Then they got a visit from their new social worker. Castle looked at her and asked, "What did we do wrong this time? How did you know he was in the hospital?"

Smiling at them, she said, "Since Benny is still a foster child the hospital had to contact me. I need to talk to you. To both of you."

Castle could tell by the tone of her voice that this was a conversation that the woman wasn't looking forward to having with them. Clearing her throat, the woman continued, "It seems as though Benny has been diagnosed with a very serious medical condition. Epilepsy. While not life threatening, it can cause many developmental delays and other issues."

Looking at her, Castle asked, "And your point is?"

"There's no easy way to ask this or to say it."

Closing her eyes, Kate knew that this was it. This was the moment she had been dreading since they had decided to adopt Benny. They were going to take him away from them. She wondered if they thought that she and Castle had done something to cause his condition. So, she told the woman boldly, "We didn't cause this. Doctor Wheless said that he was most like born with this condition."

Nodding, the social worker looked at them and continued, "I know that. I do. I'm just wondering if..."

Castle interrupted her and asked, "What are you wondering? I wish you would get to the point and tell us what the purpose of your visit is."

Nodding, she told them, "The state of New York is prepared to take him from you. We know that when you first requested and submitted your application to adopt him you thought you were adopting a normal, healthy baby. We understand if you want to withdraw your application. I brought the termination of adoption paperwork with me and..."

Kate didn't need to think about this. Shaking her head, she told the woman, "No. Absolutely not."

"No?"

"No. Benny is our son. No matter what. We love him and his diagnosis doesn't change that. We would never give him up. He's part of our family and we couldn't love him any more than if he was our birth son."

"His medical bills will continue to rise and it won't be easy..."

Castle told her confidently, "We are well aware of that. We have the resources to take care of him. He is our son and that's all that matters. We won't deny him a chance of a loving family simply because it's going to be expensive or inconvenient."

Nodding, Beckett told Ms. Fisher, "Exactly. We are both on the same page. Nothing is going to change the way we feel about him. We all love him. You can try to change our minds, but we won't. Epilepsy isn't a death sentence. Millions of people have it and live completely normal lives."

"And some children do very poorly in school and they have to be placed in special education classes their entire life. I just want to make sure that you know what you are getting yourselves into if you do ahead with Benny's adoption."

Kate looked at the woman and shook her head, "It sounds like you are trying to talk us out of adopting him. Is there something that you aren't telling us Ms. Fisher? Some reason why we shouldn't adopt him and make him part of our family."

The social worker sighed and told them, "The outlook for most children with epilepsy is very bleak. In addition to the learning disabilities, most children have behavioral disabilities as well."

Shaking his head, Castle told her, "We know all about these kind of things. We are confident that we can handle this. We have always been up for any challenge.

Ms. Fisher looked at Castle and Beckett and she could see that they were determined to raise Benny together. They had presented a united front and weren't about to let her keep them from what they wanted. And it was apparent to her that they wanted to adopt and make Benny a part of their household. She finally nodded and asked, "So, you are still wanting to adopt him?"

Beckett laughed, "Yes. That hasn't changed."

Ms. Fisher smiled and nodded, "Okay. I'm truly sorry if I upset you. It's just that in our experience a lot of perspective adoptive parents decide to pull out once they learn the child they wanted to adopt has a serious medical condition."

"We understand that, but just understand that my wife and I are in this for life. I could no more give up Benny than I could give up my daughter Alexis. He became a part of our family the day we found him and he always will be."

Looking at Castle, Beckett nodded and told the woman, "Always."

"That's good to know. I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that Benny has found such a wonderful home. With wonderful parents like you and Mister Castle."

Beckett turned to the social worker and smiled as she told her, "I'm not sure why the people you've worked with in the past backed out, but rest assured, we are going forward with Benny's adoption. Everyone in our lives is so in love with him. My father. His mother. His daughter. I would no sooner give Benny up that I would give up this baby growing inside of me."

"You're pregnant?"

Nodding, Beckett put her hand on her stomach and told her, "I'm almost five months pregnant."

"Congratulations. Well, my work here is done for now. Thank you. It's good to know that Benny has such a loving family. You are both truly remarkable."

Castle and Beckett watched as the woman walked out of the room and they wondered how anyone could give up a child that they had grown to love simply because they got sick. How could you simply abandon a child when it doesn't meet your expectations of normal?

Standing up, Beckett turned to Castle and hugged him tightly. She laid her head on his chest and whispered, "I can't believe that she thought we would want to give him back. Give him to a family that might or might not love him. What kind of person could..."

Castle honestly didn't know. What he did know was that Benny was a part of their family now and he would stay with them forever and nothing would ever change that. Nothing.

Benny was released from the hospital two days later and the medicines seemed to be helping him. He hadn't had another seizure and the hospital staff was quite happy with his progress. The hospital staff loved the entire family and were sad to see them go. The nurses gave him lots of hugs and kisses. Something that Benny ate up. The little boy was just like Castle. He was an attention hog and never failed to soak up the love and attention.

They took him home and smiled when they realized that their entire family was there waiting for him. Waiting to welcome him home. They didn't get much sleep that night, but it was definitely worth it.

She woke up early that morning and smiled as she looked in the mirror. She whispered to their unborn baby, "Good morning my little guppy."

Running her hand over her stomach she smiled at the ever growing baby bump. She loved the changes in her body. Loved watching her body grow and change. She smiled when she felt a tiny flutter.

She walked into the bedroom and sat down next to her husband. She kissed him softly and whispered, "I wish you could feel our guppy moving. It's incredible Castle."

"Mmmhmm... Wish I could feel it to... Want breakfast?"

Leaning down she whispered, "Yes, but I want to take a shower first."

Castle stretched and nodded as he brought her down for another kiss, "Love you..."

"Love you more."

"Not possible."

She smiled and hurried back into the bathroom. Smiling the entire way.

Thoughts?