Hello world!
I wrote this OS for the "12th Precinct Convention FanFicton Contest". It was one of three winners and I decided to publish it here for everybody else to read as well. It's a fluffy family story and I hope you will enjoy reading it. I don't think there will be a sequel soon, or ever, but you never know. Inspiration might strike and make me write a sequel :)

Thank you Vicky for beta-reading and helping me develop this great story! :)

A Perfect Day

One Shot

Kate entered the loft after a very tiring morning spent out shopping with Lanie and Alexis. Together the three of them had browsed through various shops, especially the ones that sold baby clothing.

With a heavy sigh she sat the bags down on the floor and shut the door.

"Looks like mommy is home, buddy," she heard her husband say.

Not a second later the toddler ran out of his father's office and over to his mommy as fast as his little legs could carry him. "Mommy!"

Kate had barely enough time to crouch down and open her arms before the boy had crossed the room and crashed into her, nearly sending them both toppling over. She let out a muffled 'ooof' and wrapped her giggling boy in a hug. "Hello there, buddy. Did you have fun with daddy?"

The little boy nodded. "We read a book, mommy! 'Winnie The Pooh'!"

Kate smiled. "Oh yeah? That's great, baby. Maybe we can read some more of it later?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Mommy? Can we go to the park today?"

"Sure, we can go after lunch. Maybe Parker wants to meet us there?"

"Yes! Daddy already called his mommy. She said yes."

"Alright then. We are going to the park later," Kate agreed and pressed a kiss to her son's brown curls.

"Now that you have greeted our kid properly, how about greeting me?" Rick asked pouting.

Kate looked up at her husband and smiled at him. "Aww, poor daddy," she mocked him. "Hey daddy."

Their son giggled and snuggled into his mother's side, before pressing his ear to her rounded stomach and carefully poking it with his index finger.

"Did you find that pink tutu I saw online?" Rick asked, pointing to the heap of bags next to the front door.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, I even bought two. The pink one and a purple one. They also had a light blue one, but they didn't carry your size."

"Haha, hardy har har. Very funny, Mrs. Castle," he said with a pout. "Maybe Alex would like the blue one."

At the mention of his name the boy looked up. "What is a tutu?" he asked interestedly.

"It's something you can wear, buddy. Like the skirt Barbie wore in the movie last night," Rick explained and held up the pink tutu he had grabbed from one of the bags.

"Ew, no! I don't want it," the boy stated with a shriek, shaking his head and looking at his mother with wide eyes.

Kate stuck out her tongue at her husband, who made a funny face at her in return.

"Come on buddy, let your mommy get up. It can't be comfortable for her to be crouched down like that," Rick told his son. "Why don't you go get your book so you can read it with mommy."

The boy's eyes lit up. He let go of his mother and ran back into the office to retrieve his 'Winnie The Pooh' book.

Meanwhile, Rick grabbed his wife's hands and helped her stand up. Once she was securely on her feet, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Did my credit card survive this shopping spree?"

Kate let out a laugh, lightly slapped his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't know, I paid for lunch and a couple of other things," she teased.

"Might just have to rob a bank then," he joked and lightly stroked a hand over his wife's baby bump. "Don't want these two to suffer from poorness."

"Guess I'll have to break you out of prison afterwards. How about you just stick to writing books? That worked out pretty great in the past now, didn't it?"

"Especially when I was allowed to follow around a certain sexy lady detective," he said with a wink, leaning in again to kiss her passionately.

She grinned and stood up on her toes, her bump poking into his stomach as she laced her arms around his neck. "Good old times," she whispered into his ear, softly biting down on his lobe before kissing it better.

He groaned, the deep sound resonating through his broad chest, and caressed her backside, his hands massaging the kinks out of her spine. "I can't wait to meet our girls, honey," he said quietly.

"Mmhh," she hummed her agreement. "Me either."

"It's going to be great. Baby girls are just the cutest things on earth. I hope they'll look a lot like you. I'm picturing them with long brown curls, your nose, one with green eyes and one with blue eyes."

A dreamy smile adorned her face as she said, "Sounds perfect, babe."

He wriggled his eyebrows at her and kissed her lovingly, only giving up his wife's lips when they heard their son's footsteps coming up behind them.

Kate turned towards the living room and walked over to the couch, where she invited her son to snuggle into her side, before she opened the book. Alex' head was resting upon her rounded stomach next to his little hand, curled up into his favorite position. He loved spending time cuddled up on the couch with his mother.

Two pages into reading the sixth chapter of 'Winnie The Pooh', the toddler began to giggle and poked his tiny fingers into his mother's belly. "Mommy, they kick!" he exclaimed.

"They do, buddy. They're saying 'Hi, Alex' to their brother."

Proud, the boy looked at his mother before turning his attention back to the bump, softly caressing it, just like his daddy had earlier, and pressing a sweet little kiss to it. Her boy undoubtedly had inherited his caring personality from his equally gentle father. "Hey babies. I'm Alex, your big brother, but you know that. I love you," he whispered.

Kate's heart melted at her son's loving words, at the thought that he was already so smitten with his baby sisters. She set the book down on the couch and wiped away a happy tear. God, her kids had really turned her into a sap.

"Mommy? Are you crying?"

Kate smiled down at her son. "Sometimes mommy cries when she is really happy, baby, and I am really happy at the moment."

Alex grinned and hugged his mother as tightly as he could but still mindful of her rounded bump. "I'm super happy, too, mommy. And daddy is happy, too."

Kate nodded. "Yes, everybody is very happy at the moment, baby." She pressed a kiss to her son's hair and ran her hand over his head and shoulder.

"Mommy? Can we do a jigsaw puzzle?"

"Yes, sure. Go on and place the book in your shelf. I'll be right up, okay?"

"Okay!" the boy agreed enthusiastically and grabbed his book. He slid down from the couch and made his way upstairs.

Kate slowly got up too and stretched her aching limbs.

"Tired?" Rick asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah. Shopping is really exhausting when you're five months pregnant with twins," she replied as she wandered over into the kitchen.

Rick pulled her in for a kiss. "Are you sure you're up to go to the park later?" he asked, concern clearly seeping through his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Reading and doing a jigsaw puzzle with our son is relaxing and I actually don't do a lot. Don't worry about us."

He grinned. "I'm constantly worrying over you. You three."

Kate let out a sigh. "I know. Could you make me a sandwich?"

"Cream cheese and turkey?" He saw the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile and pecked her lips. "I'll bring it upstairs. Go and play with our son."

"Thank you."

"Of course, dear," he said in a loving way, looking deeply into her eyes.

She smiled sheepishly and turned around to make her way up to her son's room.

A little out of breath she reached the top floor and paused for a second, taking a deep breath. She softly stroked her rounded stomach. "Not cool, babies. Mommy didn't use to be out of breath from climbing the stairs," she scolded her unborn twin girls lovingly. As a reply she felt two strong kicks. "Alright, alright. You don't care, do you?" she sighed and walked into her son's room. "Did you choose a jigsaw, buddy?"

The toddler pointed to the boxed up dinosaur puzzle and nodded.

"Great. Take out the pieces, baby. Go ahead," Kate told her son and carefully sat down next to him.

In the meantime, Rick was downstairs slicing a sandwich into two triangular halves. He set aside the knife and looked down at the plate with a soft expression. He had cut up some strawberries for his wife, too, knowing how much she loved them, and arranged them in a smiley face. He grabbed the plate and made his way upstairs, climbing the stairs and walking down the short way to his son's room. The door was open and he could see his wife and child happily piecing Alex' favorite dinosaur jigsaw puzzle back together on the floor. It made his heart swell to watch his wife and son interact, to see the love his wife held for their children. He took a deep breath, swallowing down the lump that had formed in his throat. Time to feed his wife.

He knocked on the door softly before stepping into the room, not wanting to startle them. "Food service. You requested a sandwich, Mrs. Castle?"

"Ah, thanks!" She accepted the plate from him and blew him a kiss. "Thanks for the strawberries."

"Thought you might like some."

She smiled. "Do you want a piece of strawberry?" she asked her son. When he nodded she gave him half a strawberry which he munched on happily. "You too, babe?"

"Sure," the writer said and stole two pieces of strawberry, poking out his tongue at her.

Kate shook her head laughing and grabbed a triangular piece of sandwich. "Mmhh, delicious," she commented after her first bite.

Half an hour later the puzzle had been finished and stored away again and the small family was getting ready to go to the park.

Rick was finished first and helped his wife put on her shoes, tying her laces for her as she was not able to reach down that far anymore.

"Thanks babe."

"Anytime," he said and kissed her quickly, then he turned around to look at his son who was standing at the door. "You good to go, buddy?"

"Yes. Can we leave?"

"Sure. Let's go!" Rick grabbed his wife's hand and tugged on it. When she didn't move he looked at her and saw the pure look of love in her eyes.

Kate looked from her son to her husband, sensing his eyes on her. She looked at her little family, the people she loved more than life itself. She would go to the end of the world and beyond for them. With kicks her daughters made her aware of them. As if she could ever forget them. Her free hand wandered down to her stomach and caressed it softly. Her small daughters, kept safe inside the womb, protected from the world.
Sensing her husband still staring at her, she slowly let go of her thoughts and looked up. "Staring at me again, Rick?" she asked with a grin.

"Always," he said with an even bigger, loving grin. At her eyeroll he added, "I'll never get tired of looking at you," before tugging on her hand again. "Come on, let's go."

Together the small family walked out of the loft and let the front door fall shut behind them.

The End.

I hope you like the story. Tell me what you think of it!

xx Kate