A/N: I decided to keep this fic going, most likely it will just touch base on holidays/ big events with their family and how Kate being home and running a campaign fits in with their lives. I don't want to get too much into the political stuff, so if some stuff is wrong later on it's because I didn't want to spend hours learning how campaign trials work lol
Katherine Beckett-Castle was a stay at home mom. Temporarily. Was it temporarily? She had no clue how any of this worked. She knew she had two years. Two years to get a campaign up and running. But right now, she wanted to escape. Her home, the city she loves, haunted her every move. Her most recent endured trauma caused her PTSD to make itself know again after years of careful management. She needed to be able to think, she needed out of the city, she needed to feel at peace. They needed to slow down, needed time away from everything. Her family needed to heal.
So Rick suggested they stay the summer in the Hamptons. Their home there had always served as a refuge for them. An escape that allowed them to just be Rick and Kate Castle. Then one place they didn't have to worry about paparazzi or crazy fans. The fans that seemed to grow by the millions after the resurrection of Derek Storm and a movie remake of Heat Wave that ended up doing so well in box office, the production of Naked Heat was undergo.
Rick was able to have the house ready by early June. They hadn't had a chance to step back from life and get away since last summer, before Lily was born. They had their annual Castle Fourth of July bash. The wild party it once was changing over the years to a more laid back event, one only their closest friends were invited to. It changed again almost three years ago when Reese was born. She was worried that his day would be overshadowed by the holiday, that he would grow to resent it. Her husband the beautiful man he is, assured her that would never happen. Birthdays were a big deal to him, and his kids birthdays? A whole other level.
Kate lets herself slip into a memory. Reese's first birthday. The Castle Fourth of July Bash turned birthday bash. She wanted to keep them separate, Rick promised he would love it and if, when older, Reese decided he wanted to celebrate in a different way he wouldn't hesitate to make his sons dreams come true.
When night fell, their party guests walked down to the private beach to watch the fireworks while Kate watched something else. Her boys. Castle held their son tightly in his arms, his tiny hands stained from icing attempting to pull the ridiculously large earmuffs from his head. He was distracted from his mission when the color bursts appeared in the dark sky, grabbing his attention and forcing it to stay there. Kate watched his mesmerized face as he took in the newness of it all. She stepped closer, ready to make herself known at her families side when between booms she heard Rick whisper to their baby, "You see that Reese? That's all for you. The sky is celebrating you, commemorating your very existence." Her husband placed a kiss on the boys head, soaking in the moment for all it was worth. "I love you, Reese. Happy Birthday". Kate swears she fell even more in love with her husband that day.
She didn't even realize she was crying until she felt Castle's warm arms wrap around her small frame. Soft kisses were pressed to her temple while he waited for her to talk, knowing she needed a minute to herself.
"Reese's first birthday party. That's what I was thinking of. How perfect it was, how perfect you were. I couldn't help but think about how I almost missed out on a lifetime of birthdays. That if something had happened, he would never remember a birthday with me. Lily would never experience a birthday with me. As much as I miss the boys and the twelfth, I feel lighter." Her tears were no longer falling and she twisted in his arms so hazel could meet blue. "I didn't even realize I was holding that weight. I feel like I can breathe for the first time since Reese was born." Rick hugged his wife, pulling her in close and whispering fourteen words that gave her the reassurance she didn't realize she needed. "I feel like I can breathe for the first time since I met you." She was doing what was best for her family.
"Now come on Mrs. Castle. The car is all loaded and your son is already asking how long it's going to be before he gets to build sand daddies" he grinned at the small giggle that slipped from his wife's lips. "I'm not looking forward to the day he decides he's going to start saying sand castles".