This epilogue is dedicated to my darling Berkie. Co-lathe breith sonadhuibh, ceol mo chridhe. Tha gaol agam ort.
"Mom, incoming!" Alexis' voice rings out across the living room and Kate glances up just in time to catch the sticky, giggling mess of her son before he flops down right on top of her stomach. Wrapping her arms around the boy, Kate draws him in close and keeps him in a vice grip so he can't bounce around on top of her.
Only three years old, he doesn't quite understand that he has to be careful with Mommy now, that he mustn't clamber all over her. "Mal, baby boy. Why are you all sticky?"
"Allie did give me a jam sandwich, Mommy." He beams up at her, a lurid purple streak of jelly smeared across his cheek. Swiping at it with her thumb, Kate lets her son lick it off of her skin and presses a smacking kiss to his newly-clean cheek. Getting the last mouthful seems to have made his morning; he grins at her and then buries his face at her neck, suddenly shy.
Alexis flops down onto the couch and opens her arms for her little brother, groaning against the crown of his head as he wriggles around on his sister's stomach. With those thick brown curls and enormous blue eyes, Marlow is the picture of cherubic innocence.
Mostly when he's sleeping, but even so. Kate is frequently stopped by strangers wanting to tell her how lovely her son is. As if she doesn't know already. Watching him makes her heart kick hard in her chest, still overwhelmed every day by the fiercely protective love that washed over her the moment they put the red-faced, squawking little thing on her chest in the hospital.
"I'm sorry, Mom. He escaped before I could wash his face."
"Don't worry about it, bug. Thank you for feeding him." Kate says, carding a hand through the riotous spill of her son's curls. He scrubs his face against Alexis' chest a moment and then pillows his cheek against his sister, his eyes slowly coming open to watch Kate.
He must be heavy, but Alexis doesn't seem to mind the sleepy warmth of Mal on her stomach so Kate keeps her hands to herself, resting them at the swollen curve of her own stomach instead. The baby woke her early this morning, shifting around and kicking so hard it made her wince. She made tea and settled on the couch and eventually the baby calmed down again, hopefully sleeping.
Her unborn daughter could probably sense her mother's nerves, the tension rippling through Kate and making the baby anxious. It is so important that today goes well for them. For her husband. Five years since he got the initial all clear from the doctor and was declared in remission, and today they find out from Doctor Kelekian if Rick can be declared officially cancer free.
"Is Dad still talking to Gina?" Alexis says, quiet and careful not to disturb the boy sacked out on her chest.
Kate opens her eyes and sits up a little to look at her daughter, drawing her legs up underneath her on the couch. The girl is so beautiful and just so completely amazing; sometimes Kate's gratitude threatens to swallow her whole. She didn't just fall in love with Castle; she loves his whole family deeply.
Her family now too, especially since the birth of her son. Alexis has been an incredible big sister to Marlow, loving and playful and patient. "Yeah. Still negotiating. I'll go tell him it's almost time to go, if you're okay with Mal."
"Mal and I are good." Alexis grins, curling her arm closer around her brother. It takes a moment for the knot of tenderness to loosen enough for Kate to breathe, but eventually it fades to a dull awareness and she can stand up and head for the study.
Gina is pushing Castle to go on a book tour in a few months, but he remains adamant that he won't leave his wife and his children. Especially not the baby. In the study Rick sits at his desk, one hand cradling the phone against his ear and the other supporting the weight of his head, an elbow propped against the desk top.
He looks pissed, hardly even seeming to notice Kate's presence. "Gina. I told you. I will not leave my family before the baby is at least six months."
Kate comes to stand behind her husband and cards a hand through his hair, bending down as much as she can manage until she can press a kiss to his cheek. Rick turns into her touch and brushes his mouth to the inside of her wrist, his eyes coming open to meet hers.
"I have to go. You know I have that doctor's appointment. Look, I'll have Paula email you the earliest possible dates I'm willing to work with. Yes. Alright, bye." Hanging up, Castle drops his phone to the desk with a groan and buries his face against Kate's shoulder in much the same way as their son does when he's unhappy.
Humming her laughter, Kate peels him away from her with a touch of her fingers to his shoulder and dips down to kiss him properly, his mouth warm and inviting. "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm not leaving you, Kate. I promise." He grits out, tension carving lines into his face that Kate smoothes over with her thumb, working to draw a smile up from him. Eventually, he cracks, a beautiful little-boy grin spreading wide.
Her husband stands up and brings her in for a hug. One hand splays wide at the flare of her hips and the other palms the back of her head, keeping her close and secure against him. "I know you won't, babe. It's okay."
"How are our children?" He murmurs to her, that same ripple of delight clattering through her as every other time he refers to Alexis as Kate's daughter. Because she is, officially. Kate adopted the girl, so now Alexis is just as much hers as Marlow is.
Kate lifts her chin and drops an open-mouthed kiss to Castle's chin, smirking at him when he sways hard against her. The pregnancy has her wanting him all of the time, and he's been more than willing to return her affections.
"They're good. Mal's napping. I'm hoping it'll mean he won't be grumpy at your appointment." She sighs, lifting an eyebrow at her husband. He huffs a breath of laughter and tucks her hair back behind her ear, darting in to kiss her again.
"You know you guys don't have to come. If you think it'll be stressful. . ." Castle trails off, shrugging.
Of course it'll be stressful; everything with Marlow that involves leaving the apartment is guaranteed to include some kind of hyperactive meltdown from their son. Even so. "No, I want us all to be there. It's important to me. And I want to get to thank Doctor Kelekian for everything he's done for our family."
"Okay." Castle grins, holding her close against him again. The bump of Kate's abdomen makes the fit a little difficult, but it's so good to be here like this with him. So wonderful to have their family. A crash from the living room startles them both and Castle groans against the top of Kate's head, untangling himself from their embrace and heading for the source of the commotion.
"Marlow Alexander." She hears him say and then there's a shriek that sounds very much like the one their son makes right before he runs to hide from an angry parent. Oh yes, Kate's well-acquainted with that particular sound from their boy. Rolling her eyes, Kate heads for the living room as well and the hurricane that is her child.
Doctor Kelekian comes to collect them himself for Rick's appointment. The whole family are crowded into the waiting room, Alexis on the floor with Marlow to help him play with the blocks from the toy box in the doctor's office.
Next to Castle in the seats Kate has her cheek pressed to his bicep, one hand smoothing over her stomach as she watches their children play together, but when the doctor calls out Rick's name his wife stands up and heads for their son to corral him. "Hey, Mal baby, we have to go see Daddy's doctor now. Do you wanna take some blocks with you?"
"Yes Momma. Allie help?" He says, thrusting a handful of blocks at his sister for her to take. Alexis gathers them against her stomach and stands up, securing the bricks with one hand so she can take Marlow's in her other.
The sight of his son's hand dwarfed by his daughter's brings a ridiculous lump of emotion to Castle's throat and he swallows it back, standing from his seat to follow his family through to Doctor Kelekian's office.
"Wonderful to see you, Mrs Castle." The doctor is saying, shaking Kate's hand and guiding her to sit in one of the sinfully comfortable armchairs. She sinks down gratefully and settles a hand at her bump; their baby is kicking again.
Alexis sits in the armchair next to Kate's and pulls her little brother up to sit in her lap, handing him the blocks to play with and banding an arm tight at his waist so he can't escape from the relative safety of his confinement. Rick sinks into the last armchair, the kids between himself and Kate, and waits as Doctor Kelekian wheels his chair around to be in front of the desk. Opening himself up to Rick's family, and he's inordinately grateful for it.
"You look well, Rick." The doctor starts with, offering Castle a smile that he returns in force.
Glancing at his wife over the top of his daughter's head, Rick holds her gaze a moment before his attention returns to the doctor. "I feel great."
"I'm glad to hear it." Doctor Kelekian says, leaning back in his chair and taking a moment just to watch Castle's children interact. Marlow is trying to create a block tower, the foundation for which is Alexis' knee, and every time she inadvertently shifts and the tower crumbles he gasps and presses his palms to his cheeks in mock dismay. "You have a beautiful family."
"Thank you." Kate murmurs, leaning over to squeeze her daughter's shoulder and earn herself a grin from Alexis. Fourteen years old, and Castle is so very grateful that his daughter has had Kate here for these past five years.
Alexis has needed a female role model, an example to follow, and Castle couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, gracious woman for his daughter to rely on than his wife.
"Well, I won't keep you long. All of your test results have come back clear and I'm happy to say that at this time, I'd consider you to be cancer free." Kelekian smiles, pausing a moment to let the absolute gutting relief settle before he continues. "Of course you'll still have to be diligent, and if anything seems amiss do not hesitate to call my office. But I'm going to schedule you for yearly checkups from this point."
"That sounds great. Thank you so much." Rick grins, standing up to shake the doctor's hand. His grip is confident and self-assured and once again Castle is struck with gratitude for this man who saved his life.
Kelekian shakes his head and accepts the hand that Kate offers, shaking hers too before he heads for the office door and opens it for them. "Don't mention it. It's good to see that you have such a fantastic support network, Rick."
"Yeah, I'm very lucky." Castle says, lifting his son from Alexis' lap and cradling the boy close to his chest. One hand around Marlow, Rick settles his free hand at Kate's spine and waits for Alexis to collect up all of the blocks before they move for the door. His family.
Once they make it out to the sidewalk Castle tugs his phone free from his pocket, hesitating before he calls the car service. "Hey, what do you say we don't go home yet? How about we hit the park, get ice cream?"
"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Marlow chants and then Kate is laughing and agreeing, Alexis' hand safely ensconced in her mother's.
The park is only a block away, and when they make it they find a bench and Kate sinks down onto it, Alexis and Marlow running around in the grass. Rick leans over the back of the bench to kiss his wife's cheek, grinning and lifting an eyebrow when she turns in to his kiss to touch her mouth to his. "You want an ice cream, beautiful?"
"Sure, thank you." She grins at him, lifting a hand to shade her eyes from the flare of vibrant sunlight that cuts across the grass. The day is warm, the sky a soft mist of cobalt, and Rick is full up with joy.
Dusting a last kiss to her mouth, Rick eventually forces himself to pull away. He stands for a moment, arrested by everything he wants to tell her, and eventually he settles for the most true. "I love you, Mrs Castle."
"I love you, too." She laughs, shaking her head at him. Like always, she sees right through to his core, to how much of a complete fool he is for her.
The ice cream vendor isn't too far away and the queue is small; it takes him almost no time at all to buy four ice cream cones and make it back to his family. Handing out the cones, Castle laughs when Marlow shoves his face right into his ice cream and turns to his wife with an apology on the tip of his tongue.
Only, she's laughing too, shaking her head at their son's antics. "I hope you have tissues with you."
"Of course." He beams, draping an arm over the back of the bench. Kate tips her head backwards to rest the weight of it in the crook of his elbow, her eyes slowly slipping closed. "You tired?"
"Mm. I'm happy." She sits up to look at him again, palming his cheek and kissing him softly. Even though she hates it when people touch her like she's public property, Rick can't help but span his palm over her stomach and relish in the flutter of their baby's life beneath his touch.
"Me too."
"I'm so glad you're here." She murmurs, her eyes not on him anymore. She's watching their children, though, so he can't quite bring himself to care. And he sees her admission for what it is. Not just that she's glad he lived, but that he has lived with her. That they have this wonderful life together.
Rick brings his arm down from the bench to circle Kate's shoulders instead, drawing her in close. "I know, love. Me too."
Marlow heads for his parents with Alexis in tow, his face smeared with ice cream and an enormous grin stretched across it. "Momma, Daddy, mine ice cream was so yummy."
"I'm so glad, baby." Kate hums, opening her arms for their boy and lifting him up to hold him close. There are wipes in Castle's pocket and he fishes out the packet, setting about cleaning up the mess all over his son.
"Yours good, Alexis?" He offers to his eldest child, even while he's catching Marlow's feet to stop him from kicking out. Yeah. . .his son is really not a fan of getting cleaned up. Although he does love bath time.
His daughter sits down next to Kate and rests her head at her mother's shoulder, smiling at him from around the spill of Kate's hair. "Yeah, thanks Dad."
"Good. Thank you for being such a good sister."
She shrugs, like it's nothing, but it's not. Before Kate, before Marlow, there was Alexis. He owes his daughter so much. Rick opens his mouth to say something but Kate beats him to it, kissing Alexis' cheek and smoothing a hand over her braid. "Dad and I love you so much, bug."
"I know." His daughter says, a pleased flush to her cheeks. He doesn't blame her. In fact, he's well acquainted with the sensation of being proud to have earned Kate Beckett's love. "I love you too. And Mal, even if he is crazy."
"Me?" Marlow grins, giggling into the soft skin of his mother's cheek. "Me!"
"Yes you, my sweet boy." Kate laughs, wrapping both arms around their boy and squeezing tight. It only takes a moment for Mal to get bored and break free of his mother's grip, clambering down from the bench and charging across the grass with Alexis hot on his heels.
Castle takes his wife's hand, watching with her as their children play. The gut-wrenching love for his family just spilling up out of him. Nudging his nose at Kate's cheek, he breathes in the sun-flushed scent of her. Familiar to him since childhood, but made all the more wonderful by sharing his life with her now. "Okay?"
"More than."
A/N: Marlow is named for Charles Marlow in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. A literary reference, an homage to our showrunner, and it allowed for "Mal" as a nickname.
All of you, right now, go and wish a happy birthday to Berkie: BerkieLynn here or berkieryan on tumblr. Berkie, darling, I know you have so loved this fic and I hope this epilogue is some clue as to how much I love you. Your friendship is a gift that I am grateful for every day. I hope this year treats you well, you so deserve it.
Tumblr: katiehoughton
Twitter: seilleanmor