Chapter 7: It's a !
The blonde woman has been stealing glances at Rick for the last ten minutes, he's not sure if it's because she's recognized him or if it's because he's a male sitting by himself in the waiting room of an obstetrics practice; everyone else here is either female or part of a couple. He fishes his phone out to see if there are any new messages on it even though he knows that there won't be. The last text was twenty minutes ago from Kate saying that she was going to be a bit late. As he predicted there's no follow up text and their appointment was meant to be ten minutes ago, so he rings her up.
"Kate where are you? I'm starting to get a few bit looks, sitting here by myself waiting to see your OBGYN."
"Sorry Rick, I'm just getting out of the car now, I had to park about two blocks away so I should be there in about five minutes," she sounds a little bit short of breath, as if she's practically running there.
"Ok, I'll see you shortly then."
Rick goes up to the receptionist and apologizes once again, "I'm really sorry but my wife still isn't here, she's a cop and she got stuck at work. I've just talked to her though and she's not too far away. Do you think we can push our appointment back another five minutes?" He's using all of his charm and she seems to be falling for it.
"That's ok Mr. Castle. The next couple after you actually turned up early so Dr Cranshaw is seeing them now. We can squeeze you guys in after that."
He goes back to reclaim his seat, walking directly past the blonde woman who was staring at him before.
"My wife is running late," he tells her as he sits down again, for some reason he feels like he needs to explain his solo presence here.
When Kate finally arrives Rick makes a big production of giving her a kiss on the cheek before they sit to wait their turn.
"This is my wife," he says to the room at large and the blonde in particular – she just looks at him as if he's gone crazy - as he points at Kate. "Thank god you're here," he tells Kate in a quieter voice, "I think the other people were starting to think that I was some kind of pervert hanging out in a women's clinic by myself."
"Sorry I got delayed in court. How were your meetings this morning?"
"I thought that Gina had gotten her pound of flesh when we got divorced but it turns out that that wasn't enough to satisfy her. Contractually I'm obliged to do a minimum one week book tour once the next Nikki Heat novel comes out; she wants me to go the first week of September."
"Oh," Kate's surprised by the timing although she was aware that his book was due out at around about that time, she'll be about thirty-two weeks by that stage.
"Don't worry," he says, "I told Gina that it wasn't going to happen. I'm not about to leave you alone when you're that far along. She wasn't too happy about that, but if she keeps pressing then I'll let the lawyers fight it out."
"I think that you should go," Kate surprises him with that.
"No," Rick protests. "I want to be there for you."
"You should go," she repeats it again. "I'll be fine, besides if you don't do it in September she'll just make you do it later. I'd rather have you around after the baby is born, just in case I drop it on its head or something."
Rick still looks skeptical about it but there's no time for any further discussion because the receptionist is calling out their name, or rather she's calling out Kate's name.
"Mr. and Mrs. Beckett? Dr Cranshaw is ready to see you now."
The appointment is booked in her name and the receptionist has jumped to the wrong conclusion and decided that it must be her married name.
Kate didn't take his surname when they got married, preferring to keep her own for the sake of maintaining anonymity but also because she felt the need to assert herself as a independent, modern woman. Even so, there have been plenty of occasions when she's been called Mrs. Castle both in her personal and professional life. She corrects the offender with a curt 'Sergeant Beckett' each time. This is the first time that the shoe has been on the other foot and makes her lips twist up in amusement as she looks at her husband.
"Shall we go then Mr. Beckett?"
"The baby is growing well and everything looks good," Dr Cranshaw assures them as she presses the ultrasound hand-piece over Kate's abdomen.
The picture is still grainy but even to the untrained eye it definitely looks like a baby now rather than a tadpole. They can even see it kicking, as if to protest against the pressure from the scanner.
"Do you want to know the gender of your baby?" the doctor asks them.
"Yes," Kate doesn't like surprises, she'd rather know.
"No," Rick says simultaneously.
The couple exchanges a glance; they've talked about this quite a bit but they still can't agree. Kate thinks that it's only practical to know beforehand; it's not like she's going to rush out and buy only blue or pink clothes but at least she can cut down on the pool of potential names to consider. Rick, on the other hand, thinks that knowing in advance cuts out some of the magic and joy of the delivery. He only wants to find out on the day that he actually gets to meet his new daughter or son.
"So do you want to know?" Dr Cranshaw repeats the question again.
"Maybe you could write it down on a bit of paper for me and Rick can find out at the time of delivery," Kate suggests a compromise.
"Ok," Dr Cranshaw just smiles; she's seen this situation many times before. If one partner knows the sex of the baby then it takes a lot of discipline for the other partner to hold out until delivery time. Nine times out of ten they cave long before the baby is born. "Everything else looks good at the moment, your tests and recordings are all good and it looks like you've even managed to gain a bit of weight which is good. How are your reflux symptoms going?"
"It's better on the medication. As long as I am careful to eat small amounts often then I can live with it," Kate says.
"Good. We'll make another appointment for a fortnight from now. I'll leave you alone to get dressed now."
Rick's eyes are on the television as they settle on the couch after dinner, he makes a point of not peeking as Kate opens the envelope. She doesn't say anything after she reads what Dr Cranshaw has written there, she just puts the sheet of paper down on the coffee table. There's a contemplative look on her face as she rubs her very slight baby bump.
For a whole five minutes there is silence as Rick battles against his curiosity. He loves surprises but there is still another twenty-one weeks left before Kate's due date, that seems a long time away. Out of the corner of his eye he looks at that bit of paper but unfortunately he hasn't developed x-ray vision recently so he can't read anything on that folded bit of scrap.
"So are you happy about the sex of the baby?" he asks nonchalantly.
Kate's head swings around at his question so that she's looking at him now.
"As long as the baby is healthy I'll be happy, I don't really care what sex it is."
It's a perfectly good answer which gives him absolutely no clues as to what was written on that bit of paper. Kate smirks to herself because she knows exactly what he's up to. He's made such a big fuss about not wanting to know beforehand and yet he's trying to coax little clues out of her. She's going to make him ask the question out loud if he really wants to know.
Rick tries again, "When Dr Cranshaw was doing the scan I'm sure that I saw a pecker on the little guy, did you see it as well?"
"Do you think so?" Kate replies to his question with one of her own, nothing in her tone either agrees or disagrees with him. She lets him try to puzzle that one out for a few minutes before she finally says, "Rick, if you really want to know then just ask me, I'll be happy to tell you."
"You're enjoying this aren't you?" he accuses her.
"You bet I am," she tells him with a gloating smile. "You called me a party pooper when I said that I wanted to know. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that you're dying to know as well. What do you reckon this bit of information is worth? I'm thinking that it's worth at least a groveling apology for the name calling, or do you want to wait for the delivery still?"
Indecision wars in his gaze as Rick tries to decide what's more important; satisfying his burning curiosity or meeting the challenge that Kate has laid down for him. There's a split second and then his hand whips out to swipe the note off the table. Rick has this big grin on his face as he thinks that he's outsmarted Kate but it quickly fades when he realizes that the note is blank.
"Hey there's nothing on this," he complains.
"I know; did you really think that I'd leave an important bit of information just lying there where anyone could pick it up?" Kate taunts her husband with a big grin. "And just for that little stunt I think that the price has gone up to a groveling apology AND a pretty please."
Rick knows when he's beaten so he drops to his knees before Kate, pretending to kiss her feet. He's clutching at her ankles as he grovels, "As your abject servant and husband I want to beg your forgiveness for having ever called you anything less than flattering and would you please, pretty please, tell me what sex our baby is?"
She's laughing so hard as she tries to kick free of his hold on her legs that she can't even answer at first. "Rick, Rick! Stop it."
He's trying to kiss her palms now, like some kind of supplicant before a medieval lord, even as Kate is trying to pull away.
"Rick if you stop it then I'll tell you," she promises.
He pauses in his efforts to look up at her, "I was just holding up my end of the bargain. So tell me what are we having?"
"It's a boy."
"We're having a boy, we're having a boy!" he shouts.
Rick leaps to his feet and he's grabbed her in his arms as he spins them around until they're both dizzy and he collapses back onto the couch with Kate still in his embrace.
"So I take it that you're happy then?" Kate asks him as they continue to cuddle.
He gives a little shrug, "I'd be happy either way. It's just … it's just exciting; you know."
"Yeah, I know."
Twenty-one years ago
"The baby is starting to crown, I want you to give a big push with the next contraction. It's not much longer to go," the doctor encourages Meredith as she pants in between the spasms.
"Did you hear that honey? The doctor says that you're almost there," Rick holds one of her hands as he rubs little circles on her back with the other.
"If you ever get me in this condition again I swear I'm going to shoot you Rick," she threatens him once she gets her breath back. Even with the epidural anesthetic numbing the pain, seven hours of labor have worn her down past her endurance.
"She doesn't mean that," he tells the doctor with a nervous laugh, or at least he hopes that she doesn't. Having grown up as an only child, Rick wants at least two or three kids of his own.
"I do mean it! Arghhhh!" whatever threat Meredith was about to make is interrupted by her scream as the next contraction arrives.
"Push," the doctor encourages her but it isn't really necessary as her body is already doing what feels natural.
Her eyes are screwed up and her nails are digging little crescent shaped gouges into Rick's hand as every muscle in her body contracts in her efforts to force the baby out. Rick is positioned to her side and slightly behind her so that he's supporting her back, from that spot he can't see much of what is going on down there.
"Push Meredith, push" Rick adds his own encouragement.
Her body relaxes for a second before she tenses again, another scream splits the air as Meredith gives a second big heave and suddenly the doctor's arms are full of a squirming, slippery, red-faced infant, the baby's cries adding to the noise in the room.
There's a nurse standing by with a blanket to wrap the baby in even as the umbilical cord is tied off and cut.
"It's a girl, congratulations. Here you go," the doctor tells the couple as she holds the baby out to them. Meredith makes no move to take the baby though, she's collapsed back onto the bed as she recovers from her effort, so Rick takes his new daughter instead.
There's blood covering part of the baby's face and he uses a corner of the blanket to wipe at it gently. Her face is a little bit squished from the trauma of the birth, and she's still a bit red from her screaming as if she's protesting this abrupt introduction to the world. She's practically bald, only a few strands of fine – possibly red? - hair covers her head, almost like down. Despite all of this she is the most perfect thing he has ever seen.
"Hello Alexis Castle, I'm your daddy. Welcome to the world."
