Thank you all for your continued enthusiasm and support for this story. We're now at the end of January and beginning of February 2020.
Lily was outgrowing naptime, to Kate and Rick's chagrin, although her pediatrician assured them that this was normal; she was almost three years old, after all, and some kids simply gave up daytime naps at that point. She was not sleep-deprived, with a regular bedtime at 7:30, and no reason to stay up late except for special occasions, such as Christmas Eve, which had been a month ago.
Rick, thankfully, had finished the mini-tour he had managed to negotiate with Black Pawn for Something Worth Saving. Given Kate's pregnancy with the twins, he refused to travel any farther afield than Pennsylvania, so the readers and fans in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and the tri-state area were the ones who got pictures with Rick and autographed copies at the book signings. He refused to be gone overnight. There were no indications that Kate would go into premature labor—at least, not extremely premature labor—and they had plenty of family and friends who would have happily spent a night or two with Kate and Lily at the loft while Rick was out of town, or out of state, but he wasn't having it. Luckily he had enough clout, and Adam went to bat for him with the publishing house's board, that Black Pawn was able to grant him this request. Even with the limited personal appearances and number of signings, he had still made The New York Times Bestseller List, albeit at a still-respectable number four, where he peaked.
Kate wasn't on full bedrest, because it wasn't necessary, but she was on maternity leave, since the boys were due February 15, and it was now January 30. Everyone but Rick, Kate, and Lily were nervous wrecks that Kate was going to go into labor at almost any minute.
Well, everyone except Alexis and Javier, since they hadn't heard from either of them in a couple of days.
Rick and Kate were both in the new playroom with Lily, who was looking at one of her picture books, sitting on the couch in between Kate and Rick.
Kate's phone rang then. It was her father. "Hey, Dad, what's up?" she greeted him when she answered the phone.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Jim replied. "I got a text a few minutes ago from Alexis, asking me to meet her at your place. You're not in labor, are you, Katie?"
Kate chuckled. "No, Dad, I'm not in labor. I'll tell you myself when I am."
Rick's phone chimed with a text message then. "Just a second, sweetpea," he told Lily as he removed his phone from his shirt pocket.
The text was from Kevin and read, "Javi's taken the last couple days off, and he just called and asked me to meet him your & Beckett's place. Is Beckett in labor?!"
Rick quickly typed back, "No, Kate's NOT in labor. But we're here, so come on over."
Kevin had clearly been waiting for an answer, because the reply bubbles blinked on Rick's phone screen for several seconds before Kevin's reply came through: "Leaving the 12th now. Be there soon."
Before Rick could reply to Kevin, his phone rang, and he answered it without looking at the Caller ID. "Hello?"
"Hi, Dad. You and Mom and Lily are at home, right?" Alexis asked.
"Yes, pumpkin, we're here," Rick replied.
"Great, because Javier and I are on our way, and so are a few other people, hopefully," she replied.
"They are," Rick assured her.
And at that precise moment, Rick heard the front door open and Martha call out, "Hello, everyone! Where are you?"
"And your grandmother just arrived," Rick told Alexis. "Most likely with Earl in tow."
"I invited them both," Alexis said. "Anyway, we're on our way too, so we'll be there shortly."
"Okay, we'll see you when you get here," Rick told Alexis.
"We're in here, Martha!" Kate had called out while Rick was still on the phone with Alexis.
Martha and Earl walked through the office and into the playroom. The playroom had turned out wonderfully, Rick and Kate's shared vision for the space—all but the most special toys of Lily's, and someday of Reece and Jake's as well, on shelves and in large toyboxes; a bright blue rug covering the floor; sturdy furniture that would be able to handle the actions and misadventures of growing children while remaining comfortable enough for their parents and other family members to use as well, in the case of the couch and the large, overstuffed recliners; scrubbable white paint on the walls—having translated perfectly from their mind's eyes to the architect's and contractors' work. "Alexis wanted us to meet her here," Martha said. Lily closed her book and handed it to her father before scrambling down from the couch and running to give her Gram and Pops both welcome hugs.
The knock at the door that Rick went to answer was Jim Beckett and Kevin Ryan, who had run into each other in the lobby.
When everyone was assembled in the playroom, and Rick had resumed his seat next to Kate on the couch, Kate threaded her fingers through his hand. "Are you ready for this?" she asked so only he could hear, since they both had a very good idea of what was coming when Alexis and Javier arrived.
"I have to be," Rick said simply. He sighed deeply, and Kate squeezed his hand reassuringly. He squeezed her hand back. "Esposito's a good man. They love each other. And I want Alexis to be happy. But it's not going to be easy for me."
"I know," Kate replied, kissing Rick's temple before the front door opened again and they heard Alexis calling out a 'hello.'
"Alexis!" Lily shouted, dashing into the living room.
"No running in the house, Lily Jo!" Jim called as he hurried after the little girl. Martha, Earl, and Kevin followed Jim and Lily into the living room.
"Help me up?" Kate asked, holding out her other hand to Rick.
"Always," Rick replied, pulling Kate to her feet. They were the last to arrive in the living room, where Alexis and Javier were standing side by side, Alexis with her hands behind her back, and Javier with an arm wrapped around her waist, both of them facing the others wearing excited grins with an undercurrent of nervousness on their faces.
"We wanted you all to be the first to know," Alexis said. Then she brought her hands out from behind her back and held up her left hand facing outward, revealing the ring sparkling on the third finger of her left hand. "Javier and I are engaged!" she exclaimed happily.
The room exploded with cheers, congratulations, and people rushing forward to hug Alexis and Javier.
Everyone, that is, except Rick and Kate—Kate because it was impossible for her to rush anywhere given her advanced pregnant state...and Rick because although he had known that this was going to happen, and he had been trying to prepare himself, it was still the first step towards a very big change in his life and Alexis's life and in their relationship. His firstborn daughter had never been a married woman before, but now she was going to be.
Kevin, standing behind and to the side of Javi, had his hands on Javi's shoulders and was jostling him about playfully. "I'm gonna be the best man!" he exclaimed.
"In that case, we need to have a word about the bachelor party, Kevin," Alexis said seriously.
"Don't worry, Lex, it's not going to be anything like the impromptu bash Castle and I put together for Ryan in Atlantic City," Javier promised.
"It better not be," Kate said.
Javier cut his gaze to Rick. "You told Beckett?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course I told her," Rick replied. "What am I, stupid?"
"I told Jenny," Kevin piped up.
"I think somebody better tell me," Alexis said.
"I'd like to hear about this too," Martha said eagerly.
Jim piped up then. "Don't worry, ladies. Earl and I will make certain nothing too untoward or disreputable happens at Javier's bachelor party," he promised.
"That's right," Earl added.
"And the first person who says 'Then what's the point of having a bachelor party?' gets the Beckett treatment," Kate said, fixing everyone with her infamous Detective Beckett stare.
"Mommy, Daddy, what's a batch-er party?" Lily asked then.
Alexis laughed and picked Lily up. "It's 'bachelor party,' Lily," she informed her little sister, "and that's not something you need to know about yet. There is something I need to know, though. When Javier and I get married, will you be a flower girl for us, along with Sarah Grace?"
Lily, eye to eye with Alexis, looked into her big sister's eyes and said, "What would I do as a flower girl?"
"You'd get to wear a pretty dress and shoes, and walk down the aisle with Sarah Grace ahead of me and Dad, and scatter flower petals from a little basket while you walk," Alexis replied. "What do you say?"
"What color will my dress be?" Lily asked. Jim burst out laughing in the background, reminded of Katie as a little girl, always wanting to know everything about everything, an endless fount of questions.
"Well, we'll all go shopping and pick it out together. I haven't really thought much about colors yet," Alexis admitted.
"I don't like yellow," Lily informed Alexis earnestly.
"Neither do I, so I can promise your dress, and the flowers, won't be yellow," Alexis replied.
Lily looked over her shoulder at her parents. "Mommy, Daddy, can I be a flower girl for Alexis?" she asked.
"Of course you can, Lily," Kate said with a smile.
"Yay!" Lily cheered, her little arms shooting into the air above her head in triumph.
Alexis and Javier had already received hugs and congratulations from Kevin and Martha, and Jim and Earl had both hugged Alexis and shaken Javier's hand. Now the engaged couple approached Rick and Kate, with Alexis still carrying Lily. She set Lily on her feet, and Lily skipped over to her grandparents and Uncle Kevin, crowing, "I get to be a flower girl! I get to be a flower girl!" over and over again.
Before Alexis or Javier could say anything, Kate reached out, grabbed Alexis by the hands, and pulled her into as much of a hug as she could, given the size of Kate's belly. "Congratulations, Alexis, I'm so happy for you," Kate said.
"Thanks, Mom," Alexis said softly into Kate's ear as they hugged.
When she released Alexis, Kate beckoned Esposito closer. "You know you're getting the best girl in the whole world here," she said, nodding at Alexis.
"I know," Javier replied seriously. "And I'm never going to take that, or her, for granted."
"Good, because you know I'm totally capable of kicking your...you-know-what," Kate said seriously, censoring herself because Lily was in the room, "if you ever treat Alexis with anything less than the love and respect she deserves."
"I know you are," Javier replied. "But you don't have anything to worry about, Beckett. I'd die for Alexis. She's the center of my world."
"I know that feeling," Kate said. She looked from Javi to Alexis and back again. "Be happy. Be good to each other. And most importantly, communicate, preferably in a timely manner." She and Javi hugged then.
Rick and Alexis were just staring at each other. Rick blinked, and for just an instant, he saw Alexis at five years of age, him taking her to her first day of kindergarten, watching as she headed over to the cubby holes to put away her backpack and jacket, and how she didn't look back at him, having already given him a hug and a kiss and told him she loved him in the hallway outside her classroom.
He blinked again, and she was fifteen, confessing to him that she had once jumped a subway turnstile.
A third blink, and Rick was back in the moment, looking at his firstborn, all grown up, a few months away from graduating from law school, and engaged to marry the man she loved who loved her back. "Look at you," he said, "all grown up."
"Look at you...mostly grown-up," Alexis replied with a watery chuckle. "I remember when it was just the two of us too, Dad. And it was great. But all this..."
"Oh yeah, way better, without a doubt," Rick replied. "You love him. Do you love him in a way you never thought you could love anyone? Do you love Esposito the way that I love Kate, Alexis? Does he love you the way Kate loves me? Because you deserve nothing less than that, pumpkin."
"I do love him beyond anything I thought I could ever feel, Dad, and he loves me the same way," Alexis assured her father. "This is forever. Javier's my forever, and I'm his."
Rick nodded once, shortly. "I already knew that," he admitted, "but I needed the reassurance from you."
"Anytime," Alexis said.
Then Rick and Alexis were hugging tightly. "I love you, pumpkin," he whispered.
"I love you too, Dad," Alexis whispered back. They held the hug for several seconds, and then Alexis pulled back, looked into her father's eyes, and said, "Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean I won't still need you in my life."
"Things are going to change, though," Rick said with a somewhat rueful smile.
"Yes, they are, in more ways than one," Alexis agreed. "But they're good changes, Dad."
"That they are," Rick agreed.
Rick put his arm around Alexis's shoulders, and then regarded Esposito. "You saw the kinds of things I did to keep Kate safe when she was a cop," he began.
"Yes," Esposito said, remembering every instance that Rick risked his own life to save Kate.
"I know Kate can kick your you-know-what if you ever step out of line in any way, shape or form with Alexis," Rick continued, "but I'll do it too. And you can scoff if you want to, but I will not be anywhere near as easy on you as Kate would be."
"Beckett wouldn't be easy on me at all," Esposito replied.
"Exactly," Rick agreed. "You treat my daughter right, you love her with everything you've got, and never, under any circumstances, call me 'Dad.'"
"I promise, Castle," Esposito said seriously. He reached out to shake Castle's hand, and Castle grasped Esposito's hand, then surprised him by pulling him into a one-armed hug.
Alexis then turned her attention back to Kate. "Mom, I have something to ask you," she said. "Javier and I don't want a big wedding. Kevin's going to be the best man, and Lily and Sarah Grace will be the flower girls. We're going to leave it up to Nick if he wants to be the ring bearer, and he probably won't, and we're not going to force him, and neither will Kevin and Jenny."
"Even if Nick agrees to be in the wedding, he'll just be a ceremonial ring bearer. Four-year-old boys are not to be trusted with items as small and valuable as wedding rings," Kevin interjected then.
"I'm going to need a matron of honor," Alexis continued. "I know it's a lot to ask, because we're thinking an August wedding, early September at the latest, because neither Javier nor I believe in long engagements. And honestly, there's no one else I'd rather have as my matron of honor than you, Mom. Of course, you'll have the boys, and they'll only be about six months old, and I know it's probably not fair to ask you to pull double duty as mother of the bride and matron of honor, but-"
"Of course I'll be your matron of honor, Alexis," Kate interrupted her. "We'll make it work."
"Yes, we will," Rick added. "Whatever you two want, you've got it."
Alexis hugged Kate again. "Thanks, Mom," she said. Then she looked at Javier. "Well, we have the wedding party set. We'll need to nail down a date, and we're planning to start looking at venues this weekend. Maybe Madison would let us have the rehearsal dinner at Q3?"
"I think that's a given," Kate replied. "All you'll have to do is ask her."
"We'll need to shop for dresses, and the guys will have to get fitted for tuxes. We were thinking white tuxedo jackets with black bow ties, cummerbunds, and pants, since we want a late summer wedding," Alexis continued.
"And then there's the reception," Martha chimed in. "The flowers, the cake, the music, the photographer, the wedding rings, the marriage license, an officiant..."
"We haven't even finished telling people we're engaged yet," Javier said.
"You can do this in six or seven months," Kate said confidently.
"We ended up pulling everything together in about three hours when we got married," Rick agreed, looking from Kate back to Alexis and Javier. "Six months will be plenty of time."
"Especially since we don't want anything really big or overblown," Alexis agreed. "I've got graduation coming up, and then the bar exam, and becoming a big sister again twice."
"This is going to be a very eventful year for all of us," Kate said.
"In the best possible ways," Martha said, and everyone agreed with her.
A few nights after Alexis and Javier had come over to announce their engagement, Kate was awakened shortly after 2:30 AM by a pain in her belly. Her hands went automatically to the heavy curve of her abdomen. She had experienced more heartburn and indigestion while carrying these twins than she ever had in her life. She took a few deep breaths, and when the pain subsided, she managed to get out of bed and shuffle to the bathroom for some Tums. She brought the bottle of antacids back to bed with her after chewing and swallowing a couple of them.
She would have to watch what she ate, she thought. Today was February 3, the day before the anniversary of her mother's birthday, and tonight, as they did every year as close to February 4 as possible, she and Rick, and the rest of their family, would be putting in appearances at the annual fundraiser for the scholarship in Johanna Beckett's name. Kate had insisted on keeping the tradition this year, though she promised Rick they wouldn't stay for the whole thing, which usually ran three or four hours.
The fundraiser was being held at Q3 this year, which had been Madison's idea. Several of Jim and Johanna's old friends and colleagues, and the usual suspects, as Rick had called them after the second annual fundraiser, including some of Rick's mystery writer friends and other people he knew or knew of who had deep pockets, would be attending. And for the first time this year, they were honoring past recipients of the Johanna Beckett Scholarship, since the first few of them had graduated law school and passed the bar years ago and were practicing law in New York City, dedicating their respective careers to those in the legal system without a voice, the kind of people Johanna Beckett had championed in her career.
Since February 4 fell on a Tuesday this year, they weren't sure what the turnout would be on this Monday night, but Kate was adamant about putting in an appearance and staying at least long enough to see those past recipients who would be honored.
Kate's indigestion came and went all that day. She really didn't think much of it, because while her final appointment with Dr. Elliott a few days ago had revealed that the boys had dropped in preparation for being born, Kate was doing everything right, and there was no reason to think that the boys would come prematurely, and even if they did, their actual due date was less than two weeks away now, so there was no reason to think that Reece and Jake wouldn't be fine and healthy whenever they decided to make their debut.
Rick noticed Kate's indigestion—what she insisted was indigestion—around 9 AM. "Are you sure that's all it is? Indigestion?" he asked.
"I overdid it on the Thai food last night," Kate replied. She then addressed the twins. "Hey, Reece, Jake, you guys hear that? No more Thai food for a while. It's not exactly agreeing with Mommy."
In hindsight, Kate's high pain threshold, and the differences in being pregnant with twins versus being pregnant with one baby three years ago, were what would cause her to misjudge the indigestion for what it actually was: the beginning of her labor.
Rick happily kept Lily occupied while Kate enjoyed a long soak in the tub, and since the fundraiser was black tie, Lily perched on her parents' bed while she watched her mother fix her hair and makeup after putting on her deep burgundy maternity formal gown, the only thing that didn't make her look or feel like she was walking around in a pup tent, even if it was a very nice, very formal pup tent.
Once Rick was, as he put it, "tuxed to the max," he and Kate dropped Lily off at Kevin and Jenny's, where Jenny's parents would be watching Lily, Sarah Grace, and Nick. (Lanie and Alan were attending the fundraiser as well, but Alan's parents were in town for a visit, and had happily agreed to watch Will for them at their place while they were at the fundraiser.)
Kate thought to stick a roll of Tums in her clutch purse, and after thanking the O'Malleys, they headed to Q3, with Kevin and Jenny following them.
Q3 was already packed with the fundraiser's invitation-only guests, and the Castles and the Ryans were among the last arrivals. Javier and Alexis; Victoria and Gerald; Lanie and Alan; Martha and Earl; Jim Beckett; and Madison and Mark were all already inside, along with the past scholarship recipients who would be honored tonight, and most of the other guests as well.
"Nine months pregnant with twins, and you look spectacular," Lanie said by way of greeting. "When I was nine months pregnant with Will, I felt and looked like a beached whale and didn't even want to move."
"Yeah, well, I couldn't miss this," Kate replied. She felt another pain then and bent her head, both her hands resting on her belly.
"Kate, are you okay?" Jenny asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Kate said in between slow, deep breaths. "I've had the worst indigestion today."
"I had horrible heartburn with both Sarah Grace and Nick," Jenny said sympathically.
"Indigestion?" Lanie asked, all of her senses on high alert now.
Rick returned from the bar with a bottle of water for Kate and a Scotch for himself then. "I'm fine," Kate insisted as she took the water bottle from Rick, uncapped it, and drank deeply.
Lanie made an "I'm watching her" sign to Rick, pointing at her eyes, then at Kate, then back at her eyes. Rick nodded, and Jenny, for the first time, looked concerned.
"Katherine, darling, if I were you, I'd sink into a chair and not get up for the rest of the night," Martha said.
"If I did sink into a chair, Martha, I don't think Rick, my dad, Javi and Kevin all four could get me on my feet again without renting a crane," Kate replied. "I'll be fine, really."
"If you'd like Lily to spend the night with Earl and me, or with your father, we'd love to have her," Martha said.
"Absolutely," Jim Beckett agreed, having come over and joined the group when Kate was talking about the men needing heavy equipment to get her on her feet if she sat down tonight.
Victoria and Gerald Gates joined them then, glasses of wine in hand. "Good evening, Kate, good evening, Castle," Victoria said. Gerald echoed her greeting.
Everyone just stared at Victoria and Gerald. "What?" Victoria asked.
"You aren't a little...concerned, sir?" Javier asked.
"Concerned about what, Esposito?" Victoria asked. "Kate knows her own mind. She's here because she wants to be here. I'm sure she and Castle are going home early."
Alexis addressed Martha, Earl, and Jim in an undertone. "I'm kind of worried about Mom. She says it's just indigestion, but...Of course, I've never had a baby."
"Sometimes indigestion is just indigestion," Earl offered.
"And sometimes it's the beginning of labor," Martha said. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Katherine's in labor by the end of the night."
"It'd be wonderful if the boys could hold off for just a few more hours," Jim mused wistfully. "Johanna's birthday is tomorrow. It would really be something if they were born on her birthday."
"You just might get your wish, Jim," Martha replied.
Kate's indigestion finally exposed itself for what it really was when, while she and Rick were standing and chatting with the three scholarship recipients who were now practicing attorneys after they had been introduced to the entire assemblage by the dean of the law school they and Johanna had attended, Marci Stiles, Geoffrey Wainwright; and Suki Takahashi-Burke, Kate was hit with a crippling stab of pain that she knew was not just indigestion, which was followed mere seconds later by her water breaking.
She grabbed Rick's arm with one hand and clutched her belly with her other hand, bending over and biting her lip to keep from crying out.
Geoffrey Wainwright hastily excused himself and practically bolted from the scene, Marci Stiles looked like a deer in the headlights, and Suki Takahashi-Burke visibly paled as Rick anxiously said, "Kate?"
She looked at him, her eyes wide. "My water just broke!" she exclaimed.
Those four words were enough to bring their family scurrying from their various places in the restaurant. Rick looked down and saw the small puddle growing at his and Kate's feet. "This is it," he said. "This is it! Oh my god, we've gotta get to the hospital, we've gotta call Dr. Elliott, and Lily! What about Lily?" Kate's contraction subsided then, and she looked at Rick anxiously.
"We'll take Lily home with us," Kevin piped up then. "She can spend the night at our place if she needs to."
"I just talked to my mom a few minutes ago, and all the kids are sound asleep," Jenny reported. "Don't worry about Lily. We'll take care of her for you."
"Thank you, Jenny, Kevin," Rick said, relieved.
While the Ryans had been assuring the Castles that Lily would be taken care of, Victoria got on the phone and called for a police escort to come to Q3 so that they would be able to get Kate and Rick to New York Presbyterian Hospital—Lower Manhattan as soon as possible.
"We'll go to the loft and get Mom's bag and bring it to the hospital," Alexis volunteered herself and Javier.
"Earl and I will finish things up here for you," Martha said, "and then we'll come to the hospital."
Alan got off the phone then. "My parents said Will's fine, sound asleep, and we'll be able to stay at the hospital for a while, at least."
Jim stepped forward then. "I'll stay in touch with Kevin and Jenny. I'll take Lily back to the loft and stay with her there if she wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to come home, but until then, I'm coming to the hospital with you."
"We're coming too," Madison said, referring to herself and Mark. "My staff can handle cleaning up and closing up without me."
"I know you only had one Scotch, Castle, but between that and the rattled look on your face, I don't think behind the wheel of a car is the best place for you right now," Mark said then.
Rick fished his keys out of his pants pocket. "You're right, Mark. Can you drive, Mark," he said.
"Absolutely," Mark replied, accepting the car keys from Rick.
The sound of sirens and the flash of red and blue lights painted the night then. "I believe that's your escort, Kate, Castle," Victoria said. "All right, let's move, people!" she declared, and the crowd scattered, clearing the way as Kate and Rick led everyone out the front door of Q3.
"We'll be at the hospital as soon as we can!" Martha called after them as Kate and Rick headed for the front door, with Victoria, Gerald, Alexis, Javier, Jim, Kevin, Jenny, Lanie, Alan, Madison, and Mark trailing in their wake.
Mark and Madison took the front seat, with Mark behind the wheel, of Rick and Kate's SUV, and Rick sat in the back seat with Kate. Mark followed the police escort, and everyone else was behind them in a convoy, except Kevin and Jenny, who headed to their own home, and Alexis and Javier, who split off from the convoy to collect Kate's bag from the loft.
"The boys are coming!" Rick exclaimed to Kate.
"What time is it?" Kate asked him.
Rick checked his watch. "10:51," he said, "why? Do you feel another contraction coming? How many minutes has it been?"
"Not yet," Kate replied. She managed a smile, strained by sincere. "I think Reece and Jake are going to be born on my mom's birthday."
"That's right, her birthday's tomorrow," Rick said.
"That would be so amazing," Kate said, her voice holding the same wistful tone Jim's had earlier in the evening when he had been discussing the same possibility with Alexis and Martha.
The rest of a drive was a blur to both Kate and Rick. They held hands, Rick rubbed her back as best he could with the seat belts restraining them, she laid her head on his shoulder on the next contraction as they breathed through it together.
Then Mark screeched the car to a halt outside the Emergency Entrance of New York Presbyterian Hospital—Lower Manhattan behind the police escort, while the rest of their convoy turning into the parking lot to find parking spaces.
Before getting out of the car, Rick and Kate looked at each other. "I love you, Kate," Rick said.
"I love you too, Rick," Kate replied. She leaned in and she and Rick kissed quickly. Kate broke off the kiss when another contraction came, and at the same instant, the back door of the Audi on Kate's side opened and there was an orderly with a wheelchair. Behind the orderly with the wheelchair, Rick saw Jim, Victoria and Gerald, Lanie and Alan, and Madison (Mark was still in the Audi's driver's seat, with the engine idling, waiting to find a parking space) gathered, looking at him and Kate anxiously.
Rick and the orderly helped Kate out of the car after her contraction ended. As soon as Rick and Kate were out of the car, Mark sped off to park the car, sprinting back to join the others who followed Kate and Rick into the hospital, the orderly pushing Kate in the wheelchair, and Rick walking alongside and holding her hand.
"We're having twins," Kate said when they reached the desk inside.
"Name?" the receptionist inquired.
"Kate and Rick Castle," Kate replied. "Our OB is Dr. Elliott."
The receptionist did a double take. "Oh my god, you're Richard Castle! I've read every book you've ever written! And Something Worth Saving...WOW! That is SUCH a departure for you, but it's an AMAZING book!"
"Thank you, I appreciate that, but my wife is in labor and her water has broken, so if you could get us up to Labor and Delivery and find Dr. Elliott, I would appreciate that even more," Rick said.
Alexis and Javier came rushing in then to join the rest of the throng, Alexis carrying Kate's overnight bag. "We're here!" she exclaimed. "We've got your bag, Mom."
"Thanks, Alexis," Kate said. "Why don't you hold onto it for now? I don't need it just yet."
"Okay," Alexis replied.
Dr. Elliott hadn't been at the hospital, and she was the next to arrive in the ER. "Hello, Kate, Rick. You didn't have to wait for me," she said with a joke and a wink. "And black tie formal really wasn't necessary, but I like it. It's not a look I see on my patients often." She laughed warmly, then looked at the crowd gathered around. "All right, family and friends, you may proceed to the Maternity Waiting Room. I'll take it from here, Ernie, thank you," she said, addressing the orderly.
"We'll all be right here," Alexis said. "We love you guys."
"We love all of you too," Rick replied.
"You feel up to driving, Dad?" Dr. Elliott asked Rick, gesturing to the wheelchair.
"Yeah," Rick said, and the others watched as he pushed Kate in her wheelchair onto the elevator, Dr. Elliott holding the elevator doors for them.
Everyone called out wishes of good luck before the elevator doors closed on Kate, Rick, and Dr. Elliott. Kate rested one hand on her belly and the other hand on top of Rick's hand on one of the handles of her wheelchair.
While everyone else waited for the next elevator so they could head upstairs to the Maternity Waiting Room, Jim Beckett checked his watch. 11:27 PM. Another thirty-three minutes, and it would be February 4...Johanna's birthday...and unless things proceeded very quickly upstairs, Reece's birthday and Jake's birthday too. Just 33 more minutes, he thought as he boarded the elevator with everyone else. 33 more minutes, and it'll be your birthday, Johanna, and our grandsons have a good chance of sharing your birthday. I really hope they do share it.
