'It's a girl!' Esposito exclaimed as the doctor held the baby up, covered in fluids, face scrunched in a desperate wail. He'd never seen something so disgustingly beautiful in his life. 'We have a daughter, Mere!'
'I want to hold her.'
'First things first.' Harvey pointed to the tube still connecting the little baby to Mere. 'It's your honour, Daddy.'
Daddy. Esposito pressed a hand to his heart as he slipped out of the bed from behind Meredeth to see the baby even more closely. Reaching out, he squeezed the scissors already clamped in place and snipped the umbilical cord, then watched as Honey-Milk brought over a plain white receiving blanket, scooped up the baby in it and laid her in Meredeth's arms.
'Congrats, you guys,' she said with a shake in her voice. 'You both did an amazing job. We've now got baby number five in our family. She's just beautiful.'
As the medical staff busied themselves so Esposito and Meredeth could have a somewhat private moment, tears coursed down Meredeth's face even as she laughed. Her baby girl had her husband's golden skin and dark hair, and her eyes were deep deep blue like Meredeth knew her own had been when she was born. She had long eyelashes and chubby chipmunk cheeks. 'Oh, Javi. She's perfect.'
'Yes she is. She gets that from you.'
'Hello there,' Meredeth said as her baby's waving hand found her finger and clutched it with all its tiny might. 'Hello Esperenza Tessiana Marie Esposito.'
'Actually, I think she looks more like a Constance.'
'Really? But you love the name Esperenza. And we made a deal.'
'There's always the next one.' Esposito stroked a finger down Meredeth's cheek, then down his daughter's. 'I love you Mere.'
'I love you too, Javi.'
Honey-Milk, who'd discreetly picked up the video camera and gently zoomed in on the new parents, just liked she'd done for Lanie and Dave, swiped her hand under her nose. 'Guys,' she called softly, 'I don't want to take her away from you, but we need to tidy her up, weigh and measure her for her records. Do you have a name picked out yet?'
'Yeah, this is Constance Tessiana Marie,' Esposito replied. 'Little Tessi.'
'Oh that gorgeous. It suits her perfectly.' Honey-Milk understood the pout on Meredeth's face as she scooped up the newborn, took her to the waiting bassinet under the gentle heat-lamp where she would be kept warm while Honey-Milk examined her. 'Javier,' she whispered, getting his attention. 'Come on over here.'
'Okay.'
Drained, wobbly, Esposito followed her over. 'Is she okay, I mean after having been turned sideways?'
'She's just great, you'd have known long before now if she was in distress. Okay, here we go, Miss Tessi.' Honey-Milk began to do her nursing thing. 'Constance Tessiana Marie, born April ten at two-thirty-one am EST. Weight, oh, miss girl you are one ounce lighter than Carey was, eight pounds two ounces or three point six-eight kilograms. Length is eighteen point seven-five inches or forty-seven point six-three centimeters. Oops, there she goes.'
Esposito was in grossed-out fascination as Tessi's butt began to leak black ooze. 'Is she crapping roofing tar?' he asked.
'No, it's called meconium it's a build-up of all the waste products the umbilical cord digested towards the end of term. Yes, I know, sweetheart,' Honey-Milk crooned, cleaning up the infant's tushy as Tessi showed them she had powerful lungs and there was nothing wrong with her vocal cords. 'All these people and it's cold out here, not like being inside Mummy where it's nice and cozy, is it.'
'Hey there, Tessi, it's your daddy,' Esposito added in a softer, gentle voice and Tessi's wails shut off like a switch was thrown. Her eyes tried to focus on the source of sound and he continued talking to her. 'I've been waiting for a long time to meet you, how's it going little princess?'
'She knows who you are, that's for sure,' Honey-Milk grinned, then reached for some sterile wipes. 'She's going to start crying again though, because this will feel very cold to her. Mummy's belly was like being in a hot tub for nine months.'
Sure enough, as Honey-Milk began wiping her down to clean off the blood smears and other birthing fluids Tessi set to wailing again, eyes clenched shut and arms and legs wriggling like caterpillars.
'You have a lot to tell us about, don't you,' Esposito said, smiling at her, hovering his hand over her tiny chest. This was the gorgeous creature that had been making a home of Meredeth's body for the last forty-one weeks, the little bit of magic they'd made together on that steamy long weekend. He had no idea he could love someone so much when they weren't even half an hour old and yet he knew as soon as he'd seen her when Harvey held her up, still attached to Meredeth there wasn't a thing in the universe he wouldn't do to keep her safe and warm and happy. He nearly broke when he saw her tiny little hand reach out and grab the end joint of his index finger. 'That's right, I'm not going anywhere.'
'Hey, Javi, can I ask you something?'
'Sure.'
'Did you and Meredeth do a lot of perineum massage before the birth?'
'Yeah, every night with a little KY for fifteen minutes before bed for the last month. Why?'
'It shows. Tessi here's a big baby and Meredeth didn't have a single tear, even with Harvey having to do that vaginal manipulation of the baby.' Honey-Milk tossed the soiled wipes in the medical waste bin and reached for the newborn-sized diaper as she glanced over at Meredeth, where Harvey was helping deliver the after birth and tidying up Meredeth. 'I won't tell her she soiled the bed, either.'
'I'm sure she knows it happened on some level but if you don't want to, it's your call.'
'Okay, Miss Mouth, almost done.' Diaper fixed on the new addition, Honey-Milk peeled off her gloves and reached over for the receiving blanket, and Esposito had to laugh. It was identical to the one that she'd given to Lanie and Dave for Carey, only with reversed colours - their blanket was navy blue with golden number twelves all over it and Tessi got a yellow hat with the NYPD crest on it in in the same blue as her blanket. 'There, my own little tradition for all our Twelfth Precinct babies.'
'Even Gil and Robina?'
'Baby shower gift. Here we go.' Honey-Milk showed Esposito the steps of swaddling the newborn so she felt snug and secure, and most of all warm. Her long-fingered hands were resting near her face and she was blinking those beautiful eyes. 'Why don't you bring her over to Meredeth, Daddy?'
Esposito grinned and when he accepted his daughter into his arms from the nurse, he felt his heart melt as she gurgled and cooed and began to scrunch up her eyes as if she wasn't sure she was going to cry again. He turned and walked over to Meredeth, and wondered once more how his heart hadn't given out from all the love inside of it for her and their new baby girl.
'Here we are, Tessi, I'm sure you know who this is, don't you?' he murmured, laying Tessi into Meredeth's waiting arms. The little girl scrunched up her face once again but like she had with her daddy, Tessi's mewling subsided instantly when Meredeth began speaking to her.
'Hello, my precious gem, how are you? It's so good to see you. Mommy's so happy you're finally here.' When Tessi opened her eyes and looked at Meredeth, everything else in the universe vanished except for her daughter and her husband. There was no war, no disease, no famine or hunger, just these lives, the one she'd found and the one she'd help make. 'You're the one who wanted all that tea and popcorn and wanted to listen to The Muppet Babies all the time.'
Honey-Milk snagged the still camera and took pictures quietly as the new family bonded, Meredeth and Esposito both weeping without shame. as they watched their baby. When she'd given them their time together, she put a hand on Harvey's shoulder. 'You still want the little one in the nursery?'
'Just as a precaution, for an hour, just to be extra cautious. And that girl needs a little rest after a labour like that.'
'Agreed.'
Harvey finished writing in Meredeth's chart, then wheeled his chair over to the foot of Meredeth's new bed. 'Meredeth, I know you want to spend every waking moment with your little girl, but I want to take her to the nursery for an hour, just as a caution since you had such a tough push to get her out.'
'Of course.'
'Javier, if you want to you can go with her, or stay with Meredeth, or go and tell your family in the lounge, it's your call.'
'I want to go with Tessi to the nursery, but...I want our family to know too.'
'Tell you what,' Honey-Milk said in a problem-solved voice. 'Why don't you go with Tessi and I'll bring the Fab Four in to see the two of you.'
'What about me?' Meredeth looked at them all.
'You are getting some sedation and a couple hours of rest.' Harvey told her, bringing over the syringe of IV drugs; Meredeth still had the ports in her hand though it wasn't attached to anything. 'You're going to crash hard. You've been awake for almost twenty-four hours straight and you've got no food in your stomach or anything to keep you awake right now. And you'll want to be refreshed when that tidal wave of visitors invades your room.'
'Sounds good to me.' Meredeth let her husband take the baby from her arms and place her in the bassinet that Honey-Milk had brought over. Nurse Brick, whose presence had been almost invisible during the birth, escorted both Espositos towards the nursery.
The last image Meredeth had before sliding into a most welcome sleep was her husband talking to their baby as they walked out of the room.
Despite the late our, the little family was still in the waiting room, save for a few people. Dave had taken Carey and Dell home to ensure they got a proper rest, and Constance had gone with Rosalita to the Barrio for the same reason; much as they wanted to be there for their children, they could wait for that anticipated phone call in comfort for their seventy-something bones.
Lanie looked around and yawned widely, propped her heavy head in her hand. Beckett had dropped into sleep about a half hour earlier, as had Ryan in their respective chairs, and Lili and Cam were snuggled togetehr on the couch watching something on his iTouch. She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable Meredeth felt after being in labour so long. She'd been lucky, a real textbook case that was in that rare five percent who delivered on her actual due-date. But Lanie, like the others, wasn't going anywhere; she knew her friend needed her, even if it was simply having Meredeth know that they were there for her.
'Hey, sleepy.' Castle plunked himself down in the chair beside her, offered her a steaming cup which Lanie batted away half-heartedly.
'No, no more coffee.'
'It's actually hot lemonade. Old turn of hte century alternative for children who didn't like tea.'
'Oh.' Lanie took it from him, sipped. 'Oh that's a nice taste. It's like Neo-Citran without the pharmaceutical kick.'
She sipped again, shifted in her chair. 'Was it this long for you guys when I was having Carey?'
'No, but then your water broke earlier in the day and he was a punctual little tyke. Meredeth and Espo's was overdue and even then it's taken some prodding apparently.' Castle sipped his own coffee, chuckled a little. 'So many changes in the years since I started with you guys.'
'I know, it's almost like you have two careers.'
'Three if you count raising my daughter.'
'Did I tell you Carey said his first sentence the other day?'
'Really?' Talk of parenthood never failed to entertain Castle. He turned a little to better face Lanie. 'What'd he say?'
'He said, Daddy seep.'
'He did?'
Lanie smiled tiredly, so proud to hear her baby's voice in her memory. 'Dave was napping on the couch before work and I was folding laundry-'
'So domestic, Doctor Parrish.'
'-and Carey was in his play-pen in the living room, and he pointed to Dave, and said 'Daddy seep.' I was so proud of him.'
'The first sentence like that Alexis told me was 'no ep'ogue.'
'Ep'ogue?'
'Epilogue. We'd been learning story structure vocabulary and epilogue was the word of the week.'
'Well my money's on the new addition coming out chattering already. It'd be hard not to when you've got parents like those two.'
Castle chuckled, glanced over his shoulder and he saw Honey-Milk standing there with an equally tired but giddy grin. He reached over, squeezed Beckett's knee; the move had her jolting out of sleep like she'd been electrocuted.
'Castle! Don't do that!' she started, then shut up when she saw Honey-Milk. She reached out beside her and gave Ryan's shoulder a quick shake. 'Detective, I believe there's a break in the case.'
'Huh?' Bleary-eyed, Ryan looked around, then remember they were at the hospital, not the precinct. He squinted, scratched his head, the focused when he saw his wife in the doorway, so excited she could barely keep it in.
'Nurse Ryan, you have news for us?' Castle asked in the voice of a twelve year old on Christmas morning.
'The Espositos are now a trio,' she declared proudly and everyone in the room was on their feet cheering, fatigue gone in a heartbeat.
'How is everyone doing? Is it a boy or a girl? Can we see any of them yet?' Lanie and Beckett's questions tumbled over each other.
'Mommy Esposito is in her room resting, and Daddy Esposito in the nursery with his little one.'
'And the baby?'
'Baby Girl Esposito came into this world at two-thirty-one am, and she's a middleweight champ at eight pounds, two ounces.'
'A girl.' Beckett felt her eyes well, turned into Castle's chest to hide the sob. 'Esposito has a little girl.'
'Maybe she'll get a fiance out of Dell Ryan. Does she have a name yet?'
'Yes, but I'll let the new father make the introductions.' Honey-Milk wrapped her arms around her husband's waist, gave him a juicy kiss before addressing the group again.
'Javier's asked to see you over in the nursery, if you'll just follow me.'
R&R&Enjoy.
