Most people were shocked at how easily Kevin had adapted to spontaneously becoming a woman. Most people were idiots. It hadn't been easy at all. It still wasn't easy, but he simply tried to deal, 'cause otherwise he'd have crawled under his bed that first day and never come out.

So, yeah, he was adapting, but if one more person said the word easy, he was going to choke them out with his braid.

Days, weeks, months passed. The high heat of summer rolled over into the brisk crispness of fall. Central Park's verdant green trees now wore a pallet of reds, oranges and yellows.

And creepy Elmer, the incarcerated drug dealer/chemist/mad scientist, still had no clue how to undo Kevin's…situation.

He thought he (and everyone around him, really) had adapted as well as could be expected. There were still the occasional odd looks from other officers, but that was to be expected. It wasn't every day a detective left to pick up a skel and came back with different reproductive organs than he'd left with.

His sisters had been expectedly blasé about the whole situation. Kelly and Karan, years older than him, were too busy with their own families to have any sort of meltdown. Katie, his Irish twin, took the news in stride, but she'd always been a bit odd. In fact, she'd made things easier for him, offering to share her wardrobe as they were now the same size.

As much as Kevin loved Lanie, he was not looking forward to huge shopping trips with her each time the seasons changed.

Even his mum had accepted the change with a limited amount of drama. Sure, she'd cried a bit, but once he'd assured her that yes, he was still her son and yes, it had been an accident and no, she hadn't missed some clue that indicated he was unhappy with how he was born. That just made him want to hug his mum. She didn't give a damn that, physically, he was now a woman, just that he might have had some emotional turmoil that she might have missed.

Once she'd settled down, she'd brightened and asked if he had considered the new familial options now open to him. It had taken him a moment to realize she was talking about babies. In the sense that he could actually give birth to one.

Okay, so maybe he'd locked himself in the bathroom for an hour later that night to have a controlled freak out.

'Cuz babies…coming out of him?

No.

Just no.

He was not nearly comfortable enough with being biologically female to even consider that.

Poor Javi ended up walking on eggshells for a few days, confused as to why Kevin practically snarled every time he tried to touch him. When the bad mood set in, everyone gave him a wide berth until Castle dared to attempt to suss out the problem.

Or maybe he just drew the short straw. Montgomery had again taken to peering out at them from his office and Javi was again operating in that quiet, mildly terrified way that seemed to work for him during Kevin's first, first hand, horrific encounter with a certain aspect of feminine biology. So that left Castle and Beckett as the only two who might broach the subject and, if the large mocha caramel brulee latte and banana, chocolate chip coffee cake muffin in his hands were a hint, Castle had drawn the task.

It was kind of amusing that they'd taken to attempting to temper his moods with chocolaty foods since Beckett had first slipped him a Cadbury bar (which, he could admit, he had a whole new appreciation for). Not that he was going to turn down the food, but it was a truly transparent ploy.

The writer deposited himself in the chair by Ryan's desk and set the coffee and muffin on the blotter. Ryan nodded his thanks and, for a moment, sipped the fresh drink in peace. Castle then put on his 'concerned parent' face and asked, "So…wanna tell me why Esposito is hiding in the break room?"

Since Kevin's little baby related anger issues had kicked in, Javi had taken to ducking away when they weren't actively involved in a case. Their working relationship was as solid as ever and he liked to stay nearby, but he seemed to feel that keeping out of visual range was a good plan.

Honestly, Kevin didn't blame him, knowing full well he was being a bit…brittle. "I may have been a little prickly, these last few days," he admitted, picking at the muffin but not actually eating any of it.

"A little prickly?" Castle questioned, brows raised in humorous disbelief. "No, my friend, a little prickly is what you were when we teased you about your vampire ex-girlfriend. Now, I think Javi wants to know if it's because of something he did or…."

Kevin let out a heaving sigh and rubbed a hand over his face. "No," he muttered, then the words came tumbling out. "Mum was asking about kids!"

"Kids?" Castle said, sounding understandably puzzled. "What about them?"

Lowering his voice, Kevin leaned forward, motioning the writer closer. "It took Mum all of five minutes to process the whole 'I accidentally got turned into a woman by a mad scientist' thing, then her brain rolled over into grandma mode and she asked if Javi and I were together yet and when we were planning on having kids. As in me having babies!"

Castle blinked. "Ooooh. Okay, gotcha."

"Am I out of line to be a little freaked about that?" Kevin demanded. ""Cause I don't think it's unreasonable. I'm still getting used to this!"

With that declaration, he waved a hand to indicate himself rather emphatically.

"Not at all," Castle replied quickly, holding up his own hands in a placating manner. "But, in my opinion, you're doing really well, all things considered! I mean, hey, the vest you're wearing, Lanie didn't pick it, so you chose it yourself. That's progress."

Pursing his lips, Kevin glanced down at himself. He was fond of this outfit himself, having pieced it together from things Lanie helped him buy and borrowed items from his sister. The white Oxford shirt went well with Katie's pinstripe vest and dark jeans. It was actually rather reminiscent of something he would have worn before the whole involuntary sex change.

"It's my sister's," he mumbled, then looked up at Castle. "I should probably talk to Javi about this, huh?"

Castle nodded and gave him a companionable pat on the shoulder…well, it was half way between a pat and the sort of thump he'd have given him when he was physically a guy. Still macho, but not enough to knock Kevin's reduced body mass around. "Good luck," he offered, then pushed himself up. "I'm going to see if Beckett wants to grab dinner."

With that, the writer wandered off leaving Kevin to his thoughts. When Javi peered at him from the break room door, he offered a small smile and mouthed, "Sorry."

The relief was clear on Javi's face and Kevin felt bad about acting out his own frustration on his unsuspecting partner. He'd definitely have a talk with him tonight.

And ask Lanie about getting on the pill in the morning. Condoms worked, but he figured there'd be no harm in being extra careful.

TBC…..

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