A/N: You guys can thank my betas, Anika & Iris, for the speedy update. Can you believe we've almost reached the end? :D
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Alexis met up with her family at the loft before Rick drove them all to the park for the Ryans' picnic. The weather was warming up nicely, and all three girls decided to wear sundresses. Kate paired hers with flats, so she stood considerably shorter than Rick.
To the casual observer, they presented the picture of a perfect little family, eager for some bonding time at the park. Alexis and Arriana walked ahead, keeping their eyes peeled for the Ryans while Rick and Kate ambled along after their children.
Kate was the first to spot Jenny. Waving at her colleague's wife, she led her family over to exchange greetings with Jenny. Kevin was currently occupied with his brothers-in-law, but Javi and Lanie had already arrived earlier and were mingling with the other guests.
"Do you want to go play with the other kids?" Kate asked, nudging at Arriana to look at the other children.
Arriana nodded shyly.
Sticking a friendly hand out, Jenny said, "Come on. Why don't I introduce you to them?"
Arriana left her mother's side and eagerly took the proffered hand. Jenny looked apologetically at Alexis.
"I'm sorry that there isn't really anyone your age here. Do you want to meet the other kids as well or…" Jenny trailed off, leaving the choice to Alexis.
Alexis looked over to the group of children running around playing tag. She wasn't exactly dressed for something quite so active, so she smiled at Jenny instead, telling her, "That's okay, I think I'll stick with the adults."
With that, Jenny began leading Arriana over to the other children.
"Connor, Devlin, Rory, c'mon over."
The three children ditched their game for the moment to race over to Jenny.
"I win, I win, I got here first!" A red-faced boy happily yelled as he collided into Jenny.
Seconds later the other girl arrived with a tall boy. They bumped into the first boy, colliding into Jenny as well.
Jenny saw the look of worry on her husband's face some distance away, but she waved him off, untangling herself from the sticky, sweaty children with a good-natured laugh.
"That's 'cause you were the closest to Aunt Jenny!" the tallest boy retorted.
"Arriana, I'd like you to meet Devlin, Rory and Connor. You guys, say hi to Arriana."
The other girl was the first to stick her hand out towards Arriana. "Hi, I'm Devlin – Dev for short, Rory's my younger brother, and that's our cousin Connor."
With the introductions out of the way, Arriana was quickly included into the little group and they began another round of tag. Her job done, Jenny made her way back to the small gathering of adults.
Spotting her husband easily, she headed over to join him. Kevin snaked an arm around his wife's waist, holding her by his side protectively.
"You okay there?" he asked softly, pressing a greeting kiss to her temple to cover up his question.
"I'm fine, honey. Is everyone here? Mary called and said her daughter's having a fever so she won't be coming."
Kevin surveyed the gathering, checking to see who was in attendance. "Well in that case, I think that's everyone. Do you want to do it now or later?"
Beaming up at her husband, Jenny's love and excitement radiated out in waves. Clutching his hand tightly, she said, "Let's tell them the news."
Not too far away, Alexis was fielding her father's questions. Kate was exchanging greetings with some of the ladies she recognized as Jenny's bridesmaids when Alexis' phone chimed with an incoming text.
"That's like the fiftieth time your phone rang since we left the loft. Should I be worried? Is there someone? I swear, your phone's busier than Paula's when a scandal breaks."
Trying her best to keep from blushing, Alexis told him, "It's nothing, dad."
Her traitorous phone decided that was the perfect moment to chime yet again.
"It's not nothing!" Castle exclaimed as Alexis switched her phone to silent with an exasperated flick of a button. He continued, "Is it a boy? Is it a girl? You know I won't judge, right? Oooh, are you secretly running a side business? You're not dealing, are you?"
From behind them, Esposito piped, "Who's dealing?"
Both Castles turned around to see Esposito with Lanie who was already hugging Kate in greeting.
"Espo, good to see you, my man. Lanie, looking beautiful as always," Castle greeted.
"Castle, are you spinning one of your crazy theories again? Doesn't that brain of yours ever take a break?" Lanie teased, looping an arm around Alexis.
Alexis tried to hide her smile as the good doctor came to her rescue. Beside her, Lanie continued, "Because if you're saying that you think Alexis is dealing drugs, then I really gotta get you to my table and check that brain of yours, because that theory is even crazier than the one with the parrot and circus monkey."
"Well, Alexis? You could just come clean, you know," he tried once more. Maybe he could trick his daughter into a confession. Not that he would ever think she was dealing drugs, but he was curious as to what his daughter had been up to.
Instead, Kate cut in. "Castle, give her a break. She's a smart, attractive young lady. Why shouldn't her phone be buzzing all the time?"
Turning to face his daughter, Castle said, "In that case, you leave me no choice, young lady. I'll just have to ask Esposito to run your phone records."
Turning to nudge Esposito, he continued, "How 'bout it? A week with the Ferrari."
Alexis arched her eyebrows and gave him her best Beckett look.
"One, you'd be abusing NYPD resources, and two, why not ask Kate?"
At that, Castle sheepishly admitted, "I did. A long time ago, actually."
"Don't worry, I refused," Kate told Alexis quickly.
Spotting Captain Gates and her husband talking to some of Jenny's friends, Alexis smirked.
"Hey dad, isn't that Captain Gates over there? I'm sure she'd love to hear all about you soliciting a favor from an NYPD detective."
Castle was caught off guard with that comment, but he quickly recovered. "Ah, but I could tell her it was based on a tip that someone was dealing drugs."
Alexis snorted. "Like anyone would believe that. I mean, my-"
Before Alexis could finish her sentence, Ryan's voice carried over and interrupted her.
"Could I have everyone's attention please? If everyone could just come closer, Jenny and I have some good, no, great news to share."
The group made their way to the other adults who had begun gathering around Kevin and Jenny. Esposito exchanged a wink with Ryan as the crowd quieted.
With everyone's attention on the adorable couple, Jenny looked tentatively at her husband. With a small nod from him, she announced, "We're expecting a baby."
The crowd cheered and began congratulating the soon-to-be parents. Kevin received hearty handshakes and pats on the back from his friends while Jenny got bombarded with questions.
How far along was she? Did they know the gender of the baby? Has she had an ultrasound? Have they decided on a hospital?
Rick and Kate made their way to the back of the crowd after offering their congratulations so that the other guests could make their way to the Ryans.
Entwining her fingers with his, Kate tugged to get his attention. Together, they slowly made their way over to an empty spot.
"Look how happy they are."
Rick hummed in agreement, adding, "I'm so glad for them. Ryan will make a great father, and Jenny – she was born to be a mom. I mean, did you see her with the kids earlier? She's a natural."
Castle leaned against a large tree, tugging Kate to rest beside him as they looked on in comfortable silence.
After a while, Kate rested a hand on his chest and looked up at him. "Hey, Rick? I know we've decided to stop my birth control pills a few weeks back," she started shyly.
"Are you-"
"No, babe," she blushed, "I'm not pregnant."
He didn't know where she was going with this. "Okay?"
Kate read the confusion on his face, and continued. "But now that Jenny's pregnant, if we do decide to conceive, I was thinking, our baby would have a built in play mate, and that'd be pretty neat, huh?"
"That would be pretty cool, and Arriana was hoping for a baby brother or sister for her birthday," he pretended to muse.
Grinning up at her husband, Kate asked, "So, Mr. Castle, do you wanna have a baby with me?"
Bending to place a chaste kiss on her lips, he told her, "All you ever need to do is ask."
A/N: How was that? Double dose of feels! Caskett will always be my OTP, but the Ryans (and the Devers) are just the cutest couple on Earth. Stay tuned for the epilogue!