A/N: I'm sorry my updates suck but now that I'm done with school for the semester… here's more! Also, this fic only has a few more chapters left and I wanna know what you all are feeling, part two?
Three Weeks Later
Kate looked down at her beautiful, bright blue eyed daughter with amazement. She had been home for exactly three weeks down and she managed to fall in love with her more and more every day. Today marked the first day the two of them spent away from daddy. Rick was out promoting his latest book, which he managed to write in just a few days surprisingly. He somehow managed to find inspiration in the time that Kate spent recovering from birth and though this latest book wasn't his typical one, Nikki Heat remained his main heroine and his new book, Body Heat explored Nikki Heat's personal life.
He would be gone in Los Angeles for just over twenty four hours and Kate was sure to not waste a minute of that time bonding with her daughter. Kate enjoyed every little moment with her, even when she was crying at 2:00 AM and Kate was getting no sleep, she loved it. Though she couldn't call any of the little moments her favorite, she throughly enjoyed bathing Charlotte last night and looking at her little blue eyes grow wider and her cooing noise when she laid her in the what must have been cold water. The tiny shiver the infant did brought the biggest smile to Kate's face and the thought of a million more of these little moments to light up her life.
Now Kate was wrapped up in a blanket Rick had bought from the hospital for Charlotte which seemed to be the softest blanket Kate had ever touched. Her legs were sprawled out on the couch with the blanket covering them and her daughter wrapped up warmly in a blanket and resting on Kate's legs. She gently stroked the side of her face and almost begged for her to wake up, even if she was crying, just to be able to look into her blue eyes more.
She was however somewhat thankful that her daughter was sleeping because tonight was the first 'Girls Night' she would be having with Lanie since before Charlotte was born. With Rick out of the house, it was much needed. Rick hadn't left the loft in three weeks and as much as she enjoyed having him around all the time, she did need a break.
Kate continued to stare peacefully at her daughter. What would she be? Would she be a writer like her father, a lawyer like her grandmother? Would she have his personality or hers? Maybe a mix of both. Would she be a tomboy or a girly girl? Kate was truly estastic about the future, though the thought of her daughter growing too big for her to hold brought tears to her eyes.
Finally the door bell rang. Kate moved Charlotte around until she was laying in her bent left arm. She flung the blanket of the back of the couch and grabbed the gun that was sitting on the coffee table. It seemed a little odd that Kate would have her gun so close to her child, and she never had before, but being alone she feared some crazy person could easily ring their bell and do harm to her, or worse, Charlotte and holstered it on her hip just in case as she walked toward the door.
Before she could open the door she could hear Lanies familiar voice. "Hey girl! I brought white zinfandel and moscato!" Lanie exclaimed as she walked through the threshold.
Upon entering she noticed the sturing little Charlotte had done upon the loud, unsuspected noise that was Lanies voice.
"Oh honey don't wake up!" Lanie said softly stroking the infants tiny head. "Mommy needs a girls night with Aunt Lanie and that will be pretty hard if you try to steal all of her attention."
Maybe it was the gently bouncing in Kate's arms, or Lanies voice, but one of the two helped put the child back in her peaceful slumber.
"Hey Lanie!" Kate finally got out feeling a little bit forgotten.
"Hi honey!" Lanie said excitedly and softly wrapping an arm around Kate's neck to pull her in for an embrace. "How's it going being a mom and all?!"
"Good, a little bit exhausting, but good!" Kate answered with a smile.
"Good, now all moms need a mommy's night! So which one first?!" Lanie asked.
"I don't know if I should be drinking, I'm still breast feed…" Kate began.
"And it won't hurt. Do you have enough milk pumped to last you through the night?" Kate nodded. "Then you'll be fine. Trust me, I'm a doctor!" Lanie told her with a little sassy wink at the end.
"Now, let's go with the mosacato, I know you like your white wine spritzers!" Lanie said looking for a cork screw and gathering some glasses out of the cabinet.
"Let me go in the other room with her so the noise doesn't wake her up." Kate told Lanie walking toward the bedroom she shared with Castle. Once she heard a soft pop Kate came back into the kitchen.
"Alright girl, here you go!" Lanie said handing her the drink.
Kate looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms then up a Lanie with a small laugh. "I probably shouldn't carry both of these!" She told Lanie.
"Oh right!" Lanie said motioning for Kate to hand her the child so Kate could grab the swing out of the living room to put the child in.
She moved the swing into the kitchen and put Charlotte in the swing. She was in just a white t-shirt so Kate kept the blanket around her to keep her warm. After placing Charlotte in the swing, she hopped on the bar stool and began sipping the wine Lanie had left in front of her.
"How you like being a mom girl?!" Lanie asked excitedly standing across from Kate on the other side of the kitchen island.
"I love it." Kate answered with a smile and looked over at Charlotte.
"You ready for baby number two?" Lanie jokingly asked.
Kate blushed a bit and let out a little giggle. "I don't know about all that. I remember being on all the pain meds and telling Castle I wanted to have another one soon and I think he thinks I was serious. I really don't know how to tell him I wasn't."
"You would girl." Lanie told her light heartily. "You've still never given me any of the details on the sex!"
Kate laughed. "Well, what is there to tell? We did it and we had a baby."
"Oh you know what I want."
"Yes he's big." Kate told her followed by laughing between the two.
"I bet he's good in the sheets too!" Lanie stated.
"Yea, really good!" Kate told her with a blushing smile.
"Those six weeks post partum must have killed you!" Lanie joked.
"Oh yea!" Kate added.
"So when's he gonna pop the question?" Lanie asked with more seriousness.
"I don't know. I honestly don't know if he will…"
"What?! Why not?! He's crazy for you Kate!" Lanie could sense the fear in Kate's voice.
"I don't know it's just, he's been married three times before and they all lead to divorce, why would he want to get married again and risk that?"
Truth was, Kate did want to marry Rick. There was no question in that and she felt like he wanted to take the next step too, but maybe he didn't want to put a title on it. Maybe it was his fear of the title "marriage" put on any relationship that meant something to him. She knew deep down it didn't matter if they shared silver bands on their fingers and a certificate to physically show their bond, she felt as though she was already married to Richard Castle; that she was Mrs. Richard Castle.
Lanie could tell Kate was a little distracted and in her own world by the question, so she referred Kate's interest to something else. "Is she sleeping through the night yet?"
"Huh, oh yea almost. She just gets up once to be fed around three." Kate answered looking back at Charlotte with a smile.
"You ready to spend your first night without Castle with her?" Lanie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I hope. She's been good so far, I don't even think she realizes he's gone. Plus we're having grandpa time tomorrow!" Kate told her still smiling at her.
"Well, now it's Aunt Lanie time!" Lanie said walking over to the sleeping child and removing her from the swing and holding her close to her chest. "Uh girl, you smell that?" She asked a few seconds after picking Charlotte up.
"What?" Kate said beginning to move closer before being overwhelmed with the scent. "Goodness child you are your father's child, that's for sure."
Charlotte had pooped. And she hadn't just pooped, she pooped everywhere. Kate and Lanie looked to the swing at the same time to see the poop that had been smushed in the seat where Charlotte was laying.
"Looks like it's bath time with Aunt Lanie!" Kate looked down at a still sleeping Charlotte just to see the child express a small smile.
Luck would have it, the one night she got Charlotte bathed and ready for bed early, she'd fill up her entire diaper and get poop all over her just hours after.
"What do you need me to do girl?" Lanie asked.
"Uh, well just follow me." Kate answered and beginning to walk up the stairs. She opened the door to Charlotte's nursery and not remembering that Lanie had yet to see the finished product and was stunned with the beauty of it.
"Kate… her nursery is beautiful!" Lanie said in awe.
Kate looked back at Lanie, slightly blushing and smiled. "Thank you!"
Lanie didn't notice Kate grabbing the baby bathtub from the bottom shelf of the changing table. She already had the baby soap, wash cloth, robe, and lotion in the tub ready to go. She picked it up just as Lanie was coming out of her surprised state.
"Here hun I got that!" Lanie said taking a few steps over to Kate and taking the tub out of Kate's hands.
"Thanks! Alright let's go downstairs." Just as Kate finished her sentence Charlotte began to cry. "Hold on." Kate said as she walked over to Charlottes crib and picked up a pacifier. "There you go, that's better." She cooed Charlotte as she placed the pacifier in her mouth and headed down stairs with Lanie.
The three of them made their way down the stairs and Kate instructed Lanie to place the tub in the kitchen sink and Kate began to test the water on one elbow and coo Charlotte in the other.
"Girl you got this mother thing down!" Lanie told Kate eyeing her wonderful mothering skills.
Kate laughed. "You're not going to believe that if you see me later tonight with a screaming Charlotte hoping Castle walks through that door any moment, and just my luck that will happen." The two women shared a chuckle at Kate's comment.
"Alright, let's get you in the bath." Kate said to a now naked Charlotte as she hurried her into the bath and closed her dirty diaper to put in the trash.
Lanie came up behind Kate and began making faces at Charlotte, causing her to laugh and eventually drop her pacificier into the now dirty water of her bath.
"Here, I'll feed her!" Lanie insisted after Kate had finished bathing and feeding Charlotte.
"You sure?" Kate questioned heating the child's bottle up.
"Yea, I need to bond with my niece!" Kate smiled before handing Charlotte to Lanie with a bottle and placing a burp cloth on Lanie's shoulder.
The two talked for hours, drank their bottle of wine, and before they knew it, it had gotten into the wee hours of the morning. Lanie and Kate said their goodbyes and Lanie placed a kiss on Charlottes forehead. Kate locked the door behind Lanie and headed into the master bedroom.
"I love you little Miss Charlotte." Kate told her daughter as she placed her in the middle of the bed and put the pillows from Rick's side of the bed on the other side of her to keep her from rolling anywhere.
She picked up her phone and called Rick to say goodnight.
"Hello?" A groggy Castle answered.
"Hi honey!" She said.
"Hey!" She could tell she had woken him up, but she could also tell he was smiling.
"How was your day?" Kate asked.
"Long." He replied very tired.
"I'm sorry baby. Charlotte pooped all over herself, there's no doubt she's your child." Kate said with a giggle that Castle soon matched. "Well I was just calling to say good night and that Charlotte and I love you."
"Ok baby, I love you too." He told her. "And Charlotte." He added being sure not forget his newest daughter.
"Have a safe trip home and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ok baby, I love you. See you tomorrow." He didn't want to say goodbye first, she could tell. She sucked it up this time, and took one for the team.
"Bye baby."
"Bye."
Kate hung up her phone and placed it back on the nightstand before climbing in bed with her daughter.
"Mommy and daddy love you Charlotte." She told her before placing an arm around her and slowly drifting to sleep.