Kate woke up with a start. Her heart was hammering in her chest; something had startled her, though it wasn't obvious what it had been. She lay still, hardly daring to breathe as she strained to hear or feel what it was that had scared her out of her sleep.

Rick was sleeping behind her, deeply if his soft snore was any indication. Whatever it was that had startled her clearly hadn't bothered him at all. She started to relax; nothing seemed out of place. It was late, or rather early, in the morning. The pitch black of deep night was just beginning to fade, so she figured dawn wasn't far away. She couldn't see the clock without moving, and that would disturb the cozy spot she had in bed. Not worth it. She closed her eyes and started to drift off again, when a loud noise broke the silence.

'Was that? It was! Oh, god, how embarrassing.' She slowly extracted herself from Rick's loose embrace and stood carefully. Her stomach rumbled again. Apparently she'd been awakened by the sound of her hunger pangs audibly echoing through the room. Glancing at the clock, now that she could see it, she noted it was nearly five in the morning. Time for her first breakfast.

Padding out to the main living space of the loft, she was thankful that she no longer had to deal with the night drip of the formula. She'd gained enough weight at her eleven week appointment with Dr. Lobato three days earlier, and had finally been allowed to stop receiving formula all together. The NJ tube was still taped to her face, but she'd been promised that if all went well this week, it would be removed at her next appointment. This was one milestone she wasn't going to miss.

The only drawback to being off the drip feed overnight was that she usually woke starving. Though today was the first time that her stomach had been so aggressive about getting her up. Yesterday, she'd embraced the hunger fully, surprising Rick with her appetite. She laughed softly to herself as she recalled the look on his face when she'd finished her sandwich and salad at lunch, then stolen his yet-uneaten sandwich half. He was going to have to learn to eat faster or prepare more food. Her body was demanding sustenance, and she was determined that the feeding tube would be a thing of the past very, very soon.

Kate was engrossed in one of her pregnancy books that Martha and Alexis had bought for her when she finally heard Rick open the bedroom door. Looking up, she couldn't help the enormous smile at the sight of his tousled hair and sleepy countenance.

"Good morning," she chirped, laughing silently at his slight grimace.

"Morning," he said hoarsely, shuffling over to her place at the couch and collapsing next to her. "How long have you been up?"

"A few hours."

"Were you feeling ill?"

"No, just woke up and couldn't fall asleep again." It wasn't quite the truth, but she didn't want to confess her growling stomach had startled her out of a sound sleep.

"Whatcha' doin'?"

"Reading. Did you know our babies are over one and a half inches long now?"

Rick smiled at her. "No, I didn't know that. You've been reading all about the babies, huh?"

"Well, not just that. I've been looking at the Giggle website, at the furniture. And I caught up on the two baby books, with all information from the good check-up we had with Dr. Lobato."

"Just think, at the next one you'll be able to get rid of this," he whispered, gently running a finger over her cheek next to the taped NJ tube.

"I know, I can't wait." Her breath caught as his hand continued to caress her face. Setting the book down, she reached up and cupped his face in return. "I don't think I said a proper good morning to you."

"Well, Mrs. Castle, we can't have that, can we?"

"No, we can't. Good morning," she breathed, leaning forward to softly touch her lips to his.

"Good morning," he whispered back after their sweet kiss broke. He then leaned forward more insistently, his lips demanding a stronger response. They got lost in each other for a few minutes, before Rick reluctantly broke away. They were both breathing hard. It had been a long time since she'd felt any sexual desire, but as the rest of her body returned to a more normal state, that appetite was reawakening as well.

"I need to get breakfast started. Are you hungry?"

"For food? Yes. For you? Definitely yes."

"Katherine Beckett! Sounds like we're going to have several questions for Dr. Lobato next week."

She just grinned cheekily at him. "Apparently so. What are you offering for second breakfast?"

"Second breakfast? What are you talking about?" he asked, puzzled.

"You know. There's breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, and supper."

Rick's mouth dropped open, as he gaped at her. "Did you just…you did. God, that is so hot."

Kate graced him with another huge smile. "Get a move on, then, chef. Hobbits get cranky when second breakfast is delayed for any reason."

He leaned over and kissed her again. "I love you so much, and your geekiness is just one aspect that really turns me on."

Laughing, Kate gave him a little shove. "Go turn on the stove, we'll discuss the rest after you've fed me."

Rising, Rick grinned back at her, before moving into the kitchen. "So, if you're asking for second breakfast, I'm safe in assuming you've already had breakfast?"

"You assume correctly. I ate when I first got up."

"What'd you have? I ask simply so I don't repeat the same meal." His teasing tone put her on alert. He loved knowing what she ate. She wondered if he was keeping track somehow, then dismissed the thought as ridiculous. What would be the point?

"I fixed an egg white omelet."

"With?" Rick knew he probably really didn't want to know, but her cravings led to some absolutely crazy combinations. Most of the time he was hard pressed not to burst out laughing at some of her requests. Or to keep from dry heaving.

"Cheese."

"And?" Cheese alone was way too tame for her. There was definitely more to this little omelet. Her reluctance pointed to one conclusion: this omelet had been a culinary doozy. He couldn't wait to hear what was in it.

"Meat."

"Which consisted of?"

Kate sighed. "Why is this so important to know?"

Rick affected his most innocent face. "I don't want to feed you the same thing as your first breakfast."

Kate's eyebrow quirked dangerously after hearing his accidental emphasis on the word first.

"And is it so wrong to have an interest in what my wife does? I want to share in everything you experience during this pregnancy, Kate. After all, Meredith wouldn't let me know anything when she was pregnant with Alexis." He pouted his lower lip just a touch, knowing this was his trump card.

"Fine. If you must know, I put in some diced ham and bacon into it, for the meat."

"See? Was that so hard? And it sounds perfectly delici….wait, did you just say for the meat?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That implies there was more. Are you holding out on me, Mrs. Castle?"

"You asked about the meat. I told you which meats I added."

"That's because you weren't telling me anything else. Spill it. What all was in this incredible concoction?"

Kate squirmed a little. It had been delicious, but she recognized that her tastebuds were a little…off…compared to what she normally would think was palatable. Let alone the rest of the world.

"Kate?"

Ugh, fine, Castle. It had cheese, diced ham, bacon, some onions, peppers, cantaloupe and honeydew melon in it. With a dollop of chocolate." The last was whispered low enough he hadn't heard it. And truthfully, it had been a healthy squirt of chocolate, followed by another when she'd looked critically at the combination and decided a little more chocolate never hurt anyone.

"That's an—interesting—combination. I've never thought about adding melons to an omelet." People thought he was nuts for his thoughts about s'morlettes, but his pregnant wife far, far exceeded him for crazy confections. He'd started secretly writing down some of her more colorful combinations. It might be useful fodder in a future…discussion…over what he wanted to eat for a meal. This omelet clearly made the grade.

"Well, what can I say, Rick? I'm a trendsetter."

After breakfast (or second breakfast) was finished and the other loft inhabitants had disappeared out the door, Kate decided that it was time to something productive. She'd read all of the books she wanted to; she felt like she had a good grasp of what the next few weeks would bring her in terms of the pregnancy, as long as no new complications popped up.

She no longer needed more than one nap in a day, and Rick wouldn't let her help clean up the breakfast dishes. It was time to do some work.

Walking to the dining room, she considered the four boxes that sat against the far wall. After she and Rick had decided to accept Gates' offer to have her be a cold case consultant, these boxes had shown up a few weeks ago via a police courier. They'd sat there since then, as she hadn't felt well enough to do anything with them.

However, that old itch was beginning to stir. It wasn't strong, and it wouldn't drive her, not like before her pregnancy, but it had returned. She was grateful, as she'd have something to occupy her mind. Kate recognized she was a creature of action, and while she would do absolutely nothing to risk her two precious babies she had to keep her brain engaged in something intellectual.

Each box was the sum of an investigation that had ultimately been closed without any answers to the case. Two were quite heavy, while one was quite light and the fourth was about half full. Clearly the heaviest ones had a lot of evidence to comb through; they would be the most involved. Perhaps easier to solve, as there would be more information available. But, she chose the middle one. She didn't want to sink into a deep case right now, and the light box was likely to just be frustrating in its lack of information.

Picking up the chosen box, she carried it into the office where Rick was already settled behind his desk with his laptop.

"What are you doing?" he cried out, leaping to his feet when he saw her.

"I decided to start looking at a case today."

"Ok, but I meant why are you carrying that box? Why didn't you ask for help?"

Rolling her eyes, she sat it down in an empty chair. "It's not one of the heavy ones. You know, I'm a lot stronger than I was."

"Still, I'm right here, Kate. Just say something next time."

"I'm not helpless, Castle. I'm perfectly capable of carrying this little box by myself."

"I know you're not helpless, Kate. But you're also just recovered from a terrible illness. And you've not even been able to walk alone until recently. I want to help you, but you need to ask when there's something you need. And two of those boxes are at least twenty pounds."

"Honestly, Rick, the thought never crossed my mind to ask for your help when I picked this box up. It's really not very heavy. But, I promise to ask for help when I'm ready to tackle the heavier ones."

"Just—be careful. I know you're not made of glass, and I know you're a lot stronger. I just don't want any setbacks, ok?"

"Rick, I don't either. Let's drop it for now."

"Yes, ma'am. Now, are you thinking about working in here with me?"

"Is that ok?"

"Sure, you won't be in my way. You can use my big computer monitor for a smartboard."

"You really won't mind me spreading stuff around the room? I won't disturb you?"

"Oh, you'll disturb me alright," he said, his voice dropping an octave and causing a frisson of heat to erupt between her thighs. "But you disturb me no matter where you are. I'd love to have you working in here with me. And that way, I can offer my incredible insights when you inevitably get stuck and require the deep intellectual machine that my mind represents."

Kate rolled her eyes again, though she couldn't hide her smile. "Whatever gets you through the day, Rick. It's a good thing I'm around to keep your ego in check, or you'd never leave this room."

"And why would that be, Mrs. Castle?"

"Because your head would be too big to fit through the door."

"Har, har. Sticks and stones and all that. Seriously though, won't I be distracting to you? My typing on the laptop makes a clickety sound, and I'm told that I sometimes mutter things out loud, though I don't even notice it."

Kate ducked her head. "No, you won't bother me. I'm kinda used to you sitting next to me at the precinct, and the bullpen is always so loud. I'm afraid it'll be harder to concentrate if I were isolated in a room alone."

"Well, if this is your way of saying you just want to be near me…"

"I just want to be near you, Castle. And I may ask your opinion. Maybe."

"Ok, as long as we're both clear on why you really want to be in here." He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but grin back. Lord, that man was so irresistible.

Within an hour, Kate had the contents of the box sorted to her satisfaction and the basic outlines of the case on the smartboard. The victim, a 22 year old aspiring model, Kaylee Samuels, had been waitressing in a diner just four blocks from the apartment she shared with two roomates. Kaylee had been found murdered 5 years earlier, strangled and shot three times in an alley between the apartment and the diner. No sign of sexual activity.

Time of death indicated that she'd been murdered sometime after her shift ended at 10pm and midnight. Her body had been found by a homeless man rummaging through a dumpster around 6am the following day. He'd not heard any shots, but also hadn't been in the alley during their timeframe. His alibi was very solid, as he'd been in a drunk tank until 5am.

Neither of the roomates were suspects. One had been working an overnight shift at her nursing job. She had multiple co-workers that had vouched for her presence. The other was a newly minted banking executive, whose new position had him travelling to Pennsylvania for five days that included the night of the murder.

Kate wondered briefly about the circumstances that had led a nurse and banker to be living with a waitress, especially in a fairly nice apartment. Kaylee's income was surely much lower than the other two. Digging into the financial records that had been combed over, she quickly reached the same conclusion that the original team investigating the case had reached: Kaylee's widowed mother in Elmira had been paying her rent. Kaylee was an only child, and her mother had supported her from afar by every means necessary.

Picking up the interview conducted with Kaylee's mother, Kate began to read her account of her daughter's last known activities. They'd been close, and Kaylee had not had a boyfriend or any romantic interest according to her mother. She'd been focused on making it in the modelling world, with no time for any distractions.

As she read, Kate began to wonder how close she'd be to her own children. When they were grown and out of the house, would she still talk to them on a daily basis? Would she be privy to their hopes and fears, their loves and dreams? At the same age, she'd not had a parent to confide in. Her mother had been dead, her father drunk. It had been an incredibly lonely time, but she'd suppressed all the emotions by throwing herself into her quest to become a cop and then a detective.

She wanted so much more for her children, but here was Kaylee's mother…a woman who'd helped her daughter emotionally and financially yet had still lost her without a clue as to what had led someone to brutally murder her child. The grief the other woman was suffering from was evident, even in the black and white lines typed out on an indifferent piece of paper all these years later.

Unbidden, a sob ripped through the relative silence of the office. Rick stopped typing immediately, looking up at his wife in concern. "Kate?"

The solicitude in his voice just led to louder sobbing. She heard him stand and within seconds she was wrapped in his arms.

"What's wrong, Kate? Are you feeling sick?"

"No," she stuttered. "I feel fine."

"Then why are you crying?"

"She was everything to her, and someone took her life anyway. It's so not fair, Rick." She leaned into him and started crying in earnest.

"Shhh, it's okay, Kate. I've got you."

She was still clutching the interview with Kaylee's mom. Rick gently extracted the papers from her hand as he gathered her and moved her to his lap. Rocking her slightly, he glanced at the interview. He knew a little about the case; Kate had discussed it with him briefly when he'd taken a break to bring her a snack for 'elevenses'. Seeing she'd been reading the mother's statement gave him a clue as to what she'd been talking about, and why she was crying now.

Rick knew she had a high emotional lability right now; pregnancy was well known to throw off the emotional well-being due to the hormonal changes. And with twins, Kate had to contend with an even more potent brew. He guessed reading the mother's statement had made Kate think about her own impending motherhood. She was already one of the most empathic people he'd ever met; pregnancy had undoubtedly enhanced her empathy. Making reading something like this very difficult.

However, as he held her, he wondered if it wouldn't just be pregnancy that changed Kate. Once the twins arrived, she'd experience that moment that every parent has when they first see their child: that bolt of lightning known as unconditional love. She'd find herself wanting to do anything necessary to comfort them, to protect them, to make them feel happy and loved as they grew.

He knew she doubted her abilities to be a good mother; everyone went through some self-doubt as a parent, it was natural. Yet, he also knew that Kate would be an incredible mother. He'd always assumed that at some point she'd also want to go back to work. Perhaps in a more restricted capacity; he couldn't imagine she'd ever immerse herself in it to the same degree that she had before they'd become a couple, before she was pregnant.

Seeing her reaction to reading the victim's mother's statement made him start to question whether she'd go back at all. She didn't have a job, at the moment. Couldn't have one, right now. She'd been through so much, fought so hard to survive and to keep her children alive once she knew what had made her be so sick. She'd changed so much in the last weeks. Perhaps she'd been so altered by her experiences that she would no longer want to work.

He reflected that it wouldn't matter to him, whatever she decided. They were in this together, and since being a seeker for justice had been part of what defined her for so long he couldn't fathom her giving it up entirely. Being a mother would soon be her most important role. Being his wife and lover would be equally important, or so he hoped. Time would tell what other pieces she wanted in her life. As long as they faced all their challenges together, he was confident they'd figure it all out.

Thoughts?