"You're hot for Castle. You wanna make little Castle babies" -Maddie, season two

~2019~

"Come on, Hannah" called Kate, speaking loudly over the crown on the New York City sidewalk. The four-year-old whined softly, just loud enough for her mother to hear.

"Mommy" she whined. "Why do I have to walk?" Kate slowed her pace and made her way to the edge of the sidewalk, gently pulling her daughter between bustling people. When she finally got to the edge, her back almost making contact with the window of some random store, she pulled her daughter a little closer, wishing she could bend down to meet the little girl's gaze. Her extremely swollen belly kept that from happening. She released Hannah's hand slowly, bringing her hand up to tilt the young girl's head upwards so she could at least sort of look her in eyes.

"Hannah, baby, you know I can't carry you and your sister right now" she said. Hannah nodded, a small smile coming across her lips, her hand reaching up to rest on Kate's stomach.

"I know, mommy. You have to be careful. For baby" she said, eyes suddenly glowing with happiness as she rubbed her mom's tummy through the thin cotton t-shirt she was wearing. Kate smiled happily, glad that Hannah wasn't blaming the baby, rather understanding. And Hannah looked up and met her mom's happy gaze with her suddenly serious one. "Mommy? Does baby still want ice cream?" she asked. Kate chuckled softly. That was why they were out and about in the first place, to get ice cream to soothe her pregnancy cravings, because they ran out in the loft.

"Yeah, baby still wants ice cream" she answered, amusement ringing in her voice. Hannah smiled happily and looked back down at her mom's belly.

"Good, because I want ice cream too" she said, making Kate laugh again, and the two year old on her hip kick in excitement, letting out a squeal.

"Whoa, Jamie, careful" said Kate, pushing her younger daughter a little higher on her hip as the toddler giggled happily. "You'll get ice cream too, I promise. Both of you will" she added, laughter still ringing in her soft voice. She reached down to once again take Hannah's hand, and turned to head back in direction of the ice cream shop when she heard her name being called behind her.

"Kate!" The voice was familiar, and she smiled before turning back as quickly as possible to face her friend. "Oh my God! It is you!" said Maddie from where she was standing only a few feet away.

"Maddie" greeted Kate happily as her old friend took a few more steps in her direction. "Long time no see. You look great" she added softly, eyes scanning her once best friend, still slim with her blond hair curled and tumbling over her shoulders.

"You...too" said Maddie, taking in Kate's appearance, eyes landing on the extremely obvious baby bump, glowing with happiness.

"Thanks, but right now I just look like a whale" said Kate, like she told everyone that tried to tell she looked good or beautiful while she was pregnant. She had done it when she was pregnant with Hannah and then with Jamie, why change for baby number three, right?

"No, you look happy, Kate" argued Maddie, making Kate roll her eyes because absolutely everyone told her that. "Motherhood looks good on you" she added, smiling. That one made Kate smile, because she kinda liked to hear it. "Who are these beautiful girls?"

"Oh, uh…this one here is Hannah" said Kate, tugging Hannah's arm gently. "And this little one is Jamie" she added, once again bouncing the happy toddler on her hip. "Girls, this is mommy's friend, Maddie" she told the two little girls. Jamie had her face buried in her mother's neck shyly, while Hannah held out her free hand. Such opposites, like their parents.

"Hi, Maddie" said Hannah, happily shaking her mother's friend's hand.

"Hi, Hannah. You look really pretty today" replied Maddie, letting her eyes linger on the young girls bright blue ones.

"Really? I picked it out all by myself" announced the four-year-old, twirling to show off her short pink skirt and bright yellow t-shirt that did in fact compliment each other nicely. "Daddy helped me put it on, though. I still can't put on my shirts or sandals" she elaborated, looking at her feet and bright, neon pink sandals.

"I know right? Sandals are so hard to put on" said Maddie, faking a grimace. Hannah looked down at her footwear, then looked back up to meet Maddie's eyes, her blue eyes wide with accusation.

"But you wear big shoes like mommy does. Well, she used to, until baby got in her belly. Did you know that mommy and daddy wished really hard for baby and it just got in her tummy? Just like that" she added, looking up at her mother, proud that she remembered the explanation on how the baby got into her mother's tummy. Kate nodded happily.

"Yeah, I guess that's right, isn't it? They wished really, really hard for you two, I bet, and Jamie and now this baby" said Maddie, playing along.

"Yup! They wanted all their babies" said Hannah, still smiling proudly. Maddied nodded, but didn't reply to Hannah directly. Instead, she looked up at Kate.

"I told you so" she said, smiling mischievously. Kate rolled her eyes, knowing full well what Maddie was talking about, but not wanting to give her the satisfaction of simply admitting it.

"Told me what?" she asked, making Maddie roll her eyes.

"Yeah, Maddie? What'd you tell mommy?" piped in Hannah, eyes full of curiosity. Maddie smiled and bent down so she was eye level with the four-year-old.

"Once, a long time ago, I told your mommy she wanted little Castle babies" she said, just loud enough for Kate to hear and roll her eyes at, even though she had never forgotten that conversation with Maddie almost eight years before.

"What's a little Castle baby?" asked Hannah innocently, eyes shifting from Maddie to her mother then back to Maddie, who was smiling.

"A little Castle baby, my dear Hannah, is you" she answered, poking her belly softly. Hannah's brow furrowed in confusion, still not understanding what a little Castle baby was. Maddie stood back up, looking at Jamie who was facing her, finally. She reached out and gently poked the toddler's nose, making Jamie giggle softly and turn her head back to her mother's neck. "And you" said Maddie, smiling at Jamie's reaction. She met Kate's eyes. "And the little one that must be coming out…soon" she said.

"How do you know if they're Castle's?" she challenged. "Maybe I'm with someone else, you know. There's other men in this world" Maddie nodded.

"You're right Kate, there are other men, but Castle is definitely your baby daddy" she said, making Kate blush. "You wished really hard for some little Castle babies"

"You still didn't tell me why you think they're Castle's kids" said Kate, knowing full well that her eyes were giving her away.

"Come on, Kate. Those eyes are definitely little Castle eyes, just like their fathers" said Maddie, making Kate smiled.

"Daddy? Mommy says I have daddy's eyes" said Hannah, smiling. Maddie looked down at her, still smiling with satisfaction.

"You do have your dad's eyes" she said. "That's how I know you're a little Castle baby" she added before looking back up at Kate. "See? I told you so" Kate rolled her eyes, but smiled widely.

"Fine. You told me so" she admitted finally. "I mean, I guess I can't deny it now, since I have three little Castle babies" she added with a laugh, pushing Jamie up on her hip a little more.

"Yeah" agreed Maddie with a laugh. "Speaking of which, what are you doing out and about so far along in your pregnancy with both girls?" she asked. Kate looked down shyly, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Baby wants ice cream, so mommy bringing us to get ice cream" answered Hannah, making Jamie squealed excitedly again. "Daddy forgot to buy mommy and baby more ice cream" she added, smiling up at Maddie proudly.

"Is that right?" asked Maddie, her tone slightly teasing as she looked at Kate, making her blush a hint darker as she kept her gaze downcast.

"Yup! Baby always wants ice cream, I think. Mommy always eats ice cream. She says it for baby" she answered, smiling as she looked at her mother, reaching up to put her free hand on her baby bump. "Baby likes chocolate ice cream most. Just like me" she said, standing on her tiptoes to press a peck to the bottom of Kate's belly, barely reaching.

"Yeah, just like you" said Kate softly, closing her eyes to keep from crying. She had been crying because of everything lately, especially when the girls showed interest in their unborn brother or sister.

Just a few days earlier, when Kate was sitting on the couch watching Jamie play with her doll, the toddler had come running up to her, babbling the word 'baby' over and over again and pressed a big sloppy kiss to the baby bump, leaving a mark on Kate's grey shirt. She had cried then too, and then had to explain to Hannah that she was crying because she was happy.

That moment wasn't very different, except for the fact that Hannah's little pecks to her abdomen weren't sloppy. Still, she loved seeing her daughters so excited to meet their sibling in under two months.

"Don't go crying on me, Kate. I don't know how to deal with pregnancy hormones" teased Maddie, a smile coming across her lips.

"Mommy cry 'cause she happy" said Hannah. "Right, mommy? You happy?" she looked up at her mother's face, where a few tears sat on her cheeks. Worry clouded her little blue eyes as she spoke the next question. "I hurt you, mommy?" At that, Kate squeezed her little hand.

"No...no, baby. Mommy's happy, okay? Mommy's really, really happy" she answered, looking down at Hannah with a smile. "Mommy's really glad you like the baby, okay?" Hannah's face lit up and she nodded happily.

"Okay, mommy" she said. "I love baby" she added, that time kissing her hand and pressing it to her mother's belly. Once again, Kate found herself on the verge of tears, especially when she felt the baby kick, and she found herself closing her eyes again to keep from crying even more than she already was. She opened her eyes again at the sound of her daughters voice. "You wanna get ice cream, Maddie?" she asked. Maddie smiled, but looked up at Kate as if asking permission. She simply shrugged, leaving it up to her old friend.

"I'd love to get ice cream" she answered. Hannah smiled widely, bouncing on her toes happily.

"Yay!" she said. "Mommy, can I walk with Maddie?" she asked, looking up at Kate. Kate nodded, once again looking down at her daughter. Hannah smiled back up at her. "Thank you, mommy" she said, releasing Kate's hand as she reached for Maddie's.

Kate let Maddie and Hannah walk in front of them, knowing they could walk a little faster than her seven-months-pregnant waddle. From where she was standing, she could hear Hannah chanting as she skipped.

"Hannah love baby. Jamie love baby. Lexie love baby. Nana love baby. Grandpa love baby. Mommy love baby. Daddy love baby" she said happily. Then, she turned up to Maddie. "Does Maddie love baby?" She heard Maddie's chuckle as she looked down at a curious Hannah.

"I love all Castle babies" she answered, making Kate muffle a laugh with her newly free hand. Hannah huffed, shaking her head as she turned to look ahead of her.

"I still don't know what a Castle baby is" she said. That time, Kate couldn't hold back her laugh, and Maddie let out a soft laugh as well.

She was glad Maddie had been right, even though she could go without the 'I told you so'. Her little Castle babies were by far the best thing that had ever happened to her. Maybe, just maybe, tied with their father.