Here's the lovely sequel I promised all of you! I added a new character, I hope you like her :]

Kate had no idea what scared her more right now: there was the fact that her baby was now two years old, walking around on wobbly legs and talking much better than many other toddlers at her preschool. There was also the fact that her other baby was winning races nobody thought he could in the horse world, but that his jockey was injured by a haybale falling last week and now they had to find a new one. Of course, she was speaking of Ridley and Leggy in these thoughts.

Ridley was her human daughter. Her perfect girl was two years old and all smiles. She had wild red hair and bright eyes and a need to constantly be on the move. Nobody could get enough of her, especially not Maggie Ryan. The littlest Castle and Ryan were joined at the hip; Maggie loved teaching Ridley new things and leading her around and getting into mischief.

Both of the girls absolutely adored Ridley's older brother, Leggy. Always Loving You, or Leggy as he was affectionately called, was a now three-year-old chestnut stallion who had grown much bigger than anyone expected. He, too, had bright blue eyes like the rest of the Castle siblings. This feature was attributed to his bald face, white unlike the rest of his body. Ridley and Maggie loved the big pushover Thoroughbred, but Kate's daughter had the closest relationship with him.

However, Kate decided that those two things were not nearly as scary as her third thought. Today was a very special day for the entire Castle family. Today was the day they would meet the next addition to their family (not for the first time but for the final time), and Kate had never been more anxious in her life.

Okay, so back up. I guess that, as the omniscient narrator, I should probably fill you in about what has been going on the last couple of years before dropping a bomb like that.

The Beckett-Castle Clan has been doing well for the past two years. Eventually, Zenyatta went back to Kentucky once Leggy was weaned from her but he stayed up and is based in New York. The little guy (who is by no means little anymore) went into training and eventually ran his first race and came in second. Encouraged by this, the trainer, Molly Bruxwell, Castle, Kate, and the jockey, Jeremy Fontaine, continued to race Leggy. After another second place finish, he never saw a horse's butt cross the finish line before him again. If he is able to qualify this year, he will be the favorite for the Triple Crown.

Ridley is also growing up well. She has not won any races or been featured in major magazine and newspaper articles yet, but she sure has not been left behind. Every day Castle and Kate have with her is a joy. Every day anybody has with her is a joy. She can be a little impulsive and has had her share of bumps and bruises (and a broken arm from pretending to be a ballerina and falling out of her bed in the middle of the night), but she is the light in everyone's life.

A few months after Ridley was born, Kate said that she wanted more kids. She said she did not want to wait anymore because both she and Castle were not getting any younger. Then the worst day of their lives happened- on par with Kate's shooting. Kate had updated her husband that they found their murderer and were about to go bring him in. An hour later, his phone rings while he was changing Ridley. Finishing up, he brings the baby to grab the phone and answer it. It was the closest he had ever been to dropping a baby.

"Castle, it's Javier," the voice said, "You need to get down to Bellvue. Kate's been stabbed."

Thank the Heavens his neighbors had always been trustworthy and helpful for the new parents when Martha, Jim, and Alexis could not be around. In a whirl, he was able to leave Ridley with the Johnsons and get to Bellevue in half an hour.

Kate had been stabbed. She was alive, though. The doctors said she was in stable condition. However, Kate did not think so and Castle understood why. Where she was stabbed- she could never have children again. She would never feel a baby growing inside her or have that exciting moment of the first kick or hear the heartbeat. It almost destroyed her. Almost.

Castle reminded her that she still had a daughter and a stepdaughter and a ham.

"A ham?" Kate asked him with a bewildered look.

"Your precious pony that always thrusts his head out to get a pet whenever you walk into the barn," Castle told her with a twinkle in his eye. That got her smiling again.

A month after that, Castle casually suggested adoption to Kate. He still was seeing the light in her eyes fade a little whenever someone talked about a baby or she saw a woman pregnant. Surprisingly, she jumped at adoption and exclaimed that that was a brilliant idea.

They started looking into it closely and eventually found a twelve-year old girl named Elise who had gone through a series of failed foster homes and already gone through one adoption that did not work out. Originally, they had been looking for a child only a couple years older than Ridley. But Kate and Castle never could look beyond Elise once they met her. The orphanage in upstate New York explained that they had no idea about her backstory, only that she somehow found her way to the doorstep of the orphanage by herself when she was only four. Since then, they had not had much luck with her getting adopted and, now nearing the teen years, they were losing hope for her ever making it out. Elise was very introverted and had, in the past, been bullied by countless children in many of her schools. Although she did not "bloom" with Kate and Castle, the director of the orphanage said Elise could not stop smiling afterwards.

So now Kate, Castle (holding Ridley), Alexis, and Martha were all waiting to greet Elise in the train station. Alexis had the sign that the entire family had painted which read "WELCOME HOME, ELISE!" in purple letters (one bit of information the girl had given up was that she liked purple like her adoptive mother did).

Ridley was squirming in Castle's arms. "Where is Leese?" she demanded impatiently. She had not yet grasped the ability of saying the word "Elise."

"Any minute now, she'll be here," Castle assured his pint-sized daughter.

As if on cue, a tall man wearing business clothes and carrying a suitcase in one hand came dawn the stairs from a platform. Following him very closely was Elise with her plain, blue backpack. Kate had memorized her shoulder-length black hair, pale face, and blue eyes. She knew the characteristic walk that Elise had now, slightly defensive. Her eyes darted from side to side and Kate could swear the girl's ears were pricked. What could have made her this way?

Alexis held up the sign and they watched as Elise looked at it and directed a small, shy smile in their direction. Kate walked forward as they came up to the family. Elise had not yet initiated or ever wanted physical contact with her family, so Kate simply smiled and said, "Welcome to the Castle Clan, Elise."

So, I know what you're thinking, how could I do that to Kate? Even I don't know how I did that to Kate. I just needed Elise in the story. Review please! Also, if anyone has comments, particularly about the horse world, adoption, or trauma processes- please tell me! I need liaisons for that stuff (not so much the racing world, but I still wouldn't mind that).