A/N: Hope you're still enjoying the fic, here's another chapter. It's been quite the busy week so haven't had time to write but will try get some writing down now after I published so I'm ahead. Enjoy!
Waking up the next morning Kate's mind is still filled with memories and thoughts of him. Her daughter's questions have started something inside her, makes her rethink everything but at the same time she knows she would've done the same thing all over again. She can't stop imagining different scenarios where she would tell him, most of them she can't help but imagine his anger for not telling him sooner. It was always because she hadn't told him though, never about her going through with the pregnancy. So, maybe it would be time…
With a groan she wipes her face before she gets up from the bed and starts the day.
She tries to figure out a way to start the journey, how to begin it all. Tries to find a way to ask her daughter if she would like to invite a guest to their walk in the park without her daughter getting too suspicious or being negative about it. Though she has a feeling she won't dislike who she wants to invite.
So the second her daughter comes out of her room and they sit down at the table to eat breakfast.
"How are you feeling today, peanut?" Kate asks and her daughter looks up from her waffles.
"I feel good, I don't feel sick at all," Lily responds with a big smile
"So, which park do you want to go to?" Kate asks, already kind of knowing the answer.
"Morningside Park, please," she says and Kate chuckles.
"You want to visit Terry the Turtle, don't you?"
"Can you blame me? We haven't gone to Morningside Park in years."
"Oh you're exaggerating, we were there during winter break," Kate chuckles.
"Exactly, ages ago," Lily states and grins with her teeth showing.
Kate shakes her head as she thinks of a way to ask if the writer could join them. "You know, peanut, what would you say if we brought someone with us to meet Terry the Turtle?"
Lily wrinkles her nose and forehead in question. "Like who? Lanie is at work, right?"
Kate bites her lower lip as she tries to downplay what it would mean if he would come with them. "I wasn't thinking of your aunt, I was thinking if we should invite Castle?"
Her daughter stops in her movements with the waffle to her mouth as her eyes widen and stares at her. "What?" she asks as she seems to try and process what her mom said. "Why?"
Kate shrugs her shoulders. "Just thought you'd like to meet him while you're not having a fever, but we don't have to ask him if you don't want to."
"W-yes," her daughter doesn't hesitate from the answer but Kate can see she has questions circling her mind. "Does that mean I'm old enough to read his books now?"
Kate widens her eyes as she shakes her head. "No, not yet."
"Why not, mom? It's almost the same as talking about cases with you," she says for the hundredth time since Kate started to allow herself to talk about what she did more than just working in law enforcement.
Kate thinks of all the details of some of the scenes in his books and shakes her head again. "No, not the same. They're written for adults, not eight year olds."
"But mo-om," Lily complains and Kate gives her a look. "Not fair," the girl mumbles.
"Life isn't always fair, the earlier you learn that the easier it is to accept," Kate says as she starts cleaning away the breakfast. "But are you okay with inviting Castle? I won't unless you want me to."
"Can we get ice cream while at the park?" Lily says in a challenging voice and Kate fights to roll her eyes.
If she had any idea how alike her father she was… "Sounds like a deal," she says instead and her daughter grins at her victory.
As soon as Lily goes to change out of her pajamas Kate takes the opportunity to get out her phone and starts a message for the writer.
"Hey, do you want to go to Morningside Park with us today?" She's sending it before she can start thinking about it too much and backing out.
It doesn't take many seconds before she receives an accepting text stating he'll love to join them. She feels her heart skip a beat, and then she feels her nerves start acting up. She only met him again a couple days ago, she can't just throw the facts at him because that's not… She knows he deserves to know the truth, especially when he's already met the girl, but if she says it at the wrong time or what if he doesn't even want to know the truth?
Kate shakes her head and goes to make herself ready, she needs to stop thinking about it. She needs to stop thinking and just see how it goes, maybe they won't even get along and if so then no harm done. You don't really believe that though, a voice deep inside her mind states.
"You ready, peanut?" Kate calls out and she hears the girl come running from her room.
"Ready!" she calls out and they put on their shoes by the door. "Will he come too?"
Kate nods. "Yes, he'll meet us there."
They start walking to the park a few minutes later and it takes them about half an hour to get there. Kate's relishing in the fact that her daughter still lets her hold her hand while they walk, knows the girl will soon be too old and embarrassed by her to do so. She distinctly remembers her dad telling her she stopped holding their hands when she was ten, saying she was a big girl and didn't need the comfort of her parents' hand holding.
"Mom, how long ago did you know Richard Castle?" Lily asks as they go into the park.
Kate thinks about the question. "Uhm, we knew each other a long time ago," she says and hopes her daughter doesn't ask for specifics.
"And he met grandpa and grandma? Since she managed to make him soup at some point," Lily continues to ask and Kate almost sighs with relief.
"Yeah, he did. Your grandma made him soup at one time because he came to our house while being sick since I was sick too."
Lily wrinkles her forehead and Kate gets worried she said something she shouldn't.
"Why would he come over if he was sick?" the girl asks and Kate feels a small panic set in.
"What-," she coughs before she continues, "what are you doing here?"
He sneezes once before he comes into her room. "I came to keep you company."
She chuckles which results in another cough as she makes space for him in her bed. "You're sick too, doofus, you need rest."
He slides under the cover and lays on his side to look at her. "Well, I didn't feel rested without you."
She can't help but immediately crawl closer to him and he puts one arm around her.
"Much better," he states as his nose goes into her hair.
"Yeah," she sighs and falls back asleep.
"He didn't know he was sick until he came over, he'd brought the homework for the day and I guess his fever broke out when he came to our house," Kate lies.
"And so grandma made him soup?" Lily asks and Kate nods.
"Yeah, she made both of us soup and then your grandpa drove him home," she says, which is somewhat true. He did drive him home, just not until two days later.
"How ol…" Lily starts but before she can ask the whole question she's interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Kate! Uh-I mean, detective Beckett!" he calls out from behind her.
Kate turns around and sees him waving at them from a distance. He has that same insecure smile on his lips that he had before they got together and it makes her heart skip a beat. She waves back slightly and then looks at her daughter who sneaks to be slightly behind the side of her body, which reminds her he's a stranger to her. He might be the favorite author of her mom but she doesn't know him.
As soon as he's caught up with them Kate takes a deep breath and looks between him and th-her daughter.
"Castle, meet Lily, and Lily, meet Castle," she introduces them.
The writer holds out his hand towards the girl and she carefully lets go of Kate's hand in order to take his.
"It's nice to meet you, Lily," he says as they shake hands and Kate watches as Lily says the sentiment back.
Kate can't help but see the similar lines in their faces and a part of her hopes he isn't as observant as he usually is. Another part can't help but pray he sees it first so she doesn't have to come up with a good introduction to it all.
"How about we go to Terry the Turtle?" Kate asks after the two let go of each other's hand.
Lily immediately jumps with excitement and she can't stop the chuckle from escaping her lips, which results in feeling his eyes on her. He doesn't say much on their way to the turtle, just observes her and her daughter. It isn't until they're at the turtles that he starts talking and it doesn't take long before her daughter laughs and the two of them talk without her needing to jump in. That's when Kate turns quiet and just observes. She hoped they would get along, especially since she's decided to tell the truth. Not now, of course. But when it's time.
"Hey, did you know turtles can hold their breath for two hours?" Castle asks and Lily looks at him with big eyes.
"They can? That's so long!" she exclaims and Kate smiles at how her daughter shines with amazement.
Without asking for it he spurs a few more facts which has Lily listening with big eyes and most likely big ears as well. It makes Kate think of all the moments she's robbed from them and it doesn't take long before she's all in her head again, her eyes slightly watering. When she suddenly sees Rick catch her eyes she feels her eyes go bigger and she turns around to pretend looking for something else. She hears him continue to speak with her daughter and so she wipes her face and takes a calming breath.
"Castle, have you ever been to a turtle beach?" Lily asks and Kate turns back around only to do a double take again and look for an ice cream truck.
"I haven't, though I would love to," he answers and Kate smiles at his excitement.
"Does anyone want ice cream?" Kate interrupts the two and both of them say 'yes' at the same time. "Okay, so two potato chip fudge ice creams are coming up."
She walks away without thinking about what she'd just said, just assumed he still had the same favorite. The same favorite that somehow her child had favored not that long ago. While she's standing in line for the ice creams she's glad she has a moment of her own where she can just take a few breaths. She's starting to realize she won't be able to tell him right away, she thought maybe she could after today, but she won't. Glancing back at them she sees her daughter bonding easily with the writer and a part of her feels terrible for robbing both of them of this bond. With a sigh she hopes there's time for them to bond before she tells any of them. And hopefully he doesn't figure it out first.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Until next time, xxxx
