A/N: I don't have much of an excuse for the delay in writing this beyond 'I haven't really been feeling it lately', which I know is lame, but it might also be something a few of my fellow fic writers can identify with. Anyway, if you're still with me, I thank you.

A quick reminder that this is intended to by my (unlikely) version of how things might go down season finale wise.

Here goes...

Chapter 3: Together

Previously...

Before Kate can show Lanie the stunning pearl drop and diamond earrings Castle gave her the previous evening, or describe the engraved silver spoons he got them as a joint gift, the door to her room flies open with such force that it hits the rubber floor stopper behind and literally vibrates on its hinges.

Lanie and Kate both startle at the sudden intrusion, their eyes wide and their mouths slightly open as they observe the man blocking the entranceway.

He enters the doorway at speed in a kind of sideways skid, grabbing hold of the doorframe to prevent his leather soles from making anymore headway down the hall over the shiny, waxed surface of the floor.

"All is not lost," Castle proclaims breathlessly, suddenly realizing from the look on their faces that he may have startled the two women with his sudden appearance and lack of general preamble. But he's excited - excited to share - so he pushes on, hoping that they'll just catch up with him since they're both such crazy smart people.

A (so far) silent man in a black suit materializes by his side, their combined, solid presence blocking out all light and noise from the corridor beyond.

Castle turns his gaze on Kate. "Your dad is doing great, by the way. He just beat me at Rummy," he announces, glancing back along the hall towards Kate's dad's room.

His future father-in-law's room.

Kate and Lanie continue to stare but neither of them says anything.

"Oh, this is Frank, by the way," he finally has the presence of mind to add; the introduction falling a little short of Castle's usual high social standards, but then these are unusual circumstances. "Frank is the hospital chaplain."

Both women nod hello and wait for Castle to continue.

The writer rubs his hands together, suddenly a little nervous about explaining his plan. He feels so much is riding on it. He simply has to get it right because he only has one shot to sell his idea.

He clears his throat and cracks his knuckles. "So…the chapel is just two floors below us. Now they sometimes use that space for AA meetings on a Saturday night. Isn't that right, Frank?" he confirms with the chaplain, his newly co-opted sidekick.

The man nods piously but adds nothing verbal to Castle's rambling, breathless explanation.

"But...and here's the great part. We're in luck today because AA is combining with GA and NA for their monthly movie night down at the local Y."

Lanie sniggers at Castle's alphabet soup of an explanation, and a slow grin begins to spread on Kate's face too.

Castle pauses to take a breath, using the time to smooth his hands through his hair, which has been sticking up a little since he arrived at the hospital in a blind panic. He lowers his voice to a more intimate tone, addressing this next part to Kate alone. "Now, I know it's not exactly what you envisioned when we spent all those months trying to find the perfect venue, Kate, but—"

"We'll take it."

Her response is instantaneous and it silences him completely. He backs up, does a double take, glances at the celebrant again and then resumes his sales pitch, because his brain has yet to catch up with his hearing.

"The stained glass windows are really pretty and the hospital administrator said we can even have candles if we promise—"

"Rick, I said, we'll take it. We should take it," she nods vigorously, holding out her hands to him. "Definitely."

Lanie stands and moves out of the way, allowing Castle to get closer to Kate alongside the bed.

"Definitely? You're sure?" he asks, his own smile dissolving into view the longer his fiancé nods at him, his hands now clasped in hers.

"I think it's a great idea. Under the circumstances."

"You do?" asks Castle, his expression one of pure delight that he's able to do this for her – to put a smile back on her face and make her dream for this day come true out of the nightmare it so nearly became.

"What a story to tell our kids," she grins, squeezing his hands and raising them to her lips to kiss his knuckles. "Minus the serial killer part, obviously."

Castle nods in agreement, grinning like a lunatic. "Obviously," he agrees.

The hospital celebrant comes in and sits down with both of them to run over a few details – the limitations on the space they'll be working with, the lack of flowers, music restrictions etc.

But for all these drawbacks, there is a simplicity that accompanies these new plans and a calm serenity that radiates from the man himself; someone much more used to dealing with tragedy, to counseling the sick, the dying, those whose illness has made them question their faith or the purpose of their lives. Frank Sheppard is more used to supporting the newly bereaved than performing wedding services, and somehow that makes him perfect for this task and for this couple, whose lives have been and will continue to be touched by death in so many ways.

The simplicity of the event appeals to Kate too, since it refocuses everything on the true, deeper meaning of why they are marrying one another in the first place. The chaplain listens to their requests for certain readings and they inform him that they have written their own marriage vows. They agree that the ceremony will take place at six o'clock, subject to Kate and her dad being passed fit by the doctor to attend.

The room is cleared once the chaplain leaves to prepare the hospital chapel. Lanie reappears to take charge, banishing Castle from Kate's bedside so that he won't see the bride before the wedding this time, at least as a token nod to tradition.

Kate and Castle share a few final, quiet moments together before the writer obeys Lanie's orders to make himself scarce for a while.

"You're sure this is what you want?" asks Castle, carefully sitting down by her hip on the edge of the bed.

"Rick, I want us to be married. Today was the day we both chose. We shouldn't allow Jerry Tyson or anyone else to prevent us from doing that if we can help it. Right?" she asks, re-clasping both his hands in hers.

"But you're sure? There's no grand aisle to process down, our flowers…gone…I—"

Kate silences him with a quick clench of his fingers. "Hey, you'll be there and I'll be there, and that is all that really matters. We could go down to city hall and tie the knot at this point. I just want you. That's all today is about for me, Castle. Just you."

Castle bites his lip. "Your vows are going to make me cry, aren't they?" he asks, his expression so soft and emotion-filled already.

Kate just smiles, her gaze so tender and sympathetic.

"You make such a beautiful bride, just as I knew you would," he tells her, finally allowing himself a moment to take in the full effect of her preparations for their big day. "This dress is—"

"Ruined," sighs Kate, smoothing her hands down over the silver, beaded gown. Then she squares her shoulders and smiles bravely. "But never mind. This is about making a life together, a commitment to one another. Not dresses or flowers or anything else. Just you, Castle. You and me."

Lanie eventually reappears carrying a small make-up kit she seems to have secreted with her in her purse when she went on ahead to the church. Castle is ejected while she and Alexis set about touching up Kate's hair and repairing the damage done to her make-up during her fight with Kelly, when they struggled in the back of the limo.

A needle and thread (actually a #2 non-absorbable polyester suture and an eyed surgical needle that Lanie takes three attempts to thread) are procured from the nursing staff. Kate changes into a hospital gown so that the shoulder of her torn dress can be repaired.

The nurse comes in now and again to check on Kate, but they are largely left alone. Alexis takes care of her broken nail with a file and a buff, while Lanie sees to her wedding gown. The mood in the room is light and relaxed, the two women filling Kate in on all the gossip Castle missed as he stood nervously at the alter awaiting her arrival, too anxious to notice much about his surroundings or their guests for himself.

When they can't get the blood stain out of the white tulle skirt of her gown, Kate simply opts to remove the detachable skirt, turning her dress into a simple, figure hugging, silver beaded sheath of a gown that shows her silhouette off to perfection. The effect is more than stunning and more befitting an early evening wedding in the small, non-denominational chapel two floors below.

"You know, I think I like it better this way," says Lanie, standing back to admire their handiwork.

"Let's hope Castle likes it," says Kate, smoothing her hands a little nervously down the front of her dress.

"Honey, that man would marry you in a garbage bag with a hollowed out pumpkin on your head. Of course he's gonna love it. He loves you," she adds with a whisper and a conspiratorial smile.

Time passes quickly and with just a half-hour left until the rescheduled time of their wedding, a doctor comes in to assess Kate's fitness to leave her room. He checks that her pupils are still equal and reactive, examines the bump on her head and asks her a standard list of questions to test her memory and cognitive abilities. They confer and eventually come to an agreement, a deal of sorts that will allow her to attend the service two floors down just so long as she comes back to have her vitals checked afterwards with a view to deciding if she must remain in the hospital overnight or is well enough to be discharged.

Lanie squeezes her hand and Alexis kisses her cheek when she complains about being placed in a wheelchair to make the short trip down to the chapel as per hospital policy. Alexis hands her the slightly crushed bouquet, having fluffed it back to life as best she could. Kate cradles the peonies carefully in her lap. Her dad arrives in a matching 'chariot', as he insists on calling it, and they hold hands as they are wheeled down the hall together, laughing at the ridiculousness of their wedding transportation.

Lanie and Alexis halt outside the doors to the chapel and Kate turns to look at Jim. "I don't know about you, dad, but just this once I'm all for breaking the rules. Are you okay to ditch these wheels?" she asks Jim Beckett with a mischievous smile.

Jim winks at his daughter, his feet already on the floor. "Just try and stop me walking you down the aisle," he tells her, straightening out his suit jacket once he's standing upright again.

Lanie and Alexis park the pair of wheelchairs out of sight down the hall, and then return to help Kate and her dad make final preparations.

"Is everyone inside?" asks kate, suddenly a little breathless and nervous, butterflies swirling in her stomach, her cheeks flushed an attractive shade of pink.

Lanie nods and squeezes her hand, tucking a tiny escaping curl behind Kate's ear so affectionately. "Everyone is ready when you are, hon. So, just take a breath and come on in when you're good and ready. Alexis and I will go ahead and take our seats at the front. Good luck," she whispers to Kate, giving her a parting kiss on the cheek.

Suddenly they are but two – the remaining Becketts - standing out in a hospital corridor, over-dressed by a country mile for their current surroundings, both eyeing one another giddily.

"Your mom would be so proud of you, Katie," Jim Beckett tells his daughter, eyes full with the soft swirl of memory, of private moments shared between a husband and his wife, mother and father, that Kate to this day has no knowledge of.

Did they ever talk about her wedding day, make plans, imagine the women their little girl would become? Kate has no idea. Did they share their dreams for her future; express their hope as to who they thought their daughter might become or the kind of man she might marry one day?

"She'd be proud of you too, you know," Kate tells her dad, smoothing her palm down over the lapel of his jacket, straightening his tie.

"Thanks, Katie bug. But just look at you…so radiant. You're glowing. I don't need to ask if you're sure about marrying Rick. It's written all over your face."

Kate shrugs and smiles, she simply can't help it. "He makes me happy, dad."

"I can see that," chuckles her father. "You know, most brides would call the whole thing off after a shock like we had today. Postpone until they could make everything perfect again. Not my Katie," he grins proudly, gently clucking her cheek.

"Perfect is a relative term, dad. Took me a long time to learn that. If you have what you need…" she shrugs, this knowledge making her steady. "Today is perfect already, providing you and I can get down that aisle without some hospital busybody insisting we ride in wheelchairs."

"Is that a pretty way of saying let's get on with the show?" asks her father, looking at her with such pride and such tender fondness.

"That's my way of saying, you're here and I'm here and Rick is waiting for us at the alter. So…I wouldn't change a thing."

Kate takes her father's arm and as soon as the doors to the small hospital chapel are opened she hears Esposito say: "Hit it."

Music immediately begins to play from an iPod dock in the corner. The song is one she instantly recognizes - an acoustic version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' sung by Jeff Buckley.

'I've heard there was a secret chord

That David played, and it pleased the Lord

But you don't really care for music, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah'

Castle turns as soon as the improvised music begins to float out of the speakers, and when she catches his eye his face is a picture – overflowing with pride and love and excitement like he's fit to burst. Kate smiles back at him, her grin spreading as wide as his, crinkling their eyes and baring their teeth. They both look so happy.

Kate and her dad reach the end of the short aisle by the time the first chorus is over and Esposito discreetly mutes the music. Castle was right about the stained glass windows. Whoever designed this quiet space deserves an award because the colors in the glass shine like polished gemstones, spilling vibrant red and blue and green tinted light onto the plain tile below, turning its utilitarian surface rainbow-hued. When Kate drifts her eyes back up from the floor she sees flowers displayed behind the chaplain, along the surface that acts as a kind of altar. These are their flowers, she realizes, the ones they chose for today with the help of Martha and her extravagant eye for style. Lanie catches Kate's gaze, smiles and bobs her head towards the boys. She sent them over to the church to salvage what they could of their flowers to help set the scene here. The scent of roses and honeysuckle perfumes the air, transporting Kate out of the hospital entirely.

To add to the intimate setting even further, large candles glow on every available flat surface – on the altar, and on small side tables that line the walls and the back of the simple chapel. The entire room radiates warmth, light and color – it is beautiful beyond words. Kate smiles back at her friend, mouthing the words "Thank you", never so grateful for the love and support she knows is surrounding them today.

Finally, Kate hears the words "Dearly beloved…" and then her mind snaps to the man by her side and to the entirety of their loved ones filling the first couple of rows of the small chapel – Alexis and Martha, tears already brimming at the older woman's eyes, to Lanie, Kevin and Jenny, Esposito, and even Gates, who'd hurried to the hospital as soon as she heard the bad news when it spread through the church like wildfire.

She feels the warmth of Castle's hand as it brushes the back of hers and she turns to him, smiling and radiant. She catches his fingers, hooking her pinkie with his and she tugs playfully as the chaplain asks, "Who gives this women?"

The service passes in something of a blur for both of them. She can feel the firm press of her partner's hand in hers, but the chaplain's words drift in and out of hearing, so focused is she on the man beside her - on him and them - that nothing else really matters.

Time eventually comes for them to make their vows to one another. The celebrant indicates for Kate to go first and she glances over at Lanie, who reaches out to relieve her of her bouquet of frilly white peonies. Kate she takes a deep breath, turns to face her partner, reaching for both of his hands since she needs something to hold onto to tether her pounding heart.

One loving look from Castle and her breathing slows, her pulse rate drops, and the words she has spent so long fretting over freely come to mind. Her voice is strong when she speaks and he is rapt, captured by her all over again.

"Rick, today I finally take you as my husband, with so much love and respect for you in my heart. From the day we met you have been saving me in more ways than you could ever count." Kate pauses, savoring their private joke and Castle lets go of a small, nervous chuckle in response. "You haven't stopped saving me since. You make the seemingly impossible seem possible. You even mended this day for us. I have never been as excited about anything as I am about sharing the rest of my life with you. You are my lover, my best friend, my partner in all things, and I can no longer imagine my life without you. All the days I lived before I met you were but preparation for the magic to come. All the days ahead will be ours, experienced together, today, tomorrow…always."

Castle's eyes have filled with tears by the time she finishes speaking, just as he knew they would. He clears his throat and prepares to answer her vows with his own. A single, salty rivulet runs down his cheek as he takes a wobbly breath, blowing it back out again to compose himself, and Kate reaches up to wipe it away with the pad of her thumb. The smile Castle gives her right then is like the most magnificent display of sunshine radiating through the clouds after a long, dark winter, and she finds herself smiling back at him as if they were they only two people left on the planet.

Castle squeezes her hands in his and then he looks into her eyes; his own filled with complete wonderment at being here, doing this with her.

"Kate, when you and I first met, you were such a mystery to me. For a long time I thought you were a puzzle I was never going to solve. But the truth is, you are my missing piece. You complete me, Kate. You make me feel the best that I have ever felt – the happiest, the most inspired, the bravest, the most whole. Some days I look at you and you leave me without words…me, the writer, just to witness your beauty, your heart, your loyalty and your devotion to duty. You have an inner strength like no one I have ever known. You make me want more for my family, Kate. And you are my family," he tells her, giving her fingers a quick squeeze. "I am so proud that you have agreed to be my wife. The love that I feel for you goes way beyond measure. I promise that I will walk beside you wherever life takes us, partners in everything. Always."

The celebrant turns to Kate at this point, whose own eyes are now glistening with tears of raw emotion, to ask, "Do you, Katherine Houghton Beckett, take Richard Edgar Alexander Castle to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

Kate cuts the chaplain off, anwering with a firm and enthusiastic "I do," before he has even finished speaking.

Lanie and Esposito giggle at her eagerness, but both Castle and Beckett only have eyes for one another.

When the chaplain asks the same question of Castle, he has to pause for breath, once more overcome by the power of the moment. Kate arches her eyebrows in question, nervously awaiting his response.

A sharp, "Well?" from Lanie cuts through the emotion of the moment and Castle finally snaps out of it and manages a resounding, "I do. Yes, I most definitely do," to more laughter from the congregation.

"Rick, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity," says Kate, gently easing the shiny, new wedding band onto Castle's finger. "I promise to love and honor you all the days of my life."

Castle takes Kate's ring from Esposito and repeats the same words, almost dropping the ring in the process, since his hands are shaking so badly. Kate covers Castle's fingers with her own and stills him for a second, leaning forward to whisper "Breathe, babe," to her almost-husband so that he can complete the task.

Seconds later, the ring is firmly on her finger and a round of applause ripples through the small gathering before the chaplain can even say the words, "I now pronounce you man and wife."

They need no urging or permission from anyone to seal their union with a kiss. They simply turn to one another with the most perfect synchronicity, hands reaching out to caress and cradle, and when their lips meet, there is not a sound or a motion in the world that could distract them from each other.

They kiss softly, tentatively, for several seconds, wrapped up in the beauty of their love - two souls coming home.

When they draw apart, Castle cradles Kate's face, gently brushing his lips over her bruised cheek, before resting his forehead against hers.

Kate reaches for his wrists, wrapping her slender fingers around them and holding on tightly. "We made it," she smiles, her eyes glistening with happy tears. "We're married."

"Want to blow this joint, Mrs. Castle?" he asks, offering Kate his arm.

She smiles at him, shaking her head in disbelief that after all the years that have passed since they met, all the hurdles and difficulties that almost kept them apart, and all the months of planning since she agreed to marry him, they are finally here. "Just try and stop me," she replies, securing her arm in his and allowing him to lead her back up the chapel's small aisle, now husband and wife together.

Out of sight down the corridor, a man and a woman stand apart from the hospital hubbub, clipboards clutched to their chests, white coats helping them to blend in - a stethoscope here, a pair of glasses there - small details designed to disguise around those who would keep them from their ultimate goal.

"How sweet," mutters the man, his voice swimming with saccharin sarcasm.

"They'll keep. Just a little while longer," adds the woman, adjusting the bandage on her forearm, where bright red blood seeps through the gauzy layer.

The happy couple return to Kate's room surrounded by family and friends, until the discharge of Kate and Jim Beckett can be arranged.

When they leave the hospital thirty minutes later, hand-in-hand, silly smiles firmly fixed on their faces, they are wholly oblivious to the two medics standing in the corner of the foyer, overly engrossed in their departure.

"We'll see you at the hotel," Kate tells her dad, kissing his cheek, as a line of town cars idle out in the parking lot ready to ferry their small group to a hastily reorganized wedding dinner. "I love you, dad," she tells her father, fresh tears watering her beautiful smile.

Castle helps his new bride into the back of the lead car – a black Mercedes S-Class sedan – and they settle back against the leather seat with a shared sigh of pure relief. "Helluva day," grins Castle, turning to look at his radiant, new wife.

"And it's not over yet," purrs Kate, running her nail along the sharp crease in Castle's tuxedo pants.

"I like your thinking, Mrs. Castle," he leers, wiggling his eyebrows at his sexy bride.

"Oh, I predict you'll like my doing even more, Mr. Castle," she adds, relentlessly walking her fingers up along his pants' leg to where the folds of silky wool fabric are gathered at the top of his well-muscled thigh.

The driver heads uptown, their progress slow in the early evening crush of yellow cabs, private cars and mass transit vehicles. A traffic signal turns red at the junction up ahead and their car is forced to glide to a sedate halt.

"Today has been the happiest day of my life, Kate," whispers Castle, leaning in to press his lips to hers before the car begins to move again.

"For me too," agrees Kate, sliding her fingers through her husband's hair, her eyes fixed on his gentle, sensual mouth.

In the heartbeat that follows, the sickening noise of screeching tires is the last thing that either of them hears.

FADE TO BLACK

Thank you so much for reading.