An alarm blared at too-early-in-the-morning, Rick groaned and sat up. It appeared that too-early-in-the-morning was a quarter after six, and Kate wasn't very fond of the early hour either. She mumbled some incoherent words in her sleep and snuggled deeper into the fluffy mountain of pillows.

"Hey, Kate," he whispered softly.

Her eyes peeked open and she moved closer, choosing his body heat over the mound of pillows. She nestled against him, tucking her head beneath his chin. "Our babies are starting kindergarten today and it's terrifying."

"How did they get so big?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her back, his fingers dancing lazily down her spine.

Memories from the past few years flitted through his mind. First words and first steps. Birthday parties and bedtime stories. It was hard, the first year especially. The twins weren't too fussy, but between two of them, rest was rare in the earlier months. Despite the challenges, neither of them would change a thing, because for every sleepless night, there was an array of rewarding moments that followed.

"Do you remember when we brought them home from the hospital? That first night back?" Rick asked, his question evoking a smile from Kate.

"How could I forget?" she laughed against his shirt, then pulled back slightly to look up at him. "I don't think I've ever been more scared in my life. They were so small and entirely dependent on us. Plus, they'd been in the NICU for three weeks before we got to bring them here."

"You know what's funny?" Rick said.

Kate hummed in response.

"When we got that call saying that they were ready to come home I was so happy, it all felt kind of surreal. The babies were finally coming to the loft, that'd been all I wanted for those three weeks. Then we were there and it was terrifying. I was so worried that they weren't ready. I must've asked the nurses twenty times that day if they were sure the twins would be safe."

A smirk formed on Kate's lips. "I asked them the same thing, maybe that's why they were getting frustrated." In retrospect, perhaps her concern and constant nagging had been a little excessive and bothersome to the hospital staff, but at the time it seemed right. Plus, you could never really be too cautious.

Rick laughed. "I think you're right."

"I grabbed Maddie and you held Max, and we finally made it back to the loft with our little Valentine 's Day babies."

"Do you remember apologizing to me after your C section? You literally said you were sorry that we didn't get to go to the Hamptons."

Kate wrinkled her nose. "I did not."

"Did to. Your memories must have been altered," Rick said, eliciting a snort from Kate.

"You're kidding, right?"

Rick shrugged, "I don't know… Anyway, we're really lucky that the premature birth didn't result in too many problems with them."

"They're just a little small."

"I wouldn't want them any other way."

Kate smiled and slid up, kissing Rick firmly. "Nor would I."

"They're super smart… Cute too," Rick added with a grin. "Good genes?"

With an eye roll, she tapped his raised fist with her own.

Their attention was drawn by the sound of tiny footsteps carrying down the hall, a soft pitter-patter of small feet. Two pajama clad kids appeared in the door, wearing toothy grins. Kate was amazed by how similar they looked, despite being different genders. They shared light brown hair and sparkly hazel eyes. Madeline's hand unlinked with Max's as they hopped onto the bed and climbed over Rick, until both kids were snuggled between their parents.

Madeline burrowed against Kate and closed her eyes, sighing contently.

"Are you excited for today, baby bird?" Kate asked as she ran a hand over the girl's arm.

She sat up and nodded as a small smile bloomed across her face. "Alexis said that it's going to be a lot of fun."

"Did she?"

Madeline's head nodded vigorously as Max spoke up. "She also said that we get to have recess and go on the playground."

"No way," Kate said, flashing a smile to Rick and their kids.

"Yes way," the twins said, catching each other's eye and giggling in unison.

"Well, I think you two are going to have a wonderful first day," Rick said.

"Are you both coming to pick us up today?" Max asked.

"We are."

"After that we're getting ice cream!" Madeline said.

"And why's that?" Kate glanced at Rick, her eyebrows raised as he avoid her glance. This occurrence was all too familiar. She smirked, sometimes it felt like there were three kids in the loft.

"Yesterday, when we played laser tag I was on a team with Maddie, and Dad said that we'd get ice cream if we won."

"Which we did," Madeline said, resting an elbow on Max's shoulder, each of them wearing triumphant grins. They were competitive little beings already, a trait that neither parent could deny contributing. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it served as great motivation for them to reach milestones quickly. Whether it was a race to tie shoes or learn how to read, the twins were competing, but every night after their parents had tucked them in, Madeline and Max could be heard calling goodnight to each other. And arguments just didn't last longer than thirty minutes, because they always ended up missing the other. Most of the time, they were inseparable, and constantly teamed up on Rick when it came to games. Something Kate found incredibly amusing.

"When are you going to learn, Castle? The twin team is unstoppable."

"I won't stop until I win," he said as he reached over and tickled the kids, youthful laughter ringing through the room. He paused, dramatically contemplating his next move as Max and Madeline scrambled behind Kate, gasping for breath as they giggled.

Rick stood up and peeked under the bed, he rose and glanced at Kate. "Hmm, speaking of fore mentioned culinary masterpieces, I'm going to go start making my famous chocolate chip pancakes… but I don't have anyone to lick the batter off the spoon when I'm finished."

"Sounds like a major dilemma," Kate said, winking at Rick, "Maybe you'll have to do it yourself.''

"I'll help!" Madeline said as she wiggled from beneath the comforter and leapt off the bed.

Kate watched as her husband swooped up their daughter. The little girl giggled and kissed her dad's cheek. "I thought so… Little Chef and I will be back in a few."

As their figures retreated, Kate turned to Max.

"Do you want to help?" she asked and brushed some hair off his forehead.

He snuggled against her collarbone. "I do," he said, playing with her hair, "but I want you to come too."

That was her son, shy and sweet and caring. "I think I can do that… We need to make sure your dad and sister don't make too much of a mess, anyway."

Max laughed, his green eyes sparkling. "They're a little crazy."

"It's a good thing they have us, huh?" She asked as she stood up and offered her hand to Max. He gladly slipped his little fingers between hers.

"Yeah, but I like having them too."

Kate smiled. "So do I, peanut. So do I."

A/N: Did any one catch it? The beginning of this chapter was the same as the first one. It felt right, so I went for it. :)

Also, wow, I just want to say thank you to every single one of you who took time to read this story and leave reviews and click the follow and favorite button. You guys have been incredible and you make me so happy! I'll tell you a quick secret: This story was supposed to be a one shot. Then, I received some amazing responses and decided to continue- I'm so glad I did. This has been a wonderful journey, so thanks for sticking with me!

I hope you enjoyed this final chapter and epilogue of a sort. If there's interest, I'm planning on writing a series of one shots concerning Beckett and Castle with the twins. I'm really hoping to have that posted by next Monday, so keep an eye out for it. If anyone would like, I can send you a PM once I post it, just let me know in a message or review.

Thanks again and reviews are always appreciated!

-Quinn