Hey guys!

I really want to apologize for the late update, but I don't think I know a word that would really say how very sorry I am. Believe me!

I really wanted to update on Friday like I had promised, but when I came home from school, I found out that my friends had organized a surprise party for my birthday which lasted long, then Saturday I spent the whole day celebrating with my family and yesterday, I had so much homework there was no way I could have done anything. Really, I don't think I ate at all. But here it is, finally. And I apologize again, because I'm pretty sure you weren't expecting it to turn this way, honestly neither was I, but the characters took a life of their own and decided.

I hope you will still like it.

Enjoy!

A few hours later, Castle came back home. He had talked for a long time with his wife, about them, about the kids, but when he saw that it was starting to be too much, he had decided to leave. They had agreed that he would come first thing in the morning with the twins. Now, all he had to do was to tell them and most of all, to prepare them. How do you explain memory loss to a two year old?

"Richard! You're home!" Martha almost shouted.

"Where are the boys?" Castle asked.

"They're in the bathroom with Alexis, they insisted that she had to bath them."

She let her son sit down on the couch and after a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"How is she doing?" she asked softly.

"First of all, just like we suspected when the nurse mentionned Sorenson, she thinks we're still in 2009. So, as you may guess, she was shocked when she saw the ring on her finger. Even more when she saw the same one on my finger."

"Oh, God! That poor girl must be devastated! Don't get upset, Richard, but she kind of hated you at the time." she added.

"Yeah, I know, but she's being surprisingly cool about it. That kind of worries me, you know. I feel like she has to break down, I mean, who wouldn't? But she seems fine... And... She knows about the kids."

"How? Don't tell me you dropped that bomb on her already!"

"No! I swear, I didn't! Well, I know that I would have had to tell her eventually, but not today, I definitely thought that she wouldn't be ready. She's the one who asked, out of the blue!"

"And how did she take it?" Martha asked cautiously. After all, she remembered how Kate was when she met her son. And she was pretty sure that it was too much for the young woman.

"I'm not too sure about that... She asked, or rather demanded to meet them."

"Wow, that's... surprising."

"Not that much, actually. I've been trying to think like her, to put myself in her shoes, and I thought about this one case with the little girl. Angela, I think. Kate practically never slept during that case, I could stop by at the precinct at any time, and she was there. You should have seen her face when we found the little girl, Mother. Or when she found out the truth about the mother. And that was in 2009, I think that even back then she cared deeply about children. So I assume that she couldn't bear to let them down, especially if they are hers."

"Are you sure?" Martha wasn't convinced. She didn't really know Kate back then, but she seemed kind of career-driven, it seemed impossible that she would think about kids.

"Yeah, I know her, she used to hide her feelings, but she always had a big heart."

"Well, if you say so..."

She was interruppted by a trio of "Dad!" when her three grandchildren came down.

"Hey little ones!" Castle greeted, hugging his sons. "I hope you didn't make your sister take her bath as well" he said, knowing that the boys tended to put water everywhere.

"No, they were nice, I only had to change my T-shirt, my pants were okay" Alexis said, smiling.

"Hey pumpkin, how are you."

"Fine. So... Is it true? Grams told me that she was awake..."

Castle told her to wait a second and then knelt down in front of his sons.

"Hey little ones, could join your grams. Ask her to watch Mickey Mouse" he said, knowing that it would keep his sons busy for quite some time.

"So?" Alexis asked. "What's going on?"

"She's awake. But there is one problem."

"What is it?" Alexis was worried. Her dad didn't seem able to say what was going on and her mind was creating awful scenarios.

"She thinks we're in 2009."

"Oh. My. God. Does that mean that... she doesn't remember?" She didn't need to be more specific, he understood.

"Yes it does. She thinks she asked me to get out of her life. The good thing is, she seems willing to hear me out. She also wants to meet the kids."

"Wow, that's... something." She didn't say 'surprising', she knew Kate.

"Yeah. So, if you will excuse me, I need to talk to the boys, and then I'll put them to bed, and then go to sleep too, I'm exhausted."

"Of course. Do you want me to put them to bed, so that you can rest?"

"No, thank you pumpkin, I'll be fine" he said, kissing the top of her head.

The next day, Castle woke up early. He showered, prepared breakfast, woke the twins, and at ten o'clock, they were at the hospital. He was nervous. He had talked to his sons, but they had barely listened to him and it was obvious that they hadn't understood everything, they were only two after all. And, he knew how they could be when they were exited. And they were definitely exited to see their mom! But how would she react? He knocked at the door, he didn't want to come in if she was asleep.

"Come in!"

Rick held his sons back and reminded them.

"Hey little monsters, don't forget that your mom is hurt, so, don't jump on her bed, okay?"

The little boys nodded and then rushed in the room.

"Mommy!"

When she heard the word, Beckett's heart skipped a beat. Which didn't go unnoticed by Castle, thanks to the heart monitor.

"Hey, boys, slow down" he said.

He got closer to his wife, he wanted to kiss her, but he was pretty sure it was off limits, so he just sat down on the chair.

Kate, however, didn't even notice him. Her eyes were fixated on the little boys. Two beautiful little boys. They were definitely Castle's kids, there was no doubt. However, they didn't look like her. They had green eyes, but so did a lot of people. But then, why did she feel that way when she looked at them?

"What are their names?" she asked, hating herself for having to ask that.

The boys however didn't seem to mind. If anything, they were so happy to see their mom was awake that they seemed to take that as a joke she was playing.

"Ethan and Max" they said at the same time with a face that clearly said you're silly you know.

"Ethan Alexander Castle, and Maxim James Castle ti be more specific. I know, it sounds a little weird, but I swear that you agreed to it" he said, winking at her.

She tried to smile, but she couldn't. She didn't even know what she felt. But she knew one thing. She wanted them close to her. So she tried to get herself in the middle of the bed so that they could climb in around her. Which they gladly did.

And she was definitely not prepared for what she felt when they did. She was overwhelmed. She didn't even know them, and yet, she was litteraly overwhelmed by... whatever it was that she felt. She didn't know.

But what she was even less prepared for was when they tilted their heads to the side, both at the same time to kiss her, very softly, on the cheek before saying in an almost scary sync "I love you mommy"

Meanwhile, Castle was looking at them, a true happy smile on his face. He knew the look on Kate's face. It was the same she had had when the kids were born and she had held them for the first time. And it warmed his heart to see that he had been right. Even the badass Detective Beckett he somehow had back in front of him was capable of love. And that was definitely a good sign.

While Castle was deep in his thoughts, Kate was only focused on her sons. Yes, her sons.

She had been quick to find out that they had apparently missed her a lot, because they spent half an hour kissing her, and they were snuggled up against her as if they were afraid that she would disappear. Then, they had started telling her all about their day with their sister, which she had to admit felt kind of weird and at the same time perfect. And now, they were asleep and she wasn't even uncomfortable with having two toddlers cradled in her arms.

She looked up to Castle, intending to ask for details, but he was faster than her.

"They started talking a few months ago. We were worried because it was a little late, but they haven't stopped since then."

Beckett thought about it. So she couldn't remember her kids' first words. She knew it wasn't her fault, but still, what kind of mother did it make her? What kind of mother was she anyway? Did she share a lot of time with them? How did she manage having a family with her job?

"Tell me about them" she almost demanded. "About us."

"They were born on 15th March, two years ago." he started.

"Oh my God, I missed their birthday?" she hissed, careful not to wake them but still wanting to know more.

"Don't worry, you had already chosen their presents. And, honestly, I don't think they really understand the idea of 'birthday', so don't worry about that. They did miss you, of course, but not more than any other day." He let her have time to absorb what she had just heard, then spoke again. "That day, when you saw them for the first time, you had this spark in your eyes. You were still swearing that I would never touch you again, but I could tell that you at least had no regrets for that time. They make you happy, Kate. They make all of us happy. I'm pretty sure I know why you asked that, so let me reassure you. You are a wonderful mother. You're extraordinary, I need you to know this. Every Sunday, you take them and you spend the whole day with them."

"I have every Sunday off?" she asked, surprised.

"Don't ask me how you did it, I have no idea! Gates, the captain is called 'Iron Gates' and it fits her perfectly, so I don't know how you could convince her to let you have Sunday off. But you did. And you enjoy them with the kids. And I don't really know what you guys do, it's kind of your thing, the only moment when you get to be only the three of you, but I know that it's very important for them, and for you. Hum... What else can I say? What do you want to know?"

"How are they?"

"Max is a lot like you."

"Poor kid" she said, only half joking.

"No! He's a lucky kid! He's a discreet little boy that's for sure. For example, when we take them to the play ground, he's not the one to go towards other kids, Ethan usually does it. But the funny thing is, if a kid is being mean to them, Max is the one who's going to take control. Two years old and already bossy. I'm kidding!" he added when he saw Kate narrowing her eyes at him. "Anyway, when he's at home, he's quite discreet too. He hardly ever cries. He spends a lot of time with you and Alexis when she's there."

"What about Ethan?" she asked to Castle's relief. He was more than happy to talk about his sons, but he was afraid that if he told her how close Max was to her compared to Ethan, it would cloud her judgement. He was pretty sure it wouldn't, but still.

"Well, Ethan is the perfect Mini Me! He definitely inherited my character, which sometimes makes you want to kill me. He's only two, but he's already imagined a great amount of pranks. Like the time when he sneaked in the kitchen when I was making your coffee, I don't know how he did it, but he managed to replace the bowl of sugar with salt without me noticing. When he took his first steps ever, he came to you to give you a big hug, which you gladly accepted, of course, you were so proud. However, what you didn't know was that his hands and arms were full of paint, you only saw it when your blouse was ruined. Or, there was that one time when..."

"Castle!"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure he's only two?"

"Yes, why?"

"We must be a funny household..." she muttered between her teeth.

Tah-dah!

What do you think? I'm only eighteen, so far fom being a mom, which means I know nothing about what parents feel for their children. But I asked my mom and she assured me that no matter what happens, mothers are just 'connected' to their child, but she doesn't know anything about memory loss, so I don't know.

About the kids, I was initially planning on a boy and a girl, but I saw that some of you wanted two boys. I realised that I should have asked you for name suggestions, I'm sure you would have come up with something more original than this, but I hope you still like it.

The boys are greatly inspired by my nephews, and Ethan's prank were not invented, I really did this as a kid.

About the next chapter, it could take a while, let's say sometime in the weekend, because I'm planning on focusing entirely on Kate's thoughts, I figured it would be good, but I don't want it to be too heavy so I'm going to need to work a lot on this.

But I won't promise anything, I don't seem very good at keeping my promises...

XOXO,

ChairCaskett