Author's Note: All right… here is a rather large update for me. I'm sorry that I didn't update it sooner but life always seems to get in the way! Enjoy and review if you would like!

"I'm so glad that your dad was excited." He says, drawing lazy circles on her stomach.

"You didn't think that he would be?"

"Kate… you're his only daughter… his little girl… and I got you pregnant before we were married."

"Technically yes… but we wouldn't have found out about it until after we were married anyways, so I wouldn't have known… nor would he. We would have all thought it was a honeymoon baby."

"Yeah, but there's something to be said about fathers finding out that their daughters are pregnant."

"Really?"

"It's confirmation that you slept with his little girl… not cool."

"Castle… we were getting married… and I'm pretty sure that my dad knew that I wasn't going to be a virgin on my wedding night."

"Still… Kate…"

"Okay, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"When do you think we would have figured it out?"

"That I was pregnant?" she asks, and he nods into her neck from his spot behind her.

"My dad told me that the meat thing was how they found out about me… I wonder if that's what would have happened."

"You think on our honeymoon?"

"I don't know… maybe."

They sit in silence for a few moments before Castle breaks the silence, bringing up her therapy session from a few weeks ago.

"You told Burke that you had it in your head… telling me… the look on my face. If it was a few months down the road… we were married, we were settled, we were where we thought we were going to be… how?"

"Scavenger Hunt… starting at the loft, going through some of your favorite cases and their spots, ending at the swings… final note being something about calling the park district to see if they could install a baby swing by next year."

He looks at her with surprise written all over his face, "You really thought about it…"

"Castle… after you and I had that conversation about starting a family right after the wedding… that was a constant in my mind… getting my happy ending."

"You really would have sent me on a scavenger hunt through New York?"

"Of course… I would be a Castle then, and I don't think that you would have accepted anything less. Besides… I had to top your birthday from two years ago somehow."

"It would have worked."

It wasn't the dream that woke her this time. She had fallen asleep after their "conversation", which was an odd occurrence that she attributes to the pregnancy wearing her alertness down. No… it was this fluttering feeling in her stomach that she initially thought was having to go to the bathroom, but then finally realized that she really didn't have to go.

So she waited, laying there in their big bed and waiting for it again, her hand resting on her stomach.

Then she felt it again, that feeling she had been having for the past week or so, only she could feel it under her hand as well.

"Alexis!" she screams with a laugh, causing Alexis to come running into the room still in her robe from making coffee for them.

"Kate! What's wrong, are you okay?"

"Yes, come here!" she says, patting the bed next to her and telling the girl to lay there with her for a minute.

When she places Alexis' hand under her own on her stomach, she lets out a small sigh of contentment, finally reaching that milestone where she was sure it was the baby making these fluttering feelings inside her.

"Kate, what are we doing?"

"Just wait." Kate says, hoping that she would get to feel the baby move again, hoping that she could share that with Alexis.

After a few more minutes, Alexis let out a yelp of surprise and pulled her hand away from Kate's stomach, "Oh my God! Was that the baby?!"

Kate just nods in response.

"That is so cool! Oh my God, this is so cool. Kate, dad would have been so excited for this part! And… he wouldn't have been able to keep his hands off of you."

They had a conversation a few weeks ago about bringing up Castle. Both of them had admitted that they kept screening some of their comments around each other, not wanting to upset the other. Then they realized that the commenting and the idea of what Castle would do in a given situation gave both of them comfort. So they agreed that whenever he popped in their mind, they weren't going to be afraid to share it.

"I'm pretty sure you're right."

"Can I do it again?"

"You're as bad as your dad…"

"I know." She shrugs just before Kate grabs her hand and places it in the same spot, both women lying back down beside each other.

"Alexis darling, you started making the coffee, but you didn't succee—" Martha starts, walking into the room to find the two women laying next to each other quietly with Alexis and Kate's hands joined on her stomach. "What are the two of you doing?"

"Would you like to feel your grandbaby?"

Her eyes soften then, and she places a hand to her mouth to hold in a gasp as she moves towards Kate's other side to sit beside her on the bed and place her hand next to Alexis' on Kate's ever growing bump.

"It's like a tiny little vibration against your hand… it's the coolest thing." Alexis says, causing both older women to smile back at her.

"Richard was a mover in there… I remember I felt him the first time and then he never stopped. He didn't want to stop for anything… he was worse at night when I was trying to go to sleep."

"I hope that she learns the difference between night and day very quickly then, because I'm not going to survive work on no sleep."

"You might want to…" she stops, after feeling the tiny flutter against her hand, allowing a radiant smile to cross her face, "there she is…there's my beautiful grandchild."

Kate raises her eyebrow at this. Martha had told them that she wasn't going to start saying the baby was one thing or another because if they were wrong they would feel foolish that they just spent the first half of her pregnancy calling the poor thing the wrong gender.

Martha throws her hands up in the air at Kate's look, "What! You two have convinced me! And I tell you what, if Richard were here, he would be praying it was a boy because he would have been so outnumbered."

"He thinks it's a girl too." Kate says, not realizing what she just said until Martha looks at her strangely and Alexis turns towards her with a look of surprise.

"I um… okay… the two of you are going to think that I'm crazy." She starts, sitting up in the bed and facing the two women. "He… he comes to me in my dreams and he talks to me and he told me that it was a girl."

"Okay…"

"I know it's crazy, but it's what's happening… that's how I knew he was gone that day… that's how I knew that I was pregnant the second you gave me the test before even taking it… it's just… it has gotten me through a lot of things."

"Katherine, have you told Dr. Burke about this?"

"I have."

"and…?"

"And he says that if they are a comfort to me, then they aren't a problem and that I'm still grieving in a healthy way… They don't happen all the time. It's just once every few weeks or so he's there and I think I'm waking up to him talking to me."

"I get it." Alexis says, without an ounce of judgment, and Kate looks at her with a grateful and curious expression. "I do… I mean, I always thought that those people you had a strong connection with, you wouldn't just stop having that if they were gone. It's… It's like the conversation that we had the other day about mentioning what we thought dad would say… I hear it… when we are doing something and I tell you what I think dad would say… it's because I swear I hear him saying it."

"So you don't think I'm crazy?" Kate asks, looking to both women.

"I think that you lost someone you love and you are dealing with that however you need to." Martha finally says, not believing Kate, but also not totally shutting her down.

"When is the appointment tomorrow?" Alexis asks, changing the subject because she can tell that Kate still feels a bit foolish at the admission.

"It's at 2:00. I'm going to take a half day tomorrow at work since we don't have any open cases right now. We can meet for lunch and then go?" Kate says to the younger girl, who has been the dutiful companion at the doctor appointments for the baby.

"That sounds great!"

"Katherine… I know that I haven't asked before, but… do you think—"

"Come." She says, simply… actually glad that she wanted to be involved in this way.

Martha's face lights up at the invitation, "Thank you darling. I… Meredith never let us… me or Richard… get to experience any bit of her pregnancy. She was so concerned about herself and what would happen after the baby…and I would just love to see my grandchild and this is the 20 week appointment, so we'll know… that is if you are finding out."

"This is one surprise that I don't want to wait for. I want to start working on everything for the baby's room as soon as I can and while I'm able." She says, rubbing her stomach with a smile on her face.

"Then why don't we do lunch, then the appointment, and then we can go around searching for furniture… which… no argument… since this is my grandchild, I will be purchasing for you and the baby."

"Martha…" Kate says in a warning tone.

"No… no arguments… I couldn't afford it when Alexis was born, and now that I can, I will."

"And I'm going to purchase the bedding that we… you… pick out too… my gift for the baby as the big sister."

Her eyes start swimming instantly, "damn hormones" she says wiping at the tears falling.

"Oh Katherine, you're only halfway through… just wait… those hormones are a terrible bitch." Martha says, patting her on the back before smiling and heading back out of the room.

"She has such a comforting air about her, don't you think?" Kate says, turning with a smirk to Alexis as the tears are slowing in their journey.

"You're sure about the guest room?"

"Alexis, the only other options would be to kick you or your grandmother out of the Loft, which is obviously not going to happen… unless you want to go… which I totally understand… you're old enough to—"

"Kate, no! I told you my reasons for leaving that first year, and I think that at least through college, I want to stay right here. Besides, I want to help you and the baby through the first year or so anyways. I don't want you to have to do that by yourself."

"Regardless of the circumstances, I want you to know that you don't have to think of this baby as your responsibility, Alexis. I know that it was supposed to be your dad and I doing this, but I can do this on my own… In the day to day, I'm going to have to learn to be a single mom, and I'm starting to wrap my head around that. I want you to be the fun big sister and I want you to want to babysit and want to take her out everywhere your dad took you, but I don't want you to worry about anything else."

"I know that, and I know that you are going to be the best mom ever for this baby… but I want you to also know that we can shoulder some of the crazy stuff when you need the help. Yes, the major responsibility is going to be you… but Gram and I want to help."

Kate nods, knowing that Alexis was basing her thoughts on the fact that she knew Kate hated asking for help. Yes, she was getting better about it, but it was still hard for her to lean on others.

"So, are you ready to find out?"

"We are." Kate says with a smile to her doctor and then a look to the two women surrounding her.

"You brought someone new today Kate… sister?" the doctor asks with a small smile as she searches Kate's stomach for the baby growing inside.

"You are doing that on purpose and I love you for it… I'm the grandmother… Kate's other mother in a way…" Martha says, choosing her words carefully for how she referred to herself.

"All right… then let's get started with the fun stuff. Everything appears to be going well, Kate. You are spot on for where you are measuring and baby looks great… now let me see if I can find what we are looking for… ah… there it is… you're sure that you want to know?"

Kate nods her head toward the doctor.

"Any bets… ideas?" she asks.

"We all know our guesses… can you tell us for sure?"

"Now, this is not completely one hundred percent correct all the time… but I'm almost positive that you are having a little girl." The doctor says, causing gasps from all three other women in the room.

"So he was right, my son." Martha says first, looking down at Kate with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"He was right." Kate says, squeezing Alexis' hand, "I'm so glad that we get to have another daughter."

After allowing the three a few minutes, the doctor starts cleaning everything up, "Now, like I said, I think that everything is going well for you and the baby. How is work going?"

"Work is actually going really well. I've cut back on my hours and I'm not allowed out of the precinct much. It hasn't been as stressful as in years past."

"Okay, and what about the exercising and the eating?"

"We take walks often… I tried to keep up the running, but my feet didn't like that. I'm also thinking about enrolling in a prenatal yoga class down the street from our loft. The eating has me a bit concerned though… you say the baby is healthy, but I'm not eating any kind of meat. I'll do fish, but anything with legs makes me gag."

"How are you getting your protein aside from fish?"

"She's eating lots of good vegetables, and we've been packing her full of beans and things like that… lots of hummus and leafy greens." Alexis says, and then blushes when she realizes that the question was in no way directed at her.

"It's okay Alexis…" she says, and then turning to the doctor continues, "Alexis has been doing all the research as far as how to get me my protein without the meat. She's been amazing where this is concerned."

"I can tell! Honestly, this isn't a concern for me. There is a lot of research out there that shows that we don't need nearly the amount of protein that the dietary guidelines say that we do. In fact, if you are getting your protein from mostly vegetables and beans, that is the best kind for you. We could all stand to get away from most things that walk on a regular basis. Your blood work is also showing that your iron levels and folic acid are in excellent shape… so keep up what you're doing. I'm going to warn you though, that if you do have the urge to go back to meat… especially red meat… do so very moderately, because your system will reject it after a long absence."

"That's really all the concerns I had for today."

"Then I'll get some pictures printed out for you ladies, and you can go set up your next appointment for another month from now. Sound good?"

After confirming her next appointment and passing a picture to each of her guests, Kate decides that they are indeed going to get lunch, she was going to call her dad, and then they were going to start furniture shopping.

"Well, now he's on his way…" Kate says, coming back to the table where they were finishing off the milkshakes that she was craving and the others joined in on.

"I didn't know that Jim was going to be coming with us today." Martha says.

"I didn't either, but he insists on making sure that the furniture is top quality and that whoever is selling it to us doesn't try to cheat us out of something."

"I'm sure that we would be fine… we're modern women… no one can take advantage of us!"

"Says the woman who let the saleswoman talk her into buying not just one coach purse the other day, but the matching wallet, keychain, and all three in another color." Alexis says towards her grandmother, to which Kate raises an eyebrow.

"She was right… the pink is going to be lovely in the spring and summer, and the brown is for all year long." Martha says, gesturing wildly, "Now, why don't we go into that boutique a block from here and start looking at the bedding. Maybe knowing that will help you decide on dark or light wood or white… all that jazz."

"That sounds good." Kate adds, sighing a bit.

"Katherine, we don't have to do this today. We can wait…"

"No I want to…it's just hard."

"I know… and if you want me to run around the store and pick out the most obnoxious things to show you like I know my son would have, I'll do it… I promise." Martha says seriously, causing Kate to smile.

"Come on kiddo." She says, grabbing onto her would-be daughter-in-law and leading her out the door of the diner and towards the street with the baby boutique she saw earlier.

"So what do you think about the decorating and the bedding?" Alexis asks as they walk.

"I don't want it to be something super girly. I want cute but not cartoon character kind of cute… um… maybe purples and sages?"

"Oooh… that would be pretty. I wonder if we could do something in her room like having a super pale green on top and put a white chair rail in the room and do a darker lavender on the bottom?"

"That would be beautiful…" Kate says, finally allowing herself to get excited about the idea of decorating for the new addition.

"Dark cherry wood then… that would be exquisite with those kinds of walls… and maybe instead of a white chair rail, you could do a cherry wood… we could see if the bedding could have some white in it though… or maybe we could find a cherry wood rocker or glider and get the cushion with white piping. Oh yes…" Martha adds, looking into the air and drawing the plans on an invisible easel in the sky.

"I would love that too actually… Castle liked dark wood best anyways. I think he would approve of that."

"Actually, that room already has the dark molding around the ceiling anyways. And the ceiling fan is dark wood as well."

"I didn't even think about that… you're right."

"Okay…" Alexis says, pausing in front of the door to the store to recap for all present, "so we are looking for purples and light or sage green… dark wooden items… and anything that we think is too adorable to pass up… including but certainly not limited to clothing, toys, blankets, hats, hair bows—"

"Alexis… I think we've got it." Kate says with a laugh, joining in the girl's enthusiasm for this shopping excursion.

Stepping into the store was an event in itself. Again, Kate wasn't ever a baby person… when someone had a baby she got them a gift card or sent over a meal. Not having many close friends in her life, she hadn't done it often. So cutesy, frilly, over the top stuff was not her idea of fun. This was definitely outside her comfort zone.

Martha was the one who realized this first, and pulled Alexis off to the side to let Kate roam around herself for a few minutes.

Seeing the baby the first time… hearing the heartbeat… that made it real. Now knowing that it was indeed a little girl she was carrying made it even more real.

Her hand drifted to her stomach as she walked around, looking at all the cribs with their matching decorations and bedding, looking at the plush toys and soft blankets that were made for this little being inside of her.

The second she saw it… she knew that it would be perfect for everything they had talked about, and Castle would have loved it's simplicity as much a she did. The quilt was simply that… a quilt of creams and lavenders and sages that were sometimes solid and sometimes in a pinstripe pattern. The dust ruffle was lavender with a green edge to it, and there weren't a bunch of decorations with the set… meaning they could find their own.

"Kate… look what I… OH! This is perfect!" Alexis says, walking over to her and stopping when she sees the outfitted crib.

"Is it? It isn't too terribly girly?"

"No! I think it's just what you said… it's simple not a lot of decorations that go with it, so we can do our own…. Like… this." She says, pulling something from behind her back.

They were bookends… what looked to be hand painted bookends depicting a Castle complete with a fairytale scene.

"We still have all my storybooks from when I was little… at least my favorites that dad used to read me. I thought that we could put up shelving all around the room that's high enough that she can't reach it yet… get some decorative bookends that tie together in some way… Dad told me once that you were a reader… he said that he could tell in the way you spoke that you were one of the most well read people he ever met… I think it's important to let her know that reading is kind of a big deal in our family, don't you think? And it's a Castle… so… it's perfect."

"I think that we need to get a basket and you need to put those in it… and I think we need to get someone who works here to grab one of these sets for us to hold up at the counter… and then I think that we need to look for more book ends." Kate says, simply loving the idea that Alexis had.

"How are you feeling Katie-bug?" her dad asks her after the long day.

They had gone through the entire store finding a few more pairs of bookends that they liked and a couple of other decorative things like a plush purple blanket that Kate swore she had never felt anything like. Then her father showed up and heard what they had said about the crib, to which he said he had the perfect idea.

What Kate didn't know about her father was that the idea of his only daughter getting married had sparked in him the desire to be a grandparent way more that Kate ever knew. After purchasing their items and having them sent by car to the loft, they got a cab and were whisked away to a different furniture store that Jim knew.

It was there that they found the dark cherry finish crib… a sleigh style back with a drawer for convenience that would later turn into both a toddler bed and a full size when the baby grew up. The matching double dresser and hutch worked with the crib as well and they knew that their mind was made up.

Now it was after dinner and Martha and Alexis had left Jim and Kate alone in the living room to have a little time together.

"Tired… this was a very long day, and I have a feeling that she's going to be up most of the night." She answers, rubbing her stomach with a lazy smile on her face.

"You can feel her?" he asks with an awe to his voice.

"It was like Martha said, once Castle started moving so she could feel it… he wouldn't stop. I'm hyper aware of it now…"

"Is… uh… is she moving now?"

Kate then realizes that this is something that her father has yet to experience with her, a new and awesome thing that he would certainly love to be a part of.

"Give me your hand." She says simply, holding out her own.

Placing it where she felt the last movement, she covers her fathers hand on her stomach and they wait. "it isn't that big of a production. You can only feel the tiniest of vibrations against your hand… in me it feels like something is vibrating its way through my intestines…. But it's still pretty cool."

When he feels it for the first time he smiles, a radiant smile that she hadn't seen in years… even bigger than when she told him she was pregnant.

"So this is real… my little baby is going to have a little girl… just as beautiful as her and just as wonderful as her grandmother… God… Katie I wish that Rick was here to see this… but I can, without a doubt tell you that he would say that you were radiantly beautiful and the most amazing sight he ever saw."

"Thanks dad." She says quietly, closing her eyes and picturing him there with her, laughing with her dad about her weird emotions and cravings.

"Well, I think you and my granddaughter need to get some sleep, so I'm going to get out of here. Let me know when you want to start the painting. I can go with you to get the paint sometime next week and by then, maybe the wood sample for the crib will be in so we can match the stain for the chair rail. Alexis and Martha really have a keen eye for decorating."

"That they do… and yes, I will call you about doing some of that next week. I think that Martha and Alexis and I are going to go up to the Hamptons not next week but the week after. Maybe you could join us for the weekend?"

"Vacation?"

"Before I get too big to enjoy it. And it's a last hurrah before Alexis has to start classes again."

"She staying here when classes start?"

"Yeah… she wouldn't have it any other way."

"Kate… that young woman loves you… she looks up to you… and she is damn lucky to have you in her life. Helps me to see how amazing of a mother you're going to be with this little one since you're doing so good with Alexis. Now… go… sleep." He says, kissing her cheek before walking over to the door to leave for the evening.

Martha had heard Jim leave as she had been coming down the stairs, and found Kate with her eyes closed on the couch.

"Sweetheart, you need to get into bed… no sleeping on the couch."

"Hmm?" Kate says, not fully comprehending what the older woman had said.

"Oh dear…" Martha says, holding her hand out for Kate to take it and leading her into the bedroom.

"Thank you Martha."

"It's what mothers are for dear… we've got to take care of our own… you know that…"

"I will." She says, grabbing a pair of pajama pants and one of Castle's shirts to change into.

"You already do… your father was right… you are doing an excellent job with Alexis and I'm so glad that she has you. I can't imagine that you envisioned this for your life Katherine, but you are taking it on with a grace and a thoughtfulness that I don't think many could manage. She does look up to you and love you… just as I do."

Kate thinks about that for a minute, letting Martha's words flow through her a bit before replying, "I didn't envision it this way… but I hoped for the love. I hoped for love from a man who cherished me… I hoped for the love of a family again… I hoped for the love of a child… I hoped for the home… yeah… some things got taken away from that picture, but I got everything I hoped for when I really think about it…"

"Then I'm glad for you in that respect, Katherine… now… off to bed with you." She says, walking out of the door.

"Martha?" Kate calls out, causing the older woman to peak her head back in.

"Yes dear?"

"I see her in you… the way that she used to wake me up when I fell asleep studying in the living room… the way she quietly reminded me of the joys in life… the way she always tried to make me feel better when she knew I was upset… so thank you…"

"Well… I love you kiddo." The older woman says with a wink before retiring for the evening.