Okay, I realized that I never posted this chapter. Sorry...

After the graduation ceremony, Alexis came to find her family. Castle saw the crestfallen look on her face when she didn't see Kate. She looked at her father and asked, "Where's Kate?"

Castle smiled, "Lanie went into labor."

When she heard that, Alexis smiled, "Really? That's great! Do you think we can go to the hospital?"

"Kate promised that she would call after the baby was born."

Castle could tell that Alexis was excited. He also knew that she wanted to go to the hospital to be with their friend. He finally told her, "We need to wait. Remember what Lanie told us."

Alexis smiled, "Yeah. She doesn't want us to see her while she's in labor. In fact she doesn't want to see any of us until the baby has been born and she's all prettied up."

Castle nodded, "And you better believe that she would kill us if we show up there before she's ready for us."

Alexis knew that her dad was telling the truth. She'd worked with Lanie long enough to know that the feisty medical examiner would kill all of them if they went against her wishes. So, she asked her father, "Can we go out for dinner?"

Castle smiled at her and threw his arm around her shoulders and asked, "Italian?"

Alexis beamed up at her dad, "Only if I can have spaghetti and meatballs."

At the mention of spaghetti and meatballs, the boys cheered and said, "Yay! Sghetti..."

"I think you have yourself a couple of dates for your meal."

Alexis went over to her brothers and took them by the hand. She swung her hand and Castle swore that he had never seen a better sight in his life.

They had eaten then Castle drove home and got the boys into bed. It was well after midnight before Kate crawled into bed. She was very quiet, but he swore that he could hear her thinking. He pulled her close and asked, "How's Lanie?"

He felt her nod and then she whispered, "She's doing great. She had a baby girl. They named her Mariah Katherine."

Castle could hear the sadness in her voice. He kissed her on the neck and whispered, "They named her after you."

Kate nodded, "Yeah."

"You're feeling sad."

Nodding, Kate sighed loudly, "I should be happy for them. She's a beautiful baby. She's perfect."

"But you want another baby."

"And it's impossible. I'm jealous of my best friend. I'm such a terrible person."

Castle laughed, "You aren't terrible. You're being perfectly normal."

"I told them that I would babysit anytime they needed me."

"Was her labor bad?"

Kate laughed and shook her head, "No. It was, to use Lanie's words, perfect. You should have seen Javi. The look on his face when he held his daughter for the first time was priceless. She's not even a day old and she already has her daddy wrapped around her finger."

Castle laughed, "Sounds familiar. I was like that when Alexis was born. It was the same way when the twins were born."

"And I missed it..."

Castle kissed the top of her head and whispered, "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't help it."

"I know. I just wish..."

"What?"

"On days like today. I just wish I could have more children. It passes after awhile, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have a little girl. And then I think about those amazing little boys that we created together and I feel awful for wanting more."

Castle smiled, but said nothing. She'd been the same way when Lanie had told them that she was pregnant. She had been happy for her friend, but later that night, it hit her. Hard. She had cried herself to sleep that night. Castle had held her the entire time. Castle knew that she regretted not being able to have more children and most times she was able to push it out of her mind. There were times when life made it impossible to do that. Times like today.

When Jenny had given birth to their daughter a mere two months after the twins were born, it had been another hard day for her. Deep down, she knew it was crazy. She had two beautiful sons and she was extremely grateful for them. After the first few months, she had loved being pregnant. Had loved feeling her sons move inside her. She loved how Castle would spend hours talking to her stomach. She had never felt closer to him.

She finally whispered, "I'm being silly. I know. I'm happy for them. Really happy. And guess what?"

Castle laughed, "What?"

"Lanie is already talking about having another baby."

"Really?"

Kate nodded then laughed, "Yes. She said it wasn't as bad as she was expecting. Javi got a panicked look on his face when she said that. It was priceless. I wish I would have had a camera to take a picture."

Castle smiled at his wife and said, "Feeling better?"

"A little." Looking into her husband's eyes, she whispered, "Make love to me Rick."

"Always."

When Kate woke that morning, she smiled as the three men in her life walked into the bedroom. Castle was carrying the breakfast tray and the boys had napkins and the newspaper. She smiled as they climbed into bed and snuggled up on each side of her. Caleb handed her the newspaper and Benjamin put the napkins around her neck. She smiled and gave each of her sons a kiss.

She looked at the boys and asked, "What's the special occasion?"

Caleb smiled and told her, "They are daddy's s-specal cheering up pancakes. We helped him make them."

"You did?"

Benjamin, the quieter of the boys just nodded slowly. Then he asked, "Did it work mommy?"

She felt her eyes fill with tears and heard Caleb tell his brother, "I don't think so. She's crying..."

Kate shook her head, "I'm crying because I'm happy."

Castle could see the confusion on his sons faces and smiled, "It's a girl thing."

Caleb whispered not so quietly, "Girls are silly. Aren't the daddy?"

Castle laughed and nodded, "They sure are boys. Now, how about if we let mommy eat and we go eat our breakfast?"

The boys both cheered loudly, "Yay!"

Kate looked up at her husband and smiled. Her life was perfect and she knew in that moment that she had everything she needed. As she watched Castle walk out of their bedroom, she knew that she had found the love she truly needed and even if she could have changed it, she wouldn't have. She would trade a single moment with her guys for anything in the world. She'd come to realize that life was too precious to waste. She needed to live every single second and enjoy it. No matter what might happen in the future. She had the love of a great man, two wonderful little boys and an almost grown daughter. And nothing, at least in her opinion, could be better...