Chapter 27 Times Like These…

I don't own Castle

A few weeks went by since the Premier of the Heat Wave movie and already its being crowned as one of the hottest movies of the summer. Even though the movie did very well on opening night, the movie is far from topping any records since Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Deadpool still holds the top. Adding to the Nikki Heat craze, Castle's recent best selling novel and the latest addition to the Nikki Heat series, "Bringing The Heat" has seen a significant rise in purchases along with the rest of the Nikki Heat series. On top of all this craze, there is already talk about the next movie coming out to follow Castle's successful series.

Additionally, the Ryans welcomed their new baby girl Emma Ryan to the world the same night the movie came out. All their close friends and family were super excited for them and they all offered their congratulations to the birth of Emma Ryan. Immediately following the birth, Jenny swore that Emma would end up looking a lot like Kevin, but Kevin didn't really mind if she did or didn't because he was way too busy admiring how beautiful his new daughter is to think about that. Sarah Grace was just as happy as her parents and also extremely excited to be a big sister and couldn't wait to eventually play with Emma. But, Jenny and Kevin made sure to remind Sarah Grace that Emma is still a baby so she needed to be very gentle around her. Sarah Grace understood perfectly and said she will protect her little sister from any danger, which made both Jenny and Ryan smile. In a way, seeing Kevin Esposito Castle with his baby sisters really inspired Sarah Grace to want to be a big sibling just like him. In any case, the Ryans are all happy to welcome Emma to the family. Like Sarah Grace, both Jenny and Kevin knew Emma will be a beautiful girl. Although they knew every parent says that about their kids, Jenny and Ryan will always believe it.

The Ryans also agreed on having Castle and Kate be the godparents for Emma since Esposito and Lanie were the godparents for Sarah Grace. Its really just a formality since the Castles, Ryans, and Espositos are already so close.

Richard & Katherine Castle Residence, Bronxville, NY

It's now early in the evening and the sun is now beginning to slowly descend down to the horizon, which gave way to a bright orange glow in the evening sky. It has been a quiet and peaceful Saturday so far in the Castle household. Kate had the whole day off so she spent her entire Saturday at home with her husband, her three young children, and Martha who dropped by later in the morning after breakfast. Alexis left before anyone was up early in the morning to spend most of the day with her friends at Coney Island and the city. The whole Saturday has been very calm and quiet, and its looking to be very much like another plain and ordinary Saturday. But Kate knows very well that with Castle each day is anything but ordinary. Each day is filled with making memories, fun, and some kind of adventure of some shape or form. Never a dull moment.

Kate with her hair down wore a Summer White Women's French Connection Button-Front V-neck long sleeve blouse with playful pleats, and tight black pants. She stood at the end of the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hands as she looked out through the French doors to the backyard where her kids were playing with Angel and their toys while Martha supervised them from the patio table. Martha in a long bright orange summer dress, sat at the end of the black rectangular cast metal patio table with a glass top as she watched her three grand kids play on the grass with their toys and the energetic Golden Retriever.

Kate took a sip of her coffee as she happily watched her kids having fun in the backyard. She laughed to herself as she admired how cute she and Castle dressed the kids in the morning. Kevin Esposito wore a red Baymax shirt, blue pants, and shoes, Serena wore a tiny sky blue t-shirt that had the Ford logo on it and read "Ford: Built Tough", tiny blue jeans, and baby shoes, and Iris wore a bright pink shirt that had a rainbow on it with the phrase "Kiss Me I'm Cute", tiny blue jeans, and baby shoes. Kate shook her head at the fact that Castle got Serena a Ford shirt even though they don't even own a Ford. She giggled when she saw Angel rolling on the grass with the two twin girls rolling after her with Kevin Esposito chasing after them on his feet. She noticed Martha waving at her from the patio table. Kate put her cup down on the kitchen table then opened the back door and called out to Martha, "Need anything, Martha?"

Martha laughed and shook her head, "No dear, I'm fine. I didn't notice you at first so I waved to say hi."

Kate smiled, "How are they?" She said referring to the kids.

Martha looked over at her three grandkids playing with the dog, "They have lots of energy. Had to be that breakfast my son made this morning."

Kate laughed, "His breakfast tends to do that."

Martha looked back at Kate, "I have to keep saying… you two have made great children."

Kate smiled, "Thank you, Martha."

Kevin Esposito called out to Martha, "Grandma!" He noticed his mom looking through the back door then called to her too, "Mommy! Look what Angel could do!" He looked at Angel, "Do it again, Angel!" He excitedly commanded the golden retriever. Angel diligently started to slowly roll on her back while panting happily. Once Angel stopped rolling, the twins quickly crawled on top of her.

Martha clapped happily. Kate smiled, "Wow! Some day we'll be able to teach Angel some other tricks."

"Can we, mommy?" Kevin Esposito asked excitedly.

Kate nodded, "Some day, Kevin. I think we should wait until Angel gets a bit older." She didn't actually know when it would be a good time to teach Angel tricks, so she decided to ask Castle later. Suddenly she heard the door to the garage open and close causing Kate to call to her family, "Kids, Daddy is home."

Kevin Esposito smiled, "Daddy's home?" He asked excitedly.

Kate nodded, "Keep playing, Kevin. Daddy will be out later after he cooks dinner."

"Okay, Mommy!" Kevin said as he returned to playing with the dog. Kate smiled and closed the back door to greet her husband from his trip down to the grocery store.

Serena sat up and cocked her to the side, "Da-Da-Da…"

Martha leaned forward on her chair and laughed, "Keep going, Serena you can do it."

"Dada!" Serena finally called out.

Martha clapped happily, "There you go!"

Kevin Esposito smiled at his grandma, "Grandma, Serena just said Daddy!"

Martha stood up and approached the kids, "Not quite. But she's close." She said with a smile.

Castle entered the kitchen with his arms full with two large paper bags of groceries, "Hey." He greeted Kate.

Kate smiled at him, "Hey, babe. Got everything you need?"

Castle put the bags down on the table and nodded, "Yup. Got everything."

"What are you making?"

Castle smiled and put his hands on his hips, "I'm going to make the best and biggest loaf of meat."

Kate laughed, "Meat loaf?"

"Also yes." Castle said with a smile. "I got all the fixings." He chuckled.

Kate paused, "Wait, are you trying to compete with my meat loaf?"

"That is one of the reasons I'm making it." Castle stated plainly with a smile.

"They don't call it 'Mom's Classic' for nothing." Kate said with a chuckle. She made her way around the table to embrace her husband.

Castle smiled and said humorously, "Well, I'm going to prove I'm the best cook in this house."

Kate stopped next to him and wrapped an arm around him, "So it's a competition now?" She said with a smile.

Castle shook his head, "Nope. But it can be." He leaned into her and kissed her lips briefly. Kate hummed in the kiss.

Kate broke the kiss and smiled, "Hm. You want me to cook this loaf of meat?"

Castle shook his head, "No, I got this. Its my turn."

Kate laughed, "I can't let you out do me in the meat loaf department." She leaned forward and peaked into the grocery bags while she kept her arm around him. Castle smiled slyly and gently pinched the left side of her butt causing her to jump in surprise. Kate looked at him with a mock angry expression, "Behave." She said as she tried to fight the smile growing on her face.

Castle shrugged, "I tried." He chuckled, "Can you blame?" He said with a smile.

Kate laughed, "I suppose I can't." She hummed and leaned into him as she grabbed his butt briefly. This time Castle jumped in surprise. Kate giggled, "now look who's jumpy." She kissed his lips briefly.

Castle laughed, "You got a strong grip. Caught me off guard."

"You never seemed to mind before, babe." Kate said in a seductive tone.

Castle laughed then quickly brought Kate close to him and pressed his body to hers, "So… are the kids still outside with my mother?" He said wagging his eyebrows.

Kate rested her arms on his shoulders and smiled, "Mhmm. We got the house to ourselves for the most part."

Castle smiled, "Hm. Want to go up stairs?" He said softly.

"Not that I don't want to, but don't you have to cook dinner?" Kate said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, but…" Castle looked through the back door and saw the kids playing by his mother, "Kids are having so much fun outside. Why interrupt them? I think we can some fun in here."

Kate chuckled, "you make a fair point." She cupped his cheek and kissed him gently then leaned back and whispered, "Are you going to carry me?"

Without missing a beat, Castle wrapped his arms around her lower back and effortlessly hoisted her up, not caring that his mother might be able to see him through the back door. Kate automatically wrapped her arms and legs around her husband then started to kiss him passionately. The moment Castle took his first step, he heard Kate's phone vibrate briefly on the table causing him to groan, "I thought you were off today." He reluctantly put Kate down gently.

Kate looked over at her cell phone on the table then looked back at her husband, "It was a text message, babe."

Castle cringed in confusion, "oh. I don't know why I messed that up."

"Way to kill the mood, Rick." Kate said with a chuckle.

"We can always keep it going." Castle replied hopefully.

"One sec. Let me see who it is." Kate walked over to the table and checked her phone. "Oh. Its just a text from Ryan." She said as she read the text message.

Castle looked confused, "Ryan? What's up?"

Kate looked up from her phone, "He's worried again. He's been texting me all day about it."

Castle walked over to Kate and wrapped his arm around her, "What's up?"

"Oh he's just worried that he can't support Emma, Sarah Grace, and Jenny with his salary. He says he might have to get another job again since Jenny is still out of work." Kate sighed, "Pretty much he's worrying like last time when Sarah Grace was born."

Castle smiled, "Tell him we will give him another loan."

"Rick…"

"What?" Castle shrugged, "We're doing very well. We're not in debt, you're making good money as Captain, I'm a best selling author, book sales are doing very well, Nikki Heat movie franchise is taking off, AND we have a lot of money to play around with." He shrugged again, "SO I'm sure we can spare a few for him." He smiled, "Take care of our own right?"

Kate smiled, "That's right." She shook his head, "Why do I feel like you play around with money too much."

"You're not going to try…"

Kate interrupted him, "No absolutely not, Rick. I was joking, I'm not actually going to micromanage you." She said with a smile.

"So you're okay with helping out the Ryans?"

"Of course I am, babe. Lets help them out." Kate said happily as she started to text the news to Ryan.

Castle looked up in thought, "Come to think of it. I think I can pull some strings to land Jenny a good job in the city."

Kate looked up from her phone, "How?"

"Its not what you know, Kate. Its who you know." Castle said with a smile.

"You're going to pull the 'best selling author card' on me again aren't you." Kate said plainly in a mock serious look.

Castle nodded with a smile, "Tell Ryan that too."

Kate started texting again, "I will."

Suddenly the back door opened with Martha popping her head in, "Oh!" She gasped in surprise, "Richard, your home."

Castle smiled, "Hello mother."

Martha smiled, "The dog and the kids are getting hungry. I think it's the time to start making dinner."

Castle smiled, "I'll get right on that." He let go of Kate and glared at her, "Watch the master chef at work." He said as he started to empty out the grocery bags

Kate put her phone back down on the table, "You know what, babe? I bet you're going to ruin it."

Martha laughed and shook her head, "You two…" She said as she closed the door to go back and spend time with her grand kids.

Kate again wrapped her arms around Castle and smiled, "Want to make it together?"

Castle laughed, "So you don't taste defeat?"

"No, so I know you aren't going to poison the kids."

Castle shook his head, "Har har har."

Kate looked at the groceries while holding her husband, "Hm. I just want to cook with you."

Castle nodded, "Fair enough." They shared another brief kiss then started to empty out the groceries. Suddenly they heard loud giggles from the backyard catching their attention.

Kate and Castle walked to the back door together and saw a wondrous sight to see. The kids and dog happily playing with toys together in the grass. Although Serena and Iris are both very young, they have just as much energy as their older brother. There was no frowning faces in the back yard, there were only smiles. The beautiful backyard and setting sun added to the happy summer scene of the Castle kids. The kids were laughing and playing in the grass, Angel lay on her side panting happily, and Martha happily watched from the patio table. Time like these are the things that make memories.

Kate leaned into Castle which prompted him to wrap an arm around her. Kate hummed in his grip, "You know…"

Castle smiled, "Yeah?"

"I always have to bring this up… Before I never imagined my life would take this turn in this way. Couldn't be better." Kate said softly.

Castle smiled, "Yeah." He replied softly watching his kids play. He turned her to face him and said softly, "This is a crazy life we live isn't it?"

Kate kissed him and smiled, "Yes it is, Rick. Yes, it is." She smiled, "And I love it."

Suddenly they heard the front door open and close followed by Alexis calling, "Home!"

Kate smiled, "Full house tonight."

Castle chuckled, "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Kate looked back at her kids then back up at Castle, "So do you still remember what that one guys said about the future…"

Castle looked confused, "Doyle?"

"Yeah, that's him."

"What about him?" Castle asked curiously.

"Still trying to follow his prediction of the future?" Kate asked with a smile.

Castle laughed, "Its not a prediction, cause everything he said so far has been spot on." He looked confused, "Wait why?"

Kate laughed, "Oh nothing. I think I wouldn't mind altering his prediction a little bit."

"But Kate, that will throw off the timeline and might cause a massive destabilization of the reality that has already been set in motion." Castle said in distress.

Kate playfully rolled her eyes, "Babe, that's not how the future works."

Castle chuckled, "How would you know? It hasn't happened yet."

"I just think we should change his prediction just a little." Kate said with a smile.

"In what…" Caste paused. "Oh…" He expressed in realization. "You wouldn't mind having…."

Kate shook her head, "Looking at the kids now. I wouldn't mind."

Castle laughed and shook his head, "I'm game."

Kate smiled, "Maybe some time in the future when the kids are a little older."

Alexis walked into the kitchen, "Hey. What's going on?" She wore a dark blue summer slip on swing beech dress, and wore her red hair down. Castle's red headed jewel of beauty is home.

Castle let go of Kate and smiled at Alexis, "The future."

Alexis looked confused, "The what?"

Kate laughed, "Don't ask."

Alexis chuckled, "Sounds good. So what's going on for dinner."

Kate nodded at the table, "WE are making meat loaf."

Alexis laughed, "We?"

Castle smiled, "Kate and I are doing a team effort because she doesn't want to lo…" He grunted when Kate elbowed him in the gut.

Kate smiled, "Want to join?"

Alexis nodded, "Sure, why not."

"Fantastic!"

Castle groaned and laughed at the same time, "I love my family."

Kate kissed his cheek, "And I love you too." She then made her way to the island to get dinner started.

Alexis walked up to her dad and kissed him on the cheek, "And don't forget I love you too, dad."

Castle smiled and whispered to himself, "Times like these…"

"What was that, babe?" Kate said as she walked back to the table to get the groceries.

Castle smiled and went to the kitchen table too, "Nothing." He clapped his hands, "Lets get this started. Got lots of mouths to feed!"

-END of Part 1-

WELL. That's it.

I'm thinking about having part 2 take place some time in the future, but won't be too far in the future.

Part 2 MIGHT be added on in this story instead of creating a new one.

I also don't know who holds the records for movies. I just love Star Wars and Deadpool.

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Hope you enjoyed!