Beckett unlocked the front door and sighed in happy delight when she scented dinner on the air. Roasted pork and fresh which meant only one thing and it was making her mouth water. But food could wait. She put down her bag and her purse, called out when she saw the living room empty.
'Hello? Anyone home?'
Following her instincts she went upstairs to the nursery; her heart melted at what she saw - RJ and Castle were reading Jojo a bedtime story. Jojo was sucking on a bottle of formula as she sat on her father's lap and RJ, ever Helpy McHelperson, was holding the book up for Castle while he read to her.
'Doctor Dawson watched Basil with the scrap of paper, curious in its handwriting, and all its myriad clues that would hopefully lead them to the whereabouts of poor Olivia.'
'Daddy, what's mee-ad mean?'
'Myriad means a whole bunch of something,' Beckett filled in from the doorway and all three of them looked over at the sound of her voice.
'Mumum!' RJ forgot his duties as book-holder and dropped it like a hot potato as he scrambled up to give his mother a hug. 'You home soon!'
'Mumum!' Jojo grinned around her bottle, clapped her hands as Castle rose with the little girl still in his arms. 'Daddy, Mumum!'
'I see her, Jojo,' he laughed, 'and RJ's right; you're home soon.'
'Captain said the paperwork could wait, reminded me the job's always there, but my family is here now.'
'Wise man.'
Castle gave her a kiss that had RJ making what he called his 'zombie face' - he scrunched his eyes shut and stuck out his tongue.
'Ewww! Why you guys have to moosh all the time?'
'Because that's how we show each other we love each other,' Castle explained as she took her baby girl into her arms for a cuddle. He brushed his hand on her hair as the baby snuggled tight against Beckett. 'Someone's been missing you.'
'I think three someones have been missing me.'
'Yeah, but RJ told her that you were going to be home soon, and every five minutes it was 'Daddy, Mumum now?' I was ready to clobber that kid.'
'Mumum,' Jojo sighed, her long fingers clutching at Beckett's hair as she began to drift into sleep. 'Mumum now.'
'Yes, Mumum's got you now.'
'Yea,' she mumbled sleepily and within seconds she was snoring softly, so Beckett put her into bed with caterpillar Bib and her bottle nearby. With quiet movements and motions, she ushered her men out of the nursery, dimming the lights and heading downstairs.
Now that his mumum was home safely, RJ had tapped into a well of renewed energy, so the moment they were in the living room he was at his toy bin, picking out things he liked playing with his mother. 'Okay, Mumum, there's tuh-rucks, there's dinos, there's-'
'Easy, RJ, Mumum hads barely been home ten minutes,' Castle told him, seeing the fatigue of a long day beginning to sink in. 'She needs some breathing room.'
'Okay, we have 'toons. You wan' sharkies or you wan' bugs?'
'Let's have bugs,' she decided.
RJ went to the movie cabinet beside the TV and found the copy of A Bug's Life, put it in the player. He crawled up beside Beckett on the couch with the remotes which he gave to her and wrapped his arm around her midsection. 'You have a good day today, Mumum?'
'Yes, I did, but this is the best part of it,' she replied honestly as she pressed 'play' on the remote. 'Getting to see my babies and Daddy.'
'We the best, you know,' RJ said importantly, let his head thump against his mother's arm. She was home safely, and that was all he needed to be happy. Well, that his sisters, Omeo and Trini. And maybe some cookies for good measure. He snuggled against her just like Jojo, then sat up when he heard a weird noise. 'Mumum, you have a rooty-tooty-stinky-booty?'
'A what?' Beckett giggled, and Castle gave her a sheepish look.
'I may have used that phrase on Jojo when she had a muddy diaper after her dinner tonight.'
'You need the potty?' RJ asked sweetly.
'No, it was my stomach, sweetie. I'm very hungry all of a sudden.'
'Oh, okay! Daddy, we gotta make our dete'tive a suh-nack.'
'Got it covered, RJ, you stay with Mumum.'
'Our detective?' Beckett repeated when Castle had gone to the kitchen, began making kitchen noises while she cuddled with her son on the couch. 'What happened to Mumum?'
'You Dete'tive Mumum, and the bad guys shake in their boots when you say 'You under arres' ', right?'
'I sure hope they do or I'm not doing my job right.'
'An' Lanie and Shane say 'this guy died be-cause someone hurt him, you go find him', right?'
'That's right.'
'And Alexis be a do'tor for people who are sad when they no have a mumum or daddy or bunny to talk to.' RJ nodded; content everything was right in his world he patted Beckett's gurgling stomach. 'Your tummy mons'er cuh-ranky tonight.'
'What did you have for dinner?'
'Shuh-rek soup. It is Meredeth's recipe and it is so yummy. Daddy said we have to eat our veggies, but veggies are yucky and we have soup in'tead.'
'I see.' Beckett knew better than to tell her son that 'Shrek soup' was actually broccoli-cheese and that he was in fact eating his veggies when he slurped up two or three bowls like she knew he would. 'Well, you still need to eat your veggies. Even Omeo eats his veggies.'
'Really?'
'Well bunnies like carrots and lettuce and radishes, right? Those are veggies. And Omeo's never been sick.'
'Nuh-uh,' RJ replied with the stubbornness only a child could muster. 'Omeo has allershies, Mumum, he does not like soap, just like Jojo.'
'Jojo doesn't have a soap allergy, my little prince, she has sensitive skin and fabric softener irritates it. There is a difference.'
'Oh. Chef Daddy, Mumum is hungry!'
'It's coming right up.'
Castle brought the tray over and Beckett realized now why her son had talked about eating Shrek-soup yet she'd smelled roasted pork - he was making them Cuban sandwiches with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner. It was a combination she'd loved while pregnant with Jojo and was now one of her go-to comfort foods. She sat up straighter and actually clapped when he brought over the tray to the table; it even had a glass of orange juice on it for her. 'Richard you spoil me,' she said with a grin.
'Me too!' RJ saw his father had included a little plate with a mini grilled ham-and-cheese for himself. 'Now we have dinner together, Mumum, Daddy says that is important.'
Tears clogged Beckett's throat, so she took a little sip of juice to clear them out before she spoke. 'Richard you're not joining us?'
'I'm waiting on dessert,' he said, and Beckett's libido gave a happy little thrum when she saw the sparkle in his eyes. 'RJ and I were baking. We made apple-pear cobbler.'
'It has oatmeal in it, so we cannot let Omeo near it, be-cause he loves oatmeal and he will eat it all,' RJ informed his mother as he took a bite of his yummy sandwich.
'Can he have ice cream?'
'No, that's not good for bunnies. Can we watch the bugs now?'
Castle watched the two of them together, sharing a snack and conversation about the rest of the day while they watched one of Jojo's favourite. When RJ was done, he neatly took his plate to the kitchen and brought back extra napkins for Beckett because the boy knew she made a right mess of things when she ate sandwiches, and a straw so he could steal a sip of her drink. He watched his wife take of the layers of being a cop and be a mumum.
And tonight, he would watch her take off those layers, and just be Kate.
When they'd finished eating, and RJ was tucked into bed already half-asleep, Castle took Beckett's hands in his and he led her into their bedroom. 'Kate-'
'Rick, I'm sorry I've been working late.'
'Kate,' was all he said, and took her in his arms.
'I don't want to miss being a mom.'
'Our children are proud of their mother. You know Jojo isn't even a year old and she says 'Mumum cashum' because RJ is teaching her to say 'Mumum catches baddies' because he is so proud of you?'
'Really?'
'You don't believe me, ask them tomorrow morning at breakfast. But for now, I think my plan to seduce you needs to wait a moment, so we'll just cuddle.'
'My angels sleeping safe and sound in bed, and my man offering to just cuddle. Naked, of course,' she added with a flick of eyebrows.
'Of course.'
