Disclaimer: The only part of Castle that I own is the TV on which I watch the show.

Christmas is the best day, but by the time Gram and Granddad and Alexis went home yesterday we were all very tired. So this morning we were just hanging around the living room in our PJs. I had a bunch of new toys to play with and Mom and Dad were lolling on the sofa. That's what Mom calls it, lolling, kind of like lying down but not really.

She was holding her mug of coffee on top of her belly, which the twins probably like because it's warm. "Well, we survived Christmas, Castle. I wasn't entirely sure there for a while. Thought we were goners."

Dad started chuckling. "You mean when Scrapple managed to grab the standing rib roast and dragged it into the laundry room?"

"That was so funny, Dad! It was so big but he almost got it all the way behind the washing machine."

"Yes, that, but even worse was my father opening the box of obscene lingerie you gave me because the tags on the packages got mixed up. And what was that doing under the tree, anyway?"

Dad scrunched up his face. "Naughty Santa?"

"Santa isn't naughty, Dad, he's nice. Like me. I wasn't naughty, that's why he brought me presents."

"Well, tell Santa that should have been p-r-i-v-a-t-e."

"What was that word you spelled, Mom?"

Dad looked over at the fireplace. "Next year we'll have two more stockings to hang up, isn't that great?"

Mom put her mug on the table but she kept rubbing her hands around and around on her belly. I remember when she did that when I was inside there. It always felt so good. It made me sleepy. "Only 364 days 'til Christmas. I bet you've already ordered those stockings."

"Of course I haven't." Dad yawned. And then he yawned some more. "I have to wait until we know the kids' names."

"EB. Obi."

Mom looked down where I was playing. "Those are wonderful nicknames, sweet pea, but they're going to get real names, too, after they're born, just like you did."

"Yeah, but I didn't have a great nickname like they do. I don't know why they can't stay EB and Obi. Those sound good to me."

"I love that you got them these twins books for Christmas, Beckett." Dad picked up some up that were on the floor by the end of the sofa. "Eliot, maybe you could help Mom read to the babies right now. Do you want to choose one? We've got, let's see, More Blueberries, Twins in the Park, Twins Take a Bath and Twins Go to Bed."

Why do they get presents when they're not even born yet? Plus all of those books are just about twins, not a regular kid like me. Well, if we have to read a book to them at least I was going to sit on Mom's lap. I stood up and went over to her and held my arms out.

"Mama up?"

"You're a big boy, I don't need to pick you up to help you on the sofa. I know you can climb up here all by yourself. Come on."

"Up."

"Eliot, sweetie, it's hard for me to pick you up right now because of the twins, okay? Why don't you just hop up here and we'll get a book."

So I did, but then something happened that I didn't like. Mom sat up straight so we could read together and I moved over to get on her lap. And you know what? I couldn't really fit.

"Oops."

That's what Mom said. "Oops."

"The babies are taking up so much room now that there's not much place for you to sit. You want to perch on my knee?"

"No."

Dad started to laugh, and I didn't like that, either. "Oh, Beckett, it's the disappearing lap! That's what I'm going to call you from now on, TDL. The Disappearing Lap."

Mom swatted his arm. "Shut up, Castle."

"It's not nice to say shut up, Mom."

"And another thing."

"What?"

"I do believe that the green-eyed monster has arrived."

"Monster? Where? There's a monster here? I don't see it. I don't want a monster in our house! Make it go away."

"Oh, my God, is that what this is? I think you're right." Mom hugged me tight sideways and kissed the top of my head. "He's jealous. I feel terrible. Maybe we've been asking him to talk to-you-know-who for us too often. I never thought of it because he's so loving. And, uh, it's such an amazing thing to be able to do. Have we gone overboard? Do you think? That's what made him jealous?"

"What's jealous mean? What are you talking about, Mom?"

"I can't believe that I'm saying this but, yeah, maybe we should scale back a little on that. I'm not sure if those words—'scale back'—have ever even passed my lips before."

"First time for everything, Castle."

Mom gave me another hug. "Hey, Eliot. Look at me, you little dreamboat."

I looked at her. "Bo?"

"Yeah, bo. Dreamboat. I called you a big boy a minute ago, didn't I?"

"Yah."

"You are a big boy. My big boy. But you know what else?"

"No?"

"Even when you're a bigger boy, the biggest boy, a ginormous boy, bigger than Dad?"

"I'm gonna be bigger than Dad?"

I must have looked amazed when I looked at him because he and Mom laughed. He poked me in the tummy and tickled me. "Yes, Eliot, much as it pains me to say so, you are going to be bigger than I am some day."

Mom was really hugging me tight then. "Even when you're that big, sweet pea, you will always be my baby."

"No baby!"

"Yes, baby." She kissed my cheek. "You will always be my baby. My first baby. My number-one baby. Even when you are all grown up and have babies you will be my baby."

"I think you're mixed up, Mom. Boys don't have babies. Girls have babies."

Mom reached over to Dad and pointed to the twin books. "Dad is going to put those books away because EB and Obi can read those after they're born. Why don't we read a book just for you? Not for the twins, just for you."

"Yah! My buh."

"Your book. Right. Why don't you go get one of yours, maybe one that Santa brought you, and we'll do that together, okay?"

I slid down off the sofa and went to the Christmas tree and found a book I think I will like because it has a boy in PJs like me floating in the sky with a lot of balloons. I took it to Mom and put it on her knee and she held on to my hand tight while I got up next to her.

"That looks like a fun one, Eliot. It's called The Wonderful Things You Will Be. Do you want to open it, and find the beginning?"

Mom had to help me a little bit with the pages but we got it and she started.

" 'When I look at you', " and she looked at me, "'And you look at me'," and she put her hand under my chin to make sure I could look up at her, " 'I wonder what wonderful things you will be.' That's exactly right. I think about that all the time, Eliot, because you're going to be so many wonderful things. So many."

"Thanks, Mom. Dad? Are you crying?"

A/N Many thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, or some combination of those.