AN: This a fill for the prompt: Caskett's son cries every time Rick picks him up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

"Shh. Come on now, buddy. Mommy needs her sleep and your crying isn't going to allow that."

Rick cradled his newborn son in his arms, trying to soothe the wailing infant. Kate had been running nonstop since they had returned from the hospital two days prior. Rick had tried to help, but every time he had picked up little Tim, the boy would cry. Kate would give her husband a sympathetic look before taking their son and then she would coo at him and bounce him until he calmed down.

At the moment, however, Kate was asleep in their bedroom and Rick didn't want to wake her. She deserved her rest and Rick would make sure she got it.

Carefully holding his son with one arm, Rick went to the crib and grabbed the stuffed elephant that sat in the corner.

"Look," he crooned, using his free hand to wave the animal. "It's Stompy!" Not the most creative name, but Tim seemed to have taken a liking to it.

Unfortunately, the baby continued to cry. Rick had tried everything. Tim wasn't hungry, didn't need a diaper change, and he didn't need to be burped either. He had been crying since he had woken up fifteen minutes before and Rick was at his wit's end. Sighing, he put his son back in his crib. Finally, Timothy began to quiet down.

"Oh come on," Rick groaned. His son hated him and the kid wasn't even around long enough for Rick to have screwed up anything!

"Castle?"

He turned around at the sound of his wife's voice and came face to face with a half asleep Kate.

He gave her a small smile.

"It's okay, Kate. I've got it, go back to sleep."

She rolled her eyes before approaching the crib and peering over it to look at their son, who was now quietly staring back at his mother.

"You giving your daddy a hard time?" Kate crooned, picking Tim up and carrying him to the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery. "There, now you're happy."

Rick smiled at the sight in front of him before frowning.

"I feel like a failure," he muttered, looking longingly at the infant. He wanted to cuddle with his son so badly, but Tim wasn't having it.

Kate focused her gaze on him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Just give him a little more time, Castle. He's still trying to get used to his new surroundings." He could tell she was trying to placate him, but it wasn't working.

"I shouldn't have gone on that book tour." He walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You know you had to," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but I missed some of the most important moments of your pregnancy because of it!"

He had been scheduled for a three month book tour which just happened to start during the beginning of the sixth month mark of Kate's pregnancy. He had tried to reschedule it, but Paula was adamant that he needed to do it.

So, off he went. Kate and he Skyped and called each other every day. During the calls, Kate would show him the progress of the baby. It was great, but he wanted to be there for all of it. Since he was away, the baby never got to really hear his voice and Rick never actually got to feel his son kick.

Rick had missed a lot of things with Meredith's pregnancy and he had promised himself he wouldn't miss anything with Kate's. However, the universe had other plans. He had just gotten home in time for the birth of his son, the one thing he was determined not to miss.

"He never got familiar with me, so I'm a complete stranger to him."

His wife sighed, placing a now sleeping Tim back into his crib. She then came back, placing both of her hands on Rick's cheeks.

"Relax, Castle. I'm sure within the next week he'll be dying to be held by you. After all, you are easy to warm up too." She gave him a teasing grin.

He rolled his eyes. "It didn't seem like that with you."

She chuckled before giving him a peck on the lips.

"Come on, Babe. Let's go to bed."

"I'll be there in a sec."

She nodded before heading back to their room.

Walking over to the crib, Rick smiled at the sight of his son sleeping peacefully. The blue onesie pj's and the way his tiny fists were clenched made him look irresistibly cute.

Whispering so as not to wake him, Rick said,

"I don't mind if you need a little more time to get used to me. Just don't take as long as your mom did, okay?"

After gently stroking Tim's cheek with his finger, Rick backed away from the crib and went to rejoin his wife in their bed.