"Castle, can you take Gracie while I get everything for her party?" Beckett asked him as they walked through the mall.

"Sure" Castle extended his arms and Kate transferred Gracie to her dad's embrace.

"Bye bye, Mama!" Gracie said, waving.

"Bye, sweet girl. I'll see you soon." Kate blew a kiss and turned.

Castle went the other way. "Do you want to go into the toy store, Gracie?"

"Why?" Being two, her favorite words were 'no' and 'why'.

"For your birthday!" Castle made excited eyes. "You get to chose one thing."

"I want a big, fluffy toy!" Gracie opened her arms wide.

"Okay, fluffy toy it is." Castle laughed and kissed her temple.

They made it to a huge bin of stuffed animals, and Castle started rattling off random animals. "Monkey?"

Gracie shook her head.

"Lion?"

She shook her head again.

"Zebra?"

"No."

"What about an elephant? Mommy likes elephants." Rick held one up to her.

"Dumbo!" Gracie squeezed it close to her, smiling.

"Yep, just like dumbo." Castle smoothed her curls.

"Rick?" A voice said from behind him.

He turned and Gracie buried her head in his neck. "Kyra, hey."

"Babysitting?" She questioned.

"No, this is my daughter, Gracie." He looked at the girl who was still being bashful.

"Oh, did you get remarried or is it a girlfriend?" Kyra questioned again.

"I got remarried." He smiled proudly at his statement.

"To who?"

Just then, Kate walked in. "Hey babe." She kissed him quickly and then took Gracie into her arms.

"Mama, look!" Gracie showed off her new toy.

"Are elephants your favorite? They're mine!" Kate smiled, and then realized Kyra was there. "Kyra, hey."

"Detective Beckett? You two have come a long way."

Kate smiled and looked up to Rick. "Yep, have any kids of your own?"

"No, I've been divorced for ages. I was just shopping for my sister's son."

"We were shopping for Gracie's second birthday." Castle told her.

"Any other kids?"

"No," Kate answered. "Gracie's my first and his second."

Kyra suddenly felt awkward, especially after assuming Rick was babysitting. He seemed so incredibly happy. "Well, I better get going."

"Okay, nice seeing you." Castle said.

She offered them all a smile. "You too."