A Place in This World

Chapter Two

After her initial meeting with the adoption counselor and adoption agent Kate spent the next few days going over applications of dozens and dozens of couples. Weeding them out if both parents held time consuming jobs, or if they already had multiple children. She had narrowed it down to two couples. The first was doctor and his wife, who was a stay at home mom. They had a four year old already and when they had struggled to conceive again naturally or through in vitro they had decided that adoption was their best option. The second prospect was a book publisher and her husband, their letter had stood out the most to her. It was powerful and she could tell that the couple had truly been trying hard to have a baby with no luck.

After narrowing it down to those two couples she decided that she needed Lanie to go over the applications as well and see what she thought about the couples. She valued Lanie's opinion and knew that she would take it as serious as she had been.

"Okay, these are my top two." Kate took a seat next to her friend on the couch, handing her a glass of wine.

"Hand em' over girl, you know I don't want you choosing without me." Lanie took the folders out of Kate's hand and started to read through them. "Okay I like the doctor and his wife, it looks like they are pretty well off."

"Yeah they sound great." Kate agreed as she shoved a hand full of popcorn in her mouth.

"But they already have a baby."

"They do Lanie, but they have tried to conceive again without any luck, I may be their only shot at having another baby."

Lanie had already dropped their folder on the coffee table and started on the next couple. "Oh but the publisher and her husband, they don't have any children together, one child is listed though, but she's from a previous marriage, and is much older."

"Yeah, flip to the last page, read their letter."

Lanie took a moment to read through their letter and by the end she had to dry a tear from her cheek. "Wow, Kate, they seem perfect, they seem like they really want a baby."

"I know! There is just something about them too, I think they might be the ones, but of course I am going to meet with them first, do a proper interview myself."

Lanie nodded as she took a heavy sip of her wine, "Are you sure you want to go through with this Kate?"

Kate rolled her eyes and laughed, "I'm positive Lane, I mean I am nowhere near ready to be a parent, I'm single, overworked, I don't make enough to support a child on my own."

"I know, but it isn't like you're 20 years old anymore, I mean you're over 30. So what if you're single, a lot of women do it alone."

"Yeah but those women don't risk their lives everyday. I couldn't do that to my child. Knowing that something horrible could happen at any moment to rip me away from my child. I don't want my kid to have the life I had, I don't want them to suffer through losing a parent."

"Kate your job isn't a death sentence."

"Maybe not, but it's dangerous, and I just don't want that life for me and my child. Maybe one day I'll fall in love, get married and have a child then but now is not the time."

"If you're sure… as long as you're sure." Lanie questioned.

"I am. After reading through all of these applications I am positive that this is the right decision for me. There are so many couples out there that want this, who are ready for this."

Lanie finished her glass of wine and started to gather her things to leave, "So when are you meeting with them?" she asked as she placed her phone in her purse, first checking the time.

"Meeting them tomorrow afternoon, I took off work so I could prepare. I want to make sure I ask all the right questions." She got up from the couch and walked Lanie to the door.

Lanie pulled her in to a hug, "Well hopefully one of those families will be perfect, but don't forget, if you change your mind, you have my support and you'll have the boys as well. Once you tell them that is…"

"I'll tell them once I've officially picked a family. I'll be showing soon anyway, cant really avoid it."

"Alright, goodnight girl."

"Goodnight Lane." Kate shut the door behind her. Tomorrow was going to be difficult but she had made up her mind, and this was for the best.

The next afternoon Kate made her way to the agency, giving the receptionist her name and taking a seat in the waiting room. She grabbed a magazine off of the table and started to read while she waited. She had gotten there a little early out of anxiousness, but this gave her a little time to calm her nerves.

While she sat there she heard the door open not paying much attention until she heard a male voice talking to the receptionist.

"Yes, Rick Castle, I am here for an initial meeting with ummm…" he paused. "Well I am not sure of her name."

Kate's head snapped up. Richard Castle…. He was, he was one of her candidates. No wonder they didn't have his occupation listed, but where was his wife.

"Mr. Castle, yes, we will have you back in a few minutes."

He nodded and headed towards the chairs lined against the wall. He smiled and nodded at Kate when she looked up at him. She smiled back politely. How could she not? He was so handsome, and not to mention he was her favorite author.

"Miss Beckett, you can make your way back now, they are ready." The receptionist announced through the sliding glass window.

Kate nodded, collected her purse and made her way into the back offices.

Lucy, her case worker went over the process with her, how the interviews and meetings would be conducted and then they were on their way, and of course, first in was Mr. Castle.

"Oh, hello." He smiled when he walked in, "If I would have known, I would have introduced myself in the waiting room."

She smiled back, reaching her hand out to shake his, "Oh it's no problem…."

"Richard, well Rick Castle." He greeted, and she did her best not to lead on that she knew exactly who he was.

Their hands shook for a few seconds too long before Kate pulled hers away nervously. His eyes had not left hers since walking in the room. God his eyes were beautiful, his wife was so lucky. Speaking of… "So where is your wife?"

"Running late, she should be here any minute." He assured her as he took as seat across the table from her.

"No problem. Should we wait or?"

"Ummm…." He looked at his watch anxiously, sliding it around his wrist to make sure he read it right. "We should go ahead and start, she should really be here any minute."

They started with small talk, each telling a little about themselves. They clicked pretty instantly, each sharing a love for literature.

After about twenty minutes a knock on the door came, followed by it slowly opening. A slim, blonde woman, piercing blue eyes and dressed in all designer clothing walked through.

"Hello, sorry for being late." She extended her hand to Kate and shook it firmly. "I hope my husband didn't ramble too much."

Kate laughed, "You kidding? This guy is a charmer."

"When he wants to be." Gina smiled, looking over at Rick. They looked like a normal, loving couple.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself, Gina Cowell, well Castle."

"Kate.. Beckett." Kate introduced herself.

"So Miss Beckett, my husband hasn't scared you away yet right?"

"Oh he has been great. I actually wanted to tell you guys how much I loved your letter. I mean it truly touched me. I am probably not the norm for women giving their children up for adoption. I am a college graduate, a member of the NYPD, I come from a great family."

"So what made you want to give the baby up?" Rick asked, "If you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh no, I don't actually. The father is my ex boyfriend. He is a doctor, actually working in Haiti currently. He doesn't have any interest in being in the baby's life, and I… Well, I don't think that it is smart for me to do this alone. I work long hours, my jobs sucks a lot out of me. I also lost my mom when I was 19 and never really got over it and I work in such a dangerous environment, I just don't want to put my child through the same thing."

"Wow, that's incredibly selfless."

"Thank you Mr. Castle." His sincerity wasn't lost on her. He meant it, and she was grateful that he wasn't judging.

"Please, it's Rick."

"So how about you two tell me more about yourselves. Things that aren't in the application." Kate asked, trying to turn the questions to focus more on them.

"Well, I have a daughter, Alexis, from my first marriage. She will be a senior in the fall."

"Wow a senior.. So why a baby now?" Kate had truly been curious about this when she first read that they had a teenage daughter that lived in the house.

Gina decided to speak up now, "Rick and I have been married for five years now, we have tried and tried to get pregnant with no success. We feel like now is the time, we are both ready."

"So are you planning on just adopting once or do you think that you'll want to adopt more?"

Rick and Gina shared a look and Rick spoke for the both of them, "We actually will probably just adopt once."

"Okay." Kate nodded and made a note on her notepad.

"Unless, you want us to adopt a sibling."

"No, I wasn't implying anything Mr. Castle." Kate assured him.

"It's Rick, and you… well, you made a note, and I don't want that to be the reason you don't choose us."

He was nervous and it was cute. She could tell that he really wanted this baby, that he was excited about the possibility.

"I assure you that it is not make it or break it. I am just making notes so that I remember these things when making my choice." She looked back and forth between the couple. Rick looked a nervous wreck, like this was his last shot at adopting a baby. "You all are amazing, and you seem really excited about the possibility of a baby. I like you all, I just want to give my baby the best chance at a happy life."

"So do we." He assured her. "We are good people, we love each other, we love my daughter, and we just want a chance to be parents together."

"And I would love to give you that opportunity."

"So… what does that mean."

"I think it means that we should cancel the next interview." Kate looked to Lucy who was wearing a shocked and concerned face. But Kate had a smile stretching across her face as she looked back to both Rick and Gina.

"You're sure?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Kate looked back at the couple, "I think the Castles are perfect."

"Wow, really?" Rick stood up immediate rounding the table to pull Kate out of her chair and in to a hug. He released Kate from the tight embrace and smiled back at Gina who has a silly grin on her face as well.

As they exited the conference room Rick wasted no time offering over his business card as well as Gina's. "We are so thankful that you chose us, you have no idea how much we have prayed for this."

"Mr. Castle, it's truly you who is doing something for me. I just want you to promise me that you all wont back out and that you will love and care for this child as if it was your own." Kate wasn't being aggressive but very assertive. She wanted reassurance that she was making the right choice by choosing them so quickly.

"Miss Beckett, you and this baby are our number one priority right now. I promise we will do everything in our power to make your pregnancy as comfortable as possible and we will go above and beyond for this baby." He assured her.

Gina walked into the conversation coming to stand next to her husband after she had been speaking with Lucy about official paperwork. "Yes, Kate, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure you have a comfortable pregnancy and delivery."

"I have great insurance through my job." She assured them, "and I am pretty much set as far as living and expenses go."

"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do for you?" Rick asked.

"Actually yes, I would love for you all to be involved, join me for appointments and such. I would like to have a good relationship with you all, so that maybe one day I can have a relationship with the baby, if that is okay with you all."

"Oh of course!" Rick grabbed her shoulder, "We would love for you to be as involved as you want."

Kate felt sure of her decision. This couple seemed like a perfect choice. "Good, that means so much."

"Okay." Another one of his cute grins spread across his face.

"I actually have a doctors appointment next week and would love for you all to come. I'll contact you with an exact time and location." She held up his business card.

"Sounds perfect!" Gina spoke up, and then quickly looked at the time, "Rick I have a meeting, I will see you tonight, and Kate." She stopped in front of her and pulled her into a hug, "Thank you."

What was it with this couple and all of their hugging?

Thank you to all of the readers who followed and favorite and reviewed last chapter. I am trying to stay one chapter ahead of what I post. Also trying to stay motivated to write, which is easy to do with all of your kind comments. Reviews are always welcome and I look forward to hearing what you thought about the chapter.