Sorry it's been so long since I updated! School has been crazy, as has life in general. This chapter is just a few little stories of the twins growing up. In the first one they are 3, the second 5, and in the last one they are about 6 or 7. There will probably be one or 2 more chapters after this one. Enjoy & Review! :)

"Momma! Momma!"

Kate sighed and lifted her head from her pillow. Rick was spending the weekend in Connecticut with some friends from boarding school, and Alexis was in the Hamptons with Daniel and his family, leaving Kate with the now 3-year old twins.

As happy as she was that Rick was getting some guy time, and Alexis and Daniel were still deeply in love, she was exhausted. Last night had been the end of an extremely long case, and she hadn't gotten home to relieve the babysitter until almost 2 am.

"Coming, Ade!"

She grabbed a hoodie sweatshirt off of the floor and pulled it on over her gray t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. She walked into the nursery and saw Ade sitting up in bed.

"Momma, look," she said, pointing to a knot in her wavy brown hair and frowning. She sniffled, and Kate sighed.

"Oh, honey," she said, sitting down on Ade's bed. Stephen's bed was empty, and Kate could hear the sound of cartoons coming from the living room. She kissed her daughter's head.

Ten minutes later, Kate had de-tangled Adrienne's hair and they were snuggled up together on Ade's little bed.

"You know baby, a tangle in your hair isn't the end of the world," Kate whispered. Adrienne nodded.

"I know, momma. I just wanted you to fix it. You're such a good fixer," Ade said, kissing her mother's cheek. Kate laughed.

"Thank you, sweetie," Kate said, kissing her daughter back.

"What are you guys doing?," Stephen asked from the doorway, confused. His hair was sticking up at weird angles, and his Superman pajamas had a chocolate stain on the pants. Kate and Ade looked up, laughing.

"Join us!," Kate said, beckoning Stephen over to the bed. He grinned and did a running jump, vaulting himself onto the bed.

"Momma?," Stephen asked.

"Yes baby?"

"What are we doing?"

"We are having some quality Stevie-Ade-Mommy time. Daddy is away for the weekend, and I took the next 2 days off."

"Can we go to the zoo?," Stevie asked. Kate smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Of course we can, baby."

xxxx

"Okay, it is very crucial that you listen to these instructions," Rick said dramatically. He took a deep breath, and just before he was about to give the instructions, Stevie raised his hand.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Stephen?"

"What does crucial mean?"

Kate stifled a laugh.

"It means important, buddy."

"Like life or death?"

"Sure," Rick said slowly. Kate laughed, not able to stifle it anymore. He shot her a dirty look, cleared his throat and pointed to a button on his laser gun. "Okay, so when you have a clear vantage point of another player, you aim and press this button."

Once the twins turned five, Rick decided it was time to introduce them to perhaps the most important Castle family tradition of all time: laser tag. He found child-sized laser tag outfits, stocked up on extra guns, and helped Kate brush up on her skills. And now the moment had come.

"So, what happens if someone shoots you?," Adrienne asked, tugging on her ponytail. She was wearing black leggings, a black long-sleeve shirt, and a laser tag vest, Alexis's first laser tag outfit.

"You're out, like in tag," Rick said, handing a small gun to each child. "Are you guys ready?"

"Wait, can we call T.O.?," Stephen asked, fiddling with his vest.

"Why?," Rick asked, confused. The way he played was fight to the death. No one goes home til it's over."

"If we have to go to the bathroom or we're thirsty."

Rick looked confused, so Kate answered for him, putting her hand on Stevie's shoulder.

"Yes, baby. You can call time out."

She winked at Rick and picked up her gun.

"Okay, ready?"

The twins nodded and Rick switched off the foyer lights, plunging he apartment into near-darkness.

"Go! Last one alive wins!"

xxxx

"Stephen was in tears when I picked him and Ade up from school today," Rick informed Kate when she came home on a windy night in January. On Thursdays, on matter what case she was working on, she hung up the badge at 6:30 and joined her family for dinner.

"What? Why?," Kate asked worriedly. She hung up her coat and walked over to Rick. "Why didn't you call me hours ago?"

"Because, babe, you have that huge case, and I know that thinking about the kids distracts you from work and vice versa," he said knowingly. He sighed and put down the paper he was reading, swiveling to face Kate. "And he was in tears because some kid was antagonizing him. Said that his mommy was a "floser" - I think the kid meant 'floozy' - who married a man because he paid lots of attention to her, and that her life is a huge mess with no room for children because someone tried to kill her."

Kate gaped. "What first grader says that?"

"One whose mother gossips very loudly over the phone," Rick said, taking Kate's hand. "He said wouldn't talk to anyone but you."

Kate nodded and stood up. "Where is he?"

"His room. Alexis took Ade to dance class about and hour ago, so he's alone."

"Did she get bullied by this kid too?"

"No," Rick said. "She didn't even know why he was upset. But she was being very cute, hugging him and asking him if he wanted her after-school Oreo."

Kate smiled softly before going down the hall, not even bothering to take her stiletto pumps off. She quietly knocked on the door of Stephen's room, formerly the nursery.

"Stevie? Honey, it's mommy."

A muffled "Come in" came through the door, and Kate opened it gently. Stephen was sitting on the floor, playing with Legos. His school uniform sat in a rumpled pile on his bed, and he had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Kate sat down on the floor next to him.

"Hey, buddy. I heard about what happened at school today," he said gently. Stephen nodded, but didn't make eye contact.

"Is it true?," he whispered, still staring intently at his Legos. Kate nodded.

"Yeah, it's true. It was a long time ago, before you were born. Before daddy and I were even married."

"Why?"

"Because one of the bad guys got mad," Kate said, smoothing his shiny chestnut hair. "But I promise, we're all okay now."

Stephen nodded and then wrapped his little arms around her in a hug. She hugged back and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, buddy."

"I love you too, mommy," he whispered.

Kate marched back out into the kitchen, where Rick had started to make dinner. "Remember that NYC Public Library gala tomorrow night I didn't want to go to?"

He nodded.

"Well, I changed my mind. I'm going to go with you, and we are going to show those ignorant tabloid-reading stay-at -home mothers how in love we are and how wonderful our family is."

Rick grinned. "There's my Kate."