For Pau, on Galentine's Day, a few days early.
They put the kids to bed, hanging up the girls' dresses and Theo's little vest with his father's borrowed pocket square that clashed with the color of his shirt as quietly as possible, crossing paths in the hallway as they wish the sleeping children a goodnight.
Kate closes Harper's door, leaning against the wall with a heavy, exhausted sigh as Castle comes out of Theo's room.
"Tired?" he asks, dusting his fingers along her hip, the silk blend of her dress shifting under his palm.
She nods, catching his hand and tugging him toward the stairs. Rick can tell just how deep her weariness goes by how slowly she takes each step, focusing on balancing herself on the tall heels that made her legs look miles long tonight. She flips off the foyer light as they pass by, closing the door to their bedroom with a kick of her foot.
When Rick turns to face her, Kate's fingers are already working to undo his belt, yanking the leather through the loops of his dress pants and untucking the starched white shirt from his waistband.
"Kate-"
She leans in, her mouth at his cheek. "Not too tired to celebrate with my husband," she murmurs, slipping open the buttons of his shirt and pushing it from his shoulders. The sleeves catch on his wrists and he reaches down to flip open the cufflinks, shaking the shirt to the floor.
Her blazer follows, Rick already fumbling for the zipper along the back of her dress until the fabric encircles her feet and she can step forward in her underwear. Kate kicks off her shoes as Rick rids himself of his black trousers, moving into her space until she is forced to sit on the edge of their bed.
He climbs over her, tangling his hands in her hair to angle her face up for a kiss that makes her moan in the back of her throat. A breathless laugh escapes when he pulls away for air that lasts a handful of seconds before she arches up to press her smile to his.
"Congratulations, Captain Beckett," he whispers, trailing his hand down her thigh to hook her ankle at his hip.
Kate falls asleep on the couch in the middle of making dinner, pasta boiling on the stovetop and dinner rolls warming in the oven. Just need to sit down for a minute, she had whispered to Rick as she passed him the wooden spoon and sat on the sofa, dragging a throw blanket over her legs. A minute turned into her sleeping through dinner, the kids whispering at the table to avoid waking Mom until Rick herded them upstairs for homework and showers.
She wakes to the gentle shake of her shoulder and Rick's murmured "Babe?" at her ear.
"Mm, yeah?" she groans, stretching until her toes peek from under the blanket. "Shit. Dinner," she says, scrambling to her feet.
He grabs her wrist, spinning her back into his body. "Done. Kids are upstairs doing schoolwork and you need to go to bed."
Her body slumps into his. "Don't know why I'm so tired, Rick. Hasn't been like this in years."
"You started a new job just three months ago," he reassures her, leading her toward the bedroom. "You've got a good reason to be exhausted."
She changes into her pajamas, curling up under the sheets. "Last time I was constantly tired was when I was pregnant with Theo," she mumbles as she falls into sleep again.
Rick's hands stall as they smooth out the covers, his heart lodging in his throat.
She's right, of course. When she was carrying Theo, he'd find her napping anywhere she could lay her head down and close her eyes and damn if he can see the similarities to now.
But she can't be pregnant, can she?
She listens to him lay out the facts as she preps for her CompStat meeting, scribbling notes about a failed narcotics bust in the margin of a report.
"Castle, I'm not pregnant again," she insists, flipping over the page to scan her robbery numbers. Too many numbers to memorize before standing in front of the commissioner's board and defending her precinct and her officers' actions so maybe they'll give her the overtime clearance she desperately needs.
"But this is like a repeat of your pregnancy with Theo," he insists, sitting forward and knocking her nameplate askew. "You've been exhausted, Kate, and it's not just because you're running a precinct. You eat more, not only grazing through the day, and you've avoided any spicy food." He waits until she looks up from her papers. "Take a test tonight? Just… indulge my paranoia for a moment and prove me wrong."
Kate sighs, reaching over the desk to smudge her thumb under his eye. "I'll pick a couple up at the Duane Reade on the way home, okay?" she asks.
"Thank you," he replies. "Now, time for a lunch break?" he says with a wink, holding up the Chipotle bag and two bottles of soda.
"Sounds perfect."
She comes home to be greeted by the screeches of her children. Al has her book report spread out at one end of the dining table, a worn copy of the Boxcar Children cracked open but Harper's addition and subtraction worksheets have been abandoned in favor of a screaming match with her brother.
Rick grabs her as she drops her bag in the front hall, something sounding like oh thank god falling from his mouth.
"Harper! Theodor Stephen!" she shouts, making the youngest children jump.
"Mom! He won't stop talking about no homework," Harper whines, spinning around in her chair to face her mother.
Theo kicks at the coffee table. "Don't call me Theodor," he groans, flopping back on the couch. His grandmother's genes run deep in him, inheriting not only her bright red hair but her flare for the melodramatic. "I don't like Theodor."
"Hey. I picked your name," Kate says. "Now, stop lording your lack of homework over Harper and help Dad with dinner."
The boy grumbles as he pushes off the couch to stomp into the kitchen.
Rick presses a grateful kiss to her mouth as she gathers her discarded bag to bring into the office. "Why are the youngest the hardest to control?"
"Because they've got your genes," Kate whispers. "Want me to take this test now or after dinner?"
"After. Or now? Kate, I don't know…"
Kate steps out of her heels, hooking them over her fingers and starting toward the office. "After. Let's get the kids in bed before we figure this out."
She supervises homework while Rick gets Theo's help in the kitchen then they switch places after dinner; Kate utilizes the girls' help with dishes as Rick and Theo repack backpacks for school tomorrow.
With the children in bed an hour later, they stand in their bathroom with the two boxes on the counter.
"Out," she says, shoving at his chest. "I'm not doing this while you stand and watch." Rick frowns, looking every inch a kicked puppy. "I'll be out as soon as I'm done and we can watch the sticks together, okay?" She gives him a quick kiss and closes the door.
Five minutes later, she appears, the sticks lined up on the bathroom counter with her phone doing a countdown from its place propped up on her cosmetic bag.
"Kate, what if-"
She quiets him with a hand over his mouth. "Wait for the timer, then we'll figure whatever out whatever happens with 'what if'."
He loops his arm around her waist, tugging her close against him. She doesn't miss how his thumb rubs small circles at the edge of her belly button as if imagining a phantom rise there.
"Whatever happens," he says, his mouth at her ear, "I love you."
Kate rolls her eyes, turning to look at him. "You're very dramatic, did you know that? Making this sound like the end of the universe." She smiles, though, nuzzling her nose into the side of his neck. "Love you too, Rick."
The timer rings, echoing in the bathroom, sound spilling into the bedroom. He's the first one to spring forward, silencing the alarm and snagging Kate's hand to get her by his side.
"Ready?"
Normally, the early February snowstorm would have her panicking over police resources being spread too thin through her precinct and concerns about crime jumping up as people fight through the city.
None of that matters in the comfortable warmth of the hospital room, surrounded by her family.
Rick squeezed himself onto the bed with her, half behind her so her back rests against his right shoulder. Al sits cross-legged at the foot of the bed while Harper and Theo climb over their parents' legs.
"She's beautiful, Mom," Rick declares, brushing his forefinger over their newborn daughter's tiny, fisted hand.
Kate smiles, tired yet still brilliant, her eyes glued on the sleeping baby in her arms. "Yeah. Still can't believe we're going to be doing this again." She turns to find him watching her. "Your turn for her name. Got a good one to end our family on?"
"Kids," he says, getting the attention of the other three, "this is your new baby sister. Zora."
At the sound of her name, the baby squirms, blinking her eyes open and yawning widely.
"Perfect," Kate responds, carefully holding Zora as she kisses him softly to the groans of their older children. "Now we go from A to Z."
This marks the completion of the Coffee Shop series.