The chapter is a little bit early this week. Thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, and following, and to my regular guest reviewers, including ChaCha, ndhbfan, and NYAZ, since I can't answer you personally.

A couple of quick notes: I will be keeping to canon, so Rick and Kate's twins are boys, and they will be named Reece and Jake. And one of the boys will be named after Jim Beckett, which isn't canon, but it does hark back to an earlier chapter in the story. (They'll be finding out their shared intuition that the twins are boys are correct in an upcoming chapter, and choosing the first names in that same chapter; also I'll be taking a closer look at Martha and Earl's relationship in the next chapter.)

Also, we are into July and August of 2019 in this chapter.

Finally, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice, or, if you aren't actually celebrating anything in particular this weekend, just a great weekend.


The ungodly July heat made Lanie incredibly thankful that she, Alan, and Will had an apartment with central air conditioning.

Alan's paternity leave had been only eight weeks, so he had long since returned to work. He usually called at least three times a day, and texted a few other times, and Lanie would send him pictures of Will. Yeah, they were those kind of parents, but they were happy and proud to be those kind of parents.

Will was a marvel. Lanie understood firsthand now why Kate and Castle were so besotted with Lily, because she and Alan felt the same way about Will. He was the center of their universe now, and added a whole new level to their relationship, because now they were not just husband and wife, they were parents to this beautiful boy.

In fact, Lanie was a bit nervous about talking to Alan when he got home in a few minutes, because she wasn't sure how he would take the news she was going to lay on him.

The sound of Alan's key in the front door broke Lanie's reverie. She was sitting on a blanket on the living room floor with Will, who was lying on his back, gurgling and babbling and kicking his chubby little 3-month-old legs. "I'm home!" Alan announced, dropping his keys in the bowl on the table by the front door, his summer-weight jacket and his tie already undone and draped over his opposite arm. He dropped them on the couch before getting down on the floor, where he kissed Lanie hello, and then leaned over Will and rubbed noses with the baby before giving him a smacking kiss on the forehead, which made him shriek and squeal with joy.

"It's too hot to cook. I thought we could just order Chinese for dinner," Alan said as he picked Will up and plunked the baby onto his lap.

"Yeah, that'll work," Lanie agreed.

"I'll give Mister Man here his bath, if you want to call in our order," Alan said.

"Sure," Lanie agreed.

"You ready for bath time, Will?" Alan asked, pulling a face that made Will chortle with glee. Alan was so good with Will, so patient and hands-on and always engaged. He stood up and carried Will off to give him his bath.

Lanie called in their usual order, then stood in the bathroom doorway and watched as Alan gave Will his bath, talking to him all the while. "And here's Mister Squack!" Alan exclaimed as he set a rubber ducky that looked like Mr. Spock (Alan even pronounced "Squack" to rhyme with "Spock") in the tiny baby bath and, along with Will, watched the duck float along the water's surface. "You know what his shirt says, Will? It says 'Float Strong and Flourish.' The real Mr. Spock says, 'Live long and prosper.' Both excellent pieces of advice."

Lanie smiled, watching Alan and Will together. She zoned out just long enough for Alan to notice that, although Lanie was standing there, mentally she was a million miles away. He gathered Will up in a big, fluffy towel, and then said, "Earth to Mommy...Come in, Mommy."

At Alan referring to her as 'Mommy' (yup, they were those parents too, referring to each other as 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' sometimes, but only in Will's presence), Lanie snapped back to the present. "Good bath, little man?" she asked Will, reaching out to grab one of his pudgy little hands and kiss it.

"Yup," Alan said. "We've gotten pretty good at the not-peeing-in-the-tub thing in the last few weeks, haven't we, Will?"

"Well, we'd better get him dressed before he pees on one of us because he gets cold," Lanie said.

"Right," Alan agreed.

When Will was diapered and dressed in a lightweight Star Wars sleeper, Lanie nursed him while Alan cleaned up the bath supplies and then paid for the Chinese food delivery.

After putting the sleeping Will in his bassinet, Lanie grabbed the nursery monitor and joined Alan at their kitchen table, where he had dished up the food and was just waiting for her before eating.

"So, where were you when you were watching me give Will a bath?" Alan asked knowingly. "Something serious is going on in that head of yours."

"Yeah, it is," Lanie agreed, dragging her fork through the small mountain of rice on her plate. "It's about work."

"What about work?" Alan asked before taking a bite of his orange chicken.

"Well, I'm supposed to go back in three weeks," Lanie replied, "because my maternity leave will be over." She paused a beat, then added, "But I really don't want to go back yet. The truth is, I'd like to stay home with Will until he's a year old, at least."

Alan didn't even have to think about it. "Okay," he said.

Lanie blinked, surprised. "Okay?" she echoed.

"If you don't want to go back to work yet, you don't have to go back to work yet," Alan replied. "We'll be all right financially at least until Will is one. We'll have to re-evaluate at that point if you decide then that you want to stay home with him until, for instance, he's in preschool, but if that's what you want, we can work it out."

"We can?" Lanie asked. "I mean, I'm not thinking beyond the first year yet, but I know that I want to be with Will for as much time as I can for this first year. We'll really be okay financially if I don't go back to work until next year?"

"Yes," Alan said with a tender smile. "I wanted you to have the option to stay home if you wanted to, Lanie. I know we never really talked about it, and we probably should have, but I didn't want you to feel like you had to go back to work in twelve weeks. Seriously, we're good."

Lanie looked at her husband in amazement. Then she pushed back her chair, crossed to the other side of the table, and sat down in Alan's lap, peppering his face with kisses. "You're amazing," she said.

"I'm just a guy who loves his wife and son and wants them to be happy," Alan corrected, pushing his plate aside and wrapping his arms around Lanie's waist to hold her more securely on his lap before meeting her lips with his.


Javier double checked his tie, making sure it was tied properly, and that it was straight. Vests were strictly a Kevin Ryan thing. He made sure his tie was aligned with his belt buckle, then pulled on his suit jacket. He gave himself a once-over in the full-length mirror in his bedroom.

He hadn't even taken Ryan into his confidence. He wasn't planning to pop the question tomorrow. But the time when he would was getting closer, and when it arrived, he wanted to be able to ask with the approval and blessing of Alexis's family.

He picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and while the easier route would have been calling Beckett, he called Castle. "Are you guys busy right now?" he asked when Castle answered his phone.

"Ah, no," Rick replied, wondering why Esposito was calling. "We're all at home. Mother's even here with Earl. Alexis is registering for her fall semester classes right now-"

"I know. That's why I was hoping I could come over and see you guys right now, if you don't mind," Javier replied.

"Sure," Rick replied.

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes," Javier said, ending the call.

Rick looked at his phone in confusion before sliding it back in his pocket. "Who was that?" Kate asked.

"Esposito," Rick replied.

"Surely he knows Alexis is registering for her fall classes right now," Martha said.

"He does," Rick said. "But he wants to see us."

Martha and Kate exchanged a look. "Did he say that?" Kate asked.

"His exact words were 'I was hoping I could come over and see you guys right now, if you don't mind,'" Rick replied.

Martha and Kate exchanged another look. "Mommy?" Lily asked.

"I think Uncle Javi has something important to talk to us about, Lily," Kate replied.

And that's when it dawned on Rick. "No," he said, looking like he'd just been sucker punched.

Kate's look was a perfect mix of love and sympathy. "I really think that's what it is, babe," she said.

"So soon?" Rick asked. He flopped down on the couch next to Kate.

"They've been together three years," Kate pointed out gently. "Not everyone is as slow and stubborn and scared as we were."

Rick's ghost of a smile was bittersweet. "It shouldn't really come as a surprise, should it?" he asked rhetorically. "How many times have they both said this is it for them?"

"Of course Javier wants to make an honest woman out of Alexis," Martha interjected then.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from him," Kate replied.

The doorbell rang then. Kate squeezed Rick's hand reassuringly, and then Rick got up and went to answer the door.

There stood Javier Esposito, in a navy blue double-breasted suit, jacket buttoned, navy blue tie with white stripes tied in a perfect four-in-hand, an undercurrent of tension evident beneath his usual cool demeanor. "Hello, Castle," he said, one hand clasped atop the other in front of his waist.

"Esposito," Rick replied, standing aside. "Come on in."

"Hi, Javi," Kate said.

"Hello, Javier," Martha greeted him.

"Detective Esposito," Earl said, extending a hand for Javi to shake. The sweaty palm confirmed for Earl that this was, indeed, about Javier asking the family's blessing to marry Alexis. Javier gave Earl an apologetic glance for his sweaty handshake, but Earl merely winked at him, a gesture that no one else noticed. No need to put the poor guy any more on edge than he already was, Earl reasoned.

"Here, Uncle Javi, I made you some tea," Lily greeted him, handing him a little purple plastic teacup on a little purple plastic saucer.

"Thank you, Lily," he said, accepting the cup and saucer from her and holding them in one hand.

"So, Javi," Kate said. "Rick tells us you wanted to see us."

"Yes," Javi replied, clearing his throat, Lily's purple plastic teacup and saucer still in his hand. "I'm only going to do this once in my life, and I want to do it right. You are Alexis's family. But you're also my family, going back years before Alexis and I became 'us.'" He paused for a moment and looked at each of them in turn—Castle, Beckett, Martha, and Lily—and then let his gaze encompass all of them.

"I'm not asking her right away," he continued. "She has her last year of law school to get through, I know that. And then studying for and taking the bar exam. I honestly don't know exactly when I'll ask her. But I have the ring. Not with me, but in a safe place. And I know I'm going to ask her when the time is right. When that right time comes, I think I'll just know it."

Castle surprised everyone, especially Esposito, by saying, "You will."

"So before that moment comes this one," Javi continued, looking at all of them again, "the moment where I ask all of you if I have your blessing to ask Alexis to be my wife."

Javi would later swear that the silence stretched on for endless minutes, but it only felt that way to him.

Martha was the first one to speak, rising from her seat, walking over to Javier, and giving him a hug. She drew back, her arms still around him, and said, "You absolutely have my blessing, Javier. You and Alexis make each other happy. Just keep that light in her eyes for the rest of your lives."

"I'll do my best, Martha," Javier promised.

Lily looked up from her tea set. "You love 'Lexis, Uncle Javi," she said.

Javi hunkered down so that he was at eye level with Lily. "I sure do, Lily," he said earnestly. "Very much." He set the cup and saucer back on the coffee table.

"Like Daddy loves Mommy," Lily replied. "And like Pops loves Gram."

Earl looked at Martha, shock on his face. "'Pops'?" he asked.

Martha just smiled. "I had nothing to do with that," she replied. "But Lily is a very smart girl. It looks like you've been adopted as her other grandfather...Pops." Her smile grew bigger. Earl smiled back at her before looking at Lily in wonder.

"Yes," Javi said. "That's exactly right."

"Okay," Lily said with a firm nod of approval.

"Okay," Javi echoed before standing up.

Beckett and Castle were both standing now too. Beckett approached him first. "Javi, of course you have my blessing," she said. "But you know what I'm capable of, and how far I'll go for the people I love. Alexis is my daughter. I love both of you-"

"But you're automatically on her side, I know," he said. He gave her a bemused smile. "I bet you never pictured us ending up in-laws."

Kate chuckled. "No, I didn't," she said. "But I'm glad we will be." They hugged then.

"Thanks, Beckett," Javi said.

"Is there any chance I can get you to call me 'Kate' after the wedding?" Kate asked as she drew back from the hug.

"I'll work on it," Javi promised.

That left only Castle, who stepped forward now and looked Javi up and down. "Would you break Alexis out of prison?" Castle asked Javi.

The question was so far-fetched, but then Javi had a dim memory of a case from years ago, involving a young couple, the young guy willing to risk it all to break his girl out of prison. Castle had asked him then if he, Javi, would get him out of prison, and Javi had said that he would escape, leaving Castle to fend for himself. Law of the jungle, looking out for Numero Uno...and Beckett had told Castle, "Don't worry, Castle. I'd get you out." And she had. Not a prison break, but she had. And then when Beckett had been arrested, Castle was right there in it with her, helping her out. He and Ryan had been arrested then too, but the tape Beckett found in the ceramic elephants on her desk, which had once rested on her mother's desk, had been enough to exonerate Beckett (and Castle, Ryan, and Esposito) and finally give her the evidence she needed to arrest Bracken, the slimeball who had had her mother killed.

So Javier understood why Castle was asking him this question.

"I absolutely would break Alexis out of prison," Esposito replied. "Alexis is the center of my world. I want to build a life with her. I want to grow old with her. I want us to take care of each other for the rest of our lives."

"You're a good man, Javier," Castle said. "One of the best men I've ever known. And like Kate, I never expected that we would be in-laws. But when the time comes, whenever it is, you have my blessing to ask Alexis if she'll marry you." He didn't say that he was certain he knew what Alexis's answer would be.

Castle had never seen Esposito look so relieved in all the years they had known each other. "Thank you," he said, a mile-wide grin stretching across his face. "Thank you, Castle. I promise, I won't let you down."

"More importantly, don't let Alexis down," Rick said seriously.

"I haven't yet," Javier replied. "I never will." Impulsively, Esposito hugged Castle. "Thank you." He looked to Beckett and Martha and Lily and Earl. "All of you."

Much later that night, after Lily was asleep, Kate was in bed with her tablet, casually perusing baby name websites. Rick came in after finishing in the bathroom and slid into bed next to her, unable to hide his sigh.

Kate set her tablet on the nightstand and turned over on her side, propping her head on her hand, and looked at Rick. "Javi said he's not asking her right away," she reminded him.

"I know," Rick said. "It's just...She's gonna say 'yes,' Kate. They're gonna get married."

"They probably won't get married until after Alexis has graduated from law school and passed the bar and has a job, knowing her. Javi doesn't even have a timetable for asking her yet. And when they do get engaged, and get married, they're going to be very happy," Kate replied, moving closer to him while maneuverability was still a non-issue for her. "And we will celebrate with them, just like they'll celebrate with us when they find out about Peanut and Jellybean."

Kate moved so that she was straddling Rick's thighs now. "Things are changing for all of us," Kate said. "Your mom has Earl now...Lanie and Alan have Will...Alexis is heading into her last year of law school...my dad's talking about retiring from the law firm and just teaching a class or two every semester more often here lately...Maddie and Mark are going to be moving in together as soon as Mark is back on his feet again and they find a place...and we have the news of the Terrific Twosome to share in the not-too-distant future."

"Lily called Earl 'Pops' today," Rick said.

"I noticed that," Kate replied. "He seemed surprised, but he didn't object." She paused. "Do you?"

"All my life, it was just my mother and me," Rick reflected. "And then it was just Mother and Alexis and me. The only man she was ever serious about was her high-school sweetheart, after they reconnected online years ago, but Alexis and I never even met him, and then he died. I've never seen my mother like this over a man. I know that Earl is the real deal. I'm happy for them. Mother deserves to know this kind of love and happiness. I'll never call Earl 'Dad,' but I don't object to our kids calling him 'Pops' if he's okay with it."

"I'm really happy for Martha and Earl too," Kate said. "And I know that you're nervous about how your new book is going to be received."

"It's a major departure for me," Rick said. "It's not like when I stopped writing about Derrick Storm and started writing about Nikki Heat. It's a whole different genre, a whole different type of story. So yeah, I'm nervous about it."

"I was nervous about running for City Council," Kate reminded him.

"Yeah, you were," Rick agreed. And then he got what Kate was saying. Looking up into her eyes—the eyes that he lost himself in countless times, and the same eyes he always found himself in, in times of uncertainty and pain and fear and worry—he said, "And I was there cheering you on, supporting you, backing your play at every turn and in every way I could think of. And you're going to do the exact same thing for me now."

"Exactly," Kate replied. "Whatever happens with Something Worth Saving—and for the record, I think it's going to be well-received—we will get through it. Change is a scary thing, but someone taught me...starting, oh, ten years ago now...that even though it's scary, change doesn't have to be a bad thing. Sometimes, in fact, it's very..." She leaned down to kiss Rick's right cheek. "...very..." She shifted and kissed Rick's left cheek. "...good."

"Ten years ago, huh?" Rick said as Kate sat up again and gazed down upon him once more. "2009...That was a very important year."

"Yes, it was," Kate agreed. "Even if it did get a bit of a late start. March 9."

"You remember," Rick said, and now he was smiling, a real smile, the one that took over his whole face and made those oh-so-appealing crinkles appear at the corners of his eyes.

"The night we met? Of course I remember it. You don't forget the night the course of your entire life shifts to something you never expected," Kate replied. "And look at where we are now, babe. How far we've come from that first night. Everything we are...everything we have...everything we have to look forward to."

Rick reached up and tucked Kate's hair behind her ears. "We should start making plans for how and when we announce the new arrivals," he said.

"Still no Jumbotron, no skywriter, and no full-page ad in the New York Times," Kate said.

Rick made a big show of "hmph"-ing, but his eyes were sparkling. "We'll think of something," he said.

"I'm thinking of something right now," Kate replied huskily.

"Oh, you are?" he asked rhetorically. Rick's hands wandered lazily down her back then, beneath the hem of her tank top, and traced up the bare skin of her back. Kate shivered at his touch, her eyes drifting shut briefly before opening again and focusing on him with love and desire in their depths.

She tugged at his t-shirt and he sat up so that she could lift the shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside. As her hands blazed a trail down his torso that her lips followed, she murmured against his heart, "You got it in one guess," before regular conversation gave way to passionate, reverent lovemaking.