Epilogue

2011

"You know, just out of curiosity," Rick says into the receiver, and Kate's immediately on high alert, "what do you think of the name Bo?"

She pauses. "For...?"

"Just in general."

There's something about the way he says it that leaves her to believe that there's a very specific reason behind the question.

"Well, it's a... fine name, I guess," she says slowly.

"Good, good."

"Is there something you know that I don't?" she asks with a laugh. "Because I mean, if I'm pregnant I'm pretty sure I should be in the loop."

"No," he says, "and I'm a bit insulted you think I'd suggest we name our child Bo."

"As thrilled as I am to hear that, if you're not planning baby names in the middle of the day then what are you doing?" There's a pointed silence. "Rick."

"Okay, new question." Kate shifts in her seat, looking around the bullpen to make sure nothing of substance has occurred in the past five minutes that she's missing. "Hypothetically speaking..."

Her brows shoot up at the beginning of his sentence. "Rick..."

"Hear me out," he tells her. "Hypothetically speaking, if you were to come home and there's another house guest here, how would you feel?"

"That's far too vague a question for me to answer." When there's no response, she sighs. "What other house guest? Is someone staying with us?"

Rick clears his throat. "In a manner of speaking, yes."

"What did you do?"

"I'll rephrase: if you were to come home and there's a furry house guest residing in our humble abode, how would you feel?"

She stills, eyes narrowing. "You didn't..."

"He's a golden retriever and his name is Bo," he rushes out, squeezing his eyes shut as he braces for whatever she has to say.

"You bought a dog?" she asks incredulously. "Shouldn't I, as the other adult member of the household, be included in these kinds of decisions?"

She and Eli have been living at the loft for a few months now, and though it's taken some getting used to it's been going pretty well. Eli's thrilled to have a bigger room that's not right next to hers, and she can't complain about sharing Rick's with him either.

"Adopted a dog," he corrects, "and yes, absolutely! See, I didn't have any intentions on getting a dog today. But I was walking to the coffee shop and our usual one was over-crowded for some reason, so I just skipped it and walked a few blocks to another one. And on the way I passed a pet shelter, and there were these adorable animals and I just wanted to go in to look at them, honest."

Kate laughs. "Of course. Go on."

"So I was watching them, and I saw Bo. He's adorable, Kate, really, and I was petting him through his cage and the woman at the counter said that he's been there since he was born and they were running low on space so if he wasn't adopted he'd be put down today." She sighs; she hates how over-crowded shelters are forced to euthanize animals in these kinds of situations. "I just looked at his little face and I couldn't leave him there. Everything happened so fast, I just wanted to get him out of there and I didn't even think to call. Are you upset?"

She blows out a breath. "No, I'm not," she says, a small smile on her face. "You're a sweet, sweet man and this is one of the many reasons I love you."

"Care to list the others?" he questions. She doesn't have to see him to know he's waggling his eyebrows.

"Maybe later," she teases. Esposito calls out, something about a lead in their case. "I gotta go. I'll see you later?"

Rick nods. "Be careful. Love you."

"Love you too. Don't let the puppy maul my son, please," she quips, then hangs up.

When Rick picks Eli up from school, he has a grin on his face.

"What?" Eli asks, brows raised. "Did you do something mom would disapprove of again?"

Rick laughs, tugging the boy into his side. "No, I did not." Well, technically he might have, but Kate now knows of Bo and isn't upset so he's sticking with no. "But there is a surprise waiting at the apartment."

"What kind of surprise?"

"The kind of surprise you'll love, so let's get a move on, kid," he teases, and a second later Eli's sprinting from his side and making a beeline for the car. "Okay, maybe not that fast!"

Eli laughs. "Come on, Rick, you can keep up!"

This kid has all the energy in the world.

"I'm old, take pity on me."

He gets an exaggerated eye roll from Eli in response.

"So, what's the—" The question dies on his tongue when Bo scampers out of the living room, slides across the hardwood, and barrels into Eli's legs. "A puppy?!"

Rick grins. "Eli, this is Bo."

Eli immediately drops to the floor, tossing his school bag off to the side. "He's so cute," the boy beams, hands trying to keep up with the squirming dog to pet him. Eli looks up at Rick. "Does mom know about this?"

"She does."

"And she's okay with us getting a dog?"

"She is," he says. Eli doesn't have to know that Kate hadn't been privy to the dog at first. "She's excited to meet him when she's off work. Which should be..." He glances down at his watch. "Sometime soon."

"Awesome," Eli says, leaning forward to envelop Bo in a hug. "You're so soft, buddy."

Rick laughs, pats Eli on the back as he moves around the pair and heads for the kitchen. Bo, eager to keep moving, follows him and runs back and forth near the island.

"How old is he?" Eli asks.

"A year, I think they said."

"Did you name him?"

He shakes his head. "No, it's the name they gave him at the shelter. He seems to answer to it, so I didn't want to confuse him." He opens the fridge. "You want a snack?"

Eli nods. "Yes, please. Do we have fruit snacks?" Rick moves to the cabinet, pulls out a box of Scooby-Doo fruit snacks and tosses a packet to him. "Thanks."

Rick makes quick work of making a sandwich for himself; he's been so busy picking up stuff Bo needs that he hasn't had the time to even think about eating. As he's putting away the bread and lunch meat, his sandwich finally prepared to perfection, Eli clears his throat.

"Uh, Rick?"

He turns. "Yeah?"

Eli twists in his chair, points to a spot on the floor near the staircase. "I don't think Bo gets the concept of outdoors yet."

Rick follows the boy's gaze and finds a wet spot on the floor. "Bo," he sighs, looking down at the puppy whose face is one of pure innocence. Of course. "We don't want Kate's first impression of you to be this, do we now?"

Bo remains completely unbothered, just wags his tail and looks up at them.

At least it's on the hardwood and not the carpet.

"Admit it, you love him."

Kate sighs from her spot in bed, Bo curled up on her lap. The little thing is just so damn cute, all puppy love and affection. The second she walked in the door he was all over her, not content until she bent down and pet him and let him lick her arm.

Watching Eli with him was adorable too, the boy so thrilled to have a pet. The joy on his face is enough.

"Okay, I might," she admits, fingers gently caressing the puppy's back as he sleeps. "He is very soft."

Rick leans over, rubs at Bo's head. "For a dog that's spent his first year of life in a shelter, he's incredibly loving."

"Dogs are like people, you know. They just want some attention."

"Why, Kate Beckett, are you a dog person?"

"I never said I wasn't a dog person."

"No, but you never mentioned having any pets growing up."

"Because I lived in the city, in an apartment that didn't allow pets," she says, leaning against the pillow. "Except fish and hamsters, but the fish died and the hamsters always got lost when I put them in their balls. I'd spend like an hour looking for them only to find them somehow wedged behind a recliner, stuck."

Rick laughs. "Okay, so I can cross fish and hamsters off of the list of potential household inhabitants."

Pointing her toes into the mattress, she stretches. "I think the apartment is full enough for now," she chuckles, letting her eyes fall closed.

There's a moment of silence.

"For now?"

She peels her eyes open, turns her head to face him. "Yeah, for now," she confirms, a soft smile on her face.

2013

"E, come on," Kate calls for her son. "We're gonna be late!"

Rick comes up behind her, arm wrapped around her waist. "We still have a few minutes," he says. "We'll be there with enough time to spare, I promise."

"Not if this kid doesn't put some pep in his step," she retorts, patting his hand before removing herself from his grip. "Eli James! This is your birthday present we're going to be late for!"

The boy in question trots down the steps moments later, baseball cap on his head and Yankees jersey adorned on his body. "I'm here, Mom, jeez," he drawls, jumping from the last step. "The game doesn't start for another hour anyway, why are we leaving so early?"

Kate just grins, steps forward to press a kiss to his head. "To avoid the rush," she says, meeting Rick's gaze. They share a knowing look, gone unnoticed by Eli. He moves to step around her but she pulls him in for a hug instead, crushing him to her chest.

"Mom," he chokes out. "Losing ability to breathe."

She laughs but relents, pulling away. With her hands braced on his shoulders, she takes him in. He doesn't look any older than he did last night, but he's thirteen now. He'll always be her baby, but he's not so little anymore.

"I can't believe you're a teenager," she says, squeezing his shoulders. "God, I'm old."

Eli rolls his eyes. "It's my birthday, Mom. Not yours."

"I know, but every year older you are means another year added on for me too, kiddo," she chuckles, releasing her grip.

Rick laughs. "You're still young, don't worry," he says, kissing her forehead.

"Well yeah, everyone's young compared to you," she teases. In reality he's only a few years older than her, but it's still fun to tease him about it. She'll be 33 this year and he's turning 40, so naturally she has to bust him about the new milestone.

"Ouch." He slaps a palm to his chest, face twisted as he feigns hurt. "I'm offended, and we really will be late if you don't stop insulting me."

"Whenever you guys are done being gross..." Eli's voice breaks them from their back and forth, and they look to find the boy already standing by the door, hand on his hip, brows raised expectantly. "Does Bo have enough food and water?"

Rick nods. "Yup, all checked. I took him for a walk before too; there are doggie pads set up, though. He'll be fine until we're back." The dog in question emerges from behind the couch at the sound of his name. He runs circles around Rick's legs, wags his tail in a plea to be pet. He laughs, bends down to scratch between his ears before stretching back up. "You can't come with us, bud."

Kate laughs, playfully shoving Rick away from her as she dodges the dog to grab her bag. Their tickets are in there, so forgetting that would be pretty unfortunate. Rick plucks his cap from the counter and hands Kate hers, smiling when she puts it onto her head backwards.

"I'll fix it when we get in the car," she mutters at his grin.

He shakes his head. "I don't know, I like the backwards cap look. Very badass."

"And here I thought being a homicide detective was badass enough for you," she huffs jokingly. Before he has a chance to toss back a reply, she throws her hand over his mouth. On a whisper, she adds, "Later. Let's get my kid to his birthday surprise."

They show their tickets and get into the stadium, and Rick leads them away from the main entrance.

"Shouldn't be be going to our seats?" Eli asks, trailing between both adults.

Kate nods. "We are."

"But... they're that way," he says, pointing behind them and to each possible opening for seats they pass. "Or that way. Or that way. Or that way—"

"Those aren't our seats," Rick laughs, pausing for a moment. He takes out his phone and calls someone, to which Eli merely looks confused, tells them they'll be waiting and hangs up. "We have to wait here, and then someone's going to take us to our seats."

Eli shakes his head. "This doesn't make any sense."

Kate laughs, pulls him against her side and squeezes his shoulder. "It will, E. It will."

They're only waiting for about ten minutes before Rick's tapped on the shoulder. Eli and Kate ran off to the bathroom a few minutes ago, and Rick can only imagine the boy's reaction when he walks back over to find Derek Jeter standing beside him.

"Thanks again for making this happen," Rick says while he has the opportunity. "He's going to freak out."

Derek nods. "We're all happy to help. Always nice to surprise a fan," he says. "Besides, thirteen is a big year."

"It really is."

He doesn't get much chance to say anything else before he spots the mother-son duo returning; Kate's smiling as she locks eyes with him, but Eli hasn't looked up yet. When he does, it takes a few seconds for him to register who's standing next to Rick, but then he stops in his tracks.

"Mom..."

Kate chuckles, tugs on his arm. "Come on."

"You must be Eli," Derek says once they've walked up, holding out his hand. "Happy birthday!"

Eli beams. "I—yes. I'm Eli. Thank you. You're... Derek Jeter."

Kate bites back her grin; her son meeting Derek Jeter reminds her so much of when she met Joe Torre. Geeking out, introducing herself with her name completely out of order, barely concealing her squeals. Though, she has to hand it to Eli—he's handling it a little better than she did. Not by much, she can still see his eyes about to pop out of their sockets, but some.

The baseball player laughs. "On my better days."

"You're amazing. I'm a huge fan. You know, of the team. And you! Of everyone," Eli rushes out, then looks desperately between Kate and Rick. "What's going on?"

"Well, thirteen is a big year. We wanted a big surprise," Kate says. "We passed all of those entrances because that's not where we're watching the game from."

Eli's eyes dart between the three adults. "Okay..."

"You'll be sitting in the dugout, kid," Rick tells him finally, and Eli's eyes widen even further, his mouth dropping open. "Good surprise?"

He gives an aggressive nod. "The best." He moves forward, wraps his arms around his mother and Rick. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Looking up at one of his favorite players, he grins. "Thank you."

Derek leads them back out to the dugout, and Eli bounces on his toes the entire time.

As he stands, watching the game from the best possible place he could imagine, he can't keep the splitting grin from his face. Kate and Rick watch on, both alternating between keeping an eye on the actual game and on Eli's reactions, the pure joy radiating from his body.

When he gets to meet the team after the game, shake hands with each of them as they give him a pat on the back and wish him a happy birthday, Kate's pretty sure he doesn't even care that they lost.

"Best. Game. Ever."

Kate smiles at her son as they pile into the backseat. "Happy birthday, baby. I'm so glad you loved it."

"Thank you so much," he says, clutching the glove the entire team had signed for him in his lap. "This is getting framed."

"I'm not sure it'll fit into a frame," Rick laughs, "but we can get a glass display box for it."

Eli nods. "Okay. Whatever keeps it safe."

The drive back is filled with more excited chatter, Eli's recounting of the game and his interactions with the Yankees. Neither adult mentions that they were there, too, that they witnessed everything he's saying. He's far too excited to even care, and they're over the moon at how well their surprise has panned out.

"You two tired?" Rick asks, turning around in the driver's seat.

The boy shrugs. "Not really. Kind of hungry, though."

"You had three hot dogs," Kate laughs. "I have no idea how you manage to eat like you do. Where does it all go?"

"Right here," Eli says, rubbing at his stomach dramatically. "It's a very happy stomach, Mom. And very hungry. It needs food."

She rolls her eyes. Ah, to have the metabolism of a thirteen year old boy; it'd be lovely.

"What do you feel like?" Rick asks, waiting at a light. "We could get something quick and eat it in the park, if you want."

Kate nods. "Quick sounds nice. Not having to cook right now sounds very nice." She may not be all that tired, but she's not in the mood to have to go buy ingredients and have either of them cook a meal.

"Can we get McDonalds?" Eli asks, giving her the best doe eyed look he can muster. "Please, Mom, it's my birthday."

She huffs. "All right, let's go."

Rick grins at her in the rear view window, and she catches his wink to Eli. Such an enabler.

They get their McDonalds and take it to eat in the park, settling on one of the tables with their bags. It's been a while since she's had it; she's no stranger to takeout, but it's generally of the Chinese or Italian variety.

Eli scarfs down his burger and fries with alarming speed, and she has to remind him a few times to chew his food before he chokes.

"What are you in such a rush for?" she asks, popping a fry into her mouth.

He gestures to her bag. "Can I see it?"

Grabbing it from the bench beside her, she hoists it above the table to avoid knocking into anyone's food and hands it over. She watches curiously as he rifles through it, and she's about to ask what he's looking for when he pulls out a baseball.

Her mouth opens. "When did you put that in there?"

"This morning. Just in case." He looks to Rick. "Want to?"

The man in question nods and begins to shovel his food into his mouth quickly to finish it off. Kate merely rolls her eyes.

"You're just as bad as he is," she says, earning a lopsided grin from Rick. "You're a terrible example."

He leans over the table, unaffected, and presses a kiss to her lips. "And yet you still chose me," he reminds, grinning as he pushes away from the table and stands, gestures for Eli to follow.

They throw the baseball back and forth for about fifteen minutes before Eli calls for her. "Come on!"

"Yeah, Kate, join the fun," Rick adds, tossing the ball in her direction. He's lucky she has quick reflexes, otherwise that would've taken an eye out.

Standing, she brushes the dirt from her jeans and moves towards her two boys. It starts off as a simple, nice game of throwing the ball to one another, each left on edge and on alert in case the ball heads their way.

At some point Rick sneaks up on her, comes from behind and wraps his arms around her waist. She squeals as she's lifted from the ground, dragged backwards a few feet.

"Rick," she huffs, "what are you doing?"

"I'm carrying you, obviously."

"You can put me down now," she tells him, wriggling in an attempt to make it more difficult for him to carry her. It doesn't stop him, however. "Carrying is illegal."

He laughs. "That's basketball."

He does put her down, though, and she steadies herself. Turning, she gives a playful shove against his chest. "What was that for?"

Rick merely shrugs. "'Cause I could. You're light, you know."

"Good to know," she deadpans. She motions for Eli to throw her the ball, and she tosses it quickly to Rick, who's caught off guard and misses. "Gotta stay on your toes, Rick."

He makes eye contact with Eli this time, shares a silent conversation with the boy. Kate watches her son nod, grin, and she squints. Before she knows it, she's off the ground again, but this time as Rick holds her up, Eli's joined in the front, tickles at her sides until she's gasping for air.

"I'll... let you off the hook... because it's your birthday," she manages between laughs. Eli stands before her, blinking with an innocent smile on his face. "But tomorrow, you better watch your back, kid."

She takes their momentary distraction to her advantage and turns, jumps on Rick to tackle him to the ground. Eli follows suit, piles onto his mother's back until they've buried Rick beneath their bodies, the only thing floating through the air the sounds of laughter.

2014

Rick can't stop staring at the small bundle in his arms, wrapped in a pale pink blanket, the tiniest pink beanie covering a head of wispy baby hairs. He should put her down, lay her in the bassinet the nurse had rolled her into the room with, but he doesn't want to. He's too in awe.

His eyes trail a few feet to the left, watches with a soft smile as Kate finally gets some much deserved sleep. He's dimmed the light for her, and the soft glow that's left radiates off of her skin.

The baby wriggles in his arms, makes a small whimpering sound before quieting down again.

"You're beautiful, you know that," he whispers, brushing his thumb against the skin of her cheek. So soft. "Just like your mommy. I bet you'll be just as much of a spitfire, huh?"

He hears an amused grunt and turns to find Kate watching him with tired eyes, lids hooded. "She'll probably be a big kid, just like you," she murmurs.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Kate hums. "Never. Now bring her over here."

She shifts in the bed, makes room for him to sit on one side. He settles in as gently as he can, doesn't want to bump into Kate or jostle their daughter. She's still asleep, face peacefully slack, her little lips pursing as she breathes.

"We did good, Kate," he breathes, turning to press a kiss to her temple.

She smiles, reaching up to wrap her fingers around their little one's. Ten little fingers and ten little toes, so impossibly tiny he thinks she might break with the slightest of movements.

"Really good," she echoes, staring at their bundle before lifting her eyes to his. "She'll have your bright blue eyes, I can feel it."

"She has your nose though. Adorable," he says, one hand coming down to find hers as he interlocks their fingers. "And that grimace? Oh yeah, all you."

Kate huffs. "She's a few hours old, Rick. She didn't grimace."

"She absolutely did. A quick learner, this one."

Chuckling, she lets herself rest back against the pillow, eyes drifting closed for a few seconds at a time. Rick continues to watch on, looking between the two most important ladies in his life. Barring his mother, of course, who's been wonderful in joining with Jim to keep Eli company tonight. The boy wanted to stay at the hospital with them, but he still has school tomorrow and being awake until the wee hours of the morning will do him no good.

"Thank you, Kate." Her head cocks to the side, her eyes opening to find his. He locks her gaze for a moment before glancing down at his daughter. Their daughter. He has a daughter. Wow. "For this. She's so—she's perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Thank you for giving me this gift."

A soft, knowing smile curls at her lips. "You did have some part in this," she reminds with a small laugh.

"I know, but... I remember telling you, back when we first met and I told you I didn't have children, that I was glad kids never happened with Meredith. I would have loved my kids regardless, of course, but I knew I would know when it was with the right person, when it was something so special." He pauses, squeezes her fingers between his. "This is it. This is the special I was waiting for—for you, for Eli, for..." His eyes fall to their little girl. "For her. She was worth waiting for."

"I love you." Kate pushes herself up, covers his mouth with hers. "And thank you, too. For everything."

They spend an indeterminate amount of time staring at their daughter before Rick finally lowers her back into the bassinet, and he manages to coax Kate into going back to sleep with a promise that he'll be right beside her.

2016

"If you push my son into the pool with his clothes on again at least make sure his pockets are empty this time," she yells across the house, setting Abby down to toddle around in the living room.

She hears Rick grumble, "I apologized for that."

They were at the Hamptons house a few months ago and Rick shoved Eli into the pool, but not before her son had emptied his pockets, thus resulting in one very water-logged phone. Rice didn't do the trick, and they had to buy a new one.

"I'm prepared this time, Mom," Eli promises, emerging from the other room to wave his phone around. Standing next to him now, she realizes how tall her boy's getting. He's sixteen and she'd make a bet that within a few months, she'll be looking up to him. "Out of the pockets, but I'll be getting Rick before he gets me."

"Won't happen," Rick chimes in. "I have reflexes like a cat."

Kate scoffs. "An injured cat, maybe." His face falls, mock offense settling over his features, and she laughs. Pushing up on her tiptoes, she brushes a hand across his cheek and dusts a kiss to his lips as she slides past him. "People still love injured cats, don't worry."

She moves into the kitchen to put away the groceries they've just bought; it's been a bit sparse since they don't come up here as often as any of them would like to, but now it should be fully stocked for a while.

Eli disappears upstairs with his bags and when she glides back into the living room, Rick is sitting on the floor with Abby. She leans against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest, a loving smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

"Where'd the penguin go?" he asks, eyes wide; she can see the stuffed penguin, aptly named Tuxedo, behind his back.

Abby leans to the side, peering behind him, her little face splitting into a grin as she points. "'xedo!"

Rick gasps, pulling the penguin back into his lap. "Here he is! So smart, Peanut," he praises, handing their daughter's favorite stuffed animal over to her. She reaches out with her small fists and grabs him, crushing the plush animal to her chest.

Abby's a ball of energy, as smart as her mother and mischievous as her father. He'll admit it, too; when they find her reaching, to no avail, for the cookie jar, her attempts to climb the cupboards with her little legs. She doesn't get far, but she has it all thought out.

The little girl catches sight of her mother and grins, pushes herself from her seated position and makes a beeline in her direction. Kate smiles, bends to catch her.

"Hi, Trouble," she greets, peppering kisses to each cheek, reveling in the light giggle it gets her. "You're outsmarting daddy, aren't you?"

Abby nods. "Daddy silly."

Rick huffs, but Kate just looks over at him, grins. "He is very silly."

When she looks down, she just takes a moment to stare at their little girl. As she hoped, she has Rick's piercing blue eyes; they're enough to disarm anyone, so bright and innocent, so inquisitive. She has Kate's hair, light brown strands falling to her shoulders in unruly waves, an adorable set of bangs to top it off.

Bouncing Abby on her hip, she looks over to him. "So, what's first on the agenda?"

Rick gives a dramatic groan as he stands up. "Hmm. Beach? And then maybe she'll be worn out enough for a nap before dinner."

"No nap," Abby insists, hiding her face in Kate's neck.

She'll forget they even mentioned a nap in about twenty minutes, and so Kate nods. "I'll get her ready, you go tell Eli."

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them head down to the beach. Abby's adorned in her new swimsuit, black and red with a ladybug on the front, and she takes off running for the ocean before Eli swoops in and grabs her before she can get too far.

Abby squirms in his arms, but he just continues to carry her. "Can't run into the ocean, Abs. You'll get swept away and we'll never see you again."

"Eli," Kate sighs.

He shrugs. "What? The current would take her out to sea, and if she's too scared she won't run out again."

Taking the now eerily quiet little girl from her brother, Rick shakes her in his arms before tossing her up. That gets a laugh. "We wouldn't let you get swept away, would we, Peanut? But Eli's right—no running into the ocean. Capisce?"

"'Pisce," she echoes.

Rick wanders a few feet away with Abby, sets her down and holds one of her hands to walk along the sand. Eli helps Kate put all of their stuff down, laying out a few of their towels.

"We don't want her to be terrified of the ocean, E," Kate tells her son, taking a bottle of sunscreen from him.

"We don't want her barreling into the water every chance she gets, either," he says, pulling his t-shirt off and tossing it onto his towel. "Besides, you told me that there were monsters who lived in our hallway that would eat small children after dark. How's that for terrified."

Kate laughs, gives a slow nod. "That's... fair. But as soon as you were tall enough to reach the doorknob, you were fascinated. I'd turn around and you'd be gone, door open, and I'd have to go running through the hallway after my four year old."

Eli snorts. "You could have locked the door, Mom."

She gives him an incredulous look, raises a brow. "I did, kid. You were smart. Found things around the house to use as a stick and flipped the lock." His eyes widen; clearly he doesn't remember that. "Telling you that you'd be eaten if you stepped foot into the hallway was the only thing that got you to stop."

"I'm impressed," Eli says, and she rolls her eyes. "Four year old me was more innovative than I'd imagined."

"Yeah, such an innovator," she deadpans. "You gave me so many heart attacks."

"Sorry 'bout that."

She wraps an arm around his shoulder, tugs him into her side. "Apology accepted. You turned out all right."

Eli laughs. "And so will Abby. I'm not afraid of hallways, and she'll be fine with the water."

Kate just shakes her head in amusement and sheds the t-shirt covering her bikini top. She leaves the shorts on, figures she'll take them off later if she decides to go in the water or get a tan.

"Let's go join them," she says, nodding towards Rick and Abby. When they reach the duo, she puts a hand on her hip. "What are you two doing?"

"Making a sandcastle."

"I think sandcastles usually require water to make the sand wet," she laughs, watching as Abby tries to pile dry sand. It's not working, but she seems undeterred.

Rick looks up. "I couldn't leave her sitting here by herself to go put some in buckets."

Eli volunteers to grab some and goes off to fill a few buckets worth of water. With wet sand, Abby's sandcastle comes together nicely; it's a few lumps of sand packed together, and a thin strip of sand connecting them. It doesn't look much like a sandcastle at all, really, but she's proud of it and the three of them smile when she claps for herself.

"Castle!" she beams.

"That's right, sweetie, you made a sandcastle," Kate grins, brushing a hand down Abby's arm. "You did such a good job."

Rick and Eli take off for a while, decide to throw a football across the beach while Kate stays with Abby, bringing her to the edge of the water. She holds both of her small hands in hers as she towers behind her, lets her wet her feet and walk in up to her knees. It's no more than a few inches deep, seeing as Abby is so tiny, but the little girl squeals with delight at the gentle rush of a small wave.

She's just about to take another step when Kate feels something ice cold splash against her back. She gasps, whips around to find her boys standing there, each with now-empty buckets in their hands, guilty but pleased grins on their faces.

Her lips twist to the side as she picks Abby up and settles her on her waist.

"Oh, it's on."

"'s on!" Abby echoes.

Kate reaches down and does her best to kick the water up in their direction, but they're too far away to do any real damage. She can, however, pick up the damp sand and throw that at them with pretty decent accuracy. They both yell when the sand slaps against their chests, and they run past her to refill their buckets.

She manages to steal the bucket from Rick, and she dumps water on his head just as Eli gets her. Rick wraps his arms around her and Abby, holds them still so his partner can inflict maximum water damage, and then Kate frees herself.

Abby's passed off to Rick so Kate can get revenge on Eli, and they spend the next forty-five minutes having a water fight with the occasional sand snowball being tossed.

Kate's laughter mixes with Rick's yells of victory, Eli's promises for payback, and Abby's infectious giggles. Looking at the family surrounding her, she feels her heart expand with so much love, joy.

It's hard to believe it's been eight years since she opened the door to find an apprehensive Richard Castle standing beside her well-intentioned, guilt-ridden son. There have been many ups and just as many downs, but she wouldn't change a single thing.

One day, she thinks she'll thank Eli for breaking the rules that day.

A/N: This is so much longer than I'd anticipated, but I hope it meets any expectations you may have had for this epilogue.

I've had such a fun ride with this one, and I cannot thank you all enough for going on this journey with me. Your sweet comments with each chapter have kept me going. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this little story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Until next time, folks.