Year in Time

Part 23

July 28, 2015 — Avery's 1st Birthday
      She knew when she told Lanie and Alexis that they could decorate the Hampton's house for Avery's first birthday that it would turn out spectacular, but she never imagined this. The theme was "SomeBUNNY is One" after Avery's current love of bunnies. Whenever there is one in a book Kate is reading her she gets excited. The house is elaborately decorated in pastel pink, floral, and bunny decor. Avery is adorning a pastel pink and white plaid dress and her curls have a matching bow clipped in them.
      She smiles as she watches the baby sit in the living room with Sarah Grace as they play in the little ball pit — a birthday gift from Jim. "You doing okay?" Her husband asks as he steps behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. "She's one. A year ago today we were in the hospital with her." She says, not really answering his question. "I know. Remember how little she was?" He asks. She chuckles as she nods, "And we all thought she was a chunk." She reminds him. Castle smiles. Their daughter looks up as if she can tell she's being watched.
"She's got her mother's sense." He whispers in her ear. "Dada." Avery says. Rick steps forward and lifts their baby into his arms, "Hey birthday girl." He says before kissing her cheek. He walks over to his wife who leans up to kiss Avery's cheek. "Come on, let's go mingle." Rick says as he wraps one arm around his wife's waist. They make their way over to Lanie and Alexis, "You guys did amazing with the decorations. Really, thank you." Beckett says finally getting to express her gratitude, "Of course! Only the best for my goddaughter." Lanie insists before taking the baby from Castle's arms.
      They watch as Avery looks past Lanie's shoulder and at Esposito. Avery was a Daddy's girl and of course she loves her mother and wants her whenever she's hurt or sick. But, after her parents and sister, Avery loves her Uncle Javi. Esposito makes his way over and Avery begins laughing, "Hey Little Chica." He says as he steps behind Lanie. Avery reaches her arm out and Esposito instantly takes her from Lanie. "Come on, let's go sing to the birthday girl." Castle suggests and everyone is pulled into the kitchen where there are two cakes.
     The first one is small and meant for Avery to eat with her hands. The other one is meant for their guests. Beckett strips Avery down to her diaper and places her in her high chair before placing the cake in front of her. They place a '1' candle in the cake, but don't light it to avoid injury, "Ready? 1...2...3. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Avery. Happy birthday to you." Everyone sings. At the end they all clap which prompts Avery to do the same. "Dig in, baby." Beckett encourages her.
     Avery looks at the cake quizzically before looking back towards her mother. Beckett gathers some frosting on her finger and holds it up to Avery who eats it. "Is that yummy?" She asks her daughter. She gets her answer when Avery grabs a fistful of the cake and shoves it into her mouth. She kisses her temple and stands to help Castle distribute pieces of the bigger cake to everyone. They mingle with their friends and family. Once they're done with cake, Castle takes charge in cleaning Avery off and then hands her to Beckett so he can clean her highchair.
      "Did you get a picture of her before you wiped her down?" She asks her husband who nods. "Yep and I'm prepared to have it printed out first thing tomorrow morning to add to the photo album to show any future suitors." He says. Kate laughs and rolls her eyes before carrying Avery into the living room so they can open presents. Their daughter gets a plethora of toys, books, clothes, and much more. By the end of opening gifts, Avery's sugar rush from the cake had plummeted and the one year old can barely keep her eyes open.
     "You ready for night nights?" Beckett asks her daughter who nods and practically falls into her mother's arms. "Alright, I'm going to go put her down for the night." Beckett says. Everyone says goodnight to the little girl and Castle kisses his wife before watching her head upstairs with their baby in her arms. In the nursery, she changes Avery's diaper and puts her in a pair of footie pajamas before settling into the rocking chair. Even though she's already asleep, she just wants a few minutes alone with her daughter. She hid it, but she's felt emotional today.
     This past year has been an emotional rollercoaster. Becoming a mother had been her greatest joy. Watching Avery grow and develop her own personality was as miraculous as experiencing pregnancy and birth. She runs a finger over the slope of her baby's nose, across her cheek, under her eye. She's perfect. Beckett knows it's biased, but she also knows the amount of time they've been stopped in a grocery store or out on the street to be told how beautiful their baby is. Days like today makes her want another one. Badly. After her next period, they'd technically be able to start trying again.
      It was something she was unsure of until today. With the miscarriage they just went through, she didn't think she'd be ready this soon, but she is. Once she's sure Avery won't wake up, she stands and gently lowers the baby into the crib. "Happy birthday, sweet girl." She then leaves the room and heads back downstairs where she finds their friends and family cleaning up. "She go down okay?" Castle asks. "Out like a light before I even made it upstairs." She answers. Once the house is cleaned up, the boys along with Lanie and Jenny say their goodbyes and head back to the city.
     Jim, Martha, and Alexis make their way to their bedrooms while Castle pours both him and his wife each a glass of wine before they settle on the couch with Avery's baby book. "Her first ultrasound." Kate reads aloud and they both smile. "It feels like forever ago." Castle says before his wife turns to the next page which is a collage of Polaroids of her bump throughout her pregnancy. "You really are so beautiful." He says as he looks down at her. She smiles up at him, "Thank you."
      She pulls him down for a kiss. "Castle, I'm ready to try again." She says. He gazes into her eyes, "Are you sure? There's no rush, Kate." She shakes her head, "I've been racking my brain trying to think of the right time to start trying, but truthfully I don't think there ever will be. We still have to wait for my next cycle to be over per my doctor's orders, but I want another baby." She says. "Alright, let's do this." He smiles. Tears fill her eyes, "Really?" He nods, "Okay. We're doing this. I mean, we have to wait a little bit to officially start trying, but we're doing this." She says happily.
     He presses his lips to hers in a kiss. "Let's clean this up and go celebrate making our daughter." She says. They quickly put the baby book back and dump their wine glasses in the sink before climbing the stairs as quietly as possible as to not wake the sleeping members of the house. Today, they survived a year of parenting. Today, they start the next chapter of their story.
And with that, this story comes to an end! Stay tuned for an addition to this Castle universe👀☺️