Title: 15 Shares

Pairing: Castle/Beckett

Word Count: 2,034

Category: Kid!fic, fluff to the max, no knowledge of anything past season 4.

Notes: For beckettshooha on tumblr. :)

She'd gone insane.

It was the only explanation that made sense. She'd flat out lost her mind, taken leave of her senses, and boarded a plane to Crazy Island, home of some of Castle's most outlandish, over the top theories and schemes. She, Kate Beckett, was certifiable.

It had nothing to do with soulful, pleading eyes, and what her husband might call a tragic origin story (and he no doubt would've, if she'd shown him the page when it came up on her Facebook timeline). Absolutely nothing. She was unflappable that way; the bad cop to a host of softies and easily swayed individuals who fell all over themselves to make things happen. She hadn't been convinced by any of that this time, either. It was insanity.

Yet somehow, she still found herself grabbing the car keys to pick her kids up from school instead of making sure she had her metro card for the subway. Yet somehow, she was still double-checking hours on her phone while she waited in the line of other parents, nannies, and family drivers. She was really going to do this.

Insanity.

"Mommy!"

Oh, she'd lost track of time hadn't she? She'd zoned out reading the page on her phone again. School was already out.

She'd already killed the engine and rolled the windows down, but she was being summoned so it was time to get out. She opened her car door and stepped out of the vehicle, grinning at her daughter's gleeful wave. Thankfully, the girl remained in her spot with her teacher, waiting to be released. Good girl. Patience was something they'd been working on since the beginning of the school year. It was good to see that work paying off.

Emily was sunshine personified, endlessly exuberant, and every bit her father's daughter. Although she was five years old, she was a young five with her birthday just days after Kate's own. It had concerned her teacher when she bounced around more than she sat at first, but after a few weeks, and more than a few tears, she'd settled admirably. She'd been bored in preschool, having learned so much from everyone around her already; she'd asked them every day when she could go to real school like her big brother. So far the gamble had paid off. She was smart as a whip and school was thankfully helping her harness that intelligence the way it should, the way even endless playtime with her father couldn't quite manage.

It was a good thing, too, with the baby on the way. Kate hoped maybe this insane leap would be another good thing for them; another place for the family to focus their energy instead of worrying about this pregnancy.

"Mommy, hi!"

She dipped, holding out her arms to her baby girl. "Hi, sweet girl, how was your day?"

Little arms and legs wound around her, begging to be lifted while it was still physically possible.

"So, so good, Mommy. We painted the mural in the garden! And we got to sign our names!"

"You did?" she asked, settling her little one on her hip to wait for her oldest baby. The children were brought out by grade, so they would be waiting for a few minutes. "Can I see it?"

"Uh huh! At the ded'cation." Emily beamed, palming her mother's face. Kate kissed her little fingers gently.

"At the dedication. Well Daddy and I will be there. Are you singing this time?" Emily loved to sing and never hesitated to let anyone know it. She definitely had Martha's flair for the dramatic.

"Oh yes. I learned my whole song today. That's what I learned. And Thomas is singing, too!"

Well that was news to her. "He is?"

"Uh huh. His class comed to sing with us, but we can't sit together," she sighed. It was a put upon sigh only a little girl not getting her way could muster, a sigh her mother knew well.

Kate rubbed her back gently. "Well that's because he needs to stay with his class, sweet girl. Not because he doesn't want to sit with you."

"I know."

"Good." She swayed gently, keeping an eye out for the second grade teachers. She only wanted to explain this plan once. "Hey Em, I have a surprise for you and Thomas. It's a surprise for Daddy, too."

Well that piqued her interest. Large blue eyes lifted to hers. Oh, her Castles loved surprises. She had no doubt her son would make the same face when he emerged from the building and heard the news.

"Is it dinner in the park? Are we seeing Gwam?"

Oh, they should do that: see Martha's play again, the whole family. Last time she'd taken Emily and Alexis had met them there for a girls night.

"Not this time, sunshine," she singsonged, tapping her nose. "I'll tell you just as soon as Thomas gets here."

"What's taking so long?"

"It's almost time, silly. He's walking out with his class right now. We can be patient," she reminded her softly, hefting her into a different spot on her hip. She wouldn't be able to carry Emily in a few months, sooner if the sciatica that plagued her in the late stages of her second pregnancy acted up earlier, but for now they were both making the most of it.

"I guess," her little drama queen sighed. "But I'll like it, right?"

"You'll love it," she assured, kissing her forehead. "As much as you love playing with Daddy."

Emily's eyes widened at that. She loved few things in the world more than playing with her father.

"As much as Superhero Princess Pirates?" Oh yes, her favorite game. It was one of the only times when they were able to turn the loft into a giant pirate ship superhero lair.

"Uh huh," she promised. "As much as that. Just a few minutes more and then you'll find out what it is."

Emily squeezed her shoulders; her little body positively buzzing with excitement already. Kate loved being able to make her children happy. It didn't take big gestures, of course. Sometimes it only took a cuddle or a kiss, but she loved being able to give them things like what she had planned, too.

"He's here! He's here, Mommy!"

She smiled. Sure enough, Thomas was already trotting his way to her, his hair flopping into his eyes over the rims of his new glasses. They'd need to get it cut soon, before the strands obscured the lenses completely. She grinned, holding out an arm for a sideways hug. It was the most he allowed when he was in the presence of other kids, but she knew not to be offended. Her baby boy was shy with his affection in public. He always had been.

"Hi handsome," she greeted, stooping to kiss his mop of hair quickly. "How was your day?"

She felt him smile into her side before he murmured, "Good, Momma."

"Good. I want to hear all about it."

He grinned his father's adorable grin at her. Even now, Castle still looked amazed when she wanted to know about him. "Were your cookies a hit?" she added, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

"Uh huh! Mrs. Williams loved the coffee ones, Momma."

She thumbed his cheek gently. "I'm glad. You worked so hard on them. What else did you do today?"

"We talked about space, Momma, and I told 'em what Dad said about our place on the moon."

Laughing softly, she led him to their car. Of course he had told them. Obviously, they didn't have a place on the moon, just the property Castle was proud to talk about, but as always it made for a good story.

"What'd they say?" She rubbed his temple gently, sliding her hand back to stroke his ear too. The glasses were still an adjustment; most days he came home complaining about the tops of his ears aching. She tried to massage the hurt away, to make the transition easier for him.

"That Dad's crazy," he giggled, bumping his head against her. "But we'll have a place someday. I know we will."

"I know we will, too, baby," she agreed. "Tell me something else you learned?"

She always asked that. Her mother had done the same when she was growing up, "Tell me something you learned, Katie," and somehow without even consciously thinking about it, she'd started asking her kids, too. Even if it was something little, she wanted to hear what they'd learned.

"There are so many stars, Momma, it's impossible to count 'em. Way, way, way more than a trillion!"

"Way more than a trillion, whoa."

"Uh huh. It's so cool. Next week we're gonna look in the telescope! But oh, you gotta sign the form. Or Dad. And one of you hasta come, too, 'cause it's at night. But not too late, promise."

That sounded like fun. "You got it," she promised, knowing one of them would be able to be there. Even if it meant leaving work, she'd be there if he wanted her there.

"Thanks, Momma," he said, ever the thoughtful one. She sneaked another kiss from the top of his head, delighting in his adorable giggle.

"Any time, peanut. Now," she grunted, lowering her girl onto her feet. "We have a surprise mission."

"A mission?" He perked up again, all traces of his post-school energy crash gone.

"A mission. I've already done the intel gathering, we just need to get our gear and go in." She tapped their noses. "Are you ready for that?"

"YEAH!"

They loved when she played like this. Truthfully, she loved getting to play, too.

"Okay, good. In that case, here's our man." She turned her phone to face them, watching the excitement spread over their faces. Part of her wished for a camera to capture it, but another part of her knew she'd see the same look on her husband's face later that afternoon. Plus, she could take a picture of the kids when they got there and commemorate that moment.

"A PUPPY!?"

Yeah, she was crazy, but it was a good kind of crazy. They'd talked about a pet before; hell, she and Rick had split custody on a dog long before children were even in the cards. So when her father – her own damn father – shared the urgent adoption notice, she'd only hesitated a little before making her inquiries. The poor dog's listing had only been shared 15 times and that alone had spurred her into action.

"That's right. He's a little older than a puppy, but he's excited to meet you guys."

"We get to meet him? Do we getta keep him?" Thomas bounced, questions firing at a rapid pace. "What do we name him? Does he have a name? Can he sleep in my room?"

"No, Thomas, my room!" Emily lifted defiant eyes to her brother.

"Uh huh. Maybe he'll sleep with me and then you'll have to come cuddle in the mornings to see him," she teased, taking her phone back and lifting Emily into the car. Thomas followed dutifully, giggling at the idea. The five (six, counting her growing belly) of them would be a tight fit in their bed, and they all knew it. "His name is Mac, but if we can agree on a name, we can change it if we want."

She dropped kisses on both of their cheeks, waiting until they gave her two thumbs up to slide behind the wheel again.

"I like Mac," Thomas mused once they were sitting in a line of parents waiting to leave the school. She hated driving to their school, but it was a necessary evil.

"Yeah, Mommy, me too," Emily echoed.

"You do?" She glanced back at them quickly, smiling at their eager grins.

"Uh huh, it's like Mac from Clifford!"

She smiled again. "Mac from Clifford, huh? You think your dad's going to like that name?"

"Yeees, Mommy."

"Well then, Mac it is."

The kids cheered behind her, high fiving in a rare display of solidarity. Okay, she might be crazy, but doing this would make her family happy.

They were getting a dog.