Day one, Kate heard their little one cry for the first time. And as Castle cut the cord, she watched in awe as the nurse checked vitals and cleaned her off. Next thing she knew, the baby was dropped into her outstretched arms, her face red as she screamed, a mop of brown curls and eyes that wouldn't reveal themselves. Kate tried to give her to Maria, but the young girl refused, turning her head away from them, averting her eyes from the crying infant and ignoring her motherly urges. "She's yours. You two should bond with her."
Kate tried a few more times, recognizing the look on the teen's face, but the girl refused, not even looking at the baby she had just given birth to. Kate didn't think any more of it when her husband wrapped them in his strong arms and cooed at their daughter, his voice soothing her cries. And at that moment, even though she never felt like anything had been missing, she felt like their family was complete.
Maria had picked out her first name, Hope, which was all she thought that she could give to the baby she was leaving in the Castle's care. They had picked out her middle name, Marie, so she would always remember her birth mother, and the tremendous courage it took to give her up.
Day three, Maria signed the adoption papers outside of the hospital, her family whisking her away on a vacation to Florida so that she could recuperate. They wanted her to sign in court, but Maria wanted to get it over with before she left, afraid of dragging the process out. "She's in good hands with you. I won't forget that, I promise." And while she went off with her family to try and forget her selfless act, Kate and Castle brought home their newest addition.
There, Hope met her entire extended family. When Alexis held her for the first time, the young woman's face lit up, her blue eyes shining as she rocked back and forth.
"Don't go getting any ideas." Castle warned her, eliciting chuckles from the room.
Alexis scoffed, shaking her head and rubbing the infant's hand. "Dad, I'm way too busy this semester for that kind of relationship."
"I don't want to know!" He tried not to shout, so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping little one. "I'm just saying, don't get any ideas."
Day four was exhausting. Kate hadn't been up so many times in one night since she was a newborn, and she remembers wondering aloud somewhere around three in the morning why the phrase 'slept like a baby' meant sleeping through the night. But she did what she was supposed to, and slept when Hope slept. Sure, nothing got done that day, but it was a learning experience. And she couldn't wait to learn even more.
Day ten, Castle got excited because Hope was tracking his eyes. "She's watching me, Kate! She likes me!"
"Did you really think she wouldn't?" She asked, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that worried that someday Hope would resent her.
He looked away from their daughter then, his eyebrows furrowed as he studied her. "You don't worry about that?" And she let out a breath as she realized that it didn't matter that he had already done this, he was just as afraid.
Day sixteen, Hope was fussy. There wasn't a discernable reason, she just didn't want to be put down. She spent most of the day grizzling into Castle's chest. When Kate took her from his arms, relieving him and sending him off for a nap, she settled on the couch and flicked on Netflix, queueing up the newest season of Doctor Who. It was while she sat there that she noticed it. Her daughter had curled into her chest, and was looking up at her, dark eyes exploring her mother's face. "Hey, sweet pea! Are you snuggling with me?" Hope stopped her grizzling as she listened to Kate speak. Kate brushed her thumb lightly along the infant's hair, soothing the girl as she gently rocked back and forth. "Well, I will snuggle with you whenever you want me too, okay?"
Hope vocalized at her, not entirely a cry, but just something to add into the conversation between them, and closed her eyes, finally ready to take her nap. And as Kate felt her Chest rise and fall against her own, she wondered how in the world she could ever love another child like she loved this one.
On day twenty-four, she watched her husband and daughter converse back and forth as she leaned in the doorway. "Yeah, your Mommy is pretty great, huh?"
She cooed then, long and sure of herself as she found her voice, tapering out to an adorable squeal that had Kate picking the pieces of her heart up off the ground.
"You think so? I mean sure, she does that sometimes but you get used to it."
"Used to what?" She spoke up now from the door, stifling her giggle as he jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Oh, you know, we were just discussing some things." He glanced at her sheepishly, one hand holding Hope steady. "How long were you standing there?"
She shrugged, sauntering toward him and lowering her face so that Hope could see her. "Long enough." Hope's coo back at her was enough to have her heart melt all over again.
On day thirty, Hope smiled for the first time. It was a real smile, not just gas as Castle had suggested. Her eyes grew wider as she pulled the corners of her mouth upward, cooing and kicking her feet. "No, she's really smiling, come look!" Kate called, lowering herself to the baby again. Kate broke into her own brilliant smile, her chest expanding with pride as she watched their daughter learn about this milestone. "Hey, sweet pea! What are you doing, huh?" Kate cooed, her arm extended in triumph as she watched the girl copy her, her movements clearly deliberate.
"Don't rub it in," he teased, lowering himself to their level, "and let me try that." They went back and forth for what seemed like hours, making silly faces, and doing whatever they could to make her smile.
On day thirty-seven, Kate answered the door, Hope in her arms, to a distraught Maria and a man in a suit. And before Maria had even opened her mouth, Kate knew what was happening.
"I made a mistake, I'm sorry I want my baby back."
Kate's heart stopped in it's tracks as the teen said the words she had feared most. She wordlessly waved the couple in, and went to the office where Castle was writing, trying hard to suppress her tears.
In the living room, they talked with her attorney. They consulted theirs. And after a few hours of trying to come to some sort of agreement to no avail, they said goodbye to their baby girl as she left with her birth mother. Kate didn't know how she had done it, but she managed to wait until they were gone before she fell apart, a puddle in Castle's arms as he stroked her hair. His own tears wet her hair, and she could feel his chest heaving with each breath he took.
Forty-five days. That's how long they had for her to reconsider. If they had gone to the judge and signed the papers then, it would have been final right there. Instead they got thirty-seven days of more love for one human being than Kate had ever experienced before.
"Castle, I don't know if I can do this again." She whispered to him after they had both cried all the tears that they had.
He nodded, his hand reaching for hers and squeezing it reassuringly. "I won't do anything unless you are in, one hundred percent."
She inhaled through her nose, leaning back on the couch. "Same here."
They retired early that night. But hidden between the sheets was a stuffed elephant, the one that usually hung out in her crib. As Kate cuddled it close to her, she inhaled Hope's smell, baby powder and lotion, and the tears came again. She wouldn't wake up tonight to a hungry crying baby. They wouldn't hear her talk with them on the changing table. She would never have to worry about getting thrown up on, or weird stains on her clothing. She could only hope that one day, the pain of losing her daughter would one day fade to a distant memory, just like the way that her smell will one day fade away from this stupid stuffed elephant.
A/N: Based on a prompt from castlefanficprompts. 'I made a mistake, I'm sorry I want my baby back.' Caskett adopt a baby but a couple of months later the birth mother wants the baby back.