Disclaimers: No, but its fun to dream.

Summary: It's time for more daddy tales as Kate has an extremely rough day. They also have their first Valentine's Day as new parents.

Chapter 16: Daddy Tales – Part Two

February

When Rick woke up, it was still dark outside. He wasn't sure what had woke him up until he looked on Kate's side of the bed and saw her sitting on the edge, fingering the chain that held her mother's ring. "Hey," he sat up and moved over until he was sitting next to her. "Bad dream?"

She nodded as she wiped at her wet face. "My dad is so crazy about Ari. He's getting such a kick out of being a grandpa. But, it just feels like there's something missing. Every time she does something new I just want to pick up the phone and call her," she smiled through her tears. "I used to call her from school all of the time. She was the first person that I called when I made the dean's list."

"Are you sure that you want to do this alone today? I'd be happy to go with you and the baby."

"I know that you would. But, I'll be okay. It's important that I maintain tradition. This might be the only time that I take Ari until she's old enough to understand. But, there is something else that you can do for me," she turned to face him, taking his arms and placing them around her waist. "Can you make love to me?"

"That I can do," he kissed her before laying her down on the mattress.

Several hours later, Kate parked the Mercedes on the path closest to her mother's grave and shut off the motor. She glanced in the rear view mirror and smiled at Ari, who was dressed in a purple and white snowsuit. "Hey, chunky monkey," she called out to her, "are you ready to go and see grandma?"

She got out of the car and opened the passenger door, removing Ari from her car seat and walking the short distance to Johanna Beckett's grave. While it was a cold morning, the sun was shining brightly overhead. Kate knelt down in front of the headstone and placed Ari in front of her. Ari seemed fascinated by the gray stone and patted it with her mittened hands. "Happy birthday, mom," Kate smiled as she fought her tears. "This is Ari. Well, Ariel. I know that you see her every day, but I wanted to bring her with me today. I know that you're probably up there laughing to see me being a mom. I know that you've probably made her just like me. She's so smart, mom. She pulls up on everything. We all think she's going to be walking soon. And she likes to talk, like her father."

Kate smiled, thinking of Ari's vocabulary of about 10 words. The words 'dada, mama, no,' were clear, while she had variations of words that she used for Martha and Alexis, plus a few other words. "Rick and I argue about who she looks like. I think she looks like him, but he thinks that she looks like me. Dad thinks that she looks like Rick, but she acts like me. I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult. I really thought that this would get easier, but it doesn't. Marrying Rick made it a little easier. Having Ari also made it a little better. At least I'm not alone anymore. But I wish that you were here. I wish that you were here to tell me all of the things that I'm doing wrong. I miss you so much," she wiped at her face.

Ari turned toward her mother, puzzled by her mother's wet face. "Mama," she patted Kate's face as Kate couldn't help but smile and swept her small daughter into her arms.

"Oh Ari, I love you so much," she rocked her back and forth in her arms. "Let's take you home to daddy."

"Dada."

"Yes, dada. Mom, I love you. I'll give dad a huge kiss and a hug from you," Kate kissed her palm and placed it on the headstone.

Castle was in his office writing when he heard Kate come back into the loft. He walked out as Kate was taking Ariel from her snowsuit. He could tell that she was having a rough time with her emotions by her body language. He sat on the couch and took the baby from her. "I've got her. Are you okay?" He asked as she shook her head.

"Go take a walk or whatever you need to do. I've got her," he kissed her on the forehead.

She stood up and slipped her gloves back on before she left the loft once again. "How about a snack, sweet pea?" Castle nuzzled Ariel's cold cheek as she cooed and patted his face. He put her in her high chair before walking into the kitchen and getting the box of Cheerios. He came over and poured some on the high chair tray, smiling as he watched the baby pinch the small pieces between her thumb and forefinger, sticking it into her mouth.

He then went and got some grapes before sitting at the table and watching the baby enjoy her snack. At one point she offered him some. He remembered back to the days when Alexis was a baby and would share soggy bits of food with him. It was disgusting, but somehow sweet, at the same time. "Thank you," he smiled at her.

After she finished with her cereal, he removed her from her high chair and took her upstairs where he changed her diaper. Once downstairs, he fixed her a bottle of juice and walked over to sit in his recliner with her. "Mommy's feeling sad today," he breathed in Ariel's sweet baby scent as she sucked on her bottle. "Your grandma Johanna was a crusader. All that she ever cared about was the truth and making sure that justice was done. I know that she would've been just crazy about you. Your mommy misses her very much. I'm sure that she'll explain everything to you when you're a little bit older. She'll tell you all about how you were named after her. About how she named you

'Ariel,' because your grandma Johanna loved The Tempest. Your grandma is what brought me and your mommy closer together. She was so angry at first, Ariel, but I was able to make her see my charms," he smiled at the memories of those first couple of years.

After leaving the loft, Kate had gone to their usual coffee shop and bought a latte before walking across the street to their swings. She brushed snow off of her usual swing before sitting down. She took a long drink of her coffee as she gently moved the swing, scraping her foot on the ground. So many thoughts were swirling through her mind at the moment, nearly all of them tied up either in her mother, Castle, or her eight-month-old daughter.

Being a mother made her miss her mom more than ever. While she had no shortage of people to share Ari's various new accomplishments with, it made her heart ache not to be able to share them with the person she wanted to share them with the most. She wondered if she'd be the mom that Ari would want to come to with her problems. She wondered if she'd have to be the bad cop while Castle got to be the fun parent. She was already seeing instances of that. Castle didn't see anything wrong with Ari pulling all of the books off of the bottom shelf of his office bookshelf while Kate wanted her to learn not to bother things that weren't hers.

She pulled out her phone and hit the number for her dad. "Hi, dad," she said when he answered the phone.

"Katie, are you all right?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know. It's a rough day, but I guess I don't need to tell you that."

"No, you don't. Where are you?"

"I went to take a walk. I didn't get very far. I know that mom would hate seeing me like this. I've got a great husband and a beautiful baby. I should be happy."

"Katie, there are always going to be some days that are rougher than others. You know that. Go home and let Rick take care of you. Let him shoulder some of it for you."

She felt like asking her dad what he did when he felt the need for someone to 'shoulder' some of it, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. "Could we meet for dinner soon?"

"Of course. How's Ariel?"

"She's great," Kate smiled. "I took her with me this morning. It'll probably be the last time that I take her until she's older. Do you think mom would think that I'm doing a good job with her?"

"Katie, you're doing a wonderful job with her. I don't want you to ever doubt that. I think your mother would be very proud of how well you're doing."

"Thanks, dad."

"Now, go home and let my son-in-law take care of you."

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon."

When Kate walked back into the loft, she could hear Rick on the keyboard in his office. "Hey," he greeted her when she came around the back of his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Where's Ari?"

"Taking a nap," he saved his document before standing up and drawing her close. "You're cold. Come on, I'm going to draw you a warm bath. Do you feel better after your walk?"

"I called my dad," she allowed him to lead her into the bathroom. "He told me to come home and let you take care of me."

"Your father is a very smart man," he let his lips brush over hers. He turned on the taps and helped her to undress. "Relax and then meet me in the living room."

"You aren't staying?"

"You need alone time," he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll be in the living room."

After soaking in the bath for a while where she shed some more tears, Kate finally got out and dried off before dressing in a pair of flannel pants and a shirt of Castle's. When she walked into the living room, Castle was sitting on the end of the sofa. She saw a tray with a pitcher of hot cocoa on the coffee table. "Wow, this is nice."

"Come over here," he patted the seat right next to him as she came over and sat down. He poured her a cup of cocoa before slipping his arm around her and pulling her closer into him. "So, what's on your mind? Besides the obvious, I mean."

"I just have so many doubts, Castle. I know that I've been doing this for eight months, but I just wonder if I'm doing a good job."

"With Ariel?" He set his cup down before pulling her into his lap. "Kate, anybody who sees the two of you together could never doubt that you're doing a great job. She's happy, she's healthy, she's spoiled rotten," that got an eye roll from his wife. "You've managed to get through the past eight months without dropping her on her head or drowning her in the bathtub. You survived an ER visit and her first shots. I think that if your mom was here, she'd tell you that you're doing a great job."

"Thanks, Castle. I really needed to hear that today of all days. So, are you having as much fun the second time around?"

"In some ways I'm having more fun, because I have somebody to share it with this time. So, do you want to talk about doing it again?"

"What? Having another baby? Castle, Ari's eight months old. I just went back to work. Can we wait just a little while longer?"

"We'll wait as long as you want to," he kissed her as she melted into him.

***CCC***

February 14

"Kate, come on! We're going to be late!" Rick checked his watch, wondering what Kate could be upstairs explaining to Alexis that was so important. It wasn't like Alexis hadn't been left with Ariel before.

Upstairs, Kate was giving some last minute instructions to Alexis. "If she wakes up before we get back, you can give her some of the cough medicine in the refrigerator. She might wake up a little stuffy. She doesn't like the bulb thing, but—"

"Kate, it's okay. I've got it. I know that she has a cold, but the doctor said that she's better. If I have any problems, I'll call one of you guys or gram. Go and have a good time."

Kate was torn between spending Valentine's Day with her husband and being with Ari, who was getting over a bad cold. But Rick had made reservations weeks ago and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. "Okay. But, call—"

"I will. Go!" Alexis practically shooed her stepmother out of the room.

When they walked into Drago's, Rick's favorite hostess was quick to rush up to him and Kate. "Your favorite table is all ready for you, Mr. Castle," she said as she led them to a cozy table at the back of the restaurant.

"Thank you, Denise," he pulled Kate's chair out for her. He turned to Kate after she was out of earshot. "I know that you're worried about Ariel, but she's over the worst of the cold. Give her another day or two and she'll once again be our happy, giggling bundle of energy."

"I know. Am I going to be like this every time she gets sick?"

"Probably. I was the same way with Alexis. I still am. Remember how I got when she got mono?"

"Yeah, I remember," she reached across the table for his hand. "This is a big change from last Valentine's Day when I was huge."

"You weren't huge, yet," he corrected her. "That was later."

"Thanks a lot," she stopped talking when the waiter came over to take their drink order. "So, what did you get me?"

"What?" He attempted to look shocked. "I'm not enough?"

"Oh, you're more than enough," she bit her lip. "But, it is Valentine's Day."

"As it so happens, I did get you something," he pulled his free hand from his jacket pocket and handed her a small box.

As a rule, Kate didn't wear a lot of jewelry. The few pieces that she owned were gorgeous and saved for special occasions. Over the course of their courtship and marriage, Rick had gifted her with several exquisite pieces of jewelry. "Oh, Castle," she breathed when she opened the box and admired the diamond and sapphire earrings inside. "These are beautiful." She removed the teardrops that she was wearing and replaced them with the new earrings. "How do they look?"

"Amazing," he found it hard to breathe as he looked at her. She never failed to take his breath away even after all this time.

She stood up and leaned across the table as they shared a tender kiss. She then sat back down and handed her menu to him. "Order for me, Castle," she smiled.

He grinned at her before opening his menu. "So, what did you get me?"

Kate continued smiling as she watched Castle's face. He was such a romantic, very unusual in a man. For a long time he was much more romantic than she was. It had been hard for her to show her more romantic side to him. "I've lived in New York City almost my whole life and I had no idea that there were so many romantic things to do. I wanted to do something really special. There's a boat that goes down the Hudson. It leaves at sunset and takes about three hours. They serve a romantic dinner and they have a band with dancing. I got us two tickets for Saturday night."

"Wow," he breathed. "How long did it take you to find this?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know."

"It's not a drawer, but I love it."

She blushed at the memory of their first Valentine's Day. She still considered his drawer the most romantic gift she'd ever given him and it was clear that he felt the same way.

***CCC***

Kate woke up to the sound of Castle's voice coming through the baby monitor. She moved onto his side of the bed, smiling as she listened. "Ariel, I'm going to tell you how you can tell when you're really in love. Now, you don't need to really know this until you're at least 30. But, your sissy fell in love for the first time when she was six. Anyway, you'll know that you're really in love when all of the songs make sense. But when that special person gives you a drawer for you to keep your things when you stay with them that means I love you. And, when that special person surfs the Internet for weeks to find you just the right gift for Valentine's Day that tells you everything. When you get to be a young lady, I want you to find somebody who loves you as much as I love your mommy."

Kate wiped the tears from her face as she listened to the baby monitor. "I love you too, Castle," she whispered even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

Saturday night was more than Castle could've ever dreamed. Kate looked exquisite in a long red backless dress, her hair swept up on her head, with soft tendrils hanging down on either side of her face. He loved dancing with her as the boat moved slowly down the Hudson. They had eyes only for each other as they moved together on the large dance floor. She touched the side of his face as they shared several long tender kisses. "I love you," she breathed against his lips.

"I love you, too. Kate, this is the best gift ever," he kissed her neck.

"Better than a fake murder mystery?" She teased.

"Well, not quite. But, pretty damn close."

"It's going to get better once we get home," she kissed him again, sighing at the feeling of his hands wandering down her almost bare back.

Dancing with her, Rick couldn't help but continue to be amazed that this extraordinary, sexy, brave, smart woman was all his. That she loved him. The she kept on amazing him day after day.

A/N #1: Now I don't know if they actually have something like a cruise that goes down The Hudson. In San Antonio we have river barges and at night some of the more popular restaurants serve dinners on these barges. So, I figured if we have something like that here, there's bound to be something similar in New York City. And men are so hard to buy gifts for on Valentine's Day.