Hi there!

This is the final chapter of the story. I really hope you've enjoyed it, and I hope I've done the characters justice. Thank you for all your reviews. I may or may not write an epilogue (I have a terrible time letting stories go). But if not, look for new stories, one shots, and my other current story, 'Gone'. Thanks again!

Enjoy!


The table she sat on was cold, the paper underneath her crinkling every time she moved. The gown she wore was itchy and uncomfortable. The room was completely silent, the outdated TV on mute. Her hands were sweaty and every time she swallowed, bile rose in her throat. Every single last nerve ending exaggerated itself. The hair on the back of her neck stood up; they were in the same exact room as they had been two weeks ago. The city outside was freezing cold, as a storm threatened to blanket the city yet again. It topped off the atmosphere in the room, eery, quiet, waiting.

She told herself she could not get her hopes up. Hope was a funny thing. It made you feel that every thing was going to work out, every thing would turn out for the better. No matter what happened in between start and finish, things would end in your favor. But a false sense of it could destroy you; leave you clawing for answers, demanding explanations, hurting so badly. She couldn't shake it, though. The pieces were fitting, the signs were there. It had been fifteen days, maybe more, and nothing. But she couldn't do this to herself, not again. If it was meant to be, so be it. If not, she would pick up the pieces again and carry on as best she could.

She called that same day they had gotten back to the loft, the number still in her recent call list. She made the appointment, not giving too much detail to the receptionist, not wanting to look like she was crazy; not being able to get over her loss, trying everything in her power to reverse it. But she wasn't crazy, she knew. Knew that even if it were still true, something wasn't right. So she took her little bit of hope and plopped down on the table and grabbed his hand just as she had last time. She didn't want to regret this.

She squeezed his hand tighter. They were sitting in the exact position they had previously. It made her want to throw up. As much as she hoped and prayed, if she was going to be told yet again, she wasn't pregnant, it had been nothing, she couldn't want to re-live it like that again. No way in hell did she think she could do it again. No way she wanted to do it ever again. It hurt entirely too much.

"Are you nervous?" He whispered to her, not knowing really what to say. He, too, hated that they were in this position again, not knowing what their future would be, not knowing if they had been in so much pain for nothing, or if it had been for something. But he knew he had to be strong for her, not for the both of them, but just enough to catch her if she fell.

"Yeah." Her response was breathy, just barely audible.

"Kate, whatever happens, it doesn't make me love you any less. We'll have a family one day. Maybe not soon, or maybe sooner than we think, but God has a plan for us. It's going to be okay." He kissed the back of her hand, and she touched his cheek, smiling halfheartedly.

The door opened, then, the doctor that had seen them before walking in with a file and a pen. "Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle, I hear you've had a," he paused, "complication." He looked them in the eye for the first time.

"Yeah, I haven't gone through the cycle yet, and I'm not an expert, but I think it should have happened by now." Kate stopped, feeling her vision go fuzzy, the nerves making her want to run and never look back. She wanted to be safe and sound, buried in her bed.

"And its been how long?"

"Fifteen days since my appointment."

"And how far along were you?"

"I was five and a half weeks, almost six." Kate looked down at her and Castle's hands.

"Okay, I'm going to run an ultrasound. I can't promise anything."

"We know." Castle spoke this time, hostility lining his words.

Everything was happening in slow motion. Every movement was too long, every breath was too drawn out, every look and blink and head nod were sluggish. She looked away from the ultrasound monitor, she didn't want to see it again. It took everything in her not to scream at him, tell him to hurry up and tell her. She could handle it, she already had once before.

The longer there was no reaction, the more she began to believe the worst. She had gone off a hunch, let herself hope, let herself down, let him down. This wasn't a police investigation. She couldn't issue a warrant or swarm someones apartment because of a hunch. She couldn't go off of a hunch with this one. She wasn't a cop in this situation. She wondered how she could be so stupid. How she had come to the conclusion that she was still pregnant. It was a freak thing, sitting there like she was some expert, thinking that just because it hadn't happened, she could fly off the handle and tell Castle, and the receptionist, and the doctor that she thought there was still a chance. Now she looked like a fool. Another blow to her self confidence in the situation. Another thing to eat away at her.

"Kate, I have some news." She was pulled out of her self inflicted inner turmoil, physically shaking the thoughts out of her head. "Based on how early we checked, your height and weight, and how long its been since your last appointment, there may have been a few discrepancies. I'm finishing the ultrasound now, but I'm happy to tell you this." He stopped and looked at the pair. "You're pregnant, congratulations."

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened. Every bad thought she was having vanished, every single negative presence she felt within her disintegrated in the blink of an eye. She let out a loud breath, smiling and turning towards Castle. He smiled at her, pulling her into a hug. He squeezed her shoulders, laughing to himself.

She pulled back, tears in her eyes, and a laugh escaping her lips. She covered her mouth with her free hand. She kept her eyes on the monitor, fearing if she looked away it would disappear, that she would wake up.

But it wasn't a dream. This was really happening. She was really pregnant, always had been. She was going to be a mom and he was going to be a dad. They were starting their family.

"I want to personally apologize for my previous reading. It can happen, it being earlier in the pregnancy than we had thought, or the physical condition, or even the way the baby is positioned. But yours is healthy and developing well. Would you like to hear the heart beat?"

"Absolutely." Kate basically screeched at him, not wanting to wait any more. She had to hear it, had to know that he was telling the truth.

He pushed a few buttons and the monitor changed, producing a sound that was music to their ears. A small sound, quick and little and perfect filled the room.

Thub thub. Thub thub. Thub thub.

Any doubt that still clouded her vision was immediately gone. That flame, brutal and harsh and devastating; the one that had destroyed her, transformed into a dyer need to protect, love and provide for her child. It was now the drive to do well and be well, to be cautious, to prepare, to be happy. It had been so hard, it had shaken her, made her experience pain like she never had before. But it was almost as if it didn't matter. It was wiped away, gone, no longer strangling her, hiding in the depths of her being, never to return. She wanted to change everything about herself just for her unborn child. A new feeling flooded her, a need to be better and do better, an unconditional love. She didn't care how hard she had cried, or how bad her nightmare had been. All that mattered now was her child and her husband; her family.

She let her tears fall freely now, the happiness spilling out of her as she giggled like a school girl. Castle kissed her cheek. He let go of her hand, covering his mouth with both his hands, his eyes shining. He was so unbelievable happy. Not only did he get to spend his life with Kate, but they were going to have a family. A family they had thought had been taken from them. A family, that had always been.

"Based on the development, I'd say you're about eight weeks at this point. Everything looks good. I'll prescribe you some prenatal vitamins, and the receptionist will schedule your next appointment. Do you have any questions?"

"No, not right now."

"Alright. I'll see you two soon. Congratulations again, I'm happy to provide the good news." He shook hands with the two and walked to the door.

"Thank you so much." Castle responded as the door clicked behind him. He looked at Kate who was still smiling from ear to ear. She let out another quick laugh. He dove in and kissed her. He broke away and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

The two just looked at each other, there not being nearly enough words to describe how ecstatic they were. Kate pulled her arms over her mouth, her shoulders squishing in as well. She smiled, her eyes twinkling and whispered, "We're pregnant." She had to say it, had to beat it into her brain, had to tell him again like he hadn't heard the first time.

"I know!" He kissed her again, not being able to mask his excitement. "Let's go home." He helped her off the table, a new sense of care and watchfulness taking over. He too now possessed the overwhelming need to protect her and the baby, to be there and no where else; unconditional love.

They arrived back to the loft, the excitement still radiating off of them. He put his keys on the bar, and turned to Kate, her smile still plastered on her face, she hadn't stopped since. She stood still, her hands on her cheeks. He strode over to her, arms open wide. He scooped her up and spun her around making her laugh and scream. He let her down, grabbing her waist and looking her in the eyes. "Kate, we're going to have a baby."

"I'm just, I can't, I know!" She couldn't think of what to say. She wanted to say everything. Wanted to have his ability to express ideas and situations in detail and make someone feel something, make them connect. But she wasn't like that, wasn't good with words. She was content to let him do that; she just wanted him to know just how excited she was. She wanted him to know that she didn't regret anything that had happened. She didn't regret the pain and panic and suffering. She couldn't do that, couldn't regret her life; she'd almost lost it for that matter. What they had gone through had only made them stronger. It had let them see each other in a different light. Before, they knew each other. Now, they understood; had a deeper knowledge of their thoughts, reactions, and coping methods. Knew what bothered them, and knew how to help one another. So no matter how good or bad a situation was, she promised herself she would never regret one single thing; accept the past, move on, prepare for the future.

He kissed her on the tip of her nose, his smile still on his face, both of them like children, happy and excited and giddy. "I have one condition for this." He cocked his eyebrow and raised his index finger. "I get to be the dad and you get to be the mom."

"Yeah, well that's usually how it works, Castle." She couldn't help but smile at him, his whit never ceasing to make her laugh.

"Well then it's settled! We need to celebrate! Campaign? Wait, no, wrong." He moved around the counter to open both sides of the refrigerator. "No alcohol, duh. How about coffee? What, no, uhm."

"How about ice cream?" She cut him off, deciding she could help him just a tad.

He leaned back on his heels, revealing his head behind the double doors, "Perfect." He grabbed a carton and two spoons placing them on the bar and then stood beside her. "I love you so much. You don't know how happy I am right now."

"I love you too. You know there's no one in the entire world I would want to experience all this with. Thank you, for everything."

"You're going to make a great mom."

"And I already know how great of a dad you are."

"I think we'll be pretty good at this detective. With my ruggedly handsome good looks, how could it possibly go wrong?" He raised an eyebrow, giving her that signature look. "But in all honestly, this is going to be absolutely incredible. And our baby is going to be loved and spoiled and cared for like no other."

"I couldn't agree more." She was so content. So inexplicably content to be with him and share these moments with him. There was never any way to tell him enough how much she loved and appreciated him. So she kissed him again, standing on her tiptoes.

He scooped her up, putting her on the counter. She wrapper her legs around him and grabbed the two spoons, handing one to him and keeping the other for herself. "Shall we?"

"Let's."

It had been a hard couple of weeks, harder than most, but something so amazing came out of it. It didn't matter what clouded the past, the future was bright. And the cop and the writer continued on their life journey together, always.


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