Kate slowly made her way back to her desk, but she noticed when she entered the bull pen that there was a teenage boy sitting in her chair, his arms above his head with his hands clasped together. He had a certainness about him that pissed Kate off.
"Who are you and why are you in my chair?" Kate asked, getting angry.
"I'm Finn. I'm your next spirit." He dropped his arms so they rested on his stomach.
"You sure do have an annoyingly confident air about you. It kind of irks me."
"I get it from my dad." Finn said, smirking.
"So where are you taking me?" Kate asked curtly.
"I'll show you." Finn got up from the chair, grabbed Kate's hand and snapped his fingers. Just like that, he and Kate were standing outside a magnificent mansion by the beach. Kate couldn't actually see the beach, but she sure could smell it.
"Whose house is this?" Kate asked.
"It's your future vacation home in the Hamptons. At this moment, you are inside with your family, enjoying Valentine's Day. Let's head inside."
Kate was hesitant, she wasn't sure she was ready to see her future. What if she had married some cad who treated her badly? She didn't want to be disappointed, although if she had a vacation home in the Hamptons, her life couldn't be too bad, now could it?
Finn, still holding Kate's hand, yanked her toward the front door and they quickly passed through to the other side. The home inside was even more spectacular than the outside, if that were possible. The room was professionally decorated and elaborate. Kate was so taken aback by the design, she failed to notice the people sitting on the couches in the living room.
"Kate, can you take him?" a familiar voice drew her back to the moment. She looked to who was saying her name, thinking they were talking to her. It was Castle, but he was talking to the future-her. She looked a little older, her hair was a lot longer and flowed over her shoulders.
"Where you going, babe?" Future-Kate asked Castle, taking the little boy, about two years old, he handed her.
"I'm just going to grab something from my luggage." Castle said, as he shuffled toward a back room.
"Mommy? I don't have a valentine this year," another little boy about four years old, sitting at the coffee table said to future-Kate.
"I'll be your valentine, sweetie."
"No, you're Daddy's valentine." The little boy protested.
"I'll be your valentine, buddy." Alexis Castle said who was sitting across from Kate on another couch.
"Okay, Lexis." He said, looking up at her and smiling a big, cheesy smile.
Present-Kate stood back in awe. Not only did she have kids and a family. She had kids and a family with Castle. "I marry Castle?" Kate voiced to Finn. "I don't even like the guy, how do I end up marrying him?"
"The way you were heading, you weren't going to end up here. We needed to show you what your life will be like if you change your ways."
"I marry Castle." Kate said to herself, testing it out seeing if she liked the feel of the words on her tongue. She was still trying to wrap her mind around her and Castle as a couple. He clearly had feelings about her, but she kind of thought he was an ass. "How does this even happen? How do Castle and I get together?"
"I can't tell you that. Spoilers." Finn said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
"I don't understand who you are." Kate finally asked after realizing the others that she met were people she knew.
"See that little boy sitting at the table? That's me as a four year old. I'm your future son."
"You're mine and Castle's son? Castle influenced the cockiness I have been witnessing since we met."
"I'm not that cocky, Mom." Finn said. "I have a lot of you in me too."
"This is weird. Please don't call me Mom, at least not right now." Kate protested, as she turned back to the scene in the living room.
Future Castle had returned from the other room and in hand had a small jewelry box. He handed it to future-Kate who smiled in thanks as she opened it. Inside was a diamond stud necklace.
"Oh Castle, this is beautiful." She said, shifting the little boy that was still in her lap as she pulled the necklace out of the box to put it on. "I have a surprise for you too, actually." Kate pulled a long rectangular box from behind her and handed it to Castle.
Castle popped open the top and his face lit up when he saw the contents. "You're pregnant?"
"Yes, but this better be the last one." Future-Kate exclaimed with a chuckle.
"Are you ready to go?" Finn asked, breaking the trance that present-Kate was in.
"I'm just so shocked. I marry Castle and have three kids with him. This is not what I was expecting. I look so happy with him. I must love him very much."
"You do and for many years after this moment. Dad is your true love, your one and done. Now that you've seen what the future might hold, you can change the present to make sure it happens."
"It'll probably take awhile."
"It does, but the journey is worth it." Finn said, insightfully. "Now we really need to go." Finn tugged on Kate's arm as they passed through the front door again and Kate found herself back in the precinct alone.
A/N: Bonus points for those who caught the small Doctor Who reference. What inspired me to write this story was Terri Edda Miller's tweet response to a question about how shocked would first season Kate be if she saw sixth season Kate.