She watches them settle Alexis in with chatter and lighthearted ribbing, He offers to feed her, wants to hear about her day and her plans and makes absolutely no mention of the ex-boyfriend, which Kate's grateful for. It's probably too soon to joke about him yet, anyway. But it's Castle's face, peaceful and contented that she tracks as he hoists his daughter's bag under one arm, wrapping the other firmly around the girls shoulders to usher her up the stairs.
Halfway through their leisurely climb Castle throws a glance in Kate's direction, a brief knot of worry flashing across his brow but she laughs at him and it fades instantly. Kate waves her hand at him with a roll of her eyes, shooing him away so she can sip her wine in peace, happy to watch father and daughter take the next step together.
With the elated tone of their interaction flittering in now and again, life's background music playing softly, Kate lets her mind drift to nights like this spread out in her future.
Nights with Castle fussing over the return of his daughter, from college or travelling or just for the night, with Martha bustling somewhere in the kitchen, inviting her Dad over for dinner, and Kate curled up on the couch with a glass of wine in hand.
Family.
Her mind relaxes as she sinks down in the plush and comfortable couch, the familiar scent of the loft appeasing senses that are already joyous. Her eyes drift closed, but she has enough presence of mind to allow the wine glass slipping from her fingers to find safety on the little table behind her before she drops it.
Kate slips into slumber and she dreams easily of herself curled up here, not alone as she is now but gentled by the soft curl of movement below the skin of her swollen stomach. She can hear the coo of an infant in her ear as it nestles on her shoulder and the stark bellow of a toddler wanting attention.
Kate smiles as she sinks lower still, lashes fluttering and dreams pulling her deeper so she can better make out the bubble bath footprints that pitter patter over the wooden floors and lead to squirreled away munchkins hiding under their father's desk.
It's with that thought in mind that she drifts through sleep, waiting for the return of the man who will no doubt make all of her dreams come true.
He wakes her as he lifts her, the loft flooded through with shadow and the soft call of her name like a lullaby on his lips. Kate snuffles and laughs and just catches herself before she asks him if the kids are already in bed.
Her fingers trip to the lazy pout of her mouth to trap away anymore musings of her unfettered and half asleep mind, but she can't hide the smile.
Her lackadaisical perusal of his face is met with laughter, the press of his lips to her forehead and the mumble of a question that sounds like he's insinuating she's drunk.
She's not, she just forgot to wake up from her love haze. Two years and counting - maybe a little longer if she's truly honest - and it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. A lifetime if she's lucky. And they are, they're both so lucky.
Kate curls her arms around his neck, her lips finding the soft skin of his ear with ease and she tells him to be quiet, calls him babe to feel the reaction of his skin and mumbles a few other endearments that have him smiling and shaking his head at her, but pulling her closer nonetheless.
He's got a hand up under her knees and one at her back so the tips of his fingers become points of reflection on her skin. Like raindrops on the surface of a placid lake, where he touches her ripples of emotion weave out over her body, both lulled and aroused, sated and stimulated by the feel of him.
With every step he takes she finds herself more awake and more aware of him, of the way he carries her how he holds her to his chest and when he pauses at the threshold of their bedroom she knows the reason as well as he does. "Put me down." Kate hums quietly, her fingers stroking through the strands of hair at the nape of his neck and her eyes lingering over his face. Their gazes locked in silent understanding.
Castle does as she asks, slowly, letting his hand slip up her thighs and climbing higher as she finds her feet. He grins when his hands make contact with her backside, impish and cute and the mirror image of the faces she imagined hidden away in his office.
She stares at him for the longest moment and then she turns, hands to his shoulders, walking backwards into the bedroom and pulling Castle with her.
He makes another crack about what she's going to do to him when he's asleep but before she can answer she yawns and ruins the mood, her cheeks lifting in laughter when she buries her head in his shirt to hide from him.
His fingers climb the gentle curve of her spine and he wraps her up tight in a hug, kissing the top of her head. He jokes about her falling asleep halfway through and the dent it would leave in his ego.
They both know it won't happen, if anything she's probably more awake now than he is and Castle doesn't respond when she apologizes for yawning in his face because he's grinning from ear to ear, laughing at her half asleep state. And when she asks about Alexis he promises he's not popping off, absolutely does not want to run back upstairs and tuck his daughter in on her first night home, but his eyes betray him and this time she's laughing at him.
They're silly and she likes it, likes how easy it feels as they drift hand in hand towards his bed and Castle starts in again about what she has planned for him, what idle tricks her fingers will pull in the night and what secrets she'll whisper in his ears.
His hands find their way under her shirt, palms heated and soothing to the ache of her muscles and he presses her back.
Back, back and further they go, each step timed with precision, almost dancing until her legs collide with the sinful mattress behind her. Kate is about a second away from letting herself fall when Castle's eyes widen and he darts away from her.
A hand drops to her hip, weight on one foot and her hips angled in his direction, attitude and what the hell, Castle coiling through her limbs until she sees what he's up too.
He grimaces as he closes the bedroom door, reminding them they actually need the added privacy now and oh, oh yes, they should get used to that. Bear it in mind for the future.
Castle lets the weight of his body press the door shut, his eyes on her and nothing but, the caress of his gaze warm with promises.
He's at her side with three strides, contented exclamations weaving themselves free as they touch, claiming the curve of her expectant grin with his mouth.
His fingers find their way into her hair, thumbs soft across her jaw until the kiss mounts between them. It's hungrier than she realized, this need within her, to have him and their future, to have it all in her hands right this second, and their fingers tangle as they each try to rid the other of their clothing.
It's a short stumble backwards to the bed, a journey of anticipation, Castle - with the weighted press of his palm over her stomach - is happy to watch her take alone. But oh, no! Kate fists her hands in the open collar of his shirt and pulls.
He's coming with her.
Later, when it's dark and quiet and the writer is sprawled out on his stomach next to her, snuffling into his pillow, Kate feels her mind start to wander again.
Castle asked what it was that she did to him while he slept, wanted her to wake him up for it next time, but in these peaceful hours as she feels his fingers reach for her in sleep, Kate finds herself thankful for the things he does to her.
He unconsciously seeks her out and she feels loved, he murmurs her name and smiles and she knows she makes him happy. He turns his face into the warmth of her skin and inhales, finds peace in her scent and settles more deeply into sleep. In their shared silence he shows her everything.
She imagines crossing that threshold in his arms for the first time as his wife and the day she'll tell him she's going to give him another person to fuss over. She pictures the bed she now lays in full of her family, laughing and happy and eventually shooed from the room, the door pushed closed again, so she can get her hands on him.
She dreams big and she dreams small, insignificant and tumultuous and even at rest he somehow creates a space for her, a safe place to feel loved and watched over, to feel secure and at peace.
A place to dream.
And as he sleeps, she lets her mind run riot.