68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

AN: One guest reviewer got a laugh at the end of the last chapter, saying what a perfect name for a doctor. It seems that garza translates from Italian as "gauze bandage". That was fun. I was clueless there.

Another guest, an ER nurse pointed out that they would have checked the baby ASAP rather than saying "Be right back and we'll talk." In Dr. Gauze's defense, you'll see here that he already had an OB on the way in. That translates from English to more English as poetic license. I needed a way to close the last chapter with a big hint and jump right into this one.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Were you aware of your pregnancy?" Dr. Garza asked, as the nurse replaced Kate's oxygen cannula.

"Pregnancy?" he heard in unison from two shocked Castles.

"I'll take that as a no," he answered with a chuckle.

Castle's palm was immediately on Kate's abdomen as he said with a sound of awe, "A baby?"

Almost simultaneously Kate's hand came to rest on his as she looked up at him asking, "I'm pregnant?" Then she turned a panicked look toward the doctor. "What happened today…did it hurt the baby? Will it be okay?"

"We'll take care of that examination any minute. An obstetrician is on the way, and you should have some answers in short order."

The obstetrician arrived a few minutes later with an ultrasound machine to check on the baby. With the internal ultrasound, they were even able to see a little flurry of movement they were told was the heartbeat. Then Kate was examined, and both she and the baby appeared to be fine. And she was assured that taking the birth control pills after she was pregnant shouldn't cause a problem.

Almost before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, the couple heard, "Mr. and Mrs. Castle," from a familiar voice at the door, and saw that Dr. Kovacs was there, smiling and extending his hand toward Castle.

"Good to see you, but bad circumstances…followed by good circumstances," Castle answered and shook his hand. "I'm sure that made no sense."

Dr. Kovaks was immediately more serious as he moved toward the bed to shake Kate's hand. "Mrs. Castle, I hear you've had a frightening day. Sit up and let me listen. Breathe as normally as you can." He assessed as she answered his questions and followed his instructions. Then he hung his stethoscope around his neck and said, "I understand congratulations are in order."

"Thank you," Kate answered quietly. "But Dr. Garza said there should be x-rays. Tell us what we need to know to decide."

"We need to know about your lungs to be sure there are no surprises. The pregnancy…"

"How pregnant?" Castle asked, unable to hold back any longer.

"There was a blood test called a quantitative hCG that indicates about six weeks."

Dr. Garza excused himself then, and Castle followed him to the door to thank him for his help and also for his understanding.

The doctor gave a professional nod in response and offered his congratulations before he left.

"Sorry. I won't interrupt again," Castle said as he returned.

"No problem. There's a lot going on here," Dr. Kovacs answered good naturedly. "The two of you don't make it easy on us. We don't like to order x-rays when there's a pregnancy; but with Mrs. Castle's health at issue as well, I think we should. We can never make promises, but at this stage, the risk should be small. The decision will have to be yours."

Kate reached for her husband's hand, and she looked at him questioningly. The two of them asked some clarifying questions, and they reluctantly agreed that taking a chance with Kate's health would also be risky for the baby.

"Someone will be here to take you to x-ray in a few minutes, then. I'll be back when we have the results."

As promised, a young woman in scrubs was there with a wheel chair a few minutes later, and Josef walked with them to wait during the x-ray. When they returned, the bed Castle requested had been delivered, and by the time the room cleared after all the activity and questioning that followed, they were assured that Kate was rapidly improving, oxygen levels were good, and nothing in the x-rays warranted undue concern. Kate was told she would have a breathing treatment shortly and was promised that she could sleep after that.

Both of them exhaling sighs of relief that they were finally alone, Castle removed his button down and his shoes and got into bed with his wife, holding her close for a long moment. He pulled the oxygen cannula down to rest around her shoulders and kissed her long and slow before he dutifully put it back.

"We're going to have a baby," he whispered playfully, as if she didn't know.

She smiled and whispered back, "I know. Then she moved the cannula again and kissed him lovingly.

"Thank you for arranging for this," she said. "I didn't think they'd allow it."

"Thank you for not trying to stop me. I needed it as much as you did." After a short pause, he added, "And the hefty donation I made after you were released last time probably helped convince somebody in charge."

Suddenly pulling a fistful of his T-shirt into her hand, she said, "Alexis. We didn't call Martha and Alexis. I didn't even think. Some Mom I'm going to be. And Dad..."

"I called while you were in x-ray," he said. "You haven't had a minute to think past the moment. Mother and Alexis know the medical reason we're here, and I promised to call first thing in the morning. Alexis is going to look for the old tape recorder. She sounded like she needed something to do for us. Your Dad is already asleep by now. We'll call all of them in the morning." Kissing her forehead, he said, "I didn't tell Mother and Alexis about the baby, though. We should do that together. She relaxed then, smoothing her husband's T-shirt over his chest and leaning against him again.

As she snuggled closer, Kate sighed contentedly, and he could feel the shape of her smile against his chest as she said softly, "We're pregnant. I didn't like the internal ultrasound, but we got to see a tiny little heartbeat. It was worth it."

"Yeah. We're pretty good at this," he answered, nuzzling her hair. "We hadn't even started trying yet. Guess you can throw away the pills now."

"I guess I can." Then she giggled. "Even after this hellish day and all the worry tonight, I can't stop smiling."

"Me, either. So you're happy?"

"I'm really scared, but I'm so happy."

"What scares you?" he asked, planting a soft kiss on her head.

"You're such a good dad. What if I'm not as good a mom?" she asked. "I've already done so many things wrong."

"Why do you think you've done things wrong?"

"I didn't realize I was late and kept taking birth control. I've been drinking coffee by the gallon, like always…and wine almost every night. I went into an undercover assignment that went wrong and put this baby we both want so much at risk…"

"Stop right there. Did you know you were pregnant?

"No, but…"

"You're only two weeks late. I'm usually well aware of your cycles, and I didn't realize you were late, either. Would you have agreed to the assignment today if you'd known?"

"Of course not, but…"

"And when you found out, wasn't your first instinct to know how today could have affected the baby…and then to do your best to protect it?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts, Kate. That sounds like pretty good mom material to me. And I was there at the precinct today. I didn't like it, but I agreed to the assignment, too. You aren't alone in feeling guilty."

"I can't help it. I already feel like a failure. And I'll worry about the x-ray until several doctors each tell me at least ten times that I don't need to."

He pulled her closer. "I will, too." Still trying to reinforce his point for her, though, he asked, "You haven't had any symptoms like morning sickness yet, have you?"

"No."

"Then don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't have the biggest tell-tale symptom, and we've had a lot of distractions lately…like that huge case that had two teams working almost non-stop. The doctors here have been encouraging, so let's be positive, at least for tonight. You can talk to Lanie tomorrow. You trust her. She'll be honest, and you're gonna want to tell her anyway. I imagine the celebratory squeal she'll make could wake even her clientele."

Kate nodded and smiled again; then she turned in his arms, moved so he was spooned close behind her, and pulled his hand to her abdomen again. "It's barely the size of a bean…or a peanut…but I love it already. I never thought I'd be that mom."

"I already love it, too," he said, nuzzling in her hair again. "It's our peanut. And I've thought for a while now that you'd be that mom. You're gonna be an awesome mom."

She sighed again and leaned her head back against his shoulder.

"Sleep, Kate. You know somebody will be in here at least once, probably more than that, before morning to wake you up for something. Both of you need your rest."

"Both of us. Our baby is in here," she said dreamily, stroking her fingers across his. "We already made our little Castle."

Now it was his smile that could be felt against the curve of her neck. "Yeah, we did," he answered.

She turned her head, he leaned forward to meet her lips with his, and after one more long, loving kiss, he slid his other arm under her pillow, moving her further into his arms. Then they lay quietly as they gradually drifted into sleep, sharing the joy of knowing that they had created another family member to love.

xxxxx

Jordan Shaw had taken a break from the madness of the conference room operation center they had set up that afternoon, and she was sitting in Gates's office after closing a call with Avery.

Gates came in with two mugs of coffee, placed one on the small table next to Shaw, and then sat down at her desk. "Everything okay in Scarsdale?"

"Going almost too well. Using more non-descript than usual SUVs and trucks has paid off. It looks like the local authorities haven't noticed us yet. Most of our vehicles have already been moved into the compound as if it's part of their standard activity there, and in less than an hour, everything will be contained there as if nothing happened last night. There's still a lot to be done, but Avery has it all well in hand. CSU moved in as soon as SWAT cleared them; and as they release a room, records and equipment from it are being boxed and put in trucks to be returned to our office here. Avery says it's running smoothly." She took another sip of her coffee and added, "As much as I hate to admit it, especially after the danger it left Beckett in, if Fowler hadn't been such a jerk, we might have missed the location of this operation."

"And if Mr. Castle hadn't insisted on the GPS. Nothing else we tried could get through their security."

"There's a lot more to that man than there appears to be at first glance."

Gates chuckled. "You don't need to tell me that. From what I understand, Beckett didn't even want him here at first."

"How in the world do they work together and behave the way they do here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen them together outside the precinct, just being themselves; and their natural state of being seems to be touching. Not sexual, just close. If they aren't touching, they're connected somehow, even across the room. But when they're here, they're professional. Nobody running a hand over a shoulder or dropping a kiss on the head as they pass or sitting too close… Where does all that go when they get here?"

"I've seen it, too, and I don't know. I just thank whatever powers that be that they don't make me deal with it."

They both chuckled and sat quietly enjoying their coffee until Gates broke the silence, getting back to business. "So Vulcan Simmons is Lazarus?"

"We don't think he is. The two men who arrested him got to Beckett just in time. I didn't tell Castle quite how close it was. They entered the room just in time to see Simmons ranting at Beckett and a man they called Jones pulling her head out of the ice water...and to hear Simmons order the same man to take her out and kill her. He said that Lazarus would want her dead after today, anyway."

"So that means Bracken…"

"We do have evidence that it's his drug operation, but Simmons runs it and reaps big rewards. We hadn't found that Scarsdale counting operation before today, though. We think it's new. Another one abruptly closed down recently before we had identified its location. All we had was mentions of it."

"So, do you think Simmons didn't know about the deal between Bracken and Beckett, or did he just not care?"

"We don't know. I didn't worry about the possibility of anything being mailed because we'll have taken Bracken out of commission before it could be delivered. Simmons and his cohorts are all being held separately."

"And Elena Markov?"

"She and the man Beckett called Harden were apprehended, both trying to escape from the compound. In a little less than twenty-four hours, everyone in custody will have contact with their lawyers, at least one of whom is likely to alert Bracken; so our timing on arresting the senator will be tight. He's scheduled a press conference at nine tomorrow morning." She paused and smiled. "My evil twin says we should arrest him there and make it as public as possible…even has a solid plan for that… but my rational side is still in control. We need to execute our warrants on as much as possible of everything he owns, rents, rides in, or whatever before he gets wind of it; and that needs to start now."

"What else do you need from me? I'm here for the duration," Gates assured her.

"There isn't time to move the whole operation back to our offices yet; but, as soon as we've arrested Bracken, we'll be moving out of your hair. Victoria, you may have to be responsible for arresting a couple of your superiors; and you and Lin Jackson and Eugene Brown in IA may have to arrest a couple of friends or acquaintances. Are you ready for that?"

"If they're dirty, I have no problem with it. Neither will Jackson or Brown."

"They're definitely dirty. We have documentation that they're all on Bracken's payroll. Following the money trail for Bracken and Simmons has called for the FBI, CIA, a couple of full time forensic accountants, and some excellent legal advice; but we're sure Bracken won't be able to get out of it. We had to dig deep for it, but it's there.

"Then tell me who and when."

"I will, and it won't be long." Jordan stood and raised her cup as if in a toast, saying, "Back to the fray. Warrants to deal with. Thanks for the coffee."

"I'll have people ready to move whenever you say."

xxxxx

Kate and Rick had a reasonable period of sleep before another breathing treatment and another blood draw in the early hours of the morning. Dr. Kovacs arrived a few minutes after seven, already in possession of the bloodwork results; and Castle left the bed to allow him room to check Kate's heart and lung sounds.

"I'm sure this will come as good news," the doctor told Kate. "You're free to go home. For a few days, work with the same breathing exercises you did after the surgery, and stay home and take it easy for the next couple of days. You should make an appointment with your OB as soon as possible. I'll get the release process started and see that your Captain has the necessary paperwork." Extending his hand, he added, "Congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you," Kate answered.

"We'll try not to darken your doorstep again," Castle promised. "Thank you for everything."

A nurse stopped in immediately after Dr. Kovaks left, saying. "Mr. Castle, your daughter stopped by late last night and brought this for you. She peeked in, but she didn't want to disturb you." Then she placed a small duffel bag in the chair next to the bed and left.

After opening the bag and looking inside, Castle announced triumphantly, "She found it," and pulled out an old tape recorder that used micro cassettes. "I hope she remembered the batteries."

"Come on, Castle. It's Alexis. You know there are batteries."

He took the tape Kate had given him from his pocket and popped it into the machine. After closing the door, he turned it on and waited for the tape to play, turning the volume down to keep the content of the recording to themselves. Both of them were dumbfounded at what they heard, and Kate was ready to leave on the spot.

"She brought us clean clothes, too, Kate. Clean up and change clothes first," Castle told her, then we'll go. I'll change while you freshen up. We need to get this to Jordan."

Kate was dressed and had their other clothes in the duffel bag faster than Castle thought possible and was rushing him to leave. She signed herself out of the hospital, and she and Castle caught a cab outside the building, going straight to the precinct.

Rushing out of the elevator on the homicide floor as she clutched the machine with the tape, she headed straight for the conference room, nearly running into Gates as she did.

"Captain, Jordan, you need to hear this," she said, displaying the detective demeanor that no one failed to recognize as something to pay attention to.

"My office," the captain answered. Castle and Josef were close behind her, Beckett motioned for the boys to join them, and Gates closed the door behind them.

"Yesterday a figurine that belonged to my mother fell off my desk and broke. I found this inside it, but there was nothing to play it on until this morning." When she started the tape, they all recognized the first voice.

BRACKEN: Raglan, Shut the door. You three got a lot of balls coming here.

"Is that…" Gates asked in surprise.

"Senator Bracken, back when he was still Assistant DA." Castle confirmed quickly.

MONTGOMERY: Look, we just want to make sure we're all on the same page.

For Jordan's benefit, Kate explained quietly, "And that's Roy Montgomery."

MONTGOMERY: You took us for a lot of money, Bracken. We want assurances.

BRACKEN: Hey, be happy I haven't busted the three of you for your little mafia extortion ring.

MONTGOMERY: Whoa. Relax.

BRACKEN: No, no. You want assurances? Here you go. I assure you that as easily as I pinned Bob Armen's murder on Pulgatti, I could just as easily put it on the cops who actually did the deed.

Gates said, "Bracken just admitted to blackmailing them?"

"He sure did," Castle answered. "And to framing Pulgatti for Armen's murder and hiding the police involvement."

MONTGOMERY: Pulgatti knows he's been framed. What if someone gets onto this?

BRACKEN: Then I'll handle them

MONTGOMERY: You? How?

BRACKEN: I know people, Roy. Dangerous people. Anyone gets too close, like that bitch lawyer, Johanna Beckett, who's been poking around…I'll have them killed. I've had people killed before."

"And he just admitted to contract murders…plural," Beckett pointed out. That long ago. How many people have he and Vulcan Simmons killed by now? There was another contract killer on the payroll at the compound when I was there, and Jones had no problem ordering hits, probably carried some out as well. And they were offering Elena Markov fifty thousand a week to be a permanent member of their staff."

"The evil twin wins, Victoria. Bracken's big press conference is in forty-five minutes, and we're giving the press a good show. We're arresting him there…in front of the cameras, God, and everybody. You want in, Beckett?"

To everyone's surprise, she looked at Castle as if she might refuse. "What would you want me to do?" she asked Jordan.

"What you've wanted to do your entire career…arrest him cuff him, and read him his rights." Seeing the look between Beckett and Castle, she said, "Outside with me for a minute, both of you?" and closed the captain's door after them, walking with them to Beckett's desk. Speaking quietly, she said, "Hesitancy isn't what I expected. Is there something we should know?" With no answer immediately forthcoming, she asked, "Are you pregnant?"

"I keep forgetting you're a profiler," Kate answered.

"It's the only reason I could see that would make you hesitate. And you immediately looked to Castle, so he had a heavy stake in the decision, too."

"We found out at the hospital last night. Our family doesn't even know yet. We were lucky, Jordan. The doctors say everything looks good. But I can't take any more chances," Beckett told her.

Castle said nothing, but he put an arm around his wife's waist sympathetically. "I'd love to see Bracken realize that both Beckett women had a hand in taking him down."

"We could have another tiny little Beckett woman in here that I need to take care of. My mother would want our baby safe, too."

"Castle, Beckett, I understand your concerns, but my team has had experience delivering at risk witnesses to the courts or the Marshall service safely over a lot of years, and we've never even had anyone hurt. We aren't Fowler. We can keep you safe."

"I believe that. After yesterday, though, I won't take that chance. But thank you for the offer. It means a lot."

"Tough decision, Beckett; but I understand it."

"Not as tough as I thought it would be."

Jordan smiled and said quietly, "I'm happy for both of you," and went back to Gates's office. "We need to coordinate these arrests, Captain," Jordan told Gates, closing the door after she said, 'Gentlemen, we'll be right back with the particulars."

"She's pregnant, isn't she?" the captain asked softly as they walked to the conference room.

"Found out at the hospital last night, but they were told everybody is fine."

"Thank God for that," Gates answered, looking relieved.

"Their family doesn't know yet, so…"

"It's their news to share…or not…until I have to demand desk duty."

Beckett uncharacteristically moved close to Castle in the bullpen, her hands on his chest and her forehead against his shoulder.

"It's generous of Jordan to make that offer…to go to that much trouble to give you the chance to arrest him instead of claiming all the glory for the FBI," Castle said gently as Beckett accepted his embrace.

"Yeah, it is," she answered. "But this way will be easier on all of us."

"Except you. I know you still want to be there."

"I do. But our little peanut is so much more important than Bracken seeing my face when he realizes his life as he knows it is over. His life is still over."

"I'm sorry you won't be a part of making it happen."

"But you didn't try to talk me out of it…you let it be my decision. Thank you for trusting me like that." She stood back from him and said, "And we were both a part of making it happen. We did it together, remember? All those late nights…hidden computers…?" There was a little pause, and then her hands were gently on his chest again. "Take me home now?"

"You call the car service and let me make sure Ryan and Esposito know we're leaving…and that somebody is keeping track of that cassette. We don't want it to fall out of the chain of custody."

Josef was standing a respectable distance away to give the couple some privacy as Jordan talked to them, but he moved in Beckett's direction as Castle went to speak to the boys and she called the car service.

"Hey, guys, I'm taking Beckett home," Castle announced when he opened the door of the captain's office. "She isn't supposed to be here, but we had to bring in that tape. The doctor told her to take a couple of days off, and Gates should already have the doctor's letter in her email. If we leave now, we should be home to watch Bracken's demise on TV."

"She's not going with Jordan?" Esposito blustered angrily. "You talked her out of it, didn't you?"

"No. It was her decision. And she went through hell yesterday, so I didn't try to change her mind."

"Take care of her," Ryan answered.

"I will. And please be sure either Jordan or Avery gets that tape for her. Don't let it out of your possession until then."

"Never considered doing anything else," Ryan agreed while Esposito still fumed. "I'll see to it," Ryan promised.

"See you in a couple of days."

When Castle returned to Beckett's desk, she looked at him and smiled. "Let's go home and tell Alexis and Martha. Then we'll watch Bracken's arrest and we can all cheer. We'll worry about anything else later."

"Good plan, Mom," he whispered, and she smiled even bigger. Turning to his friend, he said, "We're going home, Josef. You ready?"

"Kate Beckett, you look happy," Josef observed.

"The man who has plagued my family's life for so long is about to be arrested, and Jordan assures me that he's going to be in prison for the rest of his life."

"Enough to make one smile," he agreed, and walked with them to the elevator, standing in front of them when it opened and placing himself in front again before it stopped.

"I asked the service about sending Darrell or Michael. Darrell had just dropped someone off about three blocks from here, so the car shouldn't be too long," Beckett told the two men as the group entered the lobby. "I know they usually take the cars back and clean them before picking up anyone else, but I told their dispatcher we were more interested in time, so they sent him from there anyway." She rolled her eyes and said, "It's a good thing we're going home. I'm babbling now."

"We should wait here," Josef stated, watching the lobby; and Castle wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders, tucking her close and standing protectively beside her near the wall.

Less than five minutes later, Darrell drove up in a town car, and Josef ushered them out, getting Beckett in the car first. They went straight to the loft and into bear hugs from the two redheads who were waiting for them.

"Dad, where have you been?" Alexis scolded as Martha hugged him and then wrapped her arms around Kate. "I just got off the phone with the hospital, and they said Kate had signed herself out over an hour ago. I was about to call the precinct."

"Calm down and we'll explain. You'll understand then," Castle assured them.

"Tell us the rest of what happened yesterday," Martha insisted.

"I'll be in the study," Josef said. "You need time to tell your family about your Kate."

"I do, Josef. Thank you. We won't be long."

Josef nodded and closed the door behind him.

Castle gave them a quick explanation of Fowler's assignment gone awry and the resulting danger to Kate. "But there's more to tell. The best news first, though. The doctors said Kate should be fine, but she was told to take a couple of days off to recover. Do you want to tell them the rest?" he asked his wife.

"They said the baby is fine, too," Kate told them, smiling again.

"Baby?" Alexis repeated, looking confused.

"Baby!" Martha said, grabbing Alexis's arm in excitement with a look of full understanding.

"Baby!" Alexis squealed, in sudden realization. "You're going to have a baby? When?"

There were more hugs as Castle said, "It looks like it should be about the end of February."

"After everything that went wrong yesterday, we found out at the hospital last night," Kate explained.

"I finally get to be a big sister. How long before we know whether it's a boy or a girl?" Alexis asked.

"A lot longer than you're going to want to wait," Kate answered, tugging at a lock of her stepdaughter's hair teasingly.

"Tomorrow is longer than I want to wait," Alexis answered with a grin.

"You said something about the best news first. Is there more good news?" Martha asked.

"Turn on the TV, Castle told them. It should be anywhere you look any time now."

12