I really liked the Life series. It's amazing how every story brings new information that perfectly complement the main story. Thank you

Aw, this was so beautiful. It was an answer to a lot of stuff we had just wondered how it could have happened, and I loved to see it firsthand. I really liked how you included the very first moments of Ellery's life, just like the first moments they finally figured out Dash. It's funny how Dash is a Halloween baby and Ella was born at Christmas. The Castles have their hands full during the holidays ;)

The very best part of all this was probably Kate, from the way she experienced Ellery's pregnancy differently, from the hot tea she shared with Dashiell in a random morning. As usual, you made the littlest things turn special, and that's what makes your stories beautiful.

Oh, another gem, the whole almost secret code of the "love you all times, all the ways." I never connected all the ways with always, which makes the discovery even more precious in my eyes.

Thank you for writing this wonderful instalment! I'll be reading more soon!

Wow, this was amazing.

I really enjoyed how you showed how Ellery came into the world.

Plus, it was nice to see things with Dash start to get better. I also understand how he likes hot sauce on his food as well as Dash having tea with Kate. The last one is special because it being time for mother and son to be together.

Loved the ending because it was so tender and sweet.

Was just reviewing/re-reading your Dash stories to see if there are any short ones I've missed. Great AU characters - love the kids.
Just caught the title of this one, though, and had to point out that this song should actually be credited to The Beatles (Lennon/McCartney)
Thanks!
-LA

Amazing story! I love the plaque and the family and everything:) Dash with his 'all the ways' is too precious and you know I love Ella.

"Oh," Kate says suddenly, curling her hand around Castle's forearm. "I have a present for you-"

"I think I'm set, Kate." - Clenchyyyyy

"Not today, huh?"

"Not any day?" Dash says, eyebrows going up even as his voice does.

"Not gonna happen. But nice try." - Just wait til you're older, Dash. Naps are the best thing ever.

Dashiell stops breathing, a last long inhale as he hovers over his sister.

Rick glances up and gestures to his mother, but she's already got the camera. He looks back down at Dash, nudges his shoulder. The boy startles, jostling Ellery awake. - I am so happy you chose to do this moment. So happy.

"They're blue," she says, glancing up to Rick with a startled look. "Castle." - Weeping.

"She looking at me," Dash gasps. "Oh. My baby. Hi." - She really is his baby. So excited for Md Dash now.

"She sleeps like a Castle," he says, grinning back at Kate. He gets into the bed next to her and slides his arm under her body, pulls her against him. She settles down at his sides with a long, happy sigh. - Their position. I am so in love.

Castle left to go get something from the kitchen, but Kate can't help being fascinated by all the amazing things that make up her daughter. The little girl's so-blue eyes are still having trouble focusing on the world, but she locks on to her mother's face and stares back. - This is so beautiful.

"Well, the box is in the shape of a tennis bracelet. . ." Rick says with a laugh.

She rolls her eyes at him. "Not jewelry. Think that's your job."

"No diamonds?" he pouts.- Hahaha love it.

He grins. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in my novel?" - OMG the thing she told Vickie about. I can't tell you how much I love when you go back.

"It's kinda perfect," he says, chuckling. "I mean, it's like a twist on the Miranda rights, so it's - you know."

She grins back at him. "Yeah, Castle. I know." - Duh, Castle. Duh.

She crooks her finger at his jaw, slides along his stubble to tap at his lips. "Not what I was getting at, Rick, but thanks. Needed that ego boost." - LOL. Also stubble? Very nice call.

"Daddy, this bor-ing. Play with me." - Hahaha.

Castle is holding Ellery against his chest; he shakes his head. "She didn't cry. She kinda - uh - made some funny noises." - CRICKET

Dashiell is at the top, little face peering through the bars of the baby gate, hair mussed with restless sleep. - Sooooo cute.

"Hey, my man."

"Where my baby sister?" - I love how even then he claims her.

"We can make you some hot tea, baby."

"Hot tea?" - TEA TIME!

"Ahhh," he says, and she realizes he's modeling his behavior after hers. - Adorable.

"My - my baby has hot tea?" he says, and his face looks reluctant, his whole body poised on the edge. - my baby. Can't handle this.

"Just you and me," he echoes. The joy in his voice is unmistakeable. - Can I sob on the bus stop now?

"You - okay. I'm glad you do," he says carefully, looking back at Kate. "Alexis wanted you to love it."

"My mom and I painted my room the summer before ninth grade," she says softly. "Same color." - Aaaaand then I cried.

Her lips move against his skin, her words are wrenched from someplace deep. "I miss my mom. I want my mom." - OMG Laura. Just. You know.

Kate leans into him suddenly, mouth at his. "Rick. I - thank you. Thank you for my little girl."

Oh, Kate. "I love you. You've given me everything, love. You never need to thank me." - Breathtakingly gorgeous.

Oh it's Mad Dash time! Have to finish the book I'm reading but then I'm there!

"Her eyes were nearly black when she was born, and now they've faded to grey-" - I thought all babies had blue eyes when they were born? Did I make that up? LOL.

Oh. Studying it again, she sees they've put Kate Castle as the mother's name. She turns her head and catches his mouth in a brief kiss. "I don't care. What does it matter? All the same." - I love this new and improved Kate. I want to snuggle with her.

"I would. But this? No problem." And she finds that she likes it. Must be the hormones. She's cried three times already and it's only noon. That's all. "I'm fine with being known as a Castle."

"I guess," Castle starts, then gives her a look like he's sizing her up. "I guess we'll claim you." - Chills and perfection and I stopped having real words. Sorry. LOL.

"Oh, cool! Cool, cool!" Dash raves over the toy and again tries to hold it up in Ellery's face. "See? You play too." - Aw already sharing!

"Dash, come here, baby." She holds out a hand to him and immediately Dashiell abandons his present and crawls up the bed to her side. Kate sighs and cuddles him, rubbing her fingers over his ear, his neck, kissing his forehead as he snuggles in close. - This is such a beautiful moment. So so beautiful.

When she glances up, everyone in the room is still, eyes riveted to them, similar expressions of tenderness, but it's Rick's face that makes her heart hurt. She tries to smile at him, and he smiles back, but he's got watery eyes. - Yeah. Me too.

So I read at work and I know my coworker totally reads what I am doing. Whoops.

"Dad, this is-" She pauses, bites her lip even as she chuckles. "It's atrocious."

"It so is," Kate laughs. "It's terrible, isn't it? Your dad bought them for you both." - Hahaha. He tries so hard.

Dash struggles in Kate's arms, sits forward. "Hey. Do I get a turn?" - The next chapter is gonna kill me.

Thank you for not writing labor. Seriously. Thank you.

"Mother-"

She hangs up on him.

Castle stares down at the phone, barks out a laugh, and redials her. - Hahahaha. Oh Martha. Of course you did.

"I'm coming. I'm - oh my, I have to get dressed and do my hair and my make-up, but no perfume, I know, nothing heavy around the baby - oh and Alexis?" - Hahaha. Makeup and hair. Why do I totally see Martha being like that?

Kate. He wants to name her after the strongest and most unbelievably amazing woman he knows, and how in the world will Kate let him do that? - Oh my heart.

Oh, a Christmas baby. A Halloween baby and a Christmas baby. How adorable. Oh I can't wait to see you all. I'll get dressed." - Close to me and my brother. I'm 2 days before Halloween but he's Christmas (as are you!)

She rotates her head towards his voice, a slow squirm that makes his stomach flip. She has a little personality already. "Hey, baby girl, it's Daddy." - Oh good. You haven't made me cry yet today. Guess you are now.

"We have a girl," Kate laughs, eyes finding his again, then they both are drawn back down to the baby in her arms, the little thing staring solemnly up at them, quiet and unwavering and so real. So little but so real.

"I told you it'd be a girl," he says.

"Whatever," she breathes, and her laughter ruins the effect. "I told you. You were the one who kept saying expect a boy." - I can't handle them like this. It's so perfect. And then Dash is gonna come and sit with Kate AND ITS SO MANY EMOTIONS.

Castle lifts his eyes to Kate and opens his mouth-

The door clicks open and people spill through; he can feel Kate sigh next to him and he grins at her through the interruption. - GO AWAY PEOPLE! (i know her name but Kate doesn't and yeah go away people.)

"Is that mine baby?" Dash yells and the girl startles, eyes blinking, twisting her head towards the sound. - And let their beautiful sibling connection begin.

"Hi," Dash says, echoing Castle's tone and leaning over into her face. The baby stares at him, entranced and focused and particularly alert. A little fist moves, breaks free of the blanket, and Dashiell laughs, sounding a little breathless. - So tingly and clenchy.

and seriously, seriously, guys, it's Christmas.

What are they all doing here? - Hahaha I love how that's written

Roy Montgomery is still holding court with Dashiell, - He's aliiiiiiiive

Madison left, but there's a huge neon pink teddy bear in the corner as a reminder of her presence, loud and crazy - I miss Maddie. When she's on hiatus from Dallas she should come back.

"I love you," he gets out, squeezing, and she laughs at him, but her voice is choked up when she says it back. - Awwwww.

Still sleeping. Good little sleeper. Yeah, might be a whole lot different this time around. - Best sleeper.

"You're so beautiful," he says, trying to breathe around it. "Kate." - OMGGGG. Help me.

Mommy, here's Ellery Kate." - CHILLS

"Oh, baby girl, you have a name," she sighs, leaning over to kiss the girl's forehead. "My little Ella."

And then she's whispering her love words into Ellery's ear, soft and fluid and too quiet for him to hear, but it weaves a spell around the three of them and binds them there. - So freaking beautiful I want to weep.

"Your dad is working on getting him into his pajamas. If you come relieve me in a few, I can get started on-" Castle pauses, glances over his shoulder then stage whispers, "-stockings." - ALMOST ELLA TIME!

A twinge in her back makes her straighten, but she brings with her the small, wrapped present she hid at the bottom of the box. Castle's present. - I think giving him his daughter on Christmas beats the small box, Kate!

With Dash, every time Kate stopped moving, wild man would get hyper and active, ruining all her sleep. But this one only protests when Kate won't stop long enough to let her to fall asleep. - I love that that is who Ellery becomes. She loves her sleep.

She opens her eyes to move, but the Christmas lights blink around her, red and pink and yellow and blue, in a slow show of warmth - That's beautiful.

See your daddy? He's silly, but he takes care of us. - Clenchy.

Kate says nothing, entirely inward focused or just - just Kate. He wonders, keenly, what happened to her when Dash came, what she felt and how she handled it alone. She'd left him in the middle of a fight and gone to her apartment and then-

He showed up in time; he remembers running, falling at her side as she reached for his hand, out of breath and without the right words. He was trying to apologize and tell her they'd do it her way, all the time, just don't leave, something like that. - I love the differences between both kids, how far they've come, the journey. It's like they're in my life and I'm watching it with them.

Dr. DeLameran comes back in with her hands in her pockets and peers at the monitor, sighs. "We might be doing this."

It's too early. - No she's perfect.

"It's Christmas Eve - I think that's exactly what it's for," - YESSSS. Ella time!

She's been so much more touchy-feely lately; he secretly thinks it's the pregnancy hormones, and he hopes they last. - That they will. I miss the island :(

"I do it! And I get a sticker!" Dash offers his other arm and Castle slides his coat on him. Jim tugs it closed and works at the big black buttons one-handed. - Can grown ups get in on this? I love stickers.

But the roundness of her belly barely seems to make a dent in her movements or her abilities. She's on desk duty, of course, but they've still got six weeks before the due date, and Kate's only concession seems to be getting more sleep. - Six weeks, tomorrow. Yeah.

He steps in and steals another kiss just as her father comes down the stairs from the guest bedroom. Castle laughs against Kate's mouth and backs away, searching for Dash. - I LOVE THIS FAMILY.

She's looked like this all afternoon, actually. Warm, fuzzy. Like she's melted with Christmas cheer. - I'm holding out hope for a Christmas episode. Something all warm and lovely.

Her kiss is slow and languid, hot; she strokes her tongue across the roof of his mouth, then around his and deeper, velvet and dark and wet.

He shudders, fingers digging into her skin, tries to keep from drowning in it. - Beautiful.

He knocks their hands against her side, rubbing the back of his fingers to the spot where he knows the baby likes to hang out. Or has been lately, either a knee or an elbow. He thinks it's a knee, but Kate says that'd put the baby upside down. Which he likes, because it means both Dash and the baby are hanging around upside down lately. - I love that Ella has a spot, that she's so much like Dash before she's even born. Like a kinship before they even meet.

"Yeah, I know, but I was running out of ideas, and you put a ban on chicken nuggets and pizza-" - I ate chicken nuggets and tater tots for dinner last night. I'm three apparently.

"Yeah. And he loved it. He wanted more. He asked for more. He asked me what it was called and then tried to dump the whole bottle over his food. Kate - the kid loves hot sauce." - I love seeing the start of all these things that have become so much a part of them.

"I know. I know. But everything - all these groups and therapies are centered around that diagnosis and it scares the shit out of me, Kate." - My heart aches for his fear.

"I'm great. This is what he needs, Rick. Oh, thank God for Gina."

He laughs at that, hears the watery sound of his own voice. "Never thought you'd say that, right?"

She laughs lightly back. "Not really." - Hahahaha. No kidding.

"Thanks for being a good mom," he murmurs back, sliding his arms around her, cupping the back of her head. "Alexis-"

"She's going to be okay, too," Kate offers. "I promise. She needed some help, but she's going to be just fine." - They're so perfectly delightful.

And I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before. . .

But in my life
I've loved you more - Already want to cry at this. Never heard this version though.

Cooper nods, pulls out his recorder and places it on the table between them. "First of all. The book. Pretty intense. The Carver?" - Oh ouch. I love the idea of him giving interviews, of Kate and crew being his family.

Water soaks his dress shirt and he sighs down at himself. - Give the man a bib.

"She breaks up with Ashley every other month-" - Hahahah. Maybe because his name is Ashley. So glad she has Rafe. I miss him.

"You'll be fine. You and Dash will wreck the place and eat marshmallow omelette things and-"
"Smorelettes, babe. They have a name." - I really think I would love those.

"Hey, how's Baby K?"

He can practically hear her soften on the other end. "She's quiet today." - AWWWW. I miss Ella.

"Play batman, Daddy."

"Sure, we can play Batman."

"And spidey."

"And Spiderman." - So cuuuuuuuuute.

and herds him down the steps to the waiting town car. - Come marry me, Castle. You can call me babe.

Dash skips through the parking lot, tugging on his father's hand. "Yay! Tote! I say toast. But I say tote before."

"You did. And Mommy and I thought it was cute, so we keep saying it. Probably shouldn't do that, right?" - Let's steal them and give them kids. We can steal kids too. Kidding.

"Permish. In vans." - Hahaha.

"You thought I forgot him?" Castle answers.

"Crazy man. No. Maybe." - Hahahaha.

"You didn't bring a book?"

"Couldn't find anything to read."

"That's like an arrow through my heart," he groans. - I really love that.

"Uh, things?"

"Those golf cart things that honk at people."

She hears him laugh again. "People too slow for you?" - YES welcome to my life. I hate slow walkers.

"You got him to eat peas?" she gasps. Even if she has to smother the things in nutella-

He sighs. "No. He threw them off the table in disdain." - You're so awesome.

"I'm almost there. So say good-bye. And say you love me," she finishes.

"Always." - Awwwww.

She hangs up and just makes it to the bathroom. - So happy she didn't pee on herself.

Which is weird, because it's leftover from the dinner Martha made them last night and it's spicy. And yet Dash seems to love it. - Hot sauce!

"I talked with Paula, don't worry. You think I'm not used to you doing what you want? Besides, Kate gave us some good candid photos we can spread to the various magazines. It's all good."

Kate did what? "When did Kate-"

"This was a few weeks ago. She figured you'd be more inclined to answer questions if you knew she was on board. Look, this call actually isn't about you ditching the journalists." - I'd really love to see Gina now that Castle and Beckett are together. Because I don't think she'd be catty and I'm so interested in seeing that. Plus I love her.

"I know. You've told me some of this. And I know you've been doing some research, Kate said. Cooper's son has what he called a sensory issue - some actual thing; I don't know what it is. The more he talked about his kid, the more it sounds like Dash. He wanted you to know that his son's therapist-" - there's something I love about Gina knowing things despite the ex situation. It's nice.

"You're welcome," she says gently. More gentleness in her voice than he's ever heard in the time he's known her. "You've got great kids, Rick. And Kate's exactly what you need. I've got a vested interest in keeping that going, you hear me?" - Love her.

She'll do the same to the baby girl, he knows, and that little thing will respond just like this - with the wonder and stillness of being known. Being loved. - That's beautiful.

"I love you all the times."

Kate bites her lip, her heart pounding. This is new. "Yeah? I-"

"And I love you all the ways. Just like you and Daddy."

All the ways like-

Oh. Oh.

She brushes back the silly tear from her cheek and closes her eyes. "I love you too, baby. Always." - OMG love so so much.

Oh my goodness, I've been working my way through the life series and it's all just as fabulous as everything that's come before and I really want to give you a proper coherent review of just how much I love them all.

But wow. You really got me at the end there, like actual tears streaming down my cheeks got me, and I feel like maybe that's the best review I can leave you of this one.

I've been rereading your Dash stories, and just want to say - in case I haven't already - that Martha's reaction in this chapter is my absolute favorite thing ever.

Now I am sobbing for real, Kate, Ellery, and Dash together in his bed was absolutely sweet and her missing her mother was very heart-rendering. And the Hot Tea which was all kinds of perfect! It just hits me right in the heart, which sounds lame but is pretty accurate, for so many reasons, most of them delightful, which this story is. I really, really liked it; it was wonderful! I thought it was a little 'all over the place' though, starting out being about Dash and Castle's man-night and Dash's sensory issues and then turning into the birth of Ellery. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely loved reading every chapter, they were all so lovely, it just did not feel exactly cohesive to me.. But still wonderful work, I really did enjoy reading this.

Mathilde