AN: Just a quick fluffy one-shot written for the prompt below. The prompt is from a Tumblr site called 'Castle Fanfic Prompts' so if you've got suggestions or are looking for inspiration that's the place to go. Please excuse any mistakes as I literally wrote this in an hour, on a wave of inspiration.

Set post 'The Good, The Bad and The Baby', so spoilers for that.

Enjoy!

IBYL
xo

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.

Post 6x10. Beckett lets Castle know in no uncertain terms that no kid of hers is going to be called Cosmo. Then they discuss baby names.

"You know, Uncle Rick suits you. You were fantastic with Benny." Kate says as they clean up their Thanksgiving dinner. Their dinner party had long since left claiming early nights and other plans, and Kate and Rick were out of their costumes and in some more comfortable attire.

"Thanks. You know, for someone who's not a 'baby person', you caught on pretty quick." Rick smiled, and Kate blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Even with all of the awkwardness, diaper changes and spit up – yeah, I guess it was pretty fun." She said. Rick poured them both a glass of wine before they curled up on the couch together in front of the fire, just one of the benefits of a cold New York evening. They sat in silence for a while, each reflecting on the past few days and the changes it had brought.

Taking in a baby, no matter how temporary or necessary it may have been, was still a stretch for someone like Kate Beckett. No nonsense, tough as nails cops were not meant to melt over babies and toddlers – it wasn't part of the plan. But Kate found that with Rick at her side, looking after Benny had not been particularly stressful or strenuous – a little tiresome, definitely. But she wasn't as panicked as she'd anticipated. A sure sign of growth, she thought.

She was broken from her reverie by a smiling Rick.

"Wait til it's a mini Kevin Ryan that we're looking after for an evening while his or her parents are out on the town." Rick said with a grin.

"Who says we'd be babysitting?" Kate rebuked.

"It's our godparently duty." Rick said solemnly, and Kate barked out a laugh.

"I doubt we'll be godparents to Baby Ryan, babe." She smiled. "But that sounds fun."

"Because it will be." Rick grinned, planting a kiss into his beloved's hair. The silence surrounded them again, but it wasn't awkward – just a comfortable lull in conversation as a veritable freight train of thoughts and dreams steamed through the minds of both Kate and Rick. Rick was broken from his own visions of the future by Kate's soft whisper.

"I never thought I'd be in a position to have this."

"Have what?"

"A family. A life. Kids. Godchildren. I was always so determinedly focused on the job. I didn't stop to think that children were an option. That's why I've never really devoted myself to spending time with kids, you know? Why taunt myself with what I couldn't have." Kate murmured into her wine glass. Rick pulled her into his embrace.

"If I have anything to say about it, you can have whatever you want." Rick said softly, and Kate smiled.

"So if I turned around and said I wanted a Brady Bunch of our very own…?" Kate teased.

"I'd say 'When do we start practising?'" Rick replied eagerly, and Kate chuckled.

"I'm not saying tomorrow, or even next year. But someday, when the time is right, maybe one would be nice." Kate said.

Rick beamed.

"There is a condition though." Kate said, and Rick continued to smile.

"What's that?"

"No child of mine will be called Cosmo Castle, and that is final." Kate said, shooting him a quick glare for good measure.

"I should really be arguing that point because, Kate Beckett, Cosmo is a fantastic name. But I am far too happy right now because my stunning fiancée has just agreed to have a family with me at some stage in the future."

Kate grinned and leaned in to kiss her husband-to-be thoroughly. When they pulled away for air, Castle wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to lay on his chest as the silence swelled again.

"What are some names you'd like?" Castle asked, and Kate smiled.

"For our hypothetical child."

"Less hypothetical, more eventual." Rick clarified with a grin, making Kate laugh.

"I guess I haven't given it a lot of thought, you know. But even when I was younger, I didn't like particularly unusual names. I don't mind if they're a bit different, you know? But if it's not easily spelt or pronounced, then the kid is going to have to spell or pronounce his or her name to every single new person they meet. And as a child who grew up with everyone asking 'is that Katherine with a C or a K?', I found it really annoying."

"Not a lot of thought, huh?"

"Shut up. Maybe I've been considering it more since I was given this by a handsome fellow." She replied, waving her left hand in his face as he cracked a grin.

"So what are some of your favourite names?"

"Ever, or for a child of ours?" Kate said, and even saying that sentence aloud made her smile shyly.

"Both, I guess. I'd like to think you'd pick a name you love for our child." Rick replied.

"A name we both love. We're in this together." Kate said. "Well, eventually."

"Names." Rick prompted.

"Classic ones, I guess. Charlotte, Hannah, Grace, Alexander, Ethan, William. Those types of names."

"I like a few of those." He said.

"Well, what would you pick if you got to pick again?" Kate queried.

"I tend to go for names with a story." Rick began.

"What's the story with Alexis, then?" Kate asked, always eager to learn more about her partner.

"I got the idea from a book, actually – The Hills of Varna. It's from the 40's, but it's set during the 16th century, and basically the protagonist is sent on a quest to locate a missing play by an Ancient Greek playwright."

"Named Alexis." Kate surmised.

"Yeah. I always liked the story, it was one I read around the time I'd decided I wanted to be a writer. And I guess I just liked the name – it stuck with me a long time. I always thought it would be a gorgeous name for a little girl. So when Meredith showed no interest in naming her, I took over. Luckily I convinced Meredith it was after Alexis Carrington from Dynasty, so she was fine with it."

Kate held back a shudder at just the mention of his ex-wife's appalling motherly approach and moved the conversation onto safer ground.

"Have you thought about names for our future child?"

"Many times. Usually while procrastinating about Nikki and Rook."

"And what have you come up with?" Kate asked, curious.

"I think I'd like to keep the literary theme going. Atticus has always been a favourite." Castle grinned sheepishly.

"To Kill a Mockingbird, of course. What else?" Kate said with a smile. She did love watching his brain tick over.

"Oliver. For Oliver Twist. Josephine, for Little Women."

"I like Oliver and Josephine." Kate said softly.

"We could have our own little Jo." Castle murmured back. "Not a Johanna. No sadness. But a Jo. Strong-willed, full of spunk and creative flair. Tough as nails like her momma, but with a brilliant mind and a heart of gold."

Kate couldn't help the tears that rolled silently down her cheeks at her partner's words, but she couldn't hold back the smile either as she pressed a tear-salted kiss to his lips.

"And her Daddy's bright blue mischievous eyes and light heart."

It was Rick's turn for his eyes to well up as they both pictured their future, clearer today than ever before.

Time passed by them as they sat on the couch. The moment over, Kate and Rick moved to the bedroom to curl up for the evening. As the lights went out, Kate curled into her partner's side with a smile, pressing a kiss to his cloth-covered chest.

"Thank you. For being the reason I believe again." Kate murmured softly, before closing her eyes to dream of a precocious young girl named Josephine - smart as a whip, with sparkling blue eyes.

Thanks for reading!