A/N: Writing… It is a process, especially for me who gets distracted so easily. It's like, once I get started writing, I'm good…but the trouble is to get started, which is why this took so long, so sorry about that, I can't promise it will be the last time, but I hope you like this chapter.

She woke to find an empty bed and crib and immediately hopped out of bed in search for her loves. She stepped out into the living room to find them in the kitchen. He was busying himself in the kitchen, his back was turned to her as he tended to whatever he making. She spotted her daughter, in the arms of his daughter, being rocked gently back and forth.

She had her hands tangled in Alexis' hair, trying to put it in her mouth, when Alexis pulled her hair away and told her hair was not for eating. She stood in the doorway watching the scene in front of her, until Elizabeth caught sight of her and started fussing in Alexis' arms, trying to get to her mother. Alexis looked up at Kate and smiled.

"Mommy's here!" She exclaimed at the fussy baby in her arms as she stood and made her way over to Kate.

Castle had turned around and was watching as Kate carefully took her child from Alexis and smiled down at her.

"Anyways, I should get going or I'm gonna be late for class." Alexis called out as she gathered her stuff and made her way to the door, "Bye guys!"

"Bye Alexis!" Castle responded.

He set down his cooking utensils and came over to where Kate stood, swaying back and forth, staring at the baby in her arms.

"And good morning to you." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her.

She smiled against his lips, "Good morning."

"How you feeling?" He asked.

"Sore, but I'm okay." She told him as he helped her walk over to the kitchen and took a seat on one of the stools.

"And how are you this morning?" She looked down at her child, who was staring up at them with wide eyes.

Kate laughed when she responded with a high pitched exclamation, flailing her chubby arms against Kate's chest.

"Someone wants breakfast." She smiled, feeling more at ease with her motherly role than she did yesterday, maybe it just came with time, she thought to herself.

"She should be hungry, you okay to feed her?" He asked, flipping a pancake.

"Well, I have to be, you can't do it." She smirked at him.

"Funny."

She brought her attention back to the fussy baby in her arms and held her tightly with one hand, while lifting her shirt high enough so she could feed. She smiled when she latched on and began sucking hungrily.

Castle leaned against the counter watching, a big smile on his face.

"You know, I've always loved your breasts, but now I love them even more." He commented.

She narrowed her eyes and looked up at him, "Why cause they're bigger?"

"Well… there's that, but not only that. I love them because the act of breast feeding is so loving and personal and Meredith never did this with Alexis and I don't know, it just suits you." He told her, coming around the counter to stand behind her, placing both his hands on her shoulders.

She shook her head, "Always the sentimental."

"And proud." He grinned, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "Now when you're done feeding out offspring, you should probably get some food in you too, since everyone's coming over today, gotta keep up your energy."

She looked down at Elizabeth who was still sucking on her with no sign of letting go, "Wow, is she storing up for the winter?" She commented.

"New borns usually drink a lot and they love to get hungry in the middle of the night let me tell you." Castle shook his head.

Soon enough, she let go, her head dropping against her mother's chest as her eyes drifted shut.

"And then they do that." Castle added.

"Good morning!" Martha came breezing into the loft.

"Mother, you're here early." Castle commented looking at his watch.

"Oh I know, but I imagined you might want a little time to yourself before everyone came and I thought I might watch this little one a bit." She smiled, "May I?" She asked Kate.

"She's asleep, but sure." She agreed, handing over the sleeping baby.

"Oh, she's beautiful, just like her grandmother."

Kate laughed at that, as Castle rolled his eyes and set a pile of pancakes on a cake in front of Kate.

"Eat." He told her, handing over the syrup.

She didn't argue, she just realized how hungry she was and began digging into the pile of pancakes and Martha went off to sit on the couch with her new grand-daughter.

"And here's your first cup of coffee in nine months, enjoy it, because since you're breastfeeding, it won't be often." He said, placing a small steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

She grabbed it up instantly and brought it up to her face, smiling as she inhaled the rich smell of coffee and took a sip.

"Mmm, it's been too long." She closed her eyes, savouring the taste.

In no time she finished the cup of coffee and plate of pancakes and was craving more.

"Nope sorry, that's all the caffeine you get today." He said, drinking his own cup of coffee.

She folded her arms and glared at him.

"That's not gonna help, Kate you know you shouldn't even be drinking it."

She sighed, "Yea I know, I just miss it, decaf doesn't do it for me."

"Soon my love, soon." He said, placing their plates and mugs into the sink, "Now we have to get ready for our guests. You go, I'll clean up here." He said, pushing her gently in the direction of their room.

She obediently made her way to the bathroom, secretly wishing people weren't coming over, she was tired and she just wanted to spend the day with her two loves, but then again she knew they all wanted to visit the newest edition to their family and it would be easier to get this out of the way now, so she could have them all to herself later.

So she left Castle in the kitchen washing up and Martha looking after her baby and walked into the bathroom. She pulled off her shorts and pulled her shirt up over her head, she froze when she saw her naked body in the mirror.

Her scar hadn't healed yet, so it was red and puffy and completely unattractive. She lightly traced her fingers over it, following the path up to her older scar she got when she was shot and then to the scar in between her breasts. She sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling very emotional, she wondered if it was the hormones raging again.

She noted the rest of her body, still out of shape after having a child, excess fat hanging off of her bones. She felt hideous and she couldn't even exercise to get rid of it right now, she couldn't do anything too physical until this scar was healed and even after that it would be difficult.

What would Castle think when he saw her like this? So not her, her vision became blurred with tears and her eyes roamed over her undesirable body, fighting the urge to quickly cover up before Castle came in.

When she heard him enter the room, although the tried to fight the urge, she immediately grabbed the towel and wrapped it around herself, wiping her tears away.

"Castle, don't come in here!" She called out to him, her voice cracking.

Surely, he would hear that and know something was wrong and come walking in anyways.

"Kate? Are you okay? Why shouldn't I come in?" He asked from the door, sounding worried. She hated making him worry about her.

"Just, stay out there." She answered, not sure of exactly what to tell him.

"Kate…" He called.

"You shouldn't see me like this." She told him.

"Like what? Kate, what's going on in there?" He asked again.

When she didn't answer, he pushed the door open, "Kate, I'm coming in."

"No! Please don't!" She hid herself as he entered the bathroom.

"Kate, what is it?" He asked concerned, slowly coming over to her as she curled in on herself, hiding her body with the large towel.

She took a deep breath, "My body, it's – it's hideous, you don't want to see this."

He cocked his head to the side, "What are you talking about Kate?"

She looked up at him with wide, red eyes and lowered her towel, "Me, my body, it's … disgusting."

He let his eyes drift over her body and back up to her eyes, "Kate nothing's wrong with your body." He said tenderly.

"Yes there is! Look at me! I have all these scars and all this fat and I –"She sobbed, wrapping herself up in the towel once more.

"Kate," He said, grabbing a hold of the towel and gently prying it away from her body, "You just had a baby, it hasn't been three days yet."

She turned away from him, tears streaming down her face.

"Kate, look at me." He said, gently turning her around to face him.

"So what you have a little extra weight? Another scar? It's just a sign that you brought a new life into the world and it's nothing but beautiful." He comforted her, running his hands down her arms, turning her to face the mirror.

She immediately looked away, but he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face back around, making her look into the mirror.

He lightly trailed his finger over her scars, starting with the one between her breasts. Her breathing hitched as he trailed lower, over the newest scar.

"Everything on your body, every scar, every dimple, every freckle, every flaw is what adds up to you Kate. Each of these has their own story, that only proves how great and strong you are. A bullet to the heart, but here you are. The scar on your side, the one that saved you from the bullet in your heart. This new scar, the scar that's proof of our child, the child that we created and you brought into the world. They're signs of life Kate and they're all beautiful."

She stared at him in the mirror and leaned back into him, "I'm sorry, I'm just getting emotional."

"There's no need to apologize Kate, this is all normal for you to feel this way, but I'm here to tell you that it's not so and you will always be beautiful to me and not in the least bit undesirable. I'll always want you." He told her, his voice dropping to a whisper, sending shivers through her body.

"Really?" She asked, still unsure.

"Really." He whispered against her neck, letting his hands roam over her body.

She spun around in his arms and linked her arms around his neck, pressing herself up against him. If there was anyone who could make her feel better about herself it was him. She still wasn't comfortable with her body, it would probably take some time to get back to a place where she was confident and sure, but for now, she would believe in him.

"I love you." She whispered, tipping up on her toes.

"I love you too, every last bit of you." He answered before pressing his lips to hers, moving backwards until she was pressed up against the counter.

She buried her hands in his hair and he wrapped his arms around her back, forcing himself closer as she deepened the kiss.

They remained there for a while, just enjoying the feel of each other's lips against theirs, until Kate's hands found their way under his shirt and he broke away. She leaned after him, whimpering at the loss of contact.

"Unfortunately, you just had surgery, so we can't do anything to vigorous, we wouldn't wanna to risk popping mommy's stitches." He said, resting his head against hers, his hands coming to rest on her hips, as her fingers played his hair.

She groaned and he laughed, "I know."

He leaned in to kiss her again, keeping the kiss slow and light, not wanting to get too carried away and risk anything.

"We should get ready now." He said against her lips.

"Maybe." She said, kissing him again.

He groaned as she wrapped her legs around him, biting down on his bottom lip.

"Kate."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just really want you right now." She said up at him through her eyelashes.

"I want you too, God, I want you so bad, but we have to be careful okay?" He said, brushing her hair from her face.

"Yea, okay." She nodded, letting him lift her and head over to the shower.

He set her down on her feet and turned the shower on, "Just a minute okay?" He said, as he excused himself from the bathroom to go and check on Martha and Elizabeth.

He returned shortly, to find Kate leaning against the wall, just letting the water wash over her. Her eyes were closed and there was a small smile on her face.

"Everything okay?" She asked without opening her eyes.

Looking at her under the spray of water, her body proof of just going through childbirth. He fell a little more in love with her, seeing her standing there, looking completely relaxed, although he knew she wasn't with all she went through in the last few days. He just knew the best days were ahead of them and Kate would get where she wanted to be, she would heal and come out to be the best mother ever and he would love this family more than ever.

So he smiled when she opened her eyes, seeking him out. She reached her hand out to him, inviting him in to the shower. Quickly, he stripped himself of his clothes and stepped in behind her.

"Yea," He smiled, "Everything is perfect."

End A/N: Once again, I'm just going off of what I read, I have no experiences with babies or surgery or anything, so if there's anything that needs to be corrected, tell me. Thanks.

Any and all mistakes are my fault, because I'm too lazy to read over. If there's any major issue, tell me. Sorry about that.

(As usual, I'm pretty sure there is something I'm forgetting to say..)

Now, could you be so kind to leave me a review? :D