A/N: In light of the pictures that surfaced today. I felt the need to do a little explanation ficlet. Only I thought of more than one scenario and I couldn't choose between them so I wrote both. I'll post each one as a different chapter but they're not actually connected.

Scenario One: Not You

Lanie and Alexis stood in the living room of the loft waiting as Kate changed. Castle was out for the day and it was the first chance they'd had for Kate to show Lanie her wedding dress.

"You've seen it already, right?" Lanie whispered to Alexis.

The younger girl bit her bottom lip and nodded causing Lanie's eyes to sharpen immediately.

"What aren't you telling me?" Lanie hissed.

"I… It's…" Alexis's eyes widened as her attention shifted to something over Lanie's shoulder. "Kate."

Lanie spun around, her gaze travelling over her friend and suddenly Alexis's hesitance made sense. The top of the dress was fine, but the skirt was… more gruesome than half the things that came across her operating table.

"So, what do you think?" Kate asked, a smile dancing across her face as she spun to show off the back.

"It's uh…" Lanie cast a glance at Alexis who shrugged. "I like the stitching on the sleeves."

Kate stilled, her face becoming passive even as her eyes sharpened, always the detective. "You don't like it."

Lanie didn't want to hurt her friends feelings but there was no way she could let her best friend walk down the aisle in that monstrosity. Besides, she had always prided herself on being honest and this was not the time to stop. "Honestly? Kate, it's a fine dress, but it's just not you. "

Her friend looked down, regarding herself carefully. "Don't you think Castle will like it?"

"Girl, that man would have stars in his eyes even if you walked down that aisle in a garbage bag, but this isn't just about him. This is your day. Your one and done. Is this really the dress you want to get married in?"

"Maybe. I thought so but…"

"But?" Lanie prompted.

Kate sighed. "The skirt's a bit too…runway." Kate ran her hand over the panel in the front. "It looks like I've been cut in two."

Lanie laughed. "Kate, did you even try on any other dresses?"

"I…" Kate frowned. "Actually no."

Lanie gently shoved her towards the bedroom. "Tell you what. You go get changed and then the three of us will go shopping. If we don't find anything you love more than this, fine, but I think you owe it to yourself to be sure."

Kate looked over to Alexis who had retreated to the couch while they'd been talking. "Is that okay with you, Alexis?"

"Yes. Definitely." Her eyes were bright and happy at the thought of being included in something so important.

"Okay." Kate agreed. "I guess we're going wedding dress shopping."