a.n. I'm so sorry I didn't get this out earlier like the others; I was only about halfway done with it due to not having enough time to write last night. It is up before the end of the day though, so my one-chapter-a-day pace continues.

Chapters 6-8 I actually rearranged because I think it flows better. This was originally going to be the next chapter, but it works a bit better here, I think. I didn't thoroughly edit this as much as I normally would due to time constraints, so if you see any errors, I deeply apologize.

As always, I look forward to reading your reviews and thoughts. Please read and enjoy!

Month Six

"I appreciate that you want to be here Castle, but you really don't need to stay."

"Nonsense Kate. It's my baby too. I wouldn't want to leave you to fend for yourself."

"It's only our friends and family; I think I'll be all right."

"Still. I'd rather stay here in case you need me."

"I got through Girls Night a few weeks ago unscathed. How bad could a baby shower be?" He just stared at her disbelievingly and she sighed. "Fine. If you insist on sticking around, why don't you hole up in your office and do some writing? I'll be sure to call you in as backup if I need to. Deal?" He looked as if he was about to object, but her gentle touch as she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as her stomach would allow stilled that notion. His arms wrapped around her automatically and he sighed.

"Deal. I'll stay in my office like the good little husband that I am. I know the real reason you don't want me there is so you can talk about me behind my back."

"Castle, I talk about you behind your back and in front of you all the time. Why would this be any different?"

"Because now it's just girl talk and that's much worse." She was prevented from saying anything more by a knock on the door. Kate looked in that direction.

"That's probably Jenny. She said she would be showing up early to help set everything up." She turned back towards her husband. "Now shoo. Go finish writing your next best seller. I promise to come get you if I need you." Castle bent down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. She eagerly returned it. Rick tried to deepen it there was another knock on the door so he pulled away reluctantly.

"I'm gonna hold you to that promise, Beckett."

"Have I ever let you down before, Castle?" He smiled warmly at her as he retreated to his office.

"Never." Kate smiled back and watched him shut his door before she headed over to welcome her guest.

Slowly, everyone had arrived and once the full contingent was present, the games began. As uncomfortable as Kate normally was in situations like this, she had to admit that she was actually enjoying herself. The silly games helped her relax and feel a little more comfortable with being the center of attention. It also helped that Alexis and Lanie, both of whom tended to be more attuned to her than she often liked to admit, would check often check on her to make sure she was all right. Alexis especially barely left her side the entire time during the festivities. Kate had a sneaking suspicion that her father may have put her up to it but it was so sweet she declined to say anything.

She was currently seated on the sofa, laughing and smiling at everyone else playing pin-the-baby-on-the-mommy. Little Sarah Grace was seated on her lap, a happy smile on her face even though she likely had no clue what was going on. Alexis, seated to her right, was enjoying the sight before her as well and cheering along with the crowd. It soon got quiet and Kate strained her neck looking to see what was going on, careful of the toddler in her lap.

"Okay ladies," Jenny Ryan's voice rang out happily over the crowd. "That's the last one. And the winner is….Martha!" Quite a few cheers, and a couple of groans, greeted the announcement and Martha, ever the actor, graciously accepted them all. Moments later, Jenny spoke up again. "Well that's it for the games. What's next?"

"Gift time!" This time it was Lanie whose voice rose above all the others. "Gather around the mommy-to-be. Kate," the medical examiner looked in her direction, "you stay there. We'll bring the presents to you." Kate smiled thankfully. She soon found herself by a dozen or so women as boxes and bags and wrapped gifts were placed in front of her. Jenny, pushing her way through the crowd, sat to Kate's left and happily retrieved her daughter.

"Hey baby girl, did you have fun with Auntie Kate?" The youngster nodded her head and Kate smiled wistfully. Truthfully, she was glad the youngest Ryan was here. She still had some fears over being a good mother, no matter how much everyone else, especially Castle, tried to reassure her. She had a feeling that her fears were somehow made known to Jenny and that she had brought her daughter over today just to show Kate how unfounded those fears were. Sarah Grace had been cuddled on Kate's lap, or as much of as she could anyway, most of the party and as she had held the little one close to her, Kate felt a sense of peace wash over her as she imagined doing the same thing in the very near future to her own child.

She was broken out of her reverie by Lanie's exuberant voice. "Okay, is that all of them?" Taking a quick look around, she declared all was well and good. "It's your time to shine, mommy." Kate smiled nervously as she pulled the first present toward her.

It was a small wrapped package and looking at the name, she smiled at her mother-in-law. Carefully unwrapping the delicate tissue paper, she uncovered what looked like a CD. On the front of the package was an image of Martha, along with the words Martha Rodgers' Greatest Hits. She looked curiously at the redhead.

"Martha?"

"Since I've moved out, you know I won't be spending as much time here. With my career, I missed out on a lot of Richard's childhood and Alexis's as well. I don't want that to happen to my newest grandbaby. So, I made a recording of my voice that you can play to the baby whenever you feel like it. I've included several songs and lullabies as well as some of me reciting classic nursery rhymes and stories. I hope you'll get a chance to play it. I wouldn't want my grandchild to not know my voice." She was getting suspiciously teary-eyed, as was most of the room, and Kate reached over to console her, a very bright smile on her face.

"Oh Martha. I will make sure we play this every night so our baby will know how much you love him or her. We would never want you to feel left out of our child's life. You are such an important part of this family; how could we ever let anyone forget you?" Kate was surprised that she was finding tears in her eyes and Martha patted her hand sympathetically.

"Thanks dear." They shared a smile and everyone in the room gave them a moment. It was Alexis who spoke next.

"Well, I don't know how anyone can follow that, but here's my gift Kate."

"Oh Alexis, you didn't have to." The younger woman smiled at her.

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. That's my little brother or sister in there and I want to start our relationship off right, in pure Castle fashion." Kate looked at her slightly confused before turning her attention the gift Alexis had given her. It was a bit heavier than the one from Martha and unwrapping it, Kate questioned her stepdaughter.

"A book?" Alexis nodded.

"Yeah. Look at the cover." Kate did so and gasped at the title.

"Castle and the Captain?" Alexis nodded.

"Mmhmm. I thought it would be a fun idea to have a storybook made especially for the baby, you know, considering this family. And what better story to tell than yours and Dad's?" As Kate flipped open the book, she saw that Alexis was right. Pictures and words flowed across the pages as the story of her and Castle wound its way from their first meeting, to them becoming partners, to their first date, to their wedding. There were even mentions of some of their cases. Luckily it seemed like Alexis had thought of everything and had had the children's version cleaned up a little. Still, it was a very sweet gesture.

"Wow Alexis. I don't know what to say." She really never had been that close to speechlessness before. She continued flipping through the book and noticed some blank pages at the end. "What's this for?"

"That's so you can keep writing your story. You have your happy ending, but we all know that it won't stop there. You can keep adding to the book through the years and my little brother or sister will know that while you and Dad have a beginning and an ending, may you never have an ending. Your story will never be finished." The rest of the gathered group toasted their cider-filled wine glasses to Kate and Castle and their future. Again Kate was struck by the sentimentality of it all.

"This is more than I could ever ask for. How did you do this?"

"Oh, well…I asked for a little help from Gina." Kate's eyes widened in shock at the name. Alexis smiled. "When you and Dad first told me about the baby, I was excited of course, and I wanted to do something very special. I contacted her with my idea and she agreed to help me out. I've been working out the story and she had one of Black Pawn's children's book illustrators help me out with the pictures. I have been waiting weeks to give it to you just so I can see your face." Kate could do nothing but reach over and hug her stepdaughter as tightly as she could.

"Thank you, Alexis. I love it. And thank Gina for me too." The redhead nodded in agreement and Kate reached out for the next gift.

The gift giving continued and Kate made sure to thank each and every giver personally. Many of the gifts were fairly standard baby shower fare: bottles, blankets, diapers, toys, pacifiers. A few, unfortunately for Kate, were a little more outlandish, like the breast pump emblazoned with the NYPD shield and logo she received from Jenny. A couple of gifts got a bit more personal, like the simple Congratulations card from her close friend Madison Queller. Inside, Kate found the woman's business card. As Madison explained to her, all she had to do was give her a call whenever "mommy and daddy need a night off alone together" and she would ensure that they would get the best table available at her restaurant, Q3. She even promised Kate that all of their drinks would be on the house that night. Kate could only thank her old friend profusely at her generous offer.

Unsurprisingly, Lanie's gift was one of the last to pass through Kate's hands. Knowing her friend's reputation, she was almost afraid to open the box. With an encouraging nod from the woman, Kate carefully lifted up the lid. She let out a sigh of relief when she looked at the half-dozen sets of baby's clothes laid out neatly on the tissue paper inside.

"Oh, Lanie! Thank you! They're just adorable!"

"I thought so. We gotta make sure baby Castle looks her best, just like her momma." Kate was about to interrupt but Lanie continued. "But that's not all that's in there. There's a present for mommy in there too." With curious eyes, Kate pulled out the clothes one at a time and lifted up the tissue paper at the bottom. Her eyes grew wide and she gasped at what she saw.

"LANIE!" The M.E.'s grin was devilish.

"Come on Kate! Hold it up so we all can see!" With the other guests egging her on, Kate threw one last glare at her so-called friend and held up the rest of the contents of the box.

When the rest of the guests saw just what Lanie had given Kate, there was a cacophony of girlish screams and giggles as they teased the mother-to-be. In her hands, Kate was holding a very sheer teddy. Dark blue in color, it was almost black, and the very short hemline and nearly non-existent bust left very little to the imagination.

"That looks more like a present for daddy!" Someone, Kate wasn't sure who, shouted and the rest of the group laughed in agreement. Blushing, Kate shook her head and shoved the lingerie back into the box.

"Look at me, Lanie," Kate gestured to her expanded belly, "just how do you expect me to wear that?"

"You know you won't look like that forever, Kate." Lanie argued. "That's for after the baby's born, when you and Castle might be in the mood for a little 'sexy time'." She grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it." Kate held her tongue, but only because she noticed that her stepdaughter seated beside her seemed to be blushing as brightly as Kate herself was at the moment. She took a moment to compose herself before responding.

"If you say so, Lanie," she acquiesced and the other woman knew that that was as close to an admission as she was going to get from her friend. "Thank you for the gift."

"Any time, sweetie."

Once all the gifts had been opened, the guests started wandering out. Martha, Alexis, and Jenny stayed around to help with the clean up. As the three of them refused to let Kate do much, she occupied herself playing with Sarah Grace in the living room. The girl's giggles brought such a happy smile to Kate's face and she grew wistful again picturing the scene a few months from now when she would be doing the same with her and Rick's kid.

Jenny softly cleared her throat and Kate looked up to the smiling blonde.

"Sorry to interrupt playtime, Kate, but I've got to get this little lady home. It's well past her bedtime." Jenny reached down to pick up her daughter and as soon as she was in her mother's arms, her eyes drifted closed. Both women smiled at the sweet scene and Kate helped Jenny gather up her things before walking the two of them to the door. They bid each other a whispered "good night", with Kate promising the other woman that she would make sure to call Jenny as soon as she could once she went into labor. Kate quietly closed the door behind them and turned around to the silence of the room.

Purposefully, she strode to Rick's office and the bedroom that lay behind, tired out from the party.

"Did you have fun?" Kate jumped at the sound of her husband's voice, completely forgetting that he had been hiding in his office all night.

"Castle! You scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't. I've been here the entire time." He walked over and hugged her from behind and Kate's stammering heart slowed as she felt his arms wrap around her. "You must have been too excited thinking about the party to have noticed me."

"Yeah….no," she began. "Yeah, I was thinking about it, but I was also thinking about how tired I am." She absentmindedly stroked her belly. "I can't stay up all night like I used to. Your kid's wearing me out. Just like daddy." She smirked and turned in Castle's arms to look up at him. He just smiled back.

"Well, you wear me out sometimes too, you know." His tone grew playful and she noticed a certain look in his eye. The space between them grew less and less as he got closer to her. She reached up, eyes locking with his. "We can wear each other out tonight, together. Too bad we still have to wait a few months before trying out Lanie's gift." Kate pulled back.

"What?" Castle, realizing what he just let slip, stammered.

"Uh…that is…um…"

"You peeked, didn't you?" She arched one eyebrow daringly and was pleased when her husband visibly gulped. "I knew you couldn't stay away all night!" Her anger morphed into laughter and soon enough her husband was joining in her amusement.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I really tried. When I heard all of that laughter, I just had to see." His voice grew soft. "You have no idea how much I enjoyed that gift. I tried not to picture you in it, but I failed." He smiled lovingly. "It looks good on you, Beckett."

"Yeah well, we'll still have to wait a few months before we know that for sure." Her voice grew soft as well as she stepped out of his embrace and pulled him towards the bedroom. "How about we practice our 'sexy time' now so we'll be experts later when that outfit will actually fit?" Castle could only nod as he allowed his wife to drag him away. "Just remember, babe: your mother and Alexis are staying over tonight. Try to be quiet. We don't need a repeat of what happened last time." Rick shook his head as images of that night played in his head.

"Nope. Definitely don't need either of them walking in on us...again. I'll never live that down, will I?" Kate just smiled and shook her head, making sure her husband locked the bedroom door behind him.