A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm back from vacation so updates will be back to normal. Thanks for sticking with me as I get back into the swing of things. As always, thanks for my 2 lovely ladies, Joanna and Janna for helping me out. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favorited! So happy you are enjoying my little story :) I added a little recap in the beginning since it's been awhile since the last update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its characters. A girl can dream though!

Chapter 8

Previously in Chapter 7:

Time passed by before Kate's nurse informed her that Castle was awake and she could now see him. By this point, she had already changed into her regular clothing that her Dad brought out to her and she already had her release paperwork in hand from the hospital. It's not like she was leaving. She wouldn't leave the hospital until Castle was leaving with her.

With ease she pushed the door into his room open and hovered in the doorway just taking in the scene before her eyes. Bandages were covering random areas of his body and machines were beeping steadily into the otherwise silent area. His face was a little swollen and very bruised, but when his eyes blinked open, he took her breath away. She couldn't love him anymore then she did in this moment.

"Hey there tough guy…" Beckett's lips turned into a smirk as she walked toward his bedside. Reaching for his hand, her fingers lovingly massaged the battered skin and then interlaced their fingers together. Her other hand feathered his hair out of his eyes before she bent down to breathe a kiss on to his forehead.

"Kate, are you okay? You're crying…" Oh, she didn't even realize that the tears were streaming down her face. She was just so happy to see him.

"Babe, you're here and you're alive. I'm happy…" She smiled at him as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. This was it. No more waiting. Cautiously Kate reached into her back pocket and pulled out the print from her ultrasound. "This isn't the best way to tell you, but I can't wait for the perfect time to tell you this amazing news…" Leaning back over his body, avoiding the cords and IV line, she placed a kiss right on the outer shell of his ear, laid the picture into his grasp and whispered. "Castle, I'm pregnant…"

Her words hung in the air for what seemed like forever. Castle gasped and gently turned so he was looking her in the eyes. Happiness washed across all his features and Beckett's face broke out into a huge grin. Finally acknowledging the print in his hand, he carefully moved to bring the picture into his vision. "We're having a baby?" He said with disbelief and joy all in one. She nodded in acknowledgement and giggled a bit.

"Crazy, huh?" Kate smiled down at Castle, and they stared at the picture of the ultrasound. They both lost themselves in the moment and shared a sweet kiss on the lips. "I love you so much and I love our little person, too." She moved her hand to her flat stomach, where the little resilient life was growing. Angling himself tenderly, Castle placed his hand over Beckett's and reached up to place kiss her forehead. Whatever pain he was in due to his battered state was momentarily relieved from the happiness he felt with this news. The wedding may have been postponed by Tyson and his vendetta, but he wouldn't ruin this. Seeing how happy this made him, Kate's excitement grew stronger. Their baby would be protected no matter what.

"I love you both. Kate this is spectacular…We are really having a baby!" He smiled as the doubt of the news faded. The joy and love in his expression melted all of Beckett's uncertainty away. They were a team and whatever obstacles that they were presented with couldn't stand a chance against them. Kate crawled into bed next to Castle, snuggled against his chest all while avoiding the cords connecting to the various machines. The only thing that would make this better would be if they were home in their own bed, instead of having him hospitalized on the run from a deranged serial killer. Life can't be perfect though. This was how things had always been with them. And she feared that they would be boring. She was kidding herself. Hell, times like this, she would gladly welcome boring. "So how far along are you?"

"8 weeks…I was trying to think about when it may have happened, but there are quite a few possibilities…" Kate laughed and nuzzled her face into his neck before she placed feather like kisses up his jaw line.

"If you are 8 weeks along, it could be that weekend we spent away in the Hamptons. You know when we took the break from planning the wedding…that definitely was the stress relief we needed during that time…" He chuckled a bit before a coughing fit had him wincing in pain. His pained expression quickly reminded her of all the injuries, including broken ribs, that he was currently hospitalized for. Their small bubble of happiness burst and reality seeped in.

"Do you want me to get up? I don't want to hurt you…" She hesitated and slowly started to get off his bed before he carefully reached up to pull her back down to him.

"Kate, I want you here. I want you close. Maybe we can just rest here together…"

"That sounds perfect." Beckett laid her head onto his chest and closed her eyes.

Before long the door to Castle's room opened and two smiling red heads walked through the door. "Knock knock…" Martha smiled at the couple, as Alexis practically ran towards them.

"Dad! I'm so glad you're okay! You too, Kate." Kate moved out of the bed so the girl could hug her father. Castle was already such a wonderful father. The way his face lit up when he saw his daughter warmed Beckett's chest.

"Hey, pumpkin. Yeah, I'm fine." He quickly brushed a kiss to her forehead, before she looked at him with uncertainty.

"Richard, you hardly seem fine. You have bruises everywhere and we thought we lost both of you!" His mother always brought such dramatic flair to every situation which seemed to be her defense mechanism. "But seriously, kiddo. I'm glad to see you both are okay." Kate smiled at her soon to be mother-in-law and then they began to fill the women in on what happened. They tried to keep the gory details to a minimum to spare their family from worrying about them anymore than they already had been.

After they paused from telling the tale of the dramatic escape, they shared the news of their expanding family. Alexis couldn't stop smiling about the idea of having a sibling and Martha was overjoyed now that she knew she that she was getting another grandchild to spoil. Many hugs, kisses and tears were shared among the group before they were asked to leave so Castle could get some rest. His mother and daughter were the first to walk out, so Kate could have a minute alone with Castle.

"Hey, I'm going to check in with the boys and see if they found anything with Tyson…" She gently ran her fingers through his hair and placed a light kiss on his lips. "Get some rest so you can come home…"

"Kate, please don't chase him. Let the boys handle it, especially now."

"Especially now? Castle, we're both close to this and have been for awhile. I'm going to let them handle it for now so I can stay in the hospital until you are released. This is not because I'm pregnant, though. I'm still a detective and I'm going to still do my job." Castle huffed a little at her statement before she continued. "I'm not going to put myself in unnecessary danger, Castle. I'm going to be careful, but I can't be scared to do my job." She paused before their eyes met. "I just have to be careful…" She repeated, then gave him another kiss and walked out the door.

Sitting outside of Castle's room, Beckett pulled out her cell phone to call Esposito. The stress of the day made her completed drained of all her energy, but she refused to go home to rest. She would walk out of the hospital as soon as Castle could.

"Esposito."

"Espo, its Beckett. Anything on Tyson?" The silence on the other end was all the answer that she needed. How is that possible? Were they both so drugged out that they couldn't give the authorities the correct location of that building that they were held?

"We worked with the local cops and found the building. It was abandoned…" Damn…He was still out there. Somewhere plotting against their happiness. Plotting against their future. "CSU processed the scene, but there were no prints anywhere. The only reason we knew we had the right building was because we found blood that belonged to both you and Castle…but that's all…"

"Javi, how is that possible? How can there not be a partial print or a strand of hair somewhere? I mean…seriously? Nothing?" It was impossible. From her hazy memory, that building was pretty large. How could they be that careful and had everything planned that precisely?

"I know. It's crazy, but it's true. We've got nothing. Ryan and I aren't giving up. We're searching through everything we can, but there aren't any security or traffic cams in the area, being that the location was kinda remote…" As frustrated as she was, she knew that he was trying. She knew that she could trust that the boys would do everything they could to keep her and Castle safe. They hated Tyson, too. Not one of them would be safe until he was permanently behind bars. Kate sighed and took a minute before saying anything further. Her emotions were starting to catch up with her; the fear was settled in her chest. Making her heart race. Making her think of all the worst case scenarios that were ahead of them. None of the thoughts that played through her mind would be helpful. Nothing productive. She needed to compose herself. She needed to be strong for her friends and she especially needed to be strong for her fiancé who currently was still healing here in the hospital from this maniac.

"Okay, keep looking and let me know if you find anything. The doctor said that Castle may possibly be released tomorrow, but I think I might see if it's feasible for him to be released sooner. Maybe discretely in the middle of the night. I just feel like we're sitting ducks here. If Tyson is still in the area and he finds us here, I don't know if local authorities will honestly know what to watch for." The thought of Tyson finding them while Castle was still hospitalized, terrified her. She was in a better state than Castle currently, but it didn't mean that she felt confident to take him on by herself. They needed to be back in the city. They needed to be reunited with the rest of their team. She sighed again and cleared her throat from the emotion that restricted her speech. "Thanks for everything…"

TBC

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