One Year After

Kate rolled over from the edge of the bed and bumped forcefully into an arm. A bicep. She opened her eyes and rubbed her nose, jostled awake. Propped up with one arm, she looked over Castle's chest to see the alarm clock. Too early, but the sun streamed in regardless. She flopped back down, rested her head on his arm and put her hand on his chest. He stirred, but remained asleep. She wanted this to herself. This moment before the day she had been dreading began. She was a different person than she was a year ago. She had grown; they had grown. She wasn't upset, but she let quiet tears fall down her face.

Castle woke up to the sniffle next to him and a wet sensation on his arm. He looked over to see Kate's eyes closed, but she was awake. He reached up a hand to brush his fingers through her hair.

"Morning."

Her bold eyes met his and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey," she said, one more sniffle left. She repositioned herself so she was further up towards his face.

They both sat in silence not knowing how to break it. They were comfortable. Today was the day that Castle had been preparing for, but had lost all ways to approach it.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to lay here for the rest of my life." Kate said.

He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, agreeing.

They fell back asleep.

Castle moved out from underneath of Kate, letting her sleep. He carefully left the room and quickly put breakfast together to bring back to bed. He didn't want her to wake up before he finished it. He wanted this to be just like she had asked for earlier. When he was finished making pancakes, leaving them on the pan just long enough for them to rise, he put fruit on a tray and two glasses of orange juice. Coffee would come later when the offer of returning to sleep wasn't hanging before them. He quickly, but strategically, carried it into their room and placed it on the nightstand next to the bed. Trying to be quiet, he slid it back a little so it wouldn't fall, but accidentally pushed the picture frame onto the floor.

Shit.

He bent down and picked up Aiden's last photograph and moved around the broken glass.

"What happened?" Kate said, sitting up.

"Nothing – just – I knocked over the picture."

She moved a little bit to lean over and see the glass on the floor, but then back up to the breakfast that awaited her.

"It's okay. You know what, leave the glass down there, but bring the picture."

Castle did as he was told, careful to not bring glass with him.

He slid next to her and pulled the covers up to their waists, backs leaning against the headboard. Kate took the sonogram from his hands, tears in her eyes, and rubbed her finger over the top of the image.

"I – I'm not sad. I want you to know that. I'm . . . today is a day that we have to celebrate or remember him. I don't want you to think that I'm crying because I'm upset. It's a different type of upset. I miss him, but it's out of love, happy love." Kate said, trying to put to words why she was crying.

"Kate, I get it. Trust me."

She smiled and leaned into his chest. They picked at their breakfast, never having it leave the nightstand.

"What do you think he'd be like? One year old today."

They leaned further down into their bed, backs slanted against the headboard.

Castle's eyes stared out ahead of him, "Well, I think he'd have your hair. Definitely have your eyes,"

She smiled as he put a hand through her hair, rubbing her ear.

"He'd be wild, rowdy, but smart. He'd get that from you."

"And the wild from you."

Castle smiled, and continued.

"He would have said his first words –"

"Dada,"

"or Mama," he answered.

"And he would have wit. Even as a one year old." She continued.

"Yes. Yes he would."

"Do you think he'd be sporty when he grew up? Or like Alexis."

"I think he'd be everything he would want to be."

"Maybe he'd be in the band. Or – maybe – maybe he'd be at the head of his soccer team. Scoring goals –"

" – or saving them."

"He'd grow up, and since he's incredibly smart, he'd go to NYU – "

" – or Harvard."

" – or maybe he'd drop out, be a starving artist."

"Yeah, like you would let him do that."

Kate laughed and let the room absorb their conversation. They went silent, missing him and loving him all at once. Longing to see him once more.

"He'd be perfect."

Castle snuggled Kate closer.

"Yea, he is."

The End

Many had mentioned interest in a follow up story, a part two-ish. Is that an interest? Keep an eye out for it.