"Castle, she's crying again." Kate groaned, poking him in the side.
He rolled over to check the time, it was 4:28 in the morning and she had been crying basically all night.
Outside the rain poured heavily, the bright flash of lightening illuminating the loft, followed by the loud crash of thunder, which did not help with her excessive crying.
She was five weeks old now and for the past two weeks, she had been having long episodes of crying. He could tell Kate was tired and distressed, as was he.
She just got into bed after getting Elizabeth to calm down for a good half hour before she started up again. He sighed and rolled out of bed, heading over to the crib.
"I got it." He told her, reaching down to lift the crying child into his arms.
He wrapped her in her blanket which she had kicked off at some point and began rocking back and forth trying to calm her.
"Sssh, baby girl, why you crying so much? What do you need?" He asked her.
Kate, who was lying face down in the bed, turned her head to watch him try calming her.
"Maybe she's hungry again." She suggested.
"Didn't you feed her an hour ago?" He asked, bouncing on the spot.
She shook her head, "I tried, but she didn't want anything."
He brought Elizabeth over to her as Kate offered herself to her, he handed her the child, but she wouldn't accept her mother, instead she just cried louder.
Kate slumped her shoulders, laying her down on the bed, unwrapping her and checking her diaper. It was dry, she wasn't hungry, maybe she had gas?
Castle sat by her as she raised the baby up to her shoulder and began patting her back gently. For a moment her cries died down and Kate turned to smile at him, feeling somewhat victorious, until the cried began again, louder.
"She's not hungry, her diaper is dry, no gas, she's correctly swaddled … What's going on?" He mused, resting a hand on Kate's back for comfort.
She cradled the baby in her arms, watching her helplessly as she cried.
"I don't know Castle, but I think we have to take her to the doctor, I don't like this." She said, wiping away the tears rolling down her baby's red cheeks.
"I think that's best. Wait here, I'll call Dr. Martin." He said, grabbing his phone and dialling the number.
Shortly after, he returned to their room, disappointed to find Elizabeth still crying and Kate helplessly, desperately rocking her from side to side.
"Good news, Dr. Martin is in and she said to come right away." He told her, pulling on a pair of pants.
Quickly Kate got out of bed and handed the baby to him, she pulled on her jeans and her coat and followed him out of the room and the loft.
When she was secure in her child seat, with Kate staying around the back with her, Castle hurried to the doctor's office, eager to have this problem solved.
They were greeted by Dr. Martin herself as they entered and she invited them back to her office.
Elizabeth was still crying, oblivious to her distressed parents.
Kate had tried to give her her pacifier on the way over, but she kept spitting it out and crying and honestly, it was beginning to give them both a headache.
"Beth come on, just quiet down for mommy, please?" Kate pleaded, with no reaction from the baby.
"So, what's going on with this little one? Wow, she has grown since her last visit." Dr. Martin said as she re-entered the room.
"She won't stop crying." Rick told her, sounding more desperate than he had meant to.
"How long has this been going on for?" She asked, watching Kate try to calm the baby.
He ran his hand through his hair, "Two weeks maybe? But it's getting worse now and we don't know what she wants."
"It's not her diaper, she's not hungry, it's not gas, we checked everything." Kate piped up, rocking Beth from side to side.
Dr. Martin nodded and reached for the baby. Kate leaned into Rick's side as Dr. Martin examined the baby, who thank God had momentarily stopped crying.
When she finished, she turned to them with a sad knowing smile on her face, "She seems to be okay physically, this just appears to be a case of baby colic." She told them.
"What can we do?" Kate asked, accepting the child from the doctor.
"Well usually Colic may be caused by a number of reasons, but don't worry it's usually a short term thing, there's not much to do in terms of treatment unfortunately, you just have to constantly tend to your child and ensure she has everything she needs." She explained.
Castle looked from her to Kate to the baby, "And how long does this usually last?"
"A few weeks maybe," She said, right as the baby began crying again.
She looked at both of them sympathetically, "I know this can be tough on the both of you, but it's just something you have to deal with. If the crying doesn't stop in a few weeks, or you notice any fevers or vomiting or anything else, please contact me." She told them, "And please don't hesitate to call if you have any other worries, here's my personal number if you need me." She handed them a card with her personal contact information on it.
Kate smiled and thanked the doctor.
She and Castle dejectedly made their way back to the loft with a crying baby. They were glad to find out nothing was wrong with her, but the constant crying with nothing to do about it, it was just about driving them crazy and she mostly did it at these early hours.
Castle opened the door to the loft and was met by a worried Alexis pacing the floor.
"Alexis?"
She turned and looked at the two of them, a look of relief coming over her face, "Where did you guys go?" She asked.
Castle gestured to the crying baby, "Doctor, she won't stop crying."
"I woke up and I didn't see you guys, there was no note and you wouldn't answer your phones." She said looking at both of them.
Castle retrieved his phone and saw the fifteen missed calls from his daughter, "Oh honey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you."
She nodded, her eyes drawn to the crying baby being bounced in Kate's arms.
"What's wrong with her?" She asked stepping forward.
"Colic." Kate answered, wiping away her baby's tears, "And there's nothing we can do."
"You guys look exhausted." She commented, noticing the way they looked for the first time.
She stepped forward and reached out for her baby sister, "I'll take her, you guys go get some sleep."
Kate shook her head, "No Alexis, I can't leave her when she's like this."
"Kate, come on, you need sleep, I'm sure Alexis will wake us if anything drastic happens." Castle said to her, pulling her against him.
Kate looked down at the distressed baby in her arms. She was tired, dead tired, she had probably gotten two days' worth of sleep in the last two weeks. Dr. Martin did say nothing was wrong, she was just crying excessively. She could let Alexis keep her and maybe get at least an hour or two of sleep.
She looked up to Alexis and Rick, before handing the baby over to Alexis.
"You don't have school in the morning? … Or later I should ask?" Kate asked her.
Alexis shook her head, bouncing like Kate had been with the baby, "No, tomorrow's a day off."
Kate nodded, "Okay. Well, if anything happens, anything at all, please call me." Kate said.
Alexis nodded as the baby's cries quieted, slowly turning into a whimper.
"I sure hope that lasts." Kate mumbled, "Expecting her to start up again shortly."
She followed Castle back to their room, stopping to look at Alexis walking back and forth, talking to her little sister. She stopped crying for now, she just hoped it would last the night.
A/N: If my information is wrong, blame the internet.
All mistakes are mine, you know I'm too lazy for that reading over life.