Four days later, they were invited to the Esposito palace in Chelsea, on account of a behind-the-scenes special on Meredeth's next miniseries, and they'd left RJ once again in the care of Shane, this time at the loft. When they arrived, they weren't surprised to see Esposito looking like he was holding it together with spit and elbow grease, but Castle was wise enough to phrase his concern in the form of a benign question as his friend passed him a beer out of the fridge, which Castle turned down in favour of a soft drink. That itchy feeling on his neck hadn't left since Saturday and he had a funny feeling he'd be needed as an extra driver tonight.

They filtered into the living room, where Castle kept an eye on the incomprehensibly pregnant Meredeth from his spot beside Beckett. He glanced over his shoulder when the front door opened and Ryan and Honey-Milk came in, locked it behind them. 'Did we miss anything?' Honey-Milk asked with a flushed smile.

'Nope, just about to start,' Beckett replied.

They watched, focused as cats on the mouse hole, as they got a glimpse into the work that had gone into Meredeth's next project, talking only on the commercial breaks. All the while though, Beckett noticed Meredeth flinching and rubbing her belly every so often and her heart picked up pace every time she did so. She tried to tell herself that her friend was probably just having a false labour, like she'd had the night before. God knew she'd gone through enough of them with RJ.

As the end-credits rolled for the special, the living room was full of whistles and appreciative claps for their friend's success.

'Way to go, pretty mama,' Castle told her, toasting her with his beer.

'Lemme just get that for you,' Ryan teased her, pretending to brush off her shoulders. 'There, no dust on this diamond.'

'Oh, I'm so glad. Now all of you get out.'

Everyone turned to Meredeth, staring at her like she'd lost her mind as she sat calmly with her hands on her belly in the wide armchair.

'Mere?' Lanie ventured cautiously.

'Get out,' she repeated through her teeth. 'You're leaving, we're all leaving now. My water just broke.'

Everyone stared at Meredeth as she ran her hands over her belly, calmly breathing in and out.

'Are you sure, Mere?' Esposito asked her, getting up and crouching by her feet. 'It's not a little accident?'

'No, I'm sure. Besides, I've been having contractions for the last hour and a half.'

'The last hour and a half?' Ryan spluttered. 'Why didn't you say anything?'

'I wanted to see the end of my show, and I thought it was another false alarm like last night.'

Esposito found himself utterly calm this time around and set about giving instructions. 'Okay, the bags are in the trunk of the Nissan already, the file with your hospital paperwork is on your bedside table, Dave?'

'Got it.' The paramedic was off like a flash as Esposito continued, 'Have you been timing them?'

'Yeah, not the length, just the distance apart, about sixteen minutes.'

'Okay, that's good. Do you want a fresh pair of pants for going to the ER?'

Meredeth nodded. 'Lanie, you've done my laundry lots. Tessi, we need to get Tessi up so she can come with us.'

'We'll take her to our place, it's the closest to Saint Vincent's, Mere,' Ryan volunteered. 'My sister Kelsey's there with Dell and Mal, we'll pay her for overnight so Dell can get to school in the morning.'

'Uh-huh,' Meredeth agreed through gritted teeth as she felt another contraction hit, this one a little stronger than the last few had been. She kept one hand on her belly and reached the other one out blindly, where she felt her husband take it. 'Javi.'

'It's okay, baby, Javi's here, Javi's here,' Esposito murmured to her as she breathed through it. He kept his eyes o his watched and when he felt her grip loosen, he looked up at her smiled. 'Forty-one seconds, not bad.'

'Javi, Tessi?'

'Right.'

'I'll go pack her a bag,' Beckett volunteered. 'Castle, you're driving, I'll go home and get RJ.'

She darted up the stairs and into the little girl's room, where Arturo was stretched parallel to her bed. The giant dog lifted his head at the intrusion and when he saw it was simply Beckett, he flopped back down again. She moved as quietly as possible, rounding up clothes and supplies, tucked a couple of books and her crayons and of course Crush into her little green backpack. Satisfied Tessi had what she needed, Beckett went over to the bed, gently lifted Tessi into her arms, where the little girl continued to snore softly. With calm, quiet movements, Beckett made it halfway downstairs when she felt Tessi stir on her shoulder, and passed Castle the bags she'd packed.

She's awake. Hey beautiful, Mami's right here,' Beckett murmured to her and Tessi's eyes flew open, her head lifted from Beckett's shoulder as she looked around.

'Mami?'

'Hey princess, guess what?' At the sight of her daughter, Meredeth's throat tightened up. She reached out to stroke her hand over her daughter's dark curls. 'The babies are on their way.'

'Yea babies. I domin' too?'

'In a little bit. Daddy has to get Mami to the hospital first, so you get to go to Dell's house for a few hours, okay? Where's Crush?'

'Dush in bag, he seepin' too.'

'Okay, give me and Daddy a kiss.'

Beckett turned so Tessi could peck her parents' lips, then took her outside, where she was tucked into her car seat which Ryan had transferred into Honey-Milk's hybrid. She raced back up the stairs to give Meredeth a hug. 'Good luck, honey, we'll see you soon, okay?'

'Yeah, in a little bit.'

Beckett watched the parents to be and her husband head down the short set of steps to Meredeth's snappy red Nissan and grinned in excitement. More babies on the way, a little girl and a little boy all in one night. She waited until they were down the block and count five seconds after the car had turned the corner before she grabbed her purse and booked it down the sidewalk to the subway to head home.

She could barely get the door unlocked for her fumbling excited hands, and when she walked in, she wasn't at all surprised to see Shane on his laptop with Alexis. She turned a blind eye to the fact that Alexis was lying in bed with a sheet bunch up to cover her breasts. The man himself glanced up in surprise, clearly not expecting to have his private conversation with his girlfriend interrupted.

'Hey, what are you doing home?' he asked, surprised.

'Meredeth went into labour and Rick's driving her to the hospital. I came here to get RJ to take him with me to the hospital.'

'Oh, no, don't worry about it, I'll stay here with him.'

Beckett blinked, moved by his simple volunteering spirit. 'Don't you have to work?'

'I just finished days today and I start nights tomorrow, so I'm free.'

'Mom? Meredeth's having the babies?' Alexis asked from inside the laptop.

'Yes, sweetheart she is, and I have to get back,' Beckett replied. 'Um, okay, RJ likes oatmeal with fruit and juice for breakfast and you should change his diaper before you feed him, Shane. Trust me on that one.'

'Got it. Say hi to everyone for me.'

'You got it. Oh, do you know if Gennaro's is open late?'

'One am every night April to November.'

'Excellent.' If Beckett knew her family, bringing some tasty gourmet sandwiches would make her an early hero for a long night.

R&R&Enjoy