The next ten weeks went by very quickly for Castle and Beckett. She was growing bigger each and every day and was finally starting to show. Castle loved talking to her belly late at night when he thought she was asleep. He would have long conversations with their growing babies. He would tell them how much he loved them and their mommy and that he couldn't wait to see them. He would kiss her belly softly after he was done.
It took every ounce of self control she had not to let him know that she was awake and listening to him. She knew that it was his way of spending a little bit of time with their babies. She wouldn't take that time away from him for anything.
One night though, he slid into bed and didn't talk to her stomach. She turned to look at him and he was trying hard to fall asleep. She put her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine."
She sighed, "I know that isn't true."
"Why?"
She knew that there wasn't any way to tell him without blowing the secret of his nightly ritual. So, she simply said, "You've talked to the babies every night for the last seven weeks. Tonight, you simply got into bed and haven't said a word to them.
"I just don't feel like it tonight. I'm tired."
Kate knew that there was more to his mood than he was letting on. She turned on the light and looked at him, she could tell that he had been crying. His face was red and he sounded funny when he talked. She put her hand on his arm and whispered, "Talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"Castle, you're obviously upset about something. Let me in."
"I can't..."
She shook her head and got out of bed. She needed a drink and she needed to figure out how to get him to talk to her. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She stood at the sink and drank slowly. She let her free hand drift to her stomach. She was drinking slowly and thinking about what could be wrong with Castle when she felt it. She dropped the glass and it fell to the floor. She gasped and put both her hands on her stomach.
She couldn't move. She wanted to see if it was what she thought it was. Castle came running into the kitchen and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
She would have laughed at the sight of him standing in their kitchen in his boxers, but she was too busy trying to concentrate on what was going on inside her. She finally whispered, "I think I felt them move."
She saw his eyes light up with love and whispered, "Really?"
Kate nodded and he asked, "What does it feel like?"
"Like a bunch of butterflies in my stomach, but much softer."
"Oh man. I wish I could feel it."
She took his hands and pressed it to his stomach. She felt it again and looked at him, "Did you feel that?"
He shook his head, "No. I can't feel anything."
"According to the books it's not uncommon. You should be able to feel it soon."
Castle leaned forward and kissed her softly. Then he said, "Stand still while I clean up the glass. I don't want you to get cut."
While he was cleaning up the mess, she decided to try and find out what had been bothering him earlier. She stood still and followed his movements and smiled, "Are you going to tell me what had you so upset earlier?"
"It was nothing. I just..."
"It was something. What's wrong?"
"I just found out that Alexis is dating someone and it seems to be very serious. She wants to bring him over to the loft to meet us."
"That's great news."
"No it's not! What if she wants to get married? I'm not ready for my little girl to get married and.."
She smiled and moved closer to him. Then she took his hand and pulled him closer as she whispered, "She's got to grow up sometime. Besides, it might not be that serious. Look at her relationship with Ashley."
"This is different. She said his name like ten times in five minutes. I think she's in love with him."
"Would that be so bad? She deserved to be happy. With a family of her own."
"It just makes me sad and.."
"And it's always been the two of you. I think it's wonderful how much you love her and how much she loves you. No matter what, she's always going to be your little girl."
"You think so?"
Kate nodded and kissed him again, "She's always going to need her dad."
"She is. Isn't she?"
"Yes. I still need my dad. Just not as much as I did when I was little."
"I'm more than a little embarrassed though. You were supposed to be asleep when I was talking to the twins."
"It was sweet Castle and I love it when you kiss my belly. It's very sexy."
He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Really?"
She nodded and whispered, "Yes. How about we go to bed and you can whisper to the babies. Kiss my stomach and then make love to me."
His eyes lit up and she pulled him towards their bedroom and shut the door behind them.
They woke up early the next morning. Kate had an ultrasound appointment and they were going to be able to find out the sex of the babies. They had thought about letting it be a surprise, but Kate knew that the suspense would kill Castle and he would bother her for the remainder of the pregnancy.
So, she drank the water and felt as if she was ready to explode by the time they got to the doctor's office. They checked in and waited. When they called her name, she laughed when Castle popped up and held out his hand to her. She shook her head and wondered if his chair had been spring loaded.
He helped her up and they walked back together. They walked back out an hour later and both had huge smiles on their faces. Kate looked at her fiance and said, "You need to call Alexis. We need to tell her about this and I don't want to tell her after Martha."
Castle nodded and called his daughter. She was going to meet them at their house at six for dinner. She didn't know about the surprise that would be waiting there for her. Castle smiled and said, "I'm going shopping. I'll drop you off at the precinct and pick you up after work."
She smiled and kissed him deeply. Then she said, "I want to get married before the babies come. I want to be Mrs. Richard Castle when I give birth and not after."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded and said, "I'm positive. Next month. A small wedding with just our family and friends there."
He kissed her and whispered, "It sounds absolutely perfect. I can't imagine anything better."
She couldn't either and she kissed him deeply before he dropped her off at work and went shopping. He had a few things to pick up before Alexis came to dinner that night and he wanted to make everything perfect...