Kate Beckett, Investigator Chapter 19

At two a.m. Kate's panties are feeling a little damp, and she wonders if she's peed herself. Castle is asleep beside her, and she assumes Graciela is also sleeping, in the guest room on the mezzanine. She convinces herself that the feeling is no big deal and tries to go back to sleep. But the liquid keeps coming until she can no longer ignore it. Under strict instructions to use a wheelchair, even for the short distance to the bathroom, she gently pokes Castle. "Babe."

"What? Is she coming?" Castle demands, sitting straight up.

"No, but something is. I'm sorry, I really need to go to the john."

Castle lets out a breath. "No problem. And we don't need to bother with the chair. I can carry you." He pulls back the covers. "Wow, Kate, you're soaked."

"Sorry. I thought I had a good pee before I went to sleep."

Castle sniffs. "After years of using the New York subway, it would be hard not to notice this doesn't smell like pee. Oh, Wow, Kate! Maybe your water broke. We need to get Graciela down here now."

"Can you take me to the bathroom first?"

"Just press your emergency call. She'll probably be down here before I can even get you in there."

Graciela is barely asleep when the alarm sounds beside her bed. At 38 weeks, Kate isn't quite at full term, but she's close enough for labor to come on at any time. As she hurriedly pulls on a robe and heads barefoot down the stairs, Graciela hopes that's what's happening."

Alexis rushes up behind her. "I heard the alarm."

Castle looks up from gently placing Kate on the toilet. "She's leaking clear fluid. Do you think her water broke?"

"Hey! I'm right here," Kate interrupts. She holds up her soaked panties for Graciela to see while Alexis stands in the doorway.

"It looks like that's what happened," the aide says. "But they can tell you for sure at the hospital. We should take her as soon as she's ready to move."

"Sure, of course," Castle responds.

Annoyance sharpens Kate's tone. "Can we all get some clothes on first?"

"It is November," Alexis points out. "It was supposed to go down to 42 tonight."

"We don't want Kate to get a chill," Graciela adds. "I'll help her put on something comfortable."

"Fine," Castle says, "but we're out of here in five minutes tops. And I'm calling Dr. Scott."

A maternity nurse meets Castle, where he's pacing in a hallway. "Your wife's water did break, Mr. Castle. Usually, when that happens, labor starts on its own within a few hours. If it doesn't, her doctor may decide to intervene. He can talk to you about that when he gets here. But Kate is fine. So is the baby. Kate's blood pressure is under control, but we'll want her to remain as quiet as possible. As soon as we get her settled in a room, you can go in and sit with her, but it would be best if she could sleep for a while until labor starts."

With an involuntary smile, Castle shakes his head. "I can't see my wife just going back to sleep in the middle of all this."

"We're hoping she'll at least give it a try. Someone will come get you as soon as she's in bed and the monitors are set up."

Alexis moves rapidly down the hall as the nurse walks away. She holds out a thick paper cup. "It's hot chocolate, Dad – or that's what the machine calls it. I didn't think you needed coffee. How's Kate?"

"The nurse says she's OK, but I want to see for myself. I can't see her yet. They have to get her all hooked up first."

Alexis grabs her father's hand and guides him to a plastic chair, where the hallway widens out. "It probably won't take long. This is the best maternity unit in the city. I just checked again yesterday. The nurses here can probably do stuff like that in their sleep."

"I'd rather have them awake – wide awake."

"It was nice of you to tell Graciela to go get some rest."

"I figured Kate has enough keepers here, and we'll need Graciela at her best for a few days, at least when Kate and the baby come home." Castle takes a sip of dark brown liquid. "Ugh! There's a real art to making anything with chocolate taste this bad, but whoever built that machine has it knocked."

Alexis shrugs. "It was either the hot chocolate or chicken broth."

Castle grimaces. "They probably make it out of the feathers."

A young woman with a hospital ID on a lanyard around her neck comes down the hall toward father and daughter. "Mr. Castle?"

Castle springs to his feet, almost spilling his drink. "Yes!"

"I can take you to your wife now. She's doing great." She looks down at Alexis. "Family?"

"Yes!"

"You can come along if you want, but try to keep your visit low-key, OK?"

"Of course," Alexis agrees and joins her father in trailing after their guide.

Castle grins as he strides through the door of Kate's room with Alexis behind him. "The skinny is that you and the baby are OK."

Kate points to the large mound beneath a sheet and a light blanket. "Skinny, Castle?"

"I was referring to the extent of information, which wasn't much. But the nurses do feel that you should try to get some rest unless Dr. Scott comes up with another idea. He's supposed to be here any minute."

"It may be longer than that," Kate says. "The nurse who hooked up the fetal monitor said she had just heard that he had to do an emergency C-section on another patient whose baby was in serious distress. But he'll be here as soon as he can. The nurses run everything up here anyway."

"I noticed," Castle says. "So, you think you can sleep for a while?"

"Dad, if you want to put Kate to sleep, you could tell the story of when you and James Patterson were both at the Strand and…."

"That's a perfectly good story," Castle interrupts. "No, but seriously, Kate, it is still the wee hours of the morning. You could try to get some shut-eye until your hitchhiker decides to exit the vehicle."

Kate winces and rubs her hands over her belly. "I think it's a little late for that, Babe. I'm having a contraction."

Jim Beckett rushes down the hall to where Alexis is sitting in a chair outside Kate's room. "Is Katie all right? How's she doing?"

"Right now, she just wants Dad in there with her. But he sticks his head out sometimes and says she's still doing fine. They gave her an epidural. She didn't want one, but Dr. Scott recommended it so that the pain of the contractions wouldn't stress her heart. And her heart is monitored along with the baby's. If anything goes wrong, someone will come running if Dad doesn't drag them in first. But you could knock and let her know you're here."

Jim settles into another chair. "I remember when Johanna was in labor with Katie. In those days, everyone was running around with video cameras and taking birth films. Johanna wanted no part of that. Except for whatever medical personnel were necessary, she only wanted me in the room – and no cameras. Katie's a lot like her. Your dad is her partner. I'll just wait for his next update."

"It could be a while," Alexis says. "Last I heard, Kate was only at 5 centimeters."

Jim unbuttons his coat. "I'll be here however long it takes."

"Yeah," Alexis agrees. "Me too."