A slightly earlier update to make up for the long wait last time. I hope you'll enjoy and you know, I'm always happy about feedback!
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The next day after work, Castle came out of his office – he had attempted to write a little but wasn't quite able to concentrate – and found Kate sitting at the kitchen counter. As he walked up to her, he saw she had a bottle of wine in her hands and was nibbling on the label, pulling it off in small shreds.
Coming to sit beside her, he arched his brow and said, "Does your frustration with not being able to drink now turn on the wine? That poor bottle isn't at any fault, I don't think it deserves to be slaughtered like that."
Kate smiled but didn't look up as she removed the last piece of paper from the bottle.
"No, wine and I are still friends. We're just on a break, but I can live with that."
She sat the bottle down on the counter and reached for another piece of paper lying in front of her. She held it up for Castle to see and grinned at him.
"Actually, I'm making this as a surprise for Lanie."
Castle smiled as he saw what was printed on the paper. It was a copy of one of the ultrasound pictures they had gotten the day before, and underneath it, it said, "August 21st". The doctor had confirmed that date at the appointment yesterday and even though she had told them it was just an estimated date, it had already burned into Castle's mind and he had an app on his phone counting down the days.
He watched Kate glue the piece of paper to where the wine label had been before and grinned as she held it up for him to see the result.
"Creative. I like it."
Kate gave the bottle a satisfied look and sat it back down to the table. "Yeah, I thought it would be nice to come up with something special after we didn't have anything for our families."
Castle snorted softly. "Yeah, well, we could have had if somebody had not decided just to blurt it out."
Kate looked back at him with a slight frown. "Oh, don't tell me now that you mind. You seemed more than happy then."
"I was," he replied. I think it was perfect. But if we had decided to tell them beforehand, I could have thought of a funny way to tell them. We could have saved a lot of money on Christmas presents by just buying a personalized onesie for everyone."
Kate smiled at the thought of her father unwrapping a onesie, looking completely confused. "That would have been a nice idea. Sorry, I ruined that."
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You didn't ruin anything. Like I said, I think it was perfect. And everyone was happy, that's all that matters."
She nodded and smiled at him. Putting her hair back behind her ear, he took in her face for a moment and realized she didn't look as pale as she had used to in the last couple of weeks. Overall, she seemed to be in a better state than she had been in almost a month.
He trailed his thumb over the soft redness of her cheek and said, "You look better than you have in a while, a little more like yourself again."
Kate chuckled softly, and he realized she hadn't done that all too often in the last few weeks.
"Yeah, I feel a little more like myself again. Somehow, it's a little bit better today." Throughout the day, she had noticed nausea had been a little more manageable, and for the first time in weeks, she felt like she could make it past bedtime of 8 pm.
Castle gave her a warm smile and mumbled, "I am very happy to hear that."
He looked at her for a moment longer, then at his watch.
"Don't you have to get ready?"
Kate turned her head a little to get a look at his wrist, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn't realized it was that late already.
"You're right!" She said. She climbed off the bar stool and leaned in for a quick kiss. "What are your plans for tonight?"
Castle let out a deep sigh. "I guess I'll try to get a bit of writing done."
With furrowed brows, she looked back at him. "That doesn't sound very motivated."
He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Writing is more fun when I can do it in bed while you're sleeping beside me." He thought about half the book he had gotten finished in the last three weeks. "But I'm still happy you're feeling better. I will find my way back into writing alone at my desk. Don't worry about me."
"I wouldn't have." She said with a smirk, and he put on a hurt grimace, but it quickly turned into a smile. God, it felt good to see her like this again.
Kate vanished into the bathroom to change, and when she walked back out and past Castle, he handed her the bag of food she had packed for their cooking plan and put the bottle of wine in it with a smile.
He kissed her goodbye and hoped she would have a wonderful evening. After weeks of not feeling well and worrying so much, she really deserved that.
Kate headed to Lanie's place, and as she walked up the staircase to her apartment, she started to feel more and more nervous. But it wasn't a bad feeling. She was just so excited to share her news with her best friend, hoping Lanie would understand why she had seemed distanced in the last couple of weeks.
She knocked on the door, and it didn't take Lanie long to open it. To Kate's relief, she smiled at her and didn't give her one of her famous accusing stares.
"Hey." Kate greeted with a smile that she struggled to keep it from turning into a stupid grin that would instantly give away she was hiding something.
"Hey, you!" Lanie answered and pulled her into a quick hug. "Ah, girl, it's so good to see you. Honestly, I had started to think you were mad at me or something."
Lanie arched one of her brows at Kate as she pulled away, but Kate just shook her head and chuckled softly.
"No, absolutely not. I just had… A lot going on." She said and bit her bottom lip to hold back her grin.
"Uh-uh." Lanie mumbled as she took the bag from Kate's hands and walked inside her apartment and into the kitchen. Kate quickly followed her, afraid she might miss the moment Lanie spotted the bottle.
"So you're telling me you're head over heels into wedding preparations? Or what else has been keeping you busy?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders, and Lanie glanced over at her with a slightly puzzled look.
"No, the wedding preparations are somewhat laid on ice for the moment."
Lanie stilled from unpacking the bag - she had just pulled a pack of pasta out of it, Kate had thought it would be better to play it safe for her stomach – and gave Kate a surprised look.
"What does that mean?" Lanie asked. "Trouble in paradise?"
Kate shook her head with a smile. "No! No, not at all. We just, um, the wedding will just be postponed a while."
A frown spread over Lanie's face, and she leaned against the counter to give Kate her full attention.
"And why's that? Are you having doubts now?"
Once more, Kate shook her head. "No, everything's fine."
Lanie eyed her for a moment and slightly squinted her eyes. "Something is going on, and you're not telling me what it is."
Kate casually shrugged her shoulders, and Lanie glared at her for a few seconds longer before she turned around and proceeded to unpack the food.
"But I have the whole evening to find out what it is. And I won't let you leave until you tell me."
Kate watched her as Lanie's hand closed around the neck of the bottle, and her smile grew wider as she said, "Deal." The moment Lanie pulled the bottle out of the bag.
She knew her friend well enough to know Lanie would check the label to see what Kate had brought, and her expectations weren't disappointed.
She saw Lanie turning the bottle so that she could read the label, and the next moment, she saw her freezing, staring at the bottle in her hands way longer than it would take to read the short line printed on it.
After nearly half a minute, she turned around and stared at Kate instead, her jaw dropped as she held up the bottle.
"No, you're not." Lanie gasped, her eyes wide as she slightly shook her head.
Kate grinned back at her and started to nod, saying "Yes, I am."
Lanie stared at her, then back at the bottle, then back at Kate. "No, you're not! What?"
Lanie placed the bottle on the counter and crossed the room. Kate could already see her friend's eyes filling with tears, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold back her own either.
Lanie pulled her into a crushing hug and held her tight for a full minute. Then she pulled away to look at her, her expression still shocked but excited.
"I can't believe it! How far along are you?"
Kate smiled back, and for a moment, she thought she still couldn't believe it, either. "Ten weeks now. I didn't mean to hide away the last couple of weeks. I just barely made it out of bed most days."
Lanie nodded understandingly. "But why didn't you just tell me?"
"I would have." Kate started, but her smile faded a little. "But we had a scary situation when it was still very early, and I freaked out a bit afterward and didn't want to tell anyone."
Lanie frowned at her. "Scary situation, what do you mean with that? Are you alright?"
Kate nodded and pushed the memory of the night at the hospital away. "Yeah, everything's fine. But I just needed a little more time. It's not that I didn't want to tell you. I just…"
Lanie gently raised her hands to stop Kate from talking. "Hey, there's no need to explain yourself, okay? You told me now, and I am so thrilled." She grinned and almost jumped a little bit.
Kate chuckled and felt her heart grow light. This was exactly how she had hoped Lanie would react.
"And you are happy too?" Lanie asked, and Kate firmly nodded.
"Yes. Extremely happy." Kate said with a beaming smile.
Lanie kept on smiling but arched a curious brow at her. "Okay, but as your best friend, allow me to ask: This must have been an accident, wasn't it?"
Kate smiled but ran a slightly nervous hand through her hair. She had expected that question and knew Lanie would probably be surprised at her answer. In all their previous talks about that matter, Kate had always made clear that children were a question of the far-away future.
"Um, no. It wasn't."
Lanie's jaw dropped again. "You're kidding me. What the hell did Castle say to talk you into this?"
Kate cleared her throat and felt herself blushing a little. "Actually, I was the one who brought it up and kind of talked him into it."
Lanie stared at her for a moment, then started laughing. But her laughter quickly faded when she realized Kate wasn't joking.
Shaking her head in disbelief, she said, "What? But not even three months ago, you sat right there on my couch and told me you weren't even sure if you wanted to have kids at all."
Kate softly shrugged her shoulders. She remembered that evening, and she vividly remembered feeling that way. She could understand why Lanie had trouble understanding her change of mind. Sometimes, she still failed to understand it herself.
"I don't really know what happened. But after we had Benny with us… I don't know. That wish came out of nowhere."
Lanie laughed. "You know what that is? Hormones! One day spent with a baby, and suddenly Miss I-don't-like-babies Katherine Beckett wants one herself. Thank God I'm immune to those."
Kate joined in her laughter and felt her cheeks grow even warmer. "Possible. But I don't regret the decision. We're really happy."
Lanie's grin turned into a soft smile as she reached out and hugged Kate again. "And I am really happy for you. Both of you! Castle must be over the moon."
"He is," Kate said with a slight chuckle as Lanie pulled away again, her expression now cheeky.
"And when you're ten weeks along already, it seemed like you didn't have much convincing to do, and he knew very well what to do."
Kate rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. She stepped past Lanie and walked over to the counter. "Come on, we should start making dinner."
Lanie joined her, and Kate saw her grin from the corner of her eye.
"Mhm. And while doing so, we'll have plenty of time so you can tell me all the details."
Kate laughed dryly. "Well, then, brace yourself for the detailed description of weeks of fatigue and nausea."
Lanie pulled the cork from the bottle of wine with a soft pop and poured herself a glass. "Oh, I'm down for it. And in case it's boring, I have all of this for myself to entertain myself."
She grinned as she held up the bottle. "And then I'll keep this as a memory."
Kate laughed as she crumpled up the empty paper bag and put it in the trash.
"You could team up with Castle. He's already started a memory box, and an empty bottle of wine would be a great addition to his weird keepsakes."
Lanie chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like him. But this one, I'll keep to myself." She tipped her finger against the label with a smile. "And now I want to know everything: How on earth you came to that decision, how you found out, and what happened in the last couple weeks."
While they prepared dinner and then sat down to eat the pasta – Kate was surprised when she was able to eat a small portion without her stomach protesting – Kate tried her best to answer all of Lanie's questions.
It felt great to share everything she had experienced in the last couple of weeks and go through all the emotions again. The happy memories of the positive test and the times they had seen their baby made her feel warm and excited. And even though reliving the memories of New Year's was kind of painful, she felt like it was a way of processing the fear it had caused her even more.
As the evening progressed, Kate felt herself growing increasingly tired, and the thought of her alarm going off at six in the morning made her feel anxious. She told Lanie that she needed to get home to get some sleep. Lanie could fully understand and walked her to the door, told her again how happy she was for them, and hugged Kate goodbye, promising to keep the news to herself for a little while longer.
Kate promised that as long as she didn't start feeling worse again, they would repeat an evening like this soon. It had felt very good to catch up with Lanie and come out of the house for something other than work again. Kate really hoped she would start feeling better again now.
She left and headed home and when she walked through the door of the loft, she found Castle sitting on the couch, his laptop resting on his lap. He looked up as he heard the door cracking and greeted her with a smile.
"Hey. Did you have a nice evening?" He closed his laptop, and his curiosity was evident in his features and his voice. "What did Lanie say?"
Kate hung her coat in the closet and walked over to the couch as she smiled and nodded.
"Yes, it was a wonderful evening. And Lanie was so happy and surprised. You should have seen her."
She reached him and Castle stretched out his arms to pull her close to him and Kate let herself sink onto his lap.
"I would have loved to," Castle replied. "But she's your best friend. It's okay that you were the one who told her."
Kate leaned in closer to kiss him and then let her head rest against his shoulder with a small sigh as he put his arms around her. "Telling her somehow made it even more real."
"But that's a good thing, isn't it?" Castle asked quietly, and Kate lifted her head again to look at him and nod.
"Yes, of course it is. It's just crazy to think that in a couple of weeks, everyone will know."
Castle smiled at her and brushed the hair back behind her ear. "I can't wait to tell everyone."
Kate smiled back and kissed him again. "Me neither," she whispered. But I would still like to wait two more weeks until the next appointment."
Castle nodded in agreement, and a little smirk cracked on Kate's lips.
"You know what I thought about on my way back here? Since I spilled the news to our families and got to tell Lanie, you should be the one to tell the boys at work."
Castle's eyes lit up immediately. "Does that mean I am allowed to think about a special way to announce it?"
Kate hesitated for a second. "Yes," she said a little reluctantly. But nothing too special. I don't want you to make a scene at the precinct. And I will be the one to tell Captain Gates in the old-fashioned way."
Castle nodded eagerly. "That's fine. I have no desire to be the one to tell her. But I'm sure I'll be able to think of something nice for Ryan and Esposito. And I still have two weeks of preparation time."
The glint in his eyes and the excitement in his voice scared Kate a little. With a soft furrow of her brows, she answered, "Yeah, but remember: Don't overdo it. As soon as the news spreads, the whole NYPD will be talking anyway; we don't need to add an excessive announcement to it."
Castle grinned at her and said, "Oh, don't worry. I won't embarrass you."
The creases on Kate's forehead deepened into a frown. "I somehow doubt that."
Castle chuckled and pulled her closer. "You still seem to be feeling better," he said, changing the topic.
Kate nodded slowly, not quite able to let go of the thought of Castle pulling a scene at the precinct.
"I am." She replied. "I was even able to eat a proper meal."
Castle's brows shot up in surprise. "Well, that's good news. Maybe you've made it through the hardest part of the first few weeks."
Kate nodded and sighed. "I hope so. But I'm still tired and can't think of anything better than getting to bed now."
Castle smiled and softly clapped on her thigh. "Then off with you. I'll come with you."
Kate climbed off of Castle's lap and headed to the bathroom. When Castle took her place there after her and came out again a couple of minutes later, he found her fast asleep. With a smile on his face, he crawled into bed beside her and snuggled up to her, soon drifting off to sleep as well, thinking how glad he was that it seemed to become a little easier for her now.