CHAPTER 38: UNEXPECTED DELIVERY

(Precinct Hallway)

(Kate's Point of View)

It went without saying that Madison's baby girl was coming now, and that she was coming quickly. This was clear when Madison's knees suddenly buckled from the pain and Nicolas had to react very quickly to keep his wife standing upright. Ignoring the twinges in my belly as my own baby started pondering their debut, my brain started going into cope mode.

After catching the attention of a nearby rookie and ordering her to fetch a mop and bucket to clean up the mess, I guided Madison to the break room that Lanie and Esposito had just vacated. (They had two girls in tow with them, but I had no time to think about it because I had more pressing matters at hand) I sat Madison down on the couch and let Nicolas fuss over her while I figured out what to do.

Me helping Madison across the crowded bullpen in her condition didn't go unnoticed by the others because I saw Esposito, Lanie, Ryan, Castle and Captain Montgomery standing in the doorway.

Leave it to Ryan to state the obvious. "Is Madison in labor?"

"Yes." I nodded. "Where are Emily and Juliana? I need their help right now."

"They both stepped out to get some food for the troops." Captain Montgomery answered. "They left about five minutes ago."

Fantastic. Neither one of the people who could help me out weren't even in the building!

"What can we do to help?" Castle inquired. "Something tells me that you and Madison won't be making it to the hospital any time soon."

The words had barely left his mouth when Nicolas came hurrying out of the room like someone had lit a fire under him. He stopped when he saw me.

"Madison just sent me to look for her sisters," He explained in a slightly frazzled tone. "And she really wants to talk to you, Kate."

I shooed the others away and went into the room, kneeling down next to where Madison was laying on the couch. "What is it? You can tell me."

Madison propped herself up on her elbows and looked me square in the eye. "I can't do this, Katie." She whimpered. "This is all so wrong! Your girls are supposed to be safe, and your mom and both of my parents are supposed to still be in the land of the living, but they're not, and I just don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore." It was clear that Madison was upset and confused, so I just let her vent. "I love my life and the people in it, but I never expected it to turn out the way it did with it being marred by the loss of my parents, and everything that happened to my baby sister!"

Madison clenched her teeth together as she endured another contraction. I coached her through it, trying not to remember that my friend had always had a very low pain threshold. I was going to say something encouraging to her, but she continued talking.

"I need to tell you something really important right now."

"What?" I spoke incredulously as I pried my fingers out of her iron grip. "Now, when you're in labor?"

"Yes, right now!" she hissed. "I won't be able to live with myself if I keep it on the inside any longer."

"Then by all means, tell me."

Madison looked me square in the eyes, and I shuddered when I saw that all the light had gone from her own eyes, mirroring the same look Melissa had had in her own eyes when I introduced myself to her in the grocery store six months ago. In a word, seeing the normally gung-ho Madison like this was unnerving.

"Literally the night before you and Alexis went to Emily's office, she and I had been at my place, talking about the events surrounding the night our parents died, and everything we knew about the actual night. Missy was with us, but she didn't say anything because she was still quiet." Madison ran a hand along her baby, probably trying to soothe her unborn daughter. "Emmy and I came to the agreement that what happened that night in the park was way more than some random mugging. My parents were very private when it came to talking about the things they did at the office and didn't tell us much about it," Elijah and Lucy Queller had worked in the same office as my mom, and I could easily recall how close all three of them were with each other. "But we think that someone wanted my parents out of the way because they may have seen or done something they weren't supposed to."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Seriously?"

"Hey, now! It's the only theory that makes any sense in this ridiculously huge puzzle!" Madison defended herself. "I noticed that in the months before my parents died, they were even more private about their work, and they were fighting, too. The only thing is that we never knew what they were working on, or what they were arguing about."

"Are you going somewhere with this, Madison?"

"Getting there!" She cried out as yet another contraction hit her. "My sisters and I think that our parents' deaths have something to do with what happened to your mom."

"What?" That really threw me for a loop. "Why?"

"None of us can pinpoint the exact reason why…it's just…instinct. Don't ask me to explain it." Madison's lightless gaze bore into my own gaze. "Promise me that you and your detectives will find whoever is responsible for this evil, no matter how long it takes. Please."

…Anything to relieve Madison's agony…

"Yes, Madison." I nodded. "I promise."

She breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you, Kate."

The blond fell back onto the couch and whimpered in pain, bringing us both back to reality. I assumed charge of the situation once again, and tried to check on the progress Madison was making with the labor, but she swatted my hand (as a reflex) before I got too far.

"Madison," I said her name in a warning tone. "Let me help you out."

She repeated her words from earlier. "This is all so wrong! I need to be in the hospital now. I can't have a baby here!"

"You know I can do this." My tone became stern. "You know I've delivered babies before!"

Madison nodded and I saw the light return to her eyes as she was no doubt remembering back to different events from years past. Just when I was about to tack on a point to back myself up, I suddenly became aware that we weren't alone and when I turned, I saw Castle, Nicolas and Melissa watching us from the doorway. A stab of panic hit me when I realized that they could have overheard the conversation about my mom and Mr. and Mrs. Queller.

Castle seemed to sense this because he held his hands up in surrender. "We were only there for ten seconds, I swear!"

"Good…"

I glanced over at the others and saw that Nicolas had taken my spot on the floor next to his wife and was comforting her as best he could, while Melissa, on the other hand, had nestled herself behind her big sister on the couch and was holding Madison in her arms, propping her up.

When I looked back at Castle, he asked me the one question that I knew was burning inside his head. "Have you really delivered babies before?"

I nodded. "I delivered two babies when I was a rookie, and one of them was born during a hostage situation, but the others…"

Castle put a hand in the small of my back to support me. "What about them, Kate?"

"I was just a kid when this happened, but one of those babies was my sister, Evangeline…the baby mom miscarried in the car accident."

Madison chose this moment to chime in from where she was lying on the couch. "You don't have to talk about Evangeline if you don't want to, Kate!"

"Madison Lucy," I replied with my eye closed and back turned to her. "There's a time and a place for everything, but not now."

I opened my eyes and looked at Castle again. "I delivered Melissa, too. That also happened when I was a kid, and Lucy, Emily and I were stuck by ourselves at the Queller house during a snowstorm—without power—but that's another story for another day." I thought back to my teenage self cuddling a newborn Melissa to my chest and trying to keep her warm, while Lucy recovered from giving birth, and Madison and Emily were unconscious, having passed out during the birthing process because they were too grossed out to watch. "Madison knows I can help her, but she's just really scared."

Castle nodded. "That's completely understandable."

Madison's panicked voice filled the air. "Katie, I don't care what the hell you're doing right now because it can't be more important than getting this baby out of me! Please help!"

I finally allowed myself to go into full cop mode as I started recalling everything I had learned at the Academy about helping a woman in labor, and started barking orders at different people. After twenty minutes of the others cheering Madison on and me guiding her through the birth, we were all greeted by the very healthy (and very loud) cries of Madison's newborn baby girl. Ryan quickly passed Nicolas a pair of sterilized scissors to cut the umbilical cord, and when that was done, Castle took off the button down shirt he was wearing and rubbed the baby down to get all of the birthing fluids off her. Castle wrapped the baby up in his shirt and handed the baby to me. I felt a surge of pride as I gently placed the baby on her mother's chest, and I watched with a happy heart as Madison greeted her daughter for the first time.

My thoughts eventually shifted gears to convincing Madison to letting go of her baby for a few minutes so she could deliver the placenta, they were interrupted when my friend beckoned me over to them.

"Oh, Maddie," I sighed softly as I stole a quick look at the baby. "She's so perfect. Congratulations."

My friend placed a kiss on the top of her new baby's head and her voice was reduced to an exhausted but content whisper as she spoke. "Thanks, Katie. Do you want to know what her name is?"

"That would be great."

Madison wore a smile of complete bliss. "Katherine Joy Beckett, allow me to introduce you to my daughter, Lucy Katherine Alvarez."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the child's name. "You kept the name that LJ gave her on Mother's Day to honor your mom…."

"Yes," Madison nodded. "And we gave her your name because you've always been the strongest and bravest person I've ever known, and you've always had a beautiful and loving heart. Those are some of the things that make you an extraordinary human being. Nicolas and I have been hoping for ages that little Lucy will grow up to be like her godmother."

My heart skipped a beat for the second time when I realized what she was implying. "G-Godmother? Really?"

"Only if you want to."

I didn't even have to think about that. "I do."

Madison's smile grew as I looked down at my new goddaughter in wonder. I reached out and stroked her face, and became lost in watching her.

She was so amazing.

Lucy Katherine…

A sudden crippling pain tore through my abdomen, causing me to curl up in a ball on the floor. (Never in my life have I felt so much pain at one time) The same fluid that had triggered the beginning of Lucy's world debut was suddenly making its way down my legs, which could only mean one thing.

My water had broken, too, and my baby was coming.

Soon.

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