Work Text:
It was the perfect wedding, everyone said so. Lanie and Alexis were glowing in lavender; Ryan and Esposito faced them in dove-gray morning coats.
The bride and groom—weren’t there.
There was an awkward silence in the room as the last notes of “Here Comes the Bride” finished. Martha, in the front row, looked back at Captain Montgomery, who shook his head and shrugged.
Just as the awkward silence started to turn into awkward rustling, there was a loud thump from beyond the doorway. Followed by a shriek that had the groomsmen shouting, “Castle!” and running for the door.
But Beckett walked in, towing a man in a limo driver’s hat and handcuffs behind her. Castle followed, limping noticeably.
“Here,” she said to a uniform in one of the back rows, and dropped the perp on the seat next to him. She looked at him. “Stay there and stay quiet. Someone will deal with you later.”
She turned and leveled a look at Ryan and Esposito that had them inching backwards to their spots at the altar; then she turned to Castle. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Castle.”
Castle grinned at her. There was an audible sigh from his ex-wives a few rows away. “Any time.” He reached out and brushed some dirt off the sleeve of her dress, then held out his arm and escorted her up the aisle himself.