Castle woke up a short while later and was surprised to find that Kate wasn't in bed with him. He heard her singing softly on the baby monitor. It was a song that he'd never heard before, but her voice was beautiful and had him under her spell.

When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

He heard her whisper, "I promise you sweet one. I'll do everything that I can to keep you with us."

To say that Rick was surprised would be a major understatement. She wanted to keep Benny? Did she mean that she wanted to keep him until they found him a good home? Or did she want to adopt him? When they had found out that his parents were both murdered, Rick had the fleeting thought that they would make good parents for him. However, he had quickly dismissed that thought. There was no way that Kate would agree to keep and adopt a baby that wasn't related to either of them. Now he wasn't so sure. Could she be falling in love with baby Cosmo?

He walked into the temporary nursery and saw her sitting in the rocking chair with the baby. She had him snuggled up against her chest and her eyes were closed. He saw her kiss the top of his head so very softly. He finally heard her whisper, "Staring is still creepy Castle."

All Rick could do was walk forward and kneel beside them. He looked at her and asked, "Is he okay?"

Kate nodded, "He's fine. I just... I wanted to be close to him. I..."

Castle put his hand on the baby's tiny back and felt his tiny body move with each breath and then he looked in Kate's eyes and he saw that she had either been crying or was on the verge of crying. Either way, she was extremely emotional. So, he finally picked up the baby and walked him back over to the crib and laid him down. Then, he took her hand and walked her out of the room.

Neither of them said a word until they were in the living room. They sat together on the couch and finally Rick asked, "What's going on in that head of your Kate?"

Shaking her head, she whispered, "I'm not sure...I just..." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and whispered, "He's all alone in the world. He doesn't even have any Aunts or Uncles. No one that can will love him and make sure that he's taken care of and not treated like a burden. Sure, we could maybe find a far off distant relative to take him in, but what kind of life would that be for him? How are they going to tell him about his mom and dad? How they fought to make sure he was safe? Is he going to be loved Rick? Or will they hate him because he's a constant reminder of his parents?"

Castle took a deep breath and told her, "I'm sure they know that he's just a baby and they will love him. I..."

Shaking her head, she told him, "I know how he feels Castle. I know how it feels to lose a mom, but he lost both of his parents. I couldn't save either of them. I failed him twice already Castle. I won't fail him a third time. I can't..."

Castle had no idea where she was going with this train of thought. He swallowed hard and took her hands in his and asked, "Talk to me Beckett. What are you wanting to do here?"

Swallowing hard, Kate finally told him, "I want to keep him Castle. I can't give him up to someone that might or might not love him. I know I'm not the best parent candidate out there, but I do know that I've come to love him and that should count for something right?"

Castle smiled and kissed her softly. Then he smiled, "It counts for a lot Kate, but there are steps that need to be taken. We need to start by talking to the CPS caseworker. You know that they aren't going to just give him to us simply because we ask."

Beckett nodded sadly, "No matter how much we want him. Do you think we stand a chance of being able to keep him? I can't imagine never seeing him again. I..."

That was when she really started crying. Actually crying would be putting it mildly. She was practically sobbing with grief and they hadn't even talk to anyone about possibly fostering and eventually adopting Benny. If they took him from them she would never recover. Sure, they would have children of their own some day, but she would always feel like she had failed him. She finally told Castle, "I want to try Rick. We can give him so much. Not only possessions, but love."

"It will probably be a long process and it won't be easy Kate."

Smiling, she told him, "Anything that's worth it never is Rick."

Kissing her softly, Rick whispered, "Are we going to do this? Is this really what you want?"

Nodding, "I do. I can't give him up."

"It's not going to be an easy road. Adoption never is Kate. And in the end, we might have to give him up. I just want you prepared in case we aren't allowed to keep him."

"They can't just take him from us Castle. It would..."

She was nearly in tears and Castle knew how she felt, but he only thought that it was fair that she understand the possible outcome. He kissed her sweetly and then smiled, "You remember what the social worker you called said Kate. That she was letting us take him simply because there were no beds available."

"And that doesn't sound like we were meant to have him Castle? We have the room and we want him."

It was in that moment that Castle knew she truly wanted Benny. The little boy had captured her heart and worked his way inside. He had a feeling that it was going to be a long road ahead of them, but he also knew that it would be worth it. Benny deserved a loving and stable home.

What neither of them could foresee was how bumpy and hard the road to being able to keep him would be. Because what should have been all about love and what was best for Benny would bring into question not only Beckett's job, but her and Castle's past.

Castle and Beckett contacted CPS the following morning to let the social worker know the outcome of the case that they had been working. She was concerned and asked Beckett, "When can I come and get him? I need to find him a suitable foster home quickly."

Beckett swallowed hard and told her, "That's actually something we wanted to discuss with you. My fiancee and I are interested in adopting him."

She was met with silence on the other end of the phone. It was so quiet that she wondered if they had gotten disconnected. She finally heard the other woman sigh and then she told Beckett, "It's highly unusual. I find that in situations like this it's best if we find the closest relative to take him in. We don't like to leave him with strangers."

Beckett bristled at being called a stranger. Benny had quickly worked his way into her heart and the little boy was smiling at them whenever they entered the room. That's when she told her, "We've done a search for his family. His mother and father were only children and both of their parents are deceased. When we did a search for Aunts or Uncles, we came up empty. There truly is no one to take him."

"Be that as it may, we still have to take custody of the child. Both you and Mister Castle knew that his placement with the two of you was only temporary until suitable foster parents could be found for him."

Beckett sighed, "Why can't we keep him with us? He is well adjusted and we have a room set up for him. I'm with the NYPD."

"You aren't registered foster parents. We have these rules for a reason. It's to protect the children that we serve and..."

"Even if it isn't in the best interests of those same children?"

"That isn't something that either you or Mister Castle can determine. That's something that is determined by me and my superiors. Now if you and Mister Castle want to become foster parents first then we can possible see about having him placed with you."

"Why do I sense a but in there somewhere?"

"But in the meantime we are going to have to remove him from your custody. We have these precautions in place for a reason and we can't allow him to remain in the custody of a non-approved home. So, when can I come and retrieve the child?"

Listening to the other woman talk on the phone, Beckett was struck by how clinical she sounded. Almost as if she were talking about a car rather than a living, breathing human being. Beckett wanted to tell her that she wasn't welcome in their home. That they were keeping him and that was that. However, she also knew that they had these rules in place for a reason. That didn't mean that she wasn't above calling in a few favors.

Beckett finally told her, "I'm going to contact my lawyer and I will call you back."

"Ms. Beckett I..."

With that, Beckett disconnected the call and went to find her fiancee. She needed to call in some favors and the best place to start was with her fiancee and his friend the Mayor. Benny's future depended on everything that she was currently doing and nothing would stop her until she was sure that they had custody of the precious baby currently sleeping in the room upstairs.

She practically ran into Castle's office and told him, "They aren't going to let us adopt him."

"Is that what she said?"

"Basically. She told me that we can apply to become foster parents. I don't want to be simply foster parents to him Rick. I want to be his permanent parents."

Thinking for a moment, Castle told her, "I'll call Bob. Maybe he can hold her off while we get our lawyer working on things."

"And what if he can't? They are going to take him away from us Castle."

"For now. Until we get approved to be foster parents."

"If we get approved. They are going to look at everything in our lives. We are going to be put under a microscope. Every person in our lives is going to be questioned and looked at with a fine tooth comb. If they find even one tiny little thing wrong, one thing that they don't like, they will deny us. I've seen it happen before Rick. I..."

Castle leaned forward and kissed her softly. He hugged her tightly and whispered, "You need to calm down Kate. Benny is still here for now. Let me make a few calls and try and sort everything out. Just don't panic."

"It's too late for that Rick. I know it's hard to believe, but I love him."

Castle smiled, "That's not so hard to believe Beckett. I've seen you with him. You're great with him. Just like you're going to be great with our own children. You are a natural born mother."

Smiling at him, Beckett wished that she had the same faith in herself that he had. Of course, his faith in her had always been absolute. Even in the darkest of days when he wasn't sure of her feelings for him, he always believed in her. Always.

She went and sat on the couch in the living room and thought about how quickly her feelings towards little Benny had changed. She went from being scared to death of touching him, to holding him in the middle of the night. Simply because she loved how right the feel of holding him felt.

After what seemed like an eternity, Castle walked out of his office. She couldn't read the look on his face and that scared her. She stood up and asked, "What did he say?"

"A lot. Not all of it is good."

"We have to give him up?"

Shaking his head, Castle told her, "I didn't say that. We do have to meet with them at their office. Our lawyer is going to meet us there." At the panicked look on her face he told her, "Don't worry. We aren't going to give him up without a damn good fight."

Beckett nodded and closed her eyes slowly. She heard Benny crying and stood up to go get him. Castle could tell that she was upset about the news, but he knew that they had to play by the rules this time. Otherwise they would never be approved for fostering him, much less adopting him. So, they would play by the rules and hope for the best. Even the mayor told him that they would have to play this one by the books. He could do a lot of things, but going around the rules for fostering and adoption wasn't one of them. He would put in a good word for them and that would be a good thing for them. They needed three recommendations and he knew that wouldn't be an issue. For now, all they needed was the assurance that they would get to keep Benny for the time being. They could work everything else out later.

Castle and Beckett arrived at the CPS office later that afternoon. They brought Benny with them in case Ms. Whitman needed to see that he was being well taken care of.

Beckett was extremely nervous waiting for the woman to make an appearance. She turned to Castle and asked, "What if they take him from us today? What if I screwed up when I was talking to her Castle? What if they use that against us and won't even consider us for fostering him? What if..."

Castle stopped her by placing a finger over her mouth. Then he whispered, "We can't go crazy with the what ifs Kate. They will drive us nuts."

They were finally called into the back and Kate carried Benny and walked beside Castle. Their attorney introduced himself and told Ms. Whitman, "It is our intention to have the infant placed with Mister Castle and Detective Beckett permanently. For now, we are seeking the status of foster parents. Soon, to be filing for adoption of said infant."

"I understand that, but he should go to a living relative. They would be best suited to raise him."

"As I understand it, there are no living relatives that could be located. Unless of course you have found someone that my clients were unable to locate."

Ms. Whitman looked away from Castle's lawyer and that was when they knew that she hadn't found anyone. She told them, "Look, this is highly unusual. The placement was only supposed to be temporary. Until we could find a suitable foster family to take him. We have that now so your services will no longer be needed."

Beckett spoke up, "What about him having someone that loves him?"

Ms. Whitman gave her a look, "I find it hard to believe that you've fallen in love with him this quickly. You've only had him for what, five days? And how much of that time was spent at work in a dangerous job that could leave him without another parent?"

Beckett shook her head, "I solved the murder of his parents and the rest of the time was spent at home with my family. Including Benny. I will make him my priority Ms. Whitman. That I can promise you."

"Well, since you and Mister Castle work together, who is going to take care of him while you are following her around. Surely you don't intend to take him to the crime scenes with you."

Beckett spoke up, "Of course not! If we get custody of him, we will make adjustments to our working arrangement."

Castle nodded and told the social worker, "I will stay home with him. Full time. I write from home and only travel on occasion."

Their lawyer spoke up, "During which time Detective Beckett can take time off of work to be with Benny. There really is no reason why my clients shouldn't be granted custody of the infant in question. It really is in his best interests. To uproot him from another home and from people that love and have been caring for him seems cruel and unnecessary. I'm sure that the agency wouldn't like the negative publicity that would come if Mister Castle's fans found out that Benny was removed from a loving a beneficial home."

Still trying to get the upper hand, Ms. Whitman brought up Castle's arrest, "Well, he does have a criminal history. He was arrested for stealing a police horse and..."

"And those charges were dropped. Look, you can keep stalling us all day, it's not going to change the fact that we have two willing and able bodied adults wanting to take care of this child. His followers will..."

"So you are trying to blackmail us into making a decision?"

"Not at all, but you should have seen the messages of support that have been posted on his fan page since the word got out about them taking in Benny. Anyone that knows him, knows that his daughter has turned out to be a beautiful, smart and well adjusted adult. And he raised her himself. From the time she was barely older than that baby Detective Beckett his holding right now. There is no reason to deny the foster application. Unless you are just trying to spite them both. In which case I will have no problem going above your head."

"There are background checks to be done and..."

"Agreed, but in the meantime, the Mayor and the Governor have personally promised that Mister Castle and Detective Beckett are upstanding citizens. Not to mention her Captain has given her a glowing recommendation. Those are three very good references Ms. Whitman."

She sighed loudly, "Fine. I will allow him to remain in their custody for the time being. I will insist on home visits to check on his well being and to make sure that the home is a safe environment for the child."

Beckett and Castle both replied, "We can agree to that!"

Ms Whitman continued, "And in addition I will require background checks on anyone that lives in the household. Including Mister Castle's mother and daughter. If everything comes out clean, I see no reason to deny their foster application. The process for adoption is harder, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it."

Standing up, their lawyer shook her hand, "Thank you. I promise you, you won't regret your decision to let him remain with Mister Castle and Detective Beckett."

Seeing Beckett with the baby, the social worker could only smile and then she nodded and told them all, "I'm sorry for putting you through the third degrees, but we only have his best interests in mind."

Castle nodded and watched Beckett with Benny. He told her, "I understand, but if you could see her with him... She's in love with him Ms. Whitman. She would protect him with her life. Just like she would protect anyone else that she loves."

The other adults in the room looked at Beckett with Benny and she had the look of a woman completely in love with that baby. Ms. Whitman had a look of awe on her face. Despite being hardened by years of working in a system that knocked her down at every turn, she knew the look of a prospective mother when she saw it. Detective Beckett had that look. It was at that moment that Ms. Whitman knew she would do whatever she could to make their dream a reality.