One-shot with a waterfall as requested by Anon on Tumblr. Enjoy!

Waterfall

The day was beautiful. It was sunny, 75 degree weather—refreshing after the long winter they'd endured. And there was minimal cloud cover, making the day that much more perfect.

Detective Kate Beckett and her boyfriend-slash-partner, best-selling crime novelist, Richard Castle, had been given a long weekend after a particularly grueling case involving the double homicide of teen girls. It was a case that hit close to home for Castle considering his own daughter was not much older than the two seventeen year olds that were found stabbed to death in an alleyway. He'd barely let Alexis out of his sight until they caught the bastard that did it; the father of one of the two girls.

Castle couldn't fathom how any man could do something so horrible to his child, and then do the same thing to somebody else's. He'd had to restrain himself from killing the man when he confessed in the interrogation room, blaming it on the two girls for making him so angry while he'd been strung out on heroin. He'd claimed that he couldn't control himself and that he barely remembered any of it, but his defense was that they'd been bugging him about something that got him so worked up that he must have shoved him into that alley to shut them up. He said that it was their fault, which really got Castle mad. Esposito had had to retrieve him after Beckett stepped between him and the suspect.

Kate could see how worked up he'd gotten over it and had tried to calm him down in the break room. Castle had tried as hard as he could but he couldn't stop the flashes of the teenagers' cold, lifeless bodies, lying in a pool of their own blood in that alley. Gates must have noticed as well, because the next thing either of them knew, she was practically shoving them out the door, telling them that they had the next three days off and she would see them on Monday.

Beckett had never been more grateful for her boss. She was no Montgomery, but Kate was starting to warm up to her. She could tell everyone else was, as well.

When they got back to the loft, Castle immediately sought out Alexis, crushing the girl in a hug and raining kisses all over her head, telling her he loved her and catching the girl completely by surprise. Alexis glanced over his shoulder at Kate, giving her a puzzled look. Kate just shook her head, telling her not to ask questions and Alexis relaxed into the hug, squeezing him back just as tightly.

That night Castle requested that they sleep in the room next to Alexis, just so he could keep an eye on her. He'd done the same after Alexis came back from her kidnapping.

Beckett woke in the middle of the night to find his side of the bed cold. She slipped into her robe and walked out of the room, checking the halls and finding the door to Alexis's room open. She peeked in, smiling softly when she saw Castle asleep in Alexis's bed, leaning against the headboard with his baby girl curled into his arms like a baby. Alexis looked so young with her head on her father's shoulder and her hand clutching his shirt. Kate leaned against the door, watching them for a few moments, imagining Castle in a couple of years comforting a much smaller child; one with his eyes and her honey-colored hair. The image made her heart jump and her stomach flutter.

Then next morning as she rubbed the knots out of his back, ("You're getting too old to sleep sitting up, Castle." "Shut up,") she suggested a trip upstate to Bear Mountain. It was just up the Hudson and would take less than two hours to get there by car. She told him it was the perfect place for a hike and a romantic picnic for two and she knew the most breathtaking spot.

Castle agreed only after a bit more…persuasion, but the next morning they packed a picnic, some blankets, and sunscreen, and they were off. Now, they were standing there, after a two-mile hike, looking over a beautiful waterfall. There were too many rocks and the water was too fast for them to go swimming in but the sight was breathtakingly beautiful, especially with all the newly-blooming spring flowers and trees around them.

They found a flat rock to set their picnic up on, spreading the blanket over it and sitting down. Castle had his legs open for Beckett to sit between. She did so, gratefully, laying back against his chest as she rifled through their basket, handing him one of the sandwiches before taking one for herself and unwrapping it. They watched the water cascade over the rocks as they ate, enjoying the silence of nature. It was such a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.

When they were finished with their sandwiches, Castle and Beckett threw their wrappers in the basket and Kate fished out a thermos with ice cold water in it, taking a nice long sip before handing it to Castle, who downed it, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand and gave it back to Beckett to put away.

After that, they just went back to silently enjoying their surroundings. After a while, however, Castle could no longer fight the urge to make noise.

"It's too quiet," she whispered in Kate's ear, making her chuckle.

"I thought something was off," she teased, turning to kiss his jaw before leaning back on him again. "So what's on your mind, Castle?" she asked.

"Hmm…you," Castle responded, "but that's nothing new. Um, let's see…there's you, sex, kissing, that thing you do with ice, oh and that thing you do with your back that—"

"Anything G-rated?" Beckett asked, chuckling.

"Oh, well, in that case…Alexis, obviously, waterfalls, flowers, Big Foot…"

"Always Big Foot," Kate chuckled.

"And unicorns—though I already have a pretty gorgeous one in my lap as we speak," Kate elbowed him in the ribs but couldn't hide her grin…or her blush, "Leprechauns, Four-Leaf Clovers, babies, werewolves, vampires—"

"Wait, what?" Kate asked, her eyes widening as she sat up straight. "What did you just say?"

"Vampires?" Castle said, puzzled. "You know, like Count Dracula; 'I vant to suck your blood! Bleh!'?"

Beckett rolled her eyes. "No, Castle, before that! Did you say…babies? Castle, are you thinking about having kids?"

Castle blanched. "Oh, oh that!" he said, his mouth suddenly parched. "Um…well, no. I-I mean yes! But um…not seriously…well, I mean, yes, seriously…but we don't have to talk about this if you don't—"

Kate's lips cut off his sentence as she suddenly turned and flung herself into his arms, attaching their lips as her arms wound around his neck, pulling against her. Castle smiled against her lips, his hands wrapping around her hips, his fingers making their way to the skin beneath her tank top. When they pulled back, Kate rested her forehead against his, looking deep into her eyes with a smile on his face. "Not that I'm complaining," he joked, "but what was that for?"

Kate shrugged. "Just…because," she said, smiling back, laying a sweet kiss on his lips. "And because…I would love to have kids with you, Richard Castle."

Castle's eyes brightened. "Really?" he asked, grinning. "You would?"

Beckett nodded. "I know we really haven't talked about it, but…I can't help but imagine you playing with our little boy,"

"Or girl," Castle added

Beckett chuckled. "Yes; or girl. I can't help but imagine you and them playing laser tag or reading a bedtime story…and I see how good a father you are to Alexis, how you held her last night—even though she's much too old now—and I can't help but imagine you holding our baby like that. It's silly, I know, but—"

"It's not," Castle said, firmly. "Oh God, Kate, you can't imagine how many times I've imagined a little girl that looked just like you, with my eyes, but your gorgeous smile, rolling her eyes at me the way you do. Like that!" Castle exclaimed as she did exactly that. Kate smiled at him, lovingly.

"I've imagined it, too, Castle. A little boy with your eyes and my hair. He would probably be a trouble-maker and a total pain in my ass, but I would love him more than life itself." Castle leaned down and kissed her, cupping her cheeks gently in his hands.

When he pulled back, he gave her a naughty grin. "Well, then," he said, "what are we waiting for?" With that, he twisted her body so that she was laid beneath him, his lips trailing up and down her jaw as she moaned.

"Castle," she sighed, "no, we can't—not here." She shoved him off of her.

Castle pouted. "Why not?!" he moaned.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Because 1: We are in a public park with rangers and other visitors that could show up any minute, as well as a bunch of blood-sucking bugs and excuse me if I don't want to find a tick in my hoo ha tonight. And 2: We still need to talk about this, Rick; we have to make sure that this is what we both want right now. We could still wait a while, you know…besides, I'm still on the pill and it's going to take a while to wear off. So, let's just…put a hold on the baby-making for a little while longer and enjoy our day off. Okay?"

Castle smiled softly at her. "Okay," he said, helping her sit up. He settled her back against him, and they settled back into their earlier position, watching the water rush smoothly over the jagged rocks as their minds swum with thoughts of the future, bright smiles on their faces.

I hope this satisfies my Anon