AN: I didn't give this story a set timeline because it's based off my imagination. However, I'm having it so Kate has been a homicide detective for a year before she had her son.

It was a little after nine in the morning on Saturday when Kate rolled onto her side. After she opened her eyes to look at her alarm clock, she instantly sat up. She itched the back of her head as she yawned.

How had she slept this long without being woken up?

She put her legs over the side of the bed before grabbing her phone off the side table. There was one text from her dad. A smile inched across her lips because he was coming over later for dinner.

He was coming to dinner… at her messy place. Crap.

When she walked into the kitchen, she started the coffee maker and walked back down the small hall. The door adjacent to the bathroom was still closed. She quietly turned the handle and pushed it open.

In the right corner was a toddler bed and in the middle of it was her sleeping son. She smiled when she drew closer because his thumb was hanging out of his mouth, even though his pacifier was directly by his head. As she knelt down, she could smell it. Pee.

"Hey, baby boy," she whispered, running her fingers through his light brown curls.

Her soft touch made him stir out of sleep. His thumb fell out of his mouth while he rubbed his face in the Cars pillow. When he stopped, he laid on his side and looked up at her.

"Morning, sleepy head," she spoke, getting the most adorable, tired smile from him. "Looks like someone peed through their diaper again." She got a scared frown in return. "It's okay, sweetie. It was Mommy's fault for buying the generic brand." She stood up and went to his dresser.

Once Kate opened the top drawer, knocking occurred. Noah quickly got out of his bed when he heard the knocking. He looked at his mom then back toward the noise. He figured she was too busy, so he ran toward it.

"Let's get you-" Kate stopped short when she turned around and her son wasn't in the room. It was then she heard the knocking. "Noah, don't you dare try to open the door."

She walked out of his room and toward the apartment door, clean clothes in hand. When she saw him trying to reach the door handle, she sighed and set his clothes on the couch.

"What did I say about opening the door when someone knocks?" She lifted him up and kissed his face. "You need to let Mommy see who's out there first, got it?" She got a nod then let him look through the peephole. "Who is it?"

"Annie!" he squealed.

"Annie?" She looked through the peephole herself. "Oh, you mean Auntie," she said, setting him down before opening the door. "Hey," she said to Lanie.

"Morning," Lanie greeted, walking into the apartment. She knelt down in front of Noah. "Morning, cutie. I brought you a jelly donut."

Noah's eyes went really wide.

"Let's change you first," Kate said, picking him up and playfully carrying him under her arm, which caused giggles.

"I need some advice," Lanie said, sitting on the couch.

"Shoot," Kate replied, undressing Noah at the same time.

"What do you think of Esposito?"

"What?"

"You know… as a boyfriend."

"He's not my type and he's the total opposite of what you go for," Kate replied.

"What do you mean?"

"He seems like the guy who wants to settle down with someone. He was in the military, so it does make sense."

"Do you think I'm ready to settle down?"

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

"No."

"Then don't ask," Kate laughed then looked back at Noah who was crawling away. "I don't think so, bud. You need to be in clothes if you want to go to the park later."

Almost immediately after the word park, Noah was back in front of her. He attempted to cross his arms and pout.

"No pouting," Kate softly spoke, putting her hands on the side of his face which made it easier to hold him still and kiss.

"I want one," Lanie nonchalantly spoke.

"No, you don't. You work way longer hours than I do. And these little creatures-" she tickled Noah's sides, causing smiles. "-need a lot of attention."

"You make it look so easy and fun, though."

"It's not always easy and fun. Sometimes I just want to break down and cry because it gets hard."

"Well, someday I want a family. I guess just not now."

"Sounds good."

"Maybe Esposito wants a family…"

"Oh god."

"But anywho, what are you two up to today?"

"Well, after his afternoon nap, I'm taking him to the park so he can blow off some of his energy. After, I guess I'm making dinner for when my dad stops by. Oh, and I should probably do laundry and wash his blankets," Kate answered as she put Noah's shirt on him.

"I'll help you clean or something."

"Lanie, I'm not going to make you clean my place. I can manage like I usually do."

"But there's nothing to do!" Lanie whined, throwing her head on the back of the couch.

"Fine. You can entertain my little rugrat while I start the laundry."

"Speakin' of rugrat, where did he go?" Lanie asked, looking around the room for a sign of Noah.

Kate used the coffee table to help herself stand. She was about to call her son's name until a crashing sound stopped her. She glanced at Lanie and the two of them ran toward the noise.

Noah was standing in the middle of her floor, staring at the mess in front of her dresser. When he saw his mom, he slowly started to back away from it.

"Noah James, what did I say about trying to take Mommy's stuff?" She didn't get an answer. "You're lucky it was just a picture frame," she said, bending down to pick up the pieces.

"Kate," Lanie whispered as she nudged her friend.

"What?"

"I think you scared him," she answered upon seeing Noah's teary eyes.

Kate slowly looked over at her son just as he started to cry. She looked back down at the mess and sighed.

"I got it," Lanie announced, grabbing the little garbage can next to the dresser and tossing the bigger pieces of glass away.

"Come here, buddy," Kate calmly said with her arms outstretched.

Noah ended up quickly backing into the bed, making her feel horrible for yelling louder than normal. But what else could she have done? He could have gotten hurt from the glass and that scared her more than anything. It also didn't help that it was the only picture of her mom and dad together.

Before his crying got louder, she quickly picked him up. This resulted in his head resting on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I yelled," she murmured, rubbing his back to calm him down. "If you want something, tell Mommy first, okay?" She felt a small nod on her shoulder.

"I got most of it," Lanie spoke, tying the bag in the garbage can.

After calming down, Noah lifted his head off his mom's shoulder. "Caw, please," he pointed to his mom's dresser.

"Ohh, he wanted this," Lanie said, picking up the car with her empty hand. She gave it to Kate before walking out of the room to get rid of the bag.

"You wanted this?" Kate smiled when she saw her son's big grin. She handed him the car. "Let's put a movie on."

…..

"Daddy!"

Rick finished typing the last sentence on his laptop. He quickly saved what he had so far.

"In here," he yelled.

Within seconds, he heard the sound of little running feet coming toward him. He saw a glimpse of red hair over his desk, which made him stand up. Just as he stood up something ran into his legs.

"Slow down, speedy." He smiled down at his daughter. "What's up?"

"The clock has a two and a three on it like you said. That means we can go!" she squealed excitedly.

She tightly grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up. She continued until her hand slid off his and she fell.

"Calm down, kiddo," Rick laughed, lifting her onto her feet. He looked at the time on his watch and smiled. "It's only 3:02 pm, silly. I said we can go to the park at 3:30 pm, remember?"

"Why?" Alexis asked.

"Because-" he was cut short by the ringing of his phone. "Hold on, Pumpkin," he said to her and quickly answered the phone. "Castle. Yeah… But I… I had plans for today. You can't just… Oh, I forgot... Okay, I'll be there soon." He ended the call and turned Alexis.

"We're not going," she pouted.

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin. I forgot I had an evening book signing today, but if you put on your cutest face, I bet you could get Grams to take you," he smiled. "Let's see the cutest face you got."

Alexis took this as a challenge. She made herself look like she was about to cry and stuck her bottom lip out. The way she looked up at her dad made his heart want to break for changing their plans at the last minute.

"Perfect. Now, let's try it on Grams." He stood up and took her small hand. He walked her into the kitchen where his mother was pouring herself a glass of water. "She has something to ask you."

"Can you take me to the park, please?" Alexis pouted, getting a sympathetic look from her grandma.

"Of course. I wanted to get some fresh air today and we can do that at the park, can't we?" Martha asked her.

"Yeah!" Alexis quickly turned her frown into a big smile. "Let's go now."

"Richard, what time do you have to leave for your book signing?" Martha questioned her son.

"About ten minutes. I should probably change and freshen up."

"Yeah, Daddy. You smell like Cheetos," Alexis giggled into her hands.

"Do I?" Rick pulled his shirt from his chest to sniff it. "I guess I do. Do you know what that means, Alexis?"

"No." She shook her head.

"The Cheeto monster is gonna get you!"

Alexis let out a scream and ran away from her dad. She made him run around the living room a few times before running into his room. She quickly crawled under the bed just as he walked in.

"That's not fair. I'm too big to fit under there," Rick said, bending down to peek under the bed.

"But you're a monster! I gotta hide from the monster."

"I can see you, though," he laughed, reaching for her hands.

"Do I win?"

"Yes, you win," he answered with a smile, gently pulling her out from under the bed and lifting her into his arms.

"You still stinky, Daddy," she said, holding her hands over her nose.

"You should go pick up your toys while I change. I can walk with you guys to the park. How's that?" He set her back on the floor.

"Okay, Daddy."

He watched her run into the living room to pick up her toys. He smiled when she kissed her favorite doll before placing it on the couch.

"You need to start writing down things you have to attend," Martha said, walking over to him. "Even I remember them."

"I probably should. That way I don't keep disappointing her."

"Like her mom."

"Mother!"

"Don't tell me you don't think the same thing."

"It doesn't matter what I think right now. Alexis is all that matters," he whispered. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything like this near her."

"I promise to never speak of it near her again."

"Thank you. Now I should probably get out of these 'Cheeto' clothes."

…..

There was movement under Kate's arm. She ignored it, but seconds later there was more. Giving in to the disturbance, she finally opened her eyes and looked down. Her little boy was squirming around under her arm. She lifted it up to see if that was the reason he was moving, but it wasn't.

"Noah," she whispered, gently running her fingers through his hair.

When he finally stopped moving and opened his eyes, she smiled. Her smile immediately faded when she noticed that his eyes were filling with tears.

"Hey. It's okay, buddy. It's just Mommy," she soothed, hoping that he'd realize that he was no longer asleep. When his tears started to fall, she pulled him closer. "What scared you in your dream?" she asked, rubbing his back to calm him down.

"Big monster," his reply was muffled because his face was buried in her shirt.

"Well, next time you see this big monster tell him that your mommy is a cop and I will protect you no matter what. So, if he hurts you, I will put him in jail with bigger and meaner monsters," she said, getting a small giggle in reply. "There, all better. Now, let's get you a little snack then…"

He pulled away from her and got himself on his feet on the bed. "Park!" he cheered before starting to jump.

"Come on, you," Kate laughed while getting off the bed and standing next to it. She picked her son up and placed him on the floor.

She followed him into the kitchen and let him open the cupboard closest to the floor. It was adorable the way he tilted his head to the side while thinking. He finally grabbed the Spongebob gummies and held them up to her.

"More of these?" she asked, tearing them open.

"They good," he nodded with a smile.

"They're good, are they?" she smiled back before stealing one and popping it in her mouth.

"Hey! You stoled it!"

"I didn't steal it," she ruffled his curls and handed him the rest. She couldn't help but smile when he plopped on the floor to eat them. "What juice do you want to bring?" she asked, opening the fridge at the same time.

"Red one."

"Alrighty." She took the fruit punch out of the fridge, setting it on the counter. She grabbed one of the clean sippy cups from the dish strainer and poured in the juice. "We should change you before we leave," she said, making sure the top was on tight enough.

After Noah was changed and his diaper bag was packed, they headed out.

"Me do!" he yelled, running toward the elevator to push the button. The second he pushed it, it opened and he ran inside.

Once they were outside, Kate hoisted him onto her hip, so she wouldn't lose him. That was the last thing she ever wanted to do, lose her son in the crowded streets of New York City.

They walked for a good fifteen minutes until they finally reached the park. It would have been shorter if Noah didn't see people selling turtles. She ended up making a mental note to maybe buy him one for Christmas, which was only two months away.

When they arrived at the playground, she sat on one of the benches closest to it and set her son down. "Go play, buddy. I'll be right here if you need me."

Noah had a few of his fingers in his mouth as he looked between his mom and the playground.

"Go play, silly." She gently nudged him forward, which ended up making him slowly walk toward the slide. "Don't you dare try and go up it," she yelled to him, which made him run in a different direction.

Since her son was playing, she pulled out a book from his diaper bag. She opened up to the spot where her bookmark was and let herself get lost in the words.

Noah walked up the steps to a tunnel and peeked inside. He was always afraid to crawl through to the other end, but there was someone sitting in the middle. His head slowly tilted to the side, trying to figure out why they would block it. This ended up making him crawl to the person.

"'Cuse me," he said, but the boy wouldn't budge. "I said 'cuse me!" he yelled which made the boy look his way.

"Shut up," the boy said, pushing Noah back, which made him fall and hit his head. The impact of his head on the tunnel ended up making him cry.

"Stupid annoying baby," the boy said and crawled out the other end.

Noah continued to cry even when a blurry outline of a little girl came into his view.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He slowly shook his head, crying even more because it still hurt.

"I'm Alexis," she said, hesitantly taking his hands to pull him up to a sitting position. "Where's your mommy or daddy?"

Noah pointed out of the side of the tunnel he entered in. He wasn't entirely sure where his mom was, but he really wanted her, which made him cry even more.

"Here," Alexis said, squeezing through to the opening of the tunnel he pointed in. She took his hands and pulled him out. "Do you see her?" she asked, but didn't get a reply. "That her?" She pointed to the woman sitting alone on a bench.

Noah nodded and was led to his mom while holding hands with a little girl he had never met before.

Kate just finished a chapter when she heard crying. The noise got closer and it finally registered that it was her son's cries. Almost immediately, she set her book down and looked up to see him being brought to her by a red headed little girl.

"Noah, what happened?" she asked, getting off the bench and bending down in front of him.

"I saw some meanie push him down in the tunnel. He was way bigger than him too." Alexis said.

"Come here, buddy," Kate opened her arms and almost instantly, Noah was clinging to her. "Thank you," she said to the little girl.

"I'm Alexis," she said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Alexis. I'm Kate and this is Noah. I'm sure he'd be happy to play with you once he feels better."

"That'd be fun since since there's nobody small here to play with." Alexis shuffled her feet while looking down.

Kate continued to rub her son's back. "Do you want to go play with Alexis, buddy?" She felt a small nod against her. She pulled him so he was arms length away. "You okay?" she asked, wiping away his tears with her thumb.

"Yeah," he whispered.

She kissed his cheek and smiled. "Go play with your new friend."

Noah turned toward Alexis and smiled while rubbing his right eye.

"Wanna play cops and robbers?" she asked him.

"Yeah!"

"You be the robber first."

"Okay," he looked over at his mom and smiled.

"Alexis, sweetie, who are you here with?" Kate asked before they ran off.

"Grams. She's over…" Alexis pointed to the other side of the park. "I think there."

"Okay. Just making sure you're not here by yourself," Kate smiled and got a shy one in return. "Now go play you two," she encouraged, watching them run off toward the playground.

She ended up not picking her book up again. Instead, she watched her son play. The way his curls blew in the wind reminded her of her mother's hair.

A memory of when she was little overtook her thoughts. Her mom was buying her an ice cream cone before they went home. She was looking up at her and smiling because, to her, her mom was the most beautiful person she knew. She always looked up to her and wanted to be just like her one day.

Her trip down memory lane was cut short when a classy woman sat down next to her. She quickly grabbed her son's bag to make more room.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just meeting the young Noah's mother," the woman said with a smile.

"Oh, you must be Alexis' grandmother," Kate said, setting her son's bag on the ground. "I'm Kate," she said, sticking her hand out, which soon after was shook.

"I'm Martha."

"Martha… Are you... Martha Rodgers?"

"Yes, I am."

"Wow." Kate stared in awe at the woman who was one of her favorite play actresses. "Wow, I'm sorry," she nervously laughed. "You're just one of my favorite play actresses."

"And it looks like my son is one of your favorite authors," Martha stated when she noticed the book on the bench.

"Yeah." Kate's face got a little hot. "Wait… Does that mean Alexis is his daughter?"

"Yes, she is. Beautiful little girl, isn't she?"

"She's adorable and very friendly. She brought my son to me when he was hurt."

"Ah. Sounds like Alexis. She's always trying to help people out even being three years old."

"Three? Wow, she has the speech of a five year old," Kate replied, stunned.

"That would be her father's work," Martha laughed. "But your son… his eyes are stunning."

"I get told that a lot." Kate smiled.

"If he wasn't little, I would think that they were contacts."

"Nope. Those are his own blue eyes."

"He will get lots of girls with those," Martha teased.

"Probably," Kate chuckled, shaking her head because she doesn't want him to get bigger yet.

A good twenty minutes passed until the kids ran over to them. Noah, a little further behind because he was giggling.

"Did you have fun?" Kate asked him with a smile.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Lessis fun."

"Alexis is fun, eh?" She pulled him in for a big hug and handed him his sippy cup.

"Ready to go?" Martha asked Alexis who nodded.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Alexis asked Kate.

"We can be. Same time?"

"Yeah, except this time my son will be with her," Martha answered.

"You will like my daddy, Noah," Alexis enthusiastically said. "He's like a big kid!" She threw her arms in the air.

The way Alexis' face lit up at the mention of her dad, made Kate smile. She wished Noah had a father that was there for him. A father that wouldn't walk away just for a better job. It disgusted her how his dad chose his job over his own son. She could never do that. Never in a million years.

"Bye, Noah. Bye, Kate," Alexis said, taking her out of her thoughts.

"Bye, sweetie," Kate replied.

"Bye," Noah waved with a bigger smile than his mom's. He turned toward her and gave her a sneaky smirk.

"Okay, you can go down the slide one more time then we go home, got it?"

"Yes," he smiled and ran toward the slide.

She watched as her son cautiously walked up the steps to the slide. When he was out of view, it finally hit her.

She was meeting Richard Castle tomorrow. Not just at a book signing, but at a park with his adorable little girl who stole her heart within two seconds. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like having a real conversation with him.

What would she say? What should she wear?

God, why was she thinking like this? He was just another person. He was no different than her or anybody.

Except his books got you out of the black fog that swallowed you whole when your mother was murdered.

Okay, tomorrow was going to make her super nervous, but her son and his daughter got along so well. It was rare for Noah to make friends that fast because he was so shy. She couldn't take it away from him.

So, tomorrow she will be sitting on a park bench, talking with Richard Castle, and watching their kids play together. Nothing could go wrong, right?

AN: Thoughts?