Title: Room For One More

Summary: Rick and Kate contemplate a new addition to their family.

Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters I write about. If you recognize a name, odds are it isn't mine. But seeing as this is a fanfic website, you probably knew that already.

Thanks again to Sunshiny-Kate, the best beta a writer could ask for!

"Are you sure you don't want some?" Kate asked as she held her travel mug out.

Rick looked up and smiled at her.

"Yeah, Thanks, but I spilled yours, so it's only fair that you get mine."

"It was an accident, Rick."

"Is that what you'll tell the judge when you're on trial for shooting me after I got on your nerves because you didn't get your coffee?"

Kate threw her head back in laughter. Unfortunately, he did have a point. She did tend to get cranky when she didn't get her normal dosage of caffeine.

"Okay, point taken." She said. "But now I owe you you one hundred and one coffees."

"Please." Rick chuckled. "I think by now the count is much closer to three, maybe four hundred."

"I may have to make it up to you a different way."

"I can think of a few things you could do to pay me back."

"Oh yeah?" Kate's eyebrows rose challengingly. "Like what?"

He got up slowly off the floor, ignoring the chuckle that escaped her lips at his struggle to rise, and walked over to her. He put a hand on either arm of the chair she was sitting in and leaned down close to her. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat sped up. Even with all the time that had passed, he still did this to her. He had an overwhelming effect on her total body, jump-starting it into hyper-awareness whenever he was close. Or touched her. Or looked at her. Or even just when she thought about him. He put his lips an inch from her ear and could feel a puff of warm air with each word he whispered.

"I'll make you clean the litter box when the little ones aren't around."

Kate laughed again, unable to stop her amusement from bubbling out. She fell for this kind of thing all the time from him, and although she usually just rolled her eyes and acted annoyed, she secretly loved that he could still pull one over on her. He hadn't moved yet, so she slowly turned her head and kissed him gently. After a few moments, she pulled away and put her mouth near his ear and whispered back to him.

"We haven't decided if we are getting the cat yet, my dear."

Rick pulled away from her, a look of mock hurt on his face.

"But Kate." He whined. "It's so cute. I mean, come on, just look at him."

He was wrong. The kitten in the room with them was more than cute. He was adorable. His fur was a swirl of gray and black, giving him a bullseye pattern on his sides that straightened out into stripes on his legs. Above his bright, yellow-green eyes were four thin black lines, all angled so that together they looked like a M on his forehead. He was currently sitting on his haunches, his long tail wrapped around his feet, with his head cocked slightly to the side as he watched Rick and Kate. He looked as if he were trying to figure out why Rick had stopped petting him and gotten up off the floor.

"We can name him Mal." Rick said hopefully.

"Mal?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. He's got a M on his head."

"You are not naming that cat after a character from a t.v. show."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Rick crossed his arms.

Kate stared at the little kitten, who was now indifferently licking a paw and swiping the dampened appendage repeatedly over his face and ears. He had an extra toe on each of his feet, so his paws looked a bit like tiny hands.

"What about Tom Thumb?" She offered.

"Tom Thumb?"

"Yeah. He's a tomcat, and he looks like he has thumbs."

Rick glanced down at the still washing kitten and smiled.

"Does that mean we can keep him?"

"Yes, Rick." Kate smiled back at him. "We can take him home."

He stepped back towards her and leaned down to kiss her. He broke away after a few seconds and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Thank you." He said. "The kids are going to love him."

"Mmmhmm." Kate smirked. "The kids."

Rick opened his mouth to respond, but paused when the song changed on the radio that was sitting on a table in the corner of the room. The shelter volunteer who had left them them in the visitation room with the kitten had explained that music helped keep the animals calm. Neither Rick nor Kate knew if that was actually true, but they had simply nodded and smiled.

"Kate." He clasped his hands together like an excited child. "This is that song I told you about."

"What song?"

"The one I want to be used for Rook's and Nikki's first dance at their wedding reception."

"Are you talking about in the movie?" She asked.

"Yeah." He reached for his pocket, but didn't find what he was looking for. "Hey, where's my phone?"

"You left it in the car."

"Oh yeah. The battery ran out." He sighed. "Can I use yours, please?"

"I left it at home. Everyone who calls me is either on a plane or in this room."

Rick sighed again and started looking around the room. Then his face lit up and he reached into his inner jacket pocket. He pulled his hand out triumphantly. He was holding the sharpie he kept handy for random autograph requests when he was out and about. He started writing on his hand, making a note to himself, and Kate assumed it was something to do with the song. When he finished and replaced the sharpie in his pocket, she cleared her throat.

"Okay, Captain Distracto. If we are going to take this guy home, we had better get on with it. The kid's planes will be landing soon and I want to have everything set up when they get the the loft."

"We are going to give him to them now?"

"Rick, we are about to have all our kids and all their kids in our home for two weeks. There is no way we can hide a kitten from four adults and five children for any length of time, let alone two weeks."

"Good point." He smiled again, grabbed Kate's hand, and pulled her to her feet. "I love Christmas." He tugged on her hand and she stepped closer to him, bringing their bodies flush with each other's. "It brings us all together."

Kate chuckled before raising up on her toes to kiss him. Their casual caress was interrupted when something pushed it's way between their shins. They both looked down and grinned at the tabby as he looked up at them and meowed tumultuously.

"Okay, Tom Thumb." Rick said as he let go of Kate's hand. "Let's go home."

He reached down and picked up the kitten. He lifted him up to his face and whispered nonsensical nothings to him. Kate's smile grew as she watched the interaction between the man she loved and the tiny beast in his hand.

"We're going to have to stop at a pet store on the way." She pointed out.

"Let's go to the front desk and make this little dude ours." Rick started towards the door.

Kate took a sip of her now nearly cold coffee and fell into step behind him. The next couple of weeks would be crazy, with all the people in the house, and made even more so with the addition of a baby animal. But nothing had ever been completely normal in the twenty-six years they'd been married, and she wouldn't want it any other way.

A/N - So, I got the idea for this story when I saw the Castle Fan Awards story prompt, which was:"Castle & Beckett stuck in an empty room with a radio, a cat, a sharpie and a single cup of coffee". I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. -Paige