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Post by Admin on Aug 19, 2015 2:53:12 GMT
Kate took advantage of the empty apartment to do something she'd put off for a few days. She was a week late, but she'd been under stress since she'd had to choose her future: running for state senate or taking Gates' place as captain. She'd never been late before, no matter what stress she'd been under, and she could remember her and Castle going to the Hamptons house alone for a weekend about a month before. She heard Alexis come home and hid the test quickly before it developed, not wanting to cause an uproar if there was nothing to her fears.
"Hi, honey," Kate said, joining Alexis in the living room. "How was school?"
"Good. Tiring. How was your day?"
"We had Gates' farewell party today. The boys are worried about what happens if a new captain wants your dad out of the precinct, like she did at first."
"They won't get their way."
"Are you hungry? Your dad was going to help Martha with something and they're both coming home to eat."
"I can make something if you're busy."
"No, I've got the afternoon off. I can do it. I know you've got that paper due in a few days."
"Are you sure?"
"I've got it, honey. I feel better today." She knew that Alexis had a little concerned, they all had, about her being dizzy and feeling sick lately.
"Okay. I'll be in Dad's office then."
"Okay." She got the ingredients out to make one of Castle's favorites, intending to go and check the test when she got everything started, but Alexis went to the bathroom first.
Alexis screamed. "Kate?"
The fact that her stepdaughter sounded like she'd found a mouse or a snake scared Kate at first. "Alexis?" She hurried to check on her.
"Are you pregnant?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"You're pregnant." Alexis picked up the test as the room seemed to spin for Kate.
"Who's pregnant?" Martha asked as she and Castle came in, Castle's eyes bugging out at the picture of his daughter with a pregnancy test.
"It's Kate's. Dad, you're havng a baby." Now that the shock was gone, Alexis was excited.
It was hard to see who was happier, more excited: Martha, Alexis, or Castle.
"Kate, why aren't you smiling?"
"Shock I guess." Kate managed a smile, but her mind was going a million miles a minute.
"Do you want to be pregnant?"
Martha smelled something burning. "Alexis, darling, why don't you come help me with dinner?"
"Okay," she said reluctantly.
Kate walked back out and sat in Castle's office with him, holding his hand.
"You okay?"
"It's a shock. I...Twenty minutes ago, the only thing I had to worry about is what we're going to do next. Senate or captain, stay with the boys or P.I."
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Post by Admin on Aug 22, 2015 2:57:27 GMT
"A baby is wonderful though."
"I know that, babe. And your baby, our baby, would be wonderful. I know this. I just..."
"Are you scared?"
"How are you not?"
"Cause I already have a child. I've done it."
"I don't know. Part of me feels like I've done it too. I've been part of her life since she was fourteen years old, felt like her mom since she was seventeen."
"But you weren't there from the start, Kate. You are going to have a baby, not a teen."
She lowered her voice. "I love them. I love our family. But we've never been on our own, Castle. Hamptons here, work honeymoon there. This is a commitment and, if there's anything I've learned, it's not just eighteen years. It's forever. And would it be safe for you to work with the boys? Would you need to work as a PI again? Or maybe stay at home and write like you did with Alexis? And what would let me have more time at home? Because I wouldn't want to be one of those mommies who works twenty-four hours a day and lets someone else raise their baby, and if you tell me I don't have to work again right now, so help me, Rick..."
"I'm not that stupid. I guess, if you take the captain slot, it would be less hours, rarely any fieldwork, more safety."
"You're not stupid at all." Except when he made that comment. "But what if I'm not happy at that? There's no going back and there's no guarantee that being a state senator is gong to be offered to me again."
"Then you need to think about it more."
"I've been thinking about it nonstop. I can't let anyone down. My mom, my dad, our famly, you, the guys, now the baby..." She looked stressed, like she hadn't been sleeping well, and she hadn't.
"You aren't letting anyone down."
"I think I'm going to be sick."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just don't feel well."
"I'll get you some water." She put her hand on his again. "What's wrong?"
"I think I just am going to lay down. I told Alexis I would make dinner since she had to study, but can you get me a raincheck?"
"I'll cook. Go rest."
She went to their room to lay down and Martha looked up as Castle came back alone. "Almost ready."
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Post by cal54382 on Aug 24, 2015 2:02:24 GMT
"Thank you mother, but I can take over."
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Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2015 2:58:54 GMT
"I can do it, son." She paused. "Maybe you should be with Katherine."
"She wanted to rest. I think she needs some space."
Martha nodded. "She's been so stressed lately. It's rare that she's this upset without one, or both, of you being hurt."
"She's unsure of what to do."
"I know that she doesn't want to let her mother down, but, speaking as a mother, I can't see a scenario where Joanna wouldn't be proud. I would be." She paused. "I am." She ddn't mean just of Kate or just of her son, but both of them. "She could never let any of them down."
"I told her that, but she is still worried."
"I worry about her, Richard. She has enough stress on her as it is. She shouldn't try to make everyone else happy. She deserves to be happy herself." She knew she didn't have to tell him this, but she did. "I think I'll go check on her. Make sure she doesn't need something to drink. Maybe it would make her feel better."
"Thank you."
She kissed his cheek, pouring some Sprite into a glass to take to Kate, knocking before she went in though. Kate answered sleepily.
"I'm sorry, darling. I didn't want to wake you. I thought some Sprite might help."
"Thank you, Martha."
"I also...I also wanted to say that no matter what you decide, no matter what you do, if you want to be captain, senator, detective, mommy, whatever you decide, this family be with you and back you. We love you and we've always been proud of you." She put the glass down on a coaster on the nightstand.
"I'll let you get some sleep. Do you need anything else?"
Kate shook her head. "Martha, thank you."
"We love you, darling. Try and get some rest. Tell us if you want some soup later and one of us will bring it in." She left.
Kate closed her eyes as tears burned. She was glad that Martha was there for her.
Alexis came in when supper was done. "Is Kate not eating?" She asked, worried.
"She's sleeping right now. She'll eat later."
She nodded, but still looked worried. "Dad...she's going to be okay, right?"
"Of course she will, sweetheart."
"I just...I thought she was getting better. She seemed like her old self this afternoon."
"I think she's just tired, sweetheart, but she will be all right."
"She's tired because she doesn't ever sleep. Is she having nightmares again?"
"No. At least I don't think so."
"She's got to go to the doctor, right, to see how pregnant she is?"
"I guess so. Why?"
"I want to go. Even if I have to wait in the waiting room. I want to be there for her. Do you think that would be okay?"
"I think she'd love that."
"Me too," Martha said quietly.
"You want to go?"
She nodded. "I'll see what I can do about rehearsals, but if at all possible, yes, I want to be there for my daughter, my granddaughter." Castle nodded.
"And let's be honest. With your track record, Dad, it's going to be a baby sister. I don't think you're quite outnumbered enough," Alexis teased him, smiling slightly.
*****
Alexis and Martha were a few minutes late, so Kate didn't know they were comng when she walked in. "You don't have to come with me if you don't want," she told Castle.
"Are you kidding? I never missed an appointment for Alexis and I won't with this one either."
She smiled, although her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. The doctor hadn't gotten there yet, so they talked first. "I told Stevenson today...I'm taking the captain's job."
Castle's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. It's about time I decided. And I want to be a mom. Maybe they'll even let me bring her to work from time to time."
"All right."
"If you want to work with the boys, we'll figure something out. We've done harder things than this. It's going to be great." Castle grinned. "I have to realize that I'm not alone anymore. It's just...sometimes it's still hard in a crisis to see that. I was alone for so long."
"I know."
She went through the routine doctor's visit and waited for the blood results to come back. "We have an awesome family. It just took me awhile to remember."
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Post by cal54382 on Aug 24, 2015 3:13:21 GMT
"That's alright."
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Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2015 22:03:20 GMT
The doctor came back with a long face and Kate squeezed Castle's hand, moving closer into his embrace, knowing something was wrong. "I ran the blood tests two different times." The doctor paused for a moment and then continued. "I'm sorry. They both came back negative. You're not pregnant, not yet." The doctor paused again as Kate struggled not to cry. "The stress could be causing your symptoms: the fatigue, the loss of appetite, nausea, even the missed period. The good news is that you're fine and, with some rest, you'll be good as new. You need to slow down, Kate. Your body's been through a lot over the last few years."
"The positive pregnancy test?" She managed to ask.
"Was a false positive, but could be any number of factors. It's rare, but it happens. I really am sorry." Kate nodded and the doctor left them alone.
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Post by cal54382 on Aug 25, 2015 0:42:44 GMT
Castle pulled Kate into a hug, not letting go of her as the disappointment washed over them.
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Post by Admin on Aug 25, 2015 2:21:55 GMT
They walked out to see Martha and Alexis waiting. Kate buried her head in his chest and Martha closed her eyes. "We'll see you at home," she said softly to her son, putting her hand on her granddaughter's to stop her from following them.
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Post by cal54382 on Aug 28, 2015 1:54:28 GMT
(with who?)
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Post by Admin on Aug 28, 2015 2:32:15 GMT
either castle/kate or skip to them coming home
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Post by Admin on Aug 31, 2015 1:56:26 GMT
Castle opened the door to the apartment and waited until Kate walked in. She was visibly shaken, like something horrible had happened. The last time she'd been so upset had been 3xk.
"Go rest. I'll get you something to drink."
"I'm fine, Rick," she said, starting to the kitchen to clean up.
"No. Go sit down."
"I am fine."
"I'm not."
She turned to face him and, instead of going to the kitchen, went to the couch, bringing him with her, curling up next to him.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. I just did it wrong, I guess. Got everyone's hopes up for nothing. Kinda stupid, right? Can't even take a...can't even figure out a test."
"It's not your fault, Kate."
"I'm sorry you're hurting."
"It isn't your fault."
"I can still be sorry."
"Only if you promse you aren't saying it because you feel responsible."
"Both."
"Please, Kate, it is not your fault."
"Part of me knows it's not, Rick, but part of me...I'm not good at failing. And that my, our, family is hurting because of that? I just feel helpless." She knew she wasn't helping him feel better and that hurt almost as much as the pain she was experiencing anyway.
"No one blames you."
"I know. But you're hurting. Alexis and Martha are going to too. And I can't fix it."
"You don't have to."
"Have we met?" She tried to joke, but the simple fact of the matter was that she hated when she couldn't protect people, especially those she loved.
Castle hugged her. "I promise this will work out." She moved to his lap, holding him as he held her.
"I love you."
"I love you too. Since I'm not pregnant..." She paused. "What if we start trying? Not this moment, but...soon. I think we're both ready."
"If you want."
She studied him. "Don't you want?"
"I do."
She looked relieved. "Okay."
"Do you want anything?"
She shook her head. "You can work on your book if you feel up to it. I'll start dinner."
"You know my mother won't let you."
"She's not home."
"I think she is."
She heard the door start to open. "Really? How do you do that?" She teased, slipping to sit beside him.
"It's a gift."
She rolled her eyes, but actually smiled before being hugged by a flying redheaded missile. "Kate."
"Hey, sweetheart," Kate hugged her a little longer than usual before letting her go.
"Alexis, be careful," warned Martha.
"Actually, we wanted...we wanted to tell you guys something." She held Castle's hand with her own, knowing there was no time like the present. She couldn't let them go on thinking she was pregnant.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"Are you okay, Mom?" Alexis asked her.
"I'm fine. There turns out that there was something wrong with the test. They called it a false positive. I'm not pregnant."
Martha looked sympathetic. "Sorry, honey."
Alexis hugged her again, trying to hide her tears.
"It's okay. When the time is right, you'll get pregnant."
Kate nodded. "Thank you, Martha." She whispered to Alexis. "It's okay, honey. It's really okay."
"I'm so sorry, Mom," said Alexis.
"I know. It's okay." She wiped Alexis' eyes for her. "Just because I'm not now doesn't mean you won't get a little sister someday, maybe even some day soon." Alexis nodded.
Castle hugged his daughter, kissing her forehead, touched that his family was hurting like they were.
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Post by cal54382 on Sept 1, 2015 1:07:57 GMT
(what now?)
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Post by Admin on Sept 1, 2015 1:30:22 GMT
(end?)
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Post by cal54382 on Sept 3, 2015 1:08:48 GMT
ok
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