Disclaimer: Yeah, I wish.

Title: A Year in the Life

Summary: Kate and Rick Castle glory in the joys of new parenthood with baby Ariel. Sequel to 'Mind Games.' Reading 'Mind Games' isn't necessarily a requirement, but it might help. Rated T so that I can build my fan base to include the readers who don't like reading M rated stuff. This chapter starts shortly after the birth of Ariel.

A/N #1: While this story is T rated, I might write a separate story to include some M rated elements later.

A/N #2: Thank you, Chuck, for checking for errors. And for the challenge. I hope that I can meet it.

Chapter 1: Perfection

May

Perfection. That was the only word that came to mind when Kate Castle looked into the sleeping face of her newborn daughter. She was less than 18 hours old and yet, she was simply perfection. Her apple-sized head was covered with the softest brown hair she'd ever felt in her life. It curled perfectly under her fingers as she stroked it. Her tiny cupid bow's mouth moved as if she was dreaming about nursing. Kate had never seen anything so perfect. She still couldn't believe that just the evening before she had managed to push this beautiful creature out of her body and into her heart.

She was waiting for Rick to come back with the car so that he could take them home. Home where they'd begin their lives as a new family. Suddenly Kate was terrified. She'd never taken care of a baby in her life. What if she messed everything up? She felt herself beginning to panic until she was interrupted by a light tap on her door. She looked toward the door as Jim Beckett walked in. "Hi, dad," she smiled at him.

"I thought that I'd come and check on my daughter and granddaughter before you take her home. Where's Rick?"

"He went home to get the car. He brought me up here in the Ferrari, forgetting that the car seat is in the Mercedes."

"Katie Bug, she is perfect," he smiled down at the bundle in his daughter's arms.

"She is, isn't she? Do you want to hold her?" Her father's eyes lit up with pride as Kate carefully transferred Ariel from her arms to her grandpa's. "Was mom this scared when it was time to take me home?"

"We both were," he remembered. "We'd never been around a newborn baby. We were the first ones among our friends to have a child. We didn't have the luxury of baby monitors back then. That first night your mother was afraid to put you down."

"What if I do this wrong?"

"Katie, you're going to be fine," Jim assured his daughter. "You're not going to be doing this alone. Rick's an old pro at this. Look at Alexis and how great she turned out. It's okay to be scared."

At that exact moment, the door opened and Castle walked in with the baby carrier that doubled as a car seat for the time being. It clipped into a holder in the car, which made it easy to get the baby in and out. They'd both practiced the mechanics of the seat to make sure they both could operate it. "Are we ready to go?" He asked.

"We were just waiting on you," Kate smiled as her dad handed the baby back over to her.

"I'll come by and check on you in a day or two. Try to rest as much as you can," Jim kissed his daughter on the forehead before shaking Rick's hand. "Take care of our girls, Rick."

"I will," Castle smiled.

Kate's first test as a mom came when it was time to strap baby Ariel into her carrier. As she was adjusting the straps, Ariel woke and began to fuss. "I'm hurting her," Kate was instantly in tears.

"You're not hurting her," Castle was quick to assure her. "They don't like being put into these things, or at least Alexis didn't. But once we get her into the car, she'll settle in. Almost all babies love car rides." He reached into the side of the diaper bag and removed a pacifier. "For the first few months, this will be your new best friend."

He quickly put the nipple into Ari's mouth as the fussing stopped. "Castle, I suck at this," Kate couldn't help whining.

"Listen to me," he turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You don't suck at this. You're going to get the hang of all of this quicker than you think. Once upon a time, I thought that I sucked at this, too. Come on, let's take our daughter home."

When they got downstairs, the valet brought the car around to them as Kate took the carrier from her husband. She knew that she was going to have to learn how to take care of this small bundle of joy. After all, Castle would have book tours and other obligations where he wouldn't be home with them. She smiled triumphantly when the carrier snapped easily into the holder. "I'm going to ride back here with her," she told Castle.

"I expected nothing less," he smiled, closing the door before walking around to the driver's side and getting behind the wheel.

Just as Castle had predicted, Ariel liked riding in the car. She was once again asleep within minutes of them leaving the parking lot. Kate settled back against the seat, watching her small daughter as she slept, the pacifier falling out of her mouth onto her lap. "I still can't believe that we made a person, Castle," she smiled at him.

"How do you feel after pushing out said person?"

"Do you remember when I got the crap beat out of me by Maddox?"

"Yeah." How could he forget? That was the night they'd become a couple. That was the night that had led to where they were right now.

"That was a cakewalk compared to this," she grinned ruefully at him as he chuckled. "But, that's okay. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we created something so perfect. I can't believe how perfect she is, Castle. She's perfect and she's all ours."

When they arrived in the parking garage of the loft, Castle helped Kate from the car as she easily disconnected the car seat from its base. "If you've got her, I'll grab everything else."

"When did we accumulate so much stuff?" She asked him as he opened the trunk, removing her suitcase that she'd taken with her to the hospital, Ariel's diaper bag and one other bag containing items that she'd been given by the birthing center.

"Kate, get used to it. When you have a baby, you have to cart a lot of stuff with you. Come on, let's get you two home."

When they got upstairs, he put down her suitcase so that he could unlock the front door. Kate walked in, feeling like she'd been gone forever instead of for just one day. Alexis and Martha came running over to greet them. "Welcome home, kiddo," Martha hugged Kate as Alexis freed the carrier from her hands.

"Kate, can I take her out?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, but just be careful. She doesn't like being jostled a whole lot," Kate didn't know why she felt so anxious as she watched Alexis unbuckle Ariel from the carrier and carefully lift her out without a peep from the baby. "I'm sure she'll be waking up soon to nurse."

Why did she suddenly feel like one of those out of control moms? Why did she feel the sudden need to grab her newborn daughter from her half-sister and flee with her? 'Get a grip,' she mentally chastised herself. 'Alexis isn't going to hurt her.'

"Kate, you must be starved," Martha told her. "Lunch will be ready soon."

Kate sat on the edge of one of the chairs watching Alexis fuss over the baby. Her fingers were practically itching to hold her once again. As if on cue, she saw tiny arms and legs beginning to stretch out. Alexis smiled as she looked at Kate. "I have a feeling that she's going to want you pretty quick," the redhead carefully got up and walked over to Kate.

As Alexis placed the warm bundle in her arms, Kate could feel herself visibly relax. She smiled as sleepy, unfocused eyes opened and latched onto her. "Hi, sweetie. You're home now," Kate smiled as Castle came over and perched on the arm of the chair, watching them. "I'm going to go upstairs and give her lunch."

"Hold on, I'll give you a hand," Castle told her as his wife gingerly got up and made her way to the stairs. Taking her other arm, he helped her upstairs to the baby's room and over to the rocking chair that her father had brought over before her birth.

Kate watched while Castle propped some pillows in the chair to make sure that she was comfortable enough to nurse before kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be back down in a few minutes," she smiled up at him.

"Holler if you need anything."

"I will," she lowered the strap of the loose sundress that she was wearing, smiling when she felt Ariel rooting around for what she was seeking. Finally, her tiny lips found Kate's nipple and she began to nurse happily. Dr. Caldwell had been impressed with how quickly both she and Kate had caught on to the whole breastfeeding thing.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear that you'd done this before."

"No. The only thing that I've had on my boob lately has been Castle," Kate smiled.

"The most important thing to always remember Kate is to make sure that you're completely relaxed when you nurse. Because if you're tense, the baby will pick up on it."

'No, nursing doesn't make me nervous,' Kate thought to herself. 'It's everything else associated with being a mom that scares the shit out of me.'

After nursing and changing the baby, she put Ari in her crib and covered her with a light blanket, making sure that nothing could be pulled over her tiny face as she slept. After checking to make sure that the baby monitor was switched on, she took a deep breath before going back downstairs, where Martha had lunch ready. Kate was glad because she was starving. As she ate, she kept glancing toward the coffee table where one of the receivers for the baby monitor was sitting. Castle had made sure that there were receivers in various areas of the house, including his office, their bedroom, the living room and even the bathroom. "Are you sure that thing's on?" Kate asked him, her voice sounding slightly nervous.

"Kate, she's fine."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's not like she can call out for help," Kate was about to bolt from the table when Castle placed a hand on her arm. "Castle, I just need to check on her."

"She's going to make herself crazy," Castle put his head in his hands.

"Richard, you might not remember this, but that was you with her," Martha said, pointing toward Alexis. "She's a new mother. I think this is the part where you need to cut her some slack."

Castle nodded before getting up and going upstairs where he found Kate gazing down at their daughter in her crib. He walked over and gently circled his arms around her, kissing her shoulder. "She's going to be okay, Kate."

"I'm going to make her a nervous wreck. I just know it," she turned toward him with tears streaming down her face.

"No you're not. Mother just reminded me that I was the exact same way when Alexis was born. I just don't remember it because it was back in the Stone Ages. You just need to give yourself time to settle in. And you have to trust yourself. You're smart. You're extraordinary," he smiled at her. "You're going to figure out this whole motherhood thing."

"I love you," she kissed him.

"Why? Because I'm so smart?"

"No, because you helped me create something so perfect," she kissed him again before he pressed her against his chest and held her tightly.

"Kate, thank you for doing this with me. I think that parenthood is going to be so much better with someone to share it with."

"Always," she held him as they both watched their daughter sleep.

A/N #3: Some chapters will be longer, some will be shorter. I've been challenged to write 30 chapters. If there's anything anyone wants me to include in this journey, please let me know.

A/N #4: Not all chapters will put you in a sugar coma, I promise. Angst is my bread and butter. Light and fluffy is something of a challenge, so bear with me.

A/N #5: I apologize for the extreme overuse of the word 'perfect' in this chapter. It just fit with the theme.

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