115. Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Opening the door, Kate said with a smile. "Meagan. This is a nice surprise. Come in. The wedding is only a few days away. Is there anything I can do to help? I have Friday off if you need anything."

"No. It's a small wedding, Bradford is efficient, and I have enough time on my hands these days that I'm keeping up with the demands. My siblings and their families will be here tomorrow night, and their hotel rooms are already booked. It's been so long that it almost feels like I've never done this before. And I admit to being a little nervous."

"Would a glass of wine help? There's a nice bottle already opened. I was waiting to pour some for Rick."

"Where's Jamie? He's usually bounding out from somewhere when the door opens."

"Alexis and JD had dinner with us and took him out for ice cream. Jamie dumped part of Rick's dinner on him trying to climb into his lap. He even managed to aim some of it toward his head, so Rick is in the shower shampooing the lasagna residue out of his hair." She poured wine for both of them, handed one to Meagan, and asked, "What's making you nervous?"

They sat at the breakfast bar, as they had done often, and Meagan hesitated a moment before she said, "You?"

"Me? Have I said something or done something? If I have, it wasn't intentional."

"No. Nothing like that. I know that, until me, you've never seen your father with anybody but your mother. Before it's too late, I just needed to ask if you're really okay with this…with us being married."

"I'll admit it isn't easy to think about Dad being married to anyone but Mom; but if it's going to happen, I'm glad it's you. I already know I like having you around, so it's easier than having to break in somebody I don't know." She bumped Meagan's shoulder with hers playfully. "I would never ask the two of you not to be married…and even if I did something that crazy, neither one of you should listen to me. Both of you have been alone too long, and I'm happy for you. You're good for each other.

"Okay. So after next week, I'm actually going to be your stepmother." Meagan took a sip almost big enough to qualify as a swig of her wine. "God that feels weird."

"Tell me about it." Kate laughed and took another sip herself. "Don't worry. I won't be calling you Mommy or asking you to braid my hair." She stopped and chuckled. "It's gonna feel strange to know I'm sparring with my stepmother."

Meagan laughed. "You and Castle have put together an odd family." Sounding serious again, she asked, "Is there anything you want to talk about, any lines you want to draw, anything you want to clear up before the wedding?"

Kate was quiet for a moment, seeming to be ill at ease.

"I know that look. What's on your mind? Talk to me."

"Jamie. He calls you Meagan. I'd like to stick with that. My mother…she should have been able to be here to see him. She would have loved him so much, and she can't be here to be his grandmother. She'll never be able to hold him, or feel his sweet hugs and kisses, or read to him, or take him to the park. He'll never have the chance to know her except through what I tell him." She sighed sadly. "It's different to hear him call Martha 'Grams'. She really is his grandmother, but…"

"But it would hurt too much to hear him call me Grandma Meagan?"

There was a resigned sigh. "I know it sounds silly, but yeah. It would. It seems wrong for Mom to not even own the title posthumously."

Meagan put her hand over Kate's and said, "It isn't silly. It's perfectly understandable. I promise I'll never call myself his grandmother. I'll just be his Meagan, but I'll treat him like a grandchild because I love him as if he were mine. When he's old enough to understand, we'll explain it to him.

"Thank you," Kate answered softly.

"That's how friends work."

They finished their wine in companionable silence, and Kate excused herself to let her husband know they had company.

Before Meagan left, Castle was back in sweats and a T-shirt, and Alexis and JD were back with Jamie. They all talked for a little while before the extra three went home. Then Kate and Rick put their son to bed and snuggled up together in their room.

She told him about her talk with Meagan, and he answered, "I'm glad she understood."

"Me, too. I feel like I'm being so high maintenance. I hated to bring up the grandmother thing, but…"

"I know, but it's good you cleared the air about it…and good that she wanted to," he sympathized, rubbing his hand over her upper arm and pulling her closer. "And as for high maintenance, you've already experienced my own father/daughter issues."

"It's going to take a long time to get over her birthday, isn't it?"

"It wasn't just a birthday. It was my newly married daughter's twenty-first birthday. I had always thought I'd take her out for a nice dinner and have a champagne toast with her for her twenty-first…have a special evening with just the family. I hadn't counted on her being married before then, but I wouldn't have tried to leave JD out. She's been married less than three months, and decided she should celebrate her twenty-first birthday with only her new husband. And it wasn't even his idea. It was hers. I'm already obsolete in her life."

"You know JD's twenty-second birthday was during their honeymoon. That was just the two of them, and she wanted her own first birthday after their wedding to be just the two of them. That just happened to be her twenty-first. It was something special between them. We've had some of those moments." She kissed his chest and traced little patterns on it with her fingertips. "And you're not obsolete in her life. She was here for dinner tonight, wasn't she…and they came for dinner the night before her birthday so she could share some of it with you. She's always going to love you."

"My mind knows that, but my heart misses knowing my little girl is still mine. It isn't the same. She doesn't even use my name anymore. She's a Farnsworth now. At least your dad gets to hear his name attached to your professional life. I had to introduce her to someone last week, and she introduced herself before I could drag her new name from my mouth. I nearly choked on it."

"I'm sorry, Babe. I know it's still hard for you."

"Thanks for not laughing at me or telling me how stupid I am."

"As patient as you are with my mommy issues? I wouldn't dare."

"We're both a little bit of a mess, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but we get each other through it."

"Yeah, we do." After a short moment, he said, "At the end of this month, we'll have a married twenty-one year old daughter and an almost potty trained twenty-one month old son. How did that happen?"

Kate grinned against his chest and answered, "Well when a mommy and daddy are in love…"

His hand detoured south and swatted her bottom. "I think we've worked that part out pretty well. I just meant…"

"Where does the time go?"

"Yeah." He smoothed his hand over the spot he had just gently spanked and moved it back to her upper arm. Then he chuckled suddenly. "You know, it really is pretty funny that you'll be training and sparring with your stepmother. There are so many stories I could get out of that."

Kate laughed, too; then she told him about a couple of things that happened at work, he told her about an idea for the next chapter of Nikki Heat, and they shared some kisses before falling asleep in each other's arms.

xxxxx

The rest of the week at work ran smoothly. Beckett was beginning to feel more comfortable with her new position, and was only minimally concerned about taking Friday off. She had asked Esposito to cover for her and told him not to hesitate to call if there was an emergency.

On Thursday afternoon, however, her need to cover all bases before the bases were even in place took over. She explained what she needed Esposito to be aware of, left him meticulous lists of instructions, what reports were due on Friday, and who to contact if they weren't in a couple of hours before the end of shift.

"Beckett, just go home and enjoy your father's wedding tomorrow night. You're making me crazy. The place won't fall apart while you get your dad married, and if something I don't have the authority to handle comes up, I'll call you. Ryan and I have got your back. Don't you have a dinner with Meagan's family to get to tonight?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks for this, Javi."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go home and drive Castle crazy."

"Fine," she huffed and playfully backhanded his chest.

After he laughed and went back to his desk, Beckett picked up her things and went home to clean up and make herself more presentable before the rehearsal dinner.

Megan's family was as friendly as she was. The children, five of them, ages three to thirteen, ranged from shy to rascally, but there was no ill will or unnecessary attitude among them. They referred to the soon to be married couple as Aunt Meagan and Uncle Jim and seemed happy to see both of them. They all interacted with Jamie at one time or another during the meal, and the child oriented Castle clan enjoyed the children as well. One of Megan's sisters was a fan of Castle's books and was fascinated to meet him and the inspiration for Nikki Heat. Her brother had seen a couple of Martha's plays and an old TV series and was a bit awestruck to realize there was more than one celebrity at the table.

The subject of Halloween came up, and phones were passed around to show off costumes, some of them pretty creative; and there were compliments and laughter. Batman and Robin's run at the party was a big hit. Castle offered his help if they needed anything, and phone numbers were exchanged to avoid putting any more stress on the married couple if problems arose.

In the limo on the way home, Kate told Castle, "Meagan said her family was pleased to see that we weren't snobby about your books or Martha's acting. They were glad we were down to earth."

"Oops. Did they see the limo? At least it wasn't the stretch limo," he joked. "I liked them."

"I did, too." After a pause, she said, "It took me by surprise to hear Dad called 'Uncle Jim". I've never heard that from anybody but Aunt Theresa's daughter, and I haven't seen much of her since we were kids."

"Wonder if we'll end up adopting Meagan's family, too," Castle wondered out loud.

"Time will tell," Martha answered as she played gently with her sleepy grandson in his car seat. After a moment of quiet, she observed, "I like our eclectic, adopted family. There's always room for people you love."

"I guess that's where your son gets that big old heart of his," Kate answered, kissing her husband's cheek.

xxxxx

The day of the wedding was a beautiful, mild, sunny November day; and the family members milled around outside the church waiting for the wedding party to finish their preparations. The children were allowed some playtime before the service began in hopes of keeping them settled long enough for the event, parents all trying to keep them corralled and clean long enough for the service.

The small church was well over a hundred years old, the feeling of history and strength and welcome seeming to seep from its gray stone exterior. The congregation was small and consisted almost entirely of family. Meagan's two sisters were her attendants, and Jim's AA sponsor was his best man. John was there with Martha; and Meagan's brother, brother-in-law, and thirteen year old niece were collaborating to maintain control of four young children, including a lovable but rascally five year old instigator. JD served as the only usher for the small congregation; and once everyone was seated, he joined his wife, who was holding her little brother.

The church was decorated beautifully…simply, as Jim and Meagan had requested, but Bradford had raised simple to an art form. In keeping with the presence of a number of small children, the bride and groom planned a service with no extras. They had no one give away the bride, having the minister announce that they decided they were old enough and responsible enough to give themselves to each other, causing a little ripple of laughter. The ceremony was sweet and serene, and the room was filled with the love and support of family.

As the wedding party processed down the aisle, Kate smiled at her father from where she leaned against Rick. While waiting for JD to escort them out, Rick told his wife softly, "Your dad said he wanted to ask me to be best man, but he thought you might need me. He said he knew it would be hard for you, and I'd be the best man for you to lean on." His wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "How are you holding out?"

"Okay. And you're definitely the man for that job. But I'm sorry I took that moment from you and Dad."

"I'm exactly where I should be, Kate. I feel honored that another dad trusts me this much with his daughter." As JD reached them, Rick whispered, "Exactly where I should be." Kate was escorted out with Castle following, and they both hugged and congratulated the newly married couple. Then the little church again became a center of activity as the photographer took formal and informal pictures of every conceivable combination of family members. Afterward, they all went to the reception, which was held in a conference room at a quaint little hotel only a couple of blocks from the church.

"Bradford, how long have you known about this place?" Castle asked. "I had no idea it existed."

"Meagan and Jim found it on their own. After seeing the minister one morning, they had lunch here, asked to see suitable space for this, and loved the place. But I know it's here now, so it's on my list for small events. I love the original art deco touches, and it's still owned by the members of the same family who built it. They're great to work with."

"Thank you for everything…again."

"As usual, it's been a pleasure. I need to go and check on the music and the food. Enjoy."

The decor of the room was as simple and lovely as the church, and the service staff was excellent. The reception was set up as more of a buffet meal with space on one side of the room for children to behave like children, and music suitable for dancing played if anyone wanted to take advantage. It was low key and enjoyable for everyone.

When Jim saw Kate alone during one of the brief times that had happened, he went to her and asked, "How are you holding up, Katie Bug? I know this is hard for you."

"I admit to moments, but I'm happy for you, Dad. Second chances to find someone you can love are wonderful things." She paused and smiled. "Rick was honored that you thought of him as a best man, but he might be more honored that you trust him to be the best man to take care of me."

"I have since I met him the first time. Is Rick convinced yet that JD is the best man to take care of Alexis?"

"I'm sure he is, but he still whines about it lot."

"Jim laughed. "It's a father's prerogative. It gets better with time." After a brief moment, he said, "Meagan and I are going to leave in a few minutes. We have to be at the airport soon, but I needed to see you before we left."

With misty eyes, she said "I love you, Daddy," and gave him a tight hug.

"I love you, too, Baby Girl," he answered, hugging her just as tightly.

"Go," she told him. "Meagan is waiting."

He kissed her forehead and went to meet his new wife near the door where she had just said good-bye to her own family, and they waved to everyone as they left.

Castle walked up behind his wife and asked, "Still okay?"

She turned and leaned into his willing embrace. "Mom didn't get to be his one and done," she said at barely more than a whisper. But I know she would have been if Bracken hadn't taken it from them."

"I know. It isn't fair. It never will be. But Meagan was as alone as your dad. Maybe we were supposed to be the catalyst to get them together so they could have someone to fill the empty space while they live out their lives, even if it isn't the same kind of love they had before. There's a lot to be said for comfort and understanding and companionship."

She nodded. "I just needed a minute to feel sad that the universe could be so unfair."

"I know, Sweetheart. I know."

The party didn't last long after the guests of honor had left. Considering Meagan's family's travel time with small children, and the activity of the last couple of days for all of them, everyone was ready to go home and unwind.

Barring an emergency that required a captain's presence, Kate had the weekend off, and she and Castle had the intention of enjoying every minute of it.

xxxxx

Knowing Beckett as he did, Esposito had checked in with her on Friday night to let her know that the precinct hadn't blown up or flooded, nobody had gone berserk, and all the reports were in on time. He went down her lists and covered everything. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, she called in and checked with the desk Sergeant to be sure she wasn't missing anything important. Otherwise, things at home were normal.

Work up until Thanksgiving was uneventful. The holiday staff was smaller than normal, and Castle arranged to have a Thanksgiving spread sent to be set up in the conference room on the homicide floor for those on duty.

Beckett worked on the Friday following Thanksgiving, forgoing the trip to the tree farm with the family. That left Alexis protesting that she would be alone in making all those childish men behave when Jamie was the only one with a reasonable excuse for it. Beckett apologized but said that, under the present circumstances, she felt she had no choice. So, off and on all day, Alexis sent texts with pictures and videos…Jamie bundled up in his snow suit looking in awe at all the trees, several instances of three grown men being goofy, Castle and JD cutting down the large tree for the loft, Castle and John cutting another one for John's home, JD and Alexis cutting down a smaller tree for their apartment…all within the oversight of Orin, the same employee who had always helped the Castles with their trees. The last video was Jamie with Santa, and that was followed by a selfie where all of them were blowing Kate a kiss.

She smiled, wiped the moisture from her eyes and got back to work on new leave requests for the December holidays, concentrating first on those who had volunteered for duty on holidays and then those who wanted the time off. Sooner or later, with enough juggling, it would work out.