Note to Stanatic 13: once again, I see your notes and suggestions. You'll see an answer in a few chapters ;)

Next morning

Neither LJ or I slept well during the night.

Thanks to the painkillers, she kept waking up every few hours, confused. The only way I could get her to sleep again was to sing her lullaby after lullaby. She found them very soothing, but my voice became hoarse in the process.

As for me, I was plagued by nightmares of numerous about being pregnant but having miscarriages. It really freaked me out and I ended up calling Castle at four in the morning, crying my eyes out because I was so worried. He did his best to comfort me and we talked for two hours, but we were both still sad that he wouldn't be able to make it to the hospital right away because he had work-related obligations to fulfill and would be tied up for a few hours. This meant that we'd probably be home by the time he was done, anyway.

LJ was still on her painkillers, but she could tell that I'd also had a rough night because she remained surprisingly lucid so she could make sense to herself when she did her best to comfort me. It was a great effort for her, but she did it for me because she wanted to.

"Mama, what's the matter? You didn't sleep good?"

"Not really, LJ. I had some scary dreams."

"Well, you woke up so you can't be dreamin' right now," she gave my leg a pat, happy that I was cuddled up with her. "But it's gonna be okay 'cause you always have me to cuddle with. I mean, you also gots daddy to cuddle with, but when you cuddle with him, you tell us that a baby is in your tummy…"

"Daddy and I really like being parents, though."

LJ ignored that. "You can cuddle with daddy, and you can cuddle with me, Lexie, Jamie, Jed and Joey 'cause we're your babies and cuddling with your babies always makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

"It does."

"Can I tell you something serious, Katie?"

"Always."

"I'm so, so glad that you're my mama."

"And I'm so, so glad that you're my daughter. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Good."

(LJ obviously remembers when we adopted her even though she was three at the time, and every now and then, she spontaneously tells me or Castle how happy she is that we're in her life)

We lay in the bed for ages, content to be with each other because LJ values cuddle time more than most kids do. In fact, we stayed like that until Doctor Morgan, the doctor who had handled Tobias' case entered the room. Tall with Hispanic features, shoulder length hair, big brown eyes and a winning smile, she looked like the kind of pediatric doctor that every little kid would love. The polka dotted dress and little toy dog sticking out of her lab coat pocket also helped.

"Hello, LJ." She chirped. "How are you and your mama doing?"

"We both had some weird dreams," (I propped LJ up against me and Doctor Morgan sat on the edge of the bed) "But we're better now."

"That's good. Are the new meds better?"

"Yeah, but mama told me that I sleeptalk."
"About what?"

"Magical camel fairy babies." LJ pulled her new camel toy into her lap. "Mama said I also talk to Humphrey!"

"That's crazy!" Doctor Morgan laughed. "Can you tell me a story about Humphrey while I check on your arm?"

LJ agreed, making up a story on the spot as Doctor Morgan diligently eased LJ's arm out of the sling to examine it. I'm no medical doctor like she is, but I could see that some of the swelling had gone down, but it wasn't enough. Before long, Doctor Morgan was easing the injured limb back into the sling.

"I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Good news!"

"Your arm is getting better!"

"Hooray!"

"The bad news is that you have to stay here for a few more hours."

LJ started whining. "What? I have to stay even longer? I'm gonna go crazy!"

She began to cry in frustration but managed to wave goodbye to her doctor. Thankfully, LJ calmed down a few minutes later and asked me if she could watch a movie on my iPad. Once the program was running and the device was in her hands, I got off the bed and stretched.

"Are you gonna be okay by yourself?"

She nodded. "Gonna go look for coffee? Daddy says it's your favoritest drink and one of the first things he remembered about you was how you like it."

I blushed bright red. "Daddy's a really observant guy."

"You better hurry before all the good coffee's gone!"

She made sure Humphrey was on her lap before becoming absorbed in the program, so I kissed her on her forehead and made a quiet exit. I found a coffee kiosk eventually and was just securing a lid on a paper mug of coffee when I saw a familiar person—Amaya.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Good morning to you, too." My stepmother teased. "I came up four floors because I wanted to check on LJ, but you aren't looking so hot. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I do."

We sat down on a nearby bench and Amaya went into full-on mama bear mode. "What's going on, my dear?"

"I kept having nightmares about being pregnant and having awful miscarriages. Everything was on an endless loop!"

"Oh, Kate! I'm so sorry that those nightmares happened!" she put one hand around my shoulder, but kept her free hand resting on her twelve-week baby bump. "How are you feeling now?"

"Shaken. In every nightmare, I was really far along."

"Johanna miscarried when she was in her second and third trimesters, didn't she?"

"She did, so that means there's a chance it could happen to me during my next pregnancy!"

I took a few sips of coffee while Amaya spoke. "If I recall the stories correctly, both of your mother's miscarriages were tragic accidents. Not everybody gets in car accidents or slips in the bathtub, you know."

"I suppose, but there's another thing I haven't even told Rick."

"Oh?"

"I'm scared that our next baby might be born with a disability."

"Why's that?"

(Except for Keiko, all of Amaya's biological kids were born with disabilities)

"Because I was hospitalized twice when I was pregnant with the twins, both times very serious!"

Amaya moved a little closer. "Katie-girl, are you pregnant now?"

"No."

"Then there's no use in worrying now, but when you and Lily go home, you should definitely tell Rick. He'd want to know."

"What's true." I watched as she pulled away and started massaging her belly. "Is it weird, carrying someone else's baby?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Under normal circumstances, yes, but since it's for the Singhs, it's an honor."

"How long have you known them?"

"Since my first year of college. Tatsuya and Jalil were two years ahead of Juliana and I, but the guys were in the same law program together and they were already friends. Jules was my dorm roommate for years because we couldn't afford apartments yet."
"So if you've been friends with Juliana and Jalil for this long, did you and Tatsuya have something to do with their first meeting?"

"Did we ever." The older woman smirked. "We set them up on a blind date."

"Were you two expecting them to fall in love?"

"Not at all, but we were delighted when they did and had many, many double dates with them. I was Juliana's maid of honor, and Tatsuya was Jalil's best man. You should ask about the wedding sometime."

"Why not now?"

She rose to her feet with me following suit and walking with her. "Because the kid inside me doesn't appreciate it when I sit still and because I want to see my grandbaby, maybe read her some stories."

"She'll love that, mom, but just so you know, her painkillers make her hallucinate."

"Excuse me?"

"You'll see, but don't say I didn't warn you."

We continued to make light conversation until we made it back to LJ's room. When she saw Amaya, she was very happy and they looked at books together until Amaya was paged to another floor to help with a patient. Doctor Morgan came to check on LJ a little while later, but reported that her arm was still too swollen to treat. LJ got so upset that she refused to talk to either one of us and we left her to her own devices.

Around this time, I was ready to hit a wall because I needed some decent sleep, and I wanted to see Castle and hold my babies.

Before I could mope around for too much longer, I received a text from Jenny: Your hubby just sent a 911 text, saying you might want some help. I was the first one to respond.

I answered quickly: You're a total lifesaver, Jen, but don't you have a family to go home to?
My hubby took all of the kids (incl. Flora and Francis) to see my parents in Flushing. I'm also on summer vacation right now :D

I guess I'll see you soon!

Jenny arrived about twenty minutes later, immediately cheering LJ up with a few trinkets and a few decks of playing cards, but just as I was making myself comfortable in a chair to watch them, Jenny spoke to me in an authoritative tone.

"I don't want to see you back here for at least three hours."
"I beg your pardon?"

"Rick said that you're exhausted, so I want you to go home and relax."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't make me tell you twice, and I think I can keep my goddaughter entertained for that long!"

I smiled gratefully and then explained the situation to LJ. She actually didn't mind me leaving because Jenny had already promised to help her color and how to teach her to play Uno.

Three hours later

During my stop at home, I was able to fully relax, and after my nap, Castle surprised me by joining me in the shower—the kids were out and about with Martha and Serenity by that point—and in our moment of privacy, I spilled all of my fears about another pregnancy to my husband and it turned out that he was also concerned, but promised that we'd face our fears together when the time came. He made me feel completely better by saying that so long as we took the proper precautions, there was no harm in practicing for another baby.

We left for the hospital a short time later and everybody—especially LJ—was happy to see that the swelling on her arm had finally gone down enough to have her injury properly examined via x-ray. However, she was really nervous, but I found a way to fix that by holding Humphrey the camel directly in front of LJ and using the toy as a puppet and using a cartoonish voice.

"Hi, LJ! Someone told me that you're scared about the x-ray!"

My daughter was extremely taken aback that Humphrey was 'talking' to her, and she burst into giggles. The only reason she went along with it was because her painkillers were making her loopy again.

"Humphrey, you sound like Gonzo the alien Muppet!"

"Would you rather I sound like Swedish Chef?"

"No! He freaks me out!"

"He freaks Katie out, too; always has."

LJ gaped at her toy. "You know Katie?"

"Yeah, and she told me that you're worried about the x-ray! How can I help?"

"Can I hold you while it happens?"

"Sure thing, angel!"

LJ giggled again and gave Humphrey a one-armed hug before looking up at the rest of us.

"I'm ready to go now!"

Upon LJ's request, Jenny tagged along to the x-ray room, so she was there when Doctor Morgan finally made the diagnosis: a broken arm and wrist. Jenny was also able to give LJ some words of understanding that Castle and I couldn't.

"When I was a teenager, LJ, I was in an accident and I also broke my wrist and arm."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh, and when I got home, I had a cast that went all the way up to my elbow."

"Did you get an icky tummy from the painkillers?"

"Yes, but I had lots of tea, chicken soup with rice and ice cream because they were easy to eat."

LJ looked up at Castle, eyes hopeful. "Daddy, can I have those things when we go home?"

"Sure, but we have to let Doctor Morgan set your arm in the cast and pick out a color to go over it before we can talk about going home."

LJ cooperated because the promise of going home was in the immediate future, and forty-five minutes later, we finally left. She was proudly sporting a lime green plaster cast with all of our names written on it in Sharpie.

LJ was overjoyed to be going home, but she was also hallucinating again.

What was she talking about?

Magical camel fairy babies.

Naturally.