AN: I apologize if this story is a little rough, I'm new to Castle fandom. If you have any comments please review. I'd love to hear what you think and find out whether or not you guys would like me to continue this story. Sharkbaito8 as promised, this story is for you.

Chapter 1:

As Kate stared down at the pregnancy test she couldn't believe her eyes. She had taken three pregnancy tests before she was willing to believe the result. Two pink bars. Those two bars had the power to change everything. Those two little pink bars meant that Kate was pregnant. She knew the tests had to be right. She was having all the symptoms women usually had this early in their pregnancy and she hadn't had her period in over two months. She knew this was the only explanation. There was no denying it, Kate was definitely pregnant.

She sat alone in her bathroom trying to wrap her mind around the revelation. She couldn't believe it had happened. She didn't know how it had happened. She and Castle practiced safe sex, this should not have happened. She knew logically what had happened, the condom broke. She also knew just how statistically unlikely that was. Her being pregnant right now was a complete fluke. But that's not what mattered now, what mattered was that she was pregnant and she had to tell Castle.

Kate had no idea how Castle would react when she told him. He already had a daughter, Lexi. He'd done the father thing, his daughter was grown now. She didn't think he'd want to go through it all again. He had always said he didn't want another child. Did he really mean that? He was already so settled in his life, his lifestyle, would he be willing to change all of that? Would he be able to welcome a new baby into this world, into his world? What if he didn't want to be in the baby's life? Kate didn't know what she would do if he pushed her away. She didn't think she'd be able to do this alone. She wasn't even sure she was cut out to be a mother. She didn't know the first thing about raising a child. She was an orphaned homicide detective for crying out loud. What would she know about motherhood? She had no idea what she was going to do, but she knew the first thing she had to do was tell Castle. Which wasn't as easy as it sounded. She couldn't think about that right now.

These thoughts were quickly becoming too much for Kate to handle. She remained in her bathroom for the next hour, crying her eyes out. Completely overcome with fear and uncertainty of how Castle would react.

After a good solid hour of weeping, Kate had managed to calm herself down substantially. She was able to regain her composure finally. She got up off the bathroom floor and walked over to the sink. She grimaced when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Makeup streaked, bags under her eyes, puffy and flushed cheeks; she looked wretched.

She cleaned herself up and headed out to her living room where her dog Bentley eagerly came over to greet her. Kate smiled as she patted Bentley obligingly. He sat at her side and wagged his tale contentedly. The bright side to owning a dog was that he was always able to cheer her up.

Kate and Castle had run into Bentley on a case a few years back, and she had loved him from the start. She couldn't give him up, so she had decided to adopt him. It started out as shared custody with Castle, but soon Bentley became hers alone. Castle saw him when he came over, but Bentley was never at Castle's if Kate was not.

She knew she couldn't hide in her apartment forever, at some point she would have to act like and adult and face the music. She was going to have to tell Castle at some point, and she knew it was better to do it sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be long before she started showing after all. Castle wasn't an idiot, it wouldn't take him long to figure out what was going on. She wasn't going to be able to hide this. He was going to find out and he had the right to.

Kate dialed Castle's number slowly, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm herself down. She didn't want to sound shaken on the phone. She had dialed his number several times now, chickening out at the last second every time. This time however, she stuck it out.

"Castle," came the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"It's Kate," she said shakily. Dammit. She had to pull herself together. She cleared her throat and continued, "Can you come over? We need to talk."

"Is everything okay, Katie Bear? You sound distraught," he said, worry evident in his tone.

"We can't talk about this over the phone, Castle. Can you just please come over? This is important," Kate was getting impatient.

She could hear him moving around his apartment as he spoke, "Sure thing. I'll be over in a few. Whatever it is, we'll get through it Bear. We always do."

He hung up. Kate sat on the couch, idly stroking Bentley as she anxiously waited for Castle. She wished his words had brought some reassurance, but they hadn't eased her worry in the slightest.

Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on her door. Kate got up and slowly walked over to the door. She was growing increasingly nervous and shaky the closer she got to the door. She wasn't ready to lose Castle. She didn't think she'd be able to survive that.

She opened the door slowly. Castle quickly stepped inside. He took one look at her and could see just how upset she was. He pulled her into a tight embrace. After a few minutes he pulled back enough to look at her. She was crying.

He gently wiped a tear from her cheek as he softly asked, "What's wrong Katie Bear? I've never seen you so upset. Come on, let's sit on the couch. We can talk there."

He placed his hand on her lower back and guided her over to the couch. They sat at opposite ends of the couch, Castle could see she needed her distance. He sat there and waited patiently for her to tell him what was wrong.

She looked down at her hands, still crying softly. After a few agonizingly silent moments she looked up at him. The look of pain and worry in her eyes broke Castle's heart. He so desperately wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be alright, but he knew he couldn't. She had something she needed to tell him and he knew she wouldn't let him near her until she got whatever it was off of her chest. He knew her well enough to know she struggled with intimacy. She didn't like feeling vulnerable. She didn't like seeming weak. Castle knew this, so he wouldn't push.

Kate took a deep breath before stammering the news, "Castle… I… I'm pregnant."

Her sobbing worsened and she couldn't bear to look at him. She was too afraid of what she might see.

Castle couldn't hold back anymore. He slid over to her side of the couch and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He stroked her back soothingly and used his free hand to life her chin, gently forcing her to look him in the eyes. He closed the distance between them and kissed her passionately.

"So does this mean you're not mad?" Kate asked breathlessly.

"Mad? Katie of course I'm not mad. What could be better than starting a family with the woman you love?" Castle said with a smile.

Kate's heart warmed at his confession. She knew he loved her, but this was the first time he had actually said those three glorious words.

Kate smiled, "I love you Richard Castle."

He leaned in to give her another kiss. They spent the rest of the day in their own little bubble. They forgot about the rest of the world for the day. Today was about them. Everything else could wait.

Kate didn't know what the future had in store, but what she did know was the one thing that truly mattered… Castle was going to be in it with her. That's all she needed.

With that in mind, she snuggled closer to Castle and drifted off to sleep.