Hey there guys!

Thanks for all of your love! :) I have the rest of this story planned out and it will be ending at chapter 10, so only a few more left. I know, sad :( but I am working on another fic! don't worry. But I just wanted to say that you guys are awesome! And I can't thank you enough for everything!

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine :/

[Chapter 6]

"You ready, buddy?" Rick asked, joining Braden and Kate.

The boy held out his hands, waiting for the surprise.

Kate smiled, shaking her head and placing Braden's arms down. "Sweetie, it's not that kind of surprise."

He turned toward his mom, puzzled. "Then what is it?" She could feel the anticipation bubbling inside of the four-year-old. If it wasn't a gift then what was it?

Rick had the controls all ready on the box about fifteen feet away from them, a small remote in his hand. "Keep your eyes on the sky and you'll see," he instructed, hitting a button before setting the remote down.

Kate snuggled into Rick's side as the sky lit up in a spectacular array of colors. Reds, blues, greens, and everything in-between danced in the darkness of the night, cascading the trio in a rainbow of colors.

Braden's jaw dropped as he gazed at the fireworks. His dad brought fireworks. It was official! He had the coolest dad ever! Braden hugged his mom, a hand curled around her forearm as he rested his head her bicep.

"That is so cool," he sighed, completely in awe.

Rick chuckled, reaching over Kate to ruffle the boy's hair. "Told you it was worth the wait."

The three of them sat there completely content as they watched the firework display.

Kate tore her gaze from the sky and looked over at Rick. He had a huge smile on his face as he continued to enjoy the fireworks. His deep blue eyes glowed with a multitude of colors, causing Kate to get lost in them. Feeling eyes on him, Rick turned, only to find his drop-dead gorgeous wife staring at him with a small smile tugging on her lips.

Leaning in, he captured her lips in his own. It was a sweet and tender kiss. They broke apart, leaning their foreheads against one another. A few minutes passed before the two opened their eyes. They locked gazes and both had matching smiles adorned on their lips.

She cuddled back into his side but not before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek. Rick brought Kate even closer to him, enjoying the warmth that her body radiated off.

The trio watched the night sky in awe until the last firework shot off; soon, they were covered in a pitch blackness. Rick blindly reached around in his pocket for his iPhone. Finding it, he grabbed it and turned it on. He smiled at Kate as he stood up and put out his free hand, silently telling her to take it. She reached up and took his hand as he hoisted her to her feet. Rick then helped Braden up who was smiling a smile so big that his face would probably be stuck like that for a while if he didn't stop.

The boy lunged at Rick, his little arms wrapping around his middle. "Thank you," he smiled, hugging his dad with all of the strength he could muster.

Rick smiled, patting his son briefly on the head before picking him up by the armpits and bringing him to his chest in a fierce hug. "You are so very welcome, Braden."

And they headed inside the tent.

"Boys, time to get up. Daylight's burning!" Kate called, peeking in the tent as Rick and Braden slowly came out of the haze that they were in.

Rick waved her off, "Five more minutes" He buried his face into the pillow, not wanting to move. The tent was surprisingly comfy and no one was going to take him away from it.

Braden did as Kate told him, getting up and exiting the tent. "Dad's lazy," he grinned, wiping at his eye.

She smoothed down his hair. "Why don't you go wake him up? Give him a little nudge?"

He eagerly nodded, running back in the tent and pouncing on his dad. Rick let out grunt when he felt Braden jump on his back. "Get up," the four almost five-year-old stated, his hands pushing down on Rick's back.

"Tell Mom that Dad is too tired to get up," Rick mumbled.

The boy wouldn't have it, so he kept pressing down on his dad's back, trying to get him to get up. It didn't work. Stumped, Braden thought of how to get his dad up. Then an idea popped in his head.

Little hands moved swiftly at Rick's side as he was tickled. Rick laughed, moving side to side as his son tickled him.

"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" He cried out, reaching back and grabbing Braden's hands, stopping his little attack.

The boy grinned, proud of his little victory.

"Rick, Braden, come on! Breakfast's ready!" Kate called.

The two slowly got out of the tent, the boy skipping over to the picnic table. Rick trudged behind as he came up to Kate, his arms wrapping around her middle. He pecked her on the lips before resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her plate the omelets.

"Morning. Mmm, smells good!" He grinned, reaching to take a bit of cheese off of one and stuff it in his mouth.

She swatted him on the arm and moved over to the picnic table, the plates in hand. "Rick, go grab some orange juice for us. It's in the RV."

He sighed, but complied. "Gotcha."

"Thank you," she smiled, sitting down next to Braden and handing him a plate. "Eat up, Brae. We're gonna go on another hike and you're gonna need your energy."

"Do we have to?"

She nodded, helping Braden cut up his omelet into smaller pieces. "Yes, we do. Your dad is going to take us to a very special place. I haven't been there but Lex has many times and she says that it's very cool."

At the mention of his sister, Braden smiled and then frowned, upset. "I miss her."

"I do, too, Braden. I do, too," Kate agreed, wishing that Alexis could've come with them. "But she has work."

He looked up from his plate, "She helps people?"

Kate smiled and nodded, "Yep."

"Just like you!"

She couldn't help but laugh softly at that. "Yes, buddy. Just like me. Now, hurry and eat. We're going to be leaving soon and I need to help you get dressed."

Braden nodded, digging into his omelet. He couldn't wait to see this special place his dad was going to show them!

"Here's the orange juice," Rick stated, sitting down across from his wife and son, setting the pitcher down. "You excited, Braden?" He nodded enthusiastically, his head bobbing up and down as he chewed. "Good! Because it's a very special place that I used to take Lex when she was little. And now I want to share it with you." Rick turned to Kate, "Both of you."

She smiled and winked at him, taking a bite of her own omelet. "Can't wait, Daddy."

Rick started to dig into his omelet, a smile on his face. This was going to be awesome!

"Come on, you two. We're almost there," Rick shouted, way ahead of Kate and Braden.

Braden had on a backpack that was way to big for him. It hit the back of his knees every time he walked, but he didn't seem to mind. He felt very helpful because it held water bottles and snacks. It was a big job and he wanted to do it.

The three had been walking for quite a long time, their feet starting to ache.

"Rick, are we almost there? My feet are killing me," Kate complained, her hiking boot-clad feet dragging through the dirt and twigs. "And it's almost lunch time."

Rick also had a backpack on, but this one had their lunch in it. He waited patiently for the two of them to catch up. "Don't worry, we're almost there."

They walked a little more before coming to a stop. Rick smiled as he pushed a tree branch out of the way and motioned for them to go ahead. Kate held onto Braden's hand as they walked forward, ducking under the branch. The ground beneath them wasn't coarse like dirt, it was smooth and hard. They were on rock and stone.

Kate halted as soon as she saw the view. "Oh my..."

They were standing on a small cliff, that had a drop of about sixty feet. Beneath them laid a valley with billowing grass and plants. The valley was nestled in between two large mountain ranges that had the sun shining down right above it. The whole thing looked like a picture from one of those photography books one would find in the library. It was absolutely spectacular!

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Rick asked, his arm circling Kate's waist. "Alexis and I would come up here every time we went camping. I believe she was about four or five-years-old the first time she was up here."

Braden jumped, the backpack swinging to and fro on his back. "Like me!"

Rick bent down to Braden's height. "Yes, just like you."

The boy stood up tall and grinned, loving the fact that he was like his big sister. He looked up to Alexis and to be said that he is just like her made him extremely happy.

"I have one more thing to show you both we get settled down for lunch," Rick said, breaking the silence that fell upon them as they took in the view.

"But I'm hungry," Kate sighed, rubbing her stomach.

Rick chuckled, "We'll eat in a little bit. I just have to show you something first, okay?" She took a deep breath and nodded, being dragged by her husband as he brought them to a large oak tree.

Kate stared at the tree and pursed her lips. "A tree? You wanted to show us a tree?"

He shook his bead, looking between his wife and son. "It's not just a tree, it's a very special tree. Look closely."

Rolling her eyes, Kate looked closer. She scanned the tree before coming across an engraving. Pointing to it, she asked, "Is that...?"

"Yep. The first time I took Alexis up here, I engraved our names in this tree so that we had something special to look forward to every time we're up here. This little nook in the woods is our spot. And since this is both your first time here, we are going to engrave your names so that it's your spot, too."

Kate covered her mouth and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to pour out. The idea of having their names engraved in a place that meant so much to Rick and Alexis caused the flood gates to open. It was the sweetest thing in the entire world.

She walked up to him and grabbed his face, bringing his mouth to hers. Braden quickly covered his eyes, not wanting to see...that.

Kate pulled back, a single tear rolling down her cheek which Rick quickly wiped away with the pad of his thumb. "Thank you," she whispered.

He smiled at her, one hand on her waist and the other on her cheek.

Rick hadn't meant for her to cry but seeing her get so emotional over a tree with parts of it scraped out had made his heart leap out of his chest. He knew that this was his and Alexis' place, but now it was the entire family's. And that idea, in an of itself, had made his wife cry, but she wasn't sad. She was happy and overjoyed.

"Always." Their mouths met once more before pulling away. Braden tugged on Kate's shorts, grabbing her focus. Kneeling down, Kate sniffled. "Why are you crying?" He asked, putting his hands on either side of her face.

She gripped his shoulders. "Because I'm happy. They're happy tears."

Braden gave Kate a hug, his arms wrapped around her neck. "Love you, Mom. Don't cry."

At her son's words, Kate felt more tears slid down her cheeks. "I love you, too, Braden." Her arms were encircled tightly around his little body, not wanting to let him go.

Rick knelt down, his arms over Kate and Braden as they all hugged. After a few moments they let go, standing up. Rick produced a pocketknife from one of the many pockets on his cargo shorts.

"Let's carve this sucker and then have some lunch. What do you say?" He flipped the knife open.

Kate picked up Braden and rested him on her hip, his arms around her neck. "Go ahead."

He smiled at the two of them before turning toward the tree as he began to carve Kate and then Braden's names. Once he was finished, he stepped back and admired his work. Right next to Richard Castle was Katherine Beckett-Castle. And next to Alexis Castle, which was beneath Rick's, was Braden Castle. The four names were written in his surprisingly neat scrawl.

Kate kissed Rick on the cheek, Braden squished between them. The three of them looked at the engravings with smiles on their lips. It was perfect and it was theirs.

"All right," Rick smiled, closing the knife and pocketing it. "Let's have some lunch. And then we can start heading back."

There you go, my dear readers! :)

For some reasons, I wanted something really sentimental and this is what I came up with. Cheesy, I know. But I couldn't think of anything else...please leave a review with your thoughts! They are always appreciated! I'll try to update soon!

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