Disclaimer: This is written with characters borrowed from the TV show Castle, enjoy.

A/N: In this chapter italics is not inner monologue, it's the video.

Fair warning, this chapter is about twice as long as most of my chapters.


With everything planned by Alexis, Kate and Rick only had to show up, in the requested outfits. Alexis had been very thorough in keeping the plans under wraps, so much so that she moved into Kates old apartment for the duration. Claiming that she didn't
/trust her father to not go snooping for clues.

"She has a point, babe." Kate said laughing, "you don't really inspire confidence in your self-control." She said gesturing to his computer screen that had a webpage for baby clothes with themes. "Were you really thinking of getting Christopher the Firefly
/captains outfit to match yours?"

"Well, yes, I think Toby would look so cool as Malcolm Reynolds. Hey, what about Malcolm or Reynold?" Rick said before adding, "you know what, no, I don't want to give him an old man's name."

"Well, I think it's fine that Noah, doesn't have a name yet. As long as we can decide before he turns two, it's fine," Kate was still laughing at her husband. "How long before we have to be ready?"

"Alexis said she would pick us up at …" Glancing at his watch, Rick looked a little nervous, "whoops, she'll be here in about ten."

"Ten minutes is fine, we can do that," Kate said as she stood up, all she had to do was put on her shoes and touch up her makeup.

Rick just shook his head, "seven, six, five, four … damn it so close," Rick cursed just as the front door swung open and in walked Alexis, calm and the epitome of sophistication in her stunning black and white striped dress and her hair in a cheek high
/ponytail.

"Hey, are you guys ready?" Alexis asked, as she shut the door behind her.

"Hey honey, we need like 10 more minutes if that's ok," Kate said as she walked towards the master bedroom.

"Yeah, that's fine," Alexis chuckled, "you are the guests of honor, so the show won't start without you."

"Well, that's true. There really isn't a party until I show up," Rick joked. "So where are we headed?"

"Nope, that's not going to work. You will just have to wait until we get there, just like Kate." Alexis said with a mock stern voice.

"Well, then it's a good thing that I'm ready to get going," Kate said as she walked over to the kitchen to grab her phone. "Babe, can you grab the keys? And bring your wallet." Kate kissed Ricks cheek as she moved passed him and to the front door.

"Yes, dear," Rick smiled at his wife and went to grab his jacket and opened the door for his two favorite ladies.

When they were in the elevator going down, Kate looked at Alexis properly for the first time today. "Wow, Alexis, you look gorgeous." Kate ran her hand down the girls' arm, gently squeezing her hand for a few seconds before dropping it.

"Oh, thanks," Alexis blushed a little bit, obviously not entirely used to the motherly affection she was now getting almost constantly from Kate.

oOoOoOo

When they pulled up in front of Remy's, Alexis just smiled and got out of the car.

"So I decided that the best place to do this with so few people in attendance, would be the family's go to diner." Alexis gestured for them to follow. "I talked to the owners, and they know us from all the times we have come here or gotten food to go
/from here, so it was easy to talk them into allowing me to do this."

"It's the best idea ever!" Rick sounded so excited. "So can we go inside now? I want to see what you did, how this is going to work."

Kate and Alexis just looked at each other and giggled, it's like they had an oversized kid in a candy store.

Grabbing Kate's hand, Alexis led them inside and gave everyone a little wave. All the friends and family they had invited was already there, looking so excited.

Ryan walked over with arms open for a hug, "Hey Castles, nice shindig you've got going."

Rick chuckled and said. "you think this party is good now, just wait five minutes and prepare to be amazed. My daughter is a very good party planner it seems and she is very excited about this so she put extra thought into everything, by the looks of
/it."

"Yeah, everything looks great. Alexis you did a great job, this is so much better than anything I would have come up with." Kate was looking around in awe. There were decorations of gender neutral colors as well as some in pink and blue, just to throw
/people off.

There was a buffet of all of their favorites from Remy's and then some cakes and other deserts. There were some funny looking gender guessing games and in one corner there was a big TV that was not usually there, it was located so as to be in a good spot
/for everyone to see, no matter where they were sitting.

"So shall we begin?" Alexis said in a tone that reminded Kate a little bit too much of Rick.

"Sure, sweetie," Kate nudged her playfully, "let's get this show on the road."

When everyone had picked a gender specific item from the games table, displaying it so it was obvious what everyone was guessing. Soon Alexis was telling everyone to grab some food and beverages. "Because in ten minutes I will be starting the first phase
/of Operation: Gender Reveal."

With sounds of excitement coming from the small crowd, Alexis moved over to the TV and started setting up the video that she had, had Rick and Kate film sections for.

"So, this is a video that I shot and it's just a little bit longer than I wanted it to be originally, when the idea came to me, however it is also way shorter than I wanted it to be after all the gems I didn't see coming came along. So without further
/ado, this is for the Mom and Dad to be," she put a hand to the side of her mouth and stage whispered comically, "again." Before winking in the direction of Rick and Kate, "enjoy." Everyone laughed, but as soon as the video started it quieted down
/and they were engrossed in it.

"The first time I knew I was in love with Kate Beckett? That's a tough question, because I was always so intrigued by her. I was so excited about spending time with her that nothing else registered for a while, it wasn't until I started getting insanely jealous," Rick chuckled, "that I knew I was in trouble."

"I knew I was in love with your dad for a long time, I just couldn't admit it to anyone, not even myself. If you ask Lanie she will tell you that, she will tell you that …" Kate tried to stop herself from laughing. "that I was being stubborn and stupid and that I should have been honest with myself form the start."

Kate and Rick both laughed when there was a clear "mhmm" from the table next to them.

Still laughing Kate continued. "She even told me to go out with Rick to have fun and I quote 'get my freak on with writer boy'shortly after we started working together."

Alexis was now on camera, "the first time I met Kate, she was arresting my dad. He of course loved it, having gotten himself in trouble a few times before and easily getting away with it. He has always had enough charm and, well, sometimes, money to get himself out of most situations." Giving the camera a pointed glare she continued, "he had no such luck for the first few months with Kate, she saw right past his facade and never let him get away with anything other than the right thing and following her rules, for the most part at least."

"Rick was nothing but a pain in my ass the first year or so, for some reason he knew all the buttons to push for me to either want to spill my guts or kick him in his."

At that statement Rick took Kate's hand and kissed it.

"Kate is the most amazing mystery to try and solve, she surprises me at every turn. When I think I have her figured out, she throws me for a loop and I'm right back at square one. Well, not square one, maybe more like square twenty-one, out of like a full board of snakes and ladders." Rick looked as if he was deep in thought, he then stood up and when he sat back down he had a snakes and ladders board. "This is such a fair representation of how my getting to know Kate has gone. See this? This is how hard I had to work to get her to see that I'm her one and done. I will sometimes make strides and go from square six to square 27, but then I will falter and go from square 47 to square 19 in a second, when I learn some vital information about her. Something I had no Idea she was hiding, or sometimes she wasn't even hiding, but was yet to be revealed. Like the sex of our baby." Rick smirked, like a full on in your face, I-know-something-you-don't-know smirk.

Kate leaned over to whisper in Rick's ear, "I knew before you did." She then leaned back in her chair with a grin. Rick looked over at her and just shook his head.

"First thought about finding out I was pregnant," Kate thought about it for a while before she spoke up. "I think my first thought was, shit is this really happening. We didn't really plan for this, it was a happy surprise, but a surprise none the less. I think shocked is all I could focus on for the first few days. I had planned on telling Rick straight away, so I called him, even though we had fought the night before. Asked him to meet me at a place that is dear to my heart for a number of reasons, but since that day the main reason is because it was there, that Rick proposed." Kate looked at her wedding ring, turning it around her left ring finger. "I had planned on surprising Rick with the shock of a lifetime, but of course, being Rick, he had to outdo me."

"When Kate told us she was pregnant, well you were there. There are only a handful of moments in my life that have had that impact on me. When I found out about you, when Kate said yes, when Kate said 'I do', when I had my first bestseller, and now when I found out about your little …" Rick was speaking with such heart wrenching honesty that he was a little startled when he was interrupted.

"Dad, it's not time for that information to be divulged yet." Alexis chided him.

"Sorry, pumpkin," Rick just gave a light chuckle.

"All I can say is, I was genuinely over the moon. It was the best news I'd heard in like 3 days, right?" Rick looked from the camera to Alexis with a questioning look, "it was like 3 days from the engagement to the announcement, right? Damn it, Kate's going to kill me. She carries a gun you know."

Kate heard everyone at the diner laugh, even the staff. She just took Ricks hand and gave it a light, loving squeeze. Letting him know that his fumble was fine. But she would have to mock him mercilessly later, he was so unsure, that she was positive
/that she could tell him anything and he would believe it.

"Well, when Katherine and Richard announced that I was to become a grandmother again, well, I was just thrilled. I was honestly just thrilled. Richard is such a wonderful father to you already, and even if she will deny it or try and change the subject, or any other deflective measures. Kate has been a wonderful role model for you and even a fair bit mothering." Martha wiped a stray tear away as she continued. "Having lost her mother so young, I felt for the girl. She has so much love to give that sometimes, I'm afraid that she tries to close her heart to save it. Richard has done so well in guarding it for her, so that she can keep it open for the world to see."

Kate looked over at Martha, both women had tears streaming down their faces. All Kate could do in recognition of this woman's love was to smile. Kate suddenly noticed her best friend wiping furiously at her cheeks, trying to ease the flow of tears.

"Thanks to Ricky, my Katie has been happy for the longest consecutive time since her mother died. There is no way for me as a father to thank him for being the husband she deserves, and then to add the joy of giving me grandchildren. I feel blessed that I can tell everyone that this is my family. That I have this beautiful daughter, who is happy. That when she got married, I gained a son and am now so excited to know that I am a grandfather too. I just want you to know sweetheart that if it's all right with you, then I'd be honored, that I would pride myself in the fact that I have this smart, talented, creative, thoughtful granddaughter to brag about to my friends."

There was movement on camera as Jim reached to take Alexis' hand, and gave her a genuine smile.

"When I started this video, the idea was to gage at the excitement level of those who knew the sex of the baby. It was supposed to be this overly cute, somewhat fluffy video of everyone laughing and smiling." Alexis was obviously emotional as she continued, "what I didn't realize in the beginning is that this is a video that shows how much all of us love each other, that with the trepidation that sometimes comes with adding a new member to the family was just not really there. This little kid that's going to be here in about four months is already so loved, so cherished that there is no reason but to smile and laugh and try and find the right name. Because dad," Alexis glared at the camera.

Just then there was a bit of a commotion, as a water balloon was thrown at Ricks chest, exploding, drenching Ricks shirt in water with blue dye and spilling over to Kates dress as she was leaning into him as they watched the video.

"What the …" Rick gasped as the cold water shocked him. "Really Alexis!"

"Shh, I want to hear what she says next." Lanie said.

"There is no way I will have a baby brother named Cosmo." Alexis laughed and the video ended with a sonogram photo and white block letters written across it Baby Boy Castle.

It took the guests a few seconds to realize that the announcement had been made, because the water balloon had shocked people enough so that they didn't notice the sonogram straight away. It wasn't until Lanie squealed that everyone noticed.

Alexis now grabbed a water gun and pointed it at Rick and Kate and pulled the trigger, soaking them even more in blue dyed water.

Rick put a hand over his face, and Kate turned her back to Alexis, squealing.

"Ok, they get it, they get it," Rick exclaimed as he tried to shield himself from the jet.

"Dad, I hate to tell you this, but this is payback for the dye pack in the fridge," Alexis said as she laughed.

Kate left her husband's side to grab a towel from Martha and get out of the line of fire.

"Girlfriend, you're having a mini Castle?" Lanieexclaimed excitedly over the ruckus.

Laughing, with a few happy tears streaming down her cheeks, "looks like it, now I just pray that he will be receptive to at least some adult things that I'll teach him so his whole life will not just be laser tag and goofing around." Kate looked at Rick
/with nothing but love in her eyes, and his on hers were shining with adoration.

Kate could hear Javi and Ryan grab Rick for a man hug, saving him from Alexis, so she turned around to take in the scene.

"Congrats, bro, this is really cool." Javi said with some well-practiced hand movements, almost like a secret handshake.

"Yeah, man, that's amazing. I'm getting so excited to see what mine is, but we decided to find out when the baby is born." Jenny was soon by her husband's side, gingerly chatting away with Kate and Lanie as the guys acted tough and it seemed that the
/entire group was buzzing with the reveal.

oOoOoOo

While drying her hair after their shower, Kate looked at her husband and couldn't help but giggle. Even with her to help washing the dye off, he still had a few spots where he would have to wash a few more times.

"That was an amazing party Alexis planned," Kate said as she managed to contain her giggles but still had a huge grin on her face.

"I'll admit, it was better than I had expected." Rick looked smug, as if he was to thank for the party.

"Everyone had fun and, to be honest, you deserved the blue payback," Kate deadpanned.

"Yeah," Rick sighed, "I guess I did."

"That video was something else, I had no idea the amount of work she put into this party. She really thought of everything." Kate said as she pulled out her phone, she dialed quickly and soon there was an answer on the other end.

"Hi, Kate," Alexis said as she picked up.

"Hey bud, I just wanted to make sure you got home alright," Kate was surprised at how much she needed to know that Alexis was fine and happy.

"Yeah, just stepped out of the shower and am going to bed," Alexis said, sounding tired.

"All right, and honey," Kate began. "Thank you for not only a wonderful party, but an amazing video. It's obvious that you put a lot of effort into it and I just want you to know that I, that we greatly appreciate
/it."

"You're welcome, it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot of different things about our family," Alexis said, before adding shyly. "I had no idea that your dad wanted to be a grandfather to me too."

"Well, it was no surprise to me," Kate said with a laugh, "both of my parents were quite vocal about wanting a lot of grandchildren, but I'm an only child. So it's easy to assume that in their minds, I was always supposed to have a lot of children."

"So you don't mind? And he won't mind being referred to as my grandfather?" Alexis sounded so unsure.

"Sweetie, I don't mind at all and your grandfather," she added pointedly, "would be nothing but thrilled and honored at the title change."

"Besides," Rick chimed in, "there is no such thing as too many grandparents."

Kate and Alexis laughed at that.

"That's true, now I think everyone is ready for bed." Kate said as she stifled a yawn.

"Good night, sleep tight." Kate said, soon Rick and Alexis echoed the statement, before Kate hung up.


So that was my reveal party, well most of it. Since I submitted it a little later than I was hoping, I made it extra long. I hope it doesn't discourage you from reading it.

Please let me know if there is any part that you would like for me to mention, something that you feel might have gone amiss, in any of my chapters and I will work in as many answers as possible.

Also if you have any other feedback, positive or negative (hopefully just positive though), don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me a PM.

Just to keep things interesting, I was thinking I'd introduce the barista soon.