A/N: I am so terribly sorry for the wait. Classes started, and I'm still getting the gist of things. After this, all that's left is an epilogue - stay tuned ;) THANK YOU so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows this story has received. I still can't believe the numbers when I see them.
Month 9
He's acting like he is the youngest child of the family.
It's Castle who is prancing around Kate when they tour the finished nursery. It turned out even better than they thought. The colors are subtle and match the rest of the ambience of the loft, but a few elements, some touches here and there, have been incorporated that transform it into not just any other room, but their future daughter's room.
Kate mostly just smiles and nods, eyes shining bright, as Rick elaborates on all design choices and specialties of this nursery (he assures her that they purchased the best and highest quality crib there is). She accepts his explanations without protest, not stopping him to mention that she has been as much part of the furnishing process as he has. His enthusiasm is too enticing, his happiness too contagious, and she doesn't want to disturb that in any way. And so she happily listens to him going over details she knows, showing her features of the room she is all too familiar with.
They complete the tour, Castle having done inventory along the way, making sure they haven't forgotten anything – perhaps for the third time this week. They have been over the list so many times these past couple of days, Kate is sure she has it memorized by now.
She is sure they will be good for the next several weeks if not months – an apocalypse could come, and they might not have enough stuff for themselves, but their daughter would be sure to have enough to last her for a long time. And if Castle's piles of stuff he bought over the last months wouldn't suffice, she is convinced that the pile that matches in size and was gifted to them by their friends and family would take care of the rest.
Their daughter isn't even here yet, and already has the best of the best.
The gift that made her laugh the most was a dark blue onesie that Ryan and Esposito gave them. Matching their bullet proof vests, it had "NYPD" printed in white letters on the front of it and "Writer" on its back. It didn't just get a laugh from Kate, but rather anyone who was present at the baby shower.
It was a fun afternoon two weeks ago, and they had invited a few people from the precinct, a few writer pals, and their family. Everyone spent the majority of it laughing gleefully as they exchanged anecdotes, and everyone – even Esposito, even though he later denied it – shed at least one tear when the gifts were handed over.
It was Martha's fault though. She insisted she be the first to give them her present and, ever the actress, coupled it with a theatric speech about parenthood and how they would be fantastic parents, because they had so much love to give.
She then presented them with a patchwork baby blanket that she had made herself, waving off Castle's joking remarks about her skills with a needle. She revealed that it contained parts of Castle's old one that she kept for years without him knowing, as well as Alexis's… and Kate's own.
Martha had coordinated her plans with Jim, who had almost forgotten that he had never actually had the heart to throw much of Kate's baby stuff out. He was glad that at least part of it would serve a new purpose.
His mother handed it over with a dramatic gesture, and Kate took it, let the fabric run through her fingers. She thoughtfully touched the different patches, giggled when stroking her fingers across pieces that she still feel familiar and remind her of her childhood. When she encountered another patch, she noticed that the fabric seemed to be older, and she could almost picture baby Rick wrapped up in it. The other fabric she detected was clearly of higher quality – of course, Castle had wanted Alexis to be as comfortable as possible from the moment she was welcomed into the world.
Castle wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. "That's actually really beautiful, mother," he said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.
"It really is," Kate joined in. "Thank you, Martha."
On almost any other day, her theatrical demeanor would have probably coaxed an eye roll from Castle and a slight smile from Beckett. But emotions were running high that day, and so it didn't take long for the first tear to fall.
Martha looked pleased. She tried but only partly succeeded in replying in typical Martha-fashion, making some kind of sarcastic or lighthearted remark that would snap everyone out of the emotionally charged situation, and instead offered one of her rare solemn responses that revealed how much thought went into the gift.
"Well, I thought it would be a brilliant idea – of which I have many, of course. That way, your daughter will always be surrounded by family and those that love and care about her. I don't want any of my grandchildren to ever doubt that."
Naturally, every single person that followed his mother felt the need to add their own heartfelt story (of which there were many, considering how much they'd gone through together) followed by repeated congratulations and hugs that forced Kate to get out the tissues.
Every gift was special in its own way: tied to shared experiences, inside jokes, personal stories… some made the recipients giggle, some prompted them to take another tissue, but they all warmed their hearts.
Two more weeks, she thinks as she heads back downstairs, Rick trailing close behind. It seems so close and yet so far. Like time is racing and yet almost standing still.
It all seems so final. He is almost done with his new book, already sent the first draft to his publisher and now awaiting notes.
She started maternity leave at the beginning of the month, letting her substitute take over. Her substitute that didn't have randomly swollen feet, the substitute who wasn't tired after climbing a single flight of stairs. A substitute that didn't haul a tiny human being around.
"You're about to be evacuated," she informs her bump just as she finishes descending the stairs and makes her way over to the couch.
Rick chuckles behind her as he catches her words. "Soon, we can talk to her in person."
"Yeah, for a change," Kate says suggestively.
He just quirks an eyebrow at her as he sits down beside her. Rick is aware that she has been talking to their daughter on occasion, but so far, he only witnessed a brief remark here or there like the one he just overheard. But her tone of voice implied that there is something else behind her comment.
He shrugs his shoulders and decides to not pry further; he is probably just reading too much into it anyway.
"I can't wait for her," she says, like they both have so many times already.
Castle gets up to get them both something to drink and misses Kate flinching and clutching her stomach. By the time he turns to her again, she is back to normal and smiles at him, her face not giving anything away.
It happens again later that day while he's in the bathroom, but she keeps quiet about it.
That evening, it doesn't take her long to close her eyes and fall asleep at almost the exact moment her head hits the pillow. Rick struggles to keep his open, but he still takes a moment to admire the outlines of her face, the play of shadow and light on it as her lips curve into a smile in response to a dream he can only imagine – and he is pretty sure he knows exactly what it's about. Right now, it all comes back to them. To her. To their daughter.
"Hey there, squirt," he starts before interrupting himself. "Hey, you actually have a name now!"
When her last month of pregnancy was fast approaching, both decided that pushing the discussion to any later time was a risk. Neither of them wanted to suddenly be in the hospital and not have anything to put down in the space meant for their daughter's name.
Originally, they were going to discuss it over dinner at the loft, away from any potentially nosy spectators. But, as always, things didn't work out exactly as planned.
It had been one of the many trips they made to buy some knickknacks here and there, small things they'd forgotten about earlier. When they left one place and were on their way to the second store, Castle stopped her at a little flower shop. Instructing her to wait for him, he went in and returned with a stunning bouquet that combined a wide range of flowers.
One in particular stood out to her. "Lilies?" she commented carefully.
"Yeah," Castle shrugged his shoulders. "I know they're often used for funerals… but they're some of Alexis's favorites and really just too pretty… I hope you like them too?"
Kate smiled. "We actually bring some to my mom's grave every once in a while." She could see his smile drop, afraid that he brought up a dark memory, so she hurried on. "She actually loved them too. Always mentioned that it was such a shame that they were primarily known for such sad and unfortunate occasions." She acknowledged how Rick relaxed his shoulders, comforted that she seemed fine, and she rushed on before he would try to utter an apology she didn't need to hear. "Didn't know Alexis was a fan of flowers."
"Well," he started, his voice an octave higher than usual, her distraction having the desired effect. "Fan might be an exaggeration when it comes flowers. I think she mostly likes them because Harry Potter's mom was named after them."
The explanation made her laugh out loud, a few passengers turning their way to see if they could detect what had been so funny.
"You know that Lily can also mean…"
"…pure and beauty?" she finished.
He raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know?"
She rolled her eyes. "You're not the only one who reads."
Having failed to impress her with his trivia, he grudgingly mumbled "You forgot to mention that the flowers can also symbolize devotion and friendship."
"Didn't want to steal all of your spotlight."
When they got home, she put the arrangement into a vase. And as some of them began to wilt, she worryingly eyed one of the lilies – the prettiest, she thought – still blooming eagerly, as if to prove that it would be the strongest flower in the mix. As time progressed, she became increasingly concerned that it would soon die on her. She knew she was overreacting, that they could just get a new one to replace the other - but she didn't want a new one, only wanted to preserve the one that she had decided was her favorite.
One day, Castle hung the flower up to dry.
"That way, the most beautiful and strongest will never leave us," he murmured and Kate could hear the hint of amusement in his voice, but chose to ignore it since a thought had just crossed her mind.
"Lily."
"Yes," he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her to engulf her in a hug. "That is indeed a lily. Ten points to Kate Beckett."
"No," she said, leaning slightly backwards so that she could look him in the eye. "Lily," she repeated, carefully watching his features as she saw realization dawn across his face.
"And before you say that it's stupid or cliché to name a child after a flower, please consider…" was all she could get out, because Rick stopped her flow of words with his lips.
"I love it," he whispered as he pulled back.
"So," he says quietly. "Hey there, Lily."
It's the first time he called his daughter by her name to her face, erm, bump. He tries how the sound feels on his tongue and decides he loves it dearly.
"In conclusion, your name has the story it deserves. It took so long to find the perfect one. But it was definitely worth the wait. And I'm glad that your mom and I didn't actually have to discuss it – we're both extremely stubborn, you know. And Kate doesn't always appreciate my creative input."
He chuckles at the thought of all his antics she had to put up with throughout the years. His famous crazy theories which were only sometimes helpful, entertaining to a certain point, or just simply irritating and distracting while she was on the hunt for a killer. It only took a few days for Esposito to lose patience, and Kate had dealt with years of it.
"But we always find a way out of our disagreements. We butt heads for a while, and then we find common ground. But with both of our genes combined, I'm convinced that you will have an extremely strong will," he mumbles.
Rick is unable to suppress a yawn. He wants to continue talking. Surely there are many more stories he can tell, more profound wisdom he can share with their daughter - all the things he is going to have to repeat once she is actually able to hear and understand him, but he wants to get out anyway.
However, an "We love you so much," is all he manages to murmur. But for the moment, it suffices.
He is woken up by a hand grabbing his shoulder.
"Rick," he hears her familiar voice, but it doesn't really register, his mind still too tired and the lack of any form of light in the room not exactly helping him wake up.
"Babe."
She is shaking his shoulder less gently now, and Castle makes an effort to blink.
"Castle."
Kate's voice is filled with more urgency now, and he knows it must be important. He opens his eyes and turns his head towards where he assumes she is.
He wants to ask her what's wrong, but Kate starts speaking the second she knows he is paying attention.
"The baby's coming."
And all of a sudden, he is wide awake.