THIS IS A CASTLE ONE SHOT WHERE CASTLE AND BECKETT HAVE THEIR FIRST CHILD TOGETHER!
The pain wasn't half as bad as I'd been told; Martha had told me that she had to have a dose of morphine every four hours for two days when she was in labour with Rick, dad had said that mum had suffered for six hours in so much pain and Jenny who'd only just had her child said she hadn't felt a thing. Rick was by my side through the whole thing; a full twenty minutes of really quick fast contractions and our baby girl was born; I held onto his hand as they took her away to clean, I smiled brightly at Rick slightly drowsy, she had been born at 7.35am. That's when I was handed my baby and I knew that we were going to be close; she was gorgeous and looked so tiny wrapped up in the little pink blanket they'd placed her in. At 4ibs 3os she was so small; and slightly chubby. I looked at Rick as her little fingers wrapped around my pinky finger; he beamed with pride and kissed the top of my head.
"She's beautiful" he told me
"Stunning" I agreed.
"What's her name?" Rick asked
"I was thinking Kezra for her first name and Johanna for her middle name" I confessed searching his eyes for any sign of doubt in him there wasn't any
"Hi Kezra" he said taking her other little hand in his and squeezed it lightly.
"I want you to try feeding her" the nurse said coming up to us helping me and the baby get into a comfortable position meaning that Rick had to move slightly and let go of her hand.
She drunk for a solid five minutes and I stared gob-smacked that she hadn't stopped before now.
"Wow she's going to be fine. Absolutely perfect health and mentality wise" the nurse told us leaving us alone.
"That's a relief" I heard Rick whisper
"She's going to be a guts just like her father" I smiled at her ignoring the pained look that Rick had flashed me.
"Its the truth" I told him smiling at him kissing him on the lips.
"Right; you know your quite a guts yourself Katherine, I seem to recall our second date, a five course meal that I could barely finish and you sat there ordering extra dessert" he rolled his eyes
"Hey; I hadn't eaten since the night before I was famished" I whined he just chuckled and stared lovingly at me and our daughter. He grabbed his phone and took a couple of pictures.
"Do you mind if I send this to Paula; she wanted to see a picture of you and our new baby" he explained
"I don't mind just make sure that its only Paula that your sending the picture to; if you know what's good for you" I threatened
"I promise" he said.
"Oh Katie; you look radiant" Martha said
"Oh she had it easy twenty minutes of labour and plop out came our baby girl" Rick explained.
"She looks absolutely gorgeous; just like you did when you were born Katie except for the nose that's definitely Rick's" dad said
"I told you she was going to have my nose" Rick said teasingly
"I know I remember" I told him remembering the day that he'd sat on the couch drawing up which features he wanted our daughter to have.
"So what's her name?" Martha asked
"We wanted something original as well as familiar; so we decided to call her Kezra Johanna" I told our parents
"Kate that is so sweet; she's going to live up to her name" Martha said kissing the top of my head and looking sweetly at her granddaughter.
"Katherine; your mum would be honoured if she was standing here. I promise you that much" dad said tears of happiness and joy sliding down his face.
"I know she would daddy" I said bursting into tears as well; pulling my father into our family embrace. That's when I heard the gasp from Alexis and heard her run towards my bed; wrapping her arms around her dad and nana, another loud gasp when she looked down in my arms and saw her little sister.
"Wow mum; she's beautiful" she whispered.
"Just as beautiful as my soon to be official daughter" I beamed happily at Alexis. Blushing slightly she replied with a quick
"Thank you mum".
Rick and I had been engaged for about three months before I fell pregnant; we'd planned to get married on the 23rd November 2013 which was in about three months, which was the day we meet for the "first" time, the day my mother and Captain Montgomery were shot and the day that Rick had proposed to me last year. Alexis who had moved out of home six months before to attend Columbia University was ecstatic when she found out that she was not only going to be a big sister that I was going to be her new mother, apparently I'd been a role model for her for the past five years even with all the pain I'd caused her and her family, she'd accepted that I'd made mistakes and understood that I was dealing with my damn figurative wall but no matter what she'd loved me as much as I had loved her. She is the most amazing girl ever; totally perfect in every way.
"Mum; do you think I could hold her?" Alexis asked
"Yes; of course Lexi" I said handing my baby girl to my oldest daughter.
"How cute" Martha sobbed on my fathers shoulder as they both beamed at their granddaughters.
"They're perfect" Rick whispered in my ear as he squeezed my hand
"I know" I replied smiling at him.
"Ok I know you're all just waiting for the chance to hold the baby but both the baby and mummy need to sleep" my nurse came in about ten minutes later.
"That's fine we'll see you all tomorrow" dad said leaning over to kiss my forehead and handing me back my daughter
"See you guys later" Martha said smiling taking my dads arm and waiting for Alexis
"You guys go; I'll take a taxi home" Alexis said shooing them away.
"Miss you need to go" the nurse said
"Its alright Macey; she's my daughter" I told my nurse
"Oh that's alright then" she said leaving the room but not before reminding me that I would have to feed Kezra again in about three hours.
It took awhile for me to fall asleep as Rick and Alexis took care of Kezra; but I couldn't get comfortable in the horrible bed and I needed Rick to sleep with me
"Rick; come here I need you" I said at his raised eyebrow I chuckled quietly and said
"Not like that I need a hug; I can't get to sleep" hearing this he rushed to the side of me bed and climbed up onto the tiny space and hugged me closely, Alexis took this as her cue to leave so she placed her little sister in my arms and kissed us all on the head so that we could sleep.
"Night mum, dad and Kezra" she whispered heading to the door.
"Night Lexi" I murmured. I felt Rick's arms tighten around my waist as I drifted of into a light sleep.
"Kate; Katie" Rick called a couple of hours later. He wasn't next to me in bed any more he was holding a now wailing Kezra in his arms, sitting up right and rubbing my eyes I got ready for her feed.
"Alright Rick" I said once I was ready. He placed her in my arms and I got her to feed again.
"If she keeps this up she'll be onto baby formula in less than three months" he told me
"Alexis?" I asked him; nodding he said
"Her and me; both of us were on solids by the time we were eight months mind you with Alexis I didn't really have much of a choice" Rick said I nodded in understanding that was when Meredith had left him.
"I love you Richard Alexander Rodgers" I said
"I love you too Katherine Houston Beckett" he said kissing my forehead.
"Ms Beckett and Mr Castle you can go home now if you'd like to" Macey told us a couple of hours later
"Thank you Macey" I said happily grabbing my little girl in my arms and grabbing my hand bag which Rick had brought in a couple of hours ago so that he could get some food.
"Your very welcome Kate; I'll see you in three months for Kezra's check up"
"Yes you will indeed" I agreed as Rick rounded up the last of the gifts and things we'd been given. I smiled remembering how I'd felt the day that I'd found out and told Rick that we were going to be parents he hadn't freaked out the way I'd thought and he was ecstatic with the news and had immediately wanted to tell his mother and daughter and all our friends so that they didn't have to be in the dark, I felt giddy remembering the passionate erotic sex we had that night when we had decided to call the party quits and how it had intense the way it had felt as we had fully expected someone to walk in on us.
It took us half an hour to get back to the loft; Rick was driving and didn't want to startle our baby girl by waking her up. After he parked the car Rick moved around the car to grab all the baby gear that we'd taken with us to the hospital whilst I grabbed Kezra and her car seat, carrying it with us up to the loft. Rick placed all the bags down to find his keys to unlock the front door; but couldn't find them so he started rummaging through my hand bag which was at his feet; when he found his keys he smiled brightly and unlocked the door.
"Alexis, mum, dad we're home" I called making my way over to the couch.
"Wow that was quick" Martha said running out from her bedroom.
"Oh my god your home" Alexis gushed running downstairs and barrelling into my side.
"Katie hunny; how do you feel?" Dad asked standing on my other side
"A little tired but I should make it through the rest of the day" I told him
"Can I pick up my little sister?" Alexis asked
"Of course you can hun" I told her.
"Thank you" she said carefully picking up her baby sister and holding her closely. I felt Rick's arms wrap around my waist as he stood behind me; looking into his eyes I saw how proud he was at that moment seeing his daughters together.
I felt my cheeks start to dampen realising that I was crying; no one seemed to notice until Alexis looked up and looked at me starting to freak she tried handing me Kezra but I wouldn't take her
"Are you alright?" she asked
"I'm just really happy; my two daughters together and interacting with one another. These are happy tears Lexi" I told her manoeuvring out of Rick's arms to stand behind Alexis hugging her with one arm and holding Kezra's head with the other resting my head on her shoulder.
"I love you Lexi" I said after a short pause she looked at me a little shocked she'd been calling me mum for the last couple of days but we'd never told each other we loved the other.
"I I love you too" she said we smiled at each other and I returned to resting my head on Alexis' shoulder whilst she leant hers against my head.
"Oh this is so sweet" Martha gasped trying to hold back her tears, I glanced over at them and saw that dad and Rick already were and Rick was recording this whole time.
"My beautiful family" he sobbed.
"Our beautiful family" I corrected.
"Right yes of course" he nodded coming up behind me and hugging all three of us.
It wasn't long before we decided to put her to bed and we said our good nights to our family. I hadn't slept properly in nine months and especially after having Kezra I think I deserved the early night since I would be waking in a bout two hours to feed her again. Rick held me close and for the first time in over three months he pulled me into his arms so close that my chest was against his.
"Night love" he whispered against my head as he rubbed soothing circles on my back.
"Night" I said before drifting off into a peaceful sleep. I woke with a start; glancing at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was three thirty in the morning. I was about to drift back to sleep when I reached out for Rick and felt the coolness of his sheets and started to freak. Getting out of the warm sheets I grabbed my dressing gown and tied it close to my body for the first time in ages. I walked through to Kezra's bedroom and found Rick in the rocking chair with a bottle of the breast milk that had been seeping from my breasts after her first feed.
"Hey" I said walking in and wrapped my arms around myself as I leant against the wall.
"Hey beautiful" he said looking up at me and smiling. I smiled back.
"Rick how long have you been up?" I asked
"Uh I came in here when she woke at nine thirty and then I decided to stay in here with her; so that I didn't continually wake you up" he said sheepishly
"How much sleep have you had?" I asked
"About two and a half hour" he told me
"You are going back to bed buddy" I scolded
"No I can't Kate I want to stay up with her. Besides you need to catch up on your sleep" he tried to put me off my decision.
"Rick; I have to get used to this ok. I can't not do these things; what happens if you are called away in a weeks time and you've done everything by yourself and I'm left here to look after her in the middle of the night. I need to do these things too ok" I tried to get him to understand my side of the argument.
It took a while of deep thought for him to agree but on one condition that tomorrow we sort out a plan for who does which feeding and changing time. He leant down and kissed me and left me in the room alone with Kezra. For the first time I started to freak; I didn't want her to wake up and start screaming I couldn't help but cry if she did, so a little uneasy with the thought of being alone with my daughter I sat in the rocking chair that Rick had vacated and began to fall into a peaceful rest. At six thirty I woke to the almost silent cries coming from Kezra. I got up and grabbed my baby girl from the crib and sat back down with her in the rocking chair; I feed her and then changed her diaper as well before sitting back down in the rocking chair to rock her back to sleep. When it was clear that she wasn't going to go back to sleep I walked around the loft with her in my arms holding her gently and cooing to her as she finally decided that after having her dummy in her mouth and the little toy ginger cat that I had brought for her a couple of weeks back she would drift back into a comfortable sleep. I walked with her to sit on the couch and stretching myself out along the couch with one arm safely wrapped around Kezra I feel into a peaceful sleep along with her.
I felt someone trying to nudge me awake; the smell of pancakes wafting through the air and the soft lulling voice of my father trying to get me to wake up.
"Katie darling come on time to wake up" he said nudging me. I groaned and tried to go back to sleep. Until I felt a feather light touch on my feet the most ticklish part on my body and only two people knew that; my father and Rick. Giggling happily I opened my eyes and saw that it was my father who was tickling my feet.
"Dad please stop" I tried to get out between the giggling. I sat up and rested against the back of the soafer and then felt the couch dip as my father sat down on it.
"I told you it would work" Rick called from the kitchen where he stood making pancakes. Alexis was in her dressing gown sitting at the island bench in the middle of the kitchen.
"Morning mum" Alexis called from where she sat; I looked around for Martha and that's when I noticed I didn't have Kezra in my arms any more. I went into full panic mood and started searching the loft for her; until Martha came back into the room with an empty bottle and Kezra nestled in a blanket for warmth.
"Oh good darling your finally awake. She was making gurgling noises and I decided to feed and change her. She's all clean as well; gave her a little bath and everything. She was so good; didn't cry or anything" Martha beamed at her granddaughter.
"I know someone else who never cried unless she was ill or extremely late down for a nap" dad said looking at me smiling. So my daughter was going to be like me in one sense. It was still to early to know if her eyes were going to stay the same shade of baby ice blue or what colour hair she was going to have but it was good to know.
I really hoped that she would be smart like Alexis; creative like her father and every bit as fun loving as him; if I could want one trait to be passed down to her from me I hope its the one were she tells the truth always so that she never has to get her self into any trouble and stop things from happening to her.
A/N: I hope you liked it!