A/N: I don't own any of this.

This is the second to last chapter of this one. The last one should be up pretty soon. Thank you again for all the reviews, alerts and favorites. You're the best!

...

Kate Beckett was stuck. This stupid case. They had been at a stand still all morning. She had glanced over at Castle's old chair more than once, wishing he was there with her. Maybe he would have thought of something useful by now. She picked up a file off her desk, flipping through it absently. She felt a strong kick and dropped her hand to her expanding middle.

"Hey baby girl, you hungry?" she murmured softly, receiving another kick. "Me too."

Just as she was thinking it was a good time to take a break she felt someone walk up behind her.

"Detective Beckett..." came a smooth, deep voice. She turned on her heel coming face to face with someone she hadn't seen in years.

"Tom, hi." she said obviously surprised. "I thought you moved to Chicago?" She asked. The file she was holding had conveniently fallen in front of her stomach. Tom Demming was just about the last person she had expected to see.

"Uh, yeah I did. But I missed it here," he said by way of explanation.

"Are you back up in robbery then?" she asked.

"Yup. How are you doing? You look good," he said smiling.

Oh no.

She laughed nervously, setting the file down behind her. His eyes, predictably, traveled the length of her body. They stopped rather abruptly at her sizable bump and then quickly looked at her left hand.

"Thanks, I think you're being a bit generous though," she joked patting her stomach for emphasis.

"Wow," he said still shocked. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"So damn, I guess you've been busy. Is this your first one?"

"Uh no, second. I have a three year old," she said proudly. Demming just continued to nod his head, a little too enthusiastically to be natural.

"Wow, so who's the luck-" Demming started only to be cut off.

"Momma!" Kate turned toward the small voice."Speaking of..." She said smiling as Liam leapt into her arms.

"Hi baby, what are you doing here?" She asked spotting her husband over Demming's shoulder. He was looking at the back of Tom's head like he could already tell who it was. He looked annoyed.

"Daddy and I wanna take you to lunch," he said quietly just now noticing Tom.

"Liam this is Detective Demming, can you say hi?"

"Hi..." Liam whispered as he burrowed further into Kate's arms.

"Hey-"

"Dude, you can't be jumping on your momma like that." Castle admonished, slipping past Demming without so much as a glance.

"Sorry," Liam said hanging his head.

"It's OK baby, we just don't want your sister to get hurt," Kate explained softly to the boy. He nodded. They had explained why she couldn't lift him anymore but he sometimes got excited and forgot. It broke Kate's heart every time he reached up to her.

Rick leaned in brushing his lips with his wife's.

"Hi," he whispered. She smiled at him, then narrowed her eyes as if to say be nice.

"Hi. Babe," she said bumping his hip. "You remember Demming, right?" Castle plastered a smile on his face and turned toward the man.

"Of course, how are you doing?" He asked reaching out to shake the man's had.

"I'm good, just moved back." Tom explained. "Well, anyways...I just wanted to say hi. I'll see you around." Demming smiled and then awkwardly made his exit.

"Yeah, see ya." Kate called after him before turning back to Rick. Her husband looked somewhere between amused and smug. She just shook her head at him.

"Are you going to feed me or what? Baby's hungry."

"Is she now?" Castle said rubbing a palm across his wife's abdomen. Kate decided that she didn't want to wait to find out the sex this time around. So at her 21 week appointment the doctor confirmed Castle's suspicions that it was indeed a girl. The look on Rick's face was priceless, like he almost couldn't believe he was right. Again. And Kate was thrilled. She couldn't wait to spoil a little girl.

"Yes, so let's go," she said as she tried setting Liam down. She smiled when he tightened his grip on her.

"Who was that guy?" Liam asked as they waited for the ancient elevator to arrive. Castle glanced at Kate with a smirk.

"He's an old friend of mine baby," she explained eliciting a scoff from Rick.

"Friend? He's your mom's ex-boyfriend." Liam's face skewed in disgust.

"Ewww."

"Yeah, tell me about it," muttered Rick. Kate narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh get over it," Kate sighed. But from the look on her husband's face he wasn't going to drop it.

"Can you believe your mom chose him over me?" He asked Liam, who looked at his mom and shook his head. Kate rolled her eyes and smacked Castle's shoulder.

"I did not."

"I asked you to go to the Hamptons with me and you went on vacation with him instead!" Kate's eyes dropped guiltily without her permission. She winced knowing that Rick could read her better than anybody. Luckily the elevator arrived, breaking the tension momentarily. After letting Liam press the lobby button Kate chanced a glance at Rick. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously but he didn't say anything. The elevator seemed to be taking its damned time. Was it always this slow?

Even after all this time Rick still didn't know that Kate broke up with Demming before he left for the Hamptons. She wasn't trying to hide things from him. But she knew he would be really upset by it. And it hardly mattered anymore. It was in the past, water under the bridge. But, damnit he was still staring at her, waiting for her to crack. She finally sighed in defeat and turned to him adjusting Liam on her hip.

"I never went with him, we broke up before you left," she stated casually. The silence that followed was deafening. The doors finally opened onto the main floor of the precinct. She exited the cart leaving a stunned Castle in her wake. When they reached the doors Liam started to wiggle and Kate gladly set him on his feet. She looked back and found Castle, still looking dazed, making his way toward her. He looked heartbroken. Damnit. That was not at all her intention.

"Kate..." he choked out. She reached out for him, pulling him to her by his shirt.

"Later," she said nodding toward Liam who was wrapped around her leg looking nervously between his parents. The kid was smart and very perceptive. There was no fooling him. So Kate pleaded with her eyes for Castle to leave it alone. For now. He held her gaze for a minute then gave her a single nod. She pulled him down to her and kissed him hard on the mouth.

...

He was waiting for her when she got home. It was late. They had finally made some headway on the case after lunch and made an arrest just a few hours ago. She stayed to finish up her paperwork so she could take tomorrow off. Kate was trying to be quiet as she slipped out of her shoes and lightly closed the door behind her. He was sitting at the kitchen counter with a glass of wine, staring off into space. She could kick herself. Or maybe Demming. This is why she never told him.

"Hey," she said quietly as slowly approached him. She drapped an arm over his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Is Liam down for the night?" He nodded, still not really looking at her. She sighed and pulled herself up onto the stool next to his. "Rick," she pleaded gripping his forearm. He turned slowly toward her. He looked miserable.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice cracked slightly.

"Because it doesn't matter," she said simply. Castle looked like she had just slapped him across the face.

"Of course it matters! I-We could have-" he was flustered and couldn't seem to find the words.

"We could have what? I love you. I married you. We have a son. I'm pregnant. I think it all turned out just fine," she said softly. He looked at her for a long moment.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I left. I-" he tried apologizing, but she didn't want to hear it. She cut him off with a kiss. It was the easiest way to shut Rick Castle up. She took his hand and pressed it to her stomach where their daughter was currently throwing a fit of her own. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"It doesn't matter Castle. We're here now," she promised him. He finally nodded his agreement, taking a sip of his wine.

"Did you see the look on Demming's face when I walked up? That felt pretty good," he sighed happily. Kate slapped his chest lightly. "So, wife. Anything else you haven't told me?" He asked jokingly.

"Remember that one time in L.A.?" She paused and waited for his confirmation. After his gave her a nod, she leaned in and gave him a very thorough kiss. She broke way too soon only to line her mouth up with his ear. "I came back out of my room," she whispered seductively as she slid past him and toward their bedroom. It took him a moment to gather exactly what she meant by that. She was halfway to her destination when she heard a loud groan.

"Seriously? Kate..." he whined. She chuckled at his pouting. He was too easy. "You are killing me."

"Again Castle, what's the difference?" She asked as he quickly walked toward her. He captured her lips in a hot kiss. So hot that she forgot what they were even talking about.

"The difference," he said a bit breathless. "Is you could be cooking kid number three right now," he said holding their girl between his hands. Kate laughed hard.

"Not happening Castle," she replied.

"We'll see about that baby," he teased pushing her back into their room. "Like I said we are really good at making babies without trying."