"Does this mean…?" He looks at Kate and can see the tears welling in her eyes. She nods her head, and he pulls her to him, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. Without putting much distance between them, Rick whispers, "I love you, Kate."

"I love you, too, Rick."

She feels him place his right hand lightly on her stomach as he says, "I love you, too, Little One. Always."

Tuesday, November, 17, 2015.

Kate is sitting at her desk at the 12th precinct, lost in thought.

"Penny for your thoughts, Chica?" She almost doesn't hear Esposito and does miss the look he gives Ryan.

"What?"

"You've just been staring at that chair for the last 15 minutes. Thought you might wanna talk."

Kate's eyes focus on the chair—Castle's empty chair—she really wishes he was with her today. Then, she looks at Esposito. "I'm fine, Javi. Really. Just trying to figure out who could have wanted our vic dead."

Esposito drops the subject and returns to his desk. He knows there is more to Kate's story than she is letting on but doesn't want to push her too far. He wants her to be in a good mood when Castle's plan goes into action later.

At noon, they still have no viable leads, and it is Esposito's turn to go on a food run. "I'll be back."

A short time later, Ryan gets a text from Esposito. We good?

Yeah..B at desk. looking at murder board.

keep her busy and out of break room

K

Ryan approaches Beckett and stands on her left, opposite the break room. "Any ideas?"

Beckett looks at Ryan, processing what he asked her. "No. I can't figure out why anyone would want this guy dead. He didn't have any enemies."

Ryan looks up and sees Esposito wheeling Castle into the break room, followed by Lanie. Esposito leaves the room and gives Ryan a thumbs up. As Ryan returns to his desk, Esposito rounds the corner and calls to Ryan and Beckett. "Food's here. It'll be in the break room."

"Thanks, Espo. Be right there," Beckett calls.

Ryan makes his way over to the break room first, and Beckett enters the room soon after. "Hey, Lanie. Nothing new in the morgue?"

"Nah. I just had to take a break. Figured I'd have lunch with you guys today. Oh! Someone asked me to give you this." She hands Beckett a folded up piece of paper.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. I'm just the delivery girl."

Kate unfolds the paper and finds a curious note scrawled on it.

My Darling Kate,

Happy Birthday! I'm so glad that I was able to spend it with you. I can't wait until you see your present.

Love,

Rick

"Lanie, where did you get this?"

"I gave it to her." Rick rolls his chair out from behind the soda machine, and Kate's breath catches in her throat. She didn't expect to see him at the precinct today.

"Castle?! What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let you spend your birthday at work without me again."

Kate walks to her husband and plants a kiss on his lips. "Thank you. I love my present."

"That's not your present. Just wait. Lanie. Espo. A little help? Kate, go stand by the coffee machine." Kate looks at him suspiciously. "Please?"

Kate doesn't say anything, but moves to the other side of the room. She watches Javi and Lanie help Rick out of his chair. They stay close, but aren't holding him. Ryan follows with the chair, just in case. Rick moves one foot forward, followed by the other one. For the first time in a year, Rick is walking towards his wife—without a walker, without crutches, and without a cane. It's just him.

A tear escapes from Kate's eyes as she watches her husband. He reaches her side, and she places her hands on the side of his face, carefully stretching up to press a kiss to his lips. He takes a hand and wipes the tears from her face. "Happy Birthday, Kate."

"I love you, Rick."

"Always."

Ryan steadies the wheelchair as Lanie and Esposito help Rick sit back down. He still can't walk very far without being exhausted, but he has come so far from where he was a year ago. Kate looks at Rick with tears still in her eyes and presses another kiss to his lips. Before she stands up, she whispers in his ear, "I told Gates this morning. Let's tell them."

As Kate straightens up Rick looks at her as if to make sure she is ready. She nods and says, "Guys? I actually have a surprise for you all, too."

"Girl, no, it's your birthday, not ours."

"I know, Lanie, but this is kind of for me, too."

"If your about to tell us you've got another job in D.C. or wherever, just save it. You're not leaving again."

"It's not that…can I just tell you what it is?" Kate understands where her friends are coming from, but she just wants to tell them her good news.

Ryan, Espo, and Lanie just look at their friend, clearly understanding that she is getting frustrated.

"Okay, I take that as a yes. First of all, no, I don't have another job. Second of all, I will be taking some time off, but not for a while yet." Kate looks at Rick, then, Lanie and Ryan but settles her eyes on Esposito as she says, "I'm pregnant."

Lanie screams loud enough that Captain Gates hurries to the break room from her office. "Sorry Captain, I just told them about the baby."

"Ah, yes, congratulations, again, Detective Beckett, and congratulations, Mr. Castle."

"Thank you, Captain."

Lanie has tears streaming down her cheeks, and she hurries over to hug her best friend. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Lanie." By now, Kate is crying, too. Lanie releases her best friend, so she can hug Castle, and Ryan and Esposito congratulate Kate. The boys, then, move to congratulate Castle, and Lanie starts asking questions.

"How long have you known? When are you due? Are you gonna find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Whoa, Lanie. Slow down—one question at a time. We found out about two months ago. I'm due in May, and we haven't decided if we're going to find out the sex of the baby. We'll see as it gets closer. It'll be at least another month before we can find out."

"Have you heard the heartbeat yet?"

"Yeah, it was…amazing…magical, almost." Kate's eyes well up with tears again, and her friend pulls her into another hug.

In this moment and for the first time in a year, Kate knows that everything is truly going to be ok. Her husband is going to walk—on his own—again, and they are having a baby. She can't wait to see what else the future holds.

A/N: This is the last full-length chapter. There is an epilogue, however, that will be uploaded next week. :)