Chapter 36

Rick was woken up to his fiancé peppering soft kisses over his chest, he cracked his eyes open to grab ahold of her arms, rolling over onto his back, pulling her up over him as he went.

"Hey careful there, I'm not as light as I use to be." She teased, placing a wet kiss on his lips.

"I know that rock on your finger is doing a number on my chest."

They looked down at where her hands were perched over his chest, a smile breaking across both of their faces in unison.

"I don't know when it's gonna set in," she paused, smiling down at her ring and then back up at him.

"That we're engaged?"

"Everything." She rolled back on her back, placing her hand over her stomach, "The baby, you, Lex, it's like everything is happening so fast. I never imagined a year ago when I graduated high school that I would be anywhere near marriage at this point in my life. Now I'm about to have a baby, I have a fiancé, and a stepdaughter. It might not be what I imagined for myself at this point in my life, but you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

He took a moment to think about their quick courtship, everything between the two of them had been so rushed. Before they had even gotten serious about each other he knew that she was special to him. He had given her a second chance that he wouldn't have given anyone else. Then the pregnancy, which was shocking enough on it's own, but they had only been dating for a few months, and now they were half way through it and soon they would have a little boy to add to their family. He was ready for the arrival of his son, and prepared for the changes that had occurred so quickly, but sometimes he wondered if this was all too much for Kate, for someone so young.

"I feel guilty sometimes," he said, taking a deep breath and rolling to over to prop his head up on his palm, elbow bent into the mattress.

"For?"

"Knocking you up, you're 19, you shouldn't have to grow up this fast, it's unfair."

"Unfair? Rick, this isn't your fault."

"I know, it was an accident, but we should have been more careful."

She sat up in the bed, pressing her back against the headboard and staring away from him.

"Can we not talk about this."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I know what you mean, but I don't ever want either of us to think of this baby as an accident. This was meant to happen to us, and yeah at times it's been challenging for me to accept. I am going to have to grow up faster than any of my friends, but I wouldn't change it. So what if I don't get to live out my early twenties in a club somewhere. I'll get to crawl in bed with my husband every night, and eat breakfast with our kids every morning. This is where I'm suppose to be."

"What about your dreams? You wanted to model before this all happened, you were in law school. I feel like I just ripped you out of your life."

"Babe, I'm nineteen, this is just the beginning of my life, and i'm not giving up on my dreams, I'm just taking a different path to get to them. Maybe I'll get back into shape and have an even better modeling career than I could have imagined, or maybe I'll go back to school and finish my law degree and be your sexy lawyer wife."

"Oooohhh, that does sound sexy."

"What?" she laughed, "me in business attire."

"I was actually thinking about all the hot sex we could have on your desk."

"Castle….." she slapped his arm.

"Sorry." He smirked over at her, rubbing the spot that she had just hit.

"Regardless I'm happy, and we're happy, right?"

"I know I'm happy." He sat up, leaning over to give her a peck on the lips, "but I'm also very hungry."

"Okay, I'll get up and make us some breakfast."

"No, you stay, I'll make it. I have some sucking up to do anyway, after yesterday."

"If you really want to suck up you could take me shopping, we could buy something for the baby." She yelled at him as he exited their bedroom.

XX

After breakfast, and a long shower together they decided to go shopping for baby furniture. Now that they knew the sex it was easier for Kate to feel excited about preparing for the baby. Rick hadn't stopped talking about a certain store that he wanted to take her to all morning. He had found it online while secretly browsing baby sites. He insisted that the furniture there was perfect for them. Kate had given Rick a hard time about taking her to such as fancy place, but as soon as she walked in it all made sense. Everything in the store was beautiful. She left Castle's side as soon as she walked into the store to look on her own.

The sales woman immediately approached Kate, asking if she needed any help and Kate kindly declined, she wanted to browse alone.

It took a while before Kate noticed she hadn't seen Rick in a while so she went to look around for him. She saw him by the cribs, the same saleswoman standing next to him. She watched from a distance as the woman giggled and flirted with him, pointing out different cribs.

After a while she got annoyed and approached the two.

"Kate, hey babe, have you looked at any of the cribs, see anything you like?"

"I haven't, you see anything you like?" she said widening her eyes at him.

He didn't catch her attitude or her agitation. "Well you said you wanted the room to be grey right? So I feel like we should either go with white furniture, or black." He pointed in the direction of one of the black cribs along the wall. "The black is my favorite."

"Either is fine."

"You don't want to look at them? Or do you have something else in mind."

"No, I just, I'm a little overwhelmed by all of it right now. I think I want to come another time maybe and look."

He caught on that something was off but couldn't sense anything specific being wrong. She had been so excited when they got there, what had changed? Was she really that overwhelmed by baby furniture and if so, why?

As they exited the store, Rick took ahold of her hand, pulling her to the side and stopping.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just pregnancy hormones."

"You sure? You were so excited when we got here."

"Well that's before that bitch started blatantly flirting with you." She rolled her eyes, grabbing for his hand to start walking.

He pulled away from her as she tried to grab him. "Kate, she wasn't flirting, she was just trying to help."

"Oh, hahaha," she shoved his chest, "Rick, you're so funny and charming. Are you here with your wife?" She mocked the saleswoman.

"She didn't do that, or say that. She knew we were there together, shopping for our baby."

"Yeah well she seemed a little too flirtatious to me, which is disrespectful. You work in a store that women frequent with their significant other and you're flirting with my boyfriend right in front of me."

"Fiancé," he said as he grabbed her hand and headed back to the store, entering and walking past the saleswoman back towards the cribs.

"Rick, stop, I want to go home."

"No, we came to pick out furniture and you didn't even look at the furniture. So we are going to do this again, together, and you're going to stop being insecure about some random woman whose name I don't even know.

She rolled her eyes at him as a smile broke across her face. He was right, they were there to celebrate, to buy their baby something and she was being selfish and insecure. She knew Rick wasn't interested in the woman even if she was flirting with him.

"Black" she whispered

"What?"

"I like the black furniture." She said a little bit louder.

He grabbed her waist, pulling her to him and giving her a sloppy kiss.

"Was that so hard?" he teased.

"I hate you."

"I'm pretty sure you love me." He said, receiving another eye roll from her.

"I do, very much."

"So the black it is?"

She walked over to it, running her hand across the frame of the bed, imagining her son lying in the middle of the mattress.

"I love it."

She looked down at the price tag attached to the side of it.

"Oh, no, no, no. There is no way we are paying that much for a crib."

"Kate, don't worry about the price tag."

"Don't worry about the price tag? You're crazy if you think I am buying this."

"You aren't, I am." He said, walking over and pulling her hand into his.

"Uhhhhh, no…. you're not. We're not. I don't even like it that much."

"You just said you loved it." he shot back.

"I lied, it's not that spec…"

"Kate, we're getting the crib, and the rest of the matching furniture, so stop."

She shut her mouth, and looked down at their intertwined fingers, her shiny new diamond ring there as a reminder that this was half his decision, and if he wanted to spend a boat load of money on it then who was she to tell him he couldn't. especially since she loved it.

"Okay, but can you pay for it while I stand outside so I don't have to see how much it cost? I might have a heart attack."

That drew a laugh from him, and he leaned in to give her a kiss.

"Here's some money," he placed a twenty in her hand, "Go get us some ice cream next door, I'll pay and then meet you there."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me for ice cream Kate."

"Not just the ice cream, for everything. You're so patient with me and you call me on my bullshit. I love you Richard Castle, I cant wait to be your wife." She gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"I love you too, baby. Now, go, before I have her start throwing in all kinds of unnecessary expensive shit just to piss you off."

"You wouldn't." She squinted her eyes and glared at him.

"Oh, you know I would." He teased back, tearing his hand away and shoving her towards the door.

Xx

They walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, both licking away at their ice cream cones. Kate had been craving mint chocolate chip all week and when she finally got the chance to get it she ordered chocolate almond, but made sure to get mint chocolate chip fro Rick so she could have some.

"The furniture will be delivered next week, so I was thinking we should hire someone to come in and paint the room before it gets brought in, so they can just set it up and we wont have to stress about it. Which room were you wanting to put him in? The one across from Alexis' or the one at the end of the hall?"

"I don't know, I think I'd feel better if he were across from Lex's room. Speaking of Alexis, her birthday is next week, what are we doing for it, and what are we getting her, or have you already got her gift?"

"I haven't bought it, I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Lex wants a puppy, which I've been promising her she could get for her fifth birthday since she was 3. Now the only issue is that we are about to have a new baby in the house and I don't want to overwhelm you so if you're against it then we can find something else to make up for the puppy."

"If you promised her a puppy you have to get her a puppy."

"I don't have to, not if you don't want a dog in the house with a new baby, I'm sure she will understand."

"Rick, dogs are around babies all the time, and if we get him now we will have time to house train it before the baby gets here."

"So you aren't against the puppy idea."

"No, plus I think Lex could use a pup. I've been thinking about it a lot and I don't know how she is going to deal with a baby in the house either. I mean she is excited now, but what happens when the baby is actually here and is demanding a lot of our time. What if she starts to resent the baby, or doesn't like him."

She paused on the sidewalk, looking around franticly and throwing her ice cream in a nearby trashcan.

"You done already?"

"I just feel a little nauseous." She ran her hand around the back of her neck, stretching her neck to one side and then the other.

"Kate, Alexis is going to be fine."

"I know, I know, it just gives me a little bit of anxiety, I don't want her to feel neglected or hate me and the baby."

He pulled her into his body with his free arm. Her head resting on his shoulder and her arms lie around his waist.

"I really wish you would stop worrying so much. Children get siblings everyday. Yes, she is going to have to adjust, we all are, but she will be absolutely fine."

"Promise."

"Yes, I promise. Now lets go home and I'll tell mother to bring her home. I can sense that someone might need a little bit of one on one time with Lex tonight."

She squeezed his body tight against her own, "Maybe we should wait a while before you call your mom, I could use some one on one time with her daddy first, but I might need Lex to sleep with us tonight. I do need some cuddle time with her."

"You're gonna be a great mom, to both of our kids."

Kate drew her body away from his, "You think Lex looks at me like a parent?"

"Have you seen the way she is around you. She prefers you over me at all times, even bedtime, and I'm terrific at bedtime stories. Since you've been in her life it's been much easier for her to accept her mother not being around. You've stepped up in ways that no one else has even attempted. That's why I love you, and that's why I know that you are going to be an amazing mother."

She took his free hand as they started down the sidewalk towards the loft.

"Hey baby." She said, suspiciously eyeing him from the side.

"Yes, you can have it." he said as he pushed his ice cream cone in her direction.

"You really are the best."

Thanks for reading, I'll try to update again soon.