight in style. I thought it made more sense than my Ferrari."
"Can I get a few more shots with the family and the maid of honor?" The photographer called out. "Martha, Alexis, Jim, Lanie? Can I have you gather around Kate and Rick? Thank you. I promise that this will be the last of the candid photos. I'll take more at the reception."
Back at the reception area, the DJ was putting the finishing touches on his setup when he spotted Kate and Castle in the distance. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to present Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle."
"Why do I feel like running and hiding?" Kate leaned into Castle's shoulder.
"I know that you hate the attention. Roll with it. It's only for a few hours."
"I know. I love you."
"I love you, too." Castle smiled when he heard the first chords of their song begin to play. "I think the DJ is playing our song. Dance with me?"
Castle led Kate out to the small dance floor as 'In My Veins' began to play.
'Nothing goes as planned, everything will break
People say goodbye, in their own special way
All that you rely on and all that you can fake
Will leave you in the morning but find you in the day
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away 'cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Everything will change, nothing stays the same
And nobody's perfect, oh, but everyone's to blame
All that you rely on, and all that you can save
Will leave you in the morning and find you in the day
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away 'cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Everything is dark, it's more than you can take
But you catch a glimpse of sunlight shinin'
Shinin' down on your face, oh your face
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away 'cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
"This is so perfect," Kate's lips met Castle's in a soft kiss as the song ended, and she could hear people clapping behind her.
"Yeah, it is."
When they came off the dance floor, Kate spotted Evelyn Montgomery in the distance. "Castle, there's Evelyn."
Evelyn beamed when she saw them approaching. "Congratulations, you two!" She hugged Kate first, and then Castle. "I was telling the boys earlier how happy Roy would be to see the two of you married and happy."
"One of the last things he told me was that I wasn't having any fun until Castle came along. I miss him," Kate's eyes misted over.
"So do I. Every day. But life goes on. It's beautiful out here," Evelyn looked around.
"Yes, it is," Kate agreed.
"K-Bex!" Kate heard a familiar squeal behind her. She turned to find Madison Queller standing there.
"Maddie!" Kate embraced her former best friend.
"What did I tell you? I knew that you were hot for Castle! Why didn't you call me when he popped the question?"
"Because I was in DC."
"I would've catered, you know."
"I know. It's great to see you. We'll have to catch up when Castle and I get back from our honeymoon."
"Where is he taking you?"
"Bora Bora."
"Wow," Maddie nodded in approval. "Are you going to be working on those little Castle babies while you're there?"
'Wow, Ryan wasn't kidding,' Kate thought to something Ryan had said a few months earlier. "We're still talking about that. Maddie, I need to catch up to where Castle is. I'll call you when I get back in the states."
Kate walked over to where Castle was chatting with his poker buddies. After greeting them, she pulled Castle away so that they could chat and mingle with their other guests as they made their way to their table.
As they sat at their table later, Kate began to feel like she was holding court. All the attention was making her head spin. Although she was starving, she felt like she couldn't eat a thing.
Sitting on her father's other side, Alexis looked around at friends and family who had gathered for the event. As the best man, she knew that she was required to make a speech. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It wasn't like she'd never given a speech before. Finally, she rose to her feet, and tapped a spoon against her water glass. A hush fell over the crowd as Alexis took a deep breath.
"I was designated to be my father's best man, and I was told that it falls on me to give a speech of some kind. First, thank all of you for joining my dad and Kate on their special day. The last few days have been a little crazy with having to suddenly change the venue. I want to congratulate my dad and Kate. This day has been a long time coming. Kate, I know that you love my dad as much, if not more, than I do. And dad, I know that you've loved Kate for far longer than any of us will ever know. I wish the both of you all the happiness in the world. I love you both very much."
The three of them embraced as Kate saw Lanie come to her feet. "I'm not a public speaker, so I'll keep this short. I'll just say that I have been waiting for this day for almost seven years, and I'm glad that it's finally here. Kate, I wish you every happiness in the world with your Writer-Boy—"
"Man," Lanie and Kate said together as the guests laughed.
"And Castle, remember what I told you about ever hurting my girl here."
"Rib spreaders and sharp instruments. Got it," Castle nodded solemnly.
"Congratulations, Rick and Kate. I mean that with all my heart."
Later, Jim led Kate out onto the dance floor for the father daughter dance. "What was your emergency?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your emergency? I just remembered it. When Lanie called and told me about the dress, she mentioned that you were out of town on an emergency. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." Kate knew that she had to think fast. Luckily, she still had training from her teenage years. Her father could never learn about Rogan. Never. "A college friend was in a jam. I went upstate to help him out."
"A friend from NYU?"
"No. It was someone that I went to Stanford with. We got it all straightened out."
"That's good. Castle went with you?"
"Yeah. I asked him to so that he made sure that I was kept on track. Plus, he has this thing about small towns. He likes to check out as many as he can for future chapters of his books."
"That makes sense. That way he can make sure he's authentic."
"Exactly."
"Have I mentioned how proud I am? This is one of the happiest days of my life."
"Mine, too," Kate smiled.
"I understand that Rick is taking you to Bora Bora."
"Yeah, we're leaving later tonight. We're going to Paris first for a few days, and then we're off to Tahiti, and then finally to Bora Bora. Have you ever been?"
"To Tahiti, yes. To Bora Bora, no. I took your mom to Tahiti right after we got married. You're going to love it."
"I'm surprised that you haven't asked me what I know you're dying to ask me."
"Which is?"
"When we're going to make you a grandfather."
"I won't deny that I'm looking forward to that, but I know that it will happen when you're ready. In the meantime, I hope that Rick doesn't mind if I spoil Alexis a little."
"Believe me, he will be delighted. So will Alexis. I'm just glad that you and Martha are finally getting along."
"I just know not to discuss baseball with her."
They both chuckled as they continued to dance.
Later on, Castle took Kate back to the dance floor. "We should start getting ready to leave for the city," he told her. "We have a flight to catch."
"This has been the most magical night, Castle. I feel a little like Cinderella."
"Don't worry. I won't change into a pumpkin at midnight."
"I hope not," she kissed him. "We'll cut the cake and do the bouquet and garter when we come off the floor."
"Okay," he grinned.
"You just want an excuse to go under my dress," she slapped at his chest.
"Guilty as charged, Detective."
***CCC***
Kate dragged Lanie into the house to help her change out of her dress. "Did you even try to catch the bouquet?" Kate asked when they went into the master bedroom.
"Kind of, but your friend Maddie almost tackled me to the ground. I didn't want to go viral, so I let her have it."
"Can you believe that she asked me when Castle and I are going to make little Castle babies?" Kate's voice was muffled by the bathroom door.
"Well, I'm kind of curious about that, too," Lanie admitted.
"We're not even in the talking stage of that," Kate opened the bedroom door, dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark shirt. "Can you do me a favor and take the dress to the cleaners tomorrow and then give it back to my dad?"
"Sure. Girl, I'm gonna miss you!" Lanie hugged Kate tightly.
"I'll be back before you know it. Do you want me to bring you anything back?"
"If you can get a sexy Polynesian guy in your luggage, I'd appreciate it."
"Yeah, I'll work on that."
Kate went out the front of the house, and joined Castle as their wedding guests gathered around, blowing bubbles around the couple as they walked toward the waiting Rolls Royce. The driver helped first Kate, and then Castle into the backseat before he walked back to the driver's side and got behind the wheel.
The car pulled slowly away as they heard the shouts of their guests fading away the further they got down the road.
"How long will it take us to get to their airport?" Kate asked.
"A little over an hour. We're all checked in, so all we have to do is go to our gate. Once we're on the plane, we can sleep all the way to Paris."
"I'm too excited to sleep."
"Me, too, but I'm sure that we'll still want to get a little sleep at some point."
"I can't believe that we're married, Castle. I thought this day would never get here. Especially after the last few days. My dad was asking me what my emergency was."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him that an old college friend needed help. It wasn't a total lie. I'm sorry, Castle. I thought that I was smarter than that."
"Hey, you were young, and alcohol was involved. I admit that it makes me feel better knowing that you were once capable of being as stupid as I was in my youth."
"At least I didn't bring a cow to the roof of my school."
"Yeah, that was one of my finest moments."
"I would think that your finest moment would've been riding a police horse in the nude."
"I don't recommend that one. That saddle was uncomfortable on my naked thighs. Were you seriously trying not to burst out laughing when you met me the first time?"
"Yeah, it was rough."
"I love you, Mrs. Castle," he kissed her softly.
"I love you, too. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For getting me away from Rogan."
"Always."
A/N #3: I Googled the distance between the Hamptons and JFK. It's 80 miles, but I'm not sure exactly where Castle's house was located. The 80 miles was between East Hampton and JFK.
A/N #4: There will be a time jump for the next chapter. Simply because I know very little about Bora Bora, and I don't want to make things up. Hang on to your hats, because things are going to get very dramatic.
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