Part 2 B - See A/N at the end of Part 1 for explanation; this is completely independent from Part 2A

"You know what I think tonight calls for?" Castle spun around as he walked into the loft, holding the door open for the woman trailing behind him. He waggled his eyebrows in her direction and grinned. "Champagne—non-alcoholic, of course, right bud?" He smoothed his hand over the distinct rounded belly of the woman as she passed him giving him one of her classic, 'You're being insane,' looks.

"Castle…we don't need champagne."

"The doctor said you're the epitome of health—that calls for champagne!"

Kate sighed, shrugged off her jacket, and then followed her boyfriend into the kitchen while resting both hands on her belly. "I'm the epitome of health for someone who had a bullet enter their heart three months ago—that's not exactly the same thing."

Castle merely shrugged and continued on his path towards the wine refrigerator. Kate merely shook her head as she leaned one elbow against the eat-at counter. As she had unofficially been living at the loft ever since being released from the hospital, Kate was used to her partner's unprecedented enthusiasm being directed towards seemingly random things, but this did seem to be a bit too much. "Besides—if we're going to celebrate something, shouldn't we wait until Friday? After we found out if our little bean here is a boy or a girl?"

He snorted with disbelief. "Who says we can only celebrate one time this week?"

When she realized he was actually rummaging through the wine refrigerator to find champagne, Kate walked over and touched his shoulder gently. "Castle, don't; stop."

He turned to her with a look of utter confusion. "Why?"

She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth and gazed at him for a moment before proposing, "Because…what if I want us to celebrate a different way?"

"Really!?"

Though nervous butterflies still filled her stomach, Kate could not help but laugh at how excited he sounded, though she couldn't blame him; she was excited too.

On some level, she did agree with Castle that the cardiologist proclaiming her to be in impressive health (all things considered) was something to be celebrated. Of course she was still barred from vigorous or intense exercise, both because of her shooting and her pregnancy, which was labeled high-risk, but she had been cleared for moderate exercise, and she'd confirmed with the nurse on the way out that sex was included under that umbrella.

As she had been feeling almost back to normal for the prior month, she had already checked with her obstetrician about being intimate with her boyfriend, figuring he would be more likely to tell her no than the cardiologist, but at her appointment two weeks prior he'd given her cautious permission. She was warned to take things easy, and monitor herself closely. If she felt any discomfort during or after intercourse she needed to seek medical attention—and that went for every time they made love, not just the first time since her shooting.

Looking as though he was afraid to be too hopeful, Castle reached out and touched her arm. "Are you sure?"

Kate bobbed her head. "Both doctors have said it's okay as long as we're careful."

"Careful is my middle name."

She laughed and shook her head. "It really isn't." In fact, it wasn't even in the top ten descriptors she would have given him—hell, maybe not even in the top twenty.

He laughed, too. "That's true—it's not at all but Kate, are you sure you're feeling up to this?"

"Definitely," she said before reaching out, taking his hand, and guiding him towards the bedroom.

Though their relationship had an incredibly unusual start, Kate never minded. In fact, it almost made sense given everything about their lives, their partnership. She never wanted to be traditional, so it fit her as well. Despite that, she was looking forward to having a normal relationship with the man she almost lived with and being able to have sex was the final puzzle piece they needed.

From the moment she awoke in the hospital and discovered that he already knew he was the father of her child, Castle had far exceed her expectation insofar as what he would be like as a significant other. He took care of her and doted on her—too much, if anything. He ran errands to pick up things at her apartment or the drug store for her, even when she told him he didn't have to. He never missed a doctor's appointment and had even been willing to give her the king-sized bed in the loft until she insisted that they share.

Two days after she was released from the hospital and she was sitting in his bathroom as he changed the bandages on her wounds, she felt clear-headed enough to ask him about their relationship status. He'd given her a simple smile and said, "In my mind, we've been together since that night in LA, but if you want official confirmation, this is it." He'd spoken with such ease she immediately felt silly for even entertaining the idea that he might not want to be with her romantically. That night when he'd helped her to bed, he'd kissed her lips and she'd fallen asleep feeling safe for the first time since her shooting. From that point forward, their relationship only blossomed.

When she looked at the man beside her, the one who clearly cared so deeply for her, Kate felt immensely silly for the entire prior year when she feared she couldn't trust him to be her partner in everything. She'd been foolish then, but vowed never to be again, which was why she talked with him about her emotions and how she was feeling. It had been hard at first, very hard, but by that point, several months in, it was beginning to feel like second nature, as it should.

When they reached the bedroom, Castle stepped around her and began pulling back the bedcovers. Kate inactively reached for the waistband on her pants but then stopped and cringed down at her stomach. Evidently seeing this, her partner asked what was wrong. "Oh, um, I guess I never thought about the logistics of pregnancy sex." She had a round belly now, and that changed things…didn't it?

He made a dismissive noise. "Psst, this little bump?" He reached out and patted the swell, practically covering all of it with his large hand. "No big deal. It only really becomes a problem when you're over thirty or thirty-two weeks, depending. Then we'll have to get a bit creative." He winked at her.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Somehow I think you'll rise to that challenge."

He smirked. "In more ways than one."

Kate realized her unintended double entendre and groaned. "God, Castle…"

He laughed and reached out for her hips, pulling her towards him. "C'mon, Kate you set me up for that one."

He kissed her and began removing her clothing as she did the same to him. It was strange, she thought as she pushed the button-down shirt from his shoulders and he turned her body so she could sit down on the bed. They had only made love one time previously—just one time—but yet their intimacy was not at all awkward. It felt as though they'd been together romantically for years. She supposed that on some level they had, and their recent cohabitation certainly added to their preexisting connection.

"God, Kate; you are so sexy." Castle groaned as he pulled off her pants and gave them a casual toss, leaving her only in her bra and panties—her maternity panties.

She laughed and shook her head. "You won't think that when I get too big for those pants…and all the others I own."

"Mm nope—then you'll be even sexier." He kissed her belly several times in a few different places then lifted his head and smiled at her. He stepped back to remove his jeans and socks and made to climb up on the bed with her, but she stopped him with gentle fingers on his sternum; he looked at her, curious.

"I love you."

It was far from the first time she'd said it. In fact, the first had been while she was still in the hospital, very shortly after an internal ultrasound confirmed all was well with the child budding to life inside her, but given what they were about to do, it felt like the time that had the most weight.

He smiled, soft and easy, and the corners of his eyes crinkled in that way that made her heart soar. He brushed her cheek with his thumb and said, "I love you, too, Kate," before pulling her into a long, slow kiss.

"Castle!"

He was ripped from sleep so suddenly, that Richard Castle was unsure of what was going on around him until he heard the shriek of his name again, that time more frantic.

"CASTLE!"

"Wha—whatsit—K-Kate?!" In his sleep state he just barely recognized the voice to be that of his girlfriend, but he was still struggling to process. He threw back the bedcovers and looked around the room, but he couldn't see her. "Wha—Where are you?"

"Here!"

Turning his head towards the sound he could see light filtering out of the bathroom and began moving towards it. He caught his big toe on the corner of the bed, yelped out a curse, and stumbled forward while rubbing the sleep from his left eye. "I'm comin'; I'm comin'…What's…" His voice drifted off as he took note of the scene before him. Kate was dressed in her sleeping attire—a tank top and bikini panties—and standing by the counter with the two sinks. Her left hand was wrapped around her largely expanded belly while her right was braced against the counter so tightly he could see all the muscles in her arm engaged. On top of all this, Kate's face was contorted with significant discomfort.

Immediately on sight of her, adrenaline began coursing through Castle's veins as he grew worried for the safety of his partner and their unborn daughter. "What—What's going on? Are you okay?"

She groaned and hunched over as though she were about to be ill. "The baby—the baby's coming."

He shook his head, still sleepy enough to be confused by her words. "What? We still have two—two and a half weeks until-"

But his words were cut off by a piercing scream from Kate and he began to panic once more. "Oh! Oh god! The baby! The baby's coming!" Yes, their C-section was scheduled nearly two and a half weeks away and they were three from Evelyn's due date, but it appeared she was determined to make what his mother would have called "a dramatic entrance."

Kate lifted her head enough to meet his eye and she growled, "I know; I said that!"

He took a deep breath and walked over to his companion to gently rub her lower back, never thankful he was doing this for a second time so he knew (more or less) what to expect. "How far apart are your contractions?"

She whimpered and adjusted her grip on the counter, leaning back into his touch. "I don't know—not far I don't think; I woke up like this 'bout—ah—fifteen minutes ago."

"Wha—Jesus." The writer cursed and rubbed his hand over his brow. "How did this happen so fast?!" Meredith had been in labor with Alexis for hours—over a day, technically.

"I don't know I've never had a baby before Castl—aah!" Kate screamed again and gripped her belly

Realizing that her contractions were less than two minutes apart, Castle instantly realized that taking a car to the hospital would not be an option. "Okay—okay. Hold on. I'm just getting my phone so I can call 911." He dashed from the bathroom and hurried over to his side of the bed. He ripped his cell phone from its charging cord and began punching keys on his way back to the bathroom.

"Yes, hi, my—my girlfriend is in labor and she—she says the baby is coming. Please hurry!" He informed the operator in one long breath when the call connected. The woman on the other end then calmly asked for his address and he gave it and then hung up when he heard Kate calling out his name. He raced back to the bathroom and found that she had moved positions so that her back was flush with the counter and she was clutching her belly with both hands.

"I'm right here, honey." Castle promised, walking around in front of her so that he could cup her jaw with his hands. When he lifted her head, he could see the tears in her eyes and it broke his heart. He pressed his lips to her forehead and promised, "I'm right here. Just tell me what I can do. Do you want to sit somewhere?"

She groaned and her knees buckled as another contraction coursed through her body. Castle quickly moved his hands from her jaw to her shoulders to help hold her upright. When the contraction passed her breath was still coming in short spurts and she looked up at him, terrified. "Oh god, Castle I think the baby's coming right now!"

Trying to be the calm one, he shook his head. "I'm sure it feels that way, but if you're water hasn't even—oh." His voice dropped off when he heard the splash of liquid against the tile floor. He gazed down at spread his feet wide to avoid the fluid. "Okay—okay; it's fine. I called the ambulance and I'm sure that they-"

Once again he was cut off by Kate screaming through a contraction. She reached out and gripped his forearm so tightly he was certain she could have lifted his body off the ground by that one limb if she wanted to. "Just breathe, Kate; breathe," he soothed, though he knew his coaching wasn't doing much good.

"God—Castle—she's coming; she's coming!"

His heart rate speeding, he took a half step back and looked Kate up and down, not really sure what to do. "Um, okay…uh—do you want me to check?"

She shot him a dangerous look. "No."

"Okay."

"But you're probably going to have to."

"Okay." He agreed. Taking her by both forearms, they moved two steps away from the counter and he helped lower her to the floor. He quickly grabbed the hand towel hanging by the sink, balled it up and tucked it beneath her head. Then, moving quickly towards her hips, he pulled off her now-soaked panties, gazed between her legs and—

"Oh, god, yeah—yeah I can see the head. Jesus," he added more out of pure shock. Castle had no problem with the nitty-gritty details of birth. He loved Kate with his whole self and watching her give birth to their daughter would only deepen that love, but he had always envisioned that scenario happening in a hospital and preferably with medical staff present.

"Oh god." Kate whimpered, grabbing on to the edges of the towel beneath her head. "I—I think I have to push."

He put his palms on her knees and said instinctively, "No, no don't do that."

"Not in control of this Castle!" She snarled at him. Then, another contraction started and he watched as her abdomen seized up, trying to push their baby out. Castle held her knees and continued his soft coaching, reminding her to breathe.

When her contraction stopped, she lowered her head to the towel and let out a breath. He could see her hands trembling as they rested beside her head so he scooted closer to her and promised, "You're doing great, honey; really great."

She lifted her head just enough to look at him. "I'm really scared."

He nodded and moved so that he could place his hands against her jaw again and brush his thumbs over her cheeks. "I know, but it's going to be fine."

"What about my heart?"

Castle merely smiled and continued to stroke her face, not allowing himself to give into those fears lying at the back of his mind. Kate was afraid for many reasons, all of which he completely understood, which meant he needed to be strong. Her pregnancy had been high risk, but they'd made it through with very few complications. Her doctor had recommended a C-section to limit the strain on her already battered body, but that didn't mean she was incapable of giving birth naturally, or that she would be in grave danger.

"Kate, honey, look at me." He encouraged when she'd shut her eyes. When she was gazing at him once more, he promised, "You're going to be okay—you and Evelyn. And, hey, we get to meet her sooner, right?"

"But what if she's not okay? What if—ah! Jesus!"

Castle rocked back on his heels, not sure if he should remain at Kate's head to coach her or check on their daughter's emergence into the world when he heard the best sound he'd ever heard: pounding on the apartment door. "Thank god! One second, Kate."

The writer raced out of the bathroom so quickly he nearly skidded into a wall, but he managed to get to the apartment door in less than five seconds and usher the EMT's inside. He led the way back to the bathroom where Kate appeared to be at the tail end of another contraction, the baby's head now even more visible between her legs.

"It's okay, Kate—the EMT's are here; everything's going to be fine." Then, to the medical duo he added, "She has a heart condition."

"What kind of condition?" one of the gentlemen asked as he pulled on a rubber glove and dropped between Kate's legs.

"I, ah, there was a bullet in it?" he said a bit dumbly, in too much shock to explain using better medical terminology. "She's high risk—worried about her blood pressure and heart rate."

The EMT nodded and looked directly at Kate. "I'm afraid we can't move you now, ma'am, but your baby's almost out. When you feel the next contraction you should push as hard as you can."

As Castle settled back down on the floor, Kate reached out for him and grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. "Oh god, Castle. I don't want to have our baby on the bathroom floor!"

"Well at least it's a nice bathroom floor...it's not like a public-"

"Castle!"

As her next contraction hit, Kate pushed as hard as she could, but the baby's head remained in the same position. The EMT then suggested rearranging so that Kate's head and shoulders were propped up more by Castle's lap, that way he could help reach down and hold her legs up and out of the way. When her next contraction hit, Kate screamed louder than before and gripped Castle's right forearm with such strength he feared she would break his bones. Fortunately, the extra effort paid off and the EMT announced, "Okay the head's out; deep breath."

Craning his neck upwards, Castle gazed down and his heart stuttered with pure joy and tears began to prick his eyes. "Oh, Kate—I can see her head! You're doing so amazing, honey; I love you so much!" Castle bowed his head to kiss Kate's sweaty brow, but all she could do was grunt in return since her next contraction was on its way. Two pushes later, their daughter arrived and was placed on the towel draped across Kate's stomach.

"Oh my god." The writer sobbed as the baby's wailing echoed off the bathroom tiles. "She's here; she's really here!" She was practically bald and a greyish pink thanks to the fluids coating her skin, but she had ten little toes and ten little fingers and one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen; their little miracle.

"Is she—is she okay?" Kate asked a little breathless.

Castle lowered his right hand from where it held her leg still and began rubbing his hand over the baby's back as she wiggled and cried. "She's fine; she's fine. Oh Kate, she's so beautiful."

As the shock of the moment began to wear off Kate wrapped her arms around her child and pulled her closer to her breast. She brought the edges of the towel up to cover the crying baby as best she could and then gazed up at Castle, soft smile on her face. "I love you."

"Oh, god, Kate; I love you too—so much." In that moment, though he based his profession on stringing words together in ways that had meaning, Castle could not even begin to express his love and devotion to the woman who had just brought their child into the world. He knew then as he had known before: he would love her even with his dying breath.

"BP is okay; heart rate normal."

When these stats filtered towards his ears, Castle looked up to meet the EMT's eye and asked, "Is she okay—are they okay?"

The shorter of the two men nodded. "Yes, but we still want to get them to the hospital as quickly as possible. We're going to get the gurney and we'll be back."

Momentarily alone in the bathroom with their child, whose cries had finally dulled to small whimpers, Castle snuggled closer to the two women in his life and sighed. When the thought of his elder daughter entered his mine, he let out a small chuckle. "Boy did Alexis pick a hell of a weekend to go away with friends."

Kate let out a small laugh. "Yeah…but I'm actually kind of glad she wasn't here for this."

"Fair enough."

A few minutes later when the EMT's returned, Castle got the first opportunity to hold his new child as the gurney would not fit through the door of the bathroom and Kate had to move with the support of the EMTs on either side of her. He gave Evelyn a brief snuggle and pressed a kiss on top of her head before putting her back into her mother's arms for the trip down the elevator.

"You know," Kate sighed as they waited for the car, "I was kind of hoping to go a whole year without riding in the back of an ambulance again."

Her companion chuckled. "You're tellin' me."

"Yes but—oh! Castle—you don't have shoes."

"Wha—shit." He cursed when he looked down at himself. He was still in his boxers too! "Hold on—hold on. Two seconds."

He sprinted back to the apartment, grabbed the first pair of jeans he could and the pair of loafers closest to the door, and then ran back to the hall just as they were wheeling Kate inside the elevator. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"You didn't have to run," she said with amazing casualness, not lifting her eyes from her daughter's face.

"I know, I know I just…" he sighed and gazed down at the two of them, falling in love all over again. "I just don't want to leave you guys alone for too long."

"Don't worry." She smiled up at him. "We're not going anywhere without you."

Kate Beckett immediately stopped folding the laundry piled around her at the sound of her daughter's cry. She uncurled her legs, stood from the couch and began making her way towards the master bedroom. She'd been expecting Evie to wake up at any moment as she was a pretty consistent two-hour napper and this day was no exception. Crossing the threshold of the bedroom, Kate began unbuttoning her shirt unconsciously. Though their first few days were difficult, six weeks in breast feeding felt completely natural and she could do it at any time of the day—even if she was half asleep in the middle of the night.

"Did you have a nice nap sweetheart?" Kate cooed to her wailing baby. She lifted Evie from her crib and held her up on her shoulder in order to walk to the nearby rocking chair. As she turned, she caught a glimpse of Castle through the bookshelf walls. He was sitting at his computer with headphones in, his fingertips taping across the keyboard. She briefly wondered if he was actually writing or simply searching Google for something that may or may not have been book related, but then Evie's cries distracted her.

"Okay, honey, c'mere. I bet your so, so hungry, right?" Kate sat in the rocking chair and balanced the baby in her lap while she shrugged one shoulder out of her shirt and pulled down the cup of her bra to expose her breast. Once she had Evie in position, the little girl began to nurse immediately and Kate relaxed back in her chair, gazing casually around the bedroom she now shared with her partner.

Little more than three months had passed since she moved in officially—well, since Castle, Alexis, and her father had moved her in officially; she was not permitted to carry anything heavier than a box of pillows thanks to her pregnancy restrictions. Because they'd spent most of that time also readying Evelyn's room, Kate had yet to put any of her own touches on the master suite. She didn't really hate any of Castle's decorations—at least not now that he'd moved that ferocious looking lion painting out into his office—but none of them felt like hers. She mused that since between she and Castle (though mostly the latter) had taken thousands of pictures of their daughter since her birth she could make a picture collage on the wall vacated by the lion; it would be a good way to tie their family together.

A gurgle escaping Evie's lips drew Kate's attention downward. "You okay, sweetie?" Kate asked making sure the little one was appropriately situated on her breast and not slipping off. In doing so, she noticed for the first time that Evie was not wearing the white, pink, and yellow striped onesie she had been earlier, but instead an all-white one with black lettering on it. "What…what's this…?" She wondered aloud, tugging at the fabric so she could more easily read the fancy script across the front of the shirt.

Will you marry my Daddy?

"O-Oh…" Kate exhaled and her heart began to race. Before she could even process what was happening she heard a soft, "Surprise!"

Looking up, she saw Castle now hovered in the doorway connecting their bedroom to his office. His hands hung loosely in the pockets of his basketball shorts and he wore a rather dopey grin.

"Oh, Rick…" She sighed, feeling the tears beginning to prick her vision. She gazed down again at the shirt, at the face of her daughter, and at the tiny hand curled to a loose fist and resting in between her breasts. Evelyn's hand rested just an inch below her bullet wound scar as it often did when she nursed and each time it stirred the same feelings within.

The perfect pale skin and petite knuckles of her child resting beside the still-red, gnarled knot of a scar seemed the perfect juxtaposition to explain the prior year: painful and difficult, but beautiful. Evie was, by all accounts, a miracle. Doctor after doctor told her that she should have lost the pregnancy due to the trauma, but Evie had been strong like her mother and held on against all odds. Yes, they'd had their scares, and rehab and recovery had been complicated by her maternity status, but they'd made it through and there they both were: happy and healthy. Now it seemed they were about to become even happier.

A tear slipped down her cheek when Castle knelt beside Kate's rocking chair and pulled out a black velvet box from the pocket of his shorts. He flipped open the top to reveal a gorgeous if not huge diamond ring and smiled simply at her. "I was just thinking," he began softly. "The past six weeks have gone by in such a haze. I think there were points during it when I truly forgot we weren't married, because it was just us being partners like always except in this amazing, incredible new way. It feels like this is the way things are meant to be always so I thought maybe it was time. Will you?"

Eyes clouded with tears, Kate gazed at the man she loved while still rubbing small circles over her daughter's back. "Yes, yes of course."

Castle grinned and plucked the ring from its resting place. He reached out for her hand, but then stammered awkwardly when he realized her left hand was occupied holding their child. "Here, I…oh, um…"

"Later."

"Right, later." Bracing his hand against the edge of the chair, he stood up enough to press a kiss to her lips and then knelt back down on the floor with one hand resting on her thighs and the other skimming across her arm gently. "It's going to be amazing, Kate—our wedding, I mean. Evie can be our adorable flower girl!"

A bemused look crossed her face as Kate gazed down at the infant who could barely lift her head, and then back at her future husband. "And how do you imagine her doing that?"

"Well I…I guess that depends on how quickly you want to get married…"

Kate grazed her teeth over her bottom lip and considered their options. If they wanted Evie to be their flower girl in the traditional sense—meaning she would walk down the aisle and drop petals—they'd need to wait over a year to wed, which seemed rather absurd, given how much of a family they already were. Yet, at the same time, Kate had never been one to rush through romantic relationships, but the one she had with Castle was certainly more different than any she'd ever had before.

"I never thought much about it—getting married. Or having a baby, for that matter. People always said when it's right you'll know, but I was always skeptical. And then I met you." She smiled at him and her heart fluttered with pure joy. "I don't think I want to wait that long."

He grinned. "So…how about September?"

A breathy laugh escaped her lips. "That's pretty quick; think we can pull it off?"

He gave her knee a squeeze and promised, "I think we can do anything."

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading & reviewing! I know the last part was very sad for some people, but hopefully this fluff makes up for it!

As for what's next, I've decided to participate in the Castle Fanfiction contest as such i am jumping my current WIP to the front of the posting line. it's called Fear of Falling and the first chapter will be up on Saturday :)