The next Tuesday, Beckett grabbed her coat from the back of her precinct chair and let the boys know she would be taking a long lunch. They had just closed a case and she deserved it, was her reasoning. So far, they hadn't asked where Castle was. She hadn't offered any explanation, either.

As she pushed through the front door of the building, she was met by the man himself. Castle was standing there waiting for her, a small smile on his face. He had had a few days to come to terms with everything that had happened, but she could tell he was still on edge. Even though she had spent three of the five nights since she told him the news at his place, he was still reeling from the shock of it all.

She couldn't blame him. Hell, she probably would have shot him if the tables were turned. They weren't, though, and she had plans to spend the rest of her time trying to make it up to him. He deserved at least that.

Kate greeted him with a kiss, short and sweet, and grabbed his hand as they walked down the street toward his car. "How's the paperwork?" he asked, the lightness beginning to come back to his voice.

Rolling her eyes, Kate replied with, "Well it would go by a lot faster if my partner would help me." Smile.

He returned it and squeezed her hand. "Sorry, dear, I've got some writing to catch up on."

"That's an okay excuse, I guess," Kate said with a dramatic sigh. They approached his car and got into the back seat. She gave the driver the address of her OB/GYN and sat in comfortable silence for most of the ride there.

Finally, Castle broke it. "You nervous?"

"A little," Beckett replied. Truthfully, there were nervous butterflies making their presence known and her palms were just on this side of sweaty. "I guess the whole thing is still just a little surreal."

Castle chuckled and retorted. "You're tellin' me."

Trying not to let him see, Beckett flinched a little at his words, once again reminded of how horrible her actions had been. She hoped beyond hope that once they heard the baby's heartbeat, it would become real and they could move past how it happened. Richard Castle was never leaving her side again if she had anything to say about it. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," was her only response.

"Always," he replied, causing her heart to flip a little.

When they finally reached the OB/GYN's office, the two fell into their rhythm of sorts, approaching the office as if it were a crime scene. They only realized what was happening when Beckett simply gave the secretary her name and didn't flash her badge, which she was almost tempted to do out of sheer habit.

They sat down in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs, hand-in-hand, Castle tracing patternless patterns on her hand. Beckett let her mind wander to 10 months in the future. Where would they all be? Image upon image flashed through her mind, most of which consisted of Castle and the baby together and her heart was overwhelmed. Their baby was so lucky.

"Kate," the nurse called from the door that led to the exam rooms.

She stood, Castle close behind, and they followed the woman to the back. They were led to an examination room, Beckett was given a gown, and the nurse left so she could change. Castle watched from his chair, admiring her beauty and grace. He knew her so well and yet not at all.

There was a knock on the door just as Beckett hopped on the table. Once all her vitals were taken, weight was assessed, and blood was drawn, the doctor appeared.

She did her examination, Castle staying dutifully at Beckett's head and holding her head, then left so the technician could do the sonogram. Beckett gasped at the cold, but then everything stopped when they heard that noise—that fast, rhythmic whooshing that signaled new life.

Beckett's grip on Castle's hand tightened, both pairs of eyes widened, both still staring at the screen looking for anything that wasn't just black nothingness. Finally, the technician pointed out what looked like a little tiny bean.

"That's it," he said. "That's your baby. Congratulations, you guys!"

Tears welled in Beckett's eyes, her heart high in her chest, breath coming with a little difficulty. Baby wasn't even big enough to recognize and it was already taking her breath away. She looked up at Castle, finally processing the soft stroke of his thumb across her knuckles, and saw that he was beaming, his eyes also a little watery.

"God," he said, a mixture of disbelief and awe. "Our little baby." He finally tore his eyes away from their little bean and looked at her. She was smiling from ear to ear, simply radiant.

"Castle," she whispered. "We're having a baby!" Then they laughed, pausing only to share a kiss as the technician printed out some pictures for them and cleaned his gear out.

Finally alone, Beckett once again dressed, she said, almost to herself, "This is really happening."

Castle stood up and made his way to her still sitting on the exam table. He kissed her hair and asked, "Did you have doubts?"

Her eyes widened, hoped they weren't about to reopen old wounds. "No! Just, like I said earlier, it felt so surreal that I almost couldn't believe it myself."

Offering her the sonogram pictures, he chuckled. "Well this is very real, Kate. You're going to be a mommy!"

Her smile was so big. "I am." Then looking at him. "And I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you, Castle. Thank you for being here, and thank you for believing me."

Castle kissed her hand before helping her off the table. "Well I love you too much to have any other choice."

As they were leaving the doctor's office, she looked at him and asked, "We'll be okay, right? We'll make this work?"

Stopping to look at her once again, Castle took both her hands in his. "Yes, Kate, we will. I love you and I love our little bean," she smiled, "and, though I'm still a little angry and I still have some trust issues right now, I am not going anywhere."

She hugged him. "Okay. Just promise me you'll always talk to me. If you have concerns or fears, I want to know. No more secrets, okay?"

"No more secrets," he agreed. "Now let's get some lunch. I'm starving."

They walked the few blocks to a little café and ate lunch before Beckett had to be back at the precinct. Castle kissed her again as she was getting out of the car.

"See you later," she said as she closed the door.

Castle rolled down the window and called after her, "Bye! Bye, bean!"

Laughing to herself, Kate thought, We really need to call this kid something else before Bean sticks.