On the day they returned to New York, Kate and Rick had an appointment at the doctor's to get Kate checked up, make sure everything was right. In the waiting room, Kate was starting to lose her patience. She wanted to know that everything was going to be ok, that her baby was healthy and developing properly. She was going to go crazy if the doctor didn't show up in the next few minutes. Thankfully, she was called soon after, much to Rick's relief.

After half an hour in the doctor's office, Kate and Rick left the hospital with huge smiles on their faces. Their baby was perfectly fine, Kate was perfectly fine … everything was perfect! Kate couldn't seem to be able to look at anything but the ultrasound picture the doctor had given them before they left. She had looked so happy when she had seen their child on the screen that Rick wanted to cry. He was part of why she was so happy and … it made him more than happy.

"Can we tell the boys at dinner on Friday?" Kate asked, still looking at the picture.

"Sure. It will be the good occasion to give such good news." Rick said, kissing her on the cheek. "We should tell Alexis tonight, now that we're sure everything is fine. She was worried about you last night when you couldn't stop throwing up."

"Yeah, we'll tell her tonight. Do you think she'll be happy about it?" Kate asked, suddenly worried that it was going to be a problem.

"She'll be fine Kate. You remember that time when we were in the Hamptons and she asked if we were going to have a baby? She seemed happy about the idea. And when we went to the mall to take a picture with Santa, I'm pretty sure I heard her ask for a brother or sister."

"You're just making that up, Rick." Kate laughed.

"No, I swear it's true. I didn't really think about it until now." Rick said.

"Well, let's go home, I want to take a nap." Kate said, yawning as they reached the car.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Since Kate was working on New Year's Eve along with Javier and Kevin, the group of friends decided to celebrate the new year on the Friday night when everybody was free and had the following weekend off.

Kate was feeling much better since the doctor had given her vitamins. She was less tired and the nausea was gradually getting better. She was ready to party with her friends and family that night. Rick had said he would take care of the dinner but Kate had managed to leave the precinct quite early so that she could help him.

When she entered the loft, she was greeted by Alexis who ran to her.

"Hey Mommy, we're playing dress up with Jim, come look." Alexis said, pulling her by the hand to the living room.

Kate stopped when she saw her father. He had a tiara on his head, a fairy wand in his hand and he had a pink sheet draped around him. She saw at his face that he didn't want any comments so she just told Alexis she needed to go to the bathroom and went to her room. The door was hardly shut that her laugh echoed in the whole apartment. When she calmed down, she got back out, her teary eyes betraying her laughing.

"You're so cute Princess Daddy." she said, kissing his cheek and running away before he could hit her with his wand.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Around 9, all the guests were at the loft: Kevin, Lanie, Javier, Martha and of course Jim, Rick, Kate and Alexis. They were having drinks before eating when Kate decided it was time to tell the boys. She didn't know how to launch the subject but Javier provided her with the perfect opening.

"Hey girl, lose the juice and take a drink, it's a New Year celebration!"

"I'm fine Javi. I prefer juice." Kate said, smiling.

"You can't prefer juice to that wonderful punch your man made! It's absolutely delicious." he said, handing her a glass.

"Really, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna lose alcohol for a while."

"I get it, you want to stick together with your dad and it's sweet but come on! Jim!" he called. "Tell your daughter she can drink at least a glass."

"I'm not sure. I'd rather not."

"What is it with you Becketts tonight? Hey Sweetie, do you know why Kate doesn't want to drink?" Javier asked Alexis.

The little girl looked at Kate with question in her eyes. Kate nodded and Alexis jumped and smiled.

"Its because she has a baby in her tummy!" she said really proudly before hugging Kate's side.

The room went silent for a minute, Javier and Kevin looking incredulously at her, all the others looking at their reaction. Kate was about to tell something when she found herself engulfed in Javier's arms. Apparently, he was happy for her, for them.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Once they had finished eating, they all moved back to the living room while Kate went in the kitchen to prepare coffee for everyone and hot cocoa for Alexis and herself. As she was waiting for the coffee to brew, she sat on the counter and looked at everyone in the living room. They were all talking and laughing together. This was he family now and she couldn't be happier. Thinking about the year that had just ended, she realized how much had changed for her and everyone in her new family was part of that change.

First, there was Javier. He had been part of her life for quite some time now. He was a very good friend to her, she often thought about him as the older brother she never had. He had seemed so moved when he knew she was pregnant, she really didn't expect such a reaction from him. He was always playing tough guy but he was really a sweet guy. He looked after her when they were on the job. He made sure to remind Rick that he would kill him if he hurt hurt every change he got … He was the first one to give her a feeling of family after her mother died.

Then, there was Kevin. He arrived in their little family later than the others but he easily found his place as the sweet guy who could give comfort no matter what the occasion was. He knew how much Rick and Alexis were important to her and he made sure that she could leave earlier to get back to them when it was possible. Even if it meant that he would do part of her paperwork. He was more like the little brother she never had. He was always sweet and ready to help. He had baby sat Alexis several times when Rick and Kate had gone out on a date. He was really good with Alexis and she absolutely adored him.

Lanie had gone from the annoying nurse who had forced her to go home with a stranger to one of the closest friends she had ever had. She was really good at girl talk and help Kate voice what she really wanted. Behind her shell, Lanie had also proved to be a lot like Kate and she knew she could trust her. If Lanie hadn't been there when she fainted in front of the hospital, a lot of things would have been different – a story that Lanie liked to remind her when Kate was complaining about her being to nosy in her questions about Rick.

Alexis. She had changed everything in her life. She had made her feel so loved and so special. She was starting to call her mommy sometimes. She was not doing it on purpose at first but when Rick and Kate told her about the baby, she asked Kate directly, arguing that the new baby was going to call her mommy and that she would like to do too. When she was with Alexis, Kate felt like she was in contact with her mother somehow. And she understood why her parents had gone completely crazy some times with her because one thing was certain, she was not an angel like Alexis at her age!

Martha was little by little becoming a mother figure for Kate. She was not replacing Johanna, far from it. No one ever could replace her anyway. But she gave good advice, no matter what the subject was. Kate knew that she could rely on her and she was an endless source of information on Richard Castle.

Her father had also changed a lot in this year. He had gone from depressed alcoholic to being cured. He was still having a hard time accepting the death of his wife and that was made worse by the thought of having betrayed her trust by drinking his problems away. He felt like he had failed his wife regarding their daughter. But everything was slowly getting better for him. With help from doctors and psychiatrists, he was slowly but surely going back to his old self. He was close to Kate once again and he had promised to call her if anything went wrong and he felt the need to drink again. He wanted to turn this page of his life and be a good part of his daughter's life.

And of course, there was Rick. He had changed so much in her life in such a short period of time that Kate had trouble identifying them. It was a whole. He had made her move on with her life. He had loved her no matter what her story was. He had trusted her with his daughter from the very beginning of their relationship. He had made her smile again. He had made her believe in life and love again. Kate had never felt so loved before she met him. Of course, she had had other serious boyfriends but none of them felt really right. Richard Castle was right for her and she knew it. And nothing could change that. When she was in his arms, she was at home. He made her feel safe, loved, beautiful, worthy … She wouldn't be where she was if it wasn't for him. She owed him a lot more than both of them realized. And soon she would be his wife, and the mother of his child. She still couldn't believe it. With their love for each other, they had created a human being. From scratch. They had created a new life!

Kate was pulled out of her thought by the timer of the coffee machine going off. She gathered the mugs and the coffee pot on a tray and walked to the living room.

To the people who had given her life he new meaning.

To the people who had offered her a new start.

So, what did you think of the ending?

I really wanted to thank you all for reading this story, it means the world to me to know that you liked it! You made it better with your suggestions and really nice reviews that kept me going!

THANKS AGAIN !