The first thing I would like to say is thank you for the amazing response to the first chapter of this story! I have to admit I was quite surprised. I hope I'll be able to fulfill your expectations.
This chapter is somehow a filler and contains a time jump. There will be several of them in this story, although I don't really like that. But I wouldn't know how else to cover the long time span.
It is also relatively short. I'll try to make the next one a bit longer. I hope you'll enjoy it anyway!
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Castle woke to the feeling of the mattress shifting beside him and a bit of cold air brushing over his thigh before the blanket was pulled back over his body. Not even half awake, he grumbled something but was quickly calmed by Kate's soft hand on his cheek.
"I'll go for a quick run, go back to sleep." She whispered and brushed her lips against his cheek. It was enough for him to settle down again. He had given up discussing whether sports before breakfast were suicidal or not. He was just happy she had stopped trying to drag him along.
Kate looked at his peacefully sleeping expression and smiled. She didn't mind either going alone; it meant she could run as fast as she wanted to. And today, she felt like she had to get a lot of energy out of her body.
The excitement from last night was still buzzing through her body, and wouldn't allow the smile to fade from her lips. And nothing had changed about the feeling of certainty she had been a little afraid she might lose once they had taken the step. But no, it felt even deeper. She was sure she wanted this. And looking at the man she loved only made the excitement flame up in her chest again.
They were really doing this. A few days ago, this step in their life had felt years away, nothing more than a blissful little daydream. And now, it was turning into reality, and it felt so much better than she ever could have dreamed. The small voices in her head that tried to scare her about changes and what would become of her career for once didn't stand a chance to the happy ones.
With a little skip in her steps, she sneaked into the bathroom and picked up her running gear on the way. It would be cold outside, but she felt so heated up from the endorphins roaring through her veins that a little cool down would probably do her good. So she put on her shorts and only a thin jacket over her shirt.
After a quick wash, brushing her teeth, and tying up her hair, she sneaked through the bedroom again, careful not to wake Castle even though she knew that wasn't easy even if she had wanted to, and headed through the living room. She slipped on her shoes, put the keys in her jacket pocket, and started running as soon as her feet hit the sidewalk.
The air was cold but clear, well as clear as it could be in the middle of the city, and the streets and sidewalks were quite empty in the early morning after Thanksgiving. Only a few Black Friday shoppers were already on their way, but that didn't affect the track she usually took on her morning runs. That meant she had space to run at her favorite pace. But on the other hand, she wouldn't have minded every person in the city seeing the smile on her lips.
When Castle woke up again, it was to cluttering noises coming from the living room. He blinked at the clock on his nightstand and remembered somewhere in his sleep-dazzled mind that Kate had gone for a run, but he had no idea when. Rubbing his hand over his face, he came to sit on the bed, waiting for the sleepy haze to lift.
Suddenly, it hit him. Yesterday night, their talk, Kate. The smile spread over his lips, along with the warm feeling in her chest when the memories washed over his mind. Last night had marked the start of their family. Not that they weren't a family already. But this was different, this would be their child.
The thought felt electrifying, waking him completely and making him want to jump around the bedroom. Oh, if only Kate was here right now. He longed to take into his arms and tell her how much he loved her and how much he already loved that baby, even if it hadn't even been conceived yet. That didn't change that he could see their future clear as day.
With a deep, happy sigh, he got up from the bed, wanting to see if maybe it was Kate who was walking around the living room. In case it wouldn't be her, he slipped on his shirt and pajama pants before he left the bedroom. He wasn't surprised when his eyes spotted his mother instead, cleaning up the table from dinner last night. Nobody had felt like doing it then, so they had just left it for today.
"Good morning, mother." He said, unable to keep the joy he still felt dancing in his chest from his voice. Martha looked up at her son and greeted him with a warm smile.
"Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well? I barely got a few hours of sleep, I ate way too much. Where's Katherine?" Her light chatting didn't leave the impression she was lacking sleep, but Castle didn't know her any other way, always adding a small pinch of drama into everything.
"Oh, I did okay." He answered, leaving out the fact that they didn't get that much sleep either, but for a different reason, he didn't long to share with his mother. "And Kate has already gone for a run. But I think she should be back soon."
Martha shook her head, her red curls bumping by her cheeks as she picked up a couple more plates to carry them to the kitchen. "Going for a run that early in the morning after Thanksgiving. You've found yourself an eager one there." But the smile on her lips left no doubt how fond Martha was of Kate.
"Don't worry, mother, it won't rub off on me." Castle chuckled as he joined his mother in cleaning up the table. Martha huffed and walked back to the table again, her eyes still on her son's face, a slightly puzzled look appearing on her features.
"What's going on with that grin of yours? Usually, you have to be up for at least an hour before I could even get a lazy smile." She asked, her tone curious and a little suspicious.
Castle shrugged his shoulders as he placed the plates in his hands in the sink. "Can't a man be in a good mood once in a while?" He heard the silly, happy tone in his voice himself, but he couldn't stop it and didn't want to.
Slowly nodding, her brows a little furrowed, Martha walked over to him, her attention now on her son, the dishes forgotten. "Yes, he can. But not without a reason. So, what's the reason here?" Giving him an expectant look, she raised her brows at him, but Castle just lowered his gaze with a chuckle.
"Good thing you're not overly curious at all, mother." He was saved from having to find an excuse for his excellent mood by the clicking of the door. Looking up, Martha's head turned as well, both of them seeing Kate entering the loft. Still a little out of breath, she walked inside, and Castle's heart jumped in his chest as he spotted the smile on her lips before she even looked up to notice them.
"Good morning, Katherine!" Martha said, causing Kate to look up in surprise, the smile on her lips not fading one bit. "Quite ambitious, running that early in the morning on a day like this." The curiosity was still evident in the red-haired woman's voice.
Kate shrugged her shoulders as she walked over to the kitchen, opening the zipper of her jacket on the way to let some air get to her sweaty skin. "Just felt like it." She said casually, walking around the counter to place a soft kiss on Castle's lips.
"Good morning." She whispered as he placed his hand on the small of her back, not caring at all that the fabric of her clothes was a little damp from sweat.
"Good morning." He replied softly, the smile on his lips growing wider again. It cost him quite some effort not to scoop her up from the floor and spin her around to try to express the joy he was feeling. Maybe he should have gone on that run with her to get it out as well.
But with his mother's curious eyes on them, he just leaned in, close to her ear, and whispered, "Gosh, you're so beautiful." Quiet enough that only Kate could hear it.
Her already blushed cheeks reddened a little more, and he knew she probably didn't feel beautiful at all, sweaty and her hair ruffled by the cold winter air. But to him, she looked more beautiful than ever before. And if he had thought he had been in love with her before, he now realized he hadn't had any idea. How bad would it become when she would be carrying his child, first in her body and then in her arms? He couldn't wait to know.
"Let me grab a shower, and then I'll help you here." She smiled and stepped away, her hand lingering on his chest for a moment longer. Castle's eyes followed her as she vanished into the bathroom, a sigh on his lips.
Martha waited until Kate shut the door behind herself, then turned around to her son again. "Okay, what is it? Why is Katherine grinning like a lovesick puppy, too?" Her eyes were wide and so full of curiosity that Castle had to laugh at the view.
"Oh, Mother, maybe we just are lovesick puppies." He replied with a smirk on his lips. Martha didn't seem satisfied with this answer.
Raising her finger, she mumbled, "Something is going on here. Don't think you can fool me." Resting her hands on the counter, she sighed dramatically. "But I do respect your privacy. And whenever you feel it's time to let me in, I am sure you will."
"A very healthy and mature attitude, Mother," Castle said, a teasing hint in his voice, knowing his mother didn't feel like waiting to be let in in any way. Able to read the disappointment on her face, he changed the subject. "So, do you feel like breakfast?"
Martha raised her hands in refusal. "Oh God, no. I think I'll be busy digesting that turkey until Christmas." She got up from her place at the counter and headed for the stairs. "Actually, I think I'll try to get a few more hours of sleep. If you don't mind me leaving this mess for you to deal with?"
Shaking his head, Castle walked over to get the last two plates from the table. "No problem." He said, and Martha turned to go with a little wave of her hand. "But don't blame my turkey because it was perfect!" He called after her just before she disappeared at the top of the staircase.
Left alone in the kitchen, Castle quickly set down the plates, wiped his hands on a towel, and walked over to the bedroom with quick steps. He didn't even care to knock when he didn't hear the shower running and just walked into the bathroom.
Kate startled slightly at the sudden opening of the door but instantly started to smile as she spotted him, letting go of the bathrobe's belt she had just tied around her waist.
With two big steps, he crossed the distance to her and did what he had wanted to do in the kitchen. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she squealed, then even giggled a little when he picked her up, pressing her against his chest, and spun them around in a little circle in the middle of the bathroom. Setting her back down, he leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, "God, Kate, I love you."
Her fingertips brushed over his cheeks, her smile so bright that he felt it could light up the entire city. "I love you too." She whispered back. "So you haven't changed your mind?"
He firmly shook his head with a little furrow of his brows. "Never. Did you?"
"No way." Grasping at his shirt, she smirked at him, tilting her head. "It might even be too late for that, you know."
The grin returned to his lips as he pulled her closer. "I know. And you have no idea how excited I am about that thought."
Laughing, she leaned back in his arms, folding her hands behind his neck. "Oh, believe me, I do. I ran 5 miles just to get rid of the edge of the excitement."
Joining in her laughter, he let his hands wander down her sides. "You won't be able to keep that up for weeks; you'll run yourself to death. But…" He hooked one of his fingers into the belt of her bathrobe. "I do have another idea of what we could do instead."
With a low hum, she placed her hand on his, but instead of helping him untie the belt as he had hoped, she intertwined her fingers with his. "That's a very good idea. But after breakfast." She grinned and walked away into the bedroom to put some clothes on, leaving a slightly disappointed Castle behind.
But she didn't have to ask him twice for breakfast, probably she would never have to ask him twice for anything ever again. While she got dressed, he went back to the kitchen, not without pressing a quick kiss to her neck, and started preparing breakfast. Without being able to do anything about it, his thoughts trailed off.
Not even twenty-four hours earlier, they had been here with a baby. One that hadn't been theirs but still a baby, a taste of what it could be like. The images of her walking around the loft with that little bundle in her arms, the smile on her face, were still so fresh in his mind.
He could easily picture her again, sitting there on the couch where his absentminded gaze lingered right now, stroking her hand over her belly, feeling the little kicks. And then, a little while later, she might be sitting in the same spot, holding the little boy or girl, looking at them with pure love in her eyes. And in a few years from now, she might be sitting there, reading a story to a beautiful little kid with her amazing eyes that would make him melt every time he looked at them.
Kate interrupted his daydream by walking through his field of vision, and his eyes followed her, his smile growing wider again.
"What are you thinking of?" She asked, but he could tell she knew just by looking at him. Pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her hair, he mumbled. "Of everything that's to come. And I can't wait."
She returned his grin and raised to her tiptoes for a kiss, letting him wrap her in his arms. "I'm so happy right now; I have no idea how I should handle it when the time has actually come." He said, his voice vibrating with joy.
"Well, hopefully, we'll find out sooner rather than later." She answered with a slight wiggle of her eyebrows. "And until then, you could make sure I don't starve." Taking the plate he had prepared for her from the counter, she walked over to the table.
He followed her, sitting down by her side. While eating and talking, it was hard for Castle to focus. His mind tried to wander back to his daydreams again and again just from looking at her. Seeing her so happy and at ease was something he could get used to, he hoped it would last for a while. And even when they didn't talk about it directly, what was on both of their minds lingered in the air between them.
Cleaning the table and the dishes from the night before it became harder and harder for Castle to keep his hands off of her. But Kate didn't seem to mind, and when his hand slipped under her shirt while she was putting the plates back on the shelf, she laughed softly. "Castle, stop it. Martha could come down any moment."
"I bet she's sleeping. And I'm sure she already has her suspicions. She wondered why I couldn't stop smiling this morning." He murmured into her hair, trying to find the skin of her neck with his lips.
Chuckling again, she leaned into him, allowing his touch that was just too tempting, and slowly wandered up to her breasts. "And what did you say?" She asked, her voice low and a little strangled as her eyes fluttered shut.
"That she doesn't have to know everything." He husked, his hand cupping around one of her breasts, eliciting a gasped moan from her. "Bed. Now." He struggled to get out as he already pulled her backward out of the kitchen, then guided her back to the bedroom again.
What Kate had predicted on the night after Thanksgiving remained right. A lack of trying wouldn't be a problem for them. In the following week, it was more of a problem to keep their hands off each other. Returning to work after the weekend gave them a little distraction, but it didn't change much. And neither changed the happiness and excitement both of them were feeling.
Kate even felt like it was getting worse. With every day passing, she felt like she was surrounded by babies more and more. Suddenly, the sidewalks seemed full of pregnant women, strollers, and adorable little children holding onto their parent's hands with their tiny fingers. She wondered if it had always been that way and she just had never noticed or if maybe the wish to be in those women's place was getting the better of her.
A new high, or low, Kate wasn't sure how to label it, was the birth of Jenny and Ryan's daughter. The circumstances had been horrible, no doubt, and she hoped that when it would be her turn someday, she would be safe and sound in a hospital with Castle by her side and not in a risk-of-death situation of some kind. But seeing those two holding their newborn little daughter in that ambulance, the pure joy and love vibrating from them was enough to make her tear up.
Oh, she wanted it so badly. How the hell had taking care of a baby for a day turned her into this emotional and hormonal mess? It wasn't like herself at all to get carried away so easily by anything, let alone something so emotional and life-changing. But it seemed like her common sense had stopped working and given all control to that part of her that grinned like an idiot on every commercial that included a baby.
She wasn't sure if she liked that side of her, but what use was fighting it? She didn't stand a chance to keep it under control. And when she and Castle had come home that evening after the fire and the birth of little Sarah Grace, they had barely been able to make it to the bedroom.
A couple of hours later, Castle had fallen asleep beside her with his hand on her stomach as if he could make it happen if he only wished for it hard enough. Kate couldn't find sleep, even though she was exhausted. Her mind spun in circles. Somehow, it reached the point where, for the first time, she was questioning what they were doing and whether it really was the right decision.
But when she looked over at Castle and stopped listening to her overthinking mind for a moment, the feeling in her chest told her it was. And after a while, she could convince her mind, too, that everything would be alright and that it would be as wonderful as her heart already knew it would be. On that thought, she finally fell asleep, a happy smile still on her lips.