Kate is having nightmares. It'd been weeks since the divorce and the restraining order had kicked in but, she still had fears he would come after her. His drunken self two Bud Lights one in either hand as he chugged them, ready to hit her at any time.

"Katie, I still love you."

"We can make this work, I promise you."

Kate wakes up in a sweat looking over to see a sleeping Castle. She loved this man laying next to her. He had saved her, but she couldn't move on until she let go of him. It was hard to do. She loved him once. You know, young puppy love. That was before all his drunken rages, the times he brought woman home in the middle of the night, the fighting. He kept telling her he'd stop. He'd get help, ditch all the woman and start going to AA. What a lie, What a fucking lie.

Getting up Kate pads her way to the bathroom and turns on the shower. She strips and gets in the shower letting the hot water envelop her. This whole few months had been a whirlwind of emotions. She'd met this amazing guy on the subway, and let go of someone she thought she loved. Reaching over she grabs the shampoo and starts to wash her hair. She'd finished but not before the tears started to fall. She'd tried to hold them in, but it was no use. She should just let them fall. It was something she knew would help get rid of him. She regains herself a few moments later and gets out grabbing a towel and drying herself off. She finds her drawer in the dark and changes into some clean shorts and a T-shirt before going back into bed and snuggling up to Castle. He's so exhausted from trying to get the kids to bed he does not even stir. It's hours later before the two wake up to the sound of a crying baby. Kate is up first as she finds her way to the little girls crib upstairs. She walks in the room and can smell it. Poop was everywhere.

"CASTLE!" She yells as she hears his running footsteps moments later.

"Huh, what?" He asks stepping into the nursery. Kate can only laugh at him as she looks up at his half asleep face with hair that looked like birds could live in. She regains herself again as she's woken up by the baby screams.

"We, uh, had a poop blowout, I need your help." She tells him. He wasn't fully awake until he smelt the poop. That horrid smell jolted him and he freaked for a second.

"Uh, yeah, let's get her to the bathroom. we can clean her up first." He tells Kate as he moves to the kids dresser and grabs out a diaper and some new clothes. Alexis was a pretty heavy sleeper, but all this commotion woke her and Nate up. She finds the pair in the bathroom moments later cleaning off the crying baby.

"You three alright?" She chuckles softly seeing Kate with Rick and Hannah getting cleaned up.

"Oh hey lex." Kate smiles at the girl.

"Yeah just had a poop blow-out." Kate chuckles softly.

"Well, I see you have it covered, I'm going to take Nate downstairs and get him some breakfast," Alexis says smiling at the three.

"Alright, you do that." Castle smiles back as he gets the little girl all cleaned and is working on getting a diaper on her. The two are finished a few minutes later and meet Alexis and Nate downstairs in the kitchen for some food.

"I want to try and get my job back," Kate says sitting that the table a sleeping baby in her arms.

"You think you can?" Castle asks her shifting as he eats a piece of his banana bread.

"I can try. Wouldn't hurt." She says watching him.

"I need to get back some of my stability in my life." She adds.

"Being a stay at home mom is fun but, I can't live off you forever." She sighs rocking the baby slowly.

"I wouldn't care." Castle chuckles softly.

"Oh, but I would," Kate tells him reaching for a piece of her bread.

—

Kate is in the bathroom, the door was closed, but she had to pee so bad she forgot to lock it. In the middle of sitting on the toilet she's got her phone out and is checking it with the few minutes of free time she has away from her kids. It's not until she's fully engrossed that the door swings open and a happy Nate is making his naked presence.

"Momma!" He giggles.

"Baby, Hi," She pauses gasping when she notices he's naked.

"Were are your clothes Nate?" She asks the little boy in front of her.

"I want to go swimming!" He giggles again as Kate takes her hand and does a facepalm. It was the dead of winter, everyone was snowed in for miles.

"Nate baby, we can't it's cold outside, we would freeze." She explains to him the best she can.

"Go find Castle and ask him to help you get dressed, mommy will be out soon and I'll put a movie on, ok?" She tells him as he runs off moments later. About an hour later Nate is dressed and the four of them are watching a movie. Kate is watching with one eye as she keeps her other eye on the hungry Hannah. The baby was latched on as she fed from her mom. Kate was happy. She had a steady place now. Castle and her may not be moving fast, but she did not care. She was just glad she was somewhere. Somewhere without Scott. Finishing with Hannah she starts to burp the baby.

—

It's late now as Kate looks up at the clock and then down at the four of them that had fallen asleep on the couch. The DVD menu for UP had been repeating itself for about two hours now. Thankfully because Kate did not want burn in, on the TV. Turning slowly she pokes Castle who had drool coming from his mouth as Nate is sprawled across him. He lets out a soft moan before slowly opening his eyes and looking over at Kate.

"Hi," He grumbles softly his voice a little horse.

"Come on mister, we should get to bed." She tells him slowly lifting herself from the couch and Holding Hannah in one arm and using her other to help lift Castle and Nate. It takes Castle a second before he gets his footing and starts for the stairs. Kate grabs the remote and turns the TV off following him upstairs to the nursery. They get the two to bed before heading downstairs and falling straight to sleep.

A/N: I might time skip in the next chapter. Sorry, this took so long to write I got distracted (damn ADD) and had just a tad bit of writer's block. I was wondering. Do you want to see more of their relationship building? Or can I just skip right to Castle proposal planning or of the like.