120. Chapter 120

Chapter 120

"It was nice having you home all weekend," Castle said as he nuzzled Kate's neck. He had wrapped her in his arms as soon as he realized she was awake, and they shared some drowsy kisses for the few minutes before her alarm.

"I liked it, too," she answered, her voice muffled against his chest.

When the alarm sounded, she told Castle not to get up. "Jamie is still asleep. You might as well enjoy the quiet a little longer." She showered, dressed, and went upstairs to bring a sleepy son down to snuggle with his daddy for a while where both of them would be likely to sleep a little longer. After kissing each of them gently on their heads, the detective went to work.

The team had been on call over the weekend; but miraculously, nothing came in for them and they all came to work well rested. They had a crime scene to investigate by mid-morning, though, which launched them into several mundane cases…not that murder can ever be seen as mundane…but the circumstances and evidence collection were more mundane than the case they had closed the week before. Those cases took them into February.

xxxxx

Maria had her heart set on a Valentine's Day wedding, so the entire team had asked for the day off several months ago, as soon as Esposito had told them. In response, Captain Gates had simply congratulated Esposito and signed off on the leave requests.

The wedding was a family oriented affair. Parents were encouraged to bring their children, so there were the occasional sounds of very young voices during the ceremony. One little girl watching Maria walk down the aisle looked at her mother and said with a sound of awe, "So pretty." A little boy asked loudly and matter-of-factly, "Why is that little girl throwing flowers in the floor?" And at the end of the ceremony, Jamie announced, "Uncle Javi kissed Aunt Maria." When shushed by both parents, he leaned close to their faces and repeated it to them quietly, with all the questionable stealth of a two year old who thought it was important. Both parents were chuckling quietly when the congregation broke into applause after the kiss, and they felt the relief of no longer having to rein in their son's Castle-like desire to talk. Martha had been right. She had said Castle was talking early and, if he was like his father, they would hear complete sentences, with excellent enunciation, by the time Jamie was two. His second birthday was in a couple of weeks, and he was well on his way.

The reception was a joyous event. Maria's church family had provided the food, which everyone seemed to enjoy. There was a DJ, and dancing that included couples, parents and children, children with other children, and groups of varying ages just having fun together. The atmosphere encouraged the village raising the child concept. All of the adults were keeping an eye out for all the children and helping where it was needed.

"It's formally informal," Castle commented as he and Kate watched for a while. "I like it."

"Me, too," she answered as she and Castle watched Jamie bouncing, jumping, and twisting with Gabe and a couple of other children between their two ages. "He's keeping the beat well."

"We knew he could do that," her husband answered.

"But he's doing it really well," she answered. "Look at him. We should encourage that."

"Are you turning into Martha Rodgers and suggesting dance lessons already?"

"I heard that," Martha said, joining them near the dance floor. "But I'd wait at least another year if I were you."

Kate laughed. "I said encourage, not throw him into instruction. We should just find ways to let him use it and enjoy it. No need to turn it into a project."

"I agree." Castle took Kate's hand, pulled her into his arms, and made sure Jamie saw them dancing to the upbeat music. Kate waved at her son and he grinned back as he kept toddler dancing with the other children.

When the next song started, Kate asked her son, "Want to dance with Mommy?"

"Like Daddy?" he asked.

"Yeah. Come here." She picked him up, sat him on her arm, and he held on to her shoulder. She took his other hand in her free one in a ballroom dance position and danced him around the floor. Kate made faces at him now and then, and he tried doing the same. Both of them were laughing, and Castle was enjoying watching them from the sidelines with his mother, and was using his cell phone to commit it to video.

As the song was ending, Martha told him, "Well, kiddo, I'll have to say it again. You finally got it right. That woman is the best thing that ever happened to you."

He turned off the camera, put an arm around her shoulders and said, "No argument there, Mother. None at all. Except for missing Alexis, I don't think I've ever been this happy." He watched a moment or two longer and looked at Martha again. "Are you enjoying this as much as I am? I was a little surprised that you came with us."

"Yes." She answered. "Javier invited me. Why wouldn't I be here? He's our friend."

"I'm glad you are. He and Ryan have adopted you, too."

Maria's mother came to talk to them a few minutes later. "Mr. Castle, Ms. Rodgers, thank you for coming. We didn't expect to have celebrities here."

"We're not here to be celebrities, and we don't want to be treated that way. We're here as friends of the bride and groom," Martha assured her. "Actually, what I've been told about this wedding reminds me of the way some of us did things when I was a young actress. A group of us would all get together and pitch in, like a little family of friends. Those are some of my best memories…the way we worked together for each other, and I've enjoyed seeing that again here. Maria's dress is absolutely stunning. I understand one of your friends made it.

Maria's mother reached out and caught the arm of a woman who was passing by. "This is Elinor. She made the dress for us. Elinor, this is Martha Rodgers."

"I recognize you, Ms. Rogers. I'm a fan. And I've seen you at the store where I work. She mentioned the name of the store, and it was indeed a small, high end department store where Martha and Alexis did shop at times. "I manage the alterations department, but I've never personally had the pleasure of working with you or your granddaughter. I've seen her with you sometimes, though."

"Then I'll ask for you next time."

"I don't know that we'll be there much longer. The owner has said he may have to cut the alteration service and start recommending places for customers to have the alterations done themselves. We're sort of in limbo right now."

"Well, I've been around long enough to know a lot of people. You run an excellent service there." Taking a card from her evening bag, she told Elinor, "If things change, let me know and I'll see if I can help. I have a good network, and don't think I'll forget. I don't make offers I intend to renege on. I know quality work when I see it; and if that dress you made for Maria is as well made as I think it is, Gwen Tyler will want to see it."

"Gwen Tyler? You know Gwen Tyler?"

"I do. And she knows everybody in the business." Looking back at Maria's mother, she said, "Gwen was one of the theater friends I just mentioned. She made my granddaughter's wedding dress for us." Martha was proudly showing the women pictures of Alexis and Kate and telling the story of the copied wedding dress when the music stopped and Kate joined them. During the song after their dance, she and Jamie had a conversation with a few members of the wedding party.

"Your mother's dress is beautiful," Elinor told Kate. "It was perfect for you and your daughter both, and the story was just as beautiful."

"Thank you," Kate answered, smiling and not bothering to correct the word daughter.

The music changed to a slow dance, and Castle was about to ask Kate to dance with him when Jamie pointed to where couples were moving close and dancing with arms wrapped around each other. "It's a snuggle dance?"

"Care to snuggle dance with us, Rick?" Kate asked.

"I'd be honored," he answered. Jamie was still perched on Kate's arm. Castle took her hand and led them to the dance area, placing his arm around her back, pulling both of them close; then he wrapped both their hands in his and pulled them to his chest. His wife and son both rested their heads against Castle, and they swayed gently to the music. They talked quietly now and then and smiled a lot until the music stopped, and then they put Jamie down when Gabe called him.

They had spoken to Esposito and Maria earlier and offered their congratulations. Then they left the newlyweds to make their other guests feel welcome. Watching them making the rounds of the wedding guests, Kate observed. "This is a different look for Esposito. He still looks tough, but it's softer. He looks sharp in his tux, but he looks in love and happy…like being a family man suits him."

"It's good to see," Castle agreed. "Some of us wayward males do actually enjoy that."

"Mrs. Esposito," Kate said warmly, accepting the hug she was being pulled into. "It's good to see you. You look beautiful tonight."

"Yes, you do," Castle agreed as he bent to offer a hug of his own.

"I'm so relieved. I thought that boy was going to be alone for the rest of his life," she said. "And now he has a family of his own."

As Mrs. Esposito smiled freely along with the Castles, Maria's mother took her arm and asked, "Have you met Martha Rodgers?" and the woman wandered off to talk to the others.

"Mother seems to be enjoying the reception," Castle noted.

"Your mother enjoys people. She can be comfortable wherever she is…and make people around her comfortable. I admire that about both of you."

About that time, Ryan called for everyone's attention and announced, "The bride, who for some reason none of us understand has married my ugly partner here, is leaving with the groom. If you want to pelt them with birdseed, now's your chance."

Esposito swatted Ryan on the back of the head and everyone laughed. Then he knelt down to hug Gabe before he and Maria left. "You be good for your grandmother. We'll be back on Thursday. How many days is that?"

"Five," Gabe answered.

"That's right."

"I'll miss you." Gabe looked up at his mother.

She leaned over and hugged him. "We'll miss you, too, but when we get back, Javi will live with us all the time. I know you'll like that. And you always have fun with your grandmother."

"We'll call you every day," Esposito promised. "Now do you want to pelt us with birdseed or what?" he asked, dropping three packets of it in Gabe's hands.

Can I throw it just like this? The whole pack…like a baseball?" Gabe asked mischievously, bouncing one packet up and down in his throwing hand.

"Not if you know what's good for you," Esposito answered, standing up. Then Gabe laughed and ran off to take his place with his grandmother in the line outside the church doors.

Castle and Kate were at the top of the steps and had given Jamie a handful of birdseed, so they helped initiate the onslaught. Then they found Martha, said their goodnights to the families, and went home.

xxxxx

Jamie's second birthday was a quieter affair than his first, but he still had plenty of company. Alexis and JD, Jim and Meagan, and John all came bearing gifts, and after experiencing Christmas a couple of months before, Jamie understood exactly what to do with them. They had lunch delivered…Jamie's favorite, of course, cake and ice cream, balloons, party decorations, and plenty of attention for the birthday boy, providing the family a simple party for him and a reason to all be together.

When everyone had gone home and they had finally managed to get an overexcited little boy into bed for the night, the adult Castles both collapsed on the sofa. As they sat side by side with their heads leaning on the back, Kate said, "I was surprised you settled for such a simple party. It was nice, though."

"We can do bigger stuff when he's old enough to remember it," Castle answered. "And I think we've both been a little stressed for the last few months. I know the stint at the fifty-first took a toll on you; and your first case back at the twelfth was a little convoluted, even if it was solved quickly...and let us work together again. Our little boy is getting older and busier…and more familiar with the word "No". I thought simple made sense this time." Turning his head toward her, he teased, "I think we should go to bed, get some sleep, and then you can wake me up later and have your wicked way with me."

"You think I'd do that?" she asked flirtatiously without looking at him.

"Been known to happen," he answered with a little smirk.

"Or you could wake me up." She looked back at him with a little smirk of her own. "Also been known to happen."

"I like the way you think, Mr. Castle. Either way, as long as there's sleep involved first."

"Want to lean on each other to make sure we get there?"

"Yeah," she answered. "We get up on three?"

Castle counted, they dragged themselves up from the sofa, wrapped arms around each other and bantered about getting old as they walked to their bed. During the night, someone woke the other for an enjoyable interlude before morning, and they slept again until Jamie was awake. In the morning, they were still playfully arguing about who woke whom.

xxxxx

Early in March, Kate came home from a day of paperwork and found Castle at the end of his rope.

"Babe, you look like you've been through the wars. What's wrong?"

"Mommy!" Jamie bounced into the room and ran for Kate, and she picked him up and kissed him. "Hi, Peanut. Mommy loves you." He energetically planted a popping kiss on her cheek, and both of them were smiling.

Castle sat down at the breakfast bar in relief that someone else was there to share responsibility.

Looking at her obviously exhausted husband, she said to her son, "Why don't you load your cars and blocks in your wagon and bring them out here. Mommy will play with you while we wait for dinner to be delivered." When she put him down, Jamie ran for the study, and there was a flurry of sound as he filled his wagon to move his play area.

Kate moved to wrap her husband in a concerned hug. "Rick, what happened? And what can I do to help?"

"You're doing it. He's just demanded my full attention the last couple of days. The final chapters of the book are due day after tomorrow, he didn't take his nap this afternoon or yesterday, and I'm way behind on my deadline. He's been sweet and loving and easy to get along with for the most part, but he's wanted all of my attention. Just stayed kind of non-stop busy. All...day…long." He rested his head on her shoulder and accepted the comfort.

She kissed his temple and told him, "I've got him for the rest of the day. I'll wait a little while to order dinner. Go lie down and unwind until we have something to eat. After that, take some time to write, and I'll call you when it's time to tuck him in. He'd miss having you for that."

"That sounds really good. Thank you," he answered without moving.

She lifted his head and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Go on. Stretch out and get some rest. I'll order comfort food and call you when it's here."

He returned her kiss, saying "You, my love, are a perfect wife." After one extra little peck on her lips, he made his way to the bedroom and closed the door as soon as Jamie pulled his wagonload of toys to the living room to play with Mommy.

After playing with her son for a while and having dinner, bath time, and bedtime stories, Kate called Castle to tuck their son in and cuddled the tired toddler in the rocking chair until Castle was there. Then they tucked Jamie in and went back downstairs.

"He was definitely a handful today. Where does all that energy come from?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you feel any better?"

"The time to myself helped. Thank you."

"Are you sure you still want to consider another baby? We don't have to, you know."

"Unless you don't want to. Even if you were pregnant tomorrow, we'd still have almost a year of potty trained little boy before we'd have to think about diapers again. And most of the time, it isn't like today. I love being with my kids. Children change your perspective…balance out the heavy stuff. I'd like to have one more…a little Beckett this time to go with our little Castle clone. Another boy would be fine, though. Who knows? Maybe today I was just getting some justifiable payback for what I did to my mother." He paused to offer Kate a glass of wine, and got it out of the cooler when she nodded. "I had to do it all alone when Alexis had a day or two like this, you know."

"But that was almost twenty years ago, and you weren't helping me with cases or working your schedule around mine while you try to make your deadlines. It's more complicated than it was then." There was a little pause before she looked down and said quietly. "And neither of us is getting any younger."

He turned his head toward her, and handed her the wine as he motioned her to sit with him at the breakfast bar. "Are you having second thoughts about another pregnancy?"

"Not right now," she answered, sitting down next to him. "I guess I feel like my biological clock is ticking louder, though. And my career is progressing, but it's up in the air right now." She turned to him, propping her elbow on the countertop and leaning her head on her hand. "I'll be thirty-six in November. I know there are women who have babies when they're older than that, but I don't think I want to be one of them. And others are surprised with babies right around menopause. I don't want to be one of those, either. But I don't want to put our family on hold while we're waiting for news about a command position or…"

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?" he asked, mirroring her position. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want you to think I had doubts about wanting another little Castle baby. I do. But…"

"Neither of us is getting any younger?"

"Yeah," she answered, looking down again.

He leaned close to kiss her and gently touch her face. "Sweetheart, I don't want you to feel pressured. I already have one more child than I thought I'd have. You gave me a son who, in spite of days like today, lights up my world with as much joy as his sister did. If we have another one, there's that much more joy in my life. If not, I know how blessed I already am."

She shifted closer to him and reached to touch his shoulder. "Can we put a time window on another baby…and birth control in general?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"First, you do understand that, no matter what happens with my career, you and our children come first, right? If I ever have to choose one or the other, family would win hands down. Always."

"I know that."

"Good." She breathed a deep sigh and launched into her proposal. "I'm thinking of both of us if we wait too long to have another baby. I'll be thirty-six, but you'll be forty-six next year. Even if I were pregnant tomorrow," she said, mischievously repeating his words, "you'd be forty-six when our second one would be born. You don't want nannies, so you'd be staying home with two….an infant and a three year old Castle clone. Your mother has told me about the original Richard Castle/Rodgers as a three year old. If I'm working, you would probably have measurably more days like today; and you still have your own work to do."

"If I ever get to the place that I can't handle it, I'll start looking for a Mary Poppins, I promise."

"Selfishly, I want to read more of your books; and for you, I don't want to be the reason you don't have time to enjoy writing them. Also selfishly, I want you to live through being Mr. Mom to our children because I want to get old and gray with you after all of them grow up and leave the nest. You'll be sixty when Jamie graduates from high school...at least sixty-three for a second one. How do you feel about that? You should consider what you want in all this, too…how much freedom you want as we get older."

"What kind of window of opportunity are we talking about?"

"I have three more pills in this package. I don't have to replace them after that. We can see what happens. If I'm offered a new position and I'm pregnant, I can ask to wait for the next opening if I need to…and take my chances that it could make a difference in a future offer. Legally it shouldn't, but reality demands commitment. If a baby doesn't happen before my thirty-seventh birthday, we stop at Jamie. Either way, I have a tubal ligation, and we spend the rest of our lives not worrying about birth control...or nearly-menopausal surprises later." She lowered her eyes with a shy little smile. "I have unnerving images of a pregnancy that includes hot flashes."

Castle smiled and touched her face gently. "You were pregnant with Jamie before you should have been. You had just started feeling completely recovered from the shooting, and then had another couple of close calls before he was born, and I worried about you then...both of you. Pregnancies after thirty-five… You're in good shape and should do well… I don't…" He kissed her softly and sighed. "I'm not saying it very well, but I think your window makes sense…for both of us." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Can we start practicing tonight?"

"Hmmmm… That little rest this afternoon must have done you good."

"It did." He gave her one of the smiles that lit his face and crinkled the corners of his eyes.. "And I'm excited. We just agreed to start working on my little Beckett clone."

"Be careful what you wish for. You married a determined, bull-headed woman. Imagine that as a child. I'm sure my father has told you stories, and they're probably all true."

"But all of them weren't about bull-headed Katie. There's a lot more to you than that. There was then, too. I see the look in his eyes when he talks about it, and that says a lot. Besides, unlike your unsuspecting father, I'll have you to help. You'd already know her tricks, so you could help me head her off at the pass."

Kate laughed. "Okay, then. Let's go practice."

Castle picked her up fireman style, hanging her over his shoulder to the sound of her unconvincing complaints; and they laughed as he hurried them into their practice room, closing the door behind them.