He watched her as she slept, pale face finally relaxed against the stark white hospital sheets.

It had been such a long day for her. For their whole family, sure, but especially for her.

She had been woken by contractions a little after three am, and they had been down to the hospital by four.

Then came ten hours of labor.

His tough, kickass wife had blown him away. Yes, he knew she was capable of holding her own against murderers and criminals, had survived bombs and freezers and bullets, but seeing her go from strength to strength throughout this ordeal...

Wow.

Then had come a little bonding time, and some visitation – the whole group had been gathered in the waiting room, all eager to meet the tiny, squirming bundle.

Thankfully, the staff had insisted that all the others leave when visiting hours ended at 8pm.

Kate had mustered up the strength to feed their wee lad again before finally, blessedly passing out, leaving Castle a little time to get to know his son.

His son.

The child was tiny, only just over six pounds, but already so alert for a newborn. He had wowed his grandparents, sister, and honorary aunts and uncles with a solemn, blue eyed stare. His little fingers and toes were so small and perfect.

Castle was already so in love with him.

So was Kate. She had cried when her little boy had finally been placed in her arms, staring down at his tiny face in wonder. She had barely let him out of her arms since, watching hungrily as he was passed around the family, then, when they had all gone, she had stared at the boy until Castle relinquished him to her. It was only once she began drifting off in earnest that she allowed him to be taken away.

So he didn't feel at all bad about claiming a little father-son time, while his wife had some well-deserved rest.

The baby was making the most adorable little snuffling noises as he slept against his father's chest, and Castle couldn't stop himself from stroking the dark, downy hair and soothing the boys back, his whole torso covered by his father's giant hand.

Castle had spent a good part of the last hour staring at the boy, trying to see if he could see any likeness to himself or to Kate, but he honestly couldn't tell. Lanie and Martha had both sworn he had Kate's nose and his eyes, but to Castle, he just looked like his own, unique person.

The child stirred, let out a cry, and Castle stood, hoping that jigging him gently would lull him back to sleep. He paced the tiny room, hoping against hope that it would do the trick, but he had been over an hour without a feed, and he was prepared to tell the world he was ready for more.

"Bring him here, Castle," Kate's voice was still slurred with sleep, but she was already hitting the button to raise the bed and holding her arms out for her son.

Castle gently laid him in his mother's arm, then picked up the spare pillow and helped Kate to arrange it so that it bore most of the boy's weight as he feed.

After only a couple of tries, the boy latched on and began sucking greedily, already a natural at eating. Castle perched beside his wife on the bed, mesmerized by the sight.

She lifted her eyes to meet his, large and dark and full of wonder.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

Touching her chin lightly, just to help guide the kiss in light of the precious bundle between them, he swept his lips across hers, pouring all his love and admiration and pride into the kiss. She was smiling when he leaned back, her eyes sweeping back down to watch the child as he suckled, his tiny fist clenching in time with his swallows.

"Have I told you lately how proud of you I am?" he asked softly, not wanting to break the spell but needing to articulate his thoughts. "You're so incredible, Kate. You brought a tiny person into the world today."

She smiled at him, a full, luminous, happy smile that brought sunlight to even the darkest corners of his heart. His beautiful wife.

"We still haven't named him," was all she said, though.

He grinned. "Plenty of time. We need to find one that fits, now that we've met him."

She groaned. He knew that calling the child "baby Castle" was slowly driving her mad. "I just can't get over how incredible he is. Look at him, Castle!"

"I've barely been able to keep my eyes off him. He's so perfect!" he cooed, a complete puddle over his baby.

"I feel like you've been staring at me this whole time," she grumbled in return.

"It's been hard to choose. You both so beautiful, it hurts," he said sincerely.

She snorted. "I'm a mess."

He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. "Kate, you made my dreams come true today. Trust me, you've never been more beautiful to me than you are in this moment, nursing our son. I... I'm overflowing with it all. It's too much for me. I'm so, so blessed. Please don't put yourself down. If you could only see yourself through my eyes..."

She reached for him with her free hand, palming his stubble, drawing him into her kiss, knowing him as she always did, that he needed her touch to sooth the turbulent waters of his overwrought emotions.

"You need sleep, too, Castle. It's been as big a day for you as it has for me," she said gently.

"But I..." he began, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"The baby is nearly asleep again. If you can get him into his crib, you can come and cuddle up with me on the bed if you like. See if you can't get a few hours, at least," she said, carefully detaching her son, who thankfully seemed to be too sleepy to object. Castle stood, then took the boy and laid him in the crib, before towing off his shoes. His wife moved awkwardly across the bed, allowing him as much space as possible, and he climbed in, wrapping himself around her.

She snuggled back into him, sighing contentedly.

"Nathaniel!" he said suddenly, causing her to jerk back awake.

"Nathaniel?" she asked, mulling it over. It was the first of his suggestions so far that she hadn't dismissed outright, so he pressed his advantage.

"After the great Nineteenth Century American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of.."

"... The Scarlet Letter, Castle? Really? That's whom you want to name our son after?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "I figured since we couldn't think of anything else, stick to the family tradition. Alexis' middle name is Harper, after Harper Lee, and mine is Edgar, after..."

"...Edgar Allan Poe, yes, I know that. What about Beckett family tradition, ever think of that?" she asked, lack of sleep giving her words more bite than usual.

He was silent for a moment, not sure if now was a good time to be having this conversation after all, but she hoisted herself up on one elbow and glared at him, evidently waiting for him to finish the discussion.

"I thought we could call him Nathaniel James, after your father," he said quietly, his eyes dropping away. "Never mind..." he trailed off, settling back down.

Kate turned over so she was facing him, then pressed her lips against his in a sweet, lingering kiss. "I love it," she whispered.

His eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "Really. And my Dad... it's going to mean so much to him, Castle!"

He smiled, feeling a little bashful all of a sudden. "If he hadn't been there for you last summer... Kate, my own father... Jim's incredibly special to me." He wasn't quite sure his incomplete sentences had explained as eloquently as a famous author should be able to, but she bent down to kiss him, hearing his heart through his less and adequate tangle of words.

She snuggled into him then. "Get some sleep, Castle, before Nate wakes us up again," she mumbled, curling into him.

He was pretty sure she dropped to sleep almost instantly. He tried, he honestly did, but his mind was on overdrive.

He cast his mind back over the miserable letters he had written to Kate last summer, in which he had described in detail his hopes and dreams for the future – dreams that involved marrying her and having a family together.

Now it was reality.

Those nightmare months had passed, and both of them were stronger people because of it, but they had healed together, and their relationship had never been so solid.

He glanced at the crib.

They had all kinds of new challenges before them, now, of course. Parenthood, for starters. And marriage was only truly great when both partners truly work at it.

He knew one thing for sure though: all those years ago, when he had asked her out after their very first case, she'd been completely right about one thing.

He really had no idea.

The End.

Thoughts?