Castle woke and didn't know why. He blearily opened his eyes and looked through the still dark room before his eyes found the green numbers of his alarm clock. 4:38. It was too early to be awake, so why was he? He groaned and rolled over onto his other side to seek out the warm, soft body of his wife. His arm, however, was only met with cold, empty sheets.

Castle lifted up onto his forearms and looked confusingly around their empty bedroom. "Kate?" he called out into the darkness and didn't receive an answer. Castle slumped back down and ran a hand over his tired face trying to clear his sleep-fuzzed mind in order to solve the mystery of his missing Kate.

He went over the usual suspects. She wasn't in the bathroom; there weren't any lights coming from that area of the room. She hadn't gotten a call about a murder; she would have woken him and besides, she wasn't working right now, she was on maternity-

At that thought, a tiny snuffle interrupted him, the sound carrying over from the monitor on Kate's nightstand. Right. The early morning combined with the serious lack of sleep he had been suffering from over the last few weeks seemed to have made him forget about the new addition in their life.

Obviously that's where she is, he thought. Thinking back, he slightly remembered her getting up at some point to the hungry cries of their son, but that seemed to be hours ago. Time to put these honorary-detective skills to the test.

Castle lifted himself from the mattress, groaning when the joints in his shoulders cracked. I'm getting too old. He made his way through the silent apartment and up the stairs towards the nursery and that's where he finally found her.

Kate was sitting in the hand-made rocking chair they had spent two months searching for to perfectly match the rest of the soft tones of the room. Her head was tilted back, the crown resting against the soft cushion that lined the seat and back of the chair, clearly sound asleep. The baby was gently cradled against her chest, one breast out of her shirt and exposed to the room, as if she had fallen asleep while their son was still nursing.

Castle chuckled at the scene and quietly approached the pair. As he leaned over to check on his son, he was met with a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him. "Hey, buddy," he whispered to the boy, "did Mommy fall asleep on you?"

His question was answered with one of the biggest yawns Castle had ever seen from such a small being. "Come on, bud, let's get you and your mother back to bed."

As Castle lifted his son from Kate's arms, she startled awake at the loss. "Castle?" she rasped out after her panic subsided.

"I got him, Sweetheart." Castle assured her as he leaned over and pressed a kiss to the apple of her cheek. He then straightened up and walked across the room towards the crib.

"Did I fall asleep?" Kate groaned as she sat up.

Castle laughed as he lowered the baby into the crib, already fast asleep. "Yeah. Seems like you couldn't even stay awake long enough to let our son finish his meal," he said nodding to her bare chest.

"Ugh. Don't make fun of me. It's hard work raising a newborn." She glared at him as she rearranged her top to cover herself.

Castle ran his fingers over the boy's forehead, brushing away the few wisps of hair that covered his head. "Trust me, babe, I know. It's worth it though." He was so in love with his son.

"More than worth it." Kate agreed, standing to join him at the edge of the crib to watch their son sleep.

Castle turned and captured her lips in a quick kiss. As they broke away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a sleepy embrace. "Let's go get some sleep while we can," he propositioned.

Kate nodded against his chest in agreement. They walked towards the door and before they exited the room, she turned and whispered back in the direction of the crib, "Love you, my baby boy."

A short one to make up for such a long delay! Hope y'all enjoy. -RockChalkLove