revelation

revelation: (noun) a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one made known in a dramatic way

She's leaning against his shoulder as he makes the call. His daughter's voice floats quietly from the phone, just barely reaching her. Laced with worry and intrigue, Alexis speaks to her father quickly, promises in few words that she'll be here as soon as possible. She says something about cancelling this afternoon's study session with her friend before, once again, promising to be here at the hospital as soon as New York traffic will allow.

He hangs up the call with a tap of his thumb against his phone's screen, lets the phone fall to the sheet that covers both his legs and hers. Brandon is now asleep in his bassinet, comfortable and swaddled and full. Castle put him there after the nurse helped her breastfeed and burp their son for the first time, and he wheeled the bassinet so it was near the edge of the bed, so Brandon would be close.

His arm tightens around her back, pulls her closer so her head is resting half on his shoulder and half on his chest, rising as falling with each of his steady breaths. He still has to call his mother, to let her know where they are and, in little detail, what's going on. And they have to call her father, who will undoubtedly be worried by what will surely be a vague conversation filled with incomprehensible subtext.

But for now they sit here, in her hospital bed, and breathe in the peace after a stressful day, breathe in the quiet that surrounds the two of them and their sleeping son. It won't be quiet for long, and they appreciate it now, in the moment, before their family shows up, alarmed and scared and then, once they find out what happened, hopefully overwhelmingly excited. And before the baby wakes, wanting to be fed again.

It will never really be quiet again, she realizes, as she listens to the faint sound of his heartbeat. The life they had before, the days off spent reading and watching TV and rolling around in the sheets, simple and free and enjoying what life had given them, were now a thing of the past. Their life, in a matter of minutes, had taken a turn no one saw coming. And it should be scary, going from newlyweds to parents without expecting it. But it's not.

And that is quite possibly what surprises her most about today, besides the obvious fact that she gave birth to a perfectly helping, verging on full-term baby boy without having known she was pregnant. This unadulterated acceptance of their new situation is absolutely astonishing. She expected the love, the pure love that course through her veins like nothing she's ever felt, but she also expected fear, fear that barely comes.

Because as she watches her son, asleep in his glass bassinet, she feels happiness like never before, bliss like she never imagined. She loves the way the blanket in which he is wrapped has fallen to his chest, his hands at either side of his head, fingers curled slightly. She loves the sight of his little blue hat, covering his head, and his rosebud lips that open and close like a fish, his red tongue poking out uncoordinatedly as he sleeps. She loves him.

And her husband is just as taken by the little boy by his side, staring at the surprise baby who has taken over their lives in the short time he's been present in them. His touch is gentle, sweet and loving and every single time he looks at her, she sees love and pride shining in his eyes like it never has before. And in the silence of her hospital room, surrounded by only the periodic click of her IV, she feels it radiating off him, warming her.

"How long do you think she'll be she?" she whispers, regretting the fact that she has to break the silence, but truly wanting to know how long it will be before her stepdaughter arrives. He turns away from Brandon in his bassinet to look at her, and she revels in how proud of her, of this that he is.

He shrugs slightly, making her head rise and fall against him, and she smiles up at him as he smiles down at her. "About half an hour or so?" he answers, but it sounds more like a question than anything. "I guess it depends on traffic. The library's not all that far, and that's where she said she was. But I can't sure how long she'll be. I guess we'll see when she gets here. Why?" he asks.

She settles her temple back against him, looking down at the white sheet. "Well, I figured we should probably figured out how to tell her," she explains, her cheeks burning with a blush, evidence of her nerves. She's always imagined that they would one day have to tell Alexis she would be a big sister, she just never imagined it would under such unorthodox circumstances.

He chuckles softly, his chest vibrating against her, and it makes her cheeks burn even more. "You really are nervous about this," he points out, as though that much wasn't already obvious. "Alexis will be happy, Kate, no matter how you tell her. You heard how worried she was about you when I told her you were in the hospital, right? She loves you, and she'll be so happy you're okay. And she's going to love her baby brother.

If it makes you feel any better, though, you definitely don't have to worry about Mother. She's been dropping hints about grandkids since the day she revealed that she knew you were in my closet that morning." She can't help the knowing laughter that bubbles up and out of her chest. "So, yeah, trust me, she'll be more than happy, and you know that she won't judge. You want unorthodox, you should hear about her parenting style.

I think our biggest worry is your dad," he says, and that makes her pull her head off his chest to look up at him with wide, disbelieving eyes and raised brows. "I mean, I know he's been hinting at grandchildren, too. But hinting at wanting to be a grandpa and finding out your daughter got pregnant and gave birth without you ever having known she was pregnant, that's different. Trust me, if Alexis was in your position, I would want to kill whoever put her there."

"My dad won't want to kill you," she tells him, swatting at his chest playfully. "He loves you. He's wanted us to get together since… Well, since before I wanted us to get together." He's smiling down at her, and she can't help but smile back up at him, basking in the lightheartedness that once again fills the room, that surrounds them. "And he does want grandchildren. You know, you're the first guy he's ever suggested I have kids with."

"I'm also the first guy you married. Well, besides that Rogan guy, but he doesn't count," he points out, and he squeezes her shoulder like a silent promise that Rogan is now nothing but a joking comment between them now, her husband who was never really a husband.

"Well, yeah, but he suggested that we would one day have kids even before we got married, Castle, even before we got engaged," she tells him, remembering the conversations with her father where he not-so-subtly hinted that she should want kids before they're the best thing in life, Katie, trust me. "I think it because he knows how happy you make me. He knew this was forever before I was willing to admit it."

"Yeah, well, now we're linked for like no matter what you want, Kate Beckett. We have a baby," he tells her, laughter dancing in his voice as he speaks, finishing in an awed tone that blends as much as clashes with his laughter, and has her laughing, too.

"You have to call your mom before Alexis gets here," she tells him, tapping his chest to pointing to the phone, still sitting in the valley between his thighs. "And my dad. My dad will kill you if you don't call to let him know I'm in the hospital, babe. And we just had a baby, I can't have him kill you now," she reaches out for the phone and holds it up in front of his face, "I need you to change his diapers."

"Hardy har har," says Castle, reaching out to grasp the phone in his own hand. "I'd say you need me for more than that. Remember how scared you were of holding Cosmo?" As he speaks, his voice goes from amused to serious, and she looks up at meet his eyes, sees him staring down at her. "No. You did great with Cosmo. You were nervous at first, but once you got comfortable, you were amazing. You're going to be amazing."

She smiles and leans up to press her lips gently to his. "I know, Castle. You tell me that every single time that babysitting gig comes up," she whispers to him, "and I'm glad, because… You know, it soothes my insecurities. You're good at that." She accepts the kiss he offers. When he pulls away, she reaches over to tap his phone for him. "Now, Castle, call your Mother."

He sighs and rolls his eyes, but pulls up his contact page all the same, quickly dial's his mother's number and brings the phone to his ear. She listens to the call, just like she did when he called Alexis, hears Martha pick up the phone with a simple, "Hello," before going on about how busy she is with the acting school and her latest part on Broadway and how she doesn't have time to deal with his crazy antics.

He laughs at his mother's words, and she muffles her own laughter in his shoulder, curling her fingers around the fabric of his shirt. "No, Mother," he says into the phone, "if I had gotten myself trapped doing research again, I would have called Kate." She slaps his chest playfully again, and he turns to face her, mocking his mother as Martha begins rambling about how she's sure Katherine wouldn't appreciate that, Richard. Eventually, he's forced to cut his mother off, "Actually," he begins, "I'm calling for a very serious reason.

Martha falls silent on the other side of the line. "What is it, Richard? Is everything alright? You didn't get hurt working with Katherine, did you?" she hears Martha asks, and her heart suddenly aches for her mother-in-law like it never has before, because she suddenly understands how scary it must be to know that her son is out risking his life daily. Her baby boy can't even hold up his own head yet and she wants to pad the corners and put up baby gates at the loft, even knowing it's absolutely unnecessary.

"No, Mother," says Castle into the receiver. "I'm fine," he promises. "But… Actually, it's Kate." She calms her laughter and rests her head against his shoulder. His voice is serious, thick with emotion, and she's once again struck by how scared he must have been while she was in pain, how scary it was for him to see her hurting, and not being able to help. "It was her day off, Mother, so no, she didn't get shot or stabbed or anything. She's okay, now, but we are at the hospital."

She hears Martha's worried gasp come through the line. "Oh, Richard, what happened?" asks Martha, her voice high pitched and worried. "It must have been pretty bad for Katherine to agree to go to the hospital. Oh, the poor girl," she adds before Castle can answer. "Oh, the poor girl." She hears the shuffling of papers through the line, furrows her brows at Castle, who simply shrugs in response. "I only have a private lesson tonight, Richard. I'll cancel it and be there. Which hospital?"

He tries to tell his mother that she doesn't have to cancel her lesson, but Martha insists, like they both knew she would. So he tells his mother which hospital they're at and that he'll see her soon. Martha tells him to wish Katherine well, and he agrees, squeezing her shoulder as though silently passing on the message. She nods, smiles as he says goodbye to his mother and hangs up, instantly pulling up her dad's number and calling him.

Jim answers with a professional, "Jim Beckett," but as soon as Castle says "hi," to him, her father because dead serious. She expected as much, knowing that Castle very rarely calls her father. If she remembers correctly, last time Castle had to call her dad was when Tyson kidnapped her and they were all searching frantically, her father informed due to procedure more than anything else. "Rick? What is it? Is Katie okay?"

"Uh…" hesitates Castle, and she squeezes his arm to tell him to just tell her dad rather than scaring the poor man even more. "Yes, Jim," says Castle, "she's fine, now. But we are at the hospital. I… She's fine, I promise, you can actually talk to her if you want." And before Castle can speak another word, the phone is in her hand. She wonders if Castle is so quick to try and comfort her father because he knows how scary it is to be in such a situation, like he was when Alexis was kidnapped.

"Hi, Dad," she says as she presses the phone against her ear.

"Oh, Katie, you're okay," says her father, and he sighs in relief, the sound loud enough to drift through the phone and fill the almost silent hospital room. "What was it, Katie? You didn't get shot or hurt or beat up, did you?" he asks, and part of her wants to laugh and part of her wants to wince at the fact that both her father and Martha automatically jumped to the assumption that she's here because of violence and her job.

"No, dad," she tells him, "I had today off, actually, so no suspects got the best of me, I promise." She smiles up at Castle. "It's actually a little more," her eyes flit to the sleeping baby in the bassinet, words caught in her throat at the sight, because she suddenly really, really wants to tell her father that she's a mother and she had a baby. But that's not the kind of news you break over the phone, "complicated than that," she finishes. "It'll be easier to explain in person."

She effortlessly spouts out the information to her father, the name of the hospital and visitation hours and everything, and he quickly promises that he'll be here as soon as possible, which likely meets an hour or so, considering the fact that her father lives a little farther out of central Manhattan, but she nods and tells him she'll see him soon anyway before hanging up the call.

She turns to Castle. "Alexis will be here soon," she tells him. "You should go wait in the waiting room. I think she should hear this from you, and if she comes straight here, she'll see him and… I don't know, I think she deserves an explanation first." She leans up to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I'll be okay," she promises. He nods and goes to stand, but she catches his fingers before he can leave. "Can you hand me him, please?" she asks, motioning to Brandon.

Castle's smile is warm and loving, and his hands are big but gentle as he slowly lifts Brandon from the bassinet and rests their son in her arms.

He takes a seat in the waiting room, choosing a spot where he can see everyone and everything, to ensure that he doesn't miss his daughter's arrival. The room is filled with nervous energy, buzzing with the excitement of happy families waiting to hear that they have welcomed a new member into their group. He remembers being one of them, sitting in a room just like this, waiting to hear that Meredith had given birth. He remembers waiting here earlier, while the doctor was doing her initial exam on Kate.

He doesn't wait for Alexis long, sitting in the seat and nervously awaiting his daughter's arrival. Alexis' orange hair is distinct as she pushes open a big metal door and walks into the room in quick, determined strides. She doesn't seem to spot him as she walks right to the Maternity floor's reception desk, probably asking for Kate's room number. He gets up from his seat and walks over to her.

She jumps when his hand settles on her shoulder, turns around to see who it is and the minute she sees him, throws her arms around his neck, mumbling "dad" into his shoulder as she does so. He wraps his arms around her, too, squeezing her briefly and the releasing her. He takes her hand in his and pulls her towards a rather empty corner of the waiting room. She takes a seat in one of the chairs, and he takes the one next to her.

"Dad?" she asks, her voice soft and scared. "Is Kate okay? I know you said she was, but now you're out here. She didn't have a setback, did she?" she rambles, her voice high but soft, fast and worried. Her fingers wrap around the chair's wooden armrest, squeeze so tightly that her already pale skin goes even lighter, almost the same shade of white as a sheet of paper.

He rests his hand over hers. "Kate's okay, pumpkin," he whispers, a promise, true and real and part of him wants to just blurt out that Kate is definitely more than okay and that everything is perfect and he has a son, now. But he also knows that he has to ease into this, can't just blurt it out, because Alexis has been an only child for over twenty years, and as much as he knows she'll be happy, he also knows this is big news.

"Okay…" she says, though she still sounds suspicious. "Then why is she here? You said she was admitted. They don't usually admit you unless something's wrong, right? And," she looks around, brow furrowed, until her eyes land on a sign hanging above a door, reading in big white letters 'MATERNITY', and she turns back to him with wide, confused eyes, "why are you in maternity. She didn't have a miscarriage, did she? Oh, dad, she would be devastated."

He squeezes her hand, feels a smile come across his face. "She didn't have a miscarriage," he promises, just the word tasting sour in his mouth. "I… Pumpkin, I promise, this isn't bad, but it is big, okay?" he says, and he manages to curl his fingers around hers, pulling her palm away from the wooden armrest.

"What is it, dad?" asks Alexis, eyes still wide with both fear and confusion.

"Alexis, Kate had a baby," he tells her, and though the words are soft, they feel huge. They are huge, seem to fill the waiting room, and if he thought Alexis' bright blue eyes were wide before, he doesn't even know a word to describe them now. "She's okay. The baby is, too. They're both healthy, and the baby is full term, pumpkin. They're both in Kate's room. We just didn't want you to be blindsided. How… How do you feel about that?"

She's stares at him for a moment, jaw hanging slightly ajar, eyes gleaming with shock like he's never seen, and then she smiles. "Kate had a baby?" she asks, and albeit hesitant, her voice is filled with awe. "She was pregnant? I… I'm a big sister, dad? Seriously?" Surprised laughter bubbles up and out of her chest, contagious, making him laugh, too, as he nods. "And they're both okay. Oh, dad, how did it happen? Did she give birth here?"

He smiles. "No, not here," he tells Alexis. "She… Well, you know what, I'll let her tell you," he tells his daughter, squeezing her hand as she nods almost frantically. "And she wants to see you. She wants you to meet your little… I'll let her tell you that, too." Her jaw drops at the fact that he won't tell her whether the baby is a boy or a girl, but she's still smiling. "Do you want to see her? I can bring you to her room?"

"Does she want to see me?" asks Alexis, and his brow furrows in absolute confusion because why wouldn't Kate want to see her? "I just…" She sighs. "I know Kate loves me, and we're all a family and all that, but she just had a baby, dad, and she's probably still reeling or something and I just… Is she up for visitors and story time?"

He smiles. "Alexis, she wants to see you. She wants you to meet your little brother or sister. She just didn't want to overwhelm you by having you find out… She wanted me to tell you before you saw the baby, so you didn't get overwhelmed. If you want to see them, Alexis, Kate will be more than happy to see you." He squeezes her hand. "You are part of our family, too, pumpkin."

Alexis smiles and nods. "I want to see her, dad," she whispers, "and I want to meet my little brother or sister." He smiles at her and nods, already standing from his seat, a motion his daughter quickly copies, and he takes her hand in his, leads her through another pair of double doors and down the hallway.

Once they get to Kate's room, he motions to the door with a flick of his wrist. Alexis walks past him and glances into the room. Instantly, her blue eyes go wide, and she walks right in, laughter bubbling up from her chest. He follows, sees Kate's wide smile, misses her whispered words, as Alexis walks to his wife's bedside, eyes landing on the face of the bundle in Kate's arms.

"You have a brother," he hears Kate say.

Alexis' eyes are glued to Brandon, wide and happy and loving, much like hers were from the moment Castle placed their little boy in her arms. A proud big sister, it's the best description she can come up with for the look of awe that has crossed Alexis' face. And the sight of Alexis' wide smile, big eyes and tentative fingers reaching out to run along the edge of Brandon's blanket make any and all fears she once had melt.

"I have a brother," echoes Alexis, and she sinks down into the seat her father vacated. Her fingers trail up the blanket's edge, up to drift over Brandon's cheek and the curve of his head before they sink back into her lap. And Alexis looks up at her, gave flitting down to the baby boy for a moment before locking on her own. "I can't believe you had a baby," she says.

"Neither can I," she admits, her arms instinctively pulling Brandon a little tighter against his chest. "But I can't really argue, now, since it's obviously true." With a tilt of chin, she motions down to her son, and then smiles up at her stepdaughter. "We named him Brandon," she says, "Brandon James Castle." Her fingers trail across Brandon's cheek as she speaks his name, her eyes still locked on Alexis'. "Do you want to hold him?"

Alexis lets out a fast, stuttering breath at the question, and nods almost frantically, ready to accept the baby boy into her arms. She wants to reach over and settle Brandon in Alexis' arms, but she's still sore, and, as though reading her mind, Castle comes over, delicately takes Brandon from her arms and places their still sleeping son in his big sister's hands.

Alexis pulls him against her chest immediately, her one arm supporting his head and back, the other curving upwards to wrap around his tiny frame. Her fingers drift over his chubby cheek, and, in sleep, his lips part and his tongue pokes out and over his bottom lip. The sight makes Alexis gasp slightly, and she hums her enjoyment of it. It's a beautiful scene to watch. She can only imagine how Castle is feeling right now, watching his little girl holding his little boy.

"He's perfect," speaks Alexis, her voice still soft and awed. "He's beautiful. Kate, he looks like you," she says, her eyes still locked on her baby brother. Her thumb traces the fold of his hat, the dip between his lower lip and his chin. "How… How did this happen?" she asks. "I mean, I know how this happened. But, how did today go? Dad said you didn't have him here."

"No, I didn't," she confirms, still staring at the pair of siblings, a smile coming across her face as Alexis gasps softly when Brandon wiggles. "I actually had him in the bathtub at home, in our bathtub. You can't even imagine my surprise when I went from thinking I had food poisoning or something to being sitting in the bathtub holding this little man."

Alexis chuckles softly and shakes her head, as though silently confirming that she can't, in fact, imagine that. "You must have been so… God, I can't even guess how you were feeling. Scared, probably. Happy," she says. "I don't know how you couldn't have been happy. Look at him."

Her laugh is more of a breath, and she nods, remembering clearly the overwhelming love and joy that had surrounded her, washed over her and filled the loft as she sat in the tub, cradling her newborn son against her chest, forgetting the pain of the day and the ache that lingered. "Yeah," she confirms, "I was happy. And scared. I was scared something would be wrong with him, you know, because of something I did." She hears her own voice fall at the words.

"But dad says he healthy, right? He said you guys are both perfectly healthy," asks Alexis, and for the first time since Castle placed Brandon in her arms, the young woman looks up from her baby brother to look at both other adults in the room, eyes wide and worried.

"Yeah, he's healthy. The doctor's ran every test they can. He's full term at thirty-seven weeks, healthy weight, healthy length, healthy everything, Alexis. He's perfect in every sense of the word," she promises her stepdaughter, seeing the worry fade from Alexis' bright blue eyes. "And I'm perfectly fine, too. We were a best case scenario."

"Good," says Alexis, looking back down at Brandon, "because I can't imagine anything being wrong with this guy. He looks too perfect to not be perfect. Aren't you, Bran?" She finishes her sentence with a coo, her words obviously directed at the sleeping baby. "He's so sweet and lovable."

She smiles. "I'm glad you think so," she says, "because I have something to ask you."