Chapter Seven

Epilogue

Six months later…

Kate was curled up on the couch with Castle, reading. Her back was pressed firmly against his chest, his hand resting possessively around her waist. Ever since they had spent those emotional moments together months ago while sitting in that very position, it had become their routine to end the evening together on the couch snuggling before she went home. Kate laid her hand on top of his, aware that he was unusually tense. She had asked him several times what was wrong and his answer was always the same. Nothing. Of course she didn't believe him, but she trusted him to share when he was ready. Trust, she thought to herself. What a great feeling.

She sighed contentedly, and then closed her eyes, suddenly drowsy. Her eyes popped back open moments later when she felt the small flutter in her belly. She held her breath, moving Castle's hand slightly to the left. When the next flutter came, she heard his gasp and smiled. She had been feeling the tiny kicks for a couple of weeks, but this was the first time it was strong to be felt from the outside. She turned her head to look at him. The look of love and wonder in his eyes caused a flutter of another sort entirely. She sat up and leaned over to kiss him, but pulled back when the front door flew open.

"Daughter coming through," Alexis called out teasingly, with her hand covering her eyes. While she had never actually caught her father and Kate in the act, she had certainly come across them in some compromising situations which had embarrassed all three of them. Now she made her presence abundantly clear anytime she entered a room when she knew Kate was there.

"We brought Chinese," Martha added as she followed Alexis through door her arms full of small white boxes. "You will join us for dinner, won't you dear?" she asked looking at Kate. Kate started to decline, feeling very tired, as she always seemed to lately, but then her stomach growled loudly and with a sheepish grin, told Martha she would love to. Castle gave her a quick kiss on the mouth and jumped up to help Martha with the food. Kate couldn't help but smile when she heard him telling his mother about feeling the baby kick, his voice full of excitement.

She laughed when Alexis rolled her eyes. "You'd think this was his first time feeling a baby kick." She said it sarcastically, but Kate could see the smile she was trying to hide."Um, Kate. Do you think-"

"Of course, come sit down," Kate said, patting the space next to her on the couch. When she did, Kate took her hand and placed it on her small, rounded belly. She felt a little self-conscious, but it was well worth it to see Alexis blue eyes fill with amazement when she felt the small kick. "I can't believe there is a little baby in there!" Alexis said, her voice full of awe.

"Chow time," Castle yelled from the kitchen, eliciting a shared smiled between Alexis and Kate. Kate felt her mouth begin to water as she walked over to the table. She knew that certain foods made some pregnant women sick, and she had worried that she would have to give up her favorite, Chinese. But luckily that hadn't been the case for her. In fact, the opposite was true, and she wasted no time filling her plate and digging in. It wasn't until she finally put her chopsticks down that she became aware that everyone was watching her. She felt her cheeks heat as she realized how much she had eaten in only a few minutes. Everyone else's plates were still full and she had already consumed two generous helpings of everything. Kate noticed that Martha and Alexis both looked amused, but Castle did not.

"Is everything okay?" she asked him, worried about the anxious look on his face.

He responded by pushing a small plate towards her. "Here. Have a fortune cookie."

She groaned and pushed it back. "No thanks, I couldn't eat another bite."

"But Kate," Alexis said emphatically, "you have to. It's bad luck not to have the fortune cookie. Right Gram?"

"Absolutely," Martha agreed. "Very bad luck."

Castle pushed the plate back, staring at her.

She shrugged and took a cookie. With all of them looking on anxiously, she broke the cookie, pulling out the small white paper.

"What does it say?" Alexis asked.

Kate read the fortune out loud: "You will soon marry the man of your dreams." She swallowed hard and put the paper down, grabbing another cookie. She broke it and pulled out the fortune. "You will soon marry the man of your dreams," she said again, this time quietly, her voice shaking. She turned to Castle who was watching her intently. She felt her throat swell with emotion when he grabbed her hand and sank down onto one knee. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing the shiny band inside. "Katherine Beckett," he said, his voice betraying how nervous he was. "Will you marry me?" She covered her mouth with her shaking hand, tears falling. He stood up immediately, obviously alarmed by her tears. "You don't have to answer now. Take as much time-" He didn't get any further before she launched herself into his arms, kissing him over and over. "Yes. Of course I'll marry you!Yes, yes, yes!"

She smiled against his lips when she heard Martha's dramatic, happy whooping behind her. She turned around and was almost knocked over as Martha and Alexis threw themselves at her and Castle, hugging them both excitedly. She was surprised and touched at the genuine happiness she saw in their faces as they each offered their sincere congratulations.

Twenty minutes later, Kate found herself back on Castle's couch while Martha and Alexis cleaned up dinner in the kitchen. She had offered to help, but was shooed out and told to relax on the couch. She hadn't argued. The excitement of the evening combined with her body's new need for extra rest had taken its toll. On top of everything else, she had just come off of yet another crying jag after finding the word 'Always' engraved on the inside of her engagement ring. Castle had politely refrained from laughing at her hormonal outburst, instead gently kissing away her tears before going down to pull the car around. Afraid she would fall asleep if she stayed on the couch any longer, she got up and joined Alexis and Martha in the kitchen, listening as they discussed their upcoming trip to the Hamptons.

"Do you realize, this will be my last weekend trip to the Hamptons before I go off to college and everything changes?" Alexis said quietly, her voice tinged with sadness. Martha reached over and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

"I do realize that. We will just have to make sure it's a special vacation, now won't we? Speaking of which, we better check out your wardrobe. We may need to do some shopping," she added, a gleam in her eye. After giving Kate a quick hug, she headed upstairs to Alexis' room.

Alexis surprised Kate when she also gave her a quick hug and said "I'm glad you said yes," before turning to follow her grandmother. Alexis was halfway up the stairs when Martha reappeared in the hallway, leaning over the railing. "Oh, Kate," she called down. "I almost forgot. You'll want to make sure to pack a light jacket. It can get cool in the evenings in the Hamptons."

Although she was flattered to be invited, she thought about Alexis and Martha's conversation. The last thing she wanted to do was to intrude on their last Hampton's vacation before Alexis went off to college. She knew how much it would mean to Alexis to have that time with her father and grandmother.

"Thanks for inviting me Martha. I appreciate it. Really. But this is your vacation. You guys go and enjoy yourself."

Alexis stopped climbing and turned around to look at Kate, frowning. "What are you talking about? You have to go. It is a family vacation after all. And you're part of the family." She said it casually before turning and running the rest of the way up the stairs to join her grandmother, unaware of how significant her words were.

Several minutes later Castle arrived to find Kate staring up the stairs, tears once again glistening in her eyes. "Everything okay?" he asked as he pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her cheek on his chest. She had Castle, his family and a precious new life on the way. As if on cue, she felt that little life stir inside her. "Everything is perfect," she said with a sigh. "Just perfect."

The End