888. Chapter 888

After The Greater Good

Episode 6.19

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: it would be great and good to own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

"Dad! You have five hundred guests for the wedding?" Alexis asked, disbelievingly.

"No, Pumpkin, that's just the preliminary list. We're going to be doing a lot of trimming. We'll be trimming that down a lot." Castle looked at his fiancé. "Right?"

"Either that or we'll need to consider Yankee Stadium as a wedding venue."

Castle smiled and got a dreamy look on his face. "Yankee Stadium! Of course, I hadn't thought of that. You can throw out the first pitch and I'll….."

"No!" Beckett said quickly. "That's another place were not getting married. No space rockets, no roller coasters, no baseball stadiums, just a nice traditional wedding venue. Understood?"

Castle sighed and looked unhappy. "You take all the adventure out of getting married, Beckett."

"If you want adventure, try suggesting something like that to me again. I'll give you all the adventure you can handle and then some." Then she leaned in closely and whispered, "And if you agree on a nice, traditional wedding venue, you'll also get all the adventure you can handle and lots more."

"Ew." Alexis said, crinkling her nose. "But I have one person to add to the list, if it's okay with you two."

"One of your friends, Pumpkin? You know we've been trying to keep this down to a manageable number. I'm sure that…."

"It's Mom." Alexis blurted out.

"Mom? As in Meredith?" Castle asked, trying to disguise the unease he felt.

"She called me and asked me if you'd invite her. She is my mom and she seems to want to come very badly."

Castle turned and looked at Beckett. "Beckett, what do you say?"

Kate shook her head. "I do not get involved in your family."

"You are marrying me. That seems to indicate a rather high level of involvement. You are my family, Kate, very much so. How do you feel about it?"

Kate had a brief flashback to the bridesmaid who'd tried to ruin Kyra Blaine's wedding, but didn't say anything about that. She looked at Castle and then at Alexis. Alexis seemed to want her mother there. Kate took a deep breath. "I'm fine with having Meredith here."

Castle tried not to show his disappointment, so he smiled. "Okay. One more person won't be that big a deal. "Then he frowned. "She doesn't have a plus one or something, does she?"

Alexis was all business-like. "No, just herself. And she got a part in some UCLA Film School project that's gone viral, so she can pay for her own airline ticket and hotel room." Alexis made a notation on her clipboard.

That night Rick and Kate snuggled together in bed. "Something wrong?" Kate asked.

"No. Meredith is coming to my wedding. What could possibly be wrong? She's going to think the wedding is all about her and she'll be devastated to finds that the groom's first wife is not the center of attention, so she'll try to make herself the center of attention."

"Don't worry, Castle. I'll protect you. I'll slip my back up Glock into my garter."

"Thanks." He replied glumly.

"Cheer up. Tomorrow we're going to the bakery to select the cake. You'll love that."

The next morning they walked into Haute So Sweet bakery and ran into a familiar face.

"Jacinda?" Castle said, hoping he was wrong.

"Rick Castle? You're the Castle of the Castle-Beckett wedding." Jacinda smiled and leaned over to shake Rick's hand, displaying too much of her boobs for Kate's tastes. "And you're the real life Nikki Heat." She said, smiling at Kate.

"Right. And I still carry a gun."

"I thought you were a flight attendant?" Rick said.

"I got tired of walking up and down an aisle getting my bottom pinched. A friend of mine offered me this job. Now, if you'll come with me, we have a number of cakes for you to choose from."

As far as Kate was concerned, Jacinda was offering more than just some baked goods as samples. Every time she came near Rick, she seemed to be shoving her boobs or her ass at him. Luckily, Castle was able to hide behind Kate for most of the taste testing.

When they had made their selection, Jacinda smiled. "I just want you two to know that I'll be handling this order personally. So, if you have any questions or problems, give me a call." She handed Rick her business card.

As they drove away, Rick looked over at Kate. "Are you upset?"

"Yes." Kate snapped. "I keep thinking of that case of the murdered baker who was in with the Irish mob and how he ended up in a vat of chocolate dough."

"You know I love you. Only you. Right?"

Kate said nothing for a second or two. "I know. And I don't blame you. It's just that you've been involved with two women that will be at our wedding and I…." Kate stopped talking. "And I won't worry about it. We love each other. I know that."

When they got back to the loft, they found Gina waiting for them.

"Richard, I am so happy that you picked Ricardo as your photographer and videographer. He does all of Black Pawn's PR photos. It'll be so convenient."

Castle looked back and forth between his past and future wives. "Gina, this isn't a publicity shoot. This is a wedding."

Gina nodded. "A wedding between our star author and his muse. It's too romantic for words. The press will love it."

"Gina, this is not a publicity gimmick. I'm getting married. There will be nothing for the press."

"You haven't read your contract with us." She pulled out a sheaf of paper and handed it to him. "I've highlighted the relevant parts."

Castle read over the document. "But I signed this when I wanted my name and picture on as many Page Sixes as I could get. That's changed now."

"But you never changed the contract. Rick. Don't worry. I'll be there to see that Ricardo isn't too intrusive."

"You'll be there?" Kate asked, her eyes narrowing.

"It's in the contract."

Gina air kissed both of them and left.

"So both of your ex-wives will be at our wedding." Kate said flatly.

"But I'll just be marrying you." Castle said hopefully.

"We need to get to bed so that we can go see the caterer tomorrow." A thought suddenly occurred to Kate. "You don't have a third ex-wife out there, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Good. Because I think I need some reassurance as to how much you love me. Shall we start with a shower together?"

Kate needed reassurance when they showed up at the caterer's the next day. "Kyra?" Rick gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"My job. We hardly were able to get a penny back from the money Uncle Teddy stole from Greg. Most of it went to a lavish lifestyle. So, I've had to get a job." Kyra smiled at both of them. "I just knew that you two would get together. I'm surprised it took so long."

Kate did her best to smile. "You'd be surprised how many things can come up in your life that throw everything off."

"Well, let me show you two our menus. I'm sure we can find something you'll both love."

Kate was thinking of fried Kyra, but said nothing.

Once the menu was set they headed back to the precinct. "Castle, I need to get in at least a half a day's work today. I can't take too much vacation time before the wedding."

They both got off the elevator and stopped. "It can't be." They said together.

There, sitting on Esposito's desk was Serena Kay. She smiled when she saw the two. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle. I hear that you're getting married."

"Good news sure does travel fast." Kate muttered.

Serena walked over to them. "You probably haven't heard, but Michael Connolly had a Picasso stolen from his home. It's too well known to even try to fence, so the thieves are holding it for ransom. I'm here to keep an eye on Connolly and make sure he follows the instructions he gets. I know where he'll be staying, but I need to know your venue. And don't worry, I'll be discrete. You won't even know I'm around."

"I'm sure I'll know she's around." Kate said after Serena had left.

"Me too." Castle said.

"We may have to get a different venue than the ones we've been thinking of."

"Why?" Castle asked, frowning. "We haven't found one we just love yet, but the ones we have looked at aren't bad."

"We may need to get married someplace that has no extradition treaty with the US."

"Why?"

"Because if Ellie Monroe shows up, I'll shoot her."

Rick smiled. "If she shows up, I'll need to borrow your back up Glock."

They looked at each other and laughed.