20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Castle kissed his wife again. "Mmmmm. Definitely focused on the wedding night."

"So, do you have a plan of escape?"

"I could scoop you up and carry you out while I tell everybody we're leaving."

"You got a Plan B with a little more class?" she asked with a little smirk.

"You didn't like that one?"

"You can carry me to the bed once we're in our room."

"Plan A for the room, then. Plan B for here…with more class, huh?" He took her hand and walked toward the dance floor. "One more dance, I'll thank everybody for being here, and we leave."

"Still a little obvious, but better."

Pulling her into his arms for a last dance, he murmured close to her ear, "It's our wedding night. Everybody knows what we'll be doing anyway, so we might as well say our fare-thee-wells and go enjoy it."

The music was slow, and they held each other close and swayed easily to the music. He kissed her temple and whispered, "I love you." just before the music ended. When they left the dance floor, he kept her hand in his and took her to the middle of the room.

"Ladies and gentleman," he called out in his booming baritone and waited until he had everyone's attention. "Kate and I would like to thank you for coming to help us celebrate our marriage. Both of us have enjoyed and appreciated your company, and we hope you're having a good time. All of you are welcome to continue to enjoy the party, but Mrs. Castle and I are going to leave you now."

In the midst of the applause and congratulations from the guests, Kate noticed a discussion between Ryan, Esposito, the mayor, and one of the writers…and money was changing hands. She pointed it out to Castle before they walked the short distance to the men to satisfy their curiosity.

Looking directly at Ryan and Esposito, Kate asked, "What are you betting on now?" Esposito opened his mouth, but she interrupted with, "Don't even try to deny it."

The mayor had the decency to look a bit sheepish, but he was still smiling. Neither Ryan nor Esposito said a word; but the fourth man, the writer, wasn't bashful at all.

"We saw Rick kiss you a little while ago and go back for more. We wondered how long it would take him to tell us you're leaving, and all of a sudden there was a bet." He shrugged and grinned.

Castle saw the humor. Kate covered her face with her hands and then peeked out from between them.

"So, who won?" she asked.

"Detective Ryan here won again," the mayor answered, clapping a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "We're not sure we're betting with him anymore."

"Must be my weekend," Ryan said, waving his money with a big grin on his face.

"Well, enjoy it," Castle told him. "We're leaving now. Goodnight, gentlemen."

The couple was intercepted with hugs from their families, and applause as well as a few hoots followed them as they left. Closing the door behind them, they smiled at each other. Castle lifted his wife's hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger as they walked to the elevator, the hotel staff members smiling behind them at the sight.

"We're married," he said contentedly.

"I like it already."

"Does it feel different to you?" he asked, looking at her lovingly.

Still holding his hand, she put her free hand on his arm and smiled at him. "I don't think I could love you any more than I already did, but it feels like we're stronger."

"Yeah, it does."

The elevator doors opened and they rode to the top floor, making out gently all the way there, and went directly to the honeymoon suite where they were blessedly alone.

"You do look like a princess," Castle told her, their arms wrapped loosely around the other's waist. "The dress is beautiful."

"It made my dad cry. He was stoic, but I saw the tears. He said I looked just like my mom. But he wanted me to wear it. He said nothing would have made her happier."

"Dads are going to want to cry at their daughters' weddings anyway. That couldn't have made it easy to resist."

"No, probably not. You look like my ruggedly handsome prince, too."

"Yeah?" he asked flirtatiously.

"Absolutely."

"So, if you took off my tie, would I still look like your ruggedly handsome prince?"

She tugged at the ends of his bow tie and pulled it away, unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, and looked at him appraisingly. "Yeah. Still works for me."

That started the slow, teasing removal of clothing and the gentle lovemaking that echoed their first time together. Afterward they lingered in bed a while, whispering endearments and talking softly of their future. A leisurely shower followed, and then they put on the night clothes they had each intended for their wedding night.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go," Castle teasingly observed, picking up his phone and choosing music from a playlist.

"There's always later," Kate reminded him, squeezing his backside.

"Dance with me. We won't be offending an audience here. We can dance as close as we want…or as dirty," he added with a suggestive smirk.

He chose slow, sensual music, and their dance followed suit. The pajamas and negligee became a part of their next joining, making a game of it; and then they fell asleep, pleasantly exhausted.

The next morning , after an enthusiastic round three, they enjoyed another shower together, ordered room service, and had breakfast in bed.

"I think we gave appropriate honor to the wedding night, Mr. Castle," Kate observed as they sat propped side-by-side on pillows against the headboard.

"I believe we did, Mrs. Castle." He paused and took her left hand in his, rubbing his thumb across her wedding ring. "It feels good that you decided to take my name."

"Even if I still call myself Detective Beckett?"

"It would be confusing at the precinct anyway. Too many Castles. And you've built your professional reputation on that name."

"Thank you for understanding that."

"I was brought up by an independent woman, and I've seen how important it is to her…although she does seem to allow herself to depend on my income lately."

"And you know you love being able to spoil her. You're a big softy when it comes to your family."

"Which now legally includes you. Speaking of which, there are legal things we need to talk about later in the week."

"I don't know if I'm ready for that." Stopping for a moment as if weighing her words, she asked, "Was your attorney angry that we didn't have a pre-nup?"

"I told him you offered and I declined. He thought I was crazy, but he hasn't met you yet. He'll understand then. But we can talk about that next week. I made an appointment for us on the Monday morning after Christmas. The plane leaves for our honeymoon on Tuesday, so all of that will be settled before we go. Still willing to live in my world? It's a little late to back out now." He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close consolingly.

"As long as you're in your world. I'll learn to cope with the rest of it."

"I love you, Mrs. Castle."

"I love you, too, Mr. Beckett," she responded mischievously."

"Mr. Beckett is your father," he answered just as mischievously. "You don't really want to think 'Mr. Beckett' when I do this, do you?" And he kissed her very thoroughly, involving tongue and roving hands.

"I love you, Mr. Castle," she growled before returning the kiss with the same enthusiasm.

They stayed in their little bubble in the hotel room that morning, finally going out for lunch in the hotel's restaurant. Castle insisted on scouring the hotel's small shops for something they could keep as a memory of their wedding night, and they finally settled on a nicely framed picture of the ballroom from its original days of glory. Anyone else would see it as a souvenir of their wedding. The two of them would also see a memory of what went on in the honeymoon suite afterward.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in their room, enjoying their time together before going back to family that night and to the precinct the next day.

xxxxx

As they dressed for work the following morning, Castle said, "We need to finish decorating for Christmas. Alexis and Mother took some things out, but with everything else going on, I haven't done anything at all. We'll tone it down this year, but you'll still experience a Castle Christmas."

Kate looked stunned.

"What's wrong?"

"With everything that was happening, I hadn't thought to tell you. I'm working on Christmas Day."

"On Christmas?"

"Dad and I haven't had Christmas since Mom died. After the decorations were put away that year, we haven't opened them again, or exchanged gifts, or…"

"Did you volunteer for the Christmas shift?"

"I have since I was a rookie. I wasn't doing any celebrating, so I thought I could let somebody else enjoy their family. Keep watch for them. My way of acknowledging the day."

"Kate." He took her into his arms and held her.

"I'm sorry I didn't think to tell you. Christmas has been so far off my radar for so long that I didn't think about it. So you're big on Christmas around here?"

"Yeah, we are."

"I should have known my man-child would be a big fan of Christmas. I'll have to miss this one. It's too late to back out now. That would leave somebody's kids with a parent who would have to work at the last minute because I want to be with mine. It wouldn't be fair. I'm really sorry."

"We always have our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. Dress up for it and everything."

She pulled back to look at him. "I can be here for that. Do you open presents after dinner?"

"No. Well, maybe one each. We usually get up early on Christmas morning for that. Open gifts, have breakfast, and be lazy for the rest of the day. What time do you have to be in?"

"Eight."

"We could have breakfast and gifts early, Mother and Alexis could go back to sleep, and I could go with you to the precinct."

"No. You should spend Christmas with your family."

"We'll argue about that later in the week." He paused for a moment. "Do you think your Dad would like to come to dinner on Christmas Eve, or would it bring back too many sad memories?"

"I don't know. Until this year, we hadn't had an actual Thanksgiving dinner since then, either…unless you count meeting someplace that happened to be open on Thanksgiving. But he seemed to enjoy being here. We could ask him."

"I want him to feel like a part of our family, too."

"I know, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."

"Your dad and I get along well. Not that much effort needed on my part. The poker crowd liked him, too. I think he could join in there, too, if he's interested."

"We'll work it out in moderation, Rick. Give him a little time."

xxxxx

When Castle and Beckett left the elevator on Monday morning, they were met with a shout from somewhere in the bullpen asking, "Are you married now?"

"Yes, we are," Castle answered, and they held up their hands, showing off their rings.

Applause followed, and someone shouted "Let's see a kiss." That quickly turned into a chant of "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss…"

Castle didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms around Beckett and gave her a kiss that brought more applause. Beckett grabbed his lapels and pulled him back for another one, and he stole another quick little peck just for for show.

"Did everybody see that?" he asked. "Cause I could do it again if you missed it." There was noise and laughter before Beckett told them, "Show's over, folks. That's all you get." Then she waved at them and sat down at her desk.

Montgomery had been watching from his office and asked, loud enough everyone could hear, "So is it now Castle and Detective Castle?"

Kate stood again so she could be heard. "I'm Kate Castle, but I'll continue to be Detective Beckett…save all of you some confusion."

"You'll need to turn the paperwork in to HR if you're legally Castle now," he reminded her.

"I already have the forms. The change of address needs to go in, too. I'll take care of it before we leave on Friday."

"Congratulations to both of you. It was a beautiful wedding and a great party. Evelyn talked about it all the way home."

"Thank you," the couple answered together.

Montgomery shook his head and said, "Get to work." before going back into his office.

The week went by quickly. Kate, and Castle did their Christmas shopping for Alexis and Martha one night, and went out separately another night for a couple of little things for each other. Jim and Kate braved Christmas Eve dinner with the Castle family and all the decorations that had somehow found their way into the loft over the past week, and after dinner they each opened one gift. It was an enjoyable evening for all of them. Jim's gift to his daughter and new son-in-law was a nicely framed picture he had taken on his phone at the wedding reception. The couple was about to cut the wedding cake. They were jointly holding the knife near the cake and looking at each other, smiling. It was one of those moments that glowed with happiness; and when Jim saw it, he decided to have it printed and framed. He kept one for himself and had one printed for them.

"Can this go on my desk. Is that okay?" Castle asked Kate.

"As long as it faces where I can see it, too."

The next morning, the family was up at six-thirty to open gifts and have breakfast. The last of several gifts Kate gave her husband was a bright red remote control helicopter, and he was as excited as if he were six years old.

Martha and Alexis laughed, and Alexis asked, "How did you know?"

"We saw one in a store display the night we went shopping last week. He told me he used to have a blue one like it, but he got distracted and crashed it. I knew I had to go back and get it. I wanted to see him in action."

In no time, the helicopter was buzzing around, hovering over things and landing on furniture.

"Have fun," Kate told her husband. "I'm going to start breakfast."

"I'll help," Alexis volunteered.

Before long, everybody was involved in the preparation, and they sat down to enjoy the meal.

Leave the dishes, Dad. I'll take care of it when I decide to wake up again. Grams and I won't miss you for a while, so you and Kate can get ready for work."

"Thanks Pumpkin."

"I tried to tell him he should stay home," Kate told her. "You could try using the puppy eyes. That might keep him here."

"He's made up his mind. I don't think you're going to get rid of him...and we really won't miss anybody until at least lunchtime. Grams and I are going back to bed now and staying there until we feel like getting up. And then we all usually play with the new toys and watch Christmas movies. I'll practice the new video game so I have a head start on him."

"No fair," they heard as Castle came to see why Kate wasn't getting dressed.

She hugged Martha and Alexis before they went back upstairs and apologized to them again for the change in their normal Christmas plans; then she went to get ready for work. By the time she was dressed, Castle had packed some things into a couple of large gift bags but wouldn't tell her what was in them. He quietly put them in the backseat of Kate's car when they left.

"Now that we're here, are you going to tell me what you brought with you?"

"Patience, my love. First, if we can't be at home for Christmas, I've brought Christmas to us." He took a fully decorated eighteen inch tree out of one bag, put it on her desk with a flourish, and turned on the battery powered twinkling lights. That was followed with a tiny, bright red tree skirt to complete the picture. Then he took out a small canister of the cookies Alexis had baked a couple of days before and placed it beside the tree.

"I love you, Rick Castle."

"I love you, too, Mrs. Castle."

"So what's in the other bag?"

"My new helicopter."

"Castle! You can't play with that here."

"Why not? I'll even share. If there aren't any calls for a while, people are going to be bored. And I ordered food for everybody from a place that's open. I can fly them an announcement. Most of them are guys, and it's a gadget. They'll love it."

Beckett just groaned.

The phone on her desk rang, and the desk sergeant reported that there was a guy downstairs saying he had a delivery for Castle. "Thanks, Markham. Send him on up." Turning to her husband, she said drily, "Looks like the food is here."

Castle met the delivery man at the elevator door, took him to the break room, and helped him set everything out. Then he took a post-it from Beckett's desk, wrote something on it, took out his helicopter, and stuck it on the door. "Hey, Lupinski," he called across the bull-pen, "Head's up. Incoming."

The helicopter rose from the desk, flew high across the bullpen and landed perfectly on Lupinski's desk, comments in varying versions of "What the hell is that?" following it all the way.

Lupinski laughed as he read the message on the door. "It says there's food in the break room," he called out to the rest of the bullpen, which emptied quickly. As he walked past Castle, he slapped him on the arm and chuckled. "Damnedest way I ever got a message, Castle. You gonna let me try it later?"

"Sure."

"You get that for Christmas?"

"Yep. Beckett gave it to me."

Stopping in the door of the break room where the others could hear him, Lupinski exclaimed, "Beckett gave you a toy helicopter for Christmas?"

"Yeah. She knew I'd like it."

"I used to have cars," Donaldson said. "Never tried a helicopter. Do I get to try it out?"

"Right after me," Lupinski warned. "I already got first dibs."

Beckett sat at her desk and smiled. Her husband had already brightened everybody's day. And grown men were lining up to try out the new toy. The morning was uneventful, and the holiday crew was looking for things to keep them busy. Beckett even took a turn with the helicopter.

It was quiet for a while, but a couple of calls came in later in the morning, taking two sets of partners out of the precinct. Castle and Beckett took one of the calls and asked Lupinski along.

"We'll be gone all of next week," Beckett told him, so it would be good to have somebody else see everything now. I'll do the paperwork," she promised.

"As long as you're doing the paperwork," he answered, putting on his coat.

They didn't get back until mid-afternoon, and Kate went to the computer to start the reports while Castle and Lupinski started a murder board.

"I'm kind of new here, and I gotta admit I used to wonder if you were really as useful to Beckett's team as they say; but that was some good work today. You ever want to hang out with somebody else, let me know."

"Thanks," Castle answered, glancing over at Beckett as they organized a timeline. She didn't look away from her work, but she was wearing a proud smile.

They were back at the loft by six, and Alexis had hot cocoa on the stove.

"Another Christmas tradition," Castle explained. Somebody makes hot cocoa, everybody finds food for themselves, and we put in a DVD. I meant it when I said we're lazy on Christmas."

"Sounds good to me. What are we watching?" she asked Alexis, and went to get mugs to help with her new tradition.