Thank you so much for your reviews, the alerts and the favourite stories, this has received. I really do love hearing from you and I apologize not only for the fact I'm not updating as frequently but also for what happens in this chapter, I know a lot of people won't be happy with me, especially seeing that I can't update as quickly but yeah, I promise I will update the moment my laptop returns from the shop.
Opening his eyes, he smiled as he watched Kate dress herself, her back to the bed as she finished pulling on the t-shirt she was going to wear, her hands running through her dark hair before he sat up. She was beautiful, even with the yellowy green bruises on her back that were beginning to fade from the attack a week earlier. Turning her head, she smiled at the man who was staring at her, loving how he still found her beautiful even though she felt battered and weak.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, sitting herself beside him as his arm circled around her, his hand resting on the waistband of her jeans as she bit into her lip.
"My beautiful fiancée" he sighed, his fingers running across her cheek as she moved closer and kissed him, only moving away when Johanna began to scream. Standing, she slowly approached her daughter and lifted her into her arms, rocking her gently while Rick continued to watch. "Where are you going today?" he asked quickly, her eyes rolling as she stared at him.
"Dress fitting remember, Lanie's coming with me so don't worry about it, I know the rules" she said, forcing a smile onto her face. She wasn't enjoying Montgomery's rule of having someone constantly with her. Ryan, Esposito or Castle followed her to Remy's to collect food or to the shops to just collect some things the family was in need of, Lanie joining in whenever she was free. She wanted her independence back instead of feeling like a child again, under the watchful eyes of her parents.
"It'll get better once we've caught the people who attacked you, Montgomery's just being protective. You know he loves you like a daughter" Rick sighed as she nodded. "Just think about if it was Johanna getting attacked, you'd want someone to be with her all the time wouldn't you?" he sighed, Kate nodding. She hated the fact that he always knew what to say. "I better get dressed" he commented, slipping out of the bed as she watched him and sighed.
"Come on you, breakfast" Kate smiled at her daughter, carrying her into Esposito's kitchen while Rick changed.
Entering the kitchen a few moments later, Rick smiled as he watched Kate feed their daughter, the smile on her face the look he wanted to keep there forever. Approaching, he quickly pressed a kiss to the back of Kate's head, remaining close for a moment as the scent of cherries over took him. Moving away only when the toaster popped, he sighed as he began to make up her breakfast, knowing she would be leaving soon and he'd be spending the whole time worrying about her.
"You need to stop worrying about me, I'm going to be fine" Kate sighed, not looking up from Johanna. "Rick, I can look after myself and having them around makes it even better, you shouldn't be worrying about this" she explained, jumping at the knock at the front door before a key turned in the lock. Turning her head, she smiled as Esposito appeared in the doorway, her hand placing Johanna's bottle onto the table before she stood up. "Hey, where's Lanie?" she asked.
"She got called into work, the other ME has come down sick" he explained, Kate groaning at the idea of having to cancel another dress fitting. "She says I've got to go instead and comment nicely. She doesn't want you to cancel again" he explained, Kate beaming as Rick took Johanna from her, replacing their daughter with a plate of toast. "She spent the whole morning hissing about this other guy being ill, I think she said she wanted him dead at one moment in time" he added as Kate laughed, shaking her head at the idea.
"It's fine" Kate sighed, eating the toast quickly before walking over to Johanna and kissing her forehead, beaming at her quickly. "I don't want her completely dressed in pink tonight. We're going out to dinner to celebrate your mom's new role and you know I hate her looking like a marshmallow" she smiled as Rick nodded, kissing her quickly before she grabbed her bag and coat from the couch. "Right I'm ready, I'll see you later" Kate sighed, waving at her daughter quickly.
"Esposito keep her safe for me" Rick called over as the detective nodded, Kate's eyes rolling at the writers worry.
"Don't worry Castle, she'll be back without a scratch" Esposito promised, the two detective's leaving the apartment quickly.
XOXOXOXOXOXX
"Are you ready?" Kate asked from the changing room to the detective who was sat reading a new message on his phone, completely oblivious to the fact Kate was talking to him. "Esposito?" she hissed, this time gaining the other detective's attention.
"Sorry, Ryan's texting me jokes that aren't funny again" he explained before returning the object to his pocket. "Right, I'm ready now Beckett" he sighed. Opening the door, she slowly walked out in the dress, shock covering her colleagues face as she bit into her lip.
"So what do you think?" she asked as she stood in the dress, Esposito nodding as she began to turn to reveal the whole thing to him. She loved being in the outfit, it was special to her and she enjoyed how beautiful she felt in the dress. She didn't feel like a detective when she was in it, instead just a woman who was marrying the man of her dreams in just over a month.
"Amazing Beckett" he smiled as she looked down at the dress and sighed, her hands running over the material before she slipped back into the changing room. "You actually look like a girly girl Beckett and not by force for once" he laughed as she rolled her eyes at the comment that didn't surprise her. It was rare to see her in something completely feminine, especially for her colleagues to see. She lived in her pants and shirts, her main feminine item being the black heels she always wore and the necklace around her neck containing her mothers ring.
"Thanks Esposito, I can do the whole girl thing. I am a woman after all" she smiled as they both fell into silence while she began to change back into her original outfit. Slipping out of the small room a few moments later, she smiled at the detective who was being stared at by the other woman in the room.
"Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding?" she asked as their both burst into hysterics, smiling at each other once they'd finally calmed themselves down before looking at the confused blonde who was staring at them from the dress selection.
"He's not my fiancé, he's my colleague. He's come to help me because my maid of honour is working" Kate commented, the blonde nodding a few moments later before returning her attention back to the dresses. "How about lunch? I'm starving and Castle's not expecting me back for ages" she suggested as he nodded, the two of them walking out of the shop quickly.
XOXOXOXOXOX
"How are things going with our favourite ME then?" Kate asked as they walked down the street together, the smiles growing on their faces as he thought about his answer carefully.
"Good, she wants to try for a baby actually" He admitted. "She kept hinting at it and then last night she mentioned it" he smiled, Kate stopping and staring at him for a moment. Two of her closest friends might be having a baby together one day, the idea made her smile with excitement as he watched her.
"Wow big step there, a baby Parish Esposito" she smiled as he quickly nodded in agreement, thinking about the long discussion he'd had with Lanie the night before. "What did you say then?" she asked as they stared to walk down the street again, Kate continuing to beam as Esposito smiled.
"I said yes, I want to have a baby with her" he smiled. "Spending time with Johanna has made me want to be a dad more than ever and well Lanie is the woman I want to have a family with" he smiled as she squealed, her arms wrapping around him quickly before she moved away. "So what do you fancy for lunch then?" he asked, Kate shrugging before he turned around to look at the restaurants surrounding him.
Hearing a small and almost silent gasp, he turned to see Kate pressing her hands to her abdomen, her face becoming pale as tears ran down her tears. "Beckett?" Esposito asked, grabbing her as she began to collapse, red emerging from under her hands. "Kate" he whispered as he held her close. "It's going to be okay" He announced, grabbing his phone from his pocket as she continued to sob.
"Rick" she mumbled, her whole body becoming weak as her eyes slowly began to shut.