A/N: This took a while, so sorry.
"She's great man, you guys did good." Ryan smiled as he followed Jenny out the door.
"Thanks man." Castle beamed.
Castle shut the door and turned, leaning heavily against it. He ran his hands through his hair, releasing a sharp exhale as he felt the fatigue settle in his bones. Ryan and his family had been the last to leave, Alexis and Martha had left shortly before for some prior engagement, leaving him and his new family.
He looked towards his bedroom where she had retired before the day was over. He knew she must have been tired and sore, he could see that and the little one was fast asleep anyways. So he entertained everyone else for another hour or so, while his fiancé and child rested and now he wanted to do nothing but be with them.
He pushed himself off of the door and made his way to his bedroom, stopping at the door, a smile blooming on his face at what he saw. Kate was passed out on the rocking chair she had made him bring down earlier – and really at this rate, the baby's entire room would be in theirs, not that he minded – and Elizabeth, fast asleep in her crib.
He strode over to them, careful to keep quiet, so as to not wake either of them. He stood in front of the crib, looking down at their sleeping child, sprawled on her back, her small arms on either side of her head and her mouth hanging slightly open and he wondered just how long it would be until she would wake. Then he looked at Kate, slumped in the chair, her arms folded across her chest, her head tilted back, her mouth also hanging open. He chuckled, like mother, like daughter.
She moved then, raising her head slowly, eyes fluttering open, smiling as she saw him. Her smile quickly turned into a yawn and she stretched her hands over her head.
"Hey," She spoke, her voice still thick with sleep.
He smiled, smoothing the back of his hand against her cheek, "I didn't mean to wake you."
She reached up and took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together and pulled him down to her. She placed a lazy kiss on his lips, which had him smiling against her, humming in content.
"Everyone's gone?" She asked, her fingers playing with the hair on his neck.
"Yea. How are you feeling?" He asked. Her scar had been bothering her the whole night, although he knew she wouldn't admit it to him, he knew her and he knew when she was in discomfort.
"Tired." She answered, looking over to her child, "God knows how long she's going to stay asleep."
He untangled himself from her and hooked his arms under her arm and legs and lifted her from the chair. He carried over to their bed and gently deposited her on it. He began removing her clothes, taking the moment to gently caress her body. He knew she still had issues and wasn't feeling completely okay about her image, but he knew that was normal, still he had to make sure she knew that he still loved every inch of her.
She smiled up at him as he retrieved one of his shirts and pulled it over her head and folded back the covers, easing her back. He did all of this wordlessly, but he didn't have to say anything, she was tired and needed her sleep while she could get it, even if it only lasted an hour before their baby had them up again.
He leaned down, placing a tender kiss on her forehead, tugging the blanket up over her body as she settled against the pillows and released a contented sigh.
"Where are you going?" She asked when he moved away from the bed.
He nodded out towards the living room, "Gonna clean up and put away the leftovers, I'll be right back." He told her, watching as her eyes opened and closed slowly, before the settled shut.
"Okay." She breathed.
He stood in the doorway a bit longer, watching her while she drifted off into sleep. He loved the little things about her, the way she tended to curl in on herself when she was really tired or emotional, the soft sighs of content that escaped her lips from time to time, the small smile that would grace her face, signifying she was having a dream. The way she snored softly, although she would always deny it and most importantly, the way her face relaxed completely, no matter how hectic of a day she had. He especially loved the way she would curl herself around his body, moulding herself to him whenever they slept together and they would stay that way all night or they would eventually drift apart, but then come right back when one of them woke up. He loved the little things.
His eyes flickered over to the baby in the crib, who was still sleeping soundly. Quickly he exited the room, wanting to be with his little family again. He quickly, placed the leftovers in containers and put them in the fridge and then he straightened up the place, checking to see if everything was in place and then he made his way back to their room.
She was still on her side, facing him, her hand brought up under her chin and her other hand, he imagined, between her thighs that were drawn up to her chest, she liked to sleep this way he had come to realize. He quickly pulled off his pants and began to unbutton his shirt when he heard a soft cry.
He turned around and spotted Elizabeth, her eyes open and her face scrunching up, ready to release her powerful cries. He rushed over to the crib and gathered up the baby, cradling her to his chest and rushing out of the room before Kate could stir.
Thankfully she waited until he took her out of the room before she started to cry. Her face turning red and her little limbs flailing, trying to communicate with her father the best way she knew how. It was déjà vu for Castle, he flashed back to the times Alexis would let out long, wails in the middle of the night that made him worry she would damage her vocal chords.
He bounced the baby in his hands and he paced back and forth as he used to do with Alexis when she cried.
"Hey, little girl, what is it? What do you need?" He looked down at the small girl, tears running down her chubby cheeks, wetting the blanket she was wrapped in.
He eased her up and felt her diaper, feeling that that was the issue. He sat down in the couch and laid her on her back, one hand holding her carefully, while the other checked for a mess and sure enough, there was one.
He looked up at the clock, it was only a little after 10, so he walked upstairs to the guest bathroom, after grabbing her changing equipment and pushed up the door. He could handle this, he didn't want Kate waking up when she didn't have to.
He filled her plastic bath with a small amount of warm water, before carefully stripping her of her clothes and tossing away the soil diaper. He grabbed some wipes and cleaned her up, before he carefully eased her into the water.
Her crying had died down now, she was still hiccupping and tears still streaming down her face, but at least she wasn't wailing. He found her wash cloth and damped it, gently running it over her body. He held her up with one hand placed firmly on her back and cupped his hands to hold some of the water and pour it over her. He carefully washed her face, clearing up the tears and mucus.
She seemed to be liking it and he was glad, he knew babies didn't have to bathe every day, but the warm water was soothing for some of them and he was glad she was one of them. Her cheeks were still rosy and her lips were quivering from the crying, but she was quiet now as he held her firmly and wrapped her in her towel, patting her dry.
He laid her gently on the counter, rubbing baby lotion on her skin, before putting her in a diaper and a fresh onesie. He left the bathroom, figuring he could clean it up later when she was back asleep and went downstairs. It seemed the soothing warm water had worn off, because she began to cry again, not as loud as before, but he knew this cry.
He made his way to their room, holding the crying child in his arms. Kate had rolled on to her back, with the covers pulled up tightly underneath her chin and she woke instantly. Her eyes snapping open, looking towards the source of the cry. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and reaching out to him, for her.
He came over to her, with an apologetic look on his face as she handed her their child, "I'm sorry, but I can't supply the food."
She smiled, tucking her baby in her arms. Castle sat beside her and draped an arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him. She pulled up her shirt and gently stroked the baby's cheek, she turned her head and latched on to Kate, her cries quieting down immediately as she fed.
Castle released a deep sigh and relaxed as Kate continued to stroke her baby's cheek, watching as she fed eagerly.
"How long has she been up?" She asked.
"About forty five minutes." He told her, "She needed to change, so I gave her a bath, but I guess she was hungry too."
Kate nodded, "She should be, it's been almost three hours."
Castle twirled the ends of Kate's loose hair around his fingers as they both watched their baby feed. It hit him suddenly how miraculous this was. They had formed life out of their love and brought that life into the world and now it was their responsibility to take care of that little life, until she could take care of herself.
He felt the overwhelming emotion rise up in him as moisture pooled in his eyes. He raised his free hand, wiping away the tears before they fell, earning Kate's attention.
"What's wrong?" She asked, sounding worried.
He shook his head, "Nothing, and nothing." He told her smiling.
She turned to him, her eyes narrowing, her tell that she didn't believe him.
"I thought I was supposed to be the emotional one right now." She teased.
He laughed and shrugged, placing a light kiss against her lips, easing back a bit. She was looking up at him with such intensity and love, that he couldn't help but dive back into it. Knocking the air from her lungs as he kissed her, he turned his body towards her, cupping the back of her head with his hand and deepened the kiss.
She moaned softly as he lightly bit down on her lower lip and she kissed him harder, pouring out all her emotions into him. She pulled away, breathing heavily and her skin and lips red and flushed. He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, lightly kissing her once and then twice before resting his head against her forehead.
"I'm just so in love with you right now." He breathed against her lips.
She smiled, ghosting her lips over his cheeks, "I love you too Castle." She whispered.
She pulled away from him when she felt her little one release her. She turned her attention to the baby in her arms who was now blinking slowly, quiet and content from being bathed, loved, fed and held in her mother's arms.
Castle reached out, trailing his finger lightly over her cheek, smiling as she made a small gurgling noise.
"She's going to be just like you, you know." He said quietly.
"What makes you think so?" She smiles.
"I can just tell." He told her, wiggling his finger when Elizabeth held on tightly.
"I would think she'd be just like you." She said, wiggling her eyebrows at him.
"Really? And what makes you think so?" He asks, looking at her, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugged, "Mother's intuition."
End A/N: Well, I've been reading stuff about new born babies and I hope what I have here is correct… If it's not, I'm sorry :/