Anonymous asked: Hiiii :) II was wondering if you could bless us with another Pictures of us verse fic? Little Samara meeting her new baby brother?

A Brother

A Pictures of Us Story

Takes place after A Secret

Richard Castle is a man on a mission.

The door swings wildly under his enthusiastic hand, but he manages to catch it before it hits the bubbly woman in Winnie the Pooh scrubs. Janine laughs away his apology with the same patience she's given them the entire time they've been here, patting his shoulder.

"I was about to check on them," she says. "Does Kate need anything?"

Rick shakes his head, his grin stretching his cheeks. He's giddy, he knows it. Even as exhaustion lurks, threatening to overwhelm him, he vibrates with joy. "She asked me to let everyone know, so I'm on my way to do that. Can I bring people back with me?"

The nurse smiles. "Sure, Rick. Though, maybe not the entire army you have out there. At least not all at once. Okay?"

Exuberance builds in his chest once again. "Kay. I think we can manage that. They may have to RoShamBo for it, but I think we can manage."

Janine laughs, shaking her head. "Good luck with that."

Oh, he'll need it, he knows. Frankly, it's surprising that Lanie and the boys haven't tried to sneak back more than once already. He can only guess that the nurse at the desk has kept a handle on things, perhaps tasking his mother and Kate's father with holding down the fort.

Regardless of who's been in charge, as soon as he steps beyond the threshold of the restricted area, an entire section of the waiting room jumps to their feet, turning expectant eyes on him.

His mother is first to speak. "Well, Richard?"

Joy splits his face wide open. "Six pounds, ten ounces, eighteen inches long. Both Kate and baby are doing just fine."

Their little corner of the room erupts into cheers, and he finds himself surrounded, receiving bear hugs and hearty slaps on the back as his family fires off questions at a speed that's next to impossible to keep up with as tired as he is.

Holding his wife's hand through over twenty-eight hours of labor does that to a man.

After a moment, his focus shifts from the crowd of well-wishers to the dark head cuddled against Alexis's chest. Samara had been settled at the table with a coloring book when he stepped out; she must have gone to her sister in the melee.

"Hey, baby girl," he murmurs, cupping the back of Samara's head with a gentle hand. "I missed you today."

One piercing blue eyes peeks out from his eldest's sweater. "Daddy, hi."

"Hi," he repeats, slipping his hands under his youngest daughter's armpits and lifting her into his embrace. Still a tiny slip of a girl, she comes to him easily, little fingers curling in his collar. "How would you and Alexis like to be the first ones to meet your baby brother?"

Rick looks to Kate's father to be sure it's okay that he's third in line to meet the new baby, but Jim Beckett simply nods, his eyes bright with happiness.

"I'll follow your lead, Rick."

He nods, draping his arm around Alexis. "Come back with us. We'll need to take turns going into the room, but everybody come back with us."

It's not what the nurse said to do, but he can't leave everyone behind; every last person in this room is family, and he wants to share this with them.

They nod, sharing eager, pleased grins before grabbing their things to follow him back to Kate's room. He has to hide a giddy smile in Samara's hair, whispering his love to her before turning to tell Alexis the same.

His daughter offers an indulgent smile at his sentimentality. "I love you, too, Dad. Now let me see my brother."

Samara's head lifts at the word, her eyes widening. "Daddy? Mommy has my baby now?"

Rick grins, bouncing her. Since the day he spilled the secret, their little girl has claimed ownership of her younger sibling, announcing to anyone who would listen that her mommy had her baby in her tummy. "Uh huh. That's who we're going to see."

Her mouth drops open, little lips forming an 'o' as her hands flatten on his chest, pressing insistently, urging him to move faster.

Kate offers them a broad smile the second the door opens, slipping a hand from underneath the bundle in her arms to beckon them inside. The others hang back, giving the them some privacy, but Samara practically lunges out of his arms, eager to reach her mother.

"Hey guys," Kate hums, nodding for him to set their daughter down at her hip. Her fingers brush the shell of Samara's ear, encouraging her to ease closer.

"Hi, Mommy," Samara breathes, squirming close enough to press her cheek to Kate's arm. "S'my baby?"

Beside him, Alexis laughs. "She's been asking the entire time we've been here, Kate."

Affection floods Beckett's face. Samara has come a long way, but there are still times when she pulls in on herself. They had worried this would be one of those times. "You have, huh? Have you been talking your sister's ear off?"

Samara's giggle is answer enough.

Kate drops a kiss against her hair. "This is Simon," she announces, turning her attention to the baby sleeping in the crook of her arm. "Simon Alexander Castle, meet Alexis and Samara, your sisters."

Samara exhales, touching the blanket with a tentative hand. "Hi."

Simon's tiny fingers flex at her greeting, and though he doesn't wake, it's enough acknowledgement for the three-year-old. The little girl beams, scooting as close as she possibly can, eager to get a better look at her baby brother.

"He's beautiful," Alexis murmurs, lifting soft eyes to meet Rick's. For a moment, she looks like a little girl and he slips his arm around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She may be an adult now, but she's always going to be his firstborn.

"Thanks, pumpkin."

Kate echoes his words, sharing a smile with Alexis before her eyes slide back to Samara.

"What do you think, sweet girl? Do you like Simon?"

Samara's lips purse, her dark head tilting in thought. "He's squishy, Mama."

Amusement bursts from Kate's lips, covering up Rick's own chuckle. "He is a little bit squished for now, you're right. But he just looks like Daddy in the mornings."

"Hey," he says, grinning in spite of the protest when Samara belly laughs. Just three years old and already teaming with Beckett to gang up on him.

The baby stirs, stretching against the confines of his blanket only to settle deeper into Kate's arms. Samara does the same, squirming to get closer to both her brother and her mother, breathing something only his wife manages to catch. Kate ducks her head, whispering an assurance into Samara's hair before helping the girl slip her thin arms underneath the baby to hold him.

Exaltation wells in his chest, clogging his throat and stinging his eyes. God he loves them. All of them.

"Rick," Beckett wife calls, pulling him back to the present, to the picture they make. "Let everyone else in, then come sit with us."

Right. Everyone else is here, too.

Swiping under his eyes and stealing a kiss from her mouth, he nods. "Brace yourself, the masses are getting restless."

Kate smiles against his lips, bumping her forehead against his. "Lanie?"

He nods, thumbing the curve of her jaw. "Mother and your dad, Ryan and 'Sito, too."

Her smile twitches, but she doesn't laugh. "Let them in, put them out of their misery."

"Done," he says, brushing a hand over Samara's hair. The little girl barely acknowledges him, intent as she is on her brother. "They may have to fight Samara, though."

Alexis laughs from the other side of the bed, stroking her baby brother's forehead with a gentle finger. "And me."

Samara looks up. "S'my baby, Wexis. But m'gonna share wif you."

Rick can only grin on his way to open the door to the rest of their family.