It was the night before Easter, and absolutely everyone was stirring.
In fact, none of them could sit still.
Beckett twitched slightly, crossing and uncrossing her legs and scuffing the toe of one shoe across the waiting room's shiny floor.
Castle pulled his phone out then put it away, blowing out a huff of air and slumping down in his chair.
Lanie hugged her knees to her chest, a small smile twisting up the corners of her lips.
Esposito tapped his fingertips on the arm of the white plastic chair, a drumming heartbeat in the chemical air.
A general sense of excitement hung around them, a cloud of anticipation. Beckett let her eyes skirt along the seam between the wall and the ceiling, counting the marks on the roof, looking anywhere but at the three people next to her. Seemingly because of the fact that it was about eleven thirty at night and she had drunken a ridiculous amount of chocolate-peppermint flavoured coffee (Castle's idea, not hers) it was all she could do not to let an endless stream of thoughts spill out her mouth.
Then, footsteps echoed down the hallway, and all the fidgeting ceased at once. A collective gasp was drawn as Kevin Ryan's head poked around the corner, a smile stretched across his face. Somehow, Kate thought, even though his eyes were shadowed and stubble dotted his chin, the sheer amount of joy on that man's face made him look as radiant as the sun.
"Is she-"
"Are they-"
"Did you?"
She wasn't sure who said what, but something told her they were all thinking the same thing. Kevin knew what they meant.
"Yeah. Yeah, she is, and they are. If you want- come and-" he trailed off, unable to wipe the grin from his face, and grabbed Esposito by the hand, leading him around the corner. Kate followed suit, curled her fingers around Castle's elbow and Lanie's wrist respectively, bumping her hip against Rick's. Lanie squeezed her hand.
And then they were tripping down a corridor, unsure whether to run or walk, around a corner, linked together like a daisy chain. Three rooms passed, four, five, and then they were stumbling into the sixth doorway on the right, and there she was.
Jenny Ryan, illuminated by white lights, looking absolutely exhausted with tear tracks staining the curves of her cheeks, but the expression on her face rivalled Kevin's. As they circled closer, Kate found the joy spreading, seeping into her skin, into her bones. It was absolutely contagious, and all radiating from the tiny bundle cradled in Jenny's arms.
"Everyone," Kevin murmured, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away from the tiny person who hadn't been alive seventeen minutes ago, "Meet Juliet Elizabeth Ryan."
Beckett found herself gravitating, absolutely in awe of the fact that just hours ago there had been two people in this room, and now there were three. She met Jenny's eyes and ducked her head, slightly taken aback by how much the expression on the woman's face reminded her of a mother. Her mother, to be specific. Maybe there was something about people who had brought a child into the world, some change in their demeanor.
"Hey, Juliet," she whispered, swiping the pad of her thumb over the baby's scrunched up nose. "Hey, baby girl." Juliet stiffened, reached out, and the room sighed collectively as her tiny fist curled around Kate's finger. So small. So fragile, yet so strong.
The soft brush of coarse fabric against her shoulder, and she knew that Castle was standing behind her. It floored her, somehow, thinking that this could be them one day. That this should be them one day. She wondered if his thoughts were straying in the same direction hers were.
"She's so precious." the statement was directed at Jenny, but spoken to the stormy blue eyes of the baby in her arms.
"I know."
"She is." Both Jenny and Kevin spoke at the same time.
Esposito, standing on Kate's right with Lanie just behind him, cradled Juliet's head in the palm of his hand, such a tender expression on the face of a tough man. She thought maybe his eyes were a little mistier than normal, but she wasn't judging. Hers were too.
Beckett pulled her hand away as the baby's eyes squeezed shut, and noted that Jenny's smudged eyelids seemed to be heading the same way.
"I might- we should leave you to it. Get some rest." she announced, her eyes darting in Castle's direction. He nodded, held out his arm for her to take.
"Yes. We'll be in tomorrow; just can't stay away from this beautiful little lady, you see." Castle said. She slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow as they left the room, twisting her head back a little on the way out just to catch that beautiful expression on Ryan's face one more time.
"He's so..." Kate trailed off, knowing he would finish her sentence in his head with words a lot righter than any of hers would have been.
"Yes."
"It's a fairytale," she whispered after a lengthy pause, letting her hand slide down his forearm, over the bumps of his knuckles to link her fingers with his. "It's a fairytale in real life. It's not a happily ever after, but as far as reality goes-"
"-This is as close as anyone can get," he supplied.
"I don't know. Maybe you'll get that with someone and it'll be above and beyond."
"Oh, I don't think that's possible, Detective. I've used up my chances."
She squeezed his hand as they walked into the night, the smoggy sky dusted with stars like strings of fairylights.
"Chances or no chances, Castle, maybe we'll make it."