Ok. Final chapter. Here it goes.

Disclaimer: not mine.

She was cold. So cold. Shifting to get closer to the source of the heat she could feel just out of her reach, she rolled over, almost bumping into something. Not quite awake, she registered a warm body and accepting the heat, she snuggled into it. Thinking about whose body it was was too much right now. And it felt nice. Warm and safe. She quickly fell asleep once again.

Castle however was wide awake. Had he been holding her earlier, this was beyond simply holding. He would never be able to talk his way out of this one if she woke up to find herself with her face against his chest, her arms wrapped around his torso and her right leg in between his legs. He was trying really hard not to enjoy it too much, but he couldn't help a certain arousal. The woman he loved was lying in his arms after all.

Somehow, he managed to fall asleep after a while. Probably the exhaustion. With the direct worry for her gone, his thoughts were now free to roam his dreams and that's exactly what they did.

There she was. The simple, white dress made her look even more stunning than normal. The softly crashing waves in the background made it only more perfect. As she walked through the sand, step by step, slowly, almost gliding, he could see her smile as she kept staring at him all the way. He waited for her. He had waited for her for years, what were a couple more minutes? The smile on his own face was bigger than he could remember ever smiling. For some reason, not being able to smile as naturally and bright should have been a clue both with Gina and Meredith. But that was hindsight. He liked his future much better. She took another step. And another. He felt like he was about to burst of happiness. He sneaked a quick look to his left. Alexis was staring longingly at Kate and didn't even see him looking. He'd have to ask her, but he was pretty sure she saw Kate as a surrogate mother. His gaze shifted to the first row of guests. Martha was positively beaming, obviously happy to see this finally happening with the right woman. One she called family as well. Guiding his extra-ordinary daughter towards Castle, Jim gave him an approving nod as their eyes met. Moving on, his eyes fell on his best men. Ryan and Esposito shared the duty like they worked together and they couldn't be more proud to finally see Kate give in to happiness. They smiled back at him, then nodded in Kate's direction. He was supposed to only have eyes for her. Agreeing with their silent reprimand, he turned back to watch his wife-to-be approach.

She had closed in another step or two. As she was nearing, he could see the waves in the background getting bigger. Not immediately alarmed, he just kept staring at Kate, but the closer she got, the bigger the waves got. As she was about to reach him, a giant wave suddenly broke free of the ocean and came crashing down the isle, taking everything in its path. Seeing the danger, he dove forward to get Kate out of the danger zone, yelling for everyone to save themselves. She was still too far away though and the wave beat him to her. As it came crashing down on her, she was swept away and there was nothing he could do to help her, as he was being swept away by the wave as well.

"No! Kate!" he yelled, not caring about anyone else at the moment, not even himself.

"Please! Don't take her away! I need her!" He didn't know who he was pleading with.

The wave had now passed and everyone was picking themselves up from the wet sand.

"Kate! Where are you?"

A soft hand touched his cheek.

"I'm here, Rick. I'm safe. Wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings. He focused his eyes and found Kate still lying on top of him, her hand stroking his cheek, uttering comforting words he could not yet comprehend as his mind was still a bit foggy.

"It's ok, Rick. I'm safe. I'm here."

Needing to feel that for himself, he grabbed her in a tight hug, pulling her against him. She let him, only pulling her head back so she could look him in the eye.

"I thought I'd lost you forever," he said, not sure if he was referring to the dream or the events from earlier that day.

"You'll never lose me, Rick."

She looked him in the eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere. You made sure of that. And I… I'd like to thank you for that."

His eyes widened at that.

"Thank me? I ruined the best day of your life."

"Turns out, the almost freezing and getting-lost-thing aside… it was still a very good day. You saved me. Twice. First from making the worst mistake of my life and then… at the beach…"

"But… does this mean…"

"Yes, Rick. It means…"

And then she kissed him. A soft touch to his lips at first, but as all the pent up frustration and worry left them, the kiss became deeper, first matching, then surpassing the passion from that first 'undercover'-kiss.

When the need for air became apparent, she pulled her head slightly back.

"By the way… I love you too"

There. I hope you liked it! :) Thanks again to everyone who read, favored and/or reviewed or put it on alert. It is very much appreciated. Until we meet again. Tango