The morning of her birthday, Beckett awoke to the scent of coffee, the murmur of voices and the feel of tiny fingers poking her ever shrinking belly. Peeling open an eye, she saw RJ was sitting on the bed with her.

'Good morning, chicken butt,' she said, pulling him close for a noisy hug and kiss. 'Did Alexis and Daddy send you in to wake up the birthday girl?'

'Actually we came with him.'

Beckett looked up, saw Alexis with a breakfast tray in her hands while Castle was manning the video camera and the small portable DVD player in his hands. 'Happy birthday, Kate,' he said with a sweet smile.

'Aw, thanks you guys, you didn't have to do this.'

'Yes we did,' Alexis replied in a no-nonsense tone. 'We love you and we know you love birthdays.'

'I really do.' Ever since she'd been a child, Beckett had always seen the birthday as an oasis, where no matter what was going on in your life, people would be a little nicer to you; it was even better than Christmas. It was unique to you because it was your birthday. She held RJ steady and sat up, banked by her fluffy pillows. 'What's on the tray, Lex?'

'Oh, all manner of things.' She brought it over, set it up for Beckett. 'Eggs Benedict, hashbrowns, fruit salad, and Meredeth's red raspberry iced tea. And don't worry, Mom, RJ's already eaten. You just sit back and enjoy your birthday.''

'Yum.'

'Mumumumum,' RJ babbled, patting his little hands on Beckett's side. 'Mumumum?'

'Yes, it very yummy, sweetheart,' she replied.

'Okay, you, let Mommy eat while we finish up downstairs,' Castle said in a friendly growling voice that made RJ squeal in delight as his daddy swung him into his arms.

'Finish up what?'

'Surprises. All you need to do is push play, my love,' he added, pointing to the player.

Curious, Beckett followed their instructions and pressed the button as she dug into the deliciousness of her birthday breakfast. She smiled as she ate, though it wasn't the leisurely pace her family would anticipate. The word surprise on her birthday had her inner child jumping up and down in squealing delight. Once finished, she headed into the ensuite for a shower, got herself all picture-ready because she knew in years to come she didn't want to have herself looking like an unmade bed in her pictures. It was certainly a task to try and take her time, but Beckett managed it and almost half an hour later, she was dressed in her at home clothes of denim capris and a loose top for her birthday morning.

Beckett headed downstairs and stopped on the landing of the stairs when she saw the little mountain of presents at the table, she had to laugh. 'Is this the surprise?'

'No this is. Alright, get out here!' Castle called, and to Beckett's utter surprise, her family from the Twelfth Precinct poured into the room from Castle's office - the Esposito clan, the Ryans, the Parrish-Robbinses, the Mazzaras, even the captain was there, along with Shane, Jim and Martha. They were all holding cameras to record her reaction, one of pure laughter and joy as she hugged her family and cursed their trickery.

'Oh, it's fantastic! Thank you so much!'

'Ah-suh-cuse me, Katie.' Dell Ryan stepped forward with Tessi and Kelley Mazzara. 'We have some-thing for you. You first, Tessi.'

The little girl stepped over to the cop and gave her a faux-satin sash that read 'Birthday Girl'. 'Here, Datie, fo' you.'

'Thank you girls,' she replied, and squinted her eyes shut in delight when Tessi kissed her cheek, gave her a hug and repeated the process when she received a plastic sparkly tiara to match from Kelley Mazzara.

'And this is for you too.' Dell hand her a little plastic wand with a star on top. 'This is for pickin' out puh-resents to open up.'

'Food's on!' Alexis called from the kitchen, and everyone grabbed a plate off the island to load up on the same meal as Beckett had enjoyed in bed; the noise of people eating and talking in cheerful tones was exactly what Beckett wanted on this day.

When it came time to open gifts, they did it in stages - the kids first, then friends, then family. Naturally, Dell was the ringmaster handing Beckett her gifts, starting with the first one from RJ.

'He is your little boy, Katie, he gets to go first,' the almost-five year old declared magnanimously.

Beckett smiled, ripped into the present; when she saw what it was, her heart nearly stopped: it was a coffee cup, specifically a cup for lattes, with bright blue baby hands prints on each side to look like it was holding on and in bright orange letters 'Mommy's Mug Hands Off!' She looked up at Alexis, who had her baby brother in her lap and was smiling with tears in her eyes.

'RJ, this is perfect, did you get Alexis to help you with this?'

'Yes, he said he wanted to go to that Mommy-Baby day at Colour Me Mine to make a present for you, and this is what he came up with.'

'It's just wonderful, thank you so much.'

'Mumumumum!' RJ cooed, clapping his hands together.

The other presents from the children were just as thought, like bath-salts from Tessi, a spa certificate from TJ and Kelley, and a new iTouch skin and app from Dell and Mallory, as were the gifts from the grown-ups; the one that took the cake was Lanie's, a digital picture frame for her desk at work so she could keep as many RJ and Alexis photos on her desk as she wanted once she was back at work. When it came time for the ones from her family, she went for Alexis' first and wasn't surprised at all when she came across a woolen Warmenhoven and Vanderbos scarf; Beckett had a thing for scarves and no-one knew how to fight the cold like the Dutch so she was certain it would be very warm. She also found tucked amongst it a little token from Shane as well, a beaded bracelet designed in the antique Victorian style he'd bought with Castle.

'I love these styles of bracelets, they're not big and dangling which means they won't get caught on my gun,' she told him.

There was only one present left by now and that was her husband's, and she wasn't too surprised to find it was a book - she could guess by the weight of it - but when she opened it up, and she looked inside the cover, she put a hand to her mouth.

'Rick, how did you find this?'

'Pure, clueless luck. I went into this used and rare book shop, and there it was.'

'What is it?' Esposito asked.

'It's The Hounds of the Baskerville. Property of Johanna Faber. This was my mother's,' Beckett murmured, and without any regard for the fact she was sitting in front of her family and friends, pulled her husband in for a mind-searing kiss. 'Thank you so much, Richard.'

'Anything for you. Now, who wants cake?'

After the festivities were finished and everyone had returned home, Alexis and Shane decided to take RJ out for a walk to get the ingredients for making Beckett's favourite homemade Chinese, the agreed upon signal to give the birthday girl some alone-time with her man.

'So, the kids are gone, and I have one more birthday present for you,' Castle told her.

'Oh?'

He passed her a red-and-black striped back from a particular store that had Beckett's blood swimming happily. 'But I know you won't like it, which is why you're going to let me take it off

'Well, then, I better go try it on, just to be sure.'

R&R&Enjoy.