Where to begin? This started out as a simple idea. I wanted to explore the possibility of Castle and Beckett choosing to start their family through adoption and having to go through all the steps. The story and the character of Matthew grew from there and snowballed into something way bigger than I originally planned (did you know the outline was only 11 chapters? haha yeah...). I have been blown away by the response to Homeward. The best part has been hearing personal adoption stories from you guys. Thank you so much to those of you who stuck with this story from the beginning and continued to encourage me and to those of you who jumped in later but with just as much enthusiasm. I have loved sharing this story with you!

Epilogue

She found herself watching the clock throughout the day, counting down the minutes until her shift ended. That is, until their case demanded more of her attention. She was in the box with their lead suspect when she realized her time had come and gone and the suspect had almost cracked so she leaned in harder. The knowledge that she could leave as soon as they closed this case was an added incentive and she pushed through.

The suspect broke.

Full confession.

But it had taken much longer than she anticipated so she breezed out of the interrogation room as soon as possible, sweet-talking Esposito into filing the paperwork on this one. That he knew what day it was might have held more sway than her pleading, but she thanked him wholeheartedly nonetheless.

Castle and Matthew were already waiting for her and she froze halfway to her desk.

Castle used to drive her crazy. All the frustrating little ways he would push into her life, poke around her past, mess with her stuff - her chair, even though she told him repeatedly not to. Oh, Castle still drove her mad some days, but this…

He was now spinning their son in that same damn chair she repeatedly kicked him out of. Matthew's face was red, his laughter bouncing off the walls of the precinct and garnering quite a few smiles in his direction. It wasn't a sound they heard often here and it was welcomed. The moment was small, just her husband and son and one glimpse at the life they shared, but it was so drastically different from their start as detective and exasperating writer she couldn't get rid of.

Castle spotted Kate first, a smile lighting his face just for her, and he slowed the chair down.

Matthew's unsteady gaze found hers and it struck her again, one of those dizzying I-can't-believe-I-get-to-be-your-mommy moments that overwhelmed her from time to time.

She knelt to his level and gathered him close when he went to her, little arms slipping around her neck. "Happy birthday, my boy."

They had a six-year-old. And yeah, maybe Matthew was already five when he came to them, but it still felt like time was flying.

He was six.

She mouthed 'sorry' over Matthew's shoulder, knowing they were definitely running late, but Castle just shrugged it off.

"We'll still have time."

March 9 fell on a Monday this year so Matthew's party was the day before and the rest of this evening was just for the three of them.

"Are you ready to go?" She regarded her boy.

"Where are they taking you?" Ryan approached and suddenly, Matthew looked like he was in no hurry at all.

"Our ice cream place." He told Ryan, feeling no more explanation was necessary. Ryan nodded slowly.

"Sounds fun."

"It's where we met him. An ice cream parlor in Chelsea." Kate filled him in. "Castle and I showed up way too early that day and watched the door like hawks." She smiled at the memory. "And then Matthew and Sheila walked in and..." She shrugged and let the sentence hang.

"And you just knew?" Ryan smiled, a sucker for a sweet story.

She hated to put it like that, so sappy and just so Castle in a way, but mostly because it wasn't exactly true. By the end of the meeting, she had known he was theirs, but the small spark ignited in her heart that first day paled in comparison to what she felt for Matthew now. Their family wasn't instant and the bonds didn't build themselves overnight, but that first encounter had meant something to her. To all of them. No, she couldn't possibly have imagined all the love this boy would bring her, but she found herself telling Ryan, "Yeah, something like that."

Her fingers smoothed over Matthew's hair. "Anyway, we thought it would be a good spot for a special birthday treat."

"I'm getting cookie dough." Matthew bounced on his feet.

"But dinner first." Kate reminded him. "And we should head out so say goodbye to your uncle." Birthdays on Mondays also meant they had to have him back home at a reasonable hour, but Castle was right, they could still make dinner and ice cream without being too pressed for time.

With Ryan riling up his excitement, Matthew stalked off towards the elevator, ready to go and casting pointed glances back at Kate and Castle. "Yes, Bud, we're leaving right now." She chuckled.

Their eyes met for a moment, hers and Castle's, both dwelling on the same magnificent thought.

Exactly six years since she'd walked up to him at a book signing and look how their story had turned out. Wordlessly, she took his hand, everything she wanted to say already there in her eyes for him to see.

And they walked hand-in-hand to the elevator, Matthew leading their way.

"Where are we going?" Matthew piped up from the backseat and Kate was glad it had come from him. The not knowing was killing her, but she'd never get it out of Castle. This was his plan tonight and she and Matthew were in the dark.

"It's a surprise, Buddy." Castle cast a grin at Kate and oh, he knew this was driving her insane, too. And he loved every second of it, she could see.

"Are we almost there, at least?" She asked him.

His eyes twinkled. "Almost." He promised.

When the car slowed along a busy Manhattan street, pulling up to a nondescript building, Kate didn't know what to think. As far as she knew, this wasn't a restaurant, but Castle's impish gaze told her this was the spot and he couldn't wait to show them. Someone came around to take the car and Castle hustled them inside.

"We're eating here?" Matthew's nose crinkled as he took in the lobby. Nothing special and no food in sight. It wasn't until the doors of the elevator closed in on them did she remember.

She had been here before.

"Castle-" She gasped and his gaze warmed under her revelation. "You didn't."

But of course he did, this wonderful, sentimental man she married.

When the elevator slowed to a stop and opened up, Kate felt the memory of that night rushing back to her. Everything looked the same, from the stretch of the bar and scattered tables to the open rooftop with its string of twinkling lights overhead. All around them was a stunning view of New York skyline. There were 'Storm Fall' posters littering the rooftop, just like the night they met.

"Dinner on the roof!" Matthew howled excitedly, running over to a table Kate hadn't noticed yet. A beautifully decorated table with three chairs and two servers tucked inconspicuously off to the side, waiting. Matthew's gaze swept the table, then the rooftop and dazzling lights above them. Just like that first night, it was unseasonably warm. A cold snap was a few days away, reminding them winter still had one more fight left in it, but tonight they could relive this day six years ago without the cold pushing them inside.

"Matthew, do you know what day it is?" Castle asked.

"My birthday." He answered instantly, eyes shining. "March 9."

"Yes," Castle breathed a smile, stepping over towards the bar. Kate's heart swelled. He'd put so much effort into this, just for them, for tonight, to remember a pivotal moment in all their lives. "You were born six years ago today. But something else happened exactly six years ago, too."

They hadn't told him yet. Not that they were keeping it to themselves, it had just never come up. And he was six so he might not even care yet, but someday he would. Someday, he'd see this day the same way they did. A critical juncture. A day that proved something none of them could ever deny.

Six years ago, on this very day, all three of them were strangers to each other. One so completely new to the world and the other two about to have their shared journey unfold.

Matthew was born the day they met and if that didn't prove the three of them were meant for this family, then Kate didn't know what did.

It was a long road to this moment, littered with pain and discovery for all of them, but unequivocally worth every step.

"What happened?" Matthew wanted to know.

Castle paused in his tracks to turn and smile at his wife. "I met Kate. You wanna hear the story?"

Matthew nodded.

"Let's see…" Castle was at the bar now, sidestepping left and right. "At this exact moment - give or take a few hours - six years ago, I was standing… right about… here."

He was stationed with his back turned just slightly to Kate, his eyes on Matthew and she realized he had set it up intentionally like that, their table set in the perfect spot to watch. Castle wasn't going to just tell Matthew. They were going to show him.

"Where was I?" Matthew interjected. Castle smiled.

"You were only about fifteen hours old. You were still in the hospital with your birth parents. They were taking turns holding you close, so thankful that you arrived safe and sound." Castle rattled off easily and Matthew's smile stretched across his face. Kate tried to picture it - a dark haired newborn swaddled up and getting snuggled by his mom, nothing to worry about and only love filling up those first few moments of his life. Sweet baby boy.

And she loved Castle all the more for putting that image in her head, for being the storyteller that he was. They would have to do that more and more as the memories faded and the questions set in.

"So while you were taking a nap in your daddy's arms, I was having a party here to celebrate my newest book release. There were swarms of people filling this whole rooftop. Gram was over there, flir-… actually that part's not important. And Alexis was right here, with me. We were talking about how predictable everything had become in my life and how I wanted someone to come up to me and say something new."

She froze for a second. Was he embellishing the story, building it up for Matthew's sake? Or had he really said that right before she -

Oh, she was missing her cue.

"And I heard someone say my name and I turned."

She had taken a few strides toward him. "Mr. Castle." She approached him, lips twitching with the smile that she couldn't share just yet.

"Where would you like it?"

He even had a pen in his hand. She quirked a brow. He was nothing if not committed to this and she groped at her hip suddenly, forgetting she had her badge on her still. "Detective Beckett -"

"Kate. Detective Kate Beckett." He interrupted, frustrated that she forgot one little detail. "When you introduced -"

"Oh, good god, Castle, it's not that big of a deal." She chided.

"Fine." He sighed. "Just trying to be authentic, but fine."

From his spot, Matthew giggled at Mom and Dad's bickering.

Only now, Castle's little interruption had thrown her off and she couldn't seem to step back into that memory as easily. What had she said next? "Six years and you still are the most infuriating man I've ever known." She shook her head at him.

"And you've loved every second of it." His eyebrows danced. "Haven't you?"

Before she could answer, Matthew cupped his hands around his mouth. "Just kiss already." He bellowed at them.

They laughed at his unexpected words until Castle pulled her in and kissed her, warm and sweet, but oh-so-brief.

Not quite how their encounter happened six years ago, but they would tell Matthew all of it over their dinner. How their paths crossed, how Castle found his way into her life and wouldn't leave, how he'd been a better partner to Kate than she could've imagined.

How all three of them had their own story, but this day would forever stand as the first time their paths started to converge.

Castle kept a hand at her lower back, walking with her to their table and towards the boy they were always meant to find.

"Happy birthday, baby." She kissed Matthew's cheek before taking her seat.

"Happy meeting day." Matthew beamed.

They had their dinner under the stars, their dessert in the very place they met their son, and it all proved to be too much excitement on a school night for Matthew. He sacked out in the car ride home, his head lolling from one side to the other as Castle wound through the neighborhood streets.

She took Castle's hand in hers and twisted in her seat to have her eyes on their slumbering boy. She sighed happily, wanted to express a feeling that she couldn't quite frame with words. Not that it mattered. Castle gave her a brief, eye-crinkling smile and she knew he felt it, too.

Six years with Castle, but it felt much longer than that with the way he could read her so easily. Always so in-tuned with her, even after the wild ride of the past year. Actually, they had known Matthew for less than a year and it amazed her how much they had overcome just in that time.

They learned each other, lost a home, and were currently breaking in a new one. They merged two anxious adults, insecure and love-struck over the new child in their life, and one grieving but so loving boy into a family. They were working through the lasting damages of a near-fatal fire, all while Matthew tackled Kindergarten like it was nothing. Their story was something that left her a little in awe and she knew for as long as she lived, she'd always be grateful to experience it with Castle and Matthew. Whatever chapter came next, they were ready for it.

Thoughts?

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This felt like the natural end for Homeward, but I don't think I'm done writing for this universe. If you would like to read more about Matthew, feel free to follow me as an author so you don't miss anything else that comes about.