Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of he characters.
A/N: A couple people asked me to continue this so I gave in and decided to do so. Ihope you like this one just as much as the previous one. Thank you for reviews, favorites, and follows.
It was just before lunch time and Kate had been sitting at her desk for around an hour, blankly staring at the murder board. To anyone who passed by, you'd think she was trying to put the puzzle pieces together and solve the murder. In actuality, though, her thoughts had been consumed with the little boy back at Castle's loft where Castle himself was watching over him.
They'd argued that morning over who should watch over Luke. Castle was okay with staying home and caring for him, but Kate had wanted to take him so that Castle could finish writing his long overdue chapter. She also secretly wanted to spend more time with the infant while she could. Ryan, in addition to screening any available video or media piece pertinent to the case, was tasked with finding out who the boy really was and if he had any surviving relatives.
An uneasy feeling stirred in her gut as she thought about the consequences of Ryan being able to actually locate an relatives at all. She'd be legally obligated to hand the boy over to them and she wasn't exactly sure she was comfortable with that. The worst part was that she didn't know why she was so uncomfortable. She and Castle had talked a couple nights ago about potentially having kids in the future, and while she was all for it, she didn't want to have to worry about them just yet. So why did the idea of leaving Luke in the hands of another, make her so uneasy?
The detective sighed and rubbed her temples slowly with her fingers. A headache was growing and she was beginning to get hungry. Briefly, she debated on going home and eating lunch with her boys.
Whoa, where did that come from? she wondered, alarmed. I only have one boy and while he may act like a child most of the time, he most certainly is not. Luke is not mine and Castle's. He's not, she tried convincing herself. She groaned, placed her elbows on her desk, and put her head in her hands. Taking care of him was not supposed to be this confusing.
Kate was about to reach for her phone and call Castle when she heard the elevator ding, alerting everyone that it was about to open. Glancing up, she spotted her fiancé getting off the elevator, carrying a diaper bag on one shoulder and a baby car seat carrier in the other hand. A grin lit up her face and she stood to greet him.
"Hey," he said. He placed the carrier, Luke strapped inside it, gently on the floor before removing the diaper bag and placing right next to the wide awake baby.
"Hey," she greeted. "What're you doing here?"
"Well, I had just finished my chapter when this one," he gestured to Luke, "woke up from the nap he was taking. I figured since he was hungry and I was hungry, and that you were probably hungry, we'd stop in and the three of us could go out to eat. Your lunch break officially starts in about ten minutes so we can leave then."
Kate stooped down to unstrap Luke from the carrier and said, "I was actually just about to call you when you decided to show up here, unannounced." She shot him a look.
He shrugged. "Don't look at me like that, it was his idea," he told her, pointing at the baby who was currently frowning up at him as if he knew Castle was blaming him.
The detective scoffed. "Yeah, okay, Castle. I'm sure the kid did exactly that. Look," she added. "He's even giving you a disapproving glare."
"He must take after his mother, then," he replied, quite clearly meaning her.
"He's not my son, Castle." Tugging away the restraints on the seat, Kate carefully picked the infant up and cradled him against her chest.
"Well, it certainly looks like you want him to be," a voice behind them sounded.
They turned around and saw Ryan and Esposito coming towards them. "Motherhood looks good on you, Beckett," Esposito remarked with a smirk.
"Shut up," she ordered him. Unconsciously shifting the child higher so that the boy's head was resting in the crook of her neck. She could feel the tiny puffs of air that was his breathing and she smiled slightly.
"You want to hold him?" she asked Ryan, knowing that he would take this seriously considering his wife was relatively close to her due date. He'd been particularly sensitive during this case and had actually been the first one to hold Luke when they arrived at the scene of the crime.
"Are you sure? I don't want to mess anything up," he said self-consciously.
"You're gonna have to get used to holding a baby at some point, Ryan. You might as well start now." With that she carefully handed him over to the other detective, who handled the boy as if he was made of glass and would break.
"See? You didn't kill him," she said.
"Yet," Castle added. He and Esposito shared a laugh and bumped fists.
Kate, though, whacked him on the chest and instructed, "Be nice."
Just then, Ryan's phone rang in his pocket. It was Jenny. "Crap, here," he handed Luke off to Esposito and answered his phone, walking off to have some privacy to talk to his wife.
"No, don't—" Too late. Espo stood there glaring at his partner and awkwardly holding the child.
His boss laughed and shook her head. "Not like that, you idiot; you're the one that'll end up dropping him. She stepped forward and readjusted the boy in his arms.
Castle guffawed at the Latino's wide-eyed expression of fear. "What's the matter, Esposito? Scared of a baby?"
The other man narrowed his eyes at him and replied, "I've been in combat and war zones. I've stared down hardened criminals and blood-thirsty serial killers. I've seen things that have made you scream like a little girl." He scoffed. "I am not afraid of little kid."
Luke shifted in his arms and the man nearly jumped out of his skin, a panicked look overtaking his features momentarily.
The couple in front of him laughed heartily at him. "That wasn't funny!" he insisted. The child shifted again and began fidgeting more and more. Small whimpers sounded from his mouth.
"Someone take this kid from me before I accidentally drop him," Esposito nearly screamed.
"Okay, okay, give him to me," Kate told him. She held out her hands and her friend practically tossed the boy into them. Pulling him in close, she began to make soothing sounds and whispered softly to the boy. Almost immediately, he calmed down.
"Told you motherhood looks good on you, Beckett," Esposito said. This time, he was smiling sincerely.
"Thanks, Espo, but it'll be some time before you'll actually see me popping out a kid," she said wryly. "We're actually about to head out to lunch. Do you want us to stop and pick you guys up anything?"
The Latino shook his head. "Nah, we already ate not too long ago."
"Okay then, I'll be back in a little while. Castle, grab the car seat and bag," she ordered, already walking off with Luke. "Don't let the place burn to the ground while I'm gone, boys," she called behind her.
"We won't," Ryan and Espo said at the same time.
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Many hours later, Kate stumbled through the door to the loft, weary and exhausted. It had been a long day filled with nothing; no new leads, no suspects, nothing. She was frustrated and tired and all she wanted to do was go to bed.
Somehow, she made it to their bedroom, kicked off her heels, and changed into a loose-fitting shirt and pants. About to climb into bed, she suddenly realized that it was eerily quiet in the apartment. Castle's loft was many things, but silent it was never. Something had to be wrong. Grabbing her gun from the drawer she'd put it in earlier, she quietly made her way through the massive place. Taking her time to ascend the steps, she tried to make as little noise as possible. Coming upon the door to the guest bedroom that had been temporarily been transformed into a room fit for a young infant, she paused. Mentally counting to three, she thrust open the door and raised her gun. What she saw made the breath expel from her lungs and her chest tighten.
Luke was currently asleep in the arms of a dozing Castle. The writer was sitting in the cheap rocking chair he'd bought when they first found out they needed to take care of a baby for the duration of their investigation. His head was drooped to one side and his arms firmly encircled the child who was wrapped in a blanket.
Kate immediately lowered her gun, made sure the safety was still on, then tucked it into the waistband of her pants at the small of her back. Padding into the room, she observed the two boys as they slept, completely unaware they were being watched with loving eyes. The detective smiled and moved to relieve Castle from Luke. As she went to lift him up, she felt resistance. Looking down, she saw that Castle was unconsciously tightening his grip on the infant.
Always trying to protect someone, even in his sleep, she thought amusedly.
She stopped trying to take Luke and decided to wake Castle up instead. "Castle," she called softly. "Castle, wake up."
He stirred and his eyes opened slowly. "Kate?" he asked in his sleep-laden voice.
"Yeah, it's me. Let me take Luke from you."
"M'kay." He relinquished his hold on the bundle in his arms, letting his fiancée kiss him on the forehead and put him in the crib.
"C'mon, Castle. Let's go to bed," she told him.
"But I'm comfy," he protested.
"Yeah, well, you won't be saying that come morning when you're all stiff." She heard him giggle and she sighed exasperatedly. "Not that kind of stiff, pervert. Now come on, or you get to sleep alone tonight."
"Fine, I'm coming." He eased himself out of the rocking chair and grasped Kate's hand, lacing their fingers together and leading them back to their room.
Once there, he flopped into bed on his back. She, however, wasn't nearly as ungraceful as he was. She climbed in, scooting back until she was nearly up against Castle, her back facing him. It was a clear enough signal and he received it. Rolling over on his side, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her close. Her back was pressed intimately to his front.
He had been quiet for so long that Kate thought he'd gone back to sleep already. Apparently he hadn't because he broke the silence. "Kate? If we don't find relatives for Luke can we keep him?"
Her heart started beating faster. " 'Keep him'? He's not a dog, Castle."
"Yeah, but…can we? Then we can have a little girl sometime in the future and name her Leia. You know: Luke and Leia, like Star Wars. Then we can get a dog and name him Chewbacca. He's gotta be furry, though. And big, too, 'cause Chewbacca's really furry and big." With that he drifted off to a deep sleep.
Kate laid awake in bed for a little while after Castle had fallen asleep. She was slightly confused, startled, scared, and—dare she say—hopeful about what he'd told her. Most of it, she attributed to his current level of drowsiness which probably caused him to keep what little of a filter he had turned off. When he got extremely tired, he sometimes acted like he was drunk or high, saying things he would never normally say as well as thinking random, abstract thoughts.
The detective stared at the wall, feeling the sleep begin to kick in. Maybe what Castle had said wasn't too bad an idea. Maybe she'd actually be okay if that happened.
Maybe, Castle, she thought before her eyes closed finally. That night she dreamt of a little boy and little girl with bright blue eyes running around the loft, chasing a big furry dog.
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