Kate Beckett Castle was sitting on the living room couch folding laundry, her three year old son, Jamie, playing with his trucks at her feet and her daughter playing with her toes in her playpen. Her husband, best-selling novelist Richard Castle, was on a book tour. He'd be home in a few days, so the end was in sight. It was raining so she and the kids were stuck inside but they were making the best of it. She had made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch for her and Jamie while Hannah enjoyed some baby cereal. Then she and Jamie watched a Disney movie cuddled together on the couch while Hannah napped, and now she was finishing up the laundry. It didn't matter that Castle wrote bestselling novels about her, somehow the laundry needed to be folded and put away, and right now, she was the only one who could do it.
"Hey Jaime," she said. "I'm going to go put some laundry away. Try not to make too much noise so Hannah can fall back to sleep. I'll be in my bedroom, okay? Come get me if you need me."
Jaime had stopped playing and looked up at her, now he nodded. "Okay mommy," he said.
Kate grabbed the clothes she wanted to put away and stepped into the bedroom. She wasn't worried about leaving Jaime there alone. He was a great big brother; he'd never do anything to hurt his sister. Just then, some lightning flashed in the sky and a crash of thunder soon followed. She had a certain fondness for rainstorms ever since that day a few years ago – the day she knew she had to come to Rick and apologize. It started them on the road to where they were now; married with two wonderful kids, and thinking of adding to the family. (And not to satisfy some so-called time traveler, no matter what Rick thought.) It was funny that Jamie had always loved storms too. She remembered the times she'd wake up in the middle of the night when it was storming. She'd often found herself in bed alone, but when she'd get up and check, Rick would be holding Jamie in his arms standing by the windows in the living room. Jamie's arms would be waving and he'd be laughing at whatever his father was saying. She'd join them and bask in the togetherness. Even Hannah seemed to be okay with storms.
Now that she was finished putting away the laundry, she stepped back into the living room. And then she stopped short. Jamie was looking into the playpen, talking to Hannah. "Isn't the rainstorm cool, Hannah? Daddy says rain is the best thing ever. It waters the flowers and it makes people think good stuff. I don't know what he means when he says that. And don't worry about the thunder. Daddy says that's just the angels bowling. He says Grandma Jo is playing too and she's winning. Did you know that Grandma Jo is an angel? She watches us all the time to make sure we're okay."
Kate has to hold in her tears but she is so moved by what her son is telling her daughter, and all because of the wonderful man she loves. A few tears do fall, but she wipes them away. She doesn't want to scare Jamie so she waits for him to stop talking and go back to playing which he does soon after. "Hey guys, did you miss me?" she calls as she walks into the room. Jamie nods his head "no" but Hannah smiles and puts out her arms. Kate reaches into the playpen to pick up her little girl so she can cuddle with her on the couch. It's funny how life works, she thought. When Rick Castle barreled his way into her life all those years ago, she never would have imagined she'd end up married to him, mother to two children and folding his laundry. All in all, a good life, even on a rainy day when she had to do laundry.