"We haven't had our horse and buggy ride yet!" Rick walked over and picked up Emma after he helped her wave bye to her new friend. Rick walked out of the play area to the crowded lane and stopped the first empty carriage he saw. Kate collected the shopping bad and his jacket, then walked over to the carriage. She shook her head as she watched Rick hand the driver some cash. She blushed when Castle bowed and turned to help her get into the carriage. Kate took Emma and Rick got in and sat beside them. Beckett had lived and worked in the City for most of her life but had never seen Central Park like this before, like a tourist. It was fun but then Castle could make almost anything fun.

Kate started to gather the bag and jacket as the carriage came to the edge of the park but the horse and carriage continued onto the city street and brought them to the front door of Rick's apartment building. He got out and reached for Emma and then helped Kate out. Rick brought the little girl over to see and pet the horse. "Say bye to the horse, Emma."

"Horse!"

He waved as the horse and buggy left and Emma copied him. "What a good girl!'

Kate phone rang just as they were about to go inside. "Beckett! OK, I understand. Thank you."

"Mr. Schuler is on his way to New York. He is bringing a birth certificate for Rebecca and the death certificate for his son Eric and Eric's wife Jane. Social Service wants to wait until he arrives, then if everything checks out, he will become Emma's legal guardian."

"Good, I am glad that she won't have to go into foster care or to a state agency." Secretly he was disappointed. Rick hoped that he might be adding to his family….and not just Emma but Kate too. Adoption agencies preferred married couples. "Hey, what's wrong, you're frowning again.'

Kate was surprised that Rick felt so comfortable turning Emma over to a complete stranger and a man who hadn't done a very good job taking care of Rebecca. "Why didn't he ever come looking for Rebecca? He reported her missing but that was all. Why wouldn't he come looking for the only family he has left? If I ever had a child that was taken or ran away I'd never stop looking, would you?"

"No! Maybe he did look for her but just not in New York City. I wonder why she would come here?"

"It's a big city, the biggest city on the east coast…easy to get lost in a crowd.'

"Maybe she wanted something different, something new. Sounds like she came from a rural area, in New York City, a young unwed mother looking for a job and an apartment wouldn't cause a lot of questions. Kate, we will have our answers soon enough. Let's get something to drink and then someone needs a nap." Both Kate and Emma yawned at him. "Maybe you both do!"

"I'm fine and you've had Emma since last night, let me take her for now." Kate dropped his jacket and nearly tripped on it entering the apartment.

"Stop being so stubborn and take a nap, you can use the couch but my bed is a lot bigger and much more comfortable. At least Emma knows when to give in."

Kate turned to look at the little girl who was sound asleep on Castle's shoulder. "Fine!" Kate started to walk to the couch but Rick took her elbow and escorted her upstairs. Kate stopped at the doorway. Castle's bed was huge. All three of them could fit in there with room to spare. Kate mentally shook her head to get that tempting image out of her mind. She must be even more tired than she thought.

Kate watched as Castle put Emma down and then surrounded her with pillows. He removed her shoes and kissed her forehead. "Sleep well, munchkin!" Kate removed her jacket and sat down on the other side of the bed. Castle leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well, detective!" Chuckling, Kate stood up to remove her gun, badge, cuffs and cell phone. "What no milk and cookies, Castle?"

"Maybe after nap time." She handed him the four items that could hurt Emma and stretched out.

"Wake me if anyone calls."

"Go to sleep, Kate!"

Castle returned to the first floor and locked Kate's things in his office desk. He went to the kitchen and rinsed out Emma's bottle and got something to drink. Rick walked to the couch to find the sippy cup and made the mistake of sitting down. He stretched out and wanted to close his eyes just for a minute after a busy morning and no sleep last night. He quickly joined Emma and Kate in an afternoon nap. Almost an hour later Alexis burst into the apartment. "Dad, Dad, you need to call Gina and right now."

"Gina has Naked Heat and it's in a final edit…did she call with a problem?"

"No it has nothing to do with your books. Oh God, Dad if it's on You Tube now it will be all over the internet by tomorrow. She will need to get the company's lawyers and publicity people working now!"

Castle, who was still not quite awake, was totally confused. "What are you talking about, honey?"

"This!" Alexis handed him her IPhone. The screen held a picture of him holding Emma and the other arm looked like it was around Kate. It had obviously been taken outside of his loft earlier that morning. "All my friends are texting or tweeting me wanting to know if you and Kate got married or how do I like my new little sister."

"Alexis take it easy, I'll call Gina and explain the situation and she can release a simple statement."

"Oh, no! It's going to have to be more than that now." Alexis clicked on the TV and turned on the gossip show TMZ. "This is our picture of the day. We now know what best selling mystery writer Rick Castle, who has been noticeable absent from most of the parties and gossip columns of late, has been doing for the last sixteen months. We caught this private family moment earlier today in Central Park, as we covered the many celebrities participating in the Run against Breast Cancer. The woman is none other than New York Police Detective Kate Beckett. This is a closer look at the dark hair beauty as seen in a Cosmo spread last year. Castle claimed he was shadowing the detective for research. Then later called her his muse in creating his new main character, Nikki Heat for the next series of books. Apparently they created more that just fiction together. We've had no response from his publicist if Castle and Beckett have tied the knot as yet and the name of their child."