Two big brown eyes were following her shyly, curiously studying the beautiful lady in front of them. They observed how she gently caressed her swollen stomach and how her lips flickered upward occasionally. Even though the waiting area was full of pregnant women, the two eyes seemed glued on her.
The adorable chocolate-haired little girl was looking at Kate every few seconds, darting her head past her mother to watch the detective keenly. Kate, reading a magazine, noticed the little girl's gaze on her and smiled to herself. Each time she would turn to look at her little admirer, the girl would nip back behind her mother. It happened a few times and had now become an unspoken game; Kate's magazine forgotten on her lap. After a while, the little cutie got up from her seat and moved to the seat next to her mother, sitting in between her mother and Kate.
"What's your name?" The small voice asked, causing her (pregnant) mother to look up from her magazine.
"Lindy, sweetie, don't bother the nice lady," the woman said softly with an apologetic smile, her eyes meeting Kate.
"No, it's fine…" Kate smiled reassuringly at the other woman before turning her attention to Lindy. "My name is Kate, Lindy." She smiled down at the little person watching her intently while her small legs were swinging off the seat. Kate judged the little girl to be about three.
"Nice to meet you." She reached out her hand to the child who extended her miniature one.
"This is my mom," Lindy said, glancing up at her mother.
"Hi, I'm Kate."
"Hey, Laura. Nice to meet you." The two women shook hands, smiling.
"You have a beautiful daughter, Laura," Kate said, looking at Lindy again.
"Thanks. Yeah, beautiful, but also a bit of a handful," the other woman answered with a laugh while leisurely running a hand through her daughter's hair.
"What about you? You have any other kids?" Laura asked, briefly looking at Kate's baby bump.
"Uh, no. This is our first one… Well, I have a stepdaughter in college, but this is my first one." She tenderly ran a hand over her stomach.
"You?"
"Just Lindy and her baby brother," Laura answered with a smile while pointing to her baby bump.
"Are you also going to have a baby brother?" Lindy piped up. Kate let out a laugh at the little cutie's childlike innocence.
"Well I don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, Lindy." She looked up at Laura again. "We're finding out today…. That is if my husband gets here," Kate continued with a smile and a shake of her head.
"How far along are you?" Laura asked.
"Sixteen weeks... You?"
"Six months. I'm just here for a check-up. But so far, so good" Laura answered with a smile. Just then the receptionist stepped out into the waiting area.
"Mrs. Roberts?" An older, grey-haired woman called. "The doctor is ready for you now," the woman continued with a friendly smile once she had Laura's attention.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Kate."
"Likewise." Kate looked down at the little girl with a smile. "You too Lindy."
"Bye," the little girl greeted, taking her mother's hand as they walked away.
Kate smiled at the scene, her mind drifting to future visions of her with a mini-version of herself running around in the park, playing hide-and-seek with Rick and reading bed-time stories to her daughter. Her mind also unwittingly flooded with memories of her own mother, causing Kate to feel a pang of longing and remembrance. 'I wish you were here Mom' she thought sadly, running a finger over her mother's ring that hung around her neck. She was shaken from her reverie when she noticed the familiar form of her husband out of the corner of her eye.
"Hey sweetie." Rick made his way towards her, quickly placing a peck on her lips as he sat down.
"Hey… That took longer than usual," Kate greeted, linking one arm with his and weaving her hand in his.
"Ugh, Paula. You know she is," Rick replied letting out a breath with a shake of his head. "She can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."
They sat in silence for a few seconds before Rick turned towards Kate's stomach.
"Hey Junior... How are you doing today, honey?" He spoke to Kate's baby bump whenever he had the chance, talking about a range of topics - history, worthless facts that only he would know about, literature, his antics at the precinct, Alexis, cartoons, video games, etc. Occassionally Rick also whispered secrets to his unborn child on how to twist his/her mother's arm. Obviously Kate found this sweet, endearing and absolutely adorable. Her husband could be so darn cute sometimes.
"Today we're finding out whether you are a boy or a girl." He continued to speak softly to her swollen stomach. "Mommy and I are really, really excited about that, Sweet Pea." He looked up at his wife with a broad, happy grin. Kate returned a tender smile while gently stroking his cheek.
"Yes we are," she answered quietly. Just then the grey-haired receptionist stepped into the waiting area.
"Mrs. Castle? The doctor is ready for you."
________
"Castle! Put. The. Fetus. Down," Kate demanded with a clenched jaw, using her authoritative voice as if she was scolding a naughty child. They were in the doctor's examination room waiting for Dr. Jones, Kate's gynecologist. Obviously, being the 9-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush that he is, Rick couldn't sit still for five minutes and proceeded to examine the contents on the counter which included models of fetuses at different stages of development."I'm just looking," he mumbled, frowning with concentration; his attention focused on the model in his hands. "It's pretty cool... This how our kid is going to look at six months." He turned to look at her with an excited grin, the model fetus in his hands. Kate only rolled her eyes and smiled. After another minute or two the door swung open with Dr. Jones, an attractive, 40-something woman walking in.
"Good morning," she greeted jovially, her stride and manner confident. She was recognised as the best gynecologist on the East Coast and obviously being Mrs. Richard Castle, Kate only received the best. Rick, upon finding out about her pregnancy, immediately did research on who the best gynecologist was in New York and found it to be Dr. Anna Jones.
"So how are the three Castles doing today?" She asked with a smile glancing at Rick and Kate before flipping through the file of Kate's recent medical history.
"Good, a little tired, but good, Doc," Kate answered with a smile, taking Rick's hand in hers. She liked Dr. Jones' direct and reassuring manner and trusted her.
"And you Rick?" Dr. Jones' looked up from the file and smiled at Rick.
"Uhmm, great," he replied with warm smile. "Really happy and excited" After a few moments his expression changed as a trademark Castle grin slowly engulfed his features.
"Dr. Jones, is it true that some women's *a-hem* sex... drive increases with a pregnancy?" Kate's head snapped in Rick's direction and her eyes grew wide as she glared at him while he fought to keep a smile off his face. He was purposefully trying to tease and embarass her a little.
"Rick!" Kate hissed, feeling heat slowly starting to rise to her cheeks. She had indeed found herself to be in 'the mood' a little more often than usual since the start of her pregnancy. Her husband, however, was definitely not complaining.
"What? I'm only asking," he replied with a shrug feigning innocence; his eyes glistening mischievously. Dr. Jones struggled to keep an amused smile from tugging her lips upward. She suppressed the grin before answering.
"Yes... that is true," she answered with a nod and an amused smile. "Some women seem to have an increased sex drive while others experience a decrease in libido... If you experience the former, be grateful and, well, enjoy it," Dr. Jones continued with a casual shrug and a smile. Kate, by now, was blushing crimson red while Rick was grinning madly.
"See, a perfectly innocent and reasonable question." He looked at Kate with a cheeky and triumphant smile while she only stared at him. But despite how she annoyed she got with him, Kate couldn't stay angry at her husband for long.
"Well, Kate, everything seems to be normal," Dr. Jones continued, slightly lifting the file in her hands. "You are perfectly healthy..." She stopped for a few moments, before speaking again; her expression more serious. "My only concern is, and we have discussed this, is the amount of rest you get... Now I know you have a job that requires long hours, but you have to try and take a little slower, Kate... You're not Superwoman," she continued, giving Kate a stern look.
"You hear that, I'm not paranoid or over the top," Rick added, mimicking Dr. Jones' stern expression. Kate glanced down at her hands and only nodded.
"I know, I know." She sighed before looking up at Dr. Jones. "I'll try to take it slower." She glanced towards Rick who still wore a serious expression.
"You promise?" he asked, arching his eyebrows.
"Yeah, ok, I promise," she conceded. He relented and smiled at her, taking her hand in his and squeezing it.
"Okay, well, are we ready to find out whether this one is a Jack or a Jill?" Dr. Jones asked after a few moments, taking a seat next to Kate.
"Oh yeah!" Rick smiled excitedly, leaning forward in his seat. He didn't care whether they had a boy or a girl, he was going to become a dad for the second time. And this time around he was going to experience it with the love of his life.
"Yes, we are," Kate replied, a broad smile spreading over her face. She knew that Rick didn't mind whether they had a boy or a girl and for the most part she didn't either. But, deep down, Kate Castle hoped that they would have a daughter - she wanted to have the relationship with her daughter she never had the opportunity to experience with her own mother.
"Alright." Dr. Jones nodded before applying the cool jel to Kate's stomach. Rick and Kate marvelled for the umpteenth time at the quick heartbeat that sounded out.
"That is so awesome." He leaned in closer in order to get a better view, his expression one of awe. Kate, keeping her eyes on the monitor, only squeezed his hand.
"Good strong heartbeat," Dr. Jones' commented absent-mindedly. "Let's hope your baby gives us a good look," she said smiling at them. She continued to move the instrument over Kate's stomach, her face a study in concentration.
After a few moments, a satisfied smile tugged her lips upward as she turned to look at Kate and Rick who watched her eagerly.
"Mr. and Mrs. Castle... say hello to your little girl."
"Wow, oh, that's wow," Rick said with a large smile, struggling to express himself.
"Congratulations," Dr. Jones said with a smile.
"Really?" Kate responded as a wide, all-consuming smile enveloped her features. "We're having a girl?" She continued as tears started to well up. Dr. Jones only nodded in confirmation, before getting up and excusing herself; giving Rick and Kate some privacy.
"Rick, we're having a girl." She turned to him, smiling through happy tears. He was grinning from ear to ear and leaned in to give her a kiss. "You're happy?" Kate asked, looking at him.
"Yes! Yes! Are you kidding me? I could do with another beautiful woman in my life... Especially if she's gonna look like you." He kissed the top of her head before drawing her into a tight hug. Kate smiled as joyful tears slowly ran down her cheeks, feeling more happiness than she ever did before in her life. She didn't need anything more than this. Than her family.
Rick broke from the embrace and moved his head towards her stomach.
"Hey there Princess," he whispered, gently stroking the baby bump, his eyes becoming moist with tears.
"Looks like she already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger," Kate commented with a laugh. Rick looked up at her with a soft smile, gently stroking her cheek.
"Just like her mom."
very nice. i'm from germany and i really like these fanfictions.
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