'Okay, RJ, let's play ball!'

Castle tested the water for RJ's bath, found it acceptable and proceeded to undress his boy for his pre-visiting bath-time. They'd just found out the morning before that Lili had her beautiful baby boy, Cameron Duncan George-Esposito, the night of the twenty-sixth and she was finally permitted to receive visitors. That girl hadn't caught a break with either of her babies, Castle mused as he cradled RJ to lower him into the nice warm water.

'Thankfully, my man, you didn't put Mommy through the paces like that, you were a very co-operative little tyke. She's been taking such good care of you while Daddy goes out with Uncle Javi and Uncle Ryan, and Daddy is so proud of her. We love her very much, don't we?'

'Blb.'

'You said it, she's the best.'

'Blb-blb.'

'No, RJ, you can't ask for a raise in your allowance already.' Castle scooped water over RJ's tummy, massaged the baby-bubbles into his hair; rinsing them out made RJ splutter a little and errupt with gas from both ends. 'Oh, little bro, a snart has to be muy unpleasant.'

'A snart?'

Castle glanced up, grinned when he saw Martha standing in the doorway. 'Yes, Mother, a snart.'

'I have no idea why I paid for a boarding-school education when you just make up your own words.'

'It's a port-manteau, Mother, in this case a sneeze and a fart. Of course, most people today know the meaning of them because of ridiculously over-exposed Hollywood celebrities.'

'Ah, there he is, my little smart-ass. RJ,' she said to her grandson, 'if you have your mother's brains and your father's wit, you will be the most devastating young man in New York.'

'Right now, he's the cleanest.' Castle lifted RJ out of his bath, laid him gently on the table to dry him off. 'What brings you here, anyways, Mother?'

'Dropping off a gift from some of my colleagues in the play.'

'The flowers were wonderful enough.'

'Well, that was a company thing, this is from all the mothers in the play, and trust me, in a play with as many extras as we have, there is no shortage of them. And I came by because I have excellent news. I got a part in Witness for the Prosecution.'

'Hey, that's great!' It was one of her favourite Dame Christie plays, Castle knew and she'd been waiting and waiting for a production to come back to New York so she might have the chance to be a part of it. 'So are you the ill-fated Emily French or her disapproving housekeeper Janet MacKenzie?'

'Nurse Plimsoll,' she said with great relish. 'A part like that you have as much liberty to be fussy and ridiculous and over-the-top as you want to be.'

'So it's a perfect fit for you,' Castle teased her, and got a light smack on the shoulder for his troubles. He shook his head as he tugged on RJ's warm little Columbia hoodie over his footies. 'RJ, tell your Grams to play nice.'

'How is Alexis enjoying being back in London?'

'Good, there's a lot of work involved in what she's doing, and she misses Shane something fierce, but she's got great friends looking out for her, so I suppose she's doing alright.'

Martha nodded, eyed her son. 'And how are you doing with everything that's going on with Alexis?'

'I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, I mean Shane will be thirty-eight on his next birthday and Alexis will be twenty-three in May, and the instinct is to say no I forbid it, you're still my daughter.'

'But?'

'But then I see how happy they are around each other and it makes that gap lessen. I don't recall her ever being this gushy about Patrick or JP. So as tricky as it is, I'm still going to go with being supportive, if occasionally uncomfortable.'

'That's my boy. Deep own, you always know to do the right thing. It's how I knew you'd turn out just fine despite your youthful indiscretions.' Martha pinched his cheek lightly, then offered her daughter-in-law a winning smile when Beckett appeared in the doorway. 'Look at you, Kate, you are looking so beautiful.'

'Thanks, Martha.' She still wasn't feeling it like she usually did, but Beckett knew better than to refute a compliment from her mother-in-law. 'We're on our way to visit Lili with the new baby at the hospital.'

'Ah, yes, you are all a bunch of little rabbits aren't you, all these babies being made. I'll be off then, and give them all a big hello from me.'

They made it to the hospital about an hour before visiting hours were officially over, and surprisingly RJ was awake from the time they left to when they arrived at Lili's room. Cam was there, his legs stretched out so his feet rested on the end of Lili's bed while she napped with Rosie curled up beside her, and in his arms was his baby boy, who was squeaking like a little puppy.

'Knock-knock,' Beckett whispered, gift bag in hand as she peered around the door. 'Can we come in?'

'Shh, yeah,' Cam whispered back. 'Little guy just finished his snack and Lili's having a rest, and this little bro has the hiccups.'

'Aw, poor guy.'

'Here, we'll go into the lounge so they can rest.'

Cam murmured to Lili that they had company but they were going into the lounge so she could rest and Lili mumbled a sleepy 'okay' before they left. It took Castle a second to figure it out, but he realized that Cam was walking without his bamboo cane and without his usual limp that made Castle think a little shamefully of a drunk orangutan. 'Where's your walking buddy?' he asked casually.

'Oh, you mean my kick-stand?' Cam settled onto the end of the sofa in the lounge, propped his right foot up on the table. 'Wearing my work shoes so I have my hands free. I'm not supposed to wear them a lot anymore, but I made an exception for this. Right, Duncan Donut? Your pops needs a break every now and then.'

'Can I hold him?' Beckett asked, and felt her heart melt when she snuggled the hiccuping baby close. 'Oh, hello there, what is all that commotion for? You got a little bubble in your belly, huh? I know you and my little boy are going to be best pals, I can feel it. Would you like to meet him? He's very little just like you. Here.'

She turned her body to where Castle held RJ on his lap and helped Duncan wave at RJ; his little digits were wrapped around her finger so Beckett lifted her hand up and down. 'Yo, RJ, what's up bro?'

'God, you are too cute, Kate,' Castle laughed when she tried to deepen her voice to a more masculine tone. 'And RJ says, whatup, whatup Duncan Donut.'

'Keep it up, you might scare the hiccups out of Duncan.'

'Funny girl.'

Cam chuckled. 'Sorry Lili isn't up for visiting right now, but she had a lot of stuff going on yesterday with the doctor and her iron is way down so they want her to rest as much as possible.'

'I understand completely, there are still days where I just want to play with RJ and stay in bed the rest of the time,' Beckett reassured him.

'She was so upset too, to miss out on girls night a week or two ago, when you party-lined Alexis.'

'Man, nothing stays secret around here, does it?'

'Just remember, if you think Shane's not treating her right, I'm a USMC lieutenant. I know how to make it look accidental.'

R&R&Enjoy