Nathan cries loudly as I quickly change his diaper, while Hanna is tugs at my leg—begging to get me to do her hair. "Braid!" she asks as she tugs.
"Sweetie, I'm busy," I tell her as I wipe Nathan. It's times like these when Castle really should not be on a book tour.
Hanna runs off, obviously upset. I sigh and tug Nathan's pants back on, he looks at me curiously. I tickle his stomach and he rewards me with a giggle. At two months, Nathan already has an entire personality—he hates the dark, loves to eat, he prefers to be put to bed by me, loves it when Castle laughs, and when Nathan smiles, it's his entire face is lighting up. Castle insists that he has my smile.
I finish up and cradle Nathan; he looks at me happily while I wander off to find Hanna. I find her sitting on the couch with her arms crossed. "Honey, come on, let's do your hair," I tell her. I know she feels left out—she has always been an only child—until now.
Hanna looks at me with watery eyes. "Waterfall braid?" Hanna asks, hopeful.
"What is a waterfall braid?" I ask her.
"Daddy does it," Hanna answers.
I laugh; Castle would know more about braids then me. "How about we go visit daddy?" I ask her excitedly. I have not seen Castle in an entire week, he has been all over the east coast, but today he is only about an hour upstate.
Hanna jumps up and hugs my legs. "Yes!" she screams as she runs toward the door.
I tell her it's not that easy, Nathan needs to eat and I need to pack a day bag. "Give me fifteen minutes," I tell her.
"How long is that?" Hanna wonders.
"Half of a Dora episode," I answer in something relevant to her.
When we are finally ready, I lug Nathan and a diaper bag to the car. I buckle Nathan into his car seat; he seems relatively calm as he looks around curiously. I triple check that he is secure in his seat then I buckle Hanna in. Baby car seats are like jigsaw puzzle—especially the ones Castle insisted on buying, he claims that they are the safest.
Finally, I'm backing out of the driveway and starting our little road trip—I shuffle through my iPod, eventually I come across Stop and Stare by One Republic and turn it up. Something about this song always seemed so…magical. Hanna sings along as she looks out the window happily. I even hear a small giggle coming from Nathan.
Two hours and three bathroom breaks later, we arrive at the bookstore. I wrap Nathan in blankets, securely cradling him and grab Hanna's hand. Hanna skips forward anxiously while my blood hums with excitement. I've missed Castle—even if he has only been away for a week.
The line of people wraps around the front and there are several people that recognize me—they must be hardcore Castle fans to care about who I am. I feel the urge to shield Nathan, but then realize that is ridiculous—it was not too many years ago that I was a crazed fan, waiting in line to see the Richard Castle.
I work my way to the door, an employee with a scruffy beard and glasses at the entrance eyes me suspiciously. "I'm his wife," I tell him.
Recognition lights in his eyes, and he smiles widely. "Detective Heat," he says lightly.
"My mommy's name is Kate," Hanna says fiercely.
I laugh at Hanna. "It's Detective Kate Castle," I say to him.
"Of course, of course Mrs. Castle, go ahead around back, too crowded this way," he says with a goofy smile.
"Thank you," I tell him as I walk away.
When I haul the door open I can see the back of my husband's head and a swarm of people surrounding him. Hanna squeals and runs towards Castle as fast as her small legs will take her. Castle turns around knowingly and smiles the brightest smile I swear I've ever seen him wear—and that's even including our wedding night.
Hanna and Castle collide in a hug and he spins her around happily. I walk forward with Nathan in my arms. Castle takes me by surprise and plants a kiss square on my lips, my heart flies and I feel like I could kiss him forever. When we break the kiss, after who knows how long, he whispers, "God I missed you."
I smile and kiss him one more time. "We missed you too," I tell him. "So much."
Castle takes Nathan from my arms and kisses his forehead warmly.
Someone from the crowd in line clears their throat loudly, and Castle shifts his attention. "Sorry, this my family and I've missed them dearly," he justifies as he sits back down, Hanna jumps into his lap and sits patiently as Castle continues to sign books.
It is only a half an hour later when Castle is released of his book tour duties. He takes my hand and together we walk towards the car. "I was going to fly back, but this is much better," Castle says as he tickles Hanna.
"We missed you because mommy can't do waterfall braids," Hanna says with a giggle.
Castle laughs loudly and I raise my eyebrows. "YouTube videos and two daughters, that's how I know how to braid hair—I can do the waterfall, the French twist, fishtail…" Castle lists.
I shake my head and my heart flutters—the fact that he knows how to braid our daughter's hair is just so…sexy. I bite my lip and give him a secretly seductive smile—hoping he knows what it means.
Castle raises his eyebrows and laughs. "I can tell you've missed me Kate," Castle sighs.
After dinner and a long night putting the kids to bed, the house seems to be back to normal with Castle here. I sit in bed, reading a book, when Castle comes walking in. "Kids are officially asleep," he says with a smile. "I got a little spit up on me, but I braided Hanna's hair—even though she is just going to sleep on it," he tells me as he flops down on the bed.
"You tired?" I ask him as I put my book down.
"Exhausted," he confesses.
I crawl over to him, slowly straddling him—wrapping my legs around his waist. "That's too bad," I tell him before kissing his neck. "Because I was just going to show you how," I say before kissing the other side of his neck. "Much I missed you," I say before kiss his jaw and work my way to his lips.
Castle's hands work their way up my tank top, and I give him a warm smile—my skin humming to his touch. I cradle his face in my hands and kiss him passionately. "I'm not so tired anymore," Castle says in a whisper.
"That's what I thought," I say before we start taking off one another's clothing.
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