Ok, this one is pretty short, and I can explain. But nows not the time...I'll explain at the end...pinky swear.

Disclaimer: *insert witty comment about how i DON'T own castle* *insert sad face*

Also bold italics are kate's thoughts.

Ps- If the alignment is still ccenter in any of my next chapters, I apologize and will try to fix it. When I type, I align center because for some strange reason my brain works better that way, but I'll try to keep them to the left for you :)

I woke up on the couch, my head resting on Rick's chest, and his arm wrapped around me, his head on top of mine. I grabbed a pillow and slipped it on his shoulder in place of my head, trying to let him sleep as long as possible. Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was almost midnight, and Alexis and Sophie should be back soon, if they weren't already. As if on cue, the door opened and the girls stepped inside.

"Oh, hey Kate! I didn't know you'd be home tonight...I mean here! Here tonight," she said frantically, trying to cover her slip, because she knew Sophie wasn't supposed to know.

"Hey girls, did you have fun?" I added a wink to Alexis, and she visibly relaxed.

"Yeah the movie was really good," Sophie was beaming, and Alexis cut in.

"I was just going to ask if Sophie could spend the night?"

She looked a little hesitant, like she would rather ask her dad, but she still sounded hopeful. Then she added the trademark Castle "puppy dog" look, and I knew better than to try to argue.

"As long as your dad agrees I don't have a problem...Of course given his current state I'm not so sure..."

"DAD! Wake up!"

She was practically yelling in his ear, shaking his shoulder violently. It took a few more seconds of shaking before he startled awake, his hair doing that adorable thing where it sticks out everywhere.

"Too early. Go away...oh. Hey sweetie! How was your night?"

His voice went from over exhausted to over excited in 0.3 seconds. He really was like a puppy...

"Good. Can Sophie spend the night?"

"Yeah of course. Sophie, did Kate tell you the news?"

"What news?" Alexis and Sophie exclaimed in unison.

Sophie looked excited, but Alexis looked nervous...and a little happy.

"That we- -"

"Will tell you tomorrow, right Castle?"

"Umm...yeah! You girls need to get to bed."

Alexis nodded and silently walked to the kitchen and slowly got three water bottles from the fridge, probably waiting for Sophie to go upstairs. Sophie, however, wouldn't go without a fight.

"Come on Kate! Please just tell me!"

"This is gonna take a while...better switch back to cop mode..."

"No, we will tell you first thing in the morning."

"Well...it IS 12:15...so technically it is morning and you have to tell me now, first thing."

"Oh. Valid argument..."

"You know what I mean."

"The suspense is gonna kill me."

"Not as quickly as sleep deprivation. Now go."

"Good. Stand your ground...don't falter..."

"Fine. Goodnight."

She was obviously irritated, but she would get over it. She walked up the stairs slowly, most likely hoping I would change my mind. I didn't. As soon as she was out of sight, Alexis came back from the kitchen, tossing a water bottle at her dad, who had fallen back asleep. She kept walking to me and handed me a bottle. Then she mumbled something about needing to talk to me, grabbed my elbow and led me toward Rick's office.

"Alexis is everything ok?"

"Kate...um...are you,"

she was practically whispering, anxiety written on her face.

"Am I what?"

"Are you pregnant?"

I choked. Literally. I was choking on the water I was trying to drink three seconds ago. That was...not what I expected to hear from her...I don't know what I expected, I just know that wasn't it. My mind was reeling. I couldn't manage to connect my brain and mouth.

"I-I—um...what?"

"Are you pregnant? You know, expecting? Bun in the oven? With child?"

"She should stop saying words now. Do I look pregnant? I've only gained two pounds...pregnant? I can't even begin to imagine that right now. Wait...I need to tell her that!"

I finally opened my mouth, ready to say "No. We just wanted to tell Sophie we're together. Do I...do I look pregnant?" Alexis looked at me expectantly, anxiously awaiting my answer.

"Yes."

So this was SO not where I originally intended this story to go. I figured that based on the title everyone would assume I was talking about a baby, which i wasn't. Until about 5 minutes ago when I typed this. Apparently my little muse fairies decided they love me again, and this is what they said. It was supposed to end with both Sophie and Alexis going upstairs and then the rest of the chapter, which was actually going to be pretty long. Anyway first i thought "Alexis should assume kates having a baby, and then freak her and Rick out. Then as i was typing it instead of her answer being "No." it became "yes." I dont know why. Honestly, I don't like reading fics about little Castle babies. I think they're too predictable. So why would I write one? I'm still trying to figure that one out too. I guess I thought that it would be late enough in the fic for everyone to assume she ws preggo, thus making it unexpected.

Also, and this will be more evident in the next ch, Kate didn't "know" she was pregnant. She considered the possibility, but dissmissed it. If that makes sense. If youv'e ever seen "I didn't know i was pregnant," you'll know what i mean.

Please review this chapter and let me know if you love or hate the baby idea. If too many people hate it, I'll switch it back to what I originally planned.

Ok, so what im gonna do about the baby thing: CHapter 8 will have baby stuff in it. Chapter 9 will be the same as chapter 8, minus the baby stuff and then I'll leave the baby out of hte rest of the story, and write an epilogue about it. That way, if you wanna read about the baby, you can read the epilogue after you finish the story, and if you're on the "no baby" side of the fence, then forget about the whole baby thing, skip chapter 8, and then read the rest, but not the epilogue. I will make more sense when it's finished, I promise.

(also any baby name suggestions are more than welcome)