Chapter 8:

The weeks passed. Right after Will left for California again Kate had to deal with a terrible morning sickness. She couldn't go to school for a whole week. Fortunately her friends came over every other day and Rick actually every day. They would talk about school, so she didn't miss anything, and what they would do once she felt better. Like playing ninepins. Rick thought it was better than going bowling, since the ball would be lighter.

It's the 12th of May and she was back at school and already eighteen weeks along. Four weeks had passed since Will had left and they hadn't seen each other. He had been to busy and only managed phone calls. Of course Kate was a little disappointed. Today after school was her appointment with her ob-gyn and they would find out the gender of the babies. She was really excited. At first she wasn't sure if she wanted to know, but in the end she didn't thought she could stand the suspense for the next four months. Knowing gave her the opportunity to prepare, to buy the right stuff.

"Hey Kate!" Rick came running across the hall to settle into step beside her. "Morning."

"Morning." she couldn't help but smile and she also knew what was about to come.

"I've brought you your breakfast." He held out a wrapped sandwich with tomato and mozzarella, an apple and some green tea.. He knew she always left home without eating anything and many times she would skip lunch too. And of course it always bothered him, but since he found out she was pregnant he insisted she ate something. So he made it his own personal duty to keep her fed.

"Thanks Rick, but you really don't need to bring me something everyday."

"Don't sweat it. I like doing it. We want your children to be healthy, right?"

"Of course we do, but I could have just gone to the cafeteria and bought something myself."

"You could, but you and I both know you wouldn't have. You never do. You just always forget unless someone reminds you." He told her pointing with his index finger in his direction.

"If it makes you happy?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"Yeah. Yes it does."

"Then I won't say another word about it."

"Great. I will bring you something everyday." They were walking in silence to class, trying to ignore the glances and whispers from the people around them. Her belly was big enough now so she couldn't hide it anymore and everyone knew. And with Will gone, she had spent a lot of time with her friends lately, especially Rick. So rumors had started to spread. And of course he was attractive, there was nothing wrong with admitting that. But he was just a friend. A really good one.

She finally managed to get into class and sit down. It was math now. One of her favorites. She looked around. Rick was still standing in the doorway and talking to a redhead, Meredith. She was known for having slept with half the boys at school. Rick didn't take long and soon joint Kate to sit down next to her.

"So, did you get yourself a hot date?" she asked him curious.

"No. She would have loved to, but I'm not really interested."

"Why not? You're single."

"Yeah, in theory. But..."

"But what?"

"She just wants a quick one-night-stand and I'm looking for a serious relationship. In fact there is someone I'm interested in right now."

"Someone I know?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"You gonna tell me her name?"

"No, not yet. You're a clever girl. Maybe you will figure it out on your own." He grinned at her. She wasn't ready to hear it yet. He would wait to tell her and maybe he wouldn't need to tell her at all. Like he said, she was smart. Maybe she would recognize his feelings on her own.

"Alright, you're on." she smiled back, just as the bell rang to announce the beginning of class.

For Rick math was pretty boring. He wasn't paying much attention and rather scribbled down a few ideas in the notebook Kate had given him for his birthday, just to be scolded by the teacher when he couldn't answer a question and just kept staring holes in the air, hoping the answer would just magically appear in front of him. Kate just kept giggling. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

Rick was relieved when they finally had lunch break. He dragged Kate along to get them their table, so she could sit down and went to get their food.

Meanwhile Lanie sat down next to Kate with her own tray. "Hey girl. Don't tell me you're not gonna eat anything again?"

"Hello to you too Lanie. And no, I was ordered to wait here until Rick is back. He's getting mine too."

"Well isn't that nice of him." Lanie smiled into her burger.

"Yeah, but I feel a little bit like the baby right now, you know? And I can't help but think that I'm gonna be really fat at the end of that nine months, if he keeps feeding me like that."

"You're supposed to gain weight, you know?"

"Yeah, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"You can do some light sports, even during pregnancy. Maybe that will make you feel better and keep your stamina. Have you talked with your doctor about it."

"About what?" came a voice from behind. Rick was approaching with a tray with their food. He had brought some salad with chicken and eggs and pudding for dessert.

"About doing sport." Kate responded.

"What kind of sport?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm gonna ask him today. I've got an appointment anyway."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was planning on telling you guys, but it slipped my mind. I was in a bad mood this morning. I wanted Will to come along, but he called yesterday and told me he can't."

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie." Lanie took Kate's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. Rick wanted to do the same, but he wasn't sure if it was okay. Would it look like just a friendly gesture or would she think something else and push him away because she wasn't ready?

"Hey, ... uhm" Rick began "do you have anyone else who is coming along?"

"Just my mom. But she would have come anyway, because she is driving, why?"

"Mind if I come?" He said really quiet and wasn't sure if she had heard him, because she wasn't responding immediately. "Kate?"

"Yeah, I've heard. You wanna come?"

"If you don't mind of course." he back pedaled.

"No, no I think that's okay. But there won't be much action. Just the normal check up and the ultra sound. And we're gonna see if these two are boys or girls."

"And you call that not much?" He said excited "That's great! Have you thought of names yet? How about Luke if it's a boy or, or ..."

"Hey , hey stop it Obi Wan." She laughed "I've still got more than enough time and I haven't thought about it much, but I will definitely not name them after a character of a sci-fi movie. If it's a boy maybe after his dad." at that Rick's face fell, but he tried not to show it.

"Will. Not as fun as Luke." he tried to downplay his jealousy, after all he had no right to be.

A few minutes later the rest of their friends joint them for lunch. They had sport and it took them longer to put all the stuff away and get changed. Lanie and Kate filled them in on what had been discussed before they arrived and soon they were in a heated discussion about baby names. Even Rick tried to join in, but he was more quiet than usual, which didn't go unnoticed by Kate.

(...)

After school Rick and Kate were standing in front of the building, waiting for Kate's mother to pick them up for her appointment.

"Wanna tell me about it." Kate was asking Rick, still looking ahead.

"No, it's nothing."

"Really? You're gonna go with that?"

"I don't wanna upset you. Okay?"

"I'm upset now, because you're not telling me."

He sighed. "Promise not to get mad at me?"

"You now I can't promise that. If it's something really stupid I will be mad no matter what I've promised. I don't wanna break my promise, but I can tell you I will try to understand no matter what it is."

"Okay, that's only fair." He took a deep breath and began." You know Will is my friend too, right?" she just nodded "But I can't help that naming your baby after him wouldn't be right. He hasn't really done anything to deserve it."

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know what you mean and I can understand your point, but he is still the father and just because he is really busy and can't be around at the moment, it doesn't mean that he won't be. I've planned to talk to him this weekend. I'm gonna surprise him and fly to California, so we can finally see each other again and I can tell him what the doctor said today. I'll keep it from him till then." she smiled thinking about him grinning of joy over the news of a boy or a girl, or both.

"Okay, I hope you're right. I don't wanna see you hurt. And I'm sorry, I didn't wanna offend you." Rick looked a little embarrassed. He didn't wanna doubt Will, but it was so hard at the moment.

"It's okay." she took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "You were just worried. I appreciate it." a soft smiled spread around her lips and they just kept looking at each other. For how long? They couldn't tell, but the honk of a car startled them and they let go of each others hand.

They both hurried and climbed into the car. Kate wasn't sure she wanted to know how long her mother had stood there and watching the two of them. Judging by the look she received through the review mirror, long enough to see the sparks Kate had felt.

"Rick is coming too mom." She just said, not answering the unspoken question hanging in the air.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind Mrs. Beckett?"

"No, not at all. I'm fine with it as long as Katie is."

Ten minutes later they arrived at the hospital and got in. Although they had an appointment they had to wait for a moment. Kate played nervously with her fingernails and Rick kept counting the tiles at the floor. Another ten minutes later the nurse finally showed. "Kate Beckett?!"

All three of them stood and went in. "We're just gonna do a small check up. You know blood pressure, weight, abdominal measurement. Stuff like that to make sure everything is okay. Kate just did as she was told. She wasn't really fond of doctors and wanted it to be over really quick. The nurse took everything with her and went to leave them waiting for her doctor. Again nervousness overtook her and she started playing with the hem of her shirt. Luckily it only took a few minutes for her doctor to show up."

"Hello, Kate. Good to see you again."

"Hello Doctor Jones." she smiled at him. He was still damn hot.

"Hello Mrs. Beckett, nice to see you again too." He reached out a hand to shake hers and then turned around to Rick "and you must be the father. Nice to finally meet you too." He smiled and eagerly shook Ricks hand.

Rick just stood there at a loss for words. "Uhm, I ...not, ...I'm."

"He's not the father." Kate responded for him. "Will, the father, couldn't make it. So my friend Rick "she pointed at him "offered to come in his place, because he is really excited to see an ultra sound for the first time."

"Yeah, what she said." Rick told the doctor.

"Oh, sorry. I just assumed. But anyway I'm glad you're that excited for her even though you're not her boyfriend." the doctor was glad she had such support. "now I looked at the test results and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Just be careful of your weight." At that Kate shot Rick a glance, saying 'see. I told you it's too much', before she even heard the rest of what the doctor was saying. "I don't know about your eating habits ..."

"Irregular and not enough ..." Rick interrupted Dr. Jones.

"Well I assumed as much. You should really consider eating regular and a little bit more. Your weight is still okay but if you keep it up it won't be enough to help both of your children to stay healthy enough." Rick just smiled and shot Kate a glance back telling her 'I told you so'. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll try. I have my personal servant now anyway." Kate told him and patted Rick's shoulder. He wasn't offended by that and just grinned, being happy to help her.

"So Kate. Now, why don't you lie down and pull your shirt up so we can see what it's gonna be?" Kate happily did as she was told. And only moments after that the cold gel was spread on her stomach making her jump because of the temperature. "Sorry." Dr. Jones apologizes although he couldn't change anything about it.

Rick stood close to her, next to her head, waiting patiently for a picture to appear on the monitor. Kate's mother stood right next to him. As the doctor started the first thing that drew them in was the steady beat of their hearts. Kate instantly felt tears forming and threatening to fall. When she looked up at the monitor she saw at first only a blur of gray, black and white. But then the doctor reached the right place and the blur began to take on the form of two big peanuts with something that could be arms and legs if you knew what you had to look for.

"There they are." Dr. Jones said and pointed at them. "I've forgotten to ask, but do you even wanna know?"

"Yeah, I wanna know." Kate responded, not taking her eyes of her babies.

"Okay, than lets take a look." He tried a few angles until he was sure and had a good picture to show and print later. "So this little one here is going to be just like her mother I suppose. She is already teasing her brother over there. As you can see she is demanding more space. I wouldn't be surprised if you got your hand full with that one." He laughed as he printed out a copy of each of the babies.

"So it's gonna be both? A boy and a girl?" Rick asked, making sure he had got it right.

"Yes, that's right." Dr. Jones said handing not only Kate, but also Rick and Johanna a tissue.

Kate looked around. She hadn't noticed Rick had cried until now. He wasn't even the father, why would he get so emotional. And ... omg! Why were their hands intertwined? When had that happened? She couldn't remember. It must have been an unwitting reaction in an emotional moment and neither of them minded. She needed the support. She would leave it at that. It was support of a really good friend, ...who was smiling like she was carrying his own children. She pulled her hand away. This was too much.

"Here you go." The doctor handed her the two prints and a tissue to get rid of the gel. "That's it. Unless you have any questions you're free to go."

"Yes, actually there is something. I was thinking about doing some sport, because I can't bear just doing nothing. What can I do without risking too much?"

"Well, I can't really ban you from doing anything you want to do, but let's just say there is a simple rule for sport during pregnancy. If you are still able to talk effortless while working out, it's fine. But I would recommend yoga or swimming or even jogging if you have done it a lot before. But don't overdo it. Listen to your body."

"That's sounds great and yes doc, I will." she smiled, glad she could do something.

"Oh and by the way." Dr. Jones interrupted before she could leave. "Have you thought about prenatal classes?"

"No, not really."

"You should start soon. Since you're having twins they're not gonna wait till you're forty weeks along until they wanna see this beautiful world." He gave her a card with some information and addresses she could go to "So you know were to go to and you can ask your boyfriend to come along to some of these so he knows what to expect when it's time."

"Thanks." Kate just took the card without further commenting. She would talk about this with Will this weekend. And whether he wanted a boy or a girl, the surprise would be perfect. Because they were having both.