Alright ladies and gentlemen we have arrived upon the final chapter of Glass Slipper. I started this story over a year ago and I definitely had a rough start with it but I want to thank everyone who followed me on this journey. It really does mean the world to me. This story may be over but I'll still be lurking around the site. I have a collab-fic that is a little sporadic with updating but it would make me so happy if you guys would check it out. "Armed and Dangerous" is literally a walk down memory lane which is perfect for the beginning of Season 5 wouldn't you say? A look attheir journey. I like journey stories (can you tell?). Anyways, that's where I'll be. I also have a few one-shots that I've been mulling over so you might see those in the following months. I don't really have any full on stories planned at the moment but I'll let you know.

Once again, thank you to everyone who favourited and alerted and especially reviewed, I am eternally grateful. And now, without further ado, the last chapter of Glass Slipper (warning: the following chapter may cause cavities. The writer is in no way responsible for any dental-related injuries sustained in the reading of this chapter).

Please review and as always you can follow me on twitter you can find me at vatrask

Enjoy 3

"Hey Cinderella." She rolled her eyes when he appeared behind her, his breath hot against her ear. When he first started doing that – and meaning to do it – it made her jump a little, but now it was just another Castle quirk that she loved to hate.

"You can stop calling me that now." She didn't even bother to look up from her writing.

"I'm sorry it's just so cool." He beamed, taking his usual seat pulled up beside her "I mean, we were like star-crossed lovers. We met and then you left and I looked for you and then years later I found you. It's very Cinderella."

"Yeah well we do have a fairytale theme going through our lives don't we?" She pursed her lips to keep from blushing; yes, she loved when he was cheesy and romantic almost as much as she loved when he spouted crazy theories that only sometimes worked.

"Oh yeah?" He leaned forward, playing along.

"Well there was the fairytale murder a couple of years ago; and the girl with Rapunzel syndrome last month. And I seem to recall you being my fairy godmother the first year we met."

"That dress was pretty hot."

"You should have seen it off." His elbow fell off the edge of the desk but he caught himself before he made a seen.

"Some things haven't changed." He grumbled, making a show of readjusting his jacket "you're still a shameless tease."

"I know," she smiled, scrunching her nose in that adorable way "but now I get to follow through with it when we get home."

He blinked at her, trying his best to look indignant but it just wasn't working with that 'deer-in-the-headlights' look. "Well maybe I have a headache."

"You never have a headache." She smirked, returning to her paperwork that probably could have been left later if it had been done sooner like she had intended. Damn that man and his adorable butt. She needed to focus on something else and since work was pretty much out of the question, she focused on her fairytale.

Rick was startled out of his thoughts as Kate laughed out loud, causing several other officers to look at her in confusion – Beckett didn't laugh. "Sorry," she slapped a hand over her mouth. "I was just thinking about that night." He gave her a confused smile until she elaborated. "I had kinda stolen my mom's diamond earrings for that night but I lost one when I was at the party and then I lost the other one somewhere." She sucked him into the past with her. "I wish I could find even one of them – to have something of my mom's that wasn't damaged in the explosion."

Rick was doing a horrible job of hiding a smile but she was still too lost to see him reaching into his pocket "you mean this?" She looked over, startled, when he produced a diamond ring from his pocket, not noticing the handful of officers who had stopped to watch the exchange.

"What's that?" Breathe, Kate, just breathe.

"It's an engagement ring."

"An engagement ring."

"Your engagement ring."

"I don't have an engagement ring."

"Want one?" BEATHE Kate, just breathe.

The room was eerily silent but she didn't dare take her eyes off of him. Still, she couldn't speak so Rick took a softer approach. "After you left the party, I found your earring in between the couch cushions. I kept it while I looked for you and then I found you. And when I realized I'd found you, I took it to a jeweler who removed the diamond and set it in a ring. If I had known it was your mothers I"

"Yes, Rick." He startled, blinking furiously for a moment before he found his voice.

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes." She was this close to bursting into laughter with the sheer delight that filled her but she kept it to a beaming smile, resisting the urge to just kiss him in the middle of the precinct. Oh what the hell, she threw her arms around him before he could comprehend what was happening. He stood with her still clinging to his neck, their lips fused together as she brought her weight completely down on him. He loved when she wore heels. It was like their first kiss in that alley all those years ago and yet it was something completely new – like their first kiss done over and over again – a tingling sensation that started in her toes and swept through her fingers that were running through his hair and ending with her buzzing head, dizzy with happiness. The shared in the humming joy between them until the sound of clapping wolf whistling became too overwhelming and they dropped back to reality. Splitting apart, they both blushed profusely but couldn't stop grinning.

They held their eyes as he slipped the ring onto her left hand and held her fingers warmly before gathering the strength to turn away and face the entire floor of the twelfth precinct. Just off to their right was Ryan and Esposito cat calling and taking pictures, their version of 'congratulations', no doubt texting Lanie who would be arriving on the floor any moment despite being several blocks away.

Kate hazarded a glance over to Captain Gate's office where Victoria was leaning against the frame with a slow smile on her lips, clapping slowly, seemingly approval in her eyes. She nodded her thanks to the Captain who echoed it with what could have only been a mischievous smile.

Wrapping her arms around Rick, she hugged him tightly, placing a light kiss on his cheek, not even trying to hide her smile anymore.

Rick held her hand as they walked through the lush green grass. She still had on her wedding gown and he his tux but neither of them cared. As they approached their destination, he squeezed her hand, compelling her to face him. "Are you sure about this?" She squeezed his hand back, staring into his eyes with love and determination, glassed over with tears.

"I'm sure." She nodded before tugging his hand behind her so he was following her as he'd always done. As they continued to tread through the grass, he kissed her ear causing her to duck her head to hide her shy smile, coming back just as quickly to catch his lips.

Before their kiss could become anything more than sweet she pushed forward propelling them the last few feet. "Come on, we have to get to the reception." He fell into her back when she paused in front of the tombstone and both of them fell into silence. Finally remembering to breathe, Kate reached out to caress the top of the stone with soft, gentle hands. "Hey Captain." She whispered so only Rick and the wind could hear her. Rick held her shoulders as she spoke to her –their- old friend. "We just wanted to stop by and say 'hi'. I know you would have wanted to be there today; it was a beautiful ceremony-"

"Only because she let me pay." Kate closed her eyes to laugh, hoping to expel any tears that may have formed knowing that Rick was so understanding of her need to do this.

"I swear Captain, he hasn't changed at all."

"Well that's a lie." He spoke to Roy. "I've changed so much because of this woman it's absolutely insane."

"You mean you're absolutely insane." She teased back, enjoying how comfortable this rather strange situation felt.

"Insanely in love maybe." She swatted his arm but kept her fingers on his, soothing away the sting.

"Rick," she half scolded before returning to her friend "sorry Captain; I guess not everything has changed." And then a thick silence fell over them as they listened to the summer wind dance around them, flashing them both back to that horrible day when they had almost lost it all. Closing her eyes, Kate sighed, expelling the last of her negative thoughts before turning her head to look at her husband. "Rick, do you have the envelope?" Without speaking, Rick reached into his pants pocket and produced a worn white envelope which he handed to his wife carefully. Caressing the envelope, Kate clutched it tightly in her hands before presenting it to Captain Montgomery. "This is for you, sir. It's the money you won on the 'relationship bet' about Castle and I." She shook her head, suddenly overcome with sadness. "You knew," she stated, her voice raw enough that Rick tightened his hold on her shoulders to steady her "from the very beginning you knew that we'd be together forever on this day at this time; with or without you." She could hear Rick sniffle once but wouldn't hold it against him as the tears flowed down her cheeks. After a moment to gather her strength she whispered, stroking her husband's hand with her thumb. "I owe you everything." He squeezed her shoulder as though to second the statement. "So I just wanted to say 'thank you' for bringing love back into my life and for teaching me how to be a better person. I'm where I am today because of you." She lowered the envelope until it drooped at her side, taking a deep breath of courage. "So, we're giving this bet money to your family; it's theirs." With that, Kate was so overcome with emotion that she could no longer speak. Her shoulders shook with her heavy sobs and so her husband took over.

"We just thought you should know that you won the bet; you were right all along." He spoke now in his own name. "Everything I have today I owe to you and so I am more than happy to put a little more bet money in their on behalf of Kate and I." He squeezed her shoulder as she continued to sob at her friend's grave. "We didn't even get the date right. I thought it would be later-"

"and I thought it'd be sooner." She breathed in admission, slowly regaining her composure. With a long, deep breath, Kate removed her hand from her shoulder to stroke the headstone one last time.

"Goodbye Captain." She whispered into the wind as Rick's hand came to her waist, slowly leading her away from Captain Montgomery. As they left the cemetery, Rick turned to look back at the grave on the hill, shining in the sunlight.

"Thank you." He mouthed for only Roy.

The reception was absolutely beautiful. It was quiet and quaint and with only their friends a family which was something Rick had decided on. Jim Beckett had been a little perturbed at first at not getting to pay for the wedding but Rick conceded to letting him pay for the reception and it was absolutely beautiful. She wasn't sure how it happened, she let Rick convince her to let him pick out their first song. She trusted him to make it romantic and wonderful but she was still a little anxious. However, when "so this is love" came blasting over the speakers in the ballroom, she bursting out laughing as Rick pulled her to him. The onlookers stood with knowing but bemused looks – only Beckett and Castle could be so casual and yet so loving as they danced their first dance as husband and wife.

"I love you Princess."

"I love you Writer."

"Hey, I'm supposed to be Prince Charming."

"Well looks can be deceiving."

"Hey." She silenced him with a peck on the lips "okay, I'll be your writer."

"You'll write us a happy ending right?"

"As someone completely invested in these characters, I'm going to say…mostly."

She lifted her head from his chest "mostly?"

"Well how boring would the story be if everything went right all the time? No I plan on having some ups and downs and wonderfully perfect moments that take your breath away. Can you handle that?"

"I think I can handle any twist you write."

"Really?" He suddenly dipped her out of the blue and she followed seamlessly, smirking up at him.

"Really."

"You just wait to see what I have planned for you."

"I look forward to it."

So with laughter in their eyes, they spun around the floor as Cinderella and Prince Charming, having finally been reunited after so long.

And They All Lived Happily Every After, Kicking Ass and Being In Love.

The End.