Pregnant!
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: I don't own this. Rating: K. Time: AU between Season Two and Three.
Author's note: There may be a slight delay in the next chapter being posted. I usually like to stay a couple of chapters ahead in case I suffer a massive brain fart or something, but since the first two chapters upset so many people, I rushed last night's chapter and this one onto the site. Please be advised that there is nothing but sweet Casketty goodness ahead, so the delay in posting is not some deep, dark angsty plot. Of course I wouldn't lie to you, would I?
Rick sat stunned for just a second. Then he took Kate's face between his hands and kissed her, hard. "Oh my God! You're pregnant? You're pregnant!" He kissed her again, more softly this time.
Kate stared at him. "You're not…angry? Or upset?"
"What? The woman I love madly is going to have our baby? Why would I be angry? This is great." He kissed Kate again, kissing away the tears that still ran down her cheeks. "IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou! He babbled happily.
He caught sight of Kate's expression and thought again. "Okay, maybe there is a downside. I mean, you're a cop. You want to find your mom's killer. But, we can do this. We can handle this, Kate. The two of us." He stood up, pulling Kate up with him, hugged her and lifted her off her feet. A thought penetrated his mind. "You're pregnant! I shouldn't be doing this." He quickly put Kate down again. "Do you need a blanket or something? Should your feet be up? Do you need anything? Anything at all?"
Suddenly he realized what Kate Beckett needed more than anything else. He pushed himself off of the couch and onto his knees in front of her. "Kate, I don't have a ring to give you, but, Kate Beckett, will you marry me?"
Kate shook her head. "No, I can't."
Rick was stunned. "No? Why? Don't you love me?"
Kate slapped his shoulder lightly. "Of course I love you. It's just that I love you too much to allow you to marry me just because I behaved like a dumb bimbo and got myself knocked up." Tears started pouring down Kate's cheeks again.
"Kate, honey, I love you. I'm not being forced to marry you. I told you I loved you before I found out you were pregnant. Marry me, please."
"But you only asked me to marry you after you found out about the baby. Rick, I won't marry you as long as there's the slightest possibility that one day you might start thinking that you only married me because I'm pregnant."
"Honey, what can I do to convince you…?"
Kate put a finger to Rick's lips. "Rick, please I just can't stand to argue with you about anything, anything at all, right now. I'm begging you, just hold me and let me cry."
"You'll never have to beg me for anything, Kate. No arguments."
Rick held her as she continued to cry. He stroked her hair and her cheeks, kissed her on the forehead and told her that everything would be okay.
Finally Kate stopped crying and pulled herself up to sit on his lap. "There are some things I need to tell you. Please just let me talk to you and don't argue, okay?"
"No arguments." Rick said softly.
"I haven't dated much since my mom died. The last person I dated was Will Sorenson and that was several years ago. I had been on birth control pills, but when my prescription ran out, I put off getting a new one. It seemed pointless. I'm not the type for a one night stand and I figured that if I met someone that I really liked, there'd be plenty of time to get a new prescription."
She laughed. "You really snuck up on me, Rick. I had no intention of sleeping with you the night you took me to Jimmy's. I was fully dressed before you picked me up, dress, bra, panties, slip and pantyhose. Then I took everything off but the dress so we could make out. I just wanted to be really sexy for you. Then you turned me down because you thought I was trying to pay you back with sex for the $100,000 you spent getting Dick Coonan. You were so damned cute and I just wanted you so much."
"Kate, it's as much my fault as yours. I should have…"
Kate put her fingers to his lips. "No arguments, remember?"
"I'm not…"
She kissed him.
"I'll shut up."
"Good. I knew I had to get a new prescription, so I called my doctor and made an appointment. But we had a murder and I missed the appointment. I made another one. It was late on a Friday. I got the prescription but when I got to the pharmacy, the doctor had made a mistake and they wouldn't fill it. So, back to the doctor and then back to the pharmacy. I left the prescription and got on the phone with Ryan about a case. When I was done, I went back to the pharmacy, they were closed. For the weekend. I went back to my doctor's to get a new prescription, but they were closed. I got the pills on Monday and started using them at once. But it takes time for them to kick in, and I wanted you so badly. I should have told you, but…." Kate started to cry again.
"Honey, it'll be okay. Don't cry. We'll get through this." Rick held Kate tightly.
"I'm so damned sorry. I just wasn't thinking. I was just so damned stupid. I can't believe what a stupid, stupid…" Kate found her mouth blocked by Rick's. He kissed her very gently.
"I won't argue with you, so don't you beat yourself up about this. Okay?"
"Okay." She whispered in his ear. "There's more, though."
"Okay. What else?"
"I didn't tell you a lie when I said I hadn't told anyone at the precinct that you had done something to me. But when they saw how miserable I was, and that you weren't around, they came to a logical but totally wrong conclusion. It's still my fault. Sins of omission are just as serious as sins of commission. I was just so miserable, I wasn't thinking straight. But I can fix this. I'll tell them what really is wrong tomorrow. I want you back with me." Rick felt Kate stiffen. "You do want to come back, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I want to be with you every second that I can from now on."
"Rick, please believe me, I wouldn't have kept the baby a secret from you. There was just so much going on. I was buried in all of Coonan's financial and other records, and every time I thought I had made some progress, I'd get more facts and my theories collapsed. I had all the murders in the precinct to keep up on, I was falling madly in love with you and I didn't really know how you felt about me and then I found out I was pregnant. I just needed some time by myself to try to figure out what I was going to do with my whole life. I decided to break up with you until I had thought things through. Another stupid mistake. I've been miserable without you."
"And I've been miserable without you." Rick paused, then, "Honey, I want to be involved in out baby's life. As involved as I can be. I hope you want me involved in both of your lives?"
"You're the best father I could imagine for a child. I want us to raise our baby together."
Rick sighed in relief. "Um, Kate? If we're going to raise a baby together, you should consider moving in with me. Trying to raise a child with two homes is going to be hard. Really hard on us and on our baby."
Kate nodded. "You're probably right. But let's talk about it later. I just can't face any more decisions right now."
"You know, you're planning to stay with me for, what, maybe decades to raise our child, but you're not going to marry me? Does that make sense?"
"Rick, please…"
"I'm not arguing, just putting some facts in front of you."
She tried to glare at him, but ended up smiling instead. "You most certainly arguing. And yes, even I understand how absurd it us for us to live together for years and not get married, but my mind is made up. I'll marry you when I'm convinced that you're marrying me because you want to, not because you have to. "
"So all I have to do is convince you that I want to marry you? No problem."
They were interrupted by a gurgling noise from Kate's stomach.
"What was that? Is it something to do with the pregnancy?"
Kate smiled. "No, it's just that I'm hungry. Since I…decided to break up with you, I haven't been able to sleep or eat. I'm suddenly starving." Kate's stomach gurgled again.
Rick pulled out his phone. "I'll call for some food. Chinese okay?"
"Let me call. There's a Chinese place right across the street. They can be here in five minutes." Kate called and ordered for both of them. Then she put her hand on her stomach. "Ever since I broke up with you, I've felt like I had a million razor sharp icicles churning in my stomach. I could hardly eat or sleep. But now I'm starving and I'm exhausted." Kate stood up. "If I stay on the couch, I'll go to sleep. Can you hold me, Rick?"
In less than five minutes their food was delivered. Rick led Kate to her kitchen table and pulled her down onto his lap.
"What are you doing?"
"Showing you how much I love you. I'm going to feed you."
"Castle! I'm a big girl, I can feed myself."
"Sure you can feed yourself, but I want to feed you."
"In that case, I'll feed you, otherwise we'll never get any food."
Rick and Kate fed each other, and the floor, until Kate was full.
"You ate about two thirds of the Chinese." Rick said. "You were hungry."
Kate leaned her head on his shoulder. "And now I'm exhausted. I need to go to sleep." She got up and headed to her bedroom.
"Kate, I meant what I said about staying with you for every possible second from now on. I'll sleep on the couch, okay?"
Kate turned, smiled and held out her hand. "Rick, I think it's too late for you to be sleeping on the couch. Come to bed."
Kate came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Rick was already in bed. She snuggled up against him. "I'm exhausted, Rick. Do you mind if we don't make love tonight?"
"Whatever you want."
"I love you." She said sleepily. "You're too good to me, way too…"
The regular pattern of her breathing told Castle that Kate was already asleep.
"I love you too, Mrs. Castle."
Kate woke up the next morning alone in her bed and felt a moment of panic. Had he left? Then she smelled something coming from the kitchen. Breakfast?"
She hopped out of bed and found Rick making breakfast.
"Morning, sleepyhead. You still don't have anything that isn't leftover take out in your kitchen, so I went to the little store I saw across the street. Pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon okay for you? Oh, and there's coffee made. Get yourself a cup."
Kate walked up to Rick and put her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. "I was wrong. I didn't need time away from you, I needed time with you. Those razor sharp icicles are gone, I've had the best sleep I've had in weeks and I'm still starving."
Rick finished making breakfast and then sat with Kate.
"Should I just show up at the precinct as usual?" He asked.
"I've been thinking about that. I want to tell Esposito, Ryan and Lanie, but not Captain Montgomery. At least not at the same time as I tell the rest. Plus, I don't want to tell everyone about us in the bullpen. Everyone will hear and there'll be rumors enough as it is."
"Rumors?"
"You have no idea what it's like being an attractive woman cop, Rick."
"Well, I have some experience being around a gorgeous, amazingly beautiful cop, does that help?"
"Thank you. But some men see woman cops as either whores or lesbians. News that I'm pregnant by you will start the rumors going."
"Just tell me who's spreading them."
"No need. Espo will hear the rumors long before I do, and there's something about an ex-Special Forces sniper that scares people more than a ruggedly handsome writer does."
"Why?" Castle asked with his best puzzled look on his face.
Kate rolled her eyes. "I think you should go and break the news to Martha and Alexis. I think it would be best if we all met at Remy's after work. Say about five fifteen? I'll call you if you there's a problem, okay?"
"Okay." He smiled.
"Now finish your breakfast and get out of here. I have to shower and get ready for work."
"Need help showering?" Rick asked with a leer.
"No. I want to get to work relatively on time. Now scat."