'I can't believe we're going out on a date.'

'Our first real date-night since our boy was born.'

'What about Valentine's Day?'

Castle glanced over at Beckett as she finished dabbing on mascara. 'That's different, that was your dad looking after RJ for the night at his place while we had a romantic night at home. This is you me, tablecloths, dessert forks and popcorn corn.'

'Be still my heart,' Beckett chuckled, then stood up to look at herself in the mirror. She was slowly losing the baby pounds - her girlfriends were right, breastfeeding was good for the metabolism - but she agreed she definitely looked hot in her black pants and peachy-coral top. She'd doubled up on her nursing pads, even though she'd pumped out, because she knew milk-stains would be hell on silk if she leaked. As she stepped into the low kitten heeled pumps Harvey said she could wear, Beckett looked herself once more and felt like exactly what she was - one hot mama having a night out with her husband. Turning in a little circle, she smiled for him. 'How do I look?'

'Like a yummy-mummy I can't wait to have a hot date with.'

The door-bell rang and Beckett felt her heart squish a little as she went to answer it. On the other side was Kelsey Ryan, who looked almost exactly like her big brother - friendly blue eyes in a face so angelic Botticelli was somewhere weeping and a slight but athletic frame.

'Nice to see you again, Detective, how are you liking being a mommy so far,' she asked, coming in and removing her outdoor shoes.

'It's good. RJ's a busy boy, he keeps me going at all hours.'

'He was a little angel for me on Saint Patty's Day.'

'I'm surprised you weren't out,' Beckett commented, taking her into the kitchen.

At four months and counting, parting isn't so smart,' she said, patting the bump under her light sweater.

'Okay, then let me give you a walk-through.'

Beckett showed Kelsey around the apartment and favourite toys and by the time they were up in the nursery, she felt a good sense of security about leaving her little boy with the woman who was obviously dedicated to providing care to children.

'And you remember this little guy, don't you?' Beckett smiled at her son in his crib, where he was grinning and trying to grab his toes. 'He should be ready for a bottle in about half an hour. Hi, my little prince, you remember this lovely lady?' She picked him up, passed him to Kelsey and was relieved when he didn't fuss or cry at all but patted at her shoulders with his waving little hands. 'Yeah, you do.'

'Hey, Kelsey.' Castle appeared in the door of the nursery in his pants and nice shirt. 'You all settled in here?'

'Yeah, me and the man are going to have a great time tonight.'

'Give us a kiss, RJ.' He leaned in and touched his lips to his son's forehead. 'Remember, I'll know if you tried to watch Cinemax.'

'Bye-bye, baby.' Beckett leaned in, gave him the same treatment, then before she could tear up, went downstairs to find her coat.

They went to Mara's Homemade in the Bowery, a cozy little spot that offered up genuine Creole cooking, which after Chinese was one of Beckett's favourites. They settled into a cozy booth for two in the bistro that smelled glorious of spices, butter and fresh fish and Beckett danced her fingertips over the back of her husband's hand. 'You thinking you might have oysters?' she asked him.

'I'm not sure, I was thinking...' Castle glanced up, saw the subtle flick of her eyebrows. 'Oh, yes, I see. Oysters.'

'Ah yes, oysters.' Beckett perused her menu, torn between crab cakes and fried green tomatoes to start. 'I like this feeling, you and me out for a night, and yet I know that when I go home I want to cuddle my son and with you equally.'

'Kate, there's no harm in feeling that way. It's okay to want a few hours just for yourself, or for us, for that matter.'

'I know, I know, I'm being sucky and I won't be that mother who can't talk about anything but her child. Tell me something else, distract me.'

'I saw Shane Weaver at the morgue today, he said he had a great time in England with Alexis.' Castle smiled as the waitress served their drinks and their ordered their first course - crawfish cheesecake for himself and crab cakes for his bride, who gave him a 'what the hell' stare worthy of Jackson Rathbone.

'Crawfish cheesecake?'

'Yeah, see, right there.' He pointed to it on the menu. 'Crawfish tails, andouille sausage and cheese in a breadcrumb crust.'

'Okay that does sound good. Back to Alexis and Shane, how was his trip?'

'Good, he said it was a nice break after a hard couple of months on the job.

'Alexis said they didn't go to Paris in her email, did they go anywhere else?'

'Yeah.' Castle sipped his martini, smiled at Beckett. 'They ended up going to Amsterdam and he introduced her to his dad and his aunt there.'

'Wow, that's a big step for them. You think it might get serious?'

'I think so. They really care about each other and they are making it work. Shane got an iTouch after he was back so he and Lex can Skype anytime they are able too.'

'That's commitment for sure. He hasn't used the big L on her yet though, that much I do know.' Beckett thought of the conversation she'd had with Alexis one-on-one about that very subject and knew that Shane would probably wait until mid-summer when Alexis was back in New York and they had some more quality time together. 'It's just a matter of time before he does though.'

'My girl in love.' Castle reached over, took Beckett's hand. 'You are an amazing mother to Alexis, do you know that? She loves you so much, Kate, it's scary.'

'I know I'm not her real mother-'

'You're the one she goes to when she wants to talk about boys or needs advice on school or even if she wants a movie recommendation Evil Meredith never did anything like that even after we split up. You gave her what she's needed her whole life and she's given you what you've needed since...since.'

'Oh. Oh Richard.' Beckett felt herself get a little choked up and reached for her soft-sunrise as she did so to try and clear her throat. 'Oh, you're going to make me cry and I don't want to ruin my make-up on our first date as parents.'

'Esposito sings Pink songs in the shower,' he told her, remembering the trick the girls had all used at the two weddings they'd had, and laughed incredulously when her tears evaporated from her eyes. 'Wow, that really does work, doesn't it?'

'Yeah, and I'm not even going to ask how you know about that.'

Thankfully, their appetizers came and they put in their orders for the entree - creole shrimp linguine for Beckett and the fisherman platter for Castle - and they were occupied by the deliciousness of their food to worry about getting too sentimental and the conversation evolved as it did with cops around food to the work of the day, and Castle told her about the cases he was working on with Ryan and Esposito as they made their way through their first two courses. When their dishes were cleared, Beckett sat back wondering how the hell they might fit in dessert.

'Or,' Castle purred at her, kissing her knuckles. 'You can be my dessert when we get home.'

R&R&Enjoy