I'm not totally happy with this, but I can't make it much better without just deleting it, so I figured I'd post it anyway. Apparently I'm a little rusty as far as my writing goes, which frustrates me to no end.
Anyway, enjoy!
Kate flipped idly through Rick's latest manuscript. She'd read it twice already, but the excitement of always being the first to read his work had never worn off. She heard the shower turn off and set the stack of paper down on his desk, waiting expectantly for him to walk out of the bathroom. A minute later he did, with his robe on and his arms open. She walked into them and kissed him hard, her goal of securing wild sex with him after she returned from her brunch with Lanie at the very front of her mind.
"I have to go meet Lanie. I'll be back in a few hours," she murmured suggestively. The grin she loved so much broke out on his face and she smiled in response. She turned away quickly before she could convince herself that it was a better idea to cancel brunch and hurried out of his apartment.
She reached the diner before Lanie, but claimed a booth for them anyway. She accepted the water the waitress placed on the table and asked for some toast, hoping it would settle her stomach. She was still recovering from the stomach flu she'd come down with over a week ago. She didn't remember feeling too bad on that day, though. Of course most of that was probably due to Rick's constant and distracting presence. He sat in the bathtub editing his newest book while she was busy fighting nausea half the day.
Her friend fell into the booth across from her as she was just about to bite into the second slice of toast. She smiled politely at the waitress and then rolled her eyes at Kate.
"You will not believe what my new intern did to my office," she muttered unhappily as she flipped quickly through the menu. "I get that he's trying to be helpful and all, but he organized every drawer in my desk! No one touches my desk."
Kate laughed once, fully aware of how Lanie liked the organized chaos of her desk drawers. They both put in their orders and the waitress left.
"How is it living with writer boy?" she continued with a raised eyebrow. "He keeping you awake all night? Because you look like you haven't slept in days. I would not trade my sleep for anything, no matter how good the guy is in bed."
Kate smiled wryly. "We're not rabbits, Lanie. I've been sleeping more than enough."
"I would certainly hope so, now that all your stress is gone. Is it that stomach bug still?"
"Why are you so concerned with how much I'm sleeping?" Lanie hesitated a moment, and Kate picked up on it. "What?"
"Now, I don't mean to pry more than is expected, considering how long I've been waiting for you to hook up with this man, but are you two using protection?"
"Yes," she answered immediately.
"All the time?" Lanie pressed further. Kate went through the three weeks since she'd resigned from the NYPD quickly in her head, and could find only one instance, but surely that didn't matter.
"There was one time," she told her friend in a low voice. "Why does this matter, Lanie?"
"I don't think you have a stomach bug, Kate," she said quietly.
"What, you think I'm pregnant?" Kate mumbled in disbelief. "That's impossible."
"When you get a medical degree you can tell me what can or can't happen," she said. The waitress came over then with their food, but suddenly Kate was not the least bit hungry. Her heart rate had picked up and her insides were twisting. There was no way that could be true. But was it really possible?
"All I'm saying is that you might want to think about it," Lanie was saying, but Kate was already gathering her coat.
"I have to go," she said hurriedly. She stood from the booth in spite of Lanie's protests, already determining the best route to a drugstore. She rushed out of the diner, her thoughts traveling at lightning speed.
It was very possible that she was pregnant. She'd thought about it recently, but not enough to make any decisions yet. Somehow she realized that she would be with Rick for a very long time. Having a child with him made perfect sense. She'd always wanted a baby, just one. He already had a daughter, one of the brightest and most responsible people she knew. He would love another child.
By the time she reached Rick's loft with a pregnancy test from the drugstore in hand, she'd decided that she wouldn't mind a baby. And when she opened the door and spotted him in the kitchen, her heart warmed. She'd never seen him with a baby before. He was probably adorable with one.
"Hey," he said seductively, moving towards her. "I've got whipped cream!"
She smiled, but held her hand up to stop him. "Down, boy. Let me take care of something first."
"Is everything okay? Did you have a good time with Lanie?" One hand settled on her waist, the skin beneath it tingling. Three weeks later, and she was still reacting powerfully to his touch.
"Everything's fine, Castle. I'll be right back." She quickly kissed his cheek and headed for the bathroom. Her heart beat faster as she closed the door and reached for the small box.
She paced back and forth across the small room after taking the test. She wasn't sure if it was the longest three minutes of her life, but it was certainly long. And when the time was up and she was about to see the result, her anxiety was higher than it should have been. She took a deep breath and snatched the piece of plastic off the counter, bringing it up to eye level. It was negative.
The sinking of her heart surprised her. She frowned and watched the white circle for another minute, hoping that maybe she just had to let it sit longer. But three more minutes later, the result was still negative. She sighed and launched it into the garbage can, then ran her hands through her hair.
"Are you okay?" Rick's voice floated through the door and brought her to her feet without thinking. She opened the door and stepped into his waiting arms.
"I'm not pregnant," she sighed, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Oh-kay? Did you think you were?" One of his hands started to rub her back and she closed her eyes.
"I don't know," she murmured. "Lanie brought it up, and I thought maybe..."
"You're disappointed," he concluded.
She was quiet for a while, trying to process everything she was feeling, and then, "Yeah."
"Do you want a baby, Kate?" She picked her head up and looked at him fully, his eyes full of nothing but love for her.
"Not now, but...someday," she decided. She smiled and kissed him, a promise of the future.