Epilogue - Seven Years Later:

The first streaks of sunlight forced their way through the drawn drapes and directly into the eyes of Richard Castle. He brought his arm up to cover his eyes from the offending intruder that was interrupting his sleep as he heard a small groan coming from his still sleeping companion. "Too early. Sleep..." She mumbles into his chest where her head was resting, a small pool of drool just by her lips." Rick tilted his head down to see her chestnut hair fanned out on his bare chest and smiles, knowing that he was the luckiest man in the world.

He was lying there with the love of his life, his soulmate, the mother of his children, the truly extraordinary Kate Beckett. He thinks about how this weekend is their real anniversary and shudders at the thought of just how empty his life would be if she hadn't summoned the courage to tell him her true feelings for him. Falling in love with her was easy. She challenged him, made him aspire to be something more than what he was. Getting her to realize that she loved him too was the challenge.

With the arm that he had wrapped around her, he gave her a gentle squeeze and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "You get some sleep. I know I kept you up late..." They had made love last night and both decided several encores were in order that kept them both awake later than normal. Their hectic lifestyle made opportunities like last night a rare occurrence. Between the kids, her job as a state senator and his writing, most nights were spent in a deep sleep, too exhausted to consider fooling around. That's why the long holiday weekends like this one were so important, as it gave them a chance to focus on what was really important - their family.

Kate let out a small groan as Rick gently lifted her off of him did a sort of slide/crawl out of bed. He slipped on one of his ratty superhero tee shirts that he loved and staggers into the bathroom to take care of natures call. Minutes later, he's standing before his espresso machine, ready to make a cup of coffee for he and his wife.

'Wife'. He loved the word and what it meant to him. The partner in life that he had tried, and failed, twice before to find. His better half. Rick quickly finished his brew and started the process of making hers. He carefully makes the heart with an arrow running through it into the foam of her drink. His drinkable 'I love you' that he's given her for nearly nine years.

Just as he finishes, Castle feels her arms snake around him from behind as she rests her chin on his shoulder. "Morning babe. Sleep well?" She inquires, with her sly smile that they both knew meant something else.

Rick tilted his head and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Wonderful. And you?" He turns to face her, pulling her tight to his chest. He can feel her relax in his arms as he places another kiss on the top of her head, enjoying this perfect moment.

She gave him one of her teasing looks that he loved so much and comments. "Three times? I didn't think that you had it in you... You know you're not as young as you used to be. I'm impressed..." The smile on her face let him know that she still enjoyed their verbal sparring as much today as ever.

Rick can only feign indignation and replies. "I'll have you know miss, my wife had been gone an entire week and I missed her very much." He tilted her chin up as he tilts his down and places a soft kiss on her lips. Returning the kiss, Kate puts her hand behind his neck holding him in place. They continue their mini make out session with the kisses becoming more passionate, until they hear their six year old daughter voicing her disapproval. This causes the two of them to separate and start to laugh at the sound of utter disgust their daughter emitted, seeing her parents locked in a passionate kiss.

"Good morning sweetheart. How did you sleep?" Kate asks her daughter.

"Fine, mommy. Do you want me to wake up the J's?"

The J's was how Lillie referred to her twin brothers, Jackson and James, named after their grandfathers. The twins would be celebrating their third birthday in a week and Lillie relished her role as the big sister, lording over the two. Lillie was mini Kate with her beauty and demeanor. She had even perfected her mother's eye roll already. With the exception of her beautiful blue eyes, she looked exactly like Kate at the same age.

The twins seemed to be a perfect blend of the two parents in both appearance and personality. Like their sister, they also had his blue eyes and mischievous smile.

Kate was terrified when she first learned of her pregnancy with Lillie. Not about having Richard Castle's child, but afraid that she wouldn't be the type of mother her child deserved. She had witnesses first hand just how wonderful Rick was as a father and feared that she wasn't up to the task. Thankfully, she was wrong. Rick had assured her that the first time she held her child in her arms that everything would change and he was correct. Holding Lillie in her arms the first time made her question all of her priorities and convinced her that there was more in life than being a cop.

It wasn't long after the birth of Lillie, that she discovered the tape that would change everything. During her maternity leave, her replacement had commandeered her desk, placing all of her personal items in a box in the storage closet. Somehow the box had been crushed while she was gone and upon her return, she discovers the micro cassette tape hidden inside of her mother's broken elephant family statue. Playing the tape revealed that not only had William Bracken ordered her mother's murder, but that her mentor, Roy Montgomery knew about it all along. Confronting her boss with the evidence, he confessed everything that he knew and warned her that Bracken had spies everywhere.

Bracken may have had his connections, but Richard Castle had friends everywhere including both foreign and domestic intelligence agencies thanks to his Derrick Storm novels. He also had strong ties with some of the top level mobsters in the city that liked him. Within days they discovered that Bracken had been receiving a cut from the drug business of Vulcan Simmons in exchange for the NYPD looking the other way. It didn't take long before Finn Rourke was appraised of who was supporting the man that was trying to infiltrate the Westies' territory. The NYPD may have protected Simmons from the law, but they couldn't stop Rourke's people.

After a few calls to his CIA and NSA contacts that he could trust, Jordan Shaw was also recruited. Montgomery's wife and children were quietly moved to an undisclosed location in exchange for all of the evidence that the captain had on Bracken. Roy was assured that he and his family would be placed in Witness Protection in exchange for his testimony against the senator.

Kate and Jordan were together when they arrested the Senator during a session of Congress. The irony was Bracken was sponsoring a bill calling for tougher penalties for drug related convictions. The world watched as the two women perp walked the disgraced senator out of the Capitol building and into an waiting FBI vehicle. Rick, holding Lille in his arms watched from a safe distance away, beaming with pride. As soon as the vehicle carrying Bracken drove away, Kate nearly sprinted to where Rick and her daughter were standing. The picture of the three of them together went viral and Kate became an unwilling celebrity.

The senior state senator from their district was named by the governor to take the place of Bracken, who had resigned from office soon after his arrest. The local political party, seeing an opportunity to cash in on Kate's status as someone newsworthy, approached her about running for the vacant seat in the special runoff election. Kate was unsure if a career in politics was what she wanted, but between Rick and her dad convincing her she would be great, she accepted the challenge. Three months later, Katherine Beckett-Castle became the newest state senator in New York.

They purchased a modest home in Albany and spent most of their time there. Rick continued to write, finishing his Nikki Heat contract obligations with Black Pawn and took care of Lillie. Alexis transferred to a private school in Albany and they lived together as a normal family. Upon graduation, she enrolled at Stanford, her goal to become a lawyer just as her new mother had aspired to be at the same age.

The twins were a surprise, not the pregnancy itself, but the quantity. They decided to expand their family not long after Alexis left for Stanford. Both Rick and Kate had grown up alone and wanted their children to have siblings. Castle had always felt bad for Alexis not having a brother or sister. Kate actually looked forward to her second pregnancy as she knew what to expect this go round.

Kate excelled as a state senator which was no surprise to anyone who knew her. There was even talk about her being groomed for the US Senate seat in the next election. Rick assured her that he would support her decision and she was seriously considering the challenge. Castle had started writing non fiction and his first book was a detailed account of the murder of Johanna Beckett and the tireless effort of his now wife, to find her mother's killer. It was an international best seller and Rick won his first Pulitzer.

The family sat together at the dining room table enjoying their meal, together. Kate reaches across the table and takes Rick's hand in hers. He looks at her and gives her hand a gentle squeeze. They share an unspoken 'I love you' with their eyes as they both realize that it was moments like these that were what life was all about. That this was perfection.