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

"It's a boy. You have a beautiful little boy," Doctor Fisher says, smiling as she places him on Beckett's chest.

He hasn't been cleaned off, he's covered in gunk, his eyes are scrunched up, and he looks as though he's about to scream. He's the most gorgeous creature Beckett has ever seen. "Hello," she says, holding him against her bare skin and running her fingertip softly across his cheek before she kisses it. "Hey."

"Hello, Mom, you feel good. I'd open my eyes, but it's too bright in here. And noisy."

"Hello, Eliot." She looks up at Castle, who is simultaneously gobsmacked, ecstatic and speechless. "Look, Castle. Look who we made. He's perfect, isn't he?"

"I finally have a name? And I'm perfect? This is an amazing day already and I just got here."

Castle leans over and kisses Beckett while he cradles the baby's head in his hand. "We have a son. Thank you. Thank you. I can't believe it. A baby boy." Somehow he has the presence of mind to retrieve the phone from his pocket and take a picture of his wife and their minute-old baby.

"Hi, Dad. It's me, Eliot. Mom said. So you can call me Eliot now. I like that."

Doctor Fisher walks to the head of the bed. "We can cut the cord while the baby's lying on you, Kate. We'll clamp it first and then, Rick? Would you like to cut the cord? "

"Cut the cord? That sounds dangerous. I think she means the rope thing that's attached to me. Was that a secret? How come I didn't know that was going to happen? Is it gonna hurt?"

"Yes, please, Lotte. I'm incredibly excited, but I have to say I'm a little bit scared of hurting him."

"No need to worry. There are no nerves in the cord, so the baby won't feel a thing. Just cut between the two clamps."

"Boy oh boy, that's a relief. That's my first joke since I got born, because I'm a boy! Get it? I hope the doctor wasn't fibbing about this not hurting."

Castle removes his hand from the baby's head and takes the scissors from Lotte. It occurs to him that he hasn't done anything with such care and trepidation since the first time he held Alexis. But this is something altogether different, and altogether new. This is the physical link between mother and child, this is what kept their boy growing for the last nine months. He snips through the cord, and when he's done he laughs. And then he cries. And then he feels Beckett wrap her fingers around his hand.

"It's okay," she whispers. "I'm teary, too."

"Don't let anyone know," he says, wiping his eyes and tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, Ryan would be fine, but not Esposito, or Perlmutter."

"Kate and Rick," the doctor says, "we're going to take the baby now, just over here, and we'll clean him up, check him out thoroughly and get all his measurements. I promise that we'll bring him right back to you."

"This is some night, isn't it Beckett?" Castle says. "Or is it morning? It must be morning. Oh, my God, I didn't notice what time it was when Eliot was born. I have to find out."

"The time's on the photo, Castle."

"Oh, yeah. I'm glad you're thinking for both of us."

"And it will be on the birth certificate."

"I don't want to wait for that. Everybody will want to know everything. I want to know everything."

They're interrupted by a yowl from the baby.

"Wow, listen to him, Castle! That's some set of lungs he has."

"Hey, that's me! I'm making a racket, aren't I? That's what that nurse gets for pinching me. She said it was Apgar. I'm glad you didn't call me that. It's a really ugly name."

Castle was stoical during the birth, but the thought of the blood that will accompany the delivery of the placenta makes him light-headed. Some tiny portion of some frontal lobe is telling him that he doesn't really need to be there for that, that Beckett wouldn't mind his absence. In fact, she'd probably be grateful for it, since the doctor would be examining her afterwards and she'd be getting cleaned up and certainly that was something she'd rather not have him have to watch. Also, he doesn't want one of Eliot's first memories to be of his father fainting at the sight of blood like some kind of wuss. Could be traumatic for the boy, force him into therapy down the line. Good. That's settled.

"Already the noisiest kid on the block. Listen, I'm just going to go out to the waiting room, tell our parents and Alexis everything, okay? Seems like a good moment."

"Go," she says, giving him a tiny push.

Castle walks out into the corridor, picking up speed until he explodes through the doors, and manages to corral Alexis, Martha and Jim in one enormous hug. "Boy!" he says. "We have a boy and everybody is fine. Totally fine. Completely. Beckett was incredible. Wait till you see her. And him. Well, you will see him. In about an hour you'll see him. Perfect. And a mop of brown hair. A ton of hair."

Martha squeals. Alexis squeals. Jim produces the silent equivalent of a squeal, an ear-to-ear grin.

"Richard?"

"Yes? Mother! Grams. You're a grandmother again."

"Yes, darling, I am, and Jim is a grandfather, and Alexis is a sister, and I think I can say that we're all over the moon about that. However, now we would all love to know the name of the newest member of the family."

"Oh! Right. Of course, sorry. Eliot. He's Eliot. Eliot Beckett-Castle. And we're all fine, very fine, are you all fine?"

"We're fine, Rick," Jim says, giving him a quick hug. "Eliot is a terrific name."

"Dad?"

"Yes, my dearest daughter."

She's shaking his arm. "Pictures? Didn't you take a picture?"

He looks so sunnily befuddled, more like an oversized kid than a newly-(re)minted father. He scrabbles around in his pocket for his phone and quickly finds the photo, then holds the cell at an angle so that all of them can see.

Jim squints at the screen. "It's hard to tell, but I think he looks like both of you. Those long legs are straight from Katie, though."

"I have to go back in now, back there," Castle says, waving his arm haphazardly behind him. "And then I'll be back out here later so I can tell you all the important things like how much he weighs. And things. How tall. Things." He disappears through the swinging doors, but turns around and comes through them again. "I have to see how they are. And then you can see them. You have to see them. Bye. Oh, wait, I just have to run down for flowers. Bye."

Alexis is laughing as Castle heads for the elevator. "Gram? Dad is hilarious. Was he like that when I was born?"

"No, when you were born he was sort of cheerily catatonic, if you can imagine such a thing. But he was young and your mother wouldn't let him anywhere near the delivery room, so it was a very different situation." Martha turns to her co-grandparent. "What about you, Jim? Were you with Johanna when Katherine was born?"

He laughs at the memory. "I was, but mostly I was trying to persuade her not to file suit against me for having gotten her pregnant. I told her I would countersue, but she was having none of it. And then Katie arrived, and the phantom lawsuits just vanished."

"I was all alone and scared to death but, you know, the show must go on, and it did. Alexis is much too wise to do it that way, aren't you, dear?"

"I know that's really not a question, Gram," Alexis says, "so I won't answer it. Since we can't see Kate and the baby for a bit, why don't we go out and get some coffee?"

The three of them are waiting for the elevator when the doors open and Castle emerges, carrying an enormous bouquet and a stuffed animal.

"Richard! Where did you get those gorgeous flowers at this time of day?"

"Oh, well, I had an order on standby and I sort of paid the florist to be available any time and then I texted her and so she met me in the lobby."

"Of course," Alexis says.

"And Peter Rabbit there?" Jim asks.

"Believe it or not, the hospital gift shop."

"We're going to get coffee, Richard. See you soon." Martha, watching her son advance to the hallway, is not altogether sure that he processed the information.

When Castle reenters the room, he finds mother and son all tidied up, and Eliot nursing. "Oh, my God, you are so beautiful," he says, giving both of them a kiss after dropping the flowers and the toy on the table.

"He found my breast in about one second, Castle. Three tries and he was sucking like mad."

"Yeah? Atta boy!" He wants to pump a fist in the air, but restrains himself.

"Like father, like son. And don't tell anyone I said that. I do have one tiny shred of modesty remaining." She looks to her right. "Those are the most spectacular flowers I've ever seen. Thank you. I won't ask about how you got them at this hour. Is that a stuffed animal?"

He picks it up and passes it to her. "Peter Rabbit, complete with his blue jacket. I found it in the hospital gift shop just now. And that's not all. I Googled to see who else was born on this day, August twentieth-fourth. Guess who? Tolstoy! I'm not kidding. So you might have to rethink your long-held belief in no coincidences and the nonexistence of kismet."

She tickles the baby's fist with the plush bunny. "Maybe for today, at least. Eliot's done for now, I think. Come up here with us and hold him."

An hour later, with Beckett and Son installed in a proper room, Castle goes to collect the family. "We're all ready, but I have to give you the vital statistics first. Seven pounds, nine ounces. Twenty-two and a half inches long. Eight fingers, two thumbs, ten toes. And he arrived at exactly six oh five this morning."

They move into the room, and everyone takes a turn holding the baby. "Jim's right," Martha says. "Katherine, these never-ending legs of Eliot's are yours. But the eyes? Exactly like Richard's. And you know, 'Monday's child is fair of face'? Couldn't be truer. He's gorgeous."

"How about that thick hair? He comes by that honestly," Jim says. "Both sides of the family."

"I'm glad he's not a redhead like Gram and me. Much easier when he's out in the sun. And that is beautiful hair."

"I don't know why everyone is surprised. I've been telling Mom and Dad that I have hair for ages. And if I have great hair, why do I have to wear this dumb hat?"

"Beckett? I just realized that I haven't called anyone at the precinct. Want me to do it so you can save your strength? Everyone is gonna be coming over here."

"Yes, please. Thanks. And tell them I can't wait to see them and show off the baby."

"Eliot."

Castle steps out to the waiting room, and calls Lanie first and sends her a photo. He follows up with Ryan, who puts him on speaker so that Espo can hear him.

"Congratulations, man," Ryan says.

"And a boy? Way to go, Castle. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Thanks, guys. Listen, you have to tell me this now, when I'm nowhere near Beckett. I know there are pools, and I want to know who won. And if you hold out on me, I will find out, and I'll get Beckett on your asses. I want to know how much each one was, too. Gotta be a fortune. So, give me the details, right now. And after that, I'll text you all the stuff you need to know."

Ryan and Espo fill him in all three. "Okay, you can tell Beckett about two, but not about the water breaking, remember? Deal? Okay, here comes the info. Call me back ASAP."

He doesn't have to wait long. "You're not going to believe this, Castle," Ryan says. "The same person won the first two pools."

"Who?"

"Perlmutter!" they say as one.

"You're kidding. Both of them?" Castle is laughing so hard he gets a glare from a man in the waiting room. "So, he bet on me not puking or passing out in the delivery room? Nicer guy than I thought. How much money is he taking home in his latex-gloved fists?"

"Two thousand four hundred and seventy bucks," Ryan says. "I could have used that."

"Wow. And who's the lucky winner of the water-breaking one?"

Silence.

"Guys?"

Silence.

"Hello? I know you're there. I can hear Espo coughing."

"Right. Okay," Espo says. "It was you, bro. You won. Nine hundred twenty dollars. Like you need it."

"Music to my ears. You're coming over to see Beckett and the baby this afternoon, right? Bring me my money, please, in a plain, unmarked envelope. See you later."

By the end of the day, at least half the denizens of the Twelfth have cooed at Eliot and congratulated the parents. Ryan and Jenny stay a little longer, but when they leave, Castle runs after them.

"Wait, you two," he says as he catches up to them near the elevator. "I have something for you." He hands over a thick, white envelope.

Ryan's eyes are huge. "Castle, is this what I think it is?"

He nods and smiles. "Yeah, all nine hundred twenty dollars. It's for Sarah Grace, for her college fund. From Eliot." He puts his hand up. "And don't thank me. It's my son's doing. He made sure Beckett's water broke exactly where and when I'd hoped."

"You know," Jenny says. "I'd be appalled that you bet on something like that, but I'm sorry to say that I'm used to it by now."

"Please, please don't tell Beckett," Castle says. "I beg you. It's my life on the line here."

"Your secret's safe, Rick," Jenny assures him. "But only because Eliot was so generous. Tell him thanks for us when Kate's not in earshot."

"I will."

Twenty-four hours later, they're home in the loft, mother, father and baby together on the sofa.

"What do you think of our house, Eliot?" Castle says. "Did you like your room? You're going to sleep in your bassinet next to Mom and me for a while, but pretty soon you'll be in your own room with all those cool toys."

"This place is great, Dad. And I like that I have clothes now."

"What do you think he's going to be like, Castle? I can already tell he's sweet. Do you think he's going to be funny? Look at the way he's looking at us. There's so much we still don't know about babies' brains. Sometimes when I was pregnant I felt like he was talking to me, you know, and sometimes I wondered if he heard us. Do you think he did? Do you think he remembers?"

"Mom? You have no idea."

A/N That does it! I reached the Ficathon goal of 50,000 words. I can't thank you enough for cheering me on with this story. I'm grateful for all of you, especially those who reviewed so faithfully. As for the pool? I'll have to figure out an overall winner, which will be difficult, but here are the individual winners: Date: CharacterDriven and Aidyl James, both right on the button with August 24th. Time: the closest was alighted2015, who guessed 7:05 a.m. Weight: a three-way tie by Caskett1960, Guest! and tasheikaconley, all of whom said 7 pounds, eight ounces, just one ounce off. Length: Moochiechat, who voted for 23 inches, just half an inch more than the actual figure.