AN 1: So, this is the epilogue. There's a longer AN at the end.

IBYL
xo

(Disclaimer: I WISH)

'One day' came remarkably fast despite her best intentions, Kate thought with a smile, as she cradled her week-old baby boy in her arms. Ethan James Castle made his screaming entrance to the world in spectacular fashion, disrupting a murder investigation and deciding that 37 weeks was long enough. Kate had been on desk duty since before she'd even begun to show, but she'd stayed at the precinct helping them with the actual mystery rather than the legwork until much later than many pregnant women. They were mere hours away from her maternity leave farewell party when a certain little boy decided it was time to join in. Kate would've laughed at her baby's timing if it wasn't for the pain she was in. Rick was surprisingly calm throughout the labour, given that she was yelling all manner of insults at him. When the doctor announced that it was a boy, the smile that graced Rick's face became the single most amazing thing she's ever had the privilege of seeing. Except for maybe the look of pure joy on his face when she'd said yes to his proposal.

It had been just like any other day at the precinct, really. No body dropped, so they were doing paperwork for the majority of the day. Castle, despite the paperwork, stuck around for much of the day, providing some much-needed comic relief to the boys, and keeping Kate in coffee so that she could get her work done. When he left at around four that afternoon, he apologised, said he had errands to run and promised to make it up to her when she got home. Deciding this was a valid compromise, she kissed Rick softly and told him she'd see him in a few hours.

When she left the precinct two hours later, she wandered to her car only to find Rick leaning against it, a smile on his face.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked, kissing him in greeting. They lost themselves for a minute before Rick regained his senses.

"It's a surprise. And before you lecture me about how you don't like surprises, just give me this one. It's been MONTHS since I've sprung any surprises on you, and I know you'll love this one." He said, and she had to concede his point. It had been a while, and when he did surprise her it was usually very well-suited to her. So she begrudgingly slipped into the passenger seat of the car, waiting for him to whisk her away. He slipped into the driver's seat and pulled into traffic, heading for their destination. Rick stopped the car ten minutes later on a street in Soho, and jumped out of the car in order to open her door for her.

"Milady." He said, taking her hand, and she smiled.

"Thanks, Rick." He twined their fingers together and they walked past a couple of shopfronts before he stopped at one, rushing out to open the door for Kate. As she entered she noticed the sign on the door. "The sign says closed." She said, halting in the doorway, and Rick tapped his nose slyly before stepping beside her and pulling her inside.

"Ignore the sign. Come on." He said, tugging her along playfully.

"Let me guess, you know a guy?" She asked dryly, and he laughed.

"Sit down. I should explain." He gestured to a table and Kate finally began to take in her surroundings. She was currently standing in what was, for all intents and purposes, a very average NYC café. Except beyond the edge of the last table, there wasn't a wall. There were shelves upon shelves of books.

"What is this place?" She asked, clearly stunned. Rick finished pottering with the coffee machine and brought over two lattes, placing one in front of her and taking a seat.

"This is the Housing Works Bookstore Café. Alexis found it one day. It functions like a normal business, really – they sell coffee, books and merchandise, and rent out their little space, and all the money goes to the Housing Works charity."

"So you booked it out for the night, for us." She said.

"Well, I wanted quiet… somewhere that wasn't the loft. And plus, this place gives the money to a great charity. Didn't seem wasteful to me." He said, and she smiled, leaning over the table to kiss him softly.

"You have such a big heart Richard Castle." She murmured, and he grinned. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their coffees, before Rick smiled.

"So Detective, allow me to introduce you to some books?" He asked, gesturing behind him to the shelves.

"Absolutely." She said, trying hard not to rub her hands together with glee.

XXX

They'd been wandering around the bookstore for nearly two hours, sharing stories about how they came to find several classics, including Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice. When they reached the modern mysteries sections, Kate smiled as she brushed her hand gently along the spines of Rick's collective works. He smiled at the action, but frowned when she turned to him and spotted the tears in her eyes.

"Oh, hey, Kate…" He said, pulling her close. "What's wrong?"

"I never told you this before but… I wasn't just a fan of your books, Rick. They saved me. I found 'In A Hail of Bullets' after my mom died, you know? And… the bad guy got caught in your book. It gave me comfort. So then I bought the next one, and the next one…" She trailed off nervously. She'd been getting better at the sharing thing since they'd been together but emotions still weren't her strong point. Rick gathered her into his arms.

"I think that might just be the best compliment I've ever received about any of my books." He said softly, and she smiled.

"Just thought you should know." She murmured into his chest. They stayed connected like that for a while before Rick pulled out of the hug and pushed his left hand in his pocket. Before Kate had a chance to blink, he was on the ground in front of her.

"Kate, I've loved you for so long, and we just keep getting better every day. We're partners, and I want to stay that way forever. You're the most beautiful woman, inside and out - so would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" He asked, flipping open the lid of the small velvet box in his hand. She nodded for ages before she could finally get the words out.

"Yes, Rick. Of course I'll marry you." She said, and he stood up, slipping the ring onto her finger and pulling her into a bruising kiss. She brushed the tears from her eyes and smiled down at the ring. He really did have amazing taste, it was beautiful and understated. She kissed him again. "And it fits perfectly, of course." She murmured against his lips, and he smiled widely.

The woman of his dreams agreed to marry him. Best. Day. Ever.

When Rick walked into their bedroom at the loft, Kate was staring down at their newborn son with a tired but beautiful smile gracing her face.

"Daydreaming?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Reminiscing." She said gently.

"Ooh, about what?" He whispered, careful not to wake their sleepy little man.

"You proposing." She said with a smile. "How long had you had that ring?"

"I may or may not have bought it the day we returned to the city after our first weekend in the Hamptons." He said with a smile.

"Rick! We'd been dating a week by then!" She said, and he laughed.

"Hey, I knew. I knew we'd be together forever. I just wanted to wait until you knew." He said with a shrug, and she laughed softly so she didn't disturb the baby in her arms.

"I love you, Rick." She said softly, as the bundle in her arms squirmed. "And I love you, little man, but I think it might be time to put you in the bassinet." She said, and Rick pushed the little yellow bassinet closer to her, ensuring that she could put Ethan in there safely. He stirred a little but remained asleep, so Kate switched on the baby monitor and motioned for Rick to leave the room, taking one last look at her sleeping baby before tip-toeing after her husband. She found him in the kitchen, preparing a snack for her. When he pushed the sandwich in front of her, she smiled.

"Thanks, hubby." She said softly and he smiled.

"You're never going to get tired of calling me that, are you?"

"You've called me 'wifey' more times than I've called you hubby." She tossed back, and he smiled – the exhaustion hadn't hit her that hard if she was still bickering with him.

"Probably. But who can blame me, really?" He asked, and she smiled.

"Yeah, I know. But we've been married for over a year. It's probably getting a little lame now." She said, and he smiled.

"It'll never be lame, my dear." He murmured, kissing her softly. "I still can't believe we've been married a year." He said, and she smiled.

"Time flies."

"I still remember every detail. Although mostly I just remember how insanely beautiful you looked in that white dress, walking down the aisle to me." She smiled at the compliment. The dress had been beautiful, perfect even – as it should have been, given the amount of time her, Lanie and Alexis had spent shopping for it. It was a miracle Lanie hadn't killed her, really. Kate thought the only thing that saved her was Lanie's elation at being Maid of Honour.

"Your attention to detail has always been remarkable, Rick. I'd be more concerned if you didn't remember anything." She said, and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. She just laughed. "That's really where your mind went?" She asked, and he nodded sheepishly.

"You can't blame me!" He protested, and she couldn't help but agree.

"I suppose I can't, really." She couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him a little though. "Two words for you, Ricky: Wedding night." She murmured into his ear, before heading back to their bedroom to check on Ethan, pausing to delight in the sound of Rick's groan.

XXX

By the time she'd made it back to the bedroom, it was almost time for Ethan's feed. He was just waking up when she entered so she scooped him into her arms and whispered to him softly to coax him awake. When his bright blue eyes peered up at her, she felt her heart melt. Ethan was the spitting image of his father, and although it should give her cause for concern Kate was secretly pleased that a little doppelganger of Rick would be running around soon enough. Maybe one day they'd have a little girl like her, just to even the score. She couldn't help but smile to herself as Rick entered the room.

"That's another good smile. The proposal again?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Just thinking about the definition of one day." She said.

"Like in the Hamptons?" He asked, and she nodded.

"We haven't got a mini-me yet. So maybe one day hasn't quite arrived yet."

"You want more?" He asked, surprised and extremely pleased all in one.

"One day." She said, poking her tongue out at him. He just smiled widely.

One day, indeed.

AN: (Version 2.0)

Okay people, that's the end of this story. Development has officially been completed.

On a slightly different note... the response to this story hasn't been as positive as I'd hoped for. I'm starting to wonder if I've lost my touch. So... I think I'm going to take a break from writing for a while. By the end of this I felt like I was forcing it, purely because I hate to leave things unfinished. I'm finding it hard to write for Castle at the moment, and I think I've figured out why - I started writing when I didn't like what was happening in the show, when Josh and Gina were on the scene and it wasn't going the way I wanted it to. Now, I'm genuinely happy with where my beloved Castle and Beckett are at the moment, so there's nothing to fix.

I love reading everyone else's stories so don't fear, I'll still be around. And if you want to, you can follow me on Twitter: I'm 'SimoneLouise_XX'

Thankyou for the support, Castle fandom. I'll see you all again eventually, I'm sure.

IBYL
xo