Disclaimer: I have no ownership of these characters.
This is an AU story. Montgomery is still alive, and Beckett has not been shot. Castle is at the precinct for his fourth year.
Kate wakes up, to find Rick up and packing.
"Morning, sleepyhead." He says to her as he leans down and kisses her.
"Do I have to get up?"
"Yes my dear, you do. We've got a big day today. Come on, get up and get your shower. I've got my stuff packed; all that's left is yours. I've put all your dresses in the back of the closet, that way you'll always have dresses here."
"But I don't have anything like those at home." Kate replies.
"Kate, once we are home, I'll buy you any dress you want, as many as you want. This way, you'll never have to worry about what clothes to bring when we come up here. You'll already have some here."
"We're going to have to have a talk about money, sooner or later, Rick."
"Not right now. Now, we need to get you up and ready for the ride home, and your doctor appointment."
Kate gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom.
"Good morning, Richard." Martha says as Rick walks in the kitchen.
"Morning, Mother, everyone." He replies as he pours himself a cup of coffee.
"Morning, Rick. Chell made breakfast burritos for everyone. She should be here any minute." Jacob chimes in.
"That woman sure can cook." Jim adds.
Javier and Lanie come strolling in. "I smell coffee." Javier smirks.
Alexis and Ashley walk in with Chell following them.
Chell puts the container filled with burritos on the kitchen counter. Everyone grabs a burrito and sits down at the table.
Kate walks in and pours herself a cup of coffee and sits down at the table.
"Aren't you going to eat, Kate?" Alexis asks.
"My stomachs pretty queasy right now Alexis, maybe later."
"Eat quick folks. We need to be on the road, no later than six." Rick tells everyone.
"We're all packed up. Martha would you like to ride back with me?" Jacob asks.
"Of course, Jacob." Martha replies.
"Dad, I'm going to ride with Ashley."
"Ok pumpkin, just be careful." Rick replies.
"Guess we had better start loading up." Jim adds.
"Alright, let's get going. Once we get loaded and head out, we'll all meet up at the loft.
Kate walks into the living room, to find Rick hanging up from a phone call.
"Castle, let me freshen up, and we can head to Dr. Murray's office." Kate says as she heads for the bathroom.
"Rick, Chell and I are going to head to my place. We'll see you boys tomorrow." Jim says to Rick.
"Lanie and I are going to split too. I'll see you tomorrow, Castle." Javier adds.
"I had better go check in at home, too." Ashley says.
"Alright, see you all tomorrow." Rick replies.
Kate squeezes Rick's hand. "I'm so nervous." She says.
"Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry so much." Rick softly says.
"Ms. Beckett, the doctor will see you now." The nurse, Natalie says.
Kate and Rick both follow the nurse into the exam room.
The nurse checks her weight, pulse, blood-pressure, temperature and takes blood from her. She gives Kate a urine sample bottle and sends her to the restroom.
Rick finishes filling out the paperwork, and providing their insurance information.
Kate comes back in, and the nurse asks her to have a seat on the exam table.
The doctor comes strolling in.
"Hello Ms. Beckett, good to see you again. Mr. Castle, it's nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Scott Murray."
Rick gets up and shakes the man's hand.
"Ms. Beckett, we've got tests going right now. The clinic in Fleischmanns faxed your test results over to us. I've just got a few questions for you, before we know where we stand."
"That's fine Dr. Murray, ask away."
"When was the first day of your last menstrual cycle?"
Kate looks at the calendar on the wall for a few minutes. "November 18th."
He writes the information down on his notepad.
"I've got all the information that the nurse asked you when she spoke to you on the phone, but I'll need to find out Mr. Castle's information as well.
"Mr. Castle, is their any history of multi-births or disabilities in your family?"
"The answer is no to both." Rick replies.
The doctor continues to write into his notepad.
He closes his pad and gets up from his seat. "Let me go check on the tests, I'll be back in a few minutes."
Kate looks over at the paperwork Rick is still holding.
"You put me on your insurance? When? I've got insurance through the department."
"Kate, my insurance is better than anything the city offers. I had you added to my policies this morning, while you slept on the drive."
"Policies?"
"Of course, I had you added to the family health insurance, car insurance, homeowners, and life insurance policies. That's what married people do." Rick replies.
"We're not married, yet."
"No, but we will be soon. I told you, don't worry about so much. I've got it all covered."
The nurse walks in, and takes the paperwork from Rick. "Thank you, the doctor will be back shortly." She says.
Kate is fiddling with her hands, and Rick grabs them. "Kate, calm down, everything is going to be alright. Take it easy, please."
The doctor comes back into the room.
"Alright, the tests all came back fine; however you do have a very high hCG level. By the timeline you've given me, regarding your menstrual cycle, I will tell you that right now, you are five weeks and six days pregnant. We're setting your due-date for August 24th. Your baby will share a birthday with the likes of Cal Ripken, Jr., Steve Guttenberg, King Alexander of Scotland, King William of the Netherlands, and Vince McMahon."
"Five weeks? How can that be, we hadn't even been together by that point?" Kate tells the doctor.
Dr. Murray chuckles. "Ms. Beckett, a normal pregnancy takes forty weeks, but actually you're only pregnant for thirty-eight of the forty. The first two weeks are those from the first day of your last period to conception. Conception can take place thirty minutes to five days after having intercourse. The first day of your last period was November 18th, which sets your conception date at December 2nd or 3rd, which technically makes you five weeks and 6 days pregnant. I could do a sonogram on your right now, if you'd like, but I'd rather wait until your appointment next month to do so, that way we'll be able to tell more. It's up to you."
Kate looks at Rick, her eyes questioning.
"We can wait till the next appointment." Rick answers.
"That's fine. I'm going to give you a couple of prescriptions that I'll need you to take daily. The first one is a prenatal vitamin. The second is an iron pill, our test results showed your iron levels were pretty low and we want to make sure you don't become anemic. The baby will take a lot of iron from your body. These pills will help you and the baby if taken daily. Now, you may feel fatigued often during your pregnancy, but this is normal. Just remember, if you feel like you need a nap, take one. Everything seems fine; there is no need for you to worry. Do you have any questions for me?"
"Kate is a detective with the NYPD, should she have any work restrictions?" Rick asks.
"Not at this point, no. Just use your common sense, don't do anything that could put the baby or your body into serious jeopardy. If a dangerous situation presents itself, let your team take lead and you fall to the back, otherwise it should be business as usual for now. In the later stages of the pregnancy, we may have to place restrictions, but right now we're fine. Anything else?"
"No, I think that's about it, Kate?"
"No, Dr. Murray, I think you've answered everything."
"Alright, I'll send Natalie back in. I want to see you back here again in a month. We'll do a sonogram then. You two take care."
"Thank you, Dr. Murray." Kate and Rick say in unison.
"That went really well. Feel better now?" Rick asks Kate on the ride from the doctors.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better now."
"Tired?"
"No, just a little hungry." Kate replies.
"How about Remy's, to go?"
"That would be great."
Rick dials Remy's and places an order for them and everyone still at the loft.
Kate relaxes into Rick's shoulder as they enjoy the ride.
"How'd the doctor visit go?" Alexis asks as Kate and Rick enter the kitchen.
Jacob and Martha walk in behind them.
"Dr. Murray seems really nice." Rick replies.
"He says we're due on August 24th." Kate adds.
"Oh that's wonderful, my dear. Have you eaten?" Martha asks.
"I brought Remy's for everyone." Rick replies as he puts the bags on the counter.
"Yum, Remy's." Alexis says as she grabs hers.
Everyone digs into their lunch, as Kate and Rick tell them about the doctors' appointment.
Kate finishes her lunch, and lets out a soft yawn.
"Tessa won't be here for a couple of hours. Why don't you lay down for a nap for a bit Kate?" Martha suggests.
"I think I will. If I'm not awake when she gets here, someone come get me up." Kate replies as she heads to the bedroom.
Rick heads into the office, with a project on his mind. He starts to move books from one bookcase to another. Soon he has an entire bookcase cleared out and heads into the bedroom.
He quietly rearranges and combines the items in his dresser drawers, to allow half the dresser for Kate to use. Next he heads to the closet, and soon has the closet condensed down where Kate has one whole side to use.
Satisfied that he has everything set up in their room, he leaves and heads upstairs to the guest-room across the hall from Alexis. He makes a call down to the building manager and soon hears a knock on the door downstairs.
Alexis tells the men where to find Rick, and they quickly enter the room.
"That was quick." Rick says. "I need all of this furniture taken down and placed into my storage, please."
They nod in understanding, and begin to cart the furniture down the stairs and out of the loft.
Alexis come into the room. "Dad, a messenger just dropped this off for you."
"Thank you, Alexis." Rick says as he takes the envelope.
As the guys moving the furniture get finished, Rick comes down the stairs and grabs a soda from the fridge. He then proceeds to join Jacob in the living room.
"Mother and Alexis upstairs?"
"They've been up there the majority of the time we've been back." Jacob replies.
"They shouldn't have much more to do then. Mother doesn't have too much stuff up there. Most of it is in storage."
Rick hears Kate's phone ringing in the bedroom, and rushes in to grab it before she wakes up. He walks in as she rolls over and grabs the phone.
"Beckett."
"Welcome home Beckett, Esposito told me you were all back home."
"Thanks Ryan, we just got back this morning." Kate replies.
"How'd the trip go? Did you get rested up?"
"It was wonderful, and yes I am very well rested." Kate says.
"I just wanted to check in with you boss, Jenny's calling so I guess I'll see you Saturday night."
"Alright Ryan, tell Jenny hello for me. I'll see you Saturday." Kate says as she hangs up the phone.
"Sorry about that, I tried to get to the phone before it woke you."
"It's alright; I just needed a power-nap. How long have I been asleep?" Kate asks.
"You got about an hour and a half in. Tessa should be here within the next hour."
Kate gets up and heads straight for the bathroom.
Kate comes out of the bathroom, and finds Rick setting in his office.
"Come here for a minute." He tells Kate.
He hands her the envelope, and watches as she opens it.
"What is this?" She asks.
"You said we needed to talk about money, before. I didn't want to talk, until I had these to give you. This one is the debit card to the Nikki Heat account. The other is our joint Visa card; it has an unlimited credit limit."
"Castle, I can't take these. This is your money, not mine."
"Listen, the Nikki Heat account belongs to you too. You were influential in creating those books, so you deserve the royalties as much as I do. I want you to use it, for anything you need or want. It's yours to use, anytime. The Visa card is for emergencies, or online purchases. All of our bills and such come out of my main account. You don't have to worry about any of that, my accountant takes care of everything. Your money is your money, use it anyway you want to, as well as these other cards. Kate, I'm not going to give in on this. I want you to feel financially stable and not to have to worry about money, ever again."
Alexis walks to the doorway. "Tessa's here."
"We'll be right there." Rick replies.
"We are not done talking about this." Kate says as she walks out of the office.
"Tessa, this is my son Richard and his fiancée Kate Beckett. Rick and Kate, this is Tessa Lawhon, wedding planner extraordinaire."
"It's nice to finally meet you, Tessa." Kate says as Rick shakes her hand.
"Martha told me you are holding a New Years Eve party on Saturday. I brought your 'Save the Date' cards with me, so you can hand them out at the party. I also brought some envelopes for those that aren't at the party." She says as she hands Kate the box.
Kate opens it up and gasps. "These are beautiful." Rick looks over at them and smiles.
"I'm glad you like them. I used the picture you sent me, and added the Valentines theme to the card. I've ordered your invitations. They should be done sometime next week. Kate have you found your dress yet?"
"We're going dress shopping on Saturday. Hopefully we'll find my dress and the bridesmaids' dresses as well." Kate replies.
"That's great. Rick, I've got the tuxedo appointments set up in two weeks to get everyone's tuxes fitted."
"I'll let the guys know."
"I also talked to the DJ and caterer you suggested in the Hamptons, we've got them lined up as well. The caterer will take care of the rehearsal dinner and the reception. They'll also provide the table-settings for both." Tessa adds.
"That's great." Rick replies.
"I've ordered your personalized guest book and pen, unity candles, ring bearer's pillow, flower girl's basket, garter, cake knife and server and toasting goblets in the same design as we used on the invitations. I've also reserved the tent, dance floor, tables and chairs, table skirts, cloths and napkins for the reception. I also plan on having white Christmas lights and white LED Victorian lanterns throughout all the trees. There's still so very much to do. A lot of the preparations I can take care of, however I do have a list of things you two will have to do." Tessa says as she slides a list down the table to Rick and Kate.
"I'll call the mayor when we're done and confirm him." Rick says as he looks over the list.
"Have you made your guest list yet? I'll need to know how many to expect for the caterer, as well as what you would like on the menu. Also, I'll need to have an approximate amount on how many hotel rooms to book in Montauk."
"We'll work on that tonight, Tessa." Martha replies.
"We also need to get a photographer, florist and videographer booked. Do you think you will need security lined up also?" Tessa asks.
"Kate's a Detective at the NYPD, half the precinct will be there. I think we've got security covered." Rick chuckles.
"Are you going to need hair and makeup artists?"
"I'll arrange for the crew I use for my tours. We can use the photographer, mini-bars and bartenders we use for by book parties too. I'll get my people to put out a press-release announcement the day after the wedding." Rick responds.
"Do you have an idea for the cake? I'll leave this book here for you to look over, there are hundreds of designs. Pick one that you both like. We can change the colors of any cake in there to match your wedding colors."
"Thanks Tessa, we'll look through it." Kate replies.
"Martha, you'll need to make sure your dress coordinates with the wedding party."
"That's not a problem; we can match my dress, when we go shopping for Kate's and the bridesmaids." Martha responds.
"Just remember when you do the dress shopping, to find shoes and undergarments to go with the dresses. Don't forget any jewelry you might want to wear."
"I'm glad you reminded me. I hadn't thought about all that, just the dress." Kate replies.
"You'll need to set up your bridal registry at the store you would like. This will need to be done soon, before anyone throws you a bridal shower."
"We can take care of that. I see it's on our list." Rick replies.
"I have an idea that I'd like to share with you. Since we are using a Valentine's theme, how about using Valentine's cards for the place-cards at the tables? Or would you rather use place-cards that match the invitations?"
"It sounds really cute, but let us think about it a few days." Kate suggests.
"You'll need to get your wedding license next week, make sure you get the guest list ready, pick out your wedding rings, start thinking about your vows for the wedding, and choose what song you want to be your wedding song for the reception. I'll find us a florist this week, and then we'll pick out the centerpieces, arbor, boutonnieres, corsages, bouquets and other decor when I come over next week. When you email me the guest list, I'll take care of sending the invitations and handling the RSVP's. Once we've reached the RSVP cutoff, we'll work on assigning the seating arrangements."
"Wow, you really do a lot, don't you? We'll make sure we take care of the things on our list." Kate replies in amazement.
"I do, yes, but I truly love my job. Once the details are all taken care of, and the day arrives, it brings me great pleasure to see everything come together so beautifully. I take great pride in my job. I will promise you this; your wedding day will be a memorable event for everyone attending."
"That sounds wonderful, Tessa. Thank you for taking care of everything for us." Kate replies.
"You're very welcome. I guess that about wraps it up for today; I'll see you again next week when the invitations come in."
"Tessa, I'd like to invite you to our New Years Eve party Saturday night at The Old Haunt. I'm sure you'll have a great time." Rick chimes in.
"Thank you Mr. Castle, I'd love to come."
"It's Rick, call me Rick."
Kate snickers. "Call me Kate, please. When you call me Ms. Beckett, it makes me think of my grandmother."
The group laughs at Kate's statement, as Rick shows Tessa to the door.
Rick whispers to Tessa at the door. "Fireworks, I want tons of fireworks for the reception. This is our secret, ok?"
Tessa whispers back. "I'll take care of it all, you've got my word." She winks and walks to the elevator.
Rick shuts the door, and hears Kate and Martha chatting.
"Even with everything that Tessa is doing, we still have a lot to take care of." Kate sighs.
"Very true, but we can handle it, together." Rick says as he walks back to the table.
"Castle, I'd like to go to my place, and get some of my things. Do you want to go?"
"I've got a better idea. Mother, take care of things here, we're going to go spend one last night at Beckett's apartment." Rick replies.
"Alright darling, Alexis and I still have some work to do here, and then Jacob is taking us to the out for dinner."
Kate and Rick grab their things, along with Tessa's list and head towards the door.
"Have a great night you two." Martha yells out to them.
"We will, Mother, we will. Goodnight." Rick says as he closes the loft door.
Note:
A special thanks to all of you that sent in your reviews and comments. They are greatly appreciated.
For those commenting/asking questions about the pregnancy:
**Note the following was purposely left out of the story to build suspense**
In the several hours Kate was running errands in Fleischmanns, on the Friday before Christmas, she went to the local clinic. She went to find out it she had a stomach bug or what since she kept having stomach cramps, nausea and throwing up. They did blood-work on her, and found out she was pregnant.
I've had several people tell me that there's no way the pregnancy could have happened this way. I'd like those of you to explain that to my twenty-five year old son. Haha. Because that part of this story, was actually my real-life story. Yes, it can and has happened, to me.
You can find out more about pregnancies and due-dates by going here:
http :/ tinyurl .com /3qeypjb
Paula