A Castle fanfiction, set in mid-season 7. Of course, I do not own Castle or any of the characters...

This is my very first fanfiction and English is not my first language, so please be gentle with me...

Bitter misunderstandings

"Yes, there is no doubt, Mrs. Castle, you are definitely pregnant. 7 weeks along, I would suppose." Her doctor's words kept spinning around in her head. Just a couple of hours earlier she went to see her OB/GYN - Kate just wanted to be sure the suspicions she had been having for weeks were right. The fatigue, the sickness, her mood changes, not to forget her aching breasts…. it all made perfect sense now. She hadn't gone to work that morning as she usually did. Castle had spent the last days at home anyway, having to finish the latest chapter of Driving Heat, so right now he was not there to question her change of direction in the busy Manhattan morning traffic.

Thus, instead of heading to the precinct, she went straight to Doctor Robertson's office though she didn't have an appointment. Kate just couldn't wait any longer. Fortunately, another woman had cancelled her appointment last-minute so the doctor had time to see her.

Now, as she stepped into Central Park, deep in thought, she had no eyes for the beauty of nature around her or the children that passed her, laughing and running and having ice-cream. It was a bright sunny day, Kate felt the morning sun on her face and for a moment she closed her eyes… Pregnant, she thought, I am really pregnant. I'm having a baby. Rick's baby. Kate couldn't help but smile at that idea, but the memory of her doctor's words put a damper on her good mood….

Kate's initial joy about her confirmed pregnancy was cooled off when her doctor informed her that he had concerns regarding her health. After thoroughly examining her, he informed Kate that her baby was perfectly healthy, but, nevertheless, there could occur some risks. Due to her gunshot wound her heart never really gained back its old strength, and Kate had to admit that from time to time she felt a certain weakness in her heart, especially when she was stressed out or physically exhausted.

It felt like a bucket of ice water, her doctor's words, as he insisted: "I want you to have your heart checked out by a specialist, and I want you to have it done rather soon. Your blood pressure is a little too high, that's something we should watch pretty closely. By now, everything else looks just fine, but we want to make sure this pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible for both you and your baby. Due to your medical record I have no other option than to classify this as a high-risk pregnancy. A friend of mine, Dr. Palmer, is a cardiologist at Bellevue Hospital. I'll call him and let him know you will come see him today, if that is fine with you… don't wait too long, Mrs. Castle, that's the best advice I can give you at this point."

With that, she left his office and made her way out of the streets of Manhattan, and now she found herself in Central Park. She had no idea how she got there, she had just walked aimlessly after her doctor's appointment. How shall I bring the news to Castle, Kate thought. I know he will be thrilled to hear that he'll be a father again. Of course, the subject of having a baby had come up occasionally, but they had never really talked about it. Now we will have that conversation, Kate chuckled to herself.

She sat down on an empty bench and thought about the best way to bring the big news to her husband. Almost two hours later, her mind filled with countless ideas and thoughts, her empty stomach reminded her that it was lunchtime and by then, Kate had made a decision. Before she would tell Castle anything about the baby, she would go and see a cardiologist just like her OB/GYN had advised her to do.

Hastily, she stood and began walking towards the next street to get a cab. 'Better now than never, she thought. As she approached an empty cab, she waved the driver and hopped inside as soon as he stopped by the sidewalk. "Please take me to Bellevue Hospital, thanks", Kate told him. During the ride, Kate thought briefly about calling Lanie and asking her to join her, but this thought was quickly dismissed. Her mobile, which she already had in her hands, was put back in her bag. 'No, she told herself, I want Rick to be the first one to hear from me that I'm pregnant'.

"Lady, we're here", the driver interrupted her inner monologue. "Oh, yeah, thanks." After having paid the cab driver absentmindedly, Kate got out of the car and stood tentatively in front of the hospital's entrance.

'Come on, Kate, she told herself, you can do this. Don't be such a coward. You take down murderers for a living, so seeing a doctor should be a piece of cake!' With that thought on her mind, Kate took another deep breath and entered the building. She looked around for a moment and quickly found what she was looking for. 'Okay, so the cardiology is on the third floor. Now, let's find these elevators and go find Dr. Palmer, she encouraged herself.

Meanwhile, on the third floor, CARDIOLOGY:

"There's nothing you have to worry about, Mrs. Haas, I can only repeat my colleague's words. The symptoms you have been describing are perfectly harmless, it's what happens to all of us who go for a run after a long break." "Anyway", the brunette woman insisted dramatically, desperately trying to ignore the fact that she was all sweaty and sans make-up, still in her running outfit in front of a handsome man, " I would feel so much better if you could run another ECG on me, now would you?"

Her cardiologist, Dr. Palmer, a calm man in his mid-fifties, gave her a sympathetic look and thought about her proposal for a moment, when Paula assured him:" I can tell you, my health insurance covers all these examinations, so you're on the safe side here. Pleeaase, run these tests so I can be sure everything's fine with me…." After hearing her desperate begging, Doctor Palmer decided on giving in. "Well, if it will make you feel better, Mrs. Haas, who am I to stand between you and your well-being, right?"

Having said that, he escorted her into the closest examination room to run another (unnecessary) ECG. He stopped briefly to inform his younger colleague "Hey, Josh, I just got a call from an OB/GYN who is an old friend of mine, Dr. Robertson, he will send one of his patients to see me today. She's pregnant and might develop a heart condition due to a former gunshot to the heart. If she gets here, can you run an ECG and the usual tests on her? That would be great. Looks like I'll be stuck a little longer with Mrs. Haas here." Giving him an eye-roll that spoke for itself, Dr. Palmer continued to walk to the exam room where Paula was already waiting impatiently.

"Sure", his colleague replied. "What was this patient's name again?"

"It's Castle, Katherine Castle", Dr. Palmer told him. Then he followed Paula into the exam room and closed the door behind him.

'Oh my god', Josh thought ironically, 'can this day get even better'?' He hadn't seen Kate since their break-up, and only knew about her engagement and wedding with Castle through the media. However, he had no time for second thoughts, because as soon as Dr. Palmer disappeared into the exam room, the elevator doors opened and Kate got out.

"Josh", she exclaimed, clearly surprised, "I had no idea you're back in the states, and neither did I now you work here. Actually, I came here because…" she stated somehow uncomfortable, but then stopped her ramblings. You could see in her eyes that she was overwhelmed with the whole situation, and didn't know what to say any further. Josh, however, seemed to have found his composure rather quickly and replied with a friendly smile: "My doctors without borders mission in Latin America ended 6 months ago. I came back and took this job offer because I really needed a break from being abroad. Now, don't worry Kate, Dr. Palmer already told me that you would come by, but he is seeing a patient at the moment, so if you are ok with it I would run some tests and do a ECG, yes?" Kate could only look at him with wide eyes. 'He knows', she thought, wow, that spared me an embarrassing explanation….

"Ok, no problem", she assured him, giving him a short smile. 'Why not, she told herself, Josh happens to be a great cardiologist, and he knows about my chest injuries, so maybe it's a good thing he does these examinations…'

Josh guided her into an empty examination room and began to prepare the ECG. "Ok, Kate, please take off your shirt, we will run an ECG first", he asked with a sympathetic, but professional smile. Kate was thankful for him being a professional during the whole examination and not making the whole situation somehow embarrassing for both of them. After several tests were run, Josh left the room to get the results, telling Kate to wait for him in the meantime.

Paula, however, had just been examined by Dr. Palmer in the next exam room. "As I told you, Mrs. Haas, your results do look fine. You are perfectly healthy. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are other patients I need to see. Have a good day" With that said, he left her gaping at him. No, she thought angrily, that is NOT the way you get to treat Paula Haas!' However, as the doctor had already left the room, she had no other option than to gather her coat and her extravagant bag and head to the elevator.

Just when she came along the exam room next to hers, she couldn't help but eavesdrop on the familiar voice. Peeking through the door which was slightly opened, her jaw almost dropped to the floor. 'Well, if this isn't Rick's little wife No. 3, she thought bitterly. I wonder what Mrs.-Nikki-Heat-in-real-life is doing here, she doesn't look sick to me at all….' Then, these thoughts were quickly forgotten as she saw how Kate took her Doctor into her arms and kissed him on the cheeks. "Thank you so much Josh", she heard Kate say to the tall, handsome doctor, "you have made me the happiest person alive! But, we better hope Rick never learns that we met here….."

Now, isn't this getting interesting, Paula thought, that little slut couldn't wait a year of being married until she starts cheating on my poor Rick! Without listening any further, she grabbed her mobile and took a snapshot of the people she just spied on, still standing in the exam room, holding each other's hands and smiling like idiots, especially Kate. I wonder what Rick will say once I'll show him this unique photo of his loving wife, Paula thought maliciously. She had never been a fan of Rick's and Kate's relationship, because deep inside, she still lusted after Rick, never having been able to forget that one night of shallow passion they shared in Ibiza a long time ago. Now, it seemed that she found her personal revenge jackpot.

She headed straight to the elevator, stopped, and took her mobile in her hands on her way. Quickly, she dialed Rick's number. Impatiently, Paula waited for him to answer her call. After a couple of seconds that felt like eternity to Paula, he finally answered her call. "Rick", she said in a sweet voice, "I do have some veery interesting news for you. Are you at home? Great. I'm on my way." With that being said, she entered the elevator, put her mobile back into her bag and pushed the button for the first floor. An evil smile spread across her face…. and in her mind she was already imagining various ways how to comfort Rick's soon-to-be broken heart…..

Kate and Josh did not realize that they had just been watched by someone. As soon as Josh had come into the room, examination results in his hand, Kate didn't hesitate, didn't even let him close the door. She just looked at him with big, pleading eyes and asked him "Please Josh, be honest, is everything all right? I need you to tell me the truth…. "Tears were already watering her eyes, but Josh quickly replied "Hey Kate, relax, right now, there is nothing to worry about. I'm glad to inform you that all results came back normal. You are perfectly healthy and your medical history shouldn't be a problem for your pregnancy… "

He couldn't speak any further, as Kate enthusiastically threw her arms around him and exclaimed "Thank you so much Josh, you have made me the happiest person alive. But, we better hope Rick never learns that we met here….. he tends to get really jealous pretty fast, you know. So, I think it is the best this is my final appointment with you, Dr. Davidson", she smiled. Unaware of being watched, Kate reacted by instinct when she kissed Josh on his cheeks. At that moment, she was just so happy and Kate needed to show him how grateful she was for the good news he had just brought…. If only Kate had known that she had just involuntarily started an unpredictable chain of events, she might have done without the kisses and her innocent remarks...

So... thoughts? Shall i continue? Feedback is highly appreciated!