Disclaimer: The only part of Castle that I own is the TV on which I watch the show.

She's asleep, trying to stay asleep. She's half asleep. It's so nice and warm in this wonderful bed and she doesn't have to get up. Now she's only one-quarter asleep because something is tickling her belly. She'd like to go back to sleep, but this feels sensational. She lifts one eyelid and sees her husband's lips dusting the skin just below her navel.

"Castle? Are you about to do what I think you're going to do? Mmmmm. Because that is one of my truly, truly favorite ways to wake up."

"Not that, Beckett," he says, raising his head to look at her.

"Not that? Since when do you turn that down?"

"Later," he says. "Right now I'm telling the baby something."

She gives his ear a tug. "Not about what we're going to do later, I hope."

"What are you and Dad going to do later, Mom? Why can't he tell me about it?"

"No, it's a continuation of what I told the baby the other day when you were in the precinct and I asked you to put your cell phone on your stomach."

"Oh, that," she says, closing her eyes again. "By all means go ahead. I take it this is a private conversation, since I can't hear you."

"Yeah, it's a private conversation between Dad and me. You'll find out later. It's a surprise."

Castle's whispering is so low that only a bat, or the baby, could understand what he's saying. "Do you remember I told you I was going to get a cool present for Mom, but that it was for you, too? It came in the mail yesterday and I'm so excited. I'm going to give it to Mom in a few minutes." He kisses Beckett's stomach, and rolls out of bed.

Beckett feels the mattress dip and then spring back. "Where you goin'?" she asks sleepily and only barely intelligibly.

"I'm getting our tea. Be right back."

"'kay." She rolls from her back to her side and then on to her stomach.

"Mom, what are you doing? This is so uncomfortable. I'm getting squished. Can you go back to the way you were before, please?"

Beckett rolls onto her side again, and small parallel lines appear between her eyebrows. She loves lying on her stomach. Why doesn't it feel right? Never mind, she'll activate her mental snooze button again.

When Castle returns to the bedroom, carrying two mugs of tea, she sits up.

"Mmmm, that smells delicious," she says as she takes her tea from him. "Raspberry?"

"Yup, and peppermint for me." He smacks his lips, puts his mug on his night table and kneels on the floor. His upper body disappears under the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Just getting this," he replies, popping up and clutching a large box to his chest. He crawls into bed and places it in between them. "It's for you," he says, nudging her thigh. "Well, for you and a little bit for the baby."

"Should I open it?"

"That's the idea."

"Nice bow, Castle," she says as she unties the three-inch wide ribbon. She opens the box and takes out two packages, each a bulky blue rectangle that weighs about five pounds. She lifts off the one on top and holds it up. "A bullet-proof vest? Oh my God, look what it says!" She reads them aloud, the white, block capital letters, "POLICE + 1."

"I had it made!" Castle crows.

"No kidding," she says, trying to sound stern and failing. She looks closely at it. "I hate to sound gloomy, since it's custom, but this is going to be too big for me."

"Try it on, Beckett. Here, lean forward and I'll help you." He secures it with the straps and says, "See? You can make it tight but there's plenty of room to grow. You need a bigger one than you have because you're bigger now, and you'll be getting a lot bigger."

"Castle!" She's baring her teeth. Not a good sign.

He puts his hands up. "Temporarily bigger. Temporarily. Because it's you and the baby in there."

She looks seriously at him and runs her palm down the front of the vest. "Is this NYPD approved?"

"Of course!"

"Not the vest part, Castle, the lettering part."

"Oh, well, um. Now that you. Uh, I'm not sure."

With one quick move, even though she's slightly encumbered by the vest, she's on top of him. "Doesn't matter. Thank you. I love it. And I'm sure the baby will love it."

"Am I the plus one part? I like that. But it's not going to be my name, is it? I think other kids will make fun of it."

She leans over Castle's chest and gives him a scorching kiss. "Lemme see the other one, Castle."

He holds up the second vest, this one bearing the legend POLICEMOM. "Great, right?"

"Yes, but there is no way I'm wearing that at work. No way."

"Once the baby gets to be five or six, we're going to play cops and robbers. You could wear the POLICEMOM one then. Maybe I could get a matching one that says WRITERDAD."

"I bet you already ordered that, Castle."

"I bet I already did, Beckett."

She's straddling him, and she arches her back, pinning him with her best come-hither smile. "How do I look in my new vest?"

"Almost as good as you'll look out of it. In five, four, three…"

TBC

A/N Thank you for all the fantastic feedback. I've got a long way to go with this story, and it's a huge help.