It had been a tough week for Captain Kate Beckett. Her detectives were chasing a nasty killer, and she had pitched in and did some of the nitty gritty work so her detectives could spend as much time as possible in the field, running down leads. It took a few late nights, but they did it; they solved the case late yesterday. She'd gotten home after midnight, put her cop stuff away, kissed her husband and went to look at her babies.

Ahh, her babies. Alexis teased them and called them "3-2-1"; Jamie was 3, Hannah was 2 and Alex was 1 year old. It had been a crazy few years, but right now, it was so worth it. As she walked into rooms to get a look at them, she reflected on how life worked; Jamie was his dad; Hannah was her (down to the Beckett stubbornness, which she would never admit out loud); and Alex was a perfect mix of the two of them. She had looked into each of their rooms, quietly watched them sleep, ate a warmed over dinner, and went to bed.

At some point the next morning, Kate's eyes opened and the first thing she did was reach for her husband; she had missed him too. He had held down the fort, keeping the kids happy and fed and clean for the last few days. But when she touched nothing but air, she opened her eyes and realized Rick wasn't in their room or in the bathroom. Then her smile bloomed across her face; he was upstairs getting their babies so they could all cuddle in the bed.

At that thought, the door burst open. Jamie came running into the room. Rick was holding Hannah and Alex and he gave her a big grin as he dumped them on the bed. Three voices excitedly called out, "Mama, Mama, Mama!"

"My beautiful babies! How are you Jamie?" she asked first.

"I'm so good, Mama! Daddy let me watch Firefly yesterday!" the three year old said. "He said since I had been so good when you were busy at work, I could get a reward! And Firefly is so good!"

"Ahh, that Joss Whedon show, huh, Daddy? I must say I find Captain Mal very handsome! I'm so glad to hear you were a good boy for Daddy. And my beautiful Hannah, how are you?" she turned to the two year old sitting next to her in the bed.

Hannah smiled at her and said, "I got to take a fancy bubble bath because I ate all my green beans!"

"Wait a minute, sweet pea," Rick jumped in. "You always eat your green beans. You got to take the fancy bath because you ate your chicken, too!" he chuckled as she shyly smiled at her mother. Kate responded by giving Hannah a bunch of raspberries on her belly.

"You ate your chicken and your green beans! That's my girl. And what was this bath like?" she asked her daughter.

"Daddy got a candle, Mama! It made the bathroom smell like cake!" the two year old replied.

"Vanilla. I figured she'd like it," Rick told Kate. "And she did."

Next, Kate turned to Alex. "And what about you, Alex my sweet baby? What did you do?"

"Bird!" Alex made other sounds, but that was the one that made the most sense.

"We saw birds on the playground and he had a good time trying to chase them," Rick told her.

She tickled him and loved his old man chuckle. It always surprised her to hear that deep laugh coming from such a young body. But it was Alex, and she loved it. By now, Rick had helped Jamie climb up on the bed and she was surrounded by her family. There were little arms, legs and cheeks everywhere and she was kissing everyone as much as she could. She loved her job, loved solving crimes and bringing justice to families. But she loved her family. Her children were growing into special people and her husband continued to support her and have her back. Nowadays, it was at the kitchen table or the playground or the bedroom, but support her and their family he did.