A/N I had meant to have this up yesterday, but it didn't quite work out. So, here's the next chapter...

A week passed and all Kate thought about was how she had lashed out at Castle. What she had said to him wasn't right and it wasn't fair. She knew that Castle loved her and would do anything to keep her and their children safe. That was why he had said the things he did. So, she did the only thing she could think of. She went to talk to her father. Castle had a few meetings at Black Pawn, so she used it as her excuse to slip out and meet her father for lunch.

She met him at their favorite restaurant for lunch. After they'd eaten, Jim looked at his daughter and asked, "What brings you here Katie?"

She sipped on her orange juice and swallowed hard. Then she looked at her father with tears in her eyes and told him, "I need your help."

Jim swallowed and asked, "Are you in trouble? Shouldn't you be talking to Rick?"

She shook her head, "I'm not in trouble, but..."

"But what?"

Kate sighed, "I need your advice daddy. You know that this baby isn't Castle's right?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"I want your help with a father's day present for him. I'm not even sure if it's necessary, but I have a feeling that it's important to him."

She could see that her father was confused. He had to be wondering what she could possibly want his help for, "I don't understand Katie. I..."

She took a deep breath and told her father, "I want you to draw up papers for me."

"Papers? What kind of papers?"

Kate took a deep breath and told him, "Adoption papers. I want Rick to adopt her."

Jim Beckett looked at his daughter and told her, "I'm not that kind of lawyer. I..."

"I know that daddy, but you have to know someone that can help you."

"This is important to you. Isn't it?"

Kate nodded and then told her father, "It is. Rick has to know that he is her father in every possible way. Even if she isn't his biological daughter."

"You do know that all you have to do is put his name on the birth certificate."

Kate shook her head, "No. That's not enough. I want to prove to him that I believe in him. That I believe he's her father. No matter what."

Jim looked at his only daughter and smiled, "I will look into it Katie, but it's not going to be official until after she's born."

Kate nodded and then hugged her father tightly, "Thank you."

Her father nodded and then told her, "Your mother would be so proud of you Katie."

Kate felt the tears threatening to spill out and she whispered, "She wouldn't be proud of the way I've treated him daddy. He's only trying to protect me." She put her hands on her stomach and whispered, "Protect her and I lash out at him. For no good reason. I don't..."

Her father smiled and told him, "You're still the same stubborn Katie. The same little girl that didn't want a nightlight to scare the monsters away. The same little girl that refused to let me or your mother walk you into daycare after the first day. You've always wanted to do things on your own and never be told that you can't or that you need help."

"But I hurt him terribly." Then she whispered, "I hurt Alexis. I don't deserve either one of them, but somehow they still want me. He still loves me even though I said some terrible things to him. Things I didn't mean."

Jim smiled, "He loves you so much Katie. They both do. Love means accepting people for who they are. Faults and all."

Kate shook her head, "It's almost like I'm trying to push them away from me. I.."

"You're afraid of getting hurt."

"And I know that he would be the last person to hurt me. At least not on purpose. And Alexis..." Kate put her hands to her eyes and she cried softly.

"Have you told Rick this?"

"I told him I was sorry, but I need to make it right. That's why I want the adoption papers. It's proof that I believe in him. In us. That I believe in him as a husband and a father. And that no matter what happens he is her father. Forever and always."

Jim nodded and then smiled at his daughter. He hugged her again and told her, "I'll do everything I can to start the process for you and Rick. Let me ask you a question Katie."

"Sure daddy."

He knew that he was probably walking on this ice, but he had to at least broach the subject with his daughter, "Have you ever thought about asking him if you could adopt Alexis?"

Kate shook her head, "I can't daddy. I don't think he would go for it. She has a mother and..."

"From what I've been told you are the only mother she remembers."

Kate narrowed her eyes and asked, "Who told you that?"

Jim shook his head, "Lawyer client privilege. If he asked you to, would you adopt her?"

Kate didn't hesitate, she immediately nodded and whispered, "In a heartbeat daddy."

Her father nodded and then he told her, "I have to meet with my next client Katie."

She hugged her father again and then told him, "I want to have you over for dinner sometime soon."

"I will call you. I love you Katie."

"I love you to daddy."

And with that, she turned to walk out of the restaurant and her father headed back to his office. His daughter was very lucky to have married a man like Richard Castle. Johanna would have been proud of the decisions that their only daughter has made in her life.

Meanwhile, Castle was sitting in his lawyers office having papers of his own drawn up. Papers that would change everything for the ladies in his life. He smiled when she was done and shook his lawyers hand and asked, "How long before you can get these to me?"

"I will have Tanya type them up and then sent by courier tomorrow. Are you sure about this Richard?"

"I'm positive. I want this in case anything happens to me. I want to make sure Meredith has no legal say in Alexis' life."

David nodded, "Okay. I will make sure the process is sped up. Pending her signature though. Have you asked Alexis about it?"

Castle smiled, "Last night. She was the one that brought it up actually."

He thought back to the conversation that he'd had with his daughter. She had come home from school and Castle could tell immediately that she had something on her mind, but she didn't want to talk in front of Kate. At first, he thought that she was still upset because of what happened last week.

Seeing Kate sleeping on the couch, he used that opportunity to sneak upstairs and talk to his daughter. He knocked on the door and he heard Alexis say, "Come in daddy."

"How did you know it was me?"

He didn't see it, but he could swear from the tone of her voice that she rolled her beautiful blue eyes at him when she said, "Because mommy's asleep downstairs."

He wouldn't have been surprised if she had added, duh, to the beginning of her sentence. Sometimes he swore that she was six going on sixteen.

When he sat down beside her on her bed, he noticed that she was looking through her baby book. He had spent hours taking pictures and pasting them inside. As well as writing down all of her firsts. Her first word. The first time she rolled over. The first time she crawled.

She was quiet for a few seconds and then she asked, "What does it mean when someone adopts you daddy?"

"Why?"

Alexis shrugged and said, "Because I met a new girl at school. Her name is Mia. She told me that her parents adopted her when she was a little baby."

Castle smiled, "Oh. Well, that means that of all the babies in the world, her parents picked her to be theirs. To love forever and ever."

Alexis thought about it for what seemed to be forever. Then, she asked, "Could we adopt mommy's baby?"

Castle kissed his daughter on the head and whispered, "It's not my decision pumpkin."

"Why not? We'd make a good family for her. We already love mommy and..."

"It's complicated..."

Alexis bit on her bottom lip and Castle swore that she picked up the habit from Kate, but the next words out of her mouth floored him. She turned her head to the left and whispered, "I want her to adopt me. I want her to be my forever mommy. Since my real mommy didn't want me. Do you think Kate would adopt me? I know I'm not really hers, but I think she loves me daddy."

Castle bit his bottom lip and for a moment he wondered if he was going to draw blood. He honestly didn't know if Kate would be willing to adopt Alexis. It would certainly make things easier for everyone. It would keep Meredith from trying to take her again. It would also give Alexis some sort of permanence. It would make her feel more grounded.

After a few moments silence, Castle whispered to her, "We can ask her pumpkin. Let me talk to my lawyer and have the papers drawn up. Then, we will take her out to dinner and you can ask her."

"Do you think she will say yes?"

Castle honestly had no idea what Kate's reaction would be. Would she say no? Would she say yes? He honestly didn't know. What he did know was that he wanted to make it official. He wanted to make Kate Alexis' mother. He finally told her, "We can only ask her and see what she says."

Alexis turned her head to the side and then smiled at her father, "I bet she will say yes. She really loves us and we love her to."

Castle smiled and hugged his daughter tightly. He kissed the top of her head and then went downstairs to make dinner for them.

So, that was how he found himself at the lawyers office that next day. He had never been more nervous about asking Kate anything in his life. Part of him wondered if he should ask her before dinner. That way, if she said no then Alexis wouldn't be hurt. He could just make up some excuse and hope she forgot about it. However, knowing his daughter, she would never forget. In fact, she would probably ask Kate herself. So, he decided that he was going to ask Kate to have dinner with them the following night and hope that she didn't break both of their hearts in the process. What he didn't know was that Kate had been planning almost the exact same thing for him...

A/N- A special shout out to Sensaiman for the idea of them adopting each others daughters. Not sure if it would really be necessary in real life for Castle to adopt Kate's baby, but it seems right for this story and it's fun to write about.

Oh and I know how some of you are wondering about why Castle keeps going back to her when she treats him like this. He's in love with her and sometimes being in love with someone means putting up with them in good and bad moods...