Castle was sitting alone in his hospital room, after his checkup, thinking about all that had changed in the last twenty-four hours. He went from having absolutely no reason to live, to having everything he had every wanted within his grasp. He knew this was not over. Ryan and Esposito were coming to take his statement after their shifts tonight and there would most likely be a messy trial and investigation. But right now none of that mattered.

Today was about his family. He could not wait to meet his daughter. It was still saddening to think of all he had missed and he hated himself for making Kate do it alone. He vowed to never leave them again. He was here to stay and he hoped that he could convince his little girl of that.

Both Kate and Alexis had warned him about her shyness. Alexis had been the one to go through everything after Kate left this morning. She explained in more detail the ins and outs of her younger sister. She cried around strangers and hated to be touched by people she didn't know. He knew that it wasn't going to be a cake walk to get to know her, but he was ready to put the work in. He just hoped that he would know what to say and do. He did have a tendency to overstep.

His door creaked and he lifted his head expecting to see Alexis coming back to the room and his greeting died on his lips when he saw the other two girls with him.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. His three favorite girls. There between his wonderful daughter and the love of his life stood HIS little girl. He still couldn't believe that it was true, yet here was his living breathing proof.

His hand came up to cover his face and tears pooled in his eyes as he took her in and quickly fell in love. She was so tiny. Smaller than he remembered Alexis being at three. There was no doubt that this was Kate's daughter. She had long brunette curls that fell almost halfway down her back. Her little facial features and smile were perfectly Kate. True to Kate's description her eyes mirrored his own.

She was the most adorable little girl. He could already picture her running around the loft making up stories and saving the world. He could see her playing in the waves and building a sandcastle in the Hamptons with Kate and Alexis reading and sunbathing nearby. He couldn't wait for Christmas morning when she would come running in their room to wake them up before going to see what Santa had brought just for her. So many perfect scenarios ran through his mind.

All he could do was stare and gawk at how perfect his family was. Kate was looking between the Father and daughter with tears in her eyes. She had lost all hope of being able to see Castle fall in love with their daughter. It was everything she had dreamed it would be.

Kate could feel a little bit of tension coming off of Johanna as she stood under the gazes of everyone in the room. It made her uncomfortable and Kate felt her grip tighten on the hand she held. She and Alexis managed to keep her in between them with their joined hands to that she would not hide behind Kate's legs.

After a silent minute had passed though the little girl cracked under the pressure. She suddenly wrenched her hand away from Alexis and spider monkeyed her mother. She luckily was not crying or screaming and Beckett took that as a good sign.

Kate wrapped her hands around her daughter and turned around to soothe her. She refused to leave the room and she figured that she would kill two birds with one stone and let Castle gather himself as well.

Alexis walked over to her Father and squeezed his arm before dropping into the chair next to the bed. He had gathered himself a bit, but his breathing was still rapid. His eyes never left Johanna. He was in shock and awe of her. His little baby girl.

He understood her discomfort, but it still took all of his strength to keep from calling out to her or getting up and wrapping her up in his arms. He knew it might be a long time before the last one was possible. He sat on his hands and watched as Kate whispered to the little girl.

Johanna's little head lifted slightly to look at her Father. She refused to meet his eyes, but she did look in his direction for as long as she could stand it before burying her head back into the familiarity of her mother.

Kate was at a loss of what to do. Joey was doing surprisingly well. In a normal situation she would have immediately tried to run and it would have most likely ended in tears. Kate wasn't sure if it was her recent improvement or Rick that had caused the change. It was probably a bit of both. Technically Castle wasn't a stranger. He was a part of Johanna and Kate and Alexis. Really everyone in her life had a little piece of Castle in them. She was grateful for her strength, however it did present some issues.

Now the problem was that Kate didn't want to push too far. She didn't want this to become a bad memory. She just wasn't sure exactly how to make that happen. She was actually surprised at Castle's restraint and she wasn't about to take his little girl away from him so soon.

So she did what Erin had told her from the start: "Start from where you are and take baby steps toward your goal." Right now she was standing a few feet away and her goal was Castle's arms. She couldn't wait to be wrapped up in them and feel their little family together.

She swung around and locked eyes with her fiancé. They both had the biggest smiles on their faces as Kate started taking little steps forward. She didn't want to startle the girl so she simply started up a regular conversation.

"Did you have a good morning, Castle?" She said as her eyebrow rose to keep Rick playing along.

"Oh, it's been wonderful!" Jo cringed at the sound of a new voice so Kate stopped and rubbed little circles on the girl's back. "Much better now that my three favorite girls are here." His voice was laced with so much emotion and his eyes held so much love Kate's knees threatened to buckle.

Kate slowly moved forward as she felt Johanna relax back into her arms. She was moving at a snail's pace, but it was progress. "The doctor said that you should get to drink something real in the nest hour or so."

Castle hummed in response as they approached. They were now standing right in front of his bed. He bit into his cheek to keep from reaching out and pulling them both to him. It was all he wanted in that moment but he knew that could potentially ruin everything so he sat perfectly still and waited to take Kate's lead.

"Hey, baby." Kate's voice was quiet and smooth as she bounced the girl and coaxed her into lifting her head. She leaned back and looked into her eyes. "Do you remember who I told you this is?" Johanna's little head bobbed down slowly in affirmation.

Kate slowly unwrapped the girl from around her and repositioned her facing out against her chest. She hadn't held her like this in the crook of her elbow in a long time and it was more uncomfortable than she remembered.

Johanna was now face to face with her Father. She did cower back slightly and she still refused to meet his eyes, but she didn't fully turn away. All three of the adult's hearts soared with pride. Kate gave a little nod to Rick as if to nudge him on.

"Hey there sweet girl." His voice shook a bit and it was much quieter than before. Alexis put a hand on his arm in support. "I have missed you so much. More than you will ever know, and I promise that I will never leave you again. I love you, Johanna." Rick, Kate, and Alexis were all in tears at the declarations. They all heard the truth in the words and their meaning was felt deeply.

Johanna was not as sure as the rest of her family. Her entire world had changed without her even knowing it, but she felt the words too. It wasn't as deep and she was having a hard time putting everything together. Still she felt loved and safe. She was wrapped up in her Mother, her big sister (who she loved dearly) was nearby, and her daddy was here.

She had seen his picture a thousand times. She had heard her Mommy's stories she had even seen her Mother cry when they visited the grave. But still she didn't know him really and she was nervous. He was big. Much bigger than her Mommy but not quite scary. He had cords and wires coming into him and she wasn't sure what to think.

His words made her feel better. They made her feel special. And for a split second she looked up. She fully looked at him. Right into his eyes before dropping them again.

Castle poured his heart out to his little girl. He wasn't sure if she understood or if she really believed him, but he said it anyway. To all three of his girls really. He meant every word and he hoped she would somehow be comforted. He was shocked when she looked up. Those piercing blue eyes stared straight at him for the longest moment of his life before dropping again to look at nowhere in particular.

But a moment was all it took. He had heard her loud and clear. The silent declaration was unmistakable.

'I love you too, Daddy'