Author's Note: And now the boys find out…

Then Came Love

Chapter 20

Castle sat down in his chair by Beckett's desk and handed her the customary cup of tea and placed the paper bag with the muffin on her desk but for once, she didn't immediately sip the tea, appeared to be more interested in studying his face. His silly, susceptible heart leaped.

"Montgomery give you a hard time?" she asked quietly.

He lifted one shoulder into a half-shrug. "Not really. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't run out on you," he answered with limited truth. Telling Beckett what Montgomery had actually said was out of the question, not least because it would probably get both himself and Montgomery maimed at Beckett's hand. (Was there something twisted in being so in love with a woman who could basically kill him with her bare hands? On second thought, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that.)

Beckett made a small face and darted a sharp glance at Montgomery's office. "Silly of him. I have it on good authority that you're good at taking care of people."

"Thanks, but who told you that?"

She gave him one of her rare soft smiles, the ones that showed a glimpse of the caring heart she usually kept well hidden behind her detective persona. "Alexis did."

He smiled, warmth coiling around his heart as usual at the mention of Alexis. He had seen Beckett and Alexis talking at the Heat Wave launch party and assumed they were talking about the baby but he hadn't quite thought (or hadn't really wanted to think) that they might also be talking about him. "My daughter might be biased but feel free to believe her," he tried to quip.

Her smile slid into a smirk as she pretended thoughtfulness. "Yeah, the jury's still out on that."

He laughed. As much as her trust meant, he couldn't deny that it was her teasing that made him really feel as if all was right in his world.

Her eyes danced as she took a sip of her tea before reaching for the muffin.

"But seriously, the Captain and I are fine. Or more accurately, we have an understanding," Castle assured her. An understanding that if he hurt Beckett or let her or the Sprout down, Montgomery would hurt him and, being Montgomery, would probably ensure his body was never seen again. And Castle had no doubt that Esposito and Ryan (to say nothing of at least half the cops in the building) would probably help. "He's just looking out for you."

The only thing that made that thought less than terrifying was that Castle would sooner cut off his own arm than hurt Beckett or let her and the Sprout down.

His heart clenched with another surge of self-distrust. That might all be true but what if his good intentions weren't enough? What if he wasn't enough for Beckett? More than that, what if he wouldn't be enough for the Sprout? He was still afraid of not being enough for Alexis but now, it occurred to him too that he'd been able to devote his full attention to Alexis since she'd been his only child. He wouldn't be able to do that for the Sprout; he still had Alexis and how would he manage that?

He tried to tell himself he was worrying over nothing; after all, people had more than one child all the time and managed just fine. And the Sprout would also have Beckett, would have two attentive parents, which was something Alexis had not had. Surely that had to help.

Beckett's expression softened a little and she glanced over at the Captain's office, her look for once showing all the loyalty and, yes, affection he knew she felt for her Captain, her friend and her mentor. "Yeah, I know. It's what he does."

But then she straightened up, once more assuming her usual composed Detective Beckett expression. Unsurprisingly, since even now, these glimpses of the softer side of Beckett's persona did not last long.

"Oh and Montgomery paid me a big compliment," Castle spoke up brightly. He had an established role at moments like this, the rodeo clown to deflect attention and pretend obliviousness to having noticed any softening in Beckett's demeanor.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, did he?"

"He said I wasn't so useless at solving cases," Castle announced, pretending to preen.

She grinned, one of her rare wide smiles of amusement. Yeah, he was more than happy to throw his sense of dignity—never exactly his strongest point—under the bus if it would make Kate Beckett smile like this. Would happily devote his entire life to making Kate Beckett smile like this. (Oh god, he did have it bad.)

"High praise," she mocked, her eyes dancing. "You should get that engraved on a medal or something."

"Ooh, that's a thought. I like it. A medal. 'Not useless.' That's me," he all but bounced in his seat.

Yes, he knew he was being silly but then she laughed aloud and that was more than reward enough for him.

"What's so funny, Beckett?" Ryan's voice intruded.

A (somewhat unwelcome) but probably timely reminder that he and Beckett were not alone, were in full view of the bullpen.

"What else would it be but about Castle getting busted by Montgomery?" Esposito inserted. "'Cause that was kinda hilarious. What'd you do, Castle, steal another police horse?" he jibed.

"I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you," Castle deadpanned.

Espo snorted. "You and what army?"

"Nice try, Castle. But seriously, what'd Montgomery bust you for?" Ryan rejoined.

Castle raised both his hands. "Do I look like I was busted? See, all in one piece."

"Oh come on, Castle, we all saw Montgomery's face when he called you into his office and heard his voice," Espo countered.

"Castle didn't do anything," Beckett interceded. "And don't you two clowns have some actual work to do?"

As nice as it was to have Beckett speaking up for him, Castle was a little surprised that Beckett wasn't taking advantage of the obvious segue into telling the boys the news about her pregnancy, now that the Captain knew. He glanced at her. Beckett, as he well knew, was a master of the poker face, her expression revealing little of her thoughts, just a small, wry smirk directed at the boys.

"You're taking Castle's side against us now?" Espo affected injury. "I'm hurt. Ryan, aren't you hurt?"

"Cut to the quick," Ryan agreed, directing his own look of mock dismay at Beckett.

"You'll get over it," Beckett shot back dryly but he caught a small flicker of her lashes, a faint tightening at the corners of her lips.

And he abruptly understood. Beckett was deliberately putting off telling the boys because—he felt a surge of tenderness, not entirely untinged by sympathetic amusement—she was nervous. Funny, it had never really occurred to him that the indomitable Detective Kate Beckett ever felt something as trivial as nervousness; that seemed like it should be the province of mere mortals, not the briskly capable Detective Beckett who faced down killers every day without batting an eyelash. But this, telling the boys, her colleagues and friends, that she was pregnant—an unplanned pregnancy after just one impulsive night—had her nervous. He could well understand how awkward the conversation was going to be but he'd never have expected Beckett to procrastinate like this. It was, oddly, endearing.

Castle was no stranger to procrastination of course, which meant he knew procrastination would only make the avoided task seem more daunting. And he also knew Beckett well enough to know that she'd kick herself later for giving into her nerves; Beckett was not someone who was forgiving of her own weakness.

Maybe he couldn't make the coming conversation less awkward but he could at least encourage Beckett. He could have her back, as he always wanted to do.

He tapped his fingers on her desk, a seemingly idle motion but he knew the action would draw Beckett's eyes to him and so it did. He caught her eyes and gave her an infinitesimal nod and then slightly tilted his head in the boys' direction, wondering even as he did so if she would understand.

She did. (Of course she did.) She gave him a look that spoke as clearly as words. Are you sure?

Yes. His answering look conveyed as much to her.

And—he felt a ridiculous little thrill zip through him—she listened. "Actually, guys, that reminds me, I need to tell you something."

(Ha, and she said telepathy wasn't real.)

She collected the boys with a look as she stood up and led the way into the conference room with Castle dutifully bringing up the rear and closing the conference room door behind him. Once inside, he took one of the chairs along the wall by the door. (He wasn't, exactly, thinking in terms of easy access to the door so he could flee but he wasn't not thinking of it either. This might have been his idea—on second thought, that might have been stupid, being miles away when Beckett told Esposito was starting to look smarter—but too late now.)

Beckett took a seat at the conference room table while the boys took seats along the other side of the table.

"What's up, Beckett?" Espo prompted.

Beckett would not do anything quite so revealing as glancing back at Castle for any sort of reassurance or something but Castle somehow sensed her reining in the impulse to do so and hoped his mere presence at her back could provide what she needed. Since he could not step forward and actually touch her like putting a hand on her shoulder or anything like that.

"I told the Captain this morning and, well, it's something you need to know too." She paused and for once, it was clear the unflappable Detective Beckett was gathering her resolve before she finished, "I'm… pregnant."

There was a beat of utter silence in which Castle imagined he could hear the sound of Beckett's heart racing—he was certainly conscious of the thud of his own heart. The boys simply stared at Beckett as if she'd grown another head. Ryan's eyes flickered down to Beckett's middle, not that he could actually see it because of the table, before he jerked his wide eyes back to her face, a faint color appearing in his cheeks. Castle felt a renegade spurt of amusement, it was as if it had never occurred to Ryan that Beckett might have sex.

"Are you serious?" Espo blurted out, not angrily, more incredulously.

Beckett straightened slightly as she returned Espo's look and Castle could see just in the small movement that Beckett was herself again. He felt the surge of respect, even awe, that Beckett so often evoked and he thought, not for the first time, that there might be nothing he loved more than to see the inner steel rippling through Beckett, her strength in action. She was incredible.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated more firmly. "About three months along."

Espo's gaze fell before Beckett's and he looked to Castle instead, why Castle wasn't sure and wasn't expecting, and then abruptly, Espo's eyes narrowed. "You knew," he burst out, to Castle this time, and then swung his eyes back to Beckett. "You told Castle before us?"

Shit. Castle knew he'd forgotten something; he should have pretended to be surprised. Because Espo was a detective too.

And sure enough… Espo pinned Castle with another look, followed almost immediately by Ryan, who had clearly connected the same dots Espo just had. "Son of a bitch," Espo muttered. "It's you. You're the father." He didn't actually leave his seat but there was enough coiled tension in his form that made it clear he wanted to, was a heartbeat away from lunging forward.

Castle wasn't proud of it but he felt a spike of apprehension and he too tensed, ready to flee. (What, he preferred not being dead.)

"Dude," Ryan interjected, not quite as accusingly as Espo's exclamation but certainly not pleased either.

"Boys!" Beckett's voice rapped out and brought them both to attention as they jerked around to look at her again. "Okay, yes, Castle is the father. Don't growl like that, Espo, I'm not your younger sister or some damsel in distress."

Espo's expression settled into disgruntled lines while Ryan had the grace to throw a half-sheepish but not quite apologetic look at Castle.

"What happened between me and Castle is our business and we're dealing with it like partners should. I'm only telling you now because of how my condition will affect the way we work."

"Whoa, wait," Ryan spoke up. "You and Castle—so are you… together now?"

Was everyone going to ask that? Well, yes, it was sort of the obvious follow-up question, Castle answered himself. It was just too bad for him that the answer was one he didn't like. At least for now.

"What does that matter?" Beckett deflected.

Oh, Beckett had to hate this, the inevitable questions into her personal life. Beckett, who guarded her privacy like Fort Knox.

"We're not together," Castle jumped in, answering for her. No need to force Beckett to talk about her personal life.

He sensed Beckett's quick sideways glance at him but he kept his gaze on Esposito as the immediate threat.

"You're pregnant but you're not together," Espo repeated, an edge entering his tone as he directed a scowl at Castle. "So, what, it was just some quick fling? You've had the hots for Beckett since the day you met her so guess you got what you wanted, huh?"

"That is not what happened!" Castle flared, tamping down the niggle of something like guilt. Espo's words weren't precisely untrue—of course Castle had wanted Beckett since the moment he'd set eyes on her—but the implication that Beckett was just some notch on his bedpost, that was definitely not the case.

"That's enough!" Beckett's voice cracked like a whip. "Espo, stand down and I mean it. Castle isn't to blame for this."

For a moment, Espo's and Beckett's eyes clashed but then Espo relented with a small nod. "Fine." It was not the most gracious surrender but it would do. And Castle could understand and even appreciate the depth of loyalty to Beckett that Espo's reaction displayed (although he could have done without being the target of Espo's ire.)

"You're pregnant," it was Ryan's turn to repeat. "Wait. Are you feeling okay? Have you been sick a lot? How are you going to work? Oh, and what about coffee? You're not supposed to have a lot of caffeine." They all turned to look at Ryan at this rapid-fire questioning and he returned their looks. "What, my sisters have kids."

"I'm fine," Beckett answered firmly. And predictably.

Castle felt a niggle of concern, remembering what his mother had said about no woman wanting to talk about morning sickness with a man and certainly Beckett wouldn't. He was reasonably sure from watching Beckett these last few weeks that she hadn't been sick often but he did feel some lingering doubt because, after all, he didn't see her every day and he also knew Beckett too well to think she would easily admit to any symptoms she did feel to him. It was amazing enough that she was admitting to worrying about the Sprout, acknowledging her emotional vulnerability.

"Beckett knows what she's doing," he stepped in. He briefly considered telling the boys that he'd been bringing Beckett tea rather than coffee but rejected the idea. He doubted Beckett would appreciate his revealing even that much and more than that, he found he didn't really want to mention the tea. Absurd and utterly irrational but somehow, his bringing Beckett tea and a muffin seemed like a private thing, something between him and Beckett. And he knew it made no sense because obviously the boys (and the rest of the bullpen) saw him giving Beckett a to-go cup every day but even so. It was just… personal. Or maybe what was personal was because he knew what the tea and the muffin symbolized, his way of showing her he was there for her, that he could take care of her. And yes, he brought her tea and a muffin in order to see her smile, just as he'd brought her coffee every day for that reason.

"But what about work? You can't be on full duty now that Montgomery knows, right?" Ryan persisted.

Beckett grimaced a little. "Right. I'm on restricted duty. The Captain said he'll talk to you about the details but basically, I can only go to crime scenes once they've been cleared. I can talk to family members and witnesses but I can't be involved in tracking down suspects or the final collar. And for interrogations, one of you two needs to be in the box with me as backup and any suspects with any violence in their pasts have to be restrained first."

Castle made a small face. He hadn't known precisely what limitations would be placed on Beckett and he knew they would all chafe against Beckett's instincts.

Espo looked about as pleased with the idea of Beckett's restrictions as Beckett herself was while Ryan, at least, looked as if he understood.

Beckett made a face. "Sorry, guys. You're going to have to pick up a lot of the slack now that I'm not on full duty."

"Don't worry about it," Espo said rather gruffly.

"No sweat," Ryan chimed in. "You're having a baby; that's more important than any inconvenience to us."

"Okay. Well, now you know so you can go back to work now," Beckett responded with an attempt at sounding like her usual brisk self.

"Yeah yeah and don't think being pregnant means you can slack off about doing paperwork," Espo retorted even as he got to his feet. Clearly, Espo was himself again. He looked at Ryan. "What do you think, bro, don't you think it's only fair that if Beckett's not going to be pulling her weight, she should have to do our paperwork too?"

Beckett shot Espo a look. "Try it and see how fast I send you dumpster diving."

Beckett likely would end up doing the boys' paperwork as her pregnancy progressed and she became more limited in what she could do but Castle decided not to mention that.

"Slacker," Espo tossed back as he got up to leave but then his gaze landed on Castle and his eyes narrowed a little as he pointed first at his eyes and then at Castle to indicate, I'll be watching you.

"Esposito!" Beckett snapped, her use of his full last name rather than the short form indicating her seriousness, and Espo subsided, retreating in quick order.

Ryan offered a small smile as he too stood up. "Congratulations?" There was a faintly questioning note at the end.

Beckett relaxed into a small smile. "Thanks."

And then there were two.

Beckett sighed and passed a hand down her face in one of her infrequent gestures of frustration.

"That didn't go too badly," Castle spoke up, trying to sound upbeat. "And now the boys know so that's pretty much it for people we need to tell, right?"

At some point in the future—the distant future—he would need to tell Gina and Paula but only so they would know why his time would be limited both for deadlines and for any publicity events and he would certainly not be doing any traveling for his publicity in the weeks leading up to the baby's birth and the months immediately afterwards but all that could wait until the third trimester or so.

Beckett looked over at him with a rueful grimace. "Well, yes, as far as people we need to tell directly but this is only the start of people finding out. The boys won't gossip but either way, what do you bet the news is going to be all over the building in a matter of days?"

He inwardly winced. Knowing cops, he guessed this news would be all over the building by the end of the day, certainly by tomorrow, it wouldn't even take days. Even without the boys talking, which they wouldn't, he knew the news would somehow get out. And he knew Beckett was going to hate it. Not only people finding out about something so personal but also because he knew people would comment and ask questions, a lot having to do with their relationship status (among other things). He wished he could reassure her that they could keep the news quiet for longer, until she really started to show, but he couldn't lie to Beckett. "We're talking about the same group of cops who've had a running bet on when we were going to sleep together so yeah, the news is going to get out."

She made a face, even as some color tinged her cheeks. "Ugh, don't remind me—wait, you know about the pool?"

"Not all cops are as discreet as you are and I'm not quite that oblivious."

She gave him a wry look. "Fair point. I don't see that it's any of their business," she grumbled. "And how can you be so calm about the idea of people commenting and asking all sorts of questions about something that's personal?"

He sternly suppressed a small smile but couldn't help but think it was a little… refreshing to be the calm one while Beckett was more exercised, even knowing part of that was a function of her condition. And she was kind of… adorable… with the faint frown of frustration crinkling her forehead. "They're asking because they care about you," he began mildly, which was mostly true, "and beyond that," he lifted one shoulder into a half-shrug, "I am kind of used to having people talk about me and speculating on my personal life."

She blinked, looking momentarily arrested. "Oh, right. I… forgot."

He loved that Beckett so often forgot that he was, in his way, a celebrity and certainly never treated him any differently because of his fame and his wealth, which was more than he could say for just about everyone else he knew outside of the precinct. But he didn't say that. Instead he affected a sigh. "I know, you keep forgetting I'm famous. It's a hardship. Sometimes I think I should wear a sign to remind you what a big deal I am."

She snorted. "Yeah and you should be in the Guinness Book of World Records under Egotistical."

"It's not egotism if it's true," he pontificated.

She rolled her eyes. "And you're annoying too."

He pretended disappointment, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "Oh, Beckett, as retorts go, that was just sad. Don't tell me your being on restricted duty is making your wit duller too. But wait, no, that can't be it because I'm always on restricted duty and we both know that my wit is razor-sharp."

"Really, Castle, now you're throwing my duty status into my face?"

That was definitely a Beckett look and a Beckett tone too. Maybe mentioning her duty status had not been his best tactic but, well, she wasn't fretting over the thought of people finding out about her personal life. Beckett was herself again and that was what he'd wanted, distracting her from her disgruntlement at the thought of people finding out about her personal life. And maybe it was a little weird but he knew by now that one of the surest ways of distracting Beckett—and yes, making her feel more like her usual, confident self—was by having her poke at his ego. Their back-and-forth might not be exactly normal but somehow, it worked for them. Or at least, he thought it did. Besides, he loved the way she teased him, kept him on his toes.

"It won't be so bad, Beckett. You'll still get to carry a gun." He pulled a deliberate pout. "Unlike me, and I still say that's unfair."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Nice try, Castle, but you're not a cop. I am and unlike you, I've been trained in how to safely use a gun."

"Oh believe me, Beckett, I know exactly how to handle a weapon," he turned the words into an innuendo.

And noticed with interest (and a leap of both his heart and, ahem, another body part), the color staining her cheeks. "Shut up, Castle. I have some actual work to do, rather than listening to your nonsense." She stood up and left the conference room and he followed, trying to appear chastened rather than triumphant and very hopeful.

Teasing her into being her usual self was one thing. It was his way of being there for her, reassuring her in a sense, since he knew Beckett hated appearing vulnerable, didn't like not being in control and teasing him allowed her to regain control somehow.

But possibly even more encouraging in an entirely different sense, he had made Beckett blush. She was still attracted to him, she had to be.

Of course, it could just be hormones, the lowering thought occurred to him. Hormones and simple lust and that wouldn't be enough for him, not with her, not now.

And yet, and yet… She smiled when she saw him, was happy that he'd turned down the Bond offer and would keep working with her. That had to mean something, didn't it?

~To be continued…~

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

Apologies in advance but I won't be able to post next week as I'll be out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. I will try to post the next chapter earlier in the week than the following Friday so you all won't have to wait a full two weeks for an update. In the meantime, I hope everyone in the U.S. who celebrates it has a very happy Thanksgiving.