Puppy Love

It was wrong, he knew it was wrong. He even started to turn back a couple of times but Jake and Reece looked so cute in the little police costumes Alexis had picked up for them, and, well, they had all fallen in love with Charlie. After all, what was a little blatant manipulation when it was for such a cute cause?

Anna, Kate's assistant beamed at them as they rounded the corner into the freshly painted New York office of Senator Katherine Beckett. The young woman had been one of the first volunteers through the door and an essential asset in gaining the college vote for the election. Hell she had been the one to drive Kate to the hospital when her water broke minutes after the end of the first town hall meeting, and therefore had been taken in as part of the family. One of their ducklings as Castle had affectionately named the seemingly never ending parade of twenty-somethings inhabiting the loft. Between Alexis and her friends, and the campaign volunteers and interns, the piece of prime Manhattan real-estate might as well moonlight as a boarding house.

"Oh, is this Charlie?" Anna cooed as the pack of Castle men ambled in, the tiny German Shepard pup at their side, dressed in a makeshift NYPD harness. Charlie let out a sharp yip ears standing at attention, tongue lolling, and Castle practically watched Anna melt in her seat. "He is so cute! How could anyone say no to this handsome trio?"

Jake beamed, chest puffing out in toddler pride, and Reece's cheeks blushed pink as he turned his head to hide in Castle's leg as Anna rounded the desk to kneel down in front of them, scratching Charlie between his fuzzy, over-sized, perked ears.

"Hi Anna," Castle smiled at the young woman. "Is she free?"

"Just finishing up a phone call," Anna replied, straightening up and returning to her desk to press the intercom button. "Ma'am, there is a handsome trio of men here to see you if you have a moment."

"Anna, how many times do I need to tell you not to call me ma'am?" Kate's voice filtered into the room through the phone line and Anna grinned. "At least one more. Can I send them in."

"Sure, why not, I need to keep my husband on his toes, all these good looking gents hanging around."

"Very funny," Castle voice loud enough to carry through the intercom and the line clicked off amid Kate's chuckle.

"You guys remember what we practiced?" Castle asked, crouching down in front of his sons, straightening the tiny brass badges pinned to the front of their uniforms.

Jake and Reece nodded in tandem and Castle leaned forward to press a kiss to both their foreheads. "Charlie, bud?" Castle turned to the puppy, and Charlie pranced in his spot, darting up on energetic paws to lick Castle straight on the lips. "Okay perfect, now go woo Mommy."

Castle hung back just out of sight and twisted the knob, allowing the door to swing open on it's own as the boys and pup wandered into the room.

"Mommy! Look, we're po-wice off-sirs!" Jake proclaimed proudly as he and Reece entered the room. "An' this is Char-we our K9 u-nwit."

"We can keep 'im, right Mommy?" Reece's soft tone spoke up, barely audible following his brother's excited announcement. Castle broke into a grin, imagining the head tilt and puppy dog eyes they had practiced for twenty minutes before leaving the loft. They had won him over and he wasn't even the target.

Kate's reply was muffled, and Castle poked his head around the corner to see her sitting on the floor, power heels and jacket flung off to the side, one boy on each side facing her, every inch of her face being covered in puppy kisses. She looked up, catching his eye, and eased Charlie down with a belly scratch.

"Well played, Mr. Castle. Well played."

A/N: Based on the photo prompt on Twitter from Kristen (Concreteangel16). Short and sweet but I hope I did it justice. :)