Four months:
They had started feeding her solids now, hoping to get her used to it as Kate had to go back to work in the next two weeks. It was a good day when Elizabeth would accept the food, she would keep her mouth shut when her mother tried to get the spoon of baby food past her lips and stare wide eyed at her, or she would flail her little hands and hit the spoon right out of her hands and then bang on the table in delight.
Most times she was good, accepting the food with no fight, but she still had more when she was breast fed. She was developing more of her personality now and it was clear to Kate that she would take after her father in every possible way.
She was re-introduced to her family and thankfully, she accepted them all with a toothless smile and open arms, maybe it wouldn't be so hard to part when she had to go back to work. They wouldn't need a day-care for her as Castle said he would stay with her and on days he couldn't, there was Alexis, Martha or Jim, they had planned it all out.
He stood in the doorway watching her with a smile on his face as she strapped Elizabeth in her high chair and scooped up some baby food, presenting it to her. He held his breath unconsciously while Elizabeth stared at the food, analysing it, it seemed, a few moments passed until she looked up at her mother, smiled and then opened her mouth for the food. He released the breath and walked over to Kate who had visibly relaxed.
They had gone out earlier in the day, purchasing more baby supplies they wouldn't have imagined would have ran out so quickly. They stopped in the park, just sitting and watching the sun set. It was her first sunset, but it wouldn't matter, because she was fast asleep on Castle's shoulder. They sat on a bench, Kate nuzzled into Castle's side as he held the sleeping baby against his chest, his head resting on Kate's as they watched the sunset.
It was a welcome change from the walls of the loft, which was more or less all they had been seeing for a while, not leaving the loft much. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, feeling the stress and fatigue roll away for just a moment, allowing her to enjoy this brief peaceful time with her fiancé and sleeping baby by her side.
"Did you call Clara?" She asked when the sun had finally set and the sky was a soft purple colour, her favourite view.
Castle had contacted the wedding planner some weeks after she decided when she wanted to get married and she came over the next day, promising to keep the stress to a minimum, that she would take care of it all. Kate was happy with their planner, she seemed professional and organized and Kate trusted her with the task of putting together their perfect day.
She had come to the loft yesterday morning, right as Kate had finished nursing Elizabeth and set her down for a mid-morning nap, to discuss the flowers and menus. She had given Kate a list of options to go over, instructing her to call when she made her decision.
It wasn't hard for Kate to decide, she wanted white and purple flowers, her favourite colours, as for the food she decided to wait until Castle had come home to make that decision and then they would call Clara in the morning.
"I did." He responded quietly, his fingers running through the mess of brown hair on his daughter's head.
"She looks just like you." He told her, raising his head to give her a smile.
She looked up at him and then to the sleeping girl in his arms, "You think so?"
He nodded, "I can already tell I won't be able to say no to anything she wants, not when she looks so much like her mother."
She scoffed, "Castle, she could look like Godzilla, as long as she's your daughter you couldn't say no. That's what I'm here for."
He looked at her with a wounded expression, "Hey! I can be the strict parent too!" He argued.
She levelled a glare at him, raising an eyebrow, until he shrunk back, "Ok maybe I can't, but look at her, could you say no?"
She looked down at her baby girl, who had her thumb in her mouth and her fist clutching castle's thumb as she slept.
Maybe she wouldn't have to say no to a lot of things, because with that face, she could see how hard it would be to deny her anything.
He came up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders gently so as to not startle her. She turned her head and gave him a tired smile, before spooning more feed into Elizabeth's mouth. He waited until she was finished and unstrapped her from the seat, pulling her into his arms, while Kate cleaned up.
He bounced around slowly, feeling the weight in his arms get heavier as she began to fall asleep. She hand thankfully found a steady sleeping pattern now and usually only woke up because she soiled her diaper or something scared her, or if she just wanted attention.
It wasn't late, just a little after eight when she fell asleep on his lap. He had burped her and retreated to the couch, waiting to Kate to join. When she did, he wrapped one arm around her and kissed her forehead, she leaned heavily against him, her fingers trailing over the chubby, pink cheeks of their baby girl as she fell asleep.
He waited until she was surely asleep before moving, slowly walked up the stairs and setting her in her crib. He stared down at her as she made a few noises and kicked her feet about before stilling and falling asleep. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheeks, before cracking the door and walking back downstairs.
When he returned to the living room, Kate wasn't there. He glanced around the loft before hearing the shower start, he smiled and made his way to the bathroom. He found her in her underwear, testing the temperature of the water at the side of the bath.
He reached around her and shut it off the water.
"Castle wha –"She managed to get out before his mouth was on hers.
His hands found her bare hips and turned her, walking her to the counter and pressing her against it, pressing his body flush against hers.
She moaned as she opened her mouth for him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She could feel her need for him burning, aching between her legs and she realized how long it had been since they had done this and it filled her with a sudden burning desire and desperation. She tightened her hold on him and pushed herself up on the counter, wrapping her legs around his waist as his fingers dug into her hips.
He broke away and began to say something, but she was impatient and struck with an overwhelming need for him, talking could wait, she just needed him. She tangled her fingers in his hair and yanked his mouth back to hers, swallowing his moan as she thrust her hips against him, gasping at how hard he was.
It had been a long time, It felt like it was the first time all over again, the sensations he was causing her just with his lips against hers, his fingers trailing a path up and down her side and the feel of him between her legs.
His lips broke away from hers again, but this time to nibble a path down her jaw and her neck, pausing to nibble and suck at her pulse point, drawing a loud moan from her as she drew her nails lightly over his scalp, down his neck and gripped at his back, suddenly realizing, she was half naked and he was still in all of his clothes.
She pulled away from him, yanking his shirt over his head before he could protest at the loss of contact. She pressed open mouthed kisses against his collar bone as her nails raked over this bare chest, inching towards his pants, her fingers trembling as she undid the buttons and pushed them down as far as she could in this position.
He chuckled at her grunt of frustration and wiggled out of the pants, coming over to her once again to press his lips to hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth, searching her out. He groaned and dug his fingers into her back when she bit down on his tongue, her hands running up and down his back.
His hands came up her back, unhooking her bra and sliding the straps off of her shoulders, peeling the bra away from her and tossing it over his shoulder, before bending his head to suck a breast into his mouth. Her head fell back at the sensation of his tongue swirling over her nipple and she buried her hand in his hair to keep him there, doing those delicious things with his tongue to her. He gave the same attention to her other breast before slowly moving down, kissing her stomach, lingering where her C-section scar was before moving up, pressing a final kiss in between her breasts before standing and lifting her, fusing their lips together again as he stumbled out of the bathroom, to the bedroom.
She wiggled her hips against his, searching for the friction she ached for, smiling against his lips as he groaned and plopped her down on the bed, coming over her immediately, his weight pressing her down into the mattress.
It had been too long, the feel of his naked chest against hers, the feel of his fingers searching her body, pleasuring her, his mouth taking her to new heights, pushing her over and bringing her down, only to push her right back over.
Her hands fumbled against him, searching for the fabric of his boxers to remove the barrier, so she could feel him against her, inside of her for the first time in months. She honestly could not believe they went so long without this.
Soon enough, they were both stripped of their underwear and now Castle lay on top of her, gently stroking her face, slowing the pace down just a bit.
"I've missed you." He murmured, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, pressing soft kisses there as she played with the hair on his neck.
"I've missed you so much." He continued, kissing down her body.
She shut her eyes at the feel of his lips and rough stubble grazing over her skin, "I've missed you too." She breathed, gripping the sheets when his tongue swirled inside her belly button and continued moving down.
She arched her hips slightly when he moved further down, his breath ghosting over her as he kissed the inside of her thighs, his fingers following, moving slowly, heightening her senses. Her mouth hung open, a string of laboured breaths coming from her, needing him to put his mouth where she needs it.
He kissed down her legs tenderly and then moved back up, just as slowly, he was drawing this out, teasing her and they didn't know how much time they even had.
"We don't have much time." She rasped, pulling on his hair.
He met her lips quickly as he guided himself against her entrance, smiling as she released a broken moan and then slid home. Her eyes slammed shut and her mouth fell open against his and he paused, kissing down her neck to give her time to readjust to him.
Her hands found his hips and made him move, the sounds falling from her lips encouraging him and he began to move faster at the angle he knew she loved.
She was panting now, one hand buried in his hair, the other above her head, gripping the pillow so tightly, her knuckled turned white as he moved faster and thrust deeper into her, pounding her into the mattress.
There was no more time for teasing, as Elizabeth could wake up at any moment and halt their activities, right now, his goal was to get her over the edge and by the way her body was jerking up against him, he could tell she was getting close.
"Oh God," She breathed, forcing her eyes open to look at him. She released his hair and brushed the hair out of his face, keeping eye contact as he took her higher and higher.
"God Castle, don't stop!" She pleaded as he moved faster and she slammed her eyes shut again, letting pleasure take over.
"Kate, open your eyes." He said against the sweaty skin of her neck and then she was forcing her eyes open again.
"Please, yes, oh God, right there Castle, yes," She panted, "Yes!" She screamed out as she came, her body jerking around him, muscles contracting to send him over the edge, spilling into her, hot and fast.
They were panting heavily, bodies jerking against each other until they came down and he pulled out and rolled off of her, falling heavily into the mattress by her side. She rolled over instantly, resting her head against his chest as they took deep breaths to calm their bodies.
He turned his head to her and ran his fingers through her hair as she pressed a kiss to his chest and smiled at him, 'I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." He told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him, letting their bodies cool down.
"It's been too long." He whispered.
"Well, we have been kind of busy." She laughed, tracing idle patterns on his chest, feeling the fatigue settle into her bones.
She rested her head against his chest, letting her eyes drift shut as his fingers played in her hair, a move he knew sent her off to sleep in no time.
She was just about to fall asleep when Elizabeth's loud cry came over the monitor, startling the both of them. She looked up at him sheepishly, "At least she let us finish."
He grinned, moving to get out of the bed, "I'll get her." He told her, pressing a kiss against her forehead and reaching for his boxers and his robe.
Her eyes followed his movements as she grabbed his pillow and pulled it to her, with a sated, happy smile on her face, "Thank you." She whispered as she allowed herself to surrender to sleep.