A/N: I know I sound like a broken record, but thank you so much for any kind of feedback you guys provide. It always brings a smile to my face, so keep going :P I can't believe we're already on chapter 5. Hope you enjoy!
Month 5
It's a Sunday morning, and the first sunbeams are coming through their bedroom windows.
He blinks a few times, disoriented at first, before he slowly takes in his surroundings and begins to wake up properly. Once he stops squinting, he turns his head towards Kate, noticing with an amused smile that his wife is still asleep.
It happens so rarely, her work forcing her out of bed in the early hours of the morning most days – and if it isn't work she has to get up for, it's her natural sleeping pattern that wakes her before him.
But she has the day off, and so it seems that the combination of all the exhaustion Kate is now constantly bothered with, and the miraculous coincidence that she isn't woken up by either her alarm or their daughter, have enabled her to sleep in properly. For once.
Castle knows she won't sleep for much longer though. An hour, two at most perhaps. Still enough time for him to lay back and enjoy the warmth of his bed and the comfort of her presence beside him for a little bit longer, before he will get up and make them their breakfast.
A gesture he doesn't have to make, she has assured him several times, but he enjoys the smile and content hum he always receives in thanks too much to stop.
He doesn't want to risk falling asleep again, can already feel his eyelids getting heavy, and so he starts talking, his voice still raspy from sleep.
"Good morning, squirt." He pauses. "It's pretty obvious that we haven't picked a name yet. Don't worry though. We will have to eventually."
Neither of them has brought the subject up again since his first attempt. Both Kate and Rick toyed with several ideas in their heads. None of them, however, seemed adequate; none of them encompassed the significance the little girl held for them; none fit their story, and dammit, as a writer, he wants their daughter's name to hold meaning.
He'll be sure to address it again when he actually has a proper suggestion. Castle knows that there is no use in tossing around ideas just yet. It would probably just end up with him browsing the internet, clicking through pages and pages of names that are only likely to catch his attention for their absurd spelling.
No, things that were special to them are unlikely to be found on some list on the internet. He has learned that from trying to find 'their' song. No list could do that for them. It required a case linked with supernatural abilities (yes, he is still holding on to that belief) and a dance at a high school prom with his fiancée for them to figure that one out.
In some way, even their song has a special story that is unique to them, and he loves that. So if waiting and solving weird cases with his wife is what it takes to find a fitting name for their daughter, he is willing to be patient.
"I don't think I could have found a more fitting name for Alexis. It means 'to help' or 'to defend'," he informs his unnamed child. "She is actually going to go to law school soon, so she really lives up to her name."
Alexis finally found her path in life, and he couldn't be more pleased. He has never had doubts that his daughter would do anything short of amazing, but he still sympathized with the troubled expression crossing her face every time the subject of her future came up. He had always tried to be there, to provide advice that would guide her, but this had been a decision that he couldn't make for her.
"But even before that – she has always been very protective of her grandmother and me. She worries about us. In that respect, she actually really resembles your mother," he remarks. "They both will do everything they can to help those they care about."
Castle has seen his daughter's compassion on several occasions. Worried about her dad, who willingly put himself in danger as he investigated murders, but realizing that it was good for both him and his writing. Worried about her grandmother, who she wanted to see succeed in life after losing all her wealth, and yet wasn't ready to let go once his mother actually considered moving out. Worried about Hayley – who had become the slightly reckless bigger sister Alexis never had – that time she was being framed for a murder she didn't commit. Alexis sacrificed her own wishes plenty of times to allow those she loved to pursue what was best for them.
"Your sister is pretty incredible; I hope you know that. Since we told her about you, she has done whatever she can in her free time to help Kate. She already bought a few onesies for you."
They put them in a dresser in a spare room for now, one that would soon be turned into a nursery.
"She also went shopping with Kate to get her some new outfits – I guess, in a few instances, you can see that she is Meredith's daughter as well. Speaking of outfits though," he moves on, "your mom is always stunning, but there's only so much nice fashion and flowy tops can hide. I am happy to report that you are no longer a secret. Everybody knows."
It hadn't been a choice made only due to fashion complications and the impossibility to deny that Kate's body was changing, but after their family knew, it only felt right to inform the others as well.
Kate actually visited Lanie at the morgue to tell her. She didn't want to tell her the news on the phone, but their busy schedules kept them from meeting in their private time. And so, when a chance presented itself, she dropped by and waited until her best friend had finished recounting all her findings about their most recent victim to pull her to the side.
"Lanie, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Looks to me like you're doing just that," Lanie responded with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Okay, what's on your mind?"
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, but we wanted to keep it between us at first, and then we got used to it, and then…" She rushed through the explanations, wanting Lanie to understand why she hadn't already talked to her. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, gatherin her courage. "I'm pregnant."
Her voice had been hushed, an attempt to keep their private conversation as private as possible while other people worked around them. Any attempt at privacy, however, was ruined by Lanie's excited squeal.
"Finally!" she exclaimed, surging forward to hug Kate. "I thought you'd never say. How far along are you?"
Kate smiled. "You knew, huh?"
"Honey, everybody knew. There's a pool going on when you'd say, and one on when the baby's due. So… when is it due?"
Kate paused for a moment, stunned that bets were placed on her and Castle's relationship once more. "Um… I'm a little over four months pregnant. You do the math."
Lanie cursed under her breath, earning a confused look in response. "I said you were further along," she explained. "What?" she defended herself with an eye roll when Kate narrowed her eyes at her.
"Betting on my pregnancy, really?"
"Wouldn't mind a little extra cash on the side," Lanie said with a wink. "Congratulations, honey," she added with sincerity in her voice. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you," Kate smiled.
She eventually turned to leave, her other obligations calling her back to the precinct, but Lanie tugged her back. "You really pull off that glow." Her friend smirked and let her go, but not before hugging her again, promises to catch up as soon as possible made by both women.
Kate called Castle on her way back to the precinct, updated him on the conversation she just had with Lanie, and asked him if he could meet her at the station so that they could tell Esposito and Ryan together.
They arrived almost at the same time. Her eyes scanned the bullpen.
"Ryan? Espo? Come to my office for a sec," she called.
"What's up, boss?" Esposito asked once the four of them are in her office and the door is closed.
Castle took over the talking this time. "Guys, there's something we want you to know. Sorry for keeping this from you for so long-"
"Yeah, yeah, Beckett's pregnant, right?" Ryan interrupted, pointing at Kate.
"I- uh, she- yes," he stammered, taken aback by the straightforward question asked by the otherwise more tactful detective.
Ryan's face split into a wide grin. "Congratulations!"
"How far along are you?" questioned Esposito eagerly, and Kate rolled her eyes.
"You in on the bet too?"
"There's a bet?" Rick asked.
The detectives took to admiring the floor instead of facing either of them. They actually looked like two children being caught doing something they weren't supposed to.
"I mean… yeah… you were acting all weird and stuff, so we thought we'd investigate, make sure you're okay," Espo tried to explain.
"We're detectives, and so we observed. It didn't take much, plus you're speaking to a dad yourself," Ryan jumped in, puffing out his chest a little towards the end.
"Can't blame us for wanting to make things a little more exciting, right?" Esposito tried to joke, but Kate heard the genuine worry that he upset her.
"Guys, it's fine," she chuckled, pleased to see the duo sigh in relief.
"We're happy for you," Ryan said. "You're going to be a great mom, Beckett." Esposito nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Kate murmured. "Now," she started, stepping back into Captain-mode, "I need you to double check all the information we got from our suspect yesterday, especially his alibi. I'm getting pressure to find the killer, and something about his whole story was off. Report back to me in two hours. Go!" she commanded.
As the two were halfway through the door, Esposito hung back slightly. "You didn't tell us how long…"
"GO," Beckett repeated with urgency, shewing them out of her office completely.
"I'm really curious to see who won the bet," Castle admitted once the door shut.
"Once the three knew, there was only one other person to tell," he tells his daughter after recounting the other reveals to her. "Her name's Hayley Shipton. She's helped me a lot, particularly when I've made a mess of things at the P.I. office. And she's a good friend to Alexis. She's happy too, though she's got her own way of showing it."
He quietly laughs to himself. She'd congratulated them, but after that, she'd returned to her usual ways of displaying her affection through sarcastic comments and teasing. Castle has noticed a change though.
She voluntarily started taking over more of his work to allow him to be with Kate, while she practically ran the whole business. She still utters snarky comments about his qualities as a dad on a regular basis, but puts reassurance in them too.
("I suppose Alexis turned out okay, though I'm not quite sure how that happened.")
"She will be your badass aunt of sorts, I suppose. Actually, you'll be surrounded by all sorts of amazing people. They already care about you, every single one of them does. Ryan actually keeps giving me parenting advice… I may need to remind him that I've done this all before - and I did a pretty good job with that one all by myself," Castle says with a smile on his lips.
He may have done it all before, but he is still incredibly grateful to have someone like him as a friend.
Rick rolls onto his side and looks to where Kate's stomach is covered by their blanket.
"I don't think I've ever seen something quite as adorable as Kate with her baby bump. You're growing in there, and I can see it now." He smiles. "Being pregnant suits her. Everything does, but I love this look in particular. I'm biased again, of course," he admits.
He can see Kate waking up, her eyelids fluttering. So he stops talking, leans over to kiss her on the forehead, and then moves from the bed into the kitchen to brew their coffees and make pancakes.
They thoroughly enjoy their lazy Sunday together, play board games with Alexis first, then take a stroll through the park, and end the day by ordering pizza (where she asks for a combination of toppings that almost make him gag) and watching a movie. It's a perfect day of rest, and both of them go to bed with a smile.
She falls asleep almost immediately, while he reflects on everything that happened the past couple of weeks.
Sometimes, it still feels like a dream. Kate is halfway through her pregnancy now, and it still feels surreal, like she just told him yesterday. He is torn between wanting this moment to last forever – to revel in the excitement he constantly feels and the anticipation that makes him grin like an idiot all the time – and wanting the power to speed time up so that he can meet the newest addition to his family as soon as possible.
Castle looks over at his sleeping wife. Waiting isn't so bad if he's waiting with her, he supposes.
"Oh, by the way," he murmurs right before falling asleep. "Ryan won the bet on how long you've been around. LT guessed correctly when it came to the time of the official reveal."