A/N - Hey guys, just a small one shot I had to get out of my head during this period of lack of inspiration (aka author's block) surrounding my other stories. Hope you enjoy this nice memory I hope to never forget.

X Nina K.

Kate was standing by the kitchen island, mixing the ingredients of her deliciously famous apple pie, as she watched her oldest child do her homework - which basically consisted in colouring some printed pictures. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, something that reminded Kate of herself every time she focused on her paperwork.

It had been very difficult for her to even let AJ go to daycare. She knew it was important for her development as a child to meet other children her age and to be in a new environment. Castle was worse than her when they left the kid there. He even cried a bit, but he knew as well that it would be best.

Kate shook her head at the memory. If she remembered correctly, her mom had been the one crying and her dad the one trying to assure her that it was okay, though it hadn't seemed to work.

She was very proud to know that AJ was making friends with some of the children in her class and had even invited some to come over and play or maybe go to the park on the weekends. Those were moments Kate always enjoyed, she loved seeing a bright smile on her daughter's face.

"Momma, how old were you when you met daddy?" Her daughter's voice caught her attention and she lifted her head to look at her.

"Why do you ask, sweetie?"

"I'm four already and I still don't know who I'm going to marry!" she lamented, the face she made weirdly similar to her father's.

Kate chuckled loudly. "Sweetie, you still have a lot of time to think about that. Don't you worry. I was 29 when I met your dad and only started dating after four years. We got married when I turned 34."

She watched as Alexandra's eyes grew wider. "Momma, you were that old when you met daddy? Lexis is way younger than you are and she has a boyfriend."

Kate's face fell. Had her daughter just called her old? And was she comparing her to Alexis? "Honey, Momma had boyfriends before daddy. That's what people do when they're trying to find the right person to spend the rest of their lives with. Alexis didn't marry Max. They're still trying to see if it works."

"You're still way too young to even worry about it." she continued. "Don't worry, okay? But, every time you want to know something like this, you can ask me." 'Don't go asking your daddy, he'll freak out.' she thought to herself.

The little blue-eyed brunette nodded and a couple of minutes later, just as Kate set the pie in the oven, Rick walked through the door with Aaron in his arms.

The almost two-year-old was fully awake, Kate noticed. Rick had probably fed him a lot of candy, so he'd be the one responsible for putting the kid to bed. She quickly approached them, pressing a quick kiss to Rick's lips and earning a groan from AJ.

Aaron put his little arms up and Kate picked him up, kissing his soft wavy brown hair. "Momma." he said, playing with her mother's ring on the chain.

"Yeah, baby, that belonged to momma's momma."

Castle watched their interaction, but his younger daughter's voice called his attention. "Daddy, if momma was 29 when the two of you met, how old were you?"

Before he could answer, Kate approached him and whispered in his year. "Be careful. I was called 'too old' today and I'm wondering whether she has learnt the word 'ancient'."

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