A/N: If I had my own laptop, updates would be more frequent and longer .. but I don't, so I'm sorry for that. Also, I haven't abandoned any of my other stories and they will all be updated soon.
"Are you sure you're ready Kate?" He asked as they lay in bed, having already put Elizabeth to bed, thankfully, without any fuss.
She sighed and rolled onto her side, facing him, "No, but I have to do this Castle and my time is up."
He scooted closer to her, "But you have tons of days saved up and you're the best, I'm sure they could spare you another few weeks."
"I'd much rather have those days saved up for important days like birthdays or you know a honeymoon." She smiled, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his lips.
He hummed as she pulled away, resting her head on his shoulder, "I'm going to miss her, but what I do is important too."
He nodded, "Can we come visit you?"
She bit her cheek for a moment and then shook her head, "Then I'd never want you to leave."
"That was the plan." He mumbled.
She laughed and slapped him lightly on the chest, "Castle!"
"It's true, but I understand, we can survive a few hours. It will be just a few hours right Kate?" He looked down at her.
"I promise I will be out of there as soon as the clock strikes five, unless a body drops, then we'll make it seven, but I will be here for dinner and hopefully to put her to bed. I promise." She told him, kissing his shoulder as he threaded his fingers through her hair.
"Well then, let's get our sleep huh? it's been a long day." He suggested.
They spent the day with their planner, looking for venues, they had no luck just yet, each venue not eliciting the proper response from Kate. They weren't worried though, there were more to look at, but they had to cut it short because Elizabeth was getting fussy.
They were getting closer to their wedding date and Kate couldn't help but feeling excited and nervous at once. She made plans with Lanie to go shopping for a dress, after which she spent a good amount of time locked away in the bathroom crying over the fact that her mother would never be able to see her on her wedding day.
He had found her eventually, a sleeping baby in his arms, which cheered her up immediately and she was reaching for her. Castle handed her over to Kate who had stopped crying and was now focused on the new joy in her life and the two loves of her life.
She wrapped an arm around him and shut her eyes, willing the anxiety over leaving her baby girl for the first time tomorrow to at least let her sleep, but it wouldn't let up and she was up all night, even after he had fallen asleep.
Somewhere around 3, she got out of bed, feeling too frustrated to stay still. She needed to sleep, she had to go back to work tomorrow and it would do her no good to be half awake the whole day. She wrapped her robe around her and made her way out of the room quietly, not wanting to wake Castle. She walked up the stairs, heading to Elizabeth's room, maybe the presence of her baby girl would calm her down.
She pushed open the door and walked over to the crib to find said baby girl wide awake and staring up at her, a toothless smile breaking out on her face immediately. She reached down and gathered the girl in her arms and lifted her to her chest, chubby hands finding her hair and holding on tightly immediately. Kate could feel her anxiety melting away and she moved from the room, back down the stairs to lie on the couch, whispering stories to her baby until she began to fall asleep, her hands securing the baby against her chest.
Castle found her at 6am when her alarm woke him up, to find the bed empty. He figured she had beat her alarm and trudged out of him room to look for her, expecting to find her in the kitchen fully dressed and ready to go.
He stopped short when he found mother and daughter passed out on the couch. Elizabeth's tiny hands, fisting Kate's shirt as she slept, Kate's hands holding her baby close to her. He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a bunch of pictures, making one her picture when she called, before moving over to them. He attempted to pry the girl from her grasp, but her hands tightened more and her eyes flew open, meeting with Castle's and then she loosened her grip, allowing him to take her.
She sat up, looking around, "What time is it?"
"About ten minutes after 6." He told her.
"Oh good, I didn't oversleep." She stood and leaned in to give him a kiss, before dropping one to their sleeping child's head.
"I'm gonna go get ready," She told him moving to the bathroom,"Coffee?"
He nodded, "You got it babe."
She disappeared through the bedroom door and he made his way to the kitchen, stopping to place Elizabeth in her crib they kept downstairs to let her sleep.
He quickly got her coffee ready, pouring it into a travel mug and setting it on the counter, before making some pancakes since she hadn't come out yet.
He was just placing the pancakes on a plate when she came out, looking as serious and hot as ever. He couldn't resist and pulled her to him, kissing her hard, forcing her back against the counter. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck before she was pulling away.
"Castle," She breathed, her voice low and raspy.
He stepped away, "Right, sorry, you have work and I made pancakes." He said, pushing the plate to her.
She quickly glanced at her phone, "Okay, I've got ten minutes." She accepted the plate and poured a good enough amount of syrup on them before digging in.
"Okay, I've got to go." She said, taking the travel mug from Castle, looking sadly towards her baby.
She crossed the room and pressed a kiss to her cheek and made her way to the door, pausing to look around again.
Castle came up behind her, "Go. Kick butt, we'll be okay, we'll be here when you get back."
She sighed and kissed him, squeezing his hand, "Promise to call me if anything happens?"
He nodded, "I promise, now go or stay."
She smiled and walked out the door, closing the door behind her, leaving Castle and the baby who was now waking alone for the day.
He walked over to the waking baby and gathered her in his arms and moving to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast.
"Well little one, it's just you and me today, mommy's off fighting bad guys." He told her, smiling as he placed her in her high chair, receiving a gurgle in response.
"Now, let's get you some food and start our day." He said, turning to her, "And what do you say we go out and get some stuff for mommy, for dinner when she comes home. What do you think we should make her?"
Elizabeth smiled and thumped her fists against the table, giggling and kicking her socked feet.
"Beth, that sounds brilliant."