Scenic Route

A 7x23 insert fic - hope you enjoy!

"Okay, you can open your eyes." Kate's voice piped up from the driver's seat as the car rolled to a halt, glancing over at her husband as he removed the velvet piece of fabric that was covering his vision from his head and set it on the dashboard.

Rick blinked several times to adjust to the light, the sun and blue sky beaming down onto the healthy green grass.

"The park? Why are we here?" He asked, but his wife only smiled, her tongue poking out from between her teeth.

"Come on." She replied simply, opening her car door grasping the handles of a brown paper bag that was placed in the backseat before stepping out, Castle hurriedly doing the same.

Once they reunited by the side of her cruiser, she laced her free fingers through his as she urged him along the grass. He pursed his lips in slight confusion at the show of attraction, but definitely didn't complain as they strode together, both of them silent as they listened to the background noise surrounding them: the birds singing from the looming trees above, the distant laughter of children playing with their parents in the field, the tinkling tunes of buskers playing their instruments.

Moments later, they were in front of the swings, which thankfully were empty.

She regretfully disconnected her palm from his as she walked over to sit down on the swing seat, waiting for Rick to do the same. They both thought back to the previous time they were here, the proposal lingering in both of their minds as they looked at each other with twin grins.

"Castle, I'm really proud of you for getting your career achievement award, so I wanted to give you a present before the ceremony tonight." She explained with a smile, delighted as his eyes widened with glee when she pulled a plain white box from the bag.

Kate handed her husband the box, chuckling as he shook it, reminding her of an excited child on Christmas Day. Finally, he opened the lid and set it down to the grass at his feet. Inside was a grey knitted elephant, complete with white tusks.

Rick gasped elatedly, "He's so cute!" He slowly ran his thumb over the elephant's protruding right ear, "I'll find a place for him on my desk, he'll be my little writing mascot!"

Beckett grinned at his response, but seemed slightly anxious, "Yeah, but-"

"What should I name him? Dumbo? No, too cliché…" He spoke quickly.

"Babe-"

"Or Babar. Or Heffalump! Alexis used to love them in Winnie the Pooh when she was a kid, she'd plod around her room pretending to-"

"Castle!" Kate exclaimed, finally getting his attention as his head whipped upwards.

"What?"

"As glad as I am that you like the toy, I think you might like what's on the back more." She said quietly, her fingers distractedly picking at a thread on her leather jacket sleeve.

With a furrowed brow, Castle gently wrapped his hand around the animal and lifted it, treating the gift like it was made of glass instead of yarn. He tipped the elephant on its side to reveal a small strip of white plastic attached, a surprised gasp falling from his mouth.

"Wha-" He brought the pregnancy test closer to him, squinting at the panel of pink lines to confirm his suspicion. Kate rolled her water-brimmed eyes, planning to tease him about why on Earth she would give a negative pregnancy test as a present.

The words disappeared as her husband's gaze finally met hers, the blue in his eyes seeming crystal clear through the tears of happiness. His eyebrows raised slightly in question, making Kate nod with a giggle as his surprised face instantly grew a large grin.

He stumbled down from the swing, shuffling on his knees on the grass until he was perched in front of her, in an all too similar position that brought back memories of two years ago.

"Oh, Kate." He whispered, gently placing the elephant on the grass before bringing a hand to each side of her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as tears began to fall. He leaned forward, capturing her lips in a chaste kiss as they chuckled into each other's mouths.

They soon parted, but kept their foreheads touching, opening their eyes at the same time.

"A baby." Rick whispered, still in awe, his hands shaking slightly as they meandered down his wife's arms, finally finding her stomach, rubbing small circles.

"Our baby." She replied in an equally quiet voice, placing her slender fingers over his, interlacing them as they kissed again.

Kate was first to pull away, a mischievous smile gracing her lips, "Come on, Daddy. We have about two hours to aptly celebrate before the award show."

Without another word, Castle sprung to his feet, whisking his partner up into his arms, carrying her as he hurried to the car, their laughter ringing through the air.

Okay, so I know this isn't going to happen but I just needed to write some fluff to celebrate the season eight renewal, because it means that Caskett can make babies ;D

Lou xo