Chapter 6

"That's new."

I looked over at Castle, who was staring at the screen, intrigued beyond belief.

"Really? That's all you can say?" I said skeptically, leaning on the arm of his chair. The proximity to him was intoxicating, but I kept myself in check.

He shrugged, and our arms brushed on the arm as he set his back down on the arm rest. I quickly retracted my arm and stood up straight. I took another step closer to the desk, staring at the screen. "I've never seen that happen before on this game. I did not even know that was possible!"

Twins. Not two Castles to deal with, but three. Oh Jeez.

I groaned and sat back down on the desk, with my head turned to keep an eye on the screen. The blue action window with the baby toys still floated there. Taunting me, it seemed.

"So…" Castle began. "Boy or girl?" He asked, after a beat.

"Boy. " I responded automatically, and then swore internally. I was too interested in this freaking game, and I had only been watching him play it for a little over an hour. He just smirked, while I tried to calm down my racing heart.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the bubble was gone from the screen, so I quickly turned back and hopped off the desk to get a better view. 'Kate' spun clutching her stomach once again, glitter and sparkles surrounding her. With a sudden crescendo of music, the second baby came into her hands as she faced the front once more.

"Awwww…" Castle cooed.

Just like she did with the first, she held the tiny newborn up high in the air, smiling at it adoringly as the baby reached down towards her and it's high voice came out as cute baby fussing. Because I had expected the awkward and easy birth, it really hit me how touching and precious it was. I looked closer at the virtual baby and my heart was moved.

The baby (hopefully a boy) had beautiful ocean blue eyes, just like Rick. My gaze softened as I involuntarily leaned against the chair again.

I know it is wrong of a mother to choose favorites, but- HOLD THE PHONE, did I really just think that?

Shut up, motherly hormones! This isn't real!

As I was spazzing out on the inside, the scene stopped with 'Kate' holding the mini-Castle on her hip. The naming bubble came up again, and "baby boy" was once again blinking in the script box.

Rick's voice woke me out of my trance. "You were right," Castle's brow raised and he looked at me suspiciously. I simply shook my head while rolling my eyes. I had kind of forgotten he was there during my maternal moment, but he didn't need to know that.

I watched the screen and was again captivated by the newborn's beautiful eyes. Yes, I knew it was not real, I wasn't dumb, but he was still visually appealing like a baby. Those blue eyes, so piercing and alert like the handsome man sitting in the chair in front of me. My eyes drifted involuntarily to Castle's, which met mine as he seemed to be thinking about a name. It was so easy to get lost in those eyes.

A shiver ran down my spine. "So, what should his name be?" I asked.

"What did you have in mind?" The writer asked, never breaking eye contact with me. I looked back at the screen, and then back to Castle, smiling.

"Alexander." We said in unison. Rick smiled and we chuckled softly.

"Perfect." He whispered, and he turned back to the laptop and his fingers stroke the keys with precision and speed. He had recovered from our 'moment' quite well, but I was still trying to tame my heart rate.

Naming children? What were we going to do next, pick colleges and make trust funds for them?

But by the obscene amount of money in the corner of the screen, over ten million dollars, making two trust funds wouldn't be a problem for the "Castle Family". They could also go to five different colleges at the same time.

"How on earth did they get so much money?" I changed the subject as it accepted 'Alexander Castle' as a new member of the family and the scene began to play again.

He froze, and bit his lip. Castle slowly looked at me, smiling mischievously.

Oh, Rick, you sneaky devil. "You cheated, didn't you?"

He laughed and pressed three buttons at the same time, too fast for me to register what they were. All of a sudden, another blue script box appeared across the top of the whole screen, with a white blinking cursor.

"Watch this."

He typed,

familyfunds Castle 99,000,000|

"Watch the amount in the corner." And then he hit the return key with a flourish.

My eyes were locked on the corner. All of a sudden the 10 million turned into 99 million, what he had entered.

"Whoa." A smile broke across my face as I hopped off the desk.

He turned and looked at me, his arms folded and proud of his work. "I know, right?"

"I wish that could really happen." I giggled, watching 'Kate' and 'Rick' holding the adorable twin boys.

"Yeah, me too."

Oh God.

By his tone, he had clearly thought what I said had a double meaning. Of course Castle would assume it was about 'Kate's'… predicament and current relationship. I looked back at him, and his eyes shimmered with hope.

"I… I mean…uh." I tried to form a coherent and sophisticated, but all that came out was blabbered syllables and sounds.

I saw his face fall slightly. He interrupted me, chuckling weakly. "It's okay. Don't freak out, Kate. I knew what you meant."He smiled politely. Not the special crinkly smile he had been using before I had ruined everything.

Shit. Had I just ruined the progress we had made in the past couple hours with my stupid stuttering and instant denying? Ugh. Well, did I even know what I meant? I thought I meant the easy money, but did I really mean something else? Like, all of it? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Did I want that life?

My inner musings were interrupted by Castle clearing his throat.

"Well, anyway. I guess we have to redesign the room, huh?" He announced, entering the design tab on the game, focusing all his attention on the screen.

Something inside of me at that moment snapped like a stretched rubber band. This was it. I was tired with dancing around it. I couldn't handle the lies anymore. My heart was pounding loudly in my ears and betraying tears were pricking the backs of my eyes, but I pressed on.

"Rick…" I whispered.

As expected at the use of his first name, he turned with a look of shock and concern.

"What is it?"

I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth and my stomach twisted in knots, making it hard to breathe.

"Rick, I haven't been completely truthful with you."

His brow furrowed as his eyes locked with mine, searching for the truth.

Fast. Like a Band-Aid.

"Castle, I heard you." I uttered on an exhale.

TBC

A/N: Yes, I know. I'm an ass. I didn't update for a month. I don't really have a solid excuse, besides AP classes and my muse taking leave. But, I think I lassoed her back. So, yeah. I hope you all aren't mad at me.

~Nikki