AN: This author wished to thank all of those who read and review, it makes her day! This chapter goes out to those who wanted to see how the boys reacted to the news, it's in flashbacks again, coz that's how I write. I hope it lives up to standards!

-Enjoy :D

Disclaimer the characters that you recognise are not mine, I just like to have fun with them.

Chapter 8

When Kate and Rick walked out of the elevator on the homicide floor of the 12th the following Monday nobody found it unusual that his arm was around her shoulders and hers around his waist. It had become the norm over the last couple of months since they had been together, and that thought made Kate chuckle slightly thinking about the first time they had walked into the precinct that way.

Kate and Rick had talked for quite a while about how they should let Ryan and Esposito about them. Rick wanted to play some sort of ridiculous prank on them, while Kate thought just telling them would be suffice enough to have them falling over. In the end they settled somewhere in the middle.

They walked out of the elevator the following morning, Rick's arm around her shoulders and Kate's arm around his waist, like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Kate noticed a twinkle in the Captain's eye, she was sure he knew what they were playing at.

Kate and Rick walked past the boys at their desks and greeted them in a very noncommittal fashion.

"Morning Boss." They replied in unison, barely glancing up from their work.

They continued on to Kate's desk and Kate gave Rick a light peck on his lips then sat while he went to get them coffee. One of the boys must have noticed because suddenly they were both staring at her as if she had grown a second head.

"What?" Kate asked, startling them.

"Nothing, nothing." They both said, as if not quite sure they believed what they had seen.

After Rick was back sitting in his chair, Kate noticed that the boys had their heads together, whispering about something.

"Care to share with the class?" She asked casually.

"Uhh… Are you and uhh… Castle… You know…" Esposito starts, stumbling over his words.

"Why do you ask?" Kate asked them, noticing that Rick could barely supress a grin.

"Well…" Ryan continued for his partner who seems to have lost all forms of speech. "You do look awful… Uh…." Ryan finished as he waved his hand in their general direction.

"Cosy..?" Esposito suggested.

"Yeah, so?" Kate asked, having to use all her training to keep a straight face.

Ryan and Esposito turn back to their work and Rick grinned at Kate knowing they had won that round.

Kate was pulled out of her memory by the ringing of her desk phone. It was Lanie; calling to let her know all the finalities about the case they had closed the previous day. Kate listened and thanked her friend, then settled back into her paperwork. The next on her long list being her maternity leave papers. That, and the phone call she had just shared with Lanie, had the effect of delving her back into her memory of telling Ryan and Esposito.

Kate pretended not to notice the money she saw passing hands all day, finally she decided it was time to implement the plan they had figured out the night before. She called Lanie and said two words. "It's time." Then her and Rick walked down to see Lanie.

When Kate and Rick arrived down in the morgue Lanie had all the equipment out ready, and Rick became slightly fidgety.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't actually…" Rick said to Lanie, gesturing at the equipment.

"We're not, don't worry." Lanie said. "I thought it would be better for the purpose of fooling the boys if it was here."

"Crap." Kate said after a moment. "I don't have my bag, which means I don't have the photos."

"That's alright," Lanie told her. "I called Rachel this morning and asked for some because you wanted a few more copies, but didn't have time to go back. So she emailed them to me." She continued, handing the prints over.

"Right then." Rick said. "All systems go. Lanie, call Esposito and get them down here."

While Lanie made the phone call Kate got herself up on one of the tables and laid down, Rick taking one of her hands.

"Their coming down." Was all Lanie said as she came over to them. She had put the prints back into the printer and they waited.

When they heard the elevator arrive Lanie picked up the ultrasound wand and pretended to clean it up while Kate had another cloth, pretending to clean up her own stomach.

Ryan and Esposito arrived just in time to see Kate rearranging her clothing and Lanie putting down the ultrasound wand then going to pick up the prints from her printer. The boys stood and stared, mouths agape, like deer caught in headlights.

"Thanks Lanie." Kate said taking the prints from her friend. "I knew I could count on you." She then turned to Rick who pulled her into a tight embrace. "Rick," She whispered loud enough for the boys to hear. "We're having a baby." Her voice was pure excitement and her and Rick walked, arm in arm, out past the still stunned boys.

Just after they walked out the door Kate turned back to the boys and spoke. "Close your mouths, we are not codfish." They then proceeded to the elevator.

Kate also remembered Lanie telling her that it had taken a while for her to convince the boys that, yes, her and Rick were together, and that Kate was most certainly pregnant. Kate heaved a sigh and continued filling out paperwork, while the boys did the same, and Rick sat in his chair next to her with his laptop. He had a deadline for the first draft of the next instalment of Nikki Heat coming up, but he didn't want to leave her at work alone.

Suddenly her phone rang again. "Beckett." She answered, and then listened as she took down an address. "Boys." She said to get their attention. "You've got a body." She said and gave them the address.

Kate still hadn't figured out why they kept calling her about bodies when she hadn't been out in the field for well over a month. Captain's orders. Well not just Captain's orders, NYPD policy. Once they'd hit their fourth month, pregnant women weren't allowed in the field anymore. She had to conduct her investigations from her desk, which she hated.

Less than twenty minutes later Kate got the phone call that always came after sending the boys out. It was Esposito. "Vic is Hannah Davidson. 25. Insurance telemarketer. Her brother called the building manager when he hadn't heard from her for almost two weeks. Building manager came up, opened the door, smelt the body and rang 911." He told her, before handing the phone off to Lanie.

"GSW to the back," Lanie said. ".45 by the looks of it. I wont know anymore until I get her back to the lab."

"Thanks Lanie." Kate said to her friend. "Can I get Esposito back?"

"Here Boss." He said.

"Good. I want you to hunt down the brother."

"Already done, he coming into the station, and Ryan's already questioned tenants. We should be back before the brother gets there. See you soon." Esposito said before ending their call.

Kate was well on her way to getting the murder board together when the boys walked in, so she didn't notice the brother of the victim with them.

By the time they came back out Kate was sitting at her desk and was startled by who the boys had with them. Josh, she thought. What the hell is he doing here?

"Esposito." She hissed and he came over to her with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Yes?" He said gingerly.

"What?" She asked forcefully. "Is he doing here?"

"Bother of the victim." Was all Esposito said.

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me this?" Kate asked hysterically, standing up.

But Esposito didn't get the chance to answer, as at this point there was a voice Kate really didn't want to hear.

"Kate?" Was all Josh said before he took in Kate's condition, and saw the concern in Rick's face as he ran his hand up her arm.

Before anyone knew what was happening Josh had approached Rick and punched him in the face. Chaos ensured.

Kate turned Josh to face her and slapped him, right before she bent down to Rick to make sure he was ok.

Esposito grabbed both of Josh's arms and pulled them behind the man's back and Ryan rushed up and cuffed him. Esposito then started to push Josh, none to gently, towards the elevator. He was going to spend some time in a cell.

Kate was fussing over Rick's bleeding nose when Montgomery walked out of his office to enquire about what had happened while he had been on the phone with they Mayor.

"Well sir, I'm not really sure." Kate told him. "Ryan and Esposito were showing Josh out after telling him about his sister's murder, and he saw me and punched Rick. Then Esposito and Ryan took him away." Kate said, purposefully not telling him she had slapped Josh. "Now if you'll excuse me sir, I need to call Lanie." Kate said just as Lanie exited the elevator and ran towards them.

"Esposito told me." Was all the explanation she gave before bending down to check out Rick's face.

-!-!-!-

Josh sat in the cell that Esposito had unceremoniously dumped him in, his hands still cuffed behind his back, thinking about what had overcome him.

He had seen Kate pregnant, about six months was his guess. He had seen that 'partner' of hers being all affectionate with her and rage overcame him, because it meant one of two things in his mind. One; she had lied to him and had been sleeping with him while they were together, but he could never punch a lady, so it was Castle's fault. Or two; the baby was his and Kate never told him, and now Castle was going to play daddy to his child.

Esposito came back to take his cuffs off, and Josh asked if he could speak to Kate.

"Well," Esposito started. "Considering that you just slugged her boyfriend, not to mention the father of her unborn children, I don't think that's going to happen."

"Why not?" Josh asked, anger filling his voice. "You have no say over her. You're not her brother, or her father, or her boyfriend."

"Well, neither are you." Esposito said to him before walking off.

"Do I at least get a phone call?" Josh yelled after him.

Soon after one of the guards took him so he could make a phone call. He dialled a number he knew by heart and after giving his name he said two words, so quietly that the guard couldn't hear.

"Kate Beckett."

AN: So what do you think of the Josh storyline, you have my critique to thank for that, it was originally going to be the first case, but then I realised that his reaction would be way better if Kate was visibly pregnant.

Also cookies for anyone who picks up the Marry Poppins reference! :D

And it just has to be said… One Day LEFT! :)