Based on the prompt: The first time Kate notices her baby bump.

Kate Beckett was late to work.

She only realized how late exactly when the loud, high-pitched voices came from the kitchen, waking her up. She opened her eyes and stared at her alarm as dramatic sobs followed the voices.

Damn. It was way too early in the morning for that much noise, even though her alarm told her quite the opposite. Beckett groaned and rubbed her forehead to make her headache stop – it felt as if someone was hitting her head with a baseball bat.

With her other hand, Beckett groped for her cellphone on her bedside table to check if she had any messages from the precinct. She peeked in her cellphone from behind her fingers and noticed texts from Ryan. Crap. She was late and the precinct needed her for a new big homicide case and –

In the kitchen, something crashed on the ground.

The kids. She had let Castle take care all alone of two barely woken up kids that probably didn't want to leave the house at all this morning, from the sound of it. Why hadn't Castle woken her up for the breakfast and get-ready-for-the-day routine?

Now, she felt bad about her alarm not working.

Kate jumped on her feet and quickly ran to the kitchen to see what her husband and two kids were up to. She didn't have time to go far: her husband was on his way to their room, to wake her up probably.

Castle stopped a few steps in front of her, a tired but happy grin spreading up on his face. His eyes lighted up at the sight of her, and he reached for her, one hand resting on her hip. He leaned forward for a good morning kiss; and she couldn't help but close her eyes to let the taste of coffee on his lips and his morning smell sinking in.

"Hi, love" He pulled back, a tender smile still plastered on his face.

"Hi, babe. You handle it back there with our two little monsters?" she said, looking toward the kitchen with her hazy, still not quite awake yet eyes, frowning.

Castle laughed, a low and hoarse sound of someone that hadn't been awake and speaking for that long. "We're just fine, Beckett. Ellie was just teasing Thom a bit, nothing special. Go get ready for work and let us have our fun."

Yeah. She almost forgot how late she was for work. Damn. She glanced at the kitchen to check on her kids, which were sitting at the kitchen table, unusually quiet. Well, it seemed like it since she was only seeing their backs.

She wished she could stay home, too.

"Hey" Castle began, his fingers touching her cheek to get her attention, but also as a promise. "We're gonna come visit you at the precinct for lunch. I'll bring home made pizza for you and our lastest baby Castle."

Kate smiled, amused. She had been fighting against morning sickness for the past few weeks after she found out she was pregnant again, almost two months ago. For some reason, pizza ended up being one of the food on the list she could eat without getting sick.

"Kate? You should go take a shower. I'll make you some tea and leave the crackers box on the table in case of nausea emergency. Well…if our two monsters haven't destroyed the kitchen by now" he added, a laugh spilling from his lips.

"Yeah…shower…" Beckett answered, passing her hand through her hair in an attempt to wake her up a little. She groaned, frustrated about her lack of sleep as her lack of coffee. "You really shouldn't had let me sleep in, Castle."

"You really needed it. Ryan and Esposito can survive a few hours without you at the precinct." Castle shrugged and turned around to go back to the kids.

Beckett looked at him going back to their kids for a minute, then rushed to their bathroom for a quick, lukewarm shower to wash away her sleepiness. She had never needed as much sleep as she did when she was pregnant – with this one but with the other two kids as well.

Kate shrugged off her clothes all over the bathroom floor and jumped under the shower spray. She hurried up washing herself and got out of the shower after a few minutes. Only then, she stepped in front of the looking glass and she took the towel from her hips to dry her hair and her body.

She was quickly drying her stomach when she noticed it. Her stomach wasn't flat anymore: there was a small curve – unnoticeable for someone else or when she was wearing clothes, but she could still feel its gentle lines under her fingers. Kate dropped the towel on the floor and she stood still, naked in her bathroom, her throat tight with emotions.

A baby bump.

It was real. She was pregnant again.

After months and months of trying after she had Thomas, a few years ago. After soft and tender pillow talks with Castle about extending their family again. After worrying visits at the doctors and him warning them that at her age – forty years old now – getting pregnant was harder and took more time. After tears and resignation, she realized she could be perfectly happy with Ellie and Thom.

But after she had gotten used to that idea, she found out she was pregnant again.

They will have another baby, another little boy, she insisted when Castle told her it would be another girl.

Tears of joy filled her eyes as she caressed her baby bump with her thumb, drawing circles on the wet and warm skin.

"Kate?" Her grin went deeper when she heard his soft, low voice. She turned back and saw his head in the doorway, eyebrow frowning, eyes shining with concern. "I – you weren't coming back from the room and the kids are ready to leave for kindergarden and school. Ryan called again from the precinct and – is everything alright?" he rambled. Kate bit her lips, shy and happy, and so in love with the father of her kids.

"We're having another baby, Castle" she answered, raw with emotions. She rested her hand on her stomach and saw Castle's eyes following her gesture. His eyes soften and he went closer, resting his hand over hers. His thumb drew around the shape of her baby bump as to see for himself and his smile deepens. Castle looked ahead for one second, staring in her eyes, forgetting the kids in the kitchen and her being late for work. Then, he drew his eyes back to her stomach.

"Hi, little Castle. Showing up already from your mommy's stomach, little man? I bet in no time you're going to team up with Thom and Ellie against us, aren't you?" Castle whispered to their unborn child.

Beckett sighed, satisfied and ready for a new chapter in the Castle family's story. Work could wait a little. Everyone would understand once she told them the good news.

Castle and Beckett have two children now. Elizabeth Castle was four years old, and an extremely creative and outgoing young girl, with a huge heart. Thomas, three years old, was shy and would follow his big sister everywhere.

Kate Beckett was now forty years old. Her husband and her has been married for almost six years. After Gates retired two years ago, Kate Beckett has become the new 12 precinct captain. Castle was a stay-at-home dad and was still passionately writing about his Nikki Heat.

After Thomas turned two, last year, Castle and Beckett had talked about having a third kid. They decided to try, but they weren't successful after a little more than a year.

Three months earlier, Beckett found out she was pregnant. They decided to keep it since they didn't want to say no to this opportunity to extend their family. The kids and Alexis were so happy to have another sibling!

This morning, Beckett was late to work. For an unknown reason, her alarm hadn't worked. Castle was beside the bed, slowly leaning toward her. Passing a hand slowly through her hair, Castle was whispering her name in the warm morning light to wake her up. She has been working on an hard case this last few days with her team. Since she was so tired yesterday evening when she came back home, she went to bed early. Castle decided to let her sleep a little this morning, knowing the precinct wouldn't be complete chaos without its captain. Beckett was frustrated he didn't wake her up. Castle kissed her and told her he was getting Elizabeth ready for school, and Thomas ready for daycare. He was only going a few days by week so Castle would have enough time to write. It was particularly true when he was close to an important deadline and had to write pretty quickly to meet it.

Beckett pretty much ordered him to get the kids to school and daycare, and to let her get ready for work. She slowly got up from her bed and rushed for a quick shower while Castle would go back to the kitchen to make the kids hurry up eating.

Beckett stripped off her clothes and went into the shower without looking much at the bathroom glass. It's only when she got out of the shower, a few minutes later, and let the towel fall on the ground while standing in front of the glass that she saw it: the baby bump. Her baby was showing up on her baby. Finally. He was here.

Beckett became very emotional seeing her baby bump for the first time. She wanted this baby so, so hard. Beckett put her hand on her stomach, contemplative of their little miracle, alike and so different of her other pregnancy at once. Castle didn't hear from her, so he looked in the bathroom to check if everything was alright for Kate. He teased her because she was saying being so late just a few minutes before, and now she was standing still in front of the glass. They are happy, as if they were truly realizing for the very first time that they were having a third child. As Doyle had told them they would.