Kate had fallen asleep with her head on Rick's shoulder, and he was watching 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' Kate had dozed off just 15 minutes into the movie, right after saying she wasn't tired and insisting they wait up for a call from one of the boys. Rick had told her not to worry, that it was probably so busy at the 12th that Ryan and Javi didn't have the time to call. But Kate stuck it out until almost 1 am, waiting for even a short text.

Rick watched Kate's chest move up and down, stroking her cheek before tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. If he moved gently enough, he could pick her up, carry her to bed, and then text Ryan for the fifth time. Rick wasn't too worried, he knew if something awful had happened he would have heard about it. Jenny or Lanie would have called Kate, and Kate was on both Ryan and Javi's emergency contact lists.

He hit pause on the remote and carefully shifted Kate into his lap so he could pick her up fireman-style. He succeeded in hooking his arms under her legs, and very slowly he stood up, holding Kate close to him as he made his way to their bedroom. She was still in her sweats, so he just placed her on her side of the bed and pulled the covers over her, kissing her lightly on the forehead before walking into his office.

He sat down in his desk chair, about to text Ryan, when he got a new text.

Ryan: Sorry I haven't checked in sooner. All is good here, everyone is safe. Vic # 5, not so much… this guy is really starting to worry the higher ups, definitely keep Kate away. I hope she's feeling better –

As a quick excuse, Rick had said Kate was sick. In all the commotion, it was easily believed.

- & tell her I'll call her tomorrow. Gnight.

Rick quickly typed back a response.

R. Castle: Glad to hear it. She stayed up until sleep betrayed her, she will be so happy when she wakes up & hears ur ok. Stay safe.

Rick plugged his phone into the charger, changed into pajamas, and crawled into bed next to Kate, thanking his lucky stars that everyone they cared about was safe from whoever this crazy guy was. Losing Kate would have destroyed him before, but now? With the baby, the stakes were raised even higher. If he lost both of them, he knew he would go insane.

xxxx

The next morning, Kate woke up with a pain in her stomach. She tried to wait it out, but it started to grow, getting worse and worse. She wrapped her fingers around Rick's arm, digging her fingernails into his skin.

"Ow! Kate!" Rick was woken up immediately. He stared at her and saw the fear in her eyes. "Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kate shook her head, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I'm in pain... my stomach really hurts."

Rick sprang into action, putting his hands on her barely-there baby bump. Kate bit her lip and winced when Rick touched her. She started to hyperventilate.

"Rick, it hurts. A lot. I feel like…." She stopped mid-sentence to squeeze her eyes shut and moan. Rick put his arms around Kate's shoulders and gently stood her up.

"I think we need to get you to the emergency room."

Kate nodded and took a few steps with Rick before moaning again and collapsing onto the floor. Tears were running down her face and she was holding her stomach tightly. Rick rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kate, baby, it's gonna be okay."

He kept one arm around her and used the other to grab his phone and dial Lennox Hill.

"Hello, this is Rick Castle. My wife is 2 and a half months pregnant and is experiencing severe pain in her stomach. I'm going to get her there as fast as I can, please have a doctor waiting. "

Rick picked Kate up and she held onto his neck as tightly as possible.

"Rick…" She closed her eyes and groaned, her cheeks still wet with tears.

"Kate, honey, I know. We're going to get you to the hospital as soon as we can, okay? Hang in there."

xxxx

Kate woke up again and felt very disoriented. She faintly remembered dreaming about waking up in pain, crying, with Rick looked scared and holding her close to him. She opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital bed, Rick by her side. He saw her looking at him and breathed a sigh of relief so huge, you would think he had been holding his breath since she passed out. He took her hands and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

"Kate, ohmygod. You're alright."

Kate blinked a few times and rubbed her temples with her free hand.

"What happened?"

"You woke me up at 5 am and you were in a lot of pain. You were crying, and gasping for breath, and you passed out in the cab on our way over here. I was so afraid that I lost you – both of you."

Both of their hands moved to Kate's stomach. She bit her lip and looked up at him.

"Is the baby okay?"

"I don't know," he said worriedly. He lifted a hand to his head and ran it through his hair nervously. "They didn't want to do an ultrasound until you were awake."

Kate leaned back onto the pillows and stared at her lap.

"And what if…"

"Hey, shhh, no," Rick said, stroking her hair. "Don't even think about it."

"I have to," Kate said quietly. "I just…"

The door opened and a familiar face walked in, with a dark-haired nurse behind him wheeling a portable ultrasound machine. Rick stood up to shake the doctor's hand.

"Dr. Stevens, hello."

"Hello, Rick." He looked at Kate with kind eyes. "Hello, Kate. I would ask how you're feeling, but…"

Kate nodded. The nurse wheeled the machine to Kate's bedside and pulled back her bedcovers gently, pushing down the waistband of Kate's gray sweatpants slightly and folding back her Stanford t-shirt. As she prepped Kate for the ultrasound, Rick had a quiet conversation with Dr. Stevens.

"Dr. Stevens, what do you think caused this?"

"Well, it could be stress, or an underlying medical condition."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Kate may not be able to carry a child. Her body may be rejecting it. I'm sorry, Rick." The doctor was to-the-point, yet sympathetic and kind. Rick got the feeling Dr. Stevens hated delivering bad news just as much as Kate did. Victims, patients... in the end, it was impossible to imagine how hard it was to be the one to give the bad news, to bring on the pain.

He walked over to the bed where Kate lay and Rick just stood there, paralyzed, his back to them. Lose the baby? He wanted to stand there and clear his head more, but Kate needed him. He put on a brave face and turned around, resuming his pace at Kate's side as the nurse slid the ultrasound device over the cool, slippery jelly on Kate's abdomen.

"Now, I know I am not your OB/GYN, Kate, but if you like, I can tell you and Rick the sex of the baby at this time."

Kate looked at Rick, a small smile appearing on her face. "Rick? What do you think?"

Rick couldn't bear the smile on her face, when there was even the slightest chance their child might already be gone. However, he didn't want to upset her, so he nodded.

"I'm game if you are."

Kate turned back to Dr. Stevens and nodded. "Yes, we would like to know."

Dr. Stevens nodded and together, they all stared at the monitor, waiting for that telltale blob and heartbeat noise. Rick held his breath as a few second of silence passed. Then he heard something odd – like a heartbeat, but louder, and less rhythmic. Kate looked puzzled too, but the nurse and Dr. Stevens were both smiling.

"Congratulations, Rick and Kate," Dr. Stevens said, pointing to a large blob that Rick personally thought looked like a beanbag chair. "You're having twins. A boy and a girl."

Kate gaped at Rick, her eyes wide. Rick looked wildly back and forth between the monitor and Kate.

"Oh my…. Oh my god. Twins? Really? We're... we're having twins?!"

The nurse nodded. "Congratulations." She hit a few keys and a picture slid out of a slot under the monitor. She handed the picture to Rick and he held it out to Kate, marveling at the two little black and white blobs. She smiled at him, tears in her eyes.

"We're going to have twins."

Rick grabbed Kate's face and kissed her passionately. He rested his forehead on hers after they broke apart, holding the picture out for both of them to see.

"I'll give you two some privacy," said, motioning to the nurse. Kate looked up from the sonogram picture and shook her head.

"No, wait. I want to know what happened. Are they okay?"

Dr. Stevens pulled another chair up to Kate's bed and talked to Rick and Kate as the nurse cleaned up Kate's stomach and wheeled out the ultrasound machine.

"My first guess would be stress. Has anything particularly stressful happened to you in the last couple days? Any nightmares?"

"No, but... there has been a situation at work. Yesterday, it got dangerous and Rick took me home. I've just been really worried about my two closest friends. Usually, I'm right by their side when the shit goes down. We're a team."

Rick hit his forehead with palm of his hand.

"Damn!"

Kate and Dr. Stevens stared at him. "What?"

"Ryan texted me late last night, I was going to tell you when I woke up. He and Javi are safe, they're going to call you today."

Kate exhaled with relief and squeezed Rick's hand. "Oh, thank god."

Dr. Stevens smiled. "Well, it seems this has been resolved. Kate, I'm going to run a few tests on your blood just to be safe, but then you can go home. Try to prevent stress. I know that is hard with your job, but it's bad for your babies, and you."

Kate smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Stevens."

He drew Kate's blood and left to take it to the lab. He promised to call Rick with the results, and allowed them to leave. Rick took his coat off and wrapped it around Kate, trying to shield her from the wind as they stepped outside the hospital and hailed a cab. Once inside, Kate snuggled into Rick's arms and yawned.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 9 am," Rick said, checking his phone. "How about when we get home, I make us some hot chocolate and pancakes?"

"Mhhmm, yes please," Kate said, smiling . "I'm hungry. And tired. But mostly hungry."

"Well then let's fix that," Rick said, kissing Kate's hair.

xxxx

"…and be safe, okay? I am so, so glad you guys are alright. Come by when you can. Okay. Bye."

Kate walked out of her office as she hung up her phone. Rick smiled from the kitchen, where he was flipping pancakes.

"You talk to Ryan?"

"Yep," Kate said, smiling brightly. She put her hands on her stomach and slid onto a barstool. "Now that I know he and Espo are safe, and they promise to keep me updated, I can stop worrying."

Rick handed her a plate filled with pancakes, fruit, and bacon. "Promise me that you will. Because I was so scared when you woke me up this morning."

"I was too," Kate said, taking a bite of a strawberry. "But in a way, I'm glad we ended up at the hospital. It would have 3 more weeks before I went in for my next ultrasound, and we wouldn't know that we're having twins!"

Rick grinned and came around the bar to sit next to her, putting a hand on her stomach.

"It is pretty awesome," he said with his mouth full, in typical Rick Castle fashion. Kate laughed.

"I can't wait to tell Alexis and Lanie! And Jenny, and Madison…."

Castle shook his head vigorously.

"Uh-uh. I don't want you leave the house until this guy is caught. Espo said they have a new lead, it probably won't take more than a couple days."

Kate frowned and was about to protest, but then she let it go and sighed. "Fine. You make a fair point."

Rick put his hand on top of hers. "Thank you. I have almost lost you too many times, I can't risk it again."

Kate nodded and gave him a small smile. "I understand." She yawned. "Ugh, I'm already tired again. I'm going to go take a nap, ok?"

Rick gave her a kiss on the forehead and she slipped off her barstool, walking towards their bedroom.

"Call if you need anything!," Rick yelled after Kate. She kept walking, holding a thumbs up sign high in the air. She smiled to herself at his constant need to make her feel comfortable. Sometimes it could get on her nerves, but when she was pregnant, she was extremely glad her husband was so crazy about her.

xxxx

3 days later, Kate and Rick were sitting on the living room couch, watching 'Practical Magic,' when Ryan called with good news.

"We got him!"

"The Ladykiller?," Kate asked, pausing the movie and putting her phone on speaker. Rick perked up (he had been dozing off, despite the fact that it was only 5 pm) and stared at Kate.

"Yep!," Ryan sounded exhausted and proud. "Javi and I tracked him to an apartment in Queens through a letter he sent to renew his Playboy subscription."

Rick snorted. "Classy."

"I know, right? Anyway, he's being booked right now, and I haven't slept in 2 days. Call you guys when I wake up?"

Kate laughed and Rick smiled. "Yes! Go see your baby girl and get some sleep!," she said, grinning. She was so glad it was all over, and that her boys were safe.

"Thanks," Ryan said. She could hear him getting in the elevator. "Hey, speaking of, how are you feeling?"

"Good," Kate said. Rick held his phone screen out and she saw Javi was calling him. He got up and walked into his office to answer it.

"Sorry, Javi just called Rick," Kate said, taking her cell off speakerphone. "Yeah, I'm feeling better. I was just so worried about you guys."

"I was worried about you, too," Ryan said. "Castle briefly told me about the hospital visit a few days ago."

"Yeah, well, something good actually came off that," Kate said, smiling to herself. She fiddled with a loose string on the blanket she was wrapped in. "Can you keep a secret?"

"For you? Anything."

She smiled and looked around for Rick, then lowered her voice. "We're having twins."

"Really? Oh my god, Kate, that's amazing!"

"Thanks," Kate was blushing and grinning like a dork again. "But don't tell Jenny, okay? I'm going to have lunch with the girls soon and I want them all together. And don't tell Javi either."

"I won't," Ryan promised. "Just let me know when the secret is out."

"Okay."

"Hey, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon, okay? And congrats!"

"Thanks. Bye, Ryan."

"Bye, Becks."

Kate hung up her phone just seconds before Rick re-entered the room, hanging up his phone.

"Esposito wanted to know how we were doing, and he wanted to brag about his takedown," Rick said with a grin, slipping back onto the couch next to Kate. He put his arm around her and hugged her close.

"I'm so glad we all survived this one."

"Yeah, it was really hard, with us at home watching movies and sleeping in til noon," Kate teased. He just smiled and kissed her hair. She didn't want to tell him that she had told Ryan about the twins, but she hated to hide things from him, so she quickly solved her problem.

"So now I can have lunch with the girls and tell them!," she said, smiling brightly. Rick nodded and laughed.

"Someone's eager to have good news."

"I just hate keeping it a secret," Kate said. She picked up her phone again and stood up. "I'm going to go make plans, then take a bath."

Rick smiled appreciatively at her small baby bump, which she had started showing off by wearing tight shirts. He put his hand on it and then pressed his ear against the thin cotton tank top she was wearing.

"Hey guys, it's daddy. Your mommy is so excited to share you with the world. You're gonna have a lot of love in your life. Just don't forget your good ol' dad when everyone wants a piece of you, okay?" He paused and then nodded. "Uh huh… okay. Sure thing."

He looked up at Kate, that childlike grin on his face. "They say they love you, and that you will always be their favorite woman in the world. Little Boy Castle promises to never love another girl as much as he loves his mommy, and Little Girl Castle promises to never call you a bitch and to always go shopping with you when you ask."

Kate laughed, she eyes sparkling. She pulled Rick up and kissed him tenderly.

"Thanks for giving me the message," she whispered before walking away.

xxxx

"Kate, honey?"

Rick entered their bathroom and saw Kate surrounded by bubbles. She had John Mayer playing on an ipod dock on the countertop, and her eyes were closed. She opened them slowly when Rick entered.

"Mhmm hmm?"

"Javi wants to meet me and Ryan at The Old Haunt for some pool and beers. Will you be okay here for a few hours?"

Kate smiled. "Of course. While I think it is wonderful you always want to take care of me, I'm barely 4 months pregnant and after I get out of this bath, I'm just going to eat Chinese and fall asleep."

Rick nodded. "Okay. I'll order you some chicken chow mein and white rice before I leave."

"Aww, thank, honey. But can you wait about half an hour? I think I'm gonna soak here until I turn pruney." She slid down slightly, poking her belly out. Rick chuckled and placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

"Goodbye, my darling. I'll win a game of pool for you."

Kate smiled. "You better."

A few minutes after Rick left, Kate took a deep breath and slid underwater. She stayed under for as long as she could, enjoying the silent calmness of the water. When she surfaced, she dried her hands and grabbed her phone off the counter.

Kate: I have some really exciting news… is everyone available for lunch tomorrow?

She sent the text to Maddie, Alexis, Jenny, and Lanie and then closed her eyes and continued to enjoy the quiet peace of the bathtub. She knew that it wouldn't be long before she and Rick had not one, but two babies to take care of, and that relaxation would be a luxury. But she wouldn't trade it for the world.

Okay, so I may have been unable to choose between the sexes... hence my awesome solution! What do you think? Can Rick & Kate handle twins? ;)