1.
Beckett stirred in her sleep. A couple things had woken her, the first of which was that as she had turned to her side, Castle's side of the bed felt completely empty. As she opened her eyes she saw that he was indeed not there but the smell of rose petals caught her scent. She turned to her right to see a vase full of roses on her nightstand.
She took the card which read simply "Come to the kitchen when you're dressed. Love, R."
A bit vague in the note but Beckett decided to roll with it as she usually did.
As Beckett entered the kitchen she was greeted to a variety of smells. Castle and Alexis smiled as they stood over the counters and stove cooking a breakfast that seemed as if it could feed the whole homicide division of the precinct.
Castle smiled at her and made his way over, "Good morning wife," he said placing a kiss on her lips.
Beckett smiled back, "Morning husband," she replied back. "Is this why you got out of bed early?"
"It is," Castle admitted.
Beckett kissed him again. "Thank you for the roses. They're sweet. What's the occasion?"
"You really don't know?"
"Should I?"
Castle turned to his daughter, "Alexis, start us off please."
"Certainly father," the girl said with a smile.
A couple seconds later Martha came down from upstairs. "I knew I smelled raspberry and strawberry pancakes," she said, "Is it that time of year again?"
"It is," Castle replied, "Good morning, mother."
Alexis came over to Beckett and handed her a small package. She smiled, "Happy Mother's Day."
Mother's Day.
The day hadn't even occurred to Beckett. It was a day she didn't particularly celebrate. Not usually. Not since her mom had died when she was a teenager and on the rare occasions she did it was a day spent at the cemetery and a day where she and her father didn't talk.
She made a mental note to herself that she would visit the cemetery given all the changes she'd been through and it had been a while, the last time being when she had arrested Senator Bracken.
Alexis.
She had been involved with Castle three years and they'd known each other for seven. Beckett knew him, knew his family but even now it was still hard to wrap her mind around it sometimes, the fact that she was now a step-mom to his daughter.
Beckett smiled as she slowly un-wrapped the gift and opened the box. Inside was a silver charm bracelet that had six birthstones on it, one representing the four of them here in the room now and the other two she knew were her mom and dad's birthstones as well.
"It's perfect, Alexis, thank you."
"And mother," said Castle, pulling out a box from his pocket, "Don't think I've forgotten about you."
Martha opened the box and inside was an oval stone ring with a silver plated double face mask that was a universal symbol of the theatrical arts.
"Oh Richard, I love it, thank you."
Castle smiled and motioned to the dining room table, "So ladies shall we?"
"Need any help," asked Beckett.
"That's okay, we've got it," said Alexis.
Martha placed a hand on Beckett's arm, "Don't even try dear, today is our special day to be pampered and served, enjoy it."
Beckett wasn't sure how to take that comment but followed Martha's lead and took a seat at the table.
This was all new to her. She and Castle had been married for six months and though Alexis was a grown woman, she herself was still getting used to being a mom and often there were moments when that realization didn't even sink in since she and Alexis had a very laid back relationship. They had started off as acquaintances, made their way up to mentor and men-tee and then as friends. In part that's how she still viewed Alexis, as a friend but now she was a mother and Alexis had no problem showing it.