Disclaimers: Only in my wildest dreams.

Summary: Summer in the Hamptons house as Ariel continues to grow and develop. This chapter takes place after the final chapter of 'Mind Games.'

A/N #1: This chapter will explore two firsts: Ariel's first shots and the first time Rick and Kate leave her with someone for an evening out. Rated T for language.

A/N #2: I pulled this chapter and reposted due to some errors that I'd made. So if you reviewed already, thank you. Thank you, Emily, for correcting me on Gina and Paula. I always get them reversed. Also, thank you for correcting me regarding Monkey Bunky. I've watched 'Little Girl Lost' at least five time, so I don't know why I got it backwards.

Chapter 4: Becoming a Couple Again

July

"Castle! Castle! Help me! Castle!"

Castle knew never to touch her when she was in the middle of one of her nightmares. The first and only time he'd touched her while trying to awaken her, she'd knocked him off of the bed. "Kate, wake up," he kept his voice low and gentle. Eventually his voice would get through her sleeping brain. "Come on, wake up. Come back to me."

Eventually, her eyes found his, wide and green, as her heart still continued to race. "I have to check on Ari," were the first words out of her mouth as she jumped out of bed and ran to the nursery across the hall.

Castle threw the covers back and got out of bed, almost colliding with Alexis as she came out of her room. "It's okay, pumpkin. Go back to bed," he was quick to assure her before walking into the nursery.

He found Kate sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, cradling a soundly sleeping Ariel in her arms. "She's fine, Kate," he knelt down by the chair. "Was he chasing you again?"

"No," she sobbed. "He was in here with Ari. She was crying, but I couldn't get to her. Did I make a mistake, Castle? Was I wrong to confront him?"

"Kate, you and Burke talked about this for months. You also talked about this with me. I don't like the fact that you confronted him, but I agree with Burke that it was something that you needed to do. Until you did it, you were never going to be free from him."

"Castle, I'm still not free from him. Now I'm having nightmares where he's taking our daughter! Our baby, Castle!"

"Kate, it was just a dream. Josh," she cringed at the mention of his name, but he quickly continued, "is in prison. He's going to be there for a long time. He can't get near any of us. You're safe and so are our children."

She smiled, always liking that he included Alexis when he talked about 'their' children. At times she felt like Alexis was her daughter, as much so as the daughter that she'd given birth to. After all, Alexis came to her when she wanted to talk about women issues. She never went to her mother or grandmother. It was always Kate, more so since the birth of Ariel two months before.

"Help me put her back to bed," she handed Ari over to him as he carefully stood up and walked over to the crib. "Are you going with me to her doctor's appointment on Friday? I don't want to freak when that doctor puts a needle in her."

"Of course I'll go with you," he pulled her close after he'd put the baby in her crib and covered her.

Ariel had an appointment to get her first inoculations and needle-phobic Kate was terrified. Castle knew that there was no way he'd let her go through that alone. He remembered when Alexis had gotten her first shots and the fear that he'd felt. "I just want to keep her safe, Castle," she whispered as they went back to their room.

"We'll always keep her safe, Kate," he helped her under the covers before getting in and pulling her close to his chest as they both drifted off.

Alexis was already at the table the next morning when her father and Kate walked in. "Daddy, I was thinking," Alexis said, watching as they went and got coffee. "You and Kate haven't had a chance to go out since Ariel was born. You should have a date night. Gram and I can take care of the baby for a few hours."

Kate looked at her husband before fixing her eyes on Alexis. "Uh Alexis, that's very sweet, but I don't feel right leaving Ari just yet."

"Kate, she'll be fine," Alexis assured her. "It's not like I haven't taken care of her before."

"Yeah, but I've been here or your dad. Alexis, what if something were to happen?"

"Kate, I know how to call 9-1-1. I've taken infant CPR classes. I just want you and dad to go out by yourselves for a romantic dinner. Will you at least think about it?"

"Kate, this is Alexis we're talking about," Castle gently reminded his wife. "She's not going to sell Ariel to a band of gypsies while we're out. You've left her with me while you've had lunch with Lanie."

"But, that was you and it was in the daytime," Kate argued.

"You know what, Kate? I'm not going to let anything happen to her! I just thought that you'd want to go out for a few hours with your husband!" Alexis got up and ran from the house in tears.

"God, Castle. Are all first time mothers this paranoid?"

"I don't think you're being paranoid. I think you're still feeling the effects of your nightmare from last night and it's affecting your thinking."

"I didn't mean to hurt her feelings."

"Then, you know what? Go outside and tell Alexis that," he turned her toward the patio doors.

Kate took a deep breath before opening the French doors and walking out onto the patio where she saw Alexis sitting with her feet dangling over the pool. She walked over and sat down, immediately noticing the tears on the young woman's cheeks. "Alexis, I'm so sorry. Last night I had a really bad dream and I think it's still on my mind."

"Was Josh chasing you again?" Alexis was very familiar with Kate's nightmares and flashbacks.

"No. This time I . . . he was in the nursery with Ari. She kept crying and I couldn't reach her. As a parent, you'll do anything to keep your children safe."

"Can I ask you a question?" Alexis asked as Kate nodded. "Were you angry when my dad went to Paris without telling you?"

"I was angry," Kate admitted, "but I was more scared than anything else. We'd never done anything without the other before. I understand why he did it. I kept telling him that we were going to get you back. He told me to stop saying that because if I failed, he'd never be able to forgive me. Alexis, I trust you with Ari completely. I've just never left her at night before. So it makes me a little nervous."

"I will text you with updates every 15 minutes," Alexis smiled.

"Can you make it every 10?" Kate made a face as Alexis reached out and hugged her.

"Kate, she's going to be fine. We always have a great time together."

Kate knew this much to be true. Ariel had started smiling when she was six weeks old and she smiled for everybody in her family, but especially for her daddy and big sister. Kate would watch Alexis as she made noises and faces at her sister, who just ate it up.

"Kate," both women turned to find Rick standing in the doorway with a loudly crying Ariel, "I think someone wants breakfast."

"Thanks, Kate," Alexis called out when Kate got to her feet.

"No problem," Kate smiled before going to retrieve her daughter from her father. "Good morning, sweetie," Kate smothered Ariel's small cheek with kisses as the crying instantly stopped and was replaced by the sweetest of smiles.

While most smiles were reserved for Castle and Alexis, Kate had proven to be the pro at getting the crying to stop. "So, did you agree to what Alexis was suggesting?" Castle asked as Kate settled into the rocker/recliner to feed the baby.

"Let's just say I'm more open to the idea."

"How about if I call and make reservations for the East Hampton Inn for Saturday night? I can make seven o'clock reservations and we can be home by ten," Castle suggested.

"Well, it would be nice to see if I can get back into my black dress," she smiled.

"I'll call as soon as they open. Do you mind if we stop by Black Pawn Friday before we head back here after Ariel's appointment?"

"No. Why? Does Paula have some stuff for you to sign?"

"No, I just need to talk to her about something," he answered vaguely as he watched her feed the baby.

The more he kept thinking about this upcoming tour, the more he knew that two months was far too long to be separated from the two of them. He'd never been gone that long when Alexis was small, so he didn't know what in the hell his publisher was thinking. Something told him that Paula wasn't behind this. Something told him that it was his second ex-wife, also known as his publisher, who was behind this. "Castle, are you okay?" Kate noticed how uptight he seemed.

"I've been thinking," he sat in a nearby armchair. "Maybe it's time that I start shopping for a new agent."

"Castle, I'm not jealous of the relationship that you have with either of your exes," Kate reminded him.

"No, it doesn't have anything to do with that. Kate, I'd just finished 'In a Hail of Bullets' when Alexis was born. I had to do the usual book signings, tours, Jay Leno, that kind of stuff. But, I was never away from Alexis for more than a week at a time at the most. I even took her with me for some of it. She met Jay Leno and David Lettermen when she was just a few weeks old. Of course, she doesn't remember it, but I do. I've gone to Europe to promote my books before. I did it the first summer that I was shadowing you. I was gone for six weeks, not nine. I don't understand what Gina and Paula are thinking."

"Castle, I understand your job, just like you understand mine. You can't sell your books if you don't promote them. Yes, we'll miss you, but we'll be fine."

"Kate, I know that you've come to terms with me being gone for so long. But I don't want to be away from you and her for that long. Yes, I know that we'll talk every night and you'll email me pictures, but it's not the same. This time is so different than the first time. The first time, Meredith . . . well, we know all about that," he stopped, not wanting Alexis to possibly hear him trashing her mother. "But, this time I'm in it with someone."

"Do you think they'll change some of the dates?"

"I haven't signed anything, yet, so they're not going to have a choice. I'll just have them move some of the dates up. It'll mean that I'll spend less time on the ground and more in the air, but I want to be back home by the middle of October, not the first of November. How much more leave did Gates give you?"

"Capt. Gates might be a cop, but she's also a mother. She totally gets it," Kate smiled, remembering the conversation she'd had with her superior officer at the beginning of June.

"Sir, I know that I'm due back to work the first week of August, but I need to extend it, if I can. Castle is leaving for a two-month book tour the first week of September. He won't be back until November. I haven't made arrangements for additional child care."

"I've looked at your records. When you were shot in 2011, you already had a great deal of leave accumulated. Even after using three months worth, you still had a lot left. You do realize that under FMLA, you're entitled to take off up to a year and your job will still be here when you decide to come back."

"I don't think that I want a year," Kate smiled. "Although I'm enjoying being with Ariel."

"Let me put you down to return the first of December. If you want to come back before, let me know. If you want longer, let me know that, too."

"Thank you, sir."

"December? Really?" Castle smiled.

"Well, I might go back before then, but my options are opened."

"Wow, you're lucky that Gates likes you."

"She's following the law, Castle. It has nothing to do with her liking me or not."

***CCC***

Friday morning, Kate and Castle were sitting in the pediatrician's office with Ariel, waiting to go back to see Dr. Fleming. Kate smiled at Rick, who was holding Ariel in his lap, making silly faces at her as the baby smiled and made little cooing noises. "What did you say?" Castle asked. "You don't want to see the doctor? I don't blame you. But, you're going to be fine. Mommy and daddy won't let that mean old doctor hurt you."

"Really, Castle? What do you expect me to do? Take out my Glock and shoot him?" Kate happened to see a couple of the other mothers staring at her in horror. "I'm sorry, I'm a police officer," she quickly explained as Castle fought hard not to burst into laughter.

"Ariel Castle," the nurse called out as they got up and quickly left the room with the baby.

"Those mothers were looking at you like you were an axe murderer," Castle chuckled as they were shown into an examining room.

"Dr. Fleming will be with you in just a minute," the nurse left the room.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Dr. Fleming entered the room. "Good morning, Mrs. Castle, Mr. Castle. How is Ariel doing this morning?"

"She's great," Kate smiled, watching as Castle reluctantly handed the baby over to the doctor.

The doctor quickly undressed Ariel, who fussed in protest. "I see someone doesn't like being undressed."

"Well, how would you like it if someone was taking your clothes off in a cold room?" Castle asked as Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Point taken," the doctor smiled. "Ariel's weight is now seven pounds and five ounces. She's gaining weight very well. She's now 22 and three quarters inches long, so she's right where she needs to be. I see that Ariel has had her first two doses of the HepB vaccine, so today I'm going to give her the first of the vaccines that she'll need between now and the time she gets ready to go to school."

"Is there anything that I should be worried about?" Kate asked.

"Ariel might be a little crankier than usual this evening and her legs are going to be sore, but other than that, she should be fine," the doctor smiled. "If she starts running a bit of a fever, that's also normal. You can give her some children's Tylenol or Motrin. Don't give her anything that has aspirin in it."

"Legs? She's getting more than one shot?" Kate was almost hysterical.

"She's going to be getting two in each leg. I thought my nurse explained all of this to you when you made the appointment after Ariel's well baby checkup at six weeks."

"She might have," Kate admitted, wondering if maybe she'd just blocked it out. Two shots? In each leg? Maybe she should've brought her Glock. Why hadn't Castle warned her?

Kate winced when she saw the needle. Both she and her mother had had a morbid fear of needles. "Kate, she'll be okay," Castle assured her as Kate put her hand on the baby's bare stomach. As soon as the needle entered Ariel's thigh, the baby let out a shriek of pain which sent her mother into tears, as well. The doctor quickly administered the other three shots as both Kate and Ariel cried.

The doctor smiled as he shook his head. "We're all done," he told the parents as he picked Ariel up and handed her back to her mother. "I'll let you dress her."

"Shh," Kate tried to soothe the baby although she was soaking her with her own tears. "My poor baby," Kate crooned to her. "Castle, give me her blanket from her diaper bag."

Kate sat on a stool in the corner and unbuttoned her shirt. Ariel rooted for a second before finding what she was looking for. She continued to fuss a little as she nursed. "Kate, she's going to be okay," Castle kept assuring her.

"Okay? Castle, he tortured her! He's a fucking Nazi!" She said through clenched teeth.

"Let's get her dressed," he told her.

"I hate him, Castle. I ought to have Espo and Ryan take him to the box so I can grill the shit out of him!"

"You do realize that when she gets older, you're going to have to watch your language."

"Don't make fun, Castle."

"I'm not making fun of you, Kate," he brushed her hair from her face. "Come on, let's get her dressed. I still have a meeting with my publisher."

"I ought to go out there and beat the crap out of him," she muttered as she removed Ari from her breast and dressed her.

"Kate, the first shots are the worst. She's going to be fine," he told her again.

"How did you feel when it was Alexis getting stabbed with four needles when she was two months old?" She asked him.

"Awful," he admitted. "But, at least I knew what to expect after that."

"Then why do I feel like an abusive mother?"

When they arrived at Black Pawn Publishing, Kate went with Rick up to his agent's office. She sat in the waiting area while he went in to talk to Paula. Kate was still upset over the doctor's visit, so she was busily rocking Ari and humming to her, even though the baby was now over the worst of the trauma and was fighting to keep her eyes opened. She was still singing softly and humming to her when the door opened and Gina, Rick's second ex-wife and publisher, came strolling in.

Every time Kate saw Gina she was reminded of the second year Castle had been shadowing her. Kate had been invited to spend some time at the house in the Hamptons and had been working up her courage to accept when she learned that Castle was taking his ex-wife. It had taken her almost a year to get over the feelings of betrayal, although she knew that realistically she'd had nothing to feel betrayed about. Richard Castle had been nothing more than a friend to her at the time. She had no right to expect anything more from their relationship.

"Kate? Oh my goodness, I haven't seen you in ages. This must be Ariel," she sat beside Kate. "Rick can't stop talking about her. May I?" She held her hands out as Kate stared at her in horror.

"She just had her first shots, so she's not feeling great at the moment," Kate held her tighter to her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be. She looks just like Rick. Is he in there with Paula?" She nodded toward the agent's closed door.

"Yeah. He's trying to get his tour changed."

"Really?" Gina got up and walked to the closed door, softly knocking on it.

"I really don't like that woman," Kate whispered to her daughter.

Gina entered the office in the middle of a very heated exchange between Rick and Paula. "Come on, Paula! Do I really need to spend two days in Athens? Do I even need to go to Athens?"

"Rick, if I shorten the tour, you're going to be suffering from terminal jet lag."

"Then, break it up. Send me to London, Dublin, Paris, and Rome in September, and then I can go to Madrid, Lisbon, Athens, and Berlin in January."

"Rick—"

"Paula," he whined back. "In case you haven't been paying attention, my life has changed. I have a newborn daughter that I don't want to be away from for two months! Do it my way or I'll start looking for a new publishing house."

"Rick, I can cram all of the cities into the time frame that you want, but you're going to be exhausted."

"That's my problem. I want to be home no sooner than the 20th of October. Call me when you get my new schedule."

"Rick, the baby's lovely," Gina smiled at him. "Kate's quite the protective little mother, isn't she?" Gina gave Rick a benevolent smile.

"What did you do, Gina? Try to snatch my daughter from her?"

Not even waiting for an answer, Rick left the office and took Kate's hand as they left the office and walked toward the elevator. "How did it go?" She asked after the doors closed behind them.

"Paula saw the error of her ways and is now rectifying said error," he smiled at his wife. "Gina called you a protective little mother."

"She I be flattered or insulted? She asked to hold Ariel and I told her that she'd just had shots, so she wasn't getting her. If that makes me 'protective,' then so be it. I can live with that."

"Personally, I like it when you act like a mama lion. It's sexy," he grinned at her as she rolled her eyes. "So, how is the patient?" He smiled lovingly at Ari, who was sound asleep in her mother's arms.

"Better than her mother is. I'm still a wreck."

"See, this was your first lesson in the resiliency of a child. Believe it or not, Kate, she's not going to be in Dr. Burke's office in three years recounting the horror of her first shots."

She couldn't help but laugh as they went to the car and she placed her in her car seat, buckling her in securely before getting in the front passenger seat. "I am getting better, aren't I?" She asked as he got in the driver's seat and started the car.

"You're getting there. Nobody ever told us that it was going to be easy."

"You got that right," she sighed.

They got back to the Hamptons house a little over two hours later. Martha met them at the front door when they walked in. "How is she?"

"She's fine. Mom needs a shot of tequila," Kate handed the sleeping baby over to her grandmother.

"Oh kiddo, did you cry? Richard cried more than Alexis did when she had her first shots."

"Really?" Kate looked at her husband, who looked toward the floor, managing to look suitably sheepish.

"I think I'm going to see where Alexis has disappeared to," Castle said as he tried to flee.

"Richard Castle, don't you dare go anywhere!"

"I think I'll take Ariel up to her room," Martha discreetly left the room.

"'She's going to be fine, Kate.' Yadda, yadda, yadda."

"I'm sorry," he walked over and enfolded Kate into her arms while she tried to resist him. "I know that was upsetting to you. It's hard when you think someone's hurting your child. I didn't mean to downplay this."

"She's only cried when she's been hungry, tired, or needed her diaper changed. It hurt to see her crying because she was in pain. That cry went right through my heart, Castle. I never want to hear it again."

"I know you don't want to hear it, but you probably will. More than you want to," he kissed the top of her head.

That night Castle had just gotten out of the shower while Kate was in the nursery with the baby. He smiled as he listened to her talking to Ariel through the baby monitor. "I'm so sorry that mean old doctor hurt you. You know that mommy and daddy would never let anyone hurt you for anything in the world. But I guess four shots is a small price to pay to keep you from getting some awful disease that could take you from us. But if anybody does anything to hurt you, rest assured that mommy and daddy will deal with them. Your daddy is so protective of his family. And mommy has a gun. I love you so much, baby girl. You're the second best thing I've ever done in my life."

Castle was in bed when Kate came back into the room. "So, what was the best thing you ever did?" He couldn't help asking as she got into bed.

"Listening to the baby monitor again, Castle?"

"Guilty as charged, detective. So, what was the best thing you ever did? You said that Ariel was the second best thing you ever did. What is number one on your bucket list?"

"Falling in love with you," she grinned as he pulled her into his arms.

***CCC***

By the next day, except for some tenderness in both legs, Ariel was her usual grinning, cheerful self. Castle had made reservations for their favorite restaurant in East Hampton for that evening and Kate had resigned herself to leaving Ari with her sister for a few hours.

Castle smiled listening to Kate giving Alexis a long list of last minute instructions. "I just fed her, so she shouldn't need to be fed before we get home, but just in case she does, there's a bottle in the fridge. If she starts running a fever again, give her some Tylenol. I've got the dropper marked with the right amount."

"Kate, I think she's got it. We're going to be late."

"If she starts fussing, just swaddle her—"

"Kate, I know," Alexis told her. "I'll text you if I have any problems. Go and have fun."

The restaurant was wonderful. Castle had brought Kate to it several times over the past two years and it was a favorite of both of them. He ordered a Scotch for himself and a glass of sparkling water for Kate as the waiter put menus in front of them. "Order for me, Castle," she smiled at him.

"I see that the black dress still fits perfectly," he gave her a leering grin after he'd given the waiter their dinner order.

"Oh, it's still a little tight in places," she grinned back. "My boobs are still huge."

"Oh, you're not about to get any complaints from me in that department, Det. Beckett. You look fantastic," he leaned toward her and kissed her.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."

Castle couldn't help grinning at her as the waiter brought their appetizer over. It was nice to flirt as they had before having a baby.

***CCC***

"Oh my god!" Alexis cried out as she tried to calm a loudly screaming Ariel. "Why won't she stop crying?"

"You didn't touch her legs, did you?" Martha asked. "Kate said that her legs are still sore from the shots."

"No, and she's not running a fever, either."

"Maybe you should call Kate," Martha suggested.

"And tell her what? That I'm an incompetent boob who can't take care of her baby for a few hours? She'll never leave her with me again," Alexis walked around her bedroom, bouncing Ariel, who continued to shriek. She picked up various objects, holding them in front of Ariel in an attempt to quiet her.

"Kate did say that she likes The Beatles," Martha remembered.

"Daddy's CD's," Alexis smiled, grabbing a stuffed monkey from her bed and running from the room.

Alexis pulled a Beatles CD from Castle's collection and put it in the CD player. She then sat down and continued to bounce the baby as she showed her the stuffed monkey in her hand. Suddenly the baby began smiling and making small noises. "See, she likes The Beatles," Martha told her daughter.

"I don't think it's the music, gram," Alexis smiled at her grandmother. "She likes Monkey Bunky."

"I thought your father burned that old thing a long time ago," her grandmother made a face.

"Do you remember when I used to take Monkey Bunky everywhere?"

"Yes, I remember. I think that we need to get Ariel her own Monkey Bunky, so that she has something that she can carry around," Martha suggested.

"What do you think, Ariel? Do you need your own Monkey Bunky?" Alexis made a funny face at her baby sister as Ariel gave her a huge grin. "We already call you chunky monkey, so you should have a Monkey Bunky, too."

"I don't understand why Katherine gave her that silly nickname," Martha scoffed.

"Probably because it rhymes. It's like daddy calling me pumpkin because of my red hair."

"Kiddo, that's not why your father calls you 'pumpkin.' Once when you were about a year old, he was feeding you strained carrots. He left to answer a phone call and when he came back; your entire face was orange from where you'd tried to feed yourself. He said that you looked like a pumpkin, so the name stuck."

"That's so sweet. I wonder why he never told me that story."

"Kiddo, there are a lot of stories that your father has never shared with you," Martha kissed the top of her granddaughter's head. "You'd better text Kate with an update of how our evening is going."

"I'd better leave out the hysterically screaming part, huh?" Alexis said as she texted her stepmother.

***CCC***

Kate and Castle were enjoying dinner when Kate got a text alert on her phone. She took her phone from her purse and smiled. "Look, Castle," she showed the phone to her husband. "Ariel's a fan of Monkey Bunky."

Castle smiled at the photo that Alexis had sent of Ariel and the bedraggled stuffed monkey. "See, everything's going great."

"I still feel guilty for leaving her, but at least I know that Alexis hasn't sold her sister to a band of wandering gypsies," she told him.

"In the Hamptons? A band of security traders or bankers, maybe. Gypsies, no way."

It was close to 10:30 when they got home that night. Alexis was curled up on the end of the sofa reading, her ear buds in her ear and the baby monitor close at hand. "Hi," she looked up when she heard the door. "Did you have a nice time?"

"We had a wonderful time. Did you have any trouble?" Kate asked.

"She was a little fussy earlier, but we found a Beatles CD and I played with her and Monkey Bunky. She was fine after that. She's been asleep for a couple of hours."

"Thank you, Alexis," Kate hugged and kissed her before her father followed suit. "Good night."

When they got upstairs, Kate grabbed Castle's hand and yanked him into the bathroom where she kissed him hungrily. "Undress me, Castle, and let's take a shower."

"Is this my thanks for my great idea?" He asked, returning her kisses hungrily.

"This is thanks for all of your great ideas," she unbuttoned his pants.

A/N #2: This just seemed like a good ending place. There will be an M-rated version of this chapter coming soon.

A/N #3: As I've said, I don't have children. I had to look up the information regarding vaccines. I hope that I got it right.