Last chapter's cliffhanger will be resolved! On another note, there are only 3 or 4 chapters left... would you like to see a third story? :) Enjoy!
The next morning, she was getting dressed for work when Rick Skyped her. She answered, and his grinning face came onto her phone screen.
"Hey honey!"
She waved. "Hey there."
Rick squinted. "Are you okay, sweetheart? You look a little tired."
Kate shook her head. "Nope. I'm okay. "
He wasn't falling for it. "You've got a lot of makeup on under those pretty eyes of yours, Kate Beckett. How late you were up last night?"
"Late enough."
Rick sighed and let it go. "So, how's it going at work?"
"Fine," Kate said, trying to sound casual. "You know, murderers never sleep. I actually have to be at an autopsy in fifteen minutes, so I have to go. Sorry."
"It's okay, " Rick said, looking a little confused. She had basically just blown him off after only thirty seconds of conversation. "I love you, Kate."
"I love you too."
The second she hung up, she collapsed onto the bed and started to cry. This sucked.
She arrived at the morgue a few minutes early. Lanie saw her and immediately noticed something was wrong.
"Where's your coffee?"
"No Rick," Kate said plainly, running her shaking fingers through her hair.
"Kate, what's wrong?," Lanie asked soothingly, putting her hand on Kate's arm. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Lanie, I….. I think I'm pregnant," she said slowly, staring at the floor. After a few seconds, she looked back up at her friend.
Lanie stared at her, eye wide. "Are you sure?"
Kate rubbed her eyes. "I don't know... I'm late, and I've been really emotional lately. I've been crying a lot…. And… and Rick isn't here. He's in Chicago! And tomorrow night he'll be in Charlotte! And I need him, Lanie. I fall apart whenever he's gone."
Lanie hugged Kate. "It's okay, honey. You got me. We'll figure this out. Have you taken a test yet?"
Kate shook her head. "No."
Lanie pulled back, and stroked Kate's hair. "We'll take one, okay? I'm sure you're not pregnant. I mean, you're on birth control, right?"
"Yes," Kate said. She sighed. "But I needed a refill, and I forgot to get it. I accidentally took 2 days off."
"Oh, sweetie," Lanie said with concern, hugging her friend again. "Let's go take an early lunch and figure this out."
Lanie bought the pregnancy test, because Kate was too freaked out to, and they went to Lanie's place in case Alexis came home. Before Kate went into the bathroom, Lanie squeezed her hand.
"Kate, it's gonna be okay. I'm here for you. Javi and Ryan too, if they need to be."
Kate nodded and took a deep breath. She was scared that she might be pregnant, but she was also very unsettled at her own behavior. She was never this emotional and weak, and it scared her more than a baby did. Of course, it occurred to her that the two things could go hand-in-hand.
She sat down on the toilet and took the test. While she waited for the results, she washed her hands and leaned against Lanie's bathroom counter, trying to take deep, calming breathes and think of something that relaxed her. Rick's face came to mind, and suddenly she missed him like crazy. She started to sob, tears blurring together in her eyes. Lanie must have heard her, because she opened the bathroom door and rushed in.
"Kate? Are you okay?"
Kate nodded and wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve. "I was just… thinking about Rick. I miss him."
"Did you check the test?"
"Not yet," Kate whispered, her stomach twisting into knots. Lanie squeezed her hand.
"Need a minute?"
"No," Kate shook her head. She held tightly to Lanie's hand and used her other to pick up the test. "I need you. I need a friend."
She held it out for both of them to see. A small blue minus sign, like a light at the end of the tunnel, sat in the middle of the white oval. Kate started to laugh and cry with happiness, throwing her arms around Lanie. They embraced for almost two minutes, laughing and crying and smiling.
"You should make an appointment with your doctor just to double-check, but I think you're good," Lanie said, wiping her eyes. She laughed again.
"Thank God, honey. Can you imagine a young Castle right now?"
Kate smiled and tugged on her hair, feeling relived and happy. But at the same time, a little Castle didn't sound so bad. Someday. But not today.
xxxx
Four days later, Kate had checked with her doctor, who confirmed she was not pregnant and helped her get her birth control back on track. She didn't tell Alexis about the scare, because there was no need to. They just hung out, eating takeout for dinner and sharing stories about their days. They watched a chick flick every night, and snuggled under a big blanket.
But something was nagging at Kate in the back of her mind. Didn't Rick deserve to know what had happened? She could have been pregnant with his child. And he was such a good guy, so caring and sweet. He didn't deserve her distant attitude. She didn't want to tell him over the phone, because knowing Rick, he would be confused and he would want to work through it together. And she did too. So the second she wrapped her most recent case, she told Alexis she needed to go to Houston to see Castle for a few days because she missed him. Alexis's response was, "That's really sweet, how much you guys love each other. Go, I'll be fine."
Kate had felt uneasy. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Alexis grinned, hugging her. "Go, Kate!"
xxxx
When Kate arrived in Houston, she used her charming smile, sexy voice, and badge to get the concierge to let her into Rick's room. She had read in the newspaper on the cab ride from the airport that Rick would be at a Barnes & Noble in downtown Houston, starting at 6 pm. It was 7:30 now, so she pulled her advance copy of Frozen Heat out of her bag and picked up where she had left off on the plane.
She must have gotten lost in the book, because what felt like only fifteen minutes later, she heard a key card go in the lock and a click. She tossed the book on the ground and sat up on the bed, turning to face the door.
Rick came in with his hand on his face, rubbing his eyes. The poor guy looked very weary, it seemed asking, "And your name is?" and hearing the same comment about his work hundreds of times could get pretty boring, even for a guy who loved praise. He moved his hand from his face and saw Kate.
"Kate?," he asked, his eyes widening. "You almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?"
She stood up and took a few steps toward him.
"I had to tell you something in person," she said, swallowing. He looked worried.
"You're kinda freaking me out, honey."
"Sorry," Kate said, tugging on her hair. She took a deep breath. "I…We had a… a pregnancy scare."
Rick put his hand on his chest and sat down the bed. "What?"
She sat beside him. "I thought I was pregnant. I'm not, though. But I thought you should know. I felt bad not telling you."
"How long ago?"
"Just a few days. I wanted to check with my doctor. I'm so sorry, Rick." She took his hand and squeezed it.
"Why are you sorry?," he asked her, looking into her eyes. "Honey, I don't want kids if you don't. Alexis is perfect, so I might not have any good genes left anyway." He smiled, trying to ease the tension.
"I do," Kate said. "I do want kids. Being with Alexis so much over the past 2 months has made me realize that. But not yet. I just... I can't do it right now."
"You don't have to," Rick said soothingly, stroking her hair. "When you're ready, if you ever are, we'll talk about it. There's no pressure."
"I know, Rick, but I when I thought I was... pregnant, I was so scared. Because it's too soon. I'm still damaged, a total mess, and I need to recover. But I want to recover, so we can have a family someday. I just... I still feel frustrated and exhausted half the time. I cried almost every day you were gone, because I felt helpless without you there to support me. I was lost. And that's not healthy," Kate whispered, her voice raspy. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. "I'm not healthy."
She started to sob, and Rick hugged her close to him, kissing her hair and rocking her back and forth.
"Yes you are, baby. You're doing so much better. And I'm proud of you."
"Rick, you're gone for 5 days and I fall apart. That's not right."
"It just means you love me. A lot," he said with a smile. "Want to know a secret? I cried a little bit in the cab on the way to the airport."
She pulled back and stared at him in disbelief. "No, you didn't."
"Yup. I got all choked up and when the driver asked what was wrong, I said allergies. I cried for a couple minutes, in bed, a few nights ago. Because I haven't slept without you in close to nine months."
Kate smiled a little. "We're just both a mess, aren't we?"
"Yep. But you're the most beautiful mess I've ever seen."
Kate laughed. She leaned against his chest and sighed. Rick stroked her hair, pushing it away from her face.
"I'm sorry you had to go though all this alone, honey. I wish I had been there."
"Rick, it's okay. I love you very much, but love on it's own can't conquer. I need to continue working hard to get better, and some of that has to be on my own."
"That's a very brave thing to say, Kate," he said, kissing her cheek. "Hey, you bring a bag with you?"
"Yep. I have a change of clothes and a toothbrush, etc."
"So you can spend the night?," he asked with a smile. "My bed, or beds, rather, have been quite empty without you."
She smiled back and placed a quick yet passionate kiss on his lips. "I would love to."
xxxx
The next morning, Kate was happy to see Rick's face on the pillow next to hers when she opened her eyes.
"Hey," she whispered softly, leaning forward to give him a light kiss on the lips. He kissed back and pulled her next to him, letting her snuggle into his shoulder.
"Feeling better?," he asked, kissing her hair. She nodded.
"Much better. And I have an appointment with in 2 days, so I'm going to talk to him about why I've been so up-and-down lately."
"Since we know you're not pregnant," Rick said quietly, rubbing her stomach. She put her hand on his.
"Yeah. Rick, about that…. You know that I want to have kids someday, right?"
"Of course, honey," he said, looking her in the eyes. "But like I said, no pressure, no timetable. When you're ready."
"Wow, I have such a great boyfriend," Kate said. "He writes books about me, doesn't pressure me about sex or kids, and has a kick-ass loft. You should meet him someday," she said to Rick, a twinkle in her eye.
Rick mock-gasped. "Oh, it's on." He started to tickle Kate mercilessly, pulling off her shirt for easier access to her stomach and neck. She shrieked and started to giggle and laugh until she cried. Rick finally surrendered, laying his head on her stomach and laughing as well.
"I love you, Kate Beckett. You know that, right?"
She smiled and wiped some tears from her eyes. "Uh huh. I love you too, babe."
"So then you know I hate to say that your plane leaves in...," he sat up and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. "Two and a half hours. We gotta get you to the airport."
Kate pouted and then picked up her shirt from the corner of the bed where Rick had take it off and tossed it across the room. She brushed her hair off her shoulders, and smiled at him sexily while subtly sticking out her chest. He sighed.
"You don't make this easy on me, honey, but I don't want you to miss your flight," he said, getting up and going over to the bag Kate had brought with her. He pulled out a pair of skinny cargoes and a loose black t-shirt and tossed them to her, along with her black lace bra. She laughed and started to get dressed.
"I tried," she called to him as he went into the bathroom. He laughed. Yes, she certainly did.