A/N: Fluffy goodness for everyone who likes fluff likeit. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.
Kate woke up suddenly, immediately realizing something was wrong. Had she been dreaming? No, it hadn't been a nightmare. It was dark, but she had to get up before dawn too often for that to be weird. Her phone wasn't ringing; it sat on the tabletop next to her head. Still mostly asleep, she couldn't quite pick out what was different...
She shifted then immediately recoiled as cool air hit her side. The covers had been folded away, and the man who was usually beside her keeping her warm was gone. She shook her head in exasperation and crawled out from under the blankets. She snatched her hoodie off the closet door and pulled it on, shivering. With any luck she would find him adjusting the thermostat, but more than likely he was in the kitchen, making some outrageous—she glanced at the red numbers lit up on the clock—4:30 snack. When she opened the door and tiptoed down the stairs, she discovered that what he was actually doing had nothing to do with food or the temperature.
He was on the couch, remote in his hand, watching Beauty and the Beast on the ancient VCR. Belle was trading herself for her father as the Beast's prisoner. Kate could tell he wasn't paying much attention to the movie, however; the light from the TV reflected off the tears on his face.
"Hey," she called softly.
"Hey," he replied, starting slightly when he heard her. She walked over and slid over the top of the couch to sit between the back and his side.
"You okay?"
"Weird, having Alexis gone," he shrugged, making no move to wipe his face, so she wiped it for him. "This is her favorite Disney movie."
"Ah." She looked up at him, ignoring the TV. "She's only an hour away, you know."
"An hour is a long time."
"I know. Trust me, I moved to Virginia to go to school. My parents were freaked out, they were convinced that I was going to die because I was so far away." She kissed him. "It's not like she's going to forget about you; she's been gone two years before this. She said she'd call, and text, and email, and tweet, and Facebook message you. And I told her if you get obsessive trying to make sure she's off I'll make you write and not let you follow me until you cool off."
He didn't respond, but his gaze remained solidly cemented on the movie.
"Meaning if you start tweeting stuff like, 'I need my Alexis,' and 'I can't believe Lex has flown the nest,' like you've done for the past two years, I will be forced to ground you. Got it, Richard?"
That got a smile out of him, if only a small one.
"See, that's the spirit. And you can't keep moping. You'd think you were used to her going away by now."
He sighed. "Yeah, you would think. It's just that I want to protect her from everything. I don't want to ever see her hurt."
"You can't protect her from everything, it's impossible. You have to let her protect herself. Yeah, she's going to make mistakes. But even if you keep her locked in the tower, she's going to get sick of it and try to escape."
"She already escaped though," Rick mumbled.
Kate snorted. "You are ridiculous."
The movie continued to play for a minute.
"Mommy?"
They turned to see Anna at the top of the stairs. "Hey, baby," Kate called. "Need help coming down?"
The toddler shook her head, wiping her eyes with tightly balled fists. She held onto the railing and took the steps one at a time then toddled over to the sofa. Rick pulled her up and she crawled into Kate's lap.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Rick asked, playing with the girl's dark hair. She looked up at him with big blue eyes.
"I couldn't sleep," she mumbled, though she was already half-asleep, now safe in her mother's arms.
"That seems to be a popular trend tonight," Kate commented.
"I'm such a trendsetter," Rick grinned, and Kate rolled her eyes at him.
A few minutes later, Anna was asleep. "She couldn't sleep?" Kate whispered.
"You'd be surprised. Alexis would toss and turn for hours until I cam and rocked her, and she'd be completely out.
Kate nodded, running her hands overs her daughter's hair.
Rick broke the silence. Imagine how you're going to be."
"What?"
"When Anna grows up and goes to college, moves across the country. You're a cop. My mind gives me situations that could happen; I'm sure you'd be able to think way worse things that have actual precedent."
The images of every case she'd ever seen since her mother had died crawled behind her eyes, lurking in her mind. She shuddered. Rick picked up the movement and pulled her closer.
"See? Told you. You're going to end up as the most overprotective mom ever. I had friend's whose dads were cops—if your mom's a cop you're basically confined to your room until they're not legally allowed to confine you anymore."
She narrowed her eyes at him, unsure. "Nah, I'll be a cool mom." She grinned. "Besides, she's going to NYU."
"No, she's probably going to Stanford."
She elbowed him, laughing. "Then we don't get resident discount."
"Pssh, I'll just publish a book right before."
"Yeah, what, once a year for four years?"
He grinned but didn't respond, watching Anna sleep.
"You know, you sure like to stare at people, don't you?" she commented, smirking.
"Anna's adorable when she sleeps," he said randomly. "She must get it from you."
"I knew some creeper was watching me at night," she teased, then kissed him lightly. "Thanks."
"Always."
The next morning the three of them woke up on the couch.
A/N: Hope you liked it! Feedback is always appreciated. :)