A/N- First I need to say thank you to all of the wonderful reviews. I was honestly nervous about the last chapter. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
When Castle woke the following morning, Kate wasn't in the bed. His first thought was that she was going to run. That she had second thought about last night and she had retreated to the guestroom. He was worried that last night had been a reaction to the emotions that her divorce had brought out. So, he walked out to the kitchen and smiled when he was greeted with a wonderful sight.
Kate was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. She had bacon, eggs, waffles and even cut fresh fruit. When he walked closer to her, she gave him a big smile, "Good morning."
Castle smiled and walked behind her and kissed her neck softly. Kate moved her head to the side and she moaned softly. She dropped the spatula and turned around and looped her arms around his neck. She smiled and kissed him deeply. Then she whispered, "I love you."
Smiling brightly, Castle kissed her again and then asked, "Hungry?"
"I'm starving and the baby was protesting the lack of food also."
"Oh, so it's the baby's fault huh?"
"Of course."
Once the food was done, they sat down at the table together. Finally Castle asked, "Any regrets?"
Smiling she told him, "None. How about you?"
He shook his head, "The only regret I have is that we didn't admit how we felt about each other years ago."
"Remember? No regrets about the past."
He smiled at her and nodded. They ate in silence and soon it was time for Kate to go to work. She had a ton of paperwork to do and then she was meeting with the realtor to finalize the sale of the house. She was happy that there was an offer on the house. Selling the house would be the final chapter in her life with Josh. Then she would finally be free from everything that was their past. Then she could concentrate on her future with Castle and their baby.
Their baby. It felt strange to say it, but wonderful at the same time. She'd always known that Castle had a big heart, but she hadn't seriously expected him to be so accepting of another mans baby. Putting her hand on her stomach, she smiled when she felt the baby move. It was almost as if he or she was trying to tell her not to worry about it.
She still had doubts, but decided that she would put them aside. At least for now. For now, she would concentrate on being happy. And Castle made her happy. Incredibly happy. If she was honest with herself, she was happier now than she had been in years. The best part was that she was no longer afraid to admit that she loved him.
She had been quiet for awhile and he finally smiled at her and asked, "You okay?"
She nodded and with tears in her eyes, she told him, "I'm perfect. Last night was incredible Castle. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being you. For loving me. For being willing to raise this baby as your own. I don't know what I did to deserve a man like you. I don't deserve you." She put her hand on her stomach and whispered, "We don't deserve you."
Castle shook his head and whispered, "Don't Kate. You deserve to be happy. WE deserve to be happy. I love you and Alexis loves you. Let me ask you a question. Do you love Alexis?"
She nodded slowly, "Yes. She's easy to love."
Castle smiled, "She's not your child and yet you love her. The same goes for this baby. I don't share a lick of this baby's DNA, but I love her already."
Kate smiled and turned her head to look at him. Then she said, "You're convinced that the baby is a girl. Aren't you?"
He shrugged softly, "Alexis seems to think the baby's a girl, so who am I to doubt her? Plus, I'm pretty good around the ladies."
Kate laughed and rolled her eyes, "Always the ladies man Castle."
He looked up at her and shook his head, "I only have eyes for one lady. Well, unless you count the baby and Alexis that is."
They kissed softly and Kate whispered, "God, I love you..."
She felt Castle's hand rest on her stomach. Then he whispered, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but after last night I feel like this baby..."
He looked down and Kate knew that there was more he wanted to say. So, she put her hand under his chin and asked, "What?"
Castle swallowed hard and then rubbed his hand on her stomach softly. He kissed her on the lips and Kate noticed the tears in his eyes. She put her hand on his cheek and whispered, "Castle. You can tell me."
She watched as he swallowed and then heard him whisper, "I feel like this baby is mine. I don't care about genetics or any of that other stuff. All that matters." He swallowed hard, "All the truly matters is that you love me and I love you. We can work everything else out. You, me, Alexis and this baby are going to be so happy together. The perfect family."
Kate looked at him with tears in her own eyes. Then she told him, "I couldn't agree more."
They kissed and then she headed to work.
The next month went by so very quickly. Castle finally finished his latest Nikki Heat novel and they were planning the launch party for the following month. Of course Paula wanted everyone to attend. Castle wanted Kate to go, but she was apprehensive about going to a party of this magnitude when she was going to be nearly six month pregnant. She tried to get out if it. Saying that she didn't want to ruin his playboy image. Castle shook his head and told her, "I'm done with my playboy days. The only image I want now is that image of the family man to our two children."
She had looked into his eyes and she saw nothing but truth in his eyes. She sighed and told him that she would go. Little did she know that he had something very special planned. Something that would change their lives forever.
The night of the premier, Alexis was practically bouncing off of the walls. She had grown up going to these parties and she looked forward to them. She looked for any excuse to show off a pretty dress.
Kate had picked a beautiful red dress for the occasion. However, she had refused to show it to Castle until the night of the launch. She thought that she looked beautiful, but she was a bit self conscious about the baby bump. Castle loved it though. He would let his hands rest on her stomach all the time. And when they made love he was so gentle with her. Always making her feel like she was precious and beautiful.
Castle was waiting in the living room the night of the book launch and he heard the door to their bedroom open. He stood up and saw Kate walk into the room. All the air left his lungs and he whispered, "Beautiful. Simply beautiful."
Kate blushed and asked, "You think so?"
He kissed her softly and whispered, "Definitely. This makes me want to stay here." He kissed her neck, "Makes me want to do naughty things to you."
Kate felt the thrill at his words. She shivered and whispered, "Paula would kill you."
"I know. So would Alexis and mother."
It was then that Alexis came running into the room. She was twirling around in her dress and she asked her father, "Do you like my dress daddy?"
Castle smiled, "It's beautiful Pumpkin. Did Grams help you pick it out?"
Alexis shook her head, "Nope. Kate took me shopping with her. We picked out dresses out together."
It was then that Castle noticed that his girls had matching dresses on. The only difference was that Kate's was cut lower in the bodice and Alexis' dress had frills at the bottom. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Mother was okay with you taking her? That's always been her thing."
Kate shrugged and told him, "It was actually her idea. She said it would be good bonding time for me and Alexis."
"Wow..."
The fact that his mother had insisted on Kate taking Alexis dress shopping really surprised him. Martha had been taking Alexis dress shopping ever since she was old enough to walk. He had told his mother about his plans for that night weeks ago. Martha had simply smiled and told him that she was proud of him. He'd wondered what she meant by it, but said nothing. She simply wished him luck. He knew that he would need it because he wasn't sure how Kate was going to respond. He knew that they had grown closer in the past few months, but he wasn't sure if it was too soon or not.
After the sale of Kate's house, she had started looking for a place. However, Castle had asked her to move in with him. That had resulted in their first big fight.
Flashback
When Castle walked into the kitchen the night after her house had sold, the night after they made love for the first time, he found her looking at the paper. He asked her, "Doing the crossword puzzle?"
She shook her head and told him, "I'm looking for an apartment."
Castle had been shocked. He had just assumed that she would stay here with him. She never stayed in the guestroom anymore. She had moved all of her stuff into his room. They spent every spare moment together. So, when he heard that she was moving out, he panicked and blurted out, "Why? You already have a home here?"
Kate had looked up at him and shook her head, "We both knew that this wasn't going to be a permanent thing Castle. I need to move out."
He asked, "Why?"
"Because you and Alexis don't need me underfoot every time you turn around."
"You aren't underfoot Kate. We love having you here."
She shook her head, "Castle... Don't make this any harder than it has to be."
"I don't understand Kate..."
Kate sighed, "I feel like you're smothering me. I can't breathe and..."
Castle simply looked at her and whispered, "Well I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. By all means, go. It's what you were planning on doing all along."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You know what I mean."
Kate shook her head, "No, no I don't. Would you care to enlighten me here Castle. Because I'm really confused right now."
"You didn't tell me about the baby. I didn't find out until the doctor in the hospital told me. You don't want me in your life. Yours or the baby's."
"That's crazy Castle! I..."
"Is it? If it's so crazy then why are you running just as fast as you can? You have a home here. Alexis and I both love you. We want you to stay here forever."
"Castle...please..."
"Please what?"
She sighed and told him, "You knew that this was only until the house sold. The plan always called for me to move out."
"Well, what if I want to change that plan? I don't want you to move out. I want you to live here with Alexis and I..."
Kate shook her head, "I can't Castle. I..."
He'd simply looked at her and whispered, "Can't or won't?"
Before she could answer, he walked out of the room and Kate cringed when she heard the door to the bedroom slam behind him.
God, she had made a mess of things. She realized that two things had happened. One was that she assumed that Castle would want her out of the house once the sale of her house was finalized. She hadn't bothered to ask him about whether or not she was welcome to stay here. Sometimes, she still felt like a guest here.
The second thing that happened was that Castle had assumed that she was going to stay here forever. Without actually asking her to stay forever. She knew that she had to fix this. So, she walked into the bedroom that they shared and saw him laying on the bed that they now shared.
He had obviously heard her come in. Because he asked, "Come to pack your things?"
Kate sighed and sat down on the bed. She put her hand on his shoulder and told him, "No. Can we talk?"
"What about? You've obviously decided that you're going to move out. Not much I can do to stop you. And stop you from taking the baby."
Kate closed her eyes and laid down beside him. She put her arms around his waist and then kissed his neck softly. Then she whispered, "I'm sorry. I always thought that the plan was for me to find another place as soon as my place sold."
"Even after we've gotten so close these past few weeks?"
"I had no idea Castle. You never asked and neither did I."
He whispered to the wall, "Do you want to stay?"
"Do you want me to?"
Castle had answered immediately, "Yes. I want you here forever."
Kate smiled and told him, "That sounds wonderful to me. I'm sorry. I should have talked to you."
"No, I'm the one that sorry. I just panicked when you said you were moving out. I had flashbacks of..."
Kate knew that he was having flashbacks to when Meredith had left. This time however, he would have no legal rights to the baby that she carried. She had kissed him, then laid on the bed. Over the past few weeks the baby had gotten more active. And this was no exception. She smiled and took his hand. Laying it over her stomach, she pushed down and the baby responded with a swift kick. She smiled and then she heard, "I felt it Kate..."
"I know. She's telling you not to worry so much daddy."
He leaned down to kiss her softly. Then he whispered with a voice full of tears, "Please..."
She knew without asking that he was pleading with her not to take this away from him. He had fallen in love with her baby. She knew that it would devastate him if she took this away from him. She finally whispered, "Castle, you are her father in every way that counts. I would never take her away from you."
He put her head on her shoulder and she soon felt the wetness of his tears. She let her hand run through his hair. She kissed him and then whispered, "I love you Richard Castle. And I'm sorry that I didn't ask to stay."
Castle simply looked at her and then they made love for hours that night. Kate had never felt more connected to him than she did that night. And in that moment, she decided that she would be with him forever.
Flashback Ends
That night had been hard on both of them. They had worked through it and had come through stronger. Their relationship seemed even better since then. They hadn't spent a night apart in over a month. Castle felt himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
So, he had went out and bought her a ring. He planned to ask her to marry him. However, things wouldn't turn out like he planned. Because in the background of their happiness loomed a dark and foreboding shadow. And that shadow took the form of one Doctor Josh Davidson. What he did that night had the potential to change everything for the happy couple and it would be up to Kate to save the man that she loved...