A/N: This will probably have another chapter so I'm leaving it in progress for now while I map out my thoughts for another chapter
They've been together for ten years now. She's spent the last decade openly loving Richard Castle. Letting him love her. Her heart still flutters when he calls, her cheeks burn scarlet when he refers to her as Beckett and gives her that look.
That look.
The deep, intense, seductive glare that seemed to pierce her soul. It's drives her insane and he knows it.
Ten years and he still gets to her. He's never stopped getting to know her, she doesn't think anyone will understand the depths of her like Richard Castle does. He puts in the effort, insists they still go on dates, he makes time for them, reminds her to pause and soak in life, he tells her daily how much he loves her. How thankful he is for her and how he will spend the rest of his life showing it.
She watched him in awe for years while he raised Alexis as a single parent. How he protected her and put her first. Put her before fame. She gets to experience the amazing woman her stepdaughter is because he allows it, because he loves her. Because he promised her always so many years ago, before she was even ready to let him love her.
She swears Richard Castle was put on this earth for two reasons. To be a dad and to love her.
She gave all of her love to him and his daughter.
She swore there was no way she could fall further in love with her husband.
But it turned out that she could.
Her love for him magnified tenfold three years ago when their daughter was born. Kate's whole world changed when they laid the screaming baby on her chest. The love that poured from her husbands eyes, tears flowing unashamed. The giddy look on his face when he told her their daughter's name. It drove her crazy not knowing, but a deal was a deal and he said it would be worth the wait. He was right. She lives in the memory of that day frequently.
He studied her closely. Looking to gauge her reaction as their daughter's name flowed through his lips.
Lily Kinsey Castle
Rick grabbed her hand, getting ready to tell a story. The story of how their daughter got her name and the significance it held. A significance that Kate knew, but needed to hear it tumble from her writer's lips.
"I talked with your father. I wanted a name that would connect our daughter to your mother. I wanted to honor her. So your father and I talked about naming her Johanna. We played around with the idea of calling her Jo. I thought I was set on that name, but you changed my mind."
He untangled his hand from hers to wipe a stray tear from her cheek before continuing.
"You insisted we flipped through one of those baby name books. You thought you could read my reaction. Use your detective skills against me to guess her name. You ended up flipping to the boy names. I knew your fear, you were scared that I was upset we were having a daughter. When I looked at you, jokingly saying we didn't need to look through a book to get the name Rick Jr., you got serious. You told me how important it was to you that our kids have their own identity. You didn't want them to spend their lives filling in the shadows of their parents."
He paused again, interrupted by the nurse who needed to do a quick vital check. His eyes never lingering from his wife and newborn baby as he waited for the nurse to exit.
"I panicked. I slipped away as soon as you had fallen asleep that night and called your father. We met the next day. He stayed up thinking of names significant to your mother. So he told me stories of early summer vacations upstate. How "Katie would spend hours in the Adirondack Mountains, searching every pond for a water lily to present to her mother." Everything clicked. Her name was Lily."
Kate slowly traced her finger over her daughters cheek, her tear filled eyes meeting her husbands. "and Kinsey?" She questioned. Her heart thrumming in her chest as she anticipated his words.
"Kinsey" Rick paused. "Kinsey is for you. The Alphabet Series. The mystery novels that follow Kinsey Millhone. Ex-cop turned private investigator who was unrelenting in her search for truth.
I wanted her to have a piece of you. I wanted to pay homage to you but still allow our girl to own her own name. I wanted a connection that wouldn't be significant to anyone but us. A connection that could be just ours. Besides my own rendition, Kinsey is the character that comes closest to you."
Castle leaned over and placed a soft kiss to his daughters forehead. "You are everything I want our daughter to be. Thank you, Kate. Thank you for loving me."
Kate cursed the hormones that ran crazy, causing her to be a blubbering mess.
"Lily Kinsey Castle, welcome to the world. We love you so much"
She placed a kiss to the top of the newborns head before shifting to hand her to Rick.
"I think I deserve a kiss too. I've wounded my own pride naming our daughter after another author's detective when I have my own". Rick pouted, his lips curving into a grin when his wife glared at him.
"Castle, I swear to god if you would have named our daughter Nikki, I would have shot you".
She loved him. Her goofy, kind hearted, loving, nine year old on a sugar rush.
She gave all of her love to his daughter, their daughter, and to him.
She swore there was no way she could fall further in love with her husband.
But it turned out she could.