CONQUERED

Chapter 36

Epilogue

By and large Kate was a happy woman. She complained that her feet were swollen and hurt, and her husband spent part of that night rubbing them. Then while she was enjoying that he somehow managed to work his way up her leg, kissing all the way till he reached her core. Now she wanted nothing more than to have him eat her pussy.

She was also as big as a house now. In addition to her swollen feet, her back hurt nearly all the time. Carrying around twins was such a pain. Add to that her enlarged and overly sensitive breasts that weren't sensitive in a good way. A way that suddenly she didn't want Rick touching her. Hell, even her new bras were uncomfortable.

At her last trip to the Medical Center she'd been told that she could expect to deliver early. Anywhere from the second she walked out the Center's door to, well, anytime. Alexis and Laura still had another 4 weeks, or more to go.

The good thing about taking the train to class was that she always got a seat. Even if there wasn't one at the time, someone took pity on her and got up so she could sit down. She always told him or her thanks and rested her hands on her big belly.

Kate was ready to not be pregnant any longer. More than ready even. So while doing her daily routine she was in the elevator on her way home when suddenly her legs got wet. She could even hear water hitting the floor. She looked down by instinct, but naturally couldn't even see her own feet let alone this.

"Change of plans, Medical Center, please," Kate told the elevator that made a change and opened up on the Medical Center right across the hall.

"Katherine Houghton Castle." She had never in her life used her middle name so much. Usually it was just a passing thought. Around here you used your full name all the time. "My water just broke."

"Exam room 3 down the hall," the droid pointed. Kate waddled that way, entered, and saw what she always found. Another droid and as always, it was attached to the bed.

"I'm pregnant with twins, and my water just broke," she informed it as she worked at sitting on the bed and then lay down without being told.

"Let me see." He got to work. "Heart rate is up, blood pressure is up. You are indeed starting to dilate, so you are in the early stages of giving birth. Let me get you out of these clothes and into a gown while I still can. It will be more comfortable for you."

O~O~O

Kate was naked under this thing and as amazing as it sounded, the droid had shut itself down while she was standing there naked trying to get into this thing. It was cute, surprising, but cute.

"Call my husband?" Kate asked him.

"We have already called your apartment twice. No one has answered."

"Really?" That was nearly impossible. Rick wrote from home and they had 7 other people in their place. How could no one be home? "Please, try again."

"We will continue to try every 10 minutes until someone answers."

Then a sharp sudden pain hit her. "OH GOD!"

"You have had your first contraction. I need you not to push just yet, and I will give you something for the pain."

Her next contraction several minutes later didn't hurt nearly as much.

Rick showed up all out of breath since he had sprinted down the hall to the elevator and was practically still doing sprints while in the elevator. Then he rushed across the hall. It wasn't really all that far but he was beyond excited. "Richard Edgar Castle. My wife is having a baby!"

Kate grunted at her next contraction just as Rick burst in and saw her on the exam bed with the doctor droid monitoring her condition. "KATE! I'm here."

Kate could feel her heart rate go down and even her blood pressure. But now she was also mad. "Where were you? They've been calling every 10 minutes."

"Shopping. Alexis had an idea for the babies, so we went shopping. Alexis and Mother have Libby."

"Oh." She could forgive him for that. Between the name Alexis and the word babies she could forgive him. "OH, DEAR!" Another contraction hit her.

"How soon?" Rick asked the doctor.

"Based on the rate of her dilation, I would estimate another 11 hours."

"ELEVEN HOURS!?" Kate yelled at him. "RICK!" She was going to kill him. This time she was really going to kill him. Pain medication or not, she was going to kill him.

O~O~O

Rick didn't have anywhere to sit, so he was still standing and trying to ignore how much his feet hurt now from all this standing. Let alone his back.

"Here we go, push all you can when I tell you." The doctor was between her legs. He monitored her condition and just at the right moment, "PUSH!" he almost yelled at her. "PUSH! …Keep pushing."

"I AM PUSHING!" She was also screaming from the pain.

"One baby boy." He slightly turned away from the bed holding a newly born baby that was a bit of a mess and still had his cord. The cord was cut and the baby went into an opening in the wall that didn't used to be there.

"Rest for a moment. One more to go," the doctor told her.

"Where did the baby go?" Kate wanted her baby.

"Next door. The doctor there will weigh, measure, clean him, and determine if he has any issues. He will be back. We will need a name for him, for both of them."

"Levi James Castle," Kate told him. She had won one name while Rick had won partial name for the other.

"OH, BOY!" Kate felt a contraction and grabbed Rick's arm, squeezing for all she was worth. Rick gritted his teeth, but refused to make a sound.

Rick could feel tears welling up and leaned down to kiss Kate's head. She was giving him sons, but she was also giving him something far more special. He got to be here and see his children being born.

"OH, SHIT!" Kate squeezed her hand around Rick's arm again. He needed to feel some of the pain she was feeling. Might even need stitches or whatever they did here soon.

"PUSH!" the doctor urged. Kate didn't bother with telling him that she was pushing. She was also just about out of being able to push. She was tired, sweaty, and in pain.

"One more, PUSH!" Kate could actually feel it. Baby number two was out. They both watched him go into the opening in the wall, and he was gone.

"Name?" The doctor needed it for the records.

"Alexander Cosmo Castle." Rick had managed to get in his name, but it was a middle name. Still, he knew his son was going to be called Alex all his life, but in there somewhere was his name. He ignored Kate rolling her eyes.

She had let him have his name. The only thing that bugged her was that around here you used your full name for damn near everything.

"I didn't get to do this with Meredith. Thank you!" Rick could feel more tears and leaned down to kiss Kate soundly.

Kate saw his tears and reached up to cup his face. She loved him so very much. "Her loss. …Is she even around here somewhere?" Kate couldn't think if she had even learned her middle name or not. She had met her, of course.

"She's not in the database. Neither is Gina, or even Bob."

"The Mayor? He's the only reason I'm even here. Without him and his letter I don't know where I'd be. He deserves better." All at once she was sad. The one man that had saved her future wasn't around to see it.

"Never say never. He's a politician in a world that has no need of them. He may have simply changed his name," Rick said, since to him it was possible. Unlikely, but possible.

"But he hasn't contacted you," Kate pointed out.

Rick shook his head. "Neither have any of my writer poker buddies." He wasn't giving up on them just yet. "My only defense for them is that I don't know their middle names. It never came up."

Then just like that Kate was watching as Levi, she was guessing, was placed into her arms. "I am told he is a very healthy baby boy," the doctor told her.

Suddenly the heart that Kate had tried so hard to protect was doing all the talking. It had her crying. She had been carrying him around for months and suffered through and enjoyed parts of her pregnancy, and yet now she had a living and breathing baby to hold.

"He's gorgeous." Those words Rick had told her long about about loving Alexis the second he held her rang true for her. She had acknowledged them at the time, but now she understood them.

Then she watched as the next one went in the other arm. "He has some lung issues that will need monitoring. We will be keeping both of them for the next 24 hours, longer if necessary.

"You will soon be moved to a room and held for another 8 hours," the doctor told her.

Kate was worried sick and scared. "Lung issues?"

"One of his lungs has not yet formed properly. We will monitor his progress, and if necessary correct the issue for him. He will be fine. You have five minutes with both of them, and then they will be taken to an oxygen-filled room. Better for their lungs."

O~O~O

Kate had wanted to stay awake, but she had failed the second she found herself in a different room. She wasn't really sure just how she had gotten here.

Even as pregnant as she was, Alexis arrived first. "Dad, how are they?" Right behind her was literally everyone else, somehow including Jim and his 11 kids. He had managed to lose a few more to family members, but was still living in the same space.

"Kate is resting in her room. I'm told this is the viewing room." It was a round room with just the one door, but it was large enough to fit all of them.

"Levi James Castle and Alexander Cosmo Castle, please." Everything worked on voice command around here, so Rick tried it and suddenly the walls all around them erupted into live pictures of the two.

"WOW!" was followed by a number of people saying, "AW!"

"They're little," Libby observed. She was thinking baby brothers. Someone to play with. She couldn't play with these.

"You used to be this little," Rick told her and Libby shook her head. She had never been that little. She would remember that.

"They look good, son." Jim slapped his back softly. "Any issues?"

"Alexander has a lung issue, but if he doesn't work it out for himself they're going to fix it for him. Something about being under developed."

"They're both a little early," Jim noted, so he could see there being something a little wrong.

"So cute, you did well, Richard." Martha put an arm around him. "You and Katherine finally made it to here."

"I'm a grandfather again!" Chris was happy. In his world one had been enough. Soon he was even going to be a great-grandfather. Just as soon as Alexis had her baby.

"It's going to be noisy around the place soon," Dean remarked and got swatted by his wife for that comment. He defended himself. "Four babies all crying at the same time? Once one of them starts the other three are going to join in. It's inevitable."

"It'll be glorious," Rick said and couldn't wait. They might all lose sleep but glorious.

O~O~O

"Are we ready?" Rick asked the group as he held Alexander while Kate had Levi.

Michael was holding his son Kayden and Dean was holding his son Zane.

"Diaper bags?" Kate called out since they were definitely going to need those today.

Chris held up one and Martha held up the other. Both were packed with everything they would need and two sounded like enough to them for this trip.

"Feeding and a new diaper is in about 2 hours, so we need to get moving." Alexis reminded everyone. They all headed for the door, up to the train station, and across to Nassau.

It was there that they met Jim and his now 10 kids. He had lost one over the last few weeks. He was beginning to think he was going to be keeping these 10. He was even thinking of moving. He really didn't need that many beds now.

"Hi, Dad, thanks for coming." Kate kissed his cheek and let him take a peek at Levi. He would get to babysit eventually, so he was happy.

"And miss a wedding? Never!" Jim said with enthusiasm.

Just as they started to enter the space Zane began to get fussy and then started crying and just as Dean had predicted and already proven at home, the other three quickly joined him.

Now they needed a restroom to find out what was wrong this time.

The girls had all four and Kate was trying to do double duty. "Are we still hitting the track after this?" Kate queried.

"Absolutely!" Alexis answered. She had baby fat to get rid of; it was going go or her legs were going to fall off. Whichever came first.

"Count me in. I need to get rid of at least another 10 pounds, and if Rick keeps cooking fatty foods you are going to loose a husband," Laura informed Kate.

"I've already warned him. He says he'll still love me even if I'm fat, but I don't want to be fat. I want to look like I used to. Maybe more Yoga will help. Twins!" Kate finished one and worked on number two. She was still sure it was all his fault.

O~O~O

"What did we miss?" Kate sat down and after handing off one baby to Rick.

"Nothing." Rick looked at the groom. "He looks handsome and nervous."

"He does, doesn't he," Kate agreed. "I meant the nervous part." She didn't need him getting all jealous on her and leaned across to kiss him.

"I almost can't believe Lanie is going to do it. After all the dates she went through, she's going to marry Toby." Kate was so happy for her.

"How many dates again?" Kate hadn't actually told him and was trying to trick her into telling him.

"Hush." Kate told him followed by hearing the wedding march. Okay, her wedding had been different and this wedding was more traditional. There was even a droid to do the officiating for their wedding. It was nice, but she liked her wedding better. More personal and intimate, not to mention memorable since they had gotten trapped there from the rain.

O~O~O

Kate was still holding she thought was Levi, but at the moment she wasn't really sure. Lanie was stroking his head and was beaming.

"You did it, Lanie, you got married." Kate was amazed and happy for her.

"I can hardly believe it myself." Then she leaned in closer. "Jim still has a lot of kids."

Kate laughed. "Dad says he loves it. I think he's nuts but if he's happy," she shrugged. "I know the kids are happy. They all still call him Jim, but who knows, maybe one day one or more will change to daddy."

"You okay with that?" Lanie asked her. "You were an only child."

"So far. Ask me again when one calls him daddy and I'll let you know." She was a little worried about that. To her he was her father and not those other kids' dad, but she would see.

"How is Toby and you know what I mean," Kate questioned her.

"Do you know that very sexist comment about Black men being bigger?" Lanie inquired and smiled wide.

"So when do I get to be a godmother?" Kate really wanted to know.

"Bite your tongue, girlfriend," Lanie snarked at her. "I only just got married."

"SOOO!?" Kate tried again.

"We'll see." Lanie was betting maybe sooner than later, but who knew.

Suddenly someone somewhere began crying. "OH NO!" Kate just knew what was next. It only took seconds and someone else was crying and only seconds more for all four of them to start crying. "I'm going to kill Dean for being right," Kate commented and had to leave Lanie and find out what was wrong this time.

O~O~O

"How did you get Jim to agree to this again?" Laura inquired as she, Alexis, and Martha were boarding a train.

"Dad said he was willing to babysit, sooo..." Kate trailed off and listened to Laura start laughing. Ten kids and four babies; he was just asking for trouble, she was sure of it.

It was a long train trip to get back to their old island but that was where Laura worked and she wanted to show it to them. So one train trip followed by a ferry ride to shore from a dock that Kate still didn't remember ever going to, and they were actually on dry land for a change.

"Real land! Maybe I'm taking the wrong classes after all," Alexis said since this felt good.

Kate shook her head. "And disappoint Lanie? You must have a death wish." She listened to Alexis bust out laughing. Alexis already knew that Lanie was dying to get her assigned to her so they could work together again.

"Did you know she still calls me Little Castle? I'm married with a new last name, have a baby, and I'm still Little Castle," Alexis lamented.

"Castle is a good name. Maybe you can talk Michael into changing his." Kate put an arm around her as they walked. She was so thankful that Alexis didn't hate her any longer. If anything they had become a lot stronger, and talked nearly constantly about everything. Alexis could be counted as one of her best friends.

"LAURA!" Alexis exclaimed as they came over this rise after docking, leaving the building, and walking up the hill. Alexis knew her mouth was hanging open, but did nothing about it.

"OH, MY WORD!" Martha was gaping at what she was seeing as well.

"You work here?" Kate was amazed. "Just how big is that thing?" It was a greenhouse, but of a size she had never imagined in her life.

"It's the size of a football field, just like the two behind it." Laura was still a bit awed by what these aliens could do. "Believe it or not past that is all plowed land. It didn't used to be this way, but it is now. Something about cleaning the land is all I can get out of them.

"Come on, I'll show you." Laura beckoned to them as she started walking.

There were poles inside holding up the roof, but save for that it was wide open. And yes, there were a few live humans working inside, but there were more droids than anything.

"There are two more of these?" Martha touched one of the plants as they walked and saw vegetables everywhere.

"These are just the greenhouses. Wait till you see the hydroponics buildings. We need a golf cart to reach those," Laura told her. "As you know there are 15 major islands, so 15 buildings. Nassau is technically the largest the city that used to be there, along with all the others that are long gone.

"In its place is all this. This isn't the only island that looks like this. Others have a cattle ranch, pig farms, chickens, turkeys. You name it. Droids do all the butchering and droids do almost all the harvesting.

"Golf cart, hop in." She needed to show them the hydroponics. Watching plants grow without any dirt at all inside a building under lamps was something they had to see to believe.

"We grow everything you can think of on this island. What can't be grown locally outside is grown inside somewhere," Laura stated.

"Till a hurricane wipes us all out," Alexis said. This was the Bahamas, and a hurricane was going to come along and blow all this to nothing.

"Actually, no. One more thing I've learned: we have weather control now. The aliens installed it. We're presently in what we called hurricane season, and we haven't had even one yet.

"It works for tornadoes, too, or water spouts," Laura told them.

"Is there anything they can't do?" Martha questioned.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to wonder. Clean water, clean air, clean ground, we don't pollute because we don't burn anything, and we don't have cars." Laura was really starting to enjoy this.

"The cost was a lot of lives, though," Kate reminded her.

"There is that. But like my husband said once, how far away were we from another World War that's now never going to happen? Maybe it would never happen, but how can you be so sure?" Laura asked.

"The aliens conquered us," Kate said.

"True, but you conquered your fears, chased down Rick, and now look at you. Think about all the little things we've conquered along the way. Here we are, you're going to love this." Laura was sure of it.

"Yeah." Kate could agree. She had conquered her fears, mostly thanks to Bob who Rick still couldn't find yet. And Gates who she didn't have a middle name for, so might never know.

Her dad was alive, Kevin was here with his family. Roy was long since gone. If Chris was right Bracken had had her mother killed, and he was just as dead.

Life was certainly different now, and it felt like it was better. It was just that it came at such a huge cost.

"OH MY GOD!" Kate stepped inside and saw what Laura had been seeing and working on since they had gotten here.

Now she just needed to get used to being a teacher instead of a homicide detective. But she had a husband and a very large family.

Yeah, she had conquered a lot, but she'd had a lot of help. Help she might have rejected in her old life. She had changed, she needed to change, or she was never going to be the person she so desperately wanted to be, but couldn't do for herself.

Richard Castle was her one and done. If only her mother could see her now. Then she began laughing for seemingly no reason and her friends stared at her wondering why.

If her mother could see her dad now she didn't know what she would say, but it would be amazing.