quarantined

chapter two

an: I hadnt planned on writing a chapter two but oof I miss them.

"Thanks, dad." Kate said, setting Lily's big bag of toys and extra clothes down on her father's coffee table. She wasn't quite sure why it was necessary— her father had bought Lily enough outfits and toys to fill an entire Target store. "I really appreciate it."

"You don't have to thank me, Katie. I love having her."

Kate smiled, watching as Lily leaned in to kiss the orange rescue cat the three year old had somehow convinced her grandfather to adopt, right on the nose. "Lil, be gentle."

The cat didn't seem to mind, shifting slightly on his perch upon the arm of Jim's sofa as Lily gave him gentle pets and cooed in his ear.

Jim chuckled softly at the cat's misfortune before turning his attention back to his daughter. "You said you have a doctor's appointment?"

"Yeah and Rick's in a meeting. I figured an afternoon with grandpa might be more fun for her."

"Is everything okay?" Jim asked her, concern etched into his features. He would always worry about her.

"Yeah." She assured him, bending down to lift Lily into her arms when the girl crashed into her legs. "Just a routine appointment."

Jim watched her settle Lily on her hip, a smile tugging at his lips at the sight of them. Katie was such a good mother— he wished Johanna could see. "Good."

Lily rested her little hand against Kate's cheek, leaning in to kiss her goodbye. "Bye, mama."

"Bye, baby. Be good for Grandpa."

With that, Lily was off toward the cat again. She'd no doubt exhaust him and her grandfather by the time Kate picked her up that evening.

"Alright, I need to go." Kate leaned in to kiss Jim's cheek, something she'd certainly picked up in the Castle household. They were always full of hugs and kisses whenever someone was heading out. "Thank you. I'll call you when I'm on my way to pick her up."

"Go, sweetheart. Take your time."

"Ready for this?" Castle asked her, his thumb moving back and forth over her knuckles as they waited for the ultrasound tech. He'd gotten out of his meeting with Black Pawn and rushed over just as Kate was being called back.

"This is the easiest part of the appointment. At least my legs aren't in stirrups anymore." She joked, heart fluttering when he laughed. She loved his laugh.

Kids had made her soft. Having his kids.

"This is the part that made you cry last time." He squeezed her hand.

She gave him a look, feigning annoyance. "I wasn't the only one."

"No," He agreed. "it was amazing. I'll probably cry again."

Kate lifted their joined hands to her lips, pressing a kiss against the back of his. "Me too. I can't wait to see him."

"Him?"

"I just have a feeling."

"I think it's a girl." Castle decided. "Three for three."

Kate laughed softly. "Too bad we won't know for a while. Can't wait to see your face when we find out that you're wrong."

"Katherine Beckett Castle, those sound like betting words."

She grinned. "Loser has to wash Lily's hair at bath time for a month."

"Oh, no." Castle faked a gasp. Their Lily was a monster at bath time. She hated having her hair washed, and hated conditioner even more which led to a meltdown when it came time to brush. It was a whole ordeal that both parents dreaded. "You're on."

When the sound of the strong, steady heartbeat filled the room, tears filled their eyes. Kate was crushing his hand in hers, clutching tightly as the relief of hearing their baby rushed through her.

"The heartbeat sounds perfect." The ultrasound tech told them. "Now, let's see if we can get a better look for you."

Castle and Beckett watched the screen, hearts racing when the shape of their baby became apparent. The baby looked perfect, the tiny little—

"What is—?" Castle began.

Kate cut him off. "Oh my god...is that—?"

The ultrasound tech nodded. "A second baby."

"Twins." She breathed against his neck, holding tightly to him as he wrapped her up in one of his signature bear hugs beside their car in the parking complex. She couldn't wait for them to make it home. The second they got to the car, she'd practically thrown herself at him.

His hand rested against the back of her neck as he crushed her to him. "We're having twins…"

Kate laughed, stepping back and running a hand through her hair. "Identical twins."

His hands fell to her still relatively flat tummy. They'd spent the night before analyzing it long enough— there was a small bump there. It wasn't noticeable to anyone else but they could see them, their babies.

She rested her hands over his. "I love you."

"I love you too." He told her, leaning in to capture her lips in a kiss.

A few more weeks— that's how long they wanted to wait to tell anyone. The pregnancy was relatively high risk, after all. They didn't want to take the chance, didn't want to jinx themselves.

But they hadn't expected this.

"Mama, your belly is huge!"

Kate stopped trying to button her shirt and looked at herself in the mirror again. Yeah, her bump had grown a bit more since her appointment a few weeks earlier but…

Lily walked over to her mother, moving the sides of Kate's shirt out of the way to lay her hands against her bare stomach. "See?"

Kate laughed softly, dropping her hands to rest on top Lily's over her bump. "Yeah, I see."

"Why?"

Kate let out of breath before lifting her hands away, using one to brush Lily's bangs back from her forehead. "Go get Daddy for me, okay?"

Kate watched her run off toward the kitchen where Castle was preparing breakfast before her attention went back to the mirror. She turned slightly, a smile tugging at her lips.

"What's wrong?"

"Come here." Kate told him, meeting his eyes in the mirror. "Look."

Castle's eyes fell to her stomach, reaching out to touch her as their daughter had a moment earlier. "Wow...did this happen overnight?"

"Seems like it." Kate said, laughing softly. Tears pricked at her eyes. "Look at them."

"Daddy, mama's belly got big."

Kate met his eyes. "Tell her why."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Castle smiled, making room for Lily to press her hands to Kate's belly again. "Feel that, Lil? Mama's belly feels different."

"Why?" Their ever inquisitive daughter asked again.

"There are babies in there."

That seemed to surprise her, looking from both of her parents back to Kate's belly. "Babies?"

"Yeah." Kate told her. "You're going to be a big sister."

"Like Lexie?"

"Yeah," Castle told her, lifting her up into his arms when she reached for him. "a big sister like Alexis. How cool is that?"

"Very cool." Lily said, giving Kate a smile. "How many babies do you have?"

"There are two in my belly."

"Why?"

"They have to live in there until they're big and strong enough to come out and meet us."

"Oh." Lily said. "How long?"

"Another five months or so."

Lily sighed, all of a sudden excited for the siblings she hadn't known about minutes earlier. "That's a lot."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

"I wanna see them now."

Kate held her arms out, pressing a kiss to Lily's temple when Castle handed her over. She settled the girl on her hip. "Rick, will you go get the sonogram photos?"

He was gone and back in a matter of seconds, the photos in his hands. "Here's a picture the doctor took."

Lily took the photo, studying it closely with her little brows furrowed. "They look like baby birds!"

Kate laughed, looking at the photo in Lily's hands. "You think so?"

Lily nodded, her eyes still glued to the photo of her baby siblings.

an: thanks for the kind words everyone!