Kate stopped in the middle of the doorway when they got home. He had been silent, a rigidity in his posture. "Babe, what happened? What was that about?"
He turned to face her taking a deep breath. "Come here." He moved into the study, guiding her back to the wall, placing a hand just above her head. "My mother and I lived with one of her friends for a while when money was tight. It was at the end of high school, beginning of college. She had a son, Cole, same age, and we were best friends. All through school we stayed close. When I started going out with Meredith, she had eyes for Cole and Cole had eyes for her. High school, college, even when we were married. And when we had Alexis, I found out Meredith was cheating on me. Cole still thinks Alexis is his, and he was only friends with me so he could get to Meredith. She only married me to get pregnant and make him jealous. Then years later, I let him back in, I forgave him, and that's when he got to Gina. He did that to try and get back at me. He's been jealous of me all my life."
Kate's heart broke for him all over again. "Oh, Rick, I would never use you like that. And if Cole ever came anywhere near me," She smirked. "I'd pull my gun on him."
He smiled a little before kissing her.
She felt this may be the best opportunity to tell him. "Well since we're sharing stories, I have something to tell you."
"Oh, I see a Rebel Becks story coming."
"Castle." A smile crept onto her face.
"What is it?"
"Castle, I'm pregnant."
His face softened instantly, the first light expression since Alexis had passed. "Really?"
She bit her lip, not knowing what reaction she would get. "Yeah."
"Babe, we're going to have a baby?" Castle picked her up and spun her around, placing her softly back on her toes. He kissed her again, rubbing his nose with hers, smiles on their faces.
Her smile suddenly turned down, though, her eyes becoming sad. "But, Castle."
"What's wrong?" He moved a curl behind her ear. He then realized what she was thinking. "Kate, Alexis would want this. She would want us to go on with our lives. And she will watch over her little sibling in heaven. As much as it hurts, it helps to think like that."
"But what if it just doesn't feel right?"
"After the Paris thing, Alexis made me promise that if there was ever a next time, and things didn't end well, we would have more children. If I was happy, then she was happy, and she could leave this earth knowing that everything was okay. Plus, I have to pass on lazor tag.
She snorted, a small smile on her face. "If I would have known that, I would have told you sooner.
He made a face. "When did you find out?"
"Please don't be mad."
"Honey, I'm not mad, I just want to know."
"When I went to the doctor, I was in the middle of the second month."
He tried to do the math in his head. "So now you're?"
"One week from three months. I was going to tell you but it was bad timing."
He cupped her cheeks and kissed her once again. This was life giving him a second chance.