"What are you wearing?" her laughter rippled across the glasslike surface of the lake, as Kate peered at her husband's silhouette, approaching faster, as the old wooden boat slid closer with every stroke of the paddle. She laughed again, rolling her eyes over the rims of her large sunglasses, flinching slightly as Castle pelted her with the tiny beads rolling off the tip of the polished wooden oar. She adjusted her position in the floating lounger Rick had brought with them, covering the swollen mound of her bare belly with a sheen of water, and nudging her glasses higher up on the bridge of her nose.

"It's a hat. What's wrong with it?"

The tinkling sounds of the various lures and bobbles adorning her husband's khaki tilly hat, drew a chuckle from her normally stoic father, as he perched behind his son in law in his beloved fishing boat.

"I'd ask if my Dad was hazing you, but I'm pretty sure you bought that all on your own."

"It was on the counter at the bait shop. It's the perfect hat for fishing. You're just jealous that you don't have one too."

"Please tell me you didn't buy me one too," she rolled her eyes, and took a deep drag from the bottle of water settled in the nearly submerged cupholders beside her. "And I'll give you a life lesson here, completely free of charge, by the way. Things get put on the counters of gas stations, and grocery stores and even bait shops, because that's the only place suckers can get fooled into thinking they need them."

"You can't harsh my fishing buzz today, oh cynical one. I caught a lake monster."

"You what?" the loud bark of her laughter echoed across the lake, and even her father grinned and shook his head with mirth. "What kind of lake monster?"

"The giant monstrous fish kind, Beckett. This is upstate New York, not Loch Ness."

"Oh, well then," Kate coated her belly with water once again, cooling her skin from the hot September sun above them. "How big is your giant lake monster, Rick?" The lewd smirk appeared before she could rethink her words, and she lifted a finger in reproach, knowing his penchant for speaking first. "Let me rephrase that before we have to start paying for my Dad to go to therapy. What did you catch? Are we talking dinner or mounting on the wall?"

Jim shook his head in mild amusement, and reached down at his feet to retrieve a long sinewy bass. Definitely not trophy worthy, as she knew from her many days spent in that very boat with her father, but her husband absolutely radiated glee, and the proud smile on her father's face made her want to find the nearest taxidermist to mark the moment forever.

"It's a nice, one," her father commented. "Gave Rick a hell of a fight."

"I almost fell in," Castle positively beamed. "It was awesome."

"That's amazing, Babe," she grinned back, his joy completely contagious. "I'm so proud of you."

"The fish weren't biting much this morning, either. I didn't get a single nibble."

Kate shot her father a grateful smile, both for the little white lie and for her husband's current state of bliss. It had been a long, hard summer; filled with PT, and nightmares, and healing in more ways than one. They had spent the months following the shooting, in their Hamptons home, only arriving back in the city a few weeks earlier, to get Alexis settled in for her final year at Columbia. Beckett had been cleared from bedrest, the baby no longer in danger, her prenatal health declared perfect, and had returned to work, a few days later. Now, they were enjoying the last remnants of summer, upstate at her father's cabin, at his rather adamant request.

It wasn't that Kate was opposed to spending time with her father, it just seemed so unlike him to make demands of her, especially since her marriage to Rick. They had spent so little time here, and Rick truly seemed to love embedding himself in all the places that made her who she was. He had jumped at the chance and she was more than happy to give up her uncomfortable plank of a seat in the fishing boat to her enthusiastic husband. It left her time to float in the still and quiet lake, to soak up the sun's rays, and let the heat and the refreshing coolness of the water melt away the ache in her muscles.

"Okay, son, let's dock this boat and grab a bite before we get this beauty ready for dinner."

"Your dad's going to show me how to gut it, Beckett. So cool."

"You're a nut," Kate laughed, happily. "Just remember, you can't unsee it. You'll never look at salmon the same way."

"Unlike my giant lake monster, I'll live."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she teased, melodically.

"You staying out here, Katie-bug?" her father chimed in, once again, as he tossed a rope on the dock, tethering the old boat to the cleats.

"I think I'll head up to the cabin, maybe read a book in the hammock while you two play with your fish. I need to get out of the sun for a while."

She laughed again as her husband held out a paddle from his place on the dock, pulling her towards the shore when she grabbed hold. He hauled her to her feet with an exaggerated grunt, and she shoved him playfully in retaliation. "Watch it buster."

"Have fun with your book honey. I've got to go get my hands dirty." Rick grinned widely again, and bounded off toward the cabin, fish held carefully in his hands.

Jim chuckled behind her, as he tied the fishing boat off to the dock. "You were never that enthusiastic about cleaning the fish, Katie. I'm not sure he actually knows what he's in for."

"Oh he knows," Kate rolled her eyes and took her father's arm, as they followed behind her husband. Kate squeezed his arm slightly, and patted his weathered hand, "He's never done anything like this before Dad. It means so much to him. To both of us. Thank you."

"Please, Katie," a dismissive hand waved in the air. "It was fun. There's no need to thank me. I enjoy spending time with Rick. He's much less surly than I'm used to." Jim tilted his head with a smirk, pulling a laugh from his daughter's chest as she nudged his shoulder playfully.

"Well, any time you want him for a play date, he's yours. I'll gladly pass over all the unsavory traditions to someone more worthy of your time."

"There are more?" Jim gasped, in mock surprise. "Don't tell me you don't like worm hunting, or collecting firewood."

"It's exactly how I love spending my vacation," she rebutted with sarcasm. "Baseball is the only tradition I'm stuck on, and I'm willing to invite him into that sometimes."

"Just him? Seems to me there are a growing number of people that we need to invite into our traditions."

Kate smiled and ran a hand over her swollen belly, stopping at the stairs leading into the small cabin. "We do. We'll have a family baseball game one of these days, with Alexis and this little girl. But there's never going to be anyone I'd rather see a game with than my dad."

The elder Beckett's eyes crinkled happily and he kissed his daughter on the cheek before leading her to the hammock under the trees and helping her in. "Nobody I'd rather see a game with than my girl either Katie-bug." Giving the hammock a gentle shove, he set her swinging in the shade, and Kate released a gentle sigh. "Can I grab you a drink? I'll pick up your book while I'm in there."

"Thanks Dad. Just my bottle of water would be great."

"Back in a minute, sweetheart."

Beckett smiled and closed her eyes as the hammock swayed slowly back and forth. The lapping waves and hum of cicadas combined with the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze blowing across her skin lulled her into a perfect calm. Momentarily. The excited shout and lumbering of the man through the brush towards her, was no longer enough to startle her, but enough to bring her back to awareness of the impending interaction.

"Oh my God, Beckett. This is super gross," Castle nearly vibrated with the novelty of his experience. "It's amazing."

"You're lucky I find your weirdness endearing."

"Not sexy?"

"Depends on the level of weirdness. Fish guts is definitely not sexy."

"The hat did it for you though, didn't it?"

"If I wasn't afraid of having to explain away sex related injuries with fishing lures, I'd tell you to wear it in bed tonight."

Castle grinned and leaned over to smack a kiss to her lips. "Liar."

"You do it for me."

"Okay, you're forgiven."

Kate grinned back and pulled him back down to her lips by the collar of his shirt. "Go finish cleaning your fish and take a shower. I love you, and you're sexy even with the horrible fishing hat, but you smell like dead fish and worms, and you're going to make me throw up."

"I'm feeling rugged and manly today, Kate Beckett. Be warned. I'm going to rock your world tonight."

Kate laughed and shoved her husband away with a toe, despite the swirling heat rushing through her body at his dominance. "Consider me all aflutter with anticipation."

Her father's intentionally loud reappearance drew an eye roll, and a chuckle from her husband. "Water and book as promised, Katie."

"Thanks Dad."

"What do you say Rick, ready to go finish up with our dinner?" Jim slapped the younger man on the back, paternally, and turned toward the unfinished fish.

"Definitely. You've gotta show me the trick to getting all that stuff out."

"Okay Rick. Let's go get the stuff out of the fish, and leave Katie to her book."

"Bye honey," Castle shouted without looking back, as he bounced toward the table, trailed by her amused father.

Kate took a long drink of her water and settled back considering her book for a moment before tossing it aside and turning her head to the side to witness the end of her husband's first fishing trip.

Castle could write her a better story without even trying.