A few weeks later Kate was standing in front of the mirror one morning, panties and bra being the only clothing covering her body as she observed her belly. According to the doctors, and how long it had been since she and Castle had sex the first time, she was 13 weeks now. She could just slightly see a change, a teenie tiny bump that would soon grow to take over her entire belly. It was still hard for her to wrap her head around it. If someone had told her 5 months ago that she would become a mom within the upcoming year she would've laughed in their faces and told them 'Not a chance in hell'. But now she stood here, and in 6 months she would not only be a mom but have a small blob to take care of. The last month she'd focused on just trying to come to terms with her decision not to abort the pregnancy, and while she was still one hundred percent sure of her decision it still frightened her whenever she thought about having a small human in her arms. Her partner had tried to comfort her the best he could, tried to open her up enough to talk with him about it all. He knew it scared the shit out of her. Just looking in the mirror and imagining that in less than a year she would not be alone in this picture… it felt unreal. She hadn't decided yet if it was a good unreal or a bad one. Maybe a bit of both.

A sudden knock on her door had her jerk back into the now, and she called out 'Coming!' before she quickly put on her robe to cover herself. She wasn't expecting anyone but had a feeling of who it could be long before she looked through the peep-hole and saw she was right. Opening up the door she hid a bit behind it as she let him inside. He'd started showing up quite a bit more than he had before their small falling-apart. Not that she minded really.

"Hi, I was thinking maybe we could eat some lunch together, since it's your day off," Castle suggested as he walked through the threshold.

Kate closed the door behind her partner before she turned around and followed him towards the kitchen, noticing he had a bag from Remy's with him. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, always taking care of her nowadays. It was sweet, but at the same time she wondered if it would result in her snapping at him at some point. Maybe it was something she'd have to tell him. Before it was too late, that is.

"Castle…"

"Don't worry, I've got the cheeseburger, the fries and the strawberry milkshake, just the way you like it," he said as he started packing up the lunch order she always got at Remy's.

"What if I already had lunch?" she challenged and he gave her one look.

"I know you, if I hadn't come you would've eaten an apple and be satisfied with that."

She narrowed her eyes at him and tried not to pout, he truly did know her.

"You're annoying," she said when she couldn't refrain from the pout anymore.

"And you're hungry for two, so come on, I even got an extra cheeseburger in case you want it."

She rolled her eyes but continued to the kitchen table, sitting down where he'd put her food. He picked out his own order and sat down across from her. Without more words they started eating and drinking. Kate hated to admit to it but she eventually asked for the second cheeseburger too, which had him joking about how the little one was still hungry. Which resulted in another eye roll. She was grateful for the way he was keeping things so simple though. If it weren't for him trying to act as normal as possible, with all the small jokes and childishness, she was sure she would've fallen apart by now. She needed the sense of normal even though everything had changed. Well, not everything. But plenty.

"Did you just wake up before I got here?" he suddenly asked when they were sorting the trash.

She furrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

As she got eye contact with him he nodded towards her body. "You're still in your robe. Usually when I get here you're all dressed up and ready for either a workout or cleaning the apartment." Oh.

"Yeah, well…" she bit her lip and looked down at her robe, at her belly. "I'm... " she sighed. "I'm not sure we'll be able to keep it a secret much longer." She let it out like pulling off a bandaid. That's mostly how she was telling him her feelings nowadays, because she knew she had to get used to talking about her feelings even if it wasn't done easily.

"Why not?" he asked. He knew she didn't want to tell her coworkers just yet, knew she didn't want captain Montgomery to know just yet.

They'd told Alexis and Martha the week after she got out from the hospital and just like Kate had feared Alexis was quick with her math. The teen hadn't exactly said she was angry at Kate, or expressed it in any obvious way, but Kate knew she owed the girl some kind of explanation, or at the very least a reassurance that she wasn't planning on breaking her father's heart again.

"Because I'm starting to show," she mumbled and he felt excitement fill the pit of his stomach.

"Really?!"

He sounded way too excited for her liking and so she gave him her look, which immediately had him trying to smother his enthusiasm.

"Can I-can I see?" he asked with a hard swallow and she ran her hand through her hair.

"It's not really that visible, yet," she said and could sense rather than see the disappointment in his eyes. "Not sure you can see it, since you don't really know my body."

"Oh, but I think I do," he answered with a smirk on his face. The kind of smirk that had her insides filled with arousal because that smirk along with the darkening of his eyes reminded her of the things he could do to her. The things he'd done to explore her body and her pleasurements.

Her breath hitched as he was stepping closer to her, his hands slowly undoing the knot of her robe as he was silently asking permission through his eyes. She nodded and rolled her shoulders to let the robe slip off. He kept his gaze on her hazels for a few more seconds before he slipped his hands onto her belly and followed with his eyes. To her surprise he carefully bent down to sit on one of his knees to get his eyes in the same height as her belly. This was the first time he'd actually placed himself face to face with the baby growing inside her belly. Sure, it wasn't the first time he was down there, but it was the first time it was due to the baby and not to turn her into a melting puddle of pleasure. The way his fingers were tickling her hips at the moment were toxic though. She'd never been as easily turned on as she was when it came to him and at first she'd scratched it off as her pregnancy hormones. But then she'd remembered all the times he'd turned her on at the precinct that had haunted her until she'd gotten home and alone enough to relieve herself before that first time with him.

"Hey baby, if you keep growing nice and easy we'll soon have to tell your aunt and uncles. You know, your mom is kind of scared in what they will say so please remember that even if you hear her complain soon she doesn't really mean it," he whispered against her belly before he kissed just under her belly button.

"Castle," she whisper-sighed with her breath kind of stuck in her throat and he looked up at her with a grin.

"Later," he whispered and kissed her belly again before he raised to stand so close to her their bodies were aligned, their lips so close they almost kissed.

The height difference really did nothing to calm her already racing heart. And looking into those hypnotic blues didn't help either. Her eyes flinched down to his lips and up again, seeing he'd seen the flicker. It didn't surprise any of them when she stepped on her toes to claim his lips with hers, kissing him softly. She'd done that more lately. The kisses weren't just want-filled but started to have a more sentimental sense to them too. She'd pretty much admitted to her feelings for him, for herself, after the incident of pushing him away, but she hadn't truly started showing it in her actions of affection until during the last two weeks.

His hands started to travel around her towards her smaller back and one thumb was teasing the hem of her panties as the kiss grew more intense, more passionate. She didn't hesitate to open her mouth and brush her tongue against his lower lip, asking for permission she got without having to wait for too long. The fact that her body was pushing itself into his was proof enough she didn't have any self-control anymore. She could feel his wide grin as he let one of his hands move to one of her legs, lifting it up in order to put his thigh between her legs. Silently giving her permission to grind onto him. A permission she didn't pass on. It didn't take long before she was too winded up to stop.

"M-bed," she mumbled against his mouth and he chuckled as he bent only a little in order to grab her other leg.

He was a lot stronger than she'd ever given him credit for, even now it still surprised her how easily he was carrying her towards her bedroom. She couldn't help but let go of a small screech of a giggle when he dropped her onto the bed, having let her body fall free onto her back. She didn't have to wait long before he started kissing his way up her legs.

Castle absolutely adored her legs. And he wouldn't stop proving it to her. He kissed and nibbled every inch as he slowly climbed up her body. The legs seemed endless and he could hear the small protest in her moans, she wanted him to stop teasing so damn much. When he reached her inside thighs she was gasping and he smirked against her skin before he let his tongue leave a wet trail for him to blow on, making her shiver with arousal. She almost poked him when he skipped the area she wanted him at the most but he knew she wouldn't complain in a few minutes. The second his lips connected with hers she moaned again, sending arousal through his body, and they worked together to get him out of his clothes. Once he was naked she made him groan her name in pleasure as she grabbed and stroked his member. It was sweet revenge. She lost her grip though the second his fingers slipped through her wetness under her panties, and she cursed under her breath because how the hell could he turn everything around so quickly?! She should've been able to resist, or at least keep going! But no, he took the power, and breath, out of her with his wicked fingers.

Before she knew it her bra and panties were thrown across the room, probably landing on the floor, and the feeling of his skin against hers made everything explode inside of her. His lips found hers and his tongue asked hers for the dance they'd been practicing for the last month. His fingers were now doing dances of their own across her naked skin, her torso, her sides, her breasts, her legs… and they left a trail of fire after them. Soon she couldn't wait any longer and so she opened her mouth on a moan.

"Castle, I'm more than ready."

And he didn't hesitate before he placed himself at her entrance to guide himself home. They had stopped caring about condoms after the first two times since they realized it wasn't necessary due to her already being pregnant.

Since she was so wet already he didn't wait before he started moving in and out of her and it turned her even wetter. As he fastened his movements she sheltered her head in the crook of his neck, biting and kissing his neck as she turned into a mess of sounds only he could pull out of her.

Spending the day together hadn't been Kate's plan but since he got there and she somehow couldn't find it in herself to ask him to leave he didn't. It surprised her how much easier she felt around him than she'd done the first week he shadowed her. Once she had started to let him in more he had let her see his true persona too. He wasn't at all like they described him in the magazines, and he had turned even more mature as the time went by. It didn't surprise her he'd gotten under her skin, but it did surprise her how comfortable she felt around him. He made her feel safe, somehow.

Didn't stop her from being terrified of eating dinner with his family though. Alexis had called asking if they should expect him coming home in order to make dinner or if they should cook something themselves, and he'd immediately dragged her with him to have a family dinner. She'd tried getting out of it, saying she didn't want to impose on their family time but he'd only reminded her of the growing bump on her belly and said she was part of that family now.

Martha had greeted her with open arms, asking her how she was feeling and if she'd felt any changes since last time she visited. Castle had gone immediately towards the kitchen to start on the dinner as Martha continued to entertain her with stories from her latest audition which had apparently gone quite crazy. Alexis had greeted her but only with a simple 'hi' before she went to help her dad with the food.

Castle couldn't help but smile with amusement as he watched his mother whisk his girlfriend away to talk about whatever she was talking about. He wouldn't want to be in Kate's shoes right now and figured he would have to save her soon otherwise his mother wouldn't stop talking. Just as he started plucking out the ingredients he needed to make sliced turkey with green beans and mashed potatoes his daughter came down the stairs. The teen greeted the detective before she continued her walk towards him and greeted him with a side-hug.

"Hi pumpkin."

"Hi dad." She started helping him with the food and he was slightly surprised by the silence she normally would break to tell him all about her day.

"What's up?" he asked and observed his daughter as she started with the green beans, also adding some salad to it.

"Nothing much, been studying with Paige on the phone and we actually got a grip on the task we were both confused about before."

Normally she would give more detail and while he continued slicing the turkey he tried to figure out if something else had happened. "How was school today? You break any rules?"

Alexis tilted her head towards him as she gave him the look he figured she'd learned from the detective, whether she knew it or not. "You know I didn't. And it's been good, we had a quiz in economy class but I'm not too worried. Lucas seemed quite worried though," she shrugged her shoulders and Castle stopped in his movements.

"Lucas?" he said as casually as he could but he knew the second it was out of his mouth that he had failed.

"Yeah, you remember him? The kid who broke his arm while playing in that bouncy house that you hired for my eighth birthday," she explained and he couldn't stop the chuckle escaping his mouth.

"Oh yeah, he made quite some awesome flips before he landed," he chuckled before he noticed the seriousness on his daughter's face and straightened his own.

"Not funny, but yeah."

They continued making the food and as soon as the turkey was in the oven Castle turned to make the mashed potatoes, still thinking about this Lucas and why his daughter would mention him. Was he… important? When there was a pause in the food making, due to the food getting warm, he turned towards his daughter again.

"So, this Lucas, is he a friend or…"

"Just a classmate dad," she said and as he observed her he noticed her eyes flick towards where his mother and Beckett were at before she quickly looked away again with a sigh on her lips.

Castle furrowed his eyes, quickly checking what his partner and mother was up to and saw the redhead had led the detective to the couch where they were now seated and talking. Or, his mother talked, Kate just mostly seemed to be listening. Either way it wasn't exactly sigh-worthy.

"What's-ah, what's up with you?" he asked carefully in a gentle and low tone, making sure no one but the two of them would be able to hear.

"Nothing." She shook her head but he continued to look at her with that stubborn look he had.

"Come on pumpkin, you know you can tell me anything."

She glanced at him, glanced towards his partner and mother and then focused her eyes on the cabinets in front of her. "I didn't expect her to be here. When I called I knew you were with her but I just… didn't think you'd bring her."

His eyes furrowed further. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"What if she hurts you again? What if she leaves you with the baby? Or worse, what if she takes the baby with her?" It was only whispers but he could still hear her loud and clear, could see the fear in her eyes. It shocked him that she even had those thoughts, that Kate had been right those weeks ago when she told him his daughter wouldn't trust her.

"That's not going to happen," he tried to assure her.

"You don't know that. You remember the way she pushed you out last time? What makes you so sure that won't happen again?" the teen questioned harshly and he took a deep breath to try and build his words thoroughly enough for her to accept them.

"You know... she was scared about... having a real relationship. She ran because she was scared, now she's working through that fear… together with me. And before you say she might get scared and run again, that I can't trust her, she is telling me her feelings. I can see the fear in her eyes as she's doing her best to tell me how she feels," he explained. He constantly glanced towards the woman in question to make sure she couldn't tell they were talking about her. The last thing he wanted was his daughter to scare her away even more.

As his daughter looked deep in thought he continued with the food, doing the last before announcing it was time to eat. Since his daughter didn't say anything else he hoped his words had gotten to her, that it had soothed the worries she'd felt for him.

Kate tried not to look too much at his daughter but couldn't help but notice the absent-minded look she had on her face. Martha and Castle were the ones to keep the conversation flowing during dinner and even though both Kate and Alexis put in a few words here and there they didn't really speak much. Perhaps they were both distracted within their own thoughts. When dinner was over Kate insisted on doing the dishes, saying it was only fair since she didn't help with the making of the dinner at all. Martha and Alexis escaped to their rooms as Castle insisted on drying the dishes after Kate had cleaned them. At first they worked in silence but as Kate was finishing up with the last plate she felt his hands land on her hips and his nose nustling into her neck, slightly nudging away her hair in order to lay his lips on her skin.

"Castle," Kate hushed in a warning tone, thinking of the two redheads that could come back down any second.

"They're going to have to get used to us being close, besides, they won't mind," he said as he continued the small assault on her neck.

"She does."

His lips came to a halt and he pulled away slightly to be able to look at her. She didn't meet his eyes though, didn't dare seeing the emotions that were most likely taking place in those blues. Once she was done with the plate she reached it out for him, avoiding eye contact. Before he took it he leaned in and kissed her cheek, sending tingles down her veins and she tried not to gasp.

"Alexis has her concerns, yes, but they will disappear the more she sees us together, the more she gets to know you."

Kate bit her lip, not sure of anything of the sort. She had a feeling the teen would always dislike her. And if she were honest she didn't even blame the girl for the feelings she might have for her.

"You know, she looked up to you the minute you came to talk to me about the Tisdale case. Why else do you think she would choose to come help at the precinct a couple months ago? When you put her on archive duty."

"Because she wanted the credits and she already knew us at the precinct," Kate answered too quickly for his liking.

"That's not true. She looks up to you, she's just… getting used to things," Castle countered and she finally looked up at him through her lashes.

She looked so vulnerable, so scared that his daughter wouldn't accept her it made his heart ache. He wanted to assure her everything was going to be okay, but at the same time he knew that she knew he wasn't exactly in the position to make that call. Not in this question. It was only his daughter who could make that promise, but he wasn't so sure she was ready to make that call yet.

"I think I should just go home, I have work tomorrow," she mumbled and he snatched her hand in order to pull her slightly closer to him.

"It's not that late yet, stay for a movie," he practically pleaded and Kate felt her heart skip at how close he was.

Their noses were almost touching and she didn't hesitate to lean closer in order to let their foreheads connect.

"I shouldn't," she whispered and before she knew it his lips crashed on hers, pulling a moan from her throat before he pulled back again.

"Stay," he whispered, kissing her again. "I know you want to." He kissed her again and she felt her knees start to give in under her. "Stay."

"Fine," she mumbled after yet another hypnotic kiss. "But only if Alexis is okay with it."

"Su…"

"No, don't speak for her. I'm going to ask her, and you're not allowed to interrupt," she gave him a stern stare along with a pointy finger waved in front of him.

He pouted, but she could also see a spark in his eyes that told her he only loved her more for her efforts. She stepped onto her toes in order to kiss his pout one last time, secretly gathering strength, before she slowly pulled away in order to set her steps towards the teenager's room. She just hoped, no, prayed, the girl wouldn't despise her more for interrupting her like she was about to do.

Kate reached the door and once standing frozen outside she tried taking a few deep breaths. Carefully she raised her fist in order to knock on the door three times before she opened her mouth.

"Alexis? Is it okay if I come in?" she asked, hoping the girl wouldn't be too angry she was the one knocking instead of her dad or grandma.

It was quiet for a few seconds before the door flew open and the redhead looked at her with wide eyes.

"Beckett? Something wrong?" the girl asked and the usage of her surname had her hopes shrinking a bit.

"Uh-no, no, nothing's wrong. I was jus- is it okay if I come in?" Kate pointed with her finger into Alexis' room and the girl nodded, stepping aside to let Kate walk inside before she closed the door again. Once Kate turned around to look at her she was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, observing her with somewhat suspicious eyes. Kate didn't blame her. "I'm sorry for barging in but I just… I feel like you need me to prove I want your dad no harm. Which is totally understandable after the way I treated him for two months. And I'm sorry I hurt him the way I did." Her voice was strong yet she couldn't meet the girl's eyes, those blues she'd gotten from her father. Wonder if the baby will have those? "I'm sorry I bothered you," she suddenly regretted going in there. Maybe she should've just stayed down in the kitchen, or gone home. She started walking towards the door again but was surprised when the girl stood in her way.

Kate looked up at her and with a sigh Alexis opened her mouth. "I am scared you'll hurt him," she confessed with her hands falling down from their cross. "But, Kate, I also know you make him happier than he's ever been. Prove me I'm wrong by staying, don't run."

Kate was nodding before the girl had even finished her last sentence, which made the corners of Alexis' lips twitch upwards. Maybe this could be the start of a good relationship between the two.

"So, it's okay with you if I stay for family movie night?" Kate questioned, her teeth sinking into the flesh of her lower lip as she waited on the response her boyfriend's daughter would give her.

"Oh, you better stay," Alexis warned with a hesitant smile on her lips, which was immediately mirrored by her dad's girlfriend.

A/N: Thank you all so much for all your responses! It's amazing to read how you enjoy the story so far and I really hope you'll continue to enjoy it as we go. I might not reply to your reviews (and those of you who've been following me for some time knows this) but I just want to make sure you all know I still appreciate your reviews so much more than you probably think. It's what keeps me writing and publishing. So, thank you to every single one of you, both those of you who write reviews but also those of you who continues to read without comment (most times that's me when I read stories so don't worry, I don't judge). Thank you again and, until next time, xxx