Talk

"Alright, kiddo, mommy's off to save the world, it's time to get to work!" Castle dries off his hands, slings the hand towel he always carries just in case – and 'just in case' happens rather frequently these days – over his shoulder as he approaches the bouncy seat, crouches down in front of it.

His daughter is wholly disinterested in him, completely focused instead on holding on to her foot while it's stuffed in her mouth. He grins, dislodges the foot including the soggy wool sock she's been chewing on from her mouth, gives the seat a good push to set it to bounce. His baby girl squeals with joy, chubby little legs kicking against the seat cushion and arms flailing so that the chair keeps rocking beneath her. Such a happy little imp; he could watch her wiggle and squeal and laugh and sleep for hours.

"Hey little princess," he coos, rubbing her round little belly and she smacks her lips, blowing a spit bubble, humming and babbling and there, there it is, so so distinct. "Daaaaaaa."

He deflates. There's work to do. "Maaaaaama," he enunciates clearly, elongating the vowels in an imitation of the sounds Jo's already producing, his hand on her belly as he tries to keep her attention. "Can you say 'maaama'?"

She's looking at him with wide eyes, attentive as she watches his expressions, his mouth as it moves, and he just knows she's a smart one, as bright and intelligent as her mother. "Maaaaama," he repeats.

More lip-smacking and slobber; maybe she's started teething, he wonders, wiping her chin with the corner of his 'just in case' towel. She's humming, he can feel the sound vibrating in her little chest, and doesn't that sound like an 'm'? "That's it, Johanna, 'maaaaama'," Castle encourages, excited at his super-smart baby and his exceptional qualities as Ruggedly Handsome Dad when,

"Daaaaaaaa," Jo squeals, the chair bouncing with her kicks.

"What are you guys doing?"

Castle whirls around. "Kate! What are you doing back?"

"Forgot my phone." She strides toward the two of them, ruffling her fingers through his hair as she squats down next to him. "Hi, sweet girl." She strokes a fingertip down the chubby cheek of her daughter who's immediately rooting for it, little bird mouth opening wide to try to suckle on it, and Kate smiles, that so-soft, gentle smile that makes his heart stumble every time. "Were you trying to get her to talk again?" She eyes him from the side, can't seem to suppress her smirk even though she's trying to hide it behind pursed lips.

"No," he shakes his head adamantly, "I mean, just… I'm trying to teach her to say mama," he admits at last. "And I know, I know she's too young to actually talk yet but… I mean she's babbling and starting to form sounds and it sounds a little bit like 'dada', and 99 percent of babies say 'dada' first, did you know that? And I know you worry about being at work and getting less time with her than I do but she adores you and I don't want you to feel left out and so I just wanted her to say 'mama' first."

He sucks in a breath, the whole thing just having rushed out of him like a waterfall, and suddenly her mouth covers his, lips and tongue caressing his fervently. Castle groans, draws her closer; loses his balance because he's been squatting for far longer than his knees seem willing to support and he topples over, lands on his back with Kate draped on top of him, laughing against his mouth. He curls his fingers into her hair, his other hand resting against the dip of her spine as her laughter melts into a sweet smile.

"Thank you, that's really sweet." She kisses him again, a soft, close-mouthed kiss, and again, and a third time. "Good luck with that." She grins cheekily as she untangles herself from his arms and gets up, then stops by the baby seat.

"Bye sweet girl," she croons, brushes a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "I really gotta go." And then Kate's rushing for the door, stopping only by the kitchen counter to grab her phone. The door slams shut.

"Mama. Mamamamama."

He gasps, staring at the baby. "Did you just...?" Did she just...? "Kate!" He yells toward the door, then turns back to their daughter. "Can you say it again? Mama?"

Jo laughs, her legs kicking wildly, and blows a big, wet raspberry.

Inspired by the prompt submitted to castlefanficprompts: Most babies' first words are 'daddy' [dadda]. Castle goes out of his way to make sure it's 'mommy' [mama].