Here is chapter 20, enjoy!

At six o'clock sharp, the doorbell of Richard Castle's Hamptons house rang. And the grown man almost run to open the door. When he opened it, he found Angela on the other side, looking as excited as him. Just like when they were kids.

"What's the password?" Rick asked, a huge smile on his face.

" spies don't like spiders." Angela answered really seriously.

"Really, that's your password?" Kate asked, laughing behind Rick's back.

"Hey, we were children!" he protested, moving aside to let his guests come in the house.

"Hi, so … you're the famous Ricky Rodgers she has not stopped talking about uh? I'm Mark." Angela's husband introduced himself, shaking Rick's hand.

"Yeah, that would be me. Here is Kate, my fiancée." he answered.

"Hello Katie." Katie said, passing through the door.

"Hello Katie." Kate said, making the little girl giggle and run to her mother.

Kate couldn't help but smile. She still had a long time to wait but she'd really like to have her child running around the house. She was brought out of her thoughts when Rick came to see her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just impatient for our child to come." she said, kissing him quickly before going in the kitchen to bring the drinks out for everyone.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

The dinner went well, Rick and Angela obviously enjoying their reunion. As the woman had explained earlier, she didn't keep in touch with Rick because after her parents' death, after a short stay at a foster home, she was sent to her uncle's in Australia and he didn't want her to write to anyone from what he called her "previous life". By the time she managed to get her hand on paper at school, Rick and Martha must have moved because they never received the letters she sent. Not hearing back from him, she simply gave up. And when she heard of him again, in a newspaper for the publication of his first novel, she figured he had other things to do and decided not to contact him. This revelation had let to a very emotional embrace between the two friends, both of them promising never to lose contact again.

As Angela and her family were leaving, Rick remembered Kate's proposition earlier that afternoon.

"Uh … do you have plans for the 4th of July?" Rick asked Angela. "Because we're having a little gathering with friends and my mother will be there too. I'm sure she'd love to see you again."

"Well, we planned a picnic on the beach for lunch but we can stop by afterwards if that's ok. I'd really like to see your mother again too." Angela said.

"Of course. Just come by whenever you want. Everyone is staying here for the weekend anyway." Kate said, smiling as Katie played with her doll in her father's arms.

"Ok, well, see you soon then." Angela said before heading to their car.

As Kate and Rick were tidying everything up, Kate found the dress of one of Katie's dolls behind a cushion on the sofa. She sat dawn and played with it for a while.

"You really like her uh?" Rick asked, coming to sit by her side.

"Yeah. She's really nice and sweet and polite. And she's just so curious about everything."

"She reminds me of Angela when we were kids." Rick mused. "I definitely hope, for Mark and Angela's sake that she won't be as mischieving as we were."

"I can totally picture you as the kid who seemed quiet and nice but who took advantage of every situation to draw attention to him." Kate laughed.

"You know me so well." was all Rick could say.

They stayed seated next to each other on the sofa, both thinking of their child to come, picturing a perfect future family life.

"What do you want to have?" Kate asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Kate asked. "And don't say you don't care. You have to have a preference."

"Oh, well … I guess I'd like to have a boy. I mean, I'd be beyond happy if the baby is a girl but I already did it you know? It would be nice to experiment that with a baby boy." Rick said.

"I can totally imagine a mini-you running around the loft and driving me crazy." Kate laughed, resting her hands on her still flat stomach.

"And you? What would you prefer?" Rick asked, drawing her further into his side by putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Uh … I don't know. It's all very new to me. I mean, of course I thought about having children when I was younger but not so much after my mother died. I was so focused on all the bad in this world, it didn't even cross my mind. Even in more or less serious relationships, I never really thought about it."

"But you're happy right?" Rick asked, concerned.

"Of course I'm happy Rick!" I'm pretty sure I've never been so happy in my life. You're the only one who managed to bring me back entirely in the bright side Rick." she said, kissing him lovingly. "I can only see you when I think of my children's father."

"Children uh? Plural?" Rick asked, pulling Kate on his lap.

"Well, if you feel up to it. I mean, you obviously have a say in the matter and you're not getting any younger." Kate teased, kissing him more passionately and starting to work on his shirt.

"I'll show you old!" Rick replied, unzipping her summer dress and brushing the thin straps off Kate's shoulders, along with her bra straps. "And I'll have you know, future Mrs. Castle, that I'll give you a million babies if you wanted. I love Children." he said, pushing her so that she laid on her back on the sofa.

"Dad, we're here!" Alexis called from the front door, stopping and turning around when she saw her father and his girlfriend. "Sorry we came earlier than expected … uh … we'll get the luggage from Jackson's car." she said, walking straight out of the house.

"Get used to it." Rick said to Kate who had hidden under her hands from embarrassment. "Many children necessarily means more interruptions. Children tend to have a very bad sense of timing." he laughed, kissing Kate on the cheek before working on getting his shirt back on him.