'You sure about this?'

Shane pulled the pan of apfelstrudel from the over, put it on the cooling rack. 'It's already been a hectic week for Kate, I'm sure the last thing she wants on an impromptu day off is to have us all here taking up her space.'

'Shane, she needs her family. Remember when Alexis had the miscarriage and rather than shying away from us to just be with you, you were spending the time here with us,' Castle reminded him. 'This is kinda like that. Kate needs her family around her more than ever now.'

'Agreed.' From her spot at the kitchen table with a cup of strong coffee, Martha looked at her son and grandson-in-law. 'The last thing that will get her through this is if we act like this is some run of the mill case. I thought Jim and Agnes were coming by with Daniel and Nessa?'

'Jim got hung up at his workshop finishing off some cabinets for delivery tomorrow and Miss Agnes, Daniel and Nessa are still at the hospital with Andrea. She was feeling nauseous from the painkillers on an empty stomach, apparently, so they'll be a little later,' Castle replied as he put plates of eggs and homefries onto the island counter-top, smiled as he heard the sound of voices outside the door to the loft. 'And that's neither here nor there, because our family is home.'

Half a minute later and the sounds of his family, the centres of his universe, were filling up the loft with the exact kind of noise and excitement he'd been missing the last few days.

'Mmm-mm, it smells so good in here!'

'Tissy!'

'Hello? Chef Daddy? Your big-bro chef is home!'

'Hey guys!' Castle looked up from where he was putting a platter of bacon onto the island as he saw his children and his bride come through the front door. He looked away discreetly as Shane greeted Alexis with a tender, romantic kiss, only looking back after RJ finished giving his brother-in-law hell about mooshes and flowers. His face split into a grin as he watched RJ patiently help Jojo out of her stroller and take off her little winter boots and coat, remove his own winter gear and give his sisters each a hug before flying into the kitchen.

'There's my main man.' Castle bent at the knees to catch RJ in mid-leap, swinging him into his arms so they were at eye-level. 'Did you like Florida?'

'It was fun, but it would be funner with you and Mumum and Shane and everyone there,' RJ decided.

'Well, I'm sure you had fun with Leo and Trini too.'

'Uh-huh, but- Daddy! You were cooking without me,' he pouted, eying up the buffet on the island.

'Oh, I saved the best part just for you, my junior chef.'

RJ gave him a look. 'French toast?'

'You got it.'

'Woo-hoo!'

He wriggled a victory dance in Castle's arms, and was going for his apron as the other tyke Castle had missed with all his heart came wandering over. 'Is that my little Jojo?'

'Dodo home, Daddy!' She toddled over on her speedy little legs, bumped into his open arms and sighed as her father hugged her. 'Miss you.'

'I missed you too, bumblebee.'

' 'Nacky, Daddy.' Jojo patted her little tummy, and Castle made a pout face.

'Did you not eat on the airplane?'

'No, tummy icky.'

'We hit turbulence over South Carolina,' Alexis explained, walking over with Shane, their arms around each other's waist. 'Jojo was a little sick to her stomach.'

'Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry you had to deal with that.'

'Are you kidding? Jojo throwing up a piece of toast and a child-sized chocolate milk is nothing compared to flying with this big baby.' Alexis patted Shane's stomach, and he flicked a fingertip over her nose.

'Just for that, I'm not sharing the apfelstrudel I made just for you.'

'I take it back, you're a treat on an airplane.'

'Beddah,' Jojo reassured her father. ' 'Nacky.'

'Okay, well, I think we're all here now, right?' Martha looked around, then answered the knock at the door. 'Oh, hello young man, can I help you?'

'It's Adam, Martha, let him in,' Beckett called out, fastening Jojo into her high-chair. She glanced over and saw him nervously come in. He had a small bag in his hands and his face was still bruised like a prize-fighter's but he was conscious and walking under his own steam.

'I brought a little something, since you said it's brunch.' Adam held out the bag to Beckett, took off his outdoor things.

Beckett smiled at the bottle of Quebecois maple syrup. 'My little boy will go bananas for this on the French toast. Hey RJ, Adam's here.'

'Mister Adam is here?' RJ looked around the corner of the pantry and he raced over, eyes bugging out of his head. 'Mister Adam, what happened to you?'

'The bad guys thought they were going to beat your mom by beating me up,' he explained as the little boy stared at him in horrified shock. 'But your mom beat them at their own game.'

'Does it hurt?'

'A little bit but mostly it just looks really bad.'

'Well, I know what helps.' RJ, ever the embracing sort, took the man's hand and led him to the kitchen. 'We are making French toast for our brunch, and you can help.'

'That's a huge honour,' Beckett informed Adam. 'My son loves to be in the kitchen and anyone who is asked to help should consider themselves quite lucky.'

'Oh, dude!' Shane looked up from where he was carefully transferring his apfelstrudel to a serving plate and let out a low whistle at the sight of Adam's bruises. 'That looks even worse than last night!'

'Oushie,' Jojo added sympathetically when Adam came over with Beckett to pour coffee for their newest guest. She reached out and tugged on Adam's shirt. 'Meer.'

'What?'

'She means 'come here', Mister Adam,' RJ explained as he helped Castle shake cinnamon into a bowl of beaten eggs. 'She's still little and learning lots of her words.'

'Meer,' Jojo repeated and when Adam crouched down beside her, Jojo tapped a finger lightly to his cheek. 'Oushie?'

'No it doesn't hurt much,' he replied, then felt his heart stir when Jojo puckered up her little lips and laid them gently on his bruise.

'Moosh beddah.'

Beckett smiled, felt Castle's arms slide around her from behind. 'Our kids are the best,' she told him, looking over to where RJ was studying the cookbook and holding up the measuring spoons. 'RJ, what are you doing, my little prince?'

'Learning, Mumum, the spoons all have these thingies on them and there are things in the cook-book like that too.'

'Smart boy.'

'See it has a one and a line and a two.' RJ held up the spoon, then pointed to the book. 'That means where it says one-line-two we use this one, right?'

'Something like that. Right now you're heading to the table while Daddy does the French toast on the grill.'

'Okay Mumum.'

He climbed up to his spot at the table, right beside Adam. 'Tell us how you got the bad-guys, Mumum said we had to wait until you were here.'

'Cash'um,' Jojo added, eyes wide in anticipation.

'That's quite a step, Kate,' Castle told her, as he dipped bread into seasoned eggs. 'Letting Adam have the spotlight.'

'We're family now. It's what a good mumum does.'

Beckett gave him a kiss, then took a seat on the other side of RJ so she would be sitting between her babies and right across from Alexis and Shane, listening to Alexis' stories of going to a Cuban restaurant with Alejandro Esposito and the twins, and how RJ had been determined to try and order a Cuban sandwich entirely in Spanish, Martha with her airy tones, and Adam absorbing it all in. By the time her father got there, smelling lightly of cedar oil and wood shavings, the French toast was ready and Castle had joined them at the table.

Before any of them took a bite, Beckett surprised everyone by getting to her feet and tapping her fork against her juice glass.

'I know this isn't my style but so much has happened in the last week that I feel like I should say a few words.' She paused, picking her words carefully. 'Family is a funny thing. We're all born into one, but sometimes we find one after losing another. This isn't the path I could have foreseen for myself, but I would not change a thing, because then I wouldn't have all of you in my life.'

She took Castle's hand in hers as everyone lifted their glass. 'To family, however we come by it.'