Author's Note: The 12-week appointment, which I think people have been looking forward to, and the first of a few chapters revolving around 2x5 "When the Bough Breaks."

Then Came Love

Chapter 14

Castle was late.

Kate glanced at the clock on the wall for what must have been the hundredth time or so in the last 15 minutes and tried to tell herself the lowering feeling in the pit of her stomach had more to do with impatience at being stuck in her doctor's office waiting to be called when a body had just dropped rather than disappointment.

The clock still read 8:37 in the morning and she turned to her phone, as if that would give her some different information or as if she might have missed a notification, like a text from Castle explaining his tardiness. Nothing, on either count, although she did see the texts from Esposito with what they knew of the new case. A woman's body had been found in a sewer when city workers opened up a manhole, no ID, and signs of blood a block or so away which ruled out a simple mugging since muggers didn't usually bother with the trouble of moving and hiding a body. The victim had just been transported to the morgue.

A Jane Doe found in a sewer and she herself was stuck in her doctor's office without the benefit of even seeing the scene of the crime for herself. Oh, she trusted the boys to do their due diligence and garner what they could, but it went against the grain to leave everything to the boys, especially the crucial stage at the beginning of a case.

And if she was disappointed, it had to do with the case and not with the absence of Castle. Even if he had been the one to volunteer, not to say insist, on joining her for her doctor's appointment this morning and now, he wasn't here at all. Well, that was fine with her. She was used to going to doctor's appointments alone and she didn't need company on this one.

She spared a second to be glad that hers was the first appointment of the day so she was alone in the waiting room but even as she thought it, the door opened and her heart gave a hard thump only to drop as a young woman with a visible baby bump came into the room accompanied by a young man who had his hand resting on her back. Kate automatically sized them up, her eyes finding the rings on their left hands, and immediately categorized them as a young couple expecting their first child. The faint tinge of nervousness in the young man's expression, the way his other hand was aimlessly fiddling with a fold of his shirt, made it obvious.

She remembered what her dad had shared about her own parents' experience when her mom had been pregnant with her and even though she told herself she didn't need anyone with her for this, it didn't quite explain the twinge of something like disappointment, a hollow feeling of alone-ness, that almost echoed inside her.

The young couple was holding hands even as they sat and then the young man leaned over to whisper something in his wife's ear, almost nuzzling a light kiss to her temple as he did so, making his wife smile. Watching, Kate felt another sharp pang of something she refused to admit might be jealousy. No matter how she might tell herself she didn't need anyone else with her, certainly didn't need a husband, the sight of the young couple, so clearly happy and so… together… in this experience, made her more conscious than she had been in a while of how alone she was.

A feeling that was made worse because, in this last week or so, she had started to believe that she wouldn't be alone, that Castle would be there, providing tea and snacks and smiles and silly jokes.

She'd told Castle when her appointment was and the address of her doctor's office and she flatly refused to send him some needy text asking him where he was and why he wasn't at this appointment the way he'd said he would be.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with Castle himself; she simply had work to do with a new case and it didn't help that her bladder was uncomfortably full since she had dutifully made sure to drink two large glasses of water before her appointment.

But when the door burst open a minute later and Castle appeared, his eyes immediately finding her, she couldn't deny the way her heart leaped, a little knot of tension dissolving. He was here; he had come after all, just as he'd said he would. She wasn't alone.

He dropped down into the seat beside her. "Beckett, sorry I'm late. It's been a weird morning and I got held up at home. You still haven't been called yet?" he asked unnecessarily.

She managed to keep her voice and expression bland. "Hi, Castle. Nope, I'm still waiting." On a closer look, he looked… different somehow, his hair a little less perfectly styled than it usually was as if he'd rushed out his door and while it could be explained by his running late, his expression looked distracted too, as if something else was on his mind. "Is something wrong? You didn't have to come," she offered, almost but not quite managing to sound as if she would have been indifferent if he hadn't shown up.

He blinked, focusing on her. "What, no, everything's fine. I just—" he broke off as the internal door to the rest of the office opened and a nurse appeared. "Never mind," he hurriedly added, under his breath.

"Katherine Beckett?"

Kate stood up, as did Castle. "Here," they responded in messy unison and she glanced at him to see the faintly sheepish little smile and shrug he offered. At any other time, she might have been a little irritated at his seeming to speak for her but at that moment, it actually warmed her a little, this indication that he viewed them as a unit, a team.

The nurse greeted them and led them to an examination room, instructing Kate to get up onto the examination table and undo her pants and the technician would be with them shortly.

"Oh, I don't need to wear one of those hospital gowns?" she blurted out unthinkingly.

The nurse paused. "No, unless you'd prefer that?"

"No," she hurriedly denied. Who would prefer having to undress and wear one of those stiff backless gowns? She had on her last visit but that one had been more thorough, making sure everything else physically looked okay with her own body for the pregnancy.

Marginally reassured now that she knew she didn't have to undress, Kate settled onto the crinkly paper covering the exam table while Castle turned away, studying one of the posters on the wall with unwarranted concentration. Her hands went to undo her pants—and entirely unbidden, found her mind flooded with memories of the last time her pants had been unfastened when in the same room with Castle. The way his hands had been so… eager and, well, skilled as he'd undone her pants and she'd undone his and then his hands had been on her, touching her, and it had been the best sex of her life.

She absolutely should not be thinking about that now. She firmly shoved any and all inappropriate thoughts out of her mind—she was in a doctor's office, for heaven's sake!

Instead, she pushed her shirt up, flattening her hand with renewed wonder on the very slight convex curve of her stomach, the one that seemed to have appeared overnight. It wasn't obvious, was easily concealed by her clothing, but it was there and undeniable. She was starting to show. Oh god, this was really happening, wasn't it?

She glanced up, something inside her softening as she saw that Castle still had his back to her, was ostensibly studying the bland poster on the wall as if mesmerized. And it suddenly struck her as absurd, beyond silly, to feel any self-consciousness. Castle might not have seen her completely naked That Night but he had certainly seen her mostly undressed, seen more of her than just her stomach. "You can turn around, Castle."

He did, his eyes immediately falling to her bare stomach and then flaring wide. "Beckett," he breathed, something like awe in his tone. "You—look at you…"

Ridiculously, she felt heat creep into her cheeks. "I know. It just… seemed to appear as of this morning."

His lips parted but he appeared to be at a loss for words, his wide eyes flickering between her face and her stomach.

But before the moment could stretch out too long, the doors opened and a technician, a woman who looked to be in her late 40's, entered. "Katherine Beckett? Hi, I'm Vanessa." Her eyes found Castle, her professional smile slipping for a moment. "Oh, you're Richard Castle, aren't you?"

Castle shook her hand, his smile becoming a little wider but also, Kate recognized, subtly more distant, a publicity smile. "Call me Rick. It's good to meet you, Vanessa." He shifted to gesture to Kate. "And this is Detective Beckett."

Vanessa turned to Kate with a small, half-rueful laugh. "Detective? Sorry about that; I got distracted. How are you feeling? Ready to see your baby?"

Kate managed a somewhat tight smile, ridiculous nerves coming to life inside her. "I'm fine, I just need to use the bathroom," she admitted in an attempt to sound calm, unaffected.

Vanessa chuckled again. "Understandable. We'll get started then so you can before too long. Let's try listening to your baby's heartbeat first and then see the baby for real, okay?"

Kate let out a breath. "Okay." She'd read the pamphlets and knew what this entailed; it was painless, non-invasive, nothing to worry about, really. And there was no reason to think anything was wrong with the baby.

"Okay, let's get started," Vanessa began briskly. "You might want to push your shirt up a little more, don't want any of this gel to get on your clothes. The gel is going to be a little cold so be warned."

Kate nodded and Vanessa squirted a bluish-colored gel over Kate's exposed stomach. It was certainly cool but not ice-cold and Kate answered Vanessa's inquiring look with a small smile of reassurance.

Vanessa nodded and then turned on a machine which came to life with a staticky sound before she lifted what looked to be a small wand in her hand and held it against Kate's stomach. And then—

The noise seemed to fill the room, surprisingly loud and surprisingly fast, a steady thump, slightly muffled as if she were hearing it underwater. Oh, that was—that was the baby's heartbeat. Kate's throat closed on a lump of emotion and she swallowed hard, her eyes falling shut of their own volition as she simply listened. The baby—it was real, a new little life growing inside her. A new life with its own distinct heartbeat and everything. She'd thought she'd accepted and come to terms with it and she had, intellectually, but actually hearing the heartbeat made the baby take on a presence of its own that was almost tangible in a way it hadn't really been until now.

She opened her eyes and caught Vanessa's sympathetic smile and then, her eyes met and held Castle's, saw the wonder and the excitement in them. She was suddenly very glad she had allowed him to join her, glad he was here with her for this. She half-expected him to talk, say something, but he didn't, again seemed speechless.

"Okay, let's take a look at this baby now," Vanessa interjected mildly.

Kate blinked, taking the moment to try to get a hold of her emotions, as Vanessa set the wand down and busied herself at the computer for a few seconds before adjusting the ultrasound machine, turning the screen a little to allow Kate and Castle a better angle as Castle stepped closer to the exam table, close enough that Kate was conscious of the warmth radiating from his body against her shoulder and side.

Vanessa held up another wand, letting it glide slowly over Kate's stomach. "Now, where… ah, there you are."

A small white shape filled the screen, the image a little grainy and indistinct, but also recognizable now, the tiny curled body of the baby. Her baby with Castle.

"Oh…" Kate was surprised to hear her own soft, breathless voice, not having consciously realized she was going to react aloud. Her vision blurred with a rush of sudden, hot tears and she hurriedly blinked them back so she could see—she had to see more, everything—and she reached out blindly, unthinkingly, for Castle, her hand finding and gripping his, as her eyes devoured the image on the screen.

Oh… Vanessa helpfully pointed at the screen, taking them on a tour as it were, showing them the developing miracle of their baby, the blurry whirl that was her tiny heart, her head, her limbs… The baby moved a miniscule arm in a movement like a small wave and Kate was dimly aware of hearing a gasp that came from her. "Hi, baby…" she found herself breathing and then automatically, unthinkingly, turned her head to look at Castle, managing to tear her eyes away from the screen for a moment.

She met his eyes, saw they were shiny with tears—as were hers—and she was flooded with a fresh surge of emotion. Oh god, she'd had no idea, had she? Reading about what the first ultrasound entailed hadn't prepared her for this at all, this rush of emotion, and at that moment, she couldn't imagine going through this alone, without Castle. Not even the emotion of hearing the heartbeat had prepared her for the impact of this, of actually seeing their baby. She had been aware that the ultrasound image would be black and white and a little indistinct, certainly not up to usual standard for picture quality in any other circumstance, and so she'd somehow, wrongly, expected that might mitigate the impact of the moment. But no, she'd really had no idea.

At that moment, she knew that having Castle here was right, more than right, it was where he belonged, where she wanted him to be. Their eyes met and held, their hands locked together, and for one instant, they might as well have been the only two people in the room, the only two people on the planet.

She had thought she understood that she and Castle were going to be connected for the rest of their lives because of this baby but she realized, again, that she really hadn't known. But at that moment, he was, she knew, the only other person in the world who was feeling the exact same emotion she was. More, going forward, he would continue to be the only other person in the world who really understood her emotions over the baby—he was the person who would love the baby as much as she would, the person who would worry over the baby's health and happiness and general well-being as much as she would. And yes, he would also be the person who changed diapers and cleaned spit-up and all the everyday duties involved in caring for a baby but the sharing of duties wasn't the real connection holding them together; it was this, the emotions, the shared love for the baby, that bound them together.

Kate was tugged back to reality, to looking back at the screen, when Vanessa cleared her throat a little apologetically. "Sometimes at this stage it's possible to determine the baby's gender but your baby isn't positioned in a way that would allow us to tell right now so you'll have to decide at your next appointment if you want to know or not."

"Oh, I hadn't thought…" Kate faltered.

"Well, you have some time to decide that," Vanessa told her kindly. "Now, there's just a few more things to check, to make sure everything's okay."

Oh, right, things to check. Kate vaguely remembered having compiled a list of questions she'd wanted to make sure to ask too but at that moment, found she couldn't remember a single one. She felt dazed, overwhelmed, too awash in a sea of emotion to formulate words, let alone ask coherent questions. She did register a wave of relief as Vanessa took some measurements and other things and assured them both that everything looked healthy and normal and there didn't appear to be anything to worry about as far as Down's syndrome or any other concern at this stage.

"We're having pictures of the images printed for you now but you can also get a DVD of the ultrasound if you're interested," Vanessa offered.

"Yes," Kate blurted out in messy unison with Castle's "we're interested."

Vanessa smiled. "Okay, I'll arrange to have that taken care of and then I'll be back to get you all cleaned up."

Vanessa ducked out of the office on the words, leaving Kate and Castle alone, and it was only then that Kate realized she and Castle were still holding hands, his grip warm and firm and somehow right.

"That was amazing," she breathed. "I had no idea."

"It was. Our baby, Beckett, did you see?"

"I saw. She's so small and so helpless." She suddenly remembered what Castle had said about the first moment he'd held Alexis, how terrifying and exhilarating the moment had been, and thought she was beginning to understand. Because it was frightening, to be so conscious as she hadn't been before that there was a new life growing inside her, a new life who was so completely dependent on her for everything. This was why she needed to avoid caffeine and alcohol and make sure she ate healthily, including the greens that had the folic acid for the baby's development. Oh god, this baby needed her for everything right now and she didn't know what she was doing, was basically making it up as she went along.

"She is, but Beckett, you've got this. Your body knows what to do. You know what to do; you've done the research, read the pamphlets, and talked to your doctor and everything."

"How can you be so sure of that?" she blurted out, amazed at his certainty. She'd never been pregnant before; all of this was new and so foreign to her. Just look at how unprepared she'd been for what seeing the ultrasound would be like.

He gave her a look as if she'd just asked him what year it was. "Because I know you, Beckett; you do your homework and then do whatever needs to be done. Besides," he paused, "this kind of thing is what you're already used to doing, to serve and protect, right?"

She choked on a watery laugh. "I don't think this is what they meant by that motto," she tried to scoff but absurdly, found she felt somewhat better, even with the ridiculous illogic. So like Castle to say something like that and she didn't know why it helped but it did.

He gave her a look of wide-eyed faux surprise. "No, really?"

"Don't be ridiculous." The words sounded too wobbly to have any of her usual bite.

"If you stop being silly too." He sobered. "You're the most frighteningly competent person I've ever met, Beckett, and that hasn't changed."

"Thank you, I think," she sniffed, a tremulous smile tugging on the corners of her lips, and then she froze entirely as he lifted his free hand and wiped away a couple stray tears that had escaped. His touch was warm and so ineffably gentle and she felt the absurd urge to lean into his touch, keep his hand on her cheek—but then the door opened.

He dropped his hand abruptly and took a step back, pausing to blink at their joined hands as if he, too, had forgotten they were still holding hands, and it was only then that he released her hand.

To her credit, Vanessa appeared blind to the moment of—whatever it had been—but then Kate supposed Vanessa must see plenty of couples in the course of her job and displays of emotion would be nothing new.

Vanessa spoke briskly. "Okay, everything's been taken care of. The print-outs of the image and the DVD will be ready for you in about 10 minutes. In the meantime, let's get you cleaned up."

She used some special tissues to wipe the ultrasound gel off Kate's stomach and threw them out, reminding Kate she could call the doctor with questions at any time and to set up her next appointment before telling Kate she was free to leave, once the images and DVD were out.

Kate fastened her pants and put her shoes back on, becoming conscious now that the excitement of it all was over of her need to use the restroom. "Oh, excuse me," she blurted out a little awkwardly and then escaped to the restroom.

Aside from the physical need, she was relieved to have the opportunity for some privacy, a few minutes to try to regain at least some of her usual composure after the intensity of the last few minutes.

Oh lord, she'd held Castle's hand and he'd caressed her face and comforted her. At the time, in the welter of emotion, it had all felt completely right and natural but now, belatedly, she felt some self-consciousness returning to her. She and Castle were not a couple, were not dating or together or anything. Somehow, she was going to need to remember that, try not to let their shared emotions for the baby confuse the issue of the feelings she had for Castle himself—which were friendship, camaraderie, and yes, trust, but nothing more. And lust, a little voice in her mind unhelpfully inserted. She threw a mental scowl at the voice. Fine, yes, lust too, but that was all. Only that and nothing more. (She must have been spending too much time with Castle when her thoughts started misquoting Poe. She wasn't even the biggest Poe fan anyway.)

She felt somewhat more like her usual self when she emerged from the restroom to see Castle quirking a teasing eyebrow at her. "Feeling better now?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, oddly feeling much more like her usual Detective Beckett self with Castle being his usual smirking self. "Shut up, Castle," she shot back automatically, feeling ridiculously as if a last little piece of her usual composure had slotted into place.

He only smirked and she tried to keep her lips straight, clinging to her Beckett-like composure as she talked to the receptionist about scheduling her next appointment and made a note of it on her phone. Right beside her, Castle calmly pulled his phone out to do the same thing-and Kate felt a renegade little spurt of pleasure and something like relief that he so obviously intended to be at the next appointment too.

When that was done, Kate took the time to check her text messages to see the updates Espo had sent on their new case but before she could process any of it, a nurse appeared with an envelope containing the image print-outs and the DVD.

Oh. Kate felt another renewed surge of emotion, her hard-won sense of calm faltering as she had to fight the urge to almost snatch the envelope out of the nurse's hands and then clutch it to her chest.

"It's The Precious. 'We wants it. We needs it. Must have the Precious,'" Castle pitched his voice into a passable imitation of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.

She choked on a laugh. Trust the man to make such a geeky reference at such an emotional time! And weirdly, her spurt of amusement restored some of her calm. How had he guessed or known that it would? "You are such a geek."

"Oh, but you recognized the line immediately so I'd say it takes one to know one," he shot back and then gave her one of his wide-eyed puppy looks. "Now, are you going to open the envelope or are you going to make fun of me some more?"

She pretended to think about it. "Oh, that's a hard choice."

"Beckett," he whined.

She smirked but opened the envelope and pulled out the print-outs, the image of their baby that seemed to have been imprinted on her mind. Her throat felt tight, again. Nope, she was not getting over the emotion of it anytime soon, was she?

Castle was crowded next to her, the warmth of his body almost plastered to her side, as he stared at the image, lifting a hand to touch a finger to the image, their baby's head. "Would you look at that," he breathed. No, he wasn't getting over it either.

She released a somewhat unsteady breath and fought the ridiculous impulse to lean into him, rest her head on his shoulder. He was close enough that she could. Close enough that if she turned her head to look at him, she could kiss him.

She didn't.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and said, managing to sound somewhat like her normal self, "My dad will want to see the DVD." And the mention of her dad had the benefit of squelching any ridiculous, inappropriate thoughts of kissing Castle. At least for the moment.

"My mother too. We'll have to see about making copies of it. At least, we have the pictures, we can give copies to your dad and my mom and keep a few for ourselves."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to stop looking at the pictures, let alone watching the DVD," Kate admitted and at that moment, it didn't even feel strange to say such a thing.

"We'll have a DVD watch party every night," he suggested only half-jokingly.

"I might take you up on that," she agreed. "Here, you can keep these." She took a few copies of the images and handed them to him.

"Thanks." He tucked them into the inside pocket of his jacket as carefully as if they were priceless first editions of Shakespeare.

She took a last lingering look at the image she still held before sliding it back into the envelope and then putting the envelope into her purse with equal care.

He released a breath and straightened up, taking a small step away from her. "So," he began after a moment, clearing his throat, "you have to go into the precinct, right?"

"Oh, yes. And that reminds me, we have a new case too. The body of a woman was found in a sewer earlier this morning. The boys went to the scene."

"Ooh, a body in a sewer has potential," Castle responded. "Who's the victim?"

"Last I heard from Espo, she's a Jane Doe, no ID. They're running down a lead right now, I think, so I'd better go into the precinct to check in."

"Right," he nodded. "Well, I'll stop off to get tea and some sustenance and meet you at the precinct," he volunteered.

"Thanks, Castle." She felt an absurd little thrill of warmth and pleasure. She wasn't sure when she had become so accustomed to Castle working beside her, providing coffee—now tea-and often some breakfast but somehow she had, had come to expect it, rely on it even, in a way she wasn't sure she relied on anything or anyone else, at least not in the same way. Rely on him, as a coworker and a friend—oh fine, yes, as her partner. And a co-parent too.

It was an unaccustomed sensation for her but she liked it.

~To be continued…~

A/N 2: Thank you, as always, to all readers and reviewers!