Stuff Crazy

Prompted by beautifulsmilee. Thank you! I hope you like this!


After caring for Cosmo (Benny, but he would always be Cosmo to them), she had always assumed that Castle would be the one to deck their hypothetical future children out in the ridiculous festive outfits, that he would be the one to walk through a store and come home with an armload of unnecessary baby things. She'd been sure that he would be the one to insist their kids needed another t-shirt with a cheesy saying about being cute, or being someone's number one fan. How wrong she had been.

Yes, Rick indulges too, going "stuff" crazy quite often, but Kate's just as bad as he is. Maybe even worse at times. After all, she's the one who walked into an expensive children's boutique after spying the onesie on display. She's the one who brushed her hand over the downy hair on her daughter's head and whispered how perfect it would be to wear for Valentine's Day. She's the one who also bought half a dozen other things for Lily in the store, spent almost as much on baby clothes as she had on lingerie at La Perla, and left the boutique without a shred of remorse.

"Your Daddy's going to love this," she tells Lily as she changes her into the onesie on the big day, tickling the baby's belly once she's dressed and her soiled diaper has been dropped into the garbage. Her daughter grins, gummy and sweet, wiggling on the mat that covers the carpet.

Kate rubs her cheek, encouraging Lily's smile to stay long enough for her to take a picture. She manages to get a few shots before the baby squirms, rolling onto her belly, presenting the adorable back of the onesie for photos, too. She'll send a few of them to her father, Martha, and Lanie once Rick has seen Lily in her outfit.

"Good job, baby," she praises, dropping kisses on Lily's cheeks. "You're getting so good at moving to your tummy. You and I will be doing yoga together in no time, you know that?"

Her girl smiles, squeaking in response. "Yeah, I can't wait either," Kate adds, resting on her elbows. "Now what should we do until Daddy gets home? Should we play here? Should we go for a walk and play in the park for a little while? Should we make sure his present is ready?"

Lily squeaks again, patting the mat with an open hand.

"All three? Okay, I think we can accomplish all three," she promises, lifting her daughter into her arms and getting to her feet.

Of course, they've accomplished all of that and more by the time Castle gets home, and her husband steps into the house to find them curled up in bed, napping. Kate's not even sure if she stirs when he kicks off his shoes and slides beneath the sheet to join them in their slumber.

He agrees over dinner later that night that the onesie was the perfect purchase. One of many she made for Valentine's Day.

There are perks to being a bit "stuff" crazy.


This is another ficlet that was originally posted on my tumblr. Since it's Valentine's Day themed - sort of - I figured I'd post it here now. Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it!