The Mayor's Gala Epilogue

Relief swept over her as they entered the bullpen and she noticed Ryan and Esposito perched in front of the murder board, Esposito with his ass perched on the corner of her desk. Lanie sitting in an office chair sitting next to Ryan.

"Hey, Castles. What are you doing here?" Ryan asked.

"Beckett? You're supposed to be on maternity leave. What brings you two here?"

"Kate? Hey, girl." Lanie said, leaning around Ryan. "You guys look nice."

"Thank you, Lanie. We were invited to the Mayor's Gala this evening and we thought we'd drop by and see what's happening and get your fat ass off of my desk, Espo." Kate groused.

"What? I don't know what you are talking about, girl. My ass is NOT fat!" Espo groused back.

"Fat or not, please remove it from my desk. Now!"

"Okay. Okay. You don't have to get so huffy about it." Espo said, pulling his office chair in front of the board.

"Don't take it personally, 'Sito. She's not feeling well, that's all. The Braxton Hicks is giving her trouble." Castle stated.

"Ahhh. I remember those days well with Jenny." Ryan added, smiling at the memories.

'So, what are you two doing here?" Esposito asked.

"Oh, we were at the Mayor's Gala and Kate being pregnant and anxious was worried that something was wrong up here and insisted that we stop by to check it out."

Another contraction hit Kate and she clutched at her abdomen, bending her frame double. "Owww!" she gritted out as she panted out the contraction.

"You let her come up here in this condition?" Espo asked, scowling at Rick.

"She's been having them all night and this one has been the most painful. I wanted to take her to the hospital, but she wanted to come here first. She promised we'd just come in and check things out and then we'd go."

Lanie narrowed her gaze at Kate, concern etching her features as she studied her best friend. "When did this start?" she asked Kate.

"This morning I awoke with a backache. Owww! Didn't think too much of it." Kate panted out. "Then Braxton Hicks. Owww!"

Esposito's phone rang on his desk and he sauntered off to answer it.

About that time, water tinged with pink gushed from between Kate's legs and puddled at her feet.

Aghast, Kate looked up at Lanie with panic filled eyes. "Oh no! It's too early! Not yet! Please, God! Not yet! OWW!"

"Okay, girl. You listen to me. Everything is going to be fine, but we need to get you to the hospital."

"I tried to tell her that, but she wouldn't listen to me." Rick said.

Lanie looked at Kate, "I love you, but girl, you can be as stubborn as a century old ass sometimes. I'm going to help Castle get you downstairs and I'll follow you to the hospital in my car."

Rick and Lanie got on each side of Kate and looped each of her arms around their neck and started for the exit.

"Not the elevator, Lanie. It's not working." Rick advised.

"Wait! What? It was working fine when I brought the boys dinner earlier."

"Well, it's not now. That's why we took the stairs."

"Wait!" cried Ryan as he ran up to them. "That was Captain Gates on the phone with Javi. It seems that a terroristic threat has been made against the 12th. It seems that someone, or a group of someone's parked a van with enough C-4 on it to level the precinct and 4 city blocks surrounding it. All 3 letter agencies are all over this, but we have been ordered to stay put."

"We can't stay put! Kate's about to have our baby and she needs a hospital now!" Rick cried.

Ryan nodded his head. " Captain Gates has been advised and there is an ambulance on standby ready to roll, but until the bomb has been located and disarmed their hands are tied. On the upside of this, they are scouring street cams to locate the van, but the best we can do is make Beckett as comfortable as possible. There's a couch in Conference Room one that folds out into a bed. Let's get her there,"

Rick nodded and swooped Kate into his arms, carrying Kate with Lanie trailing close behind.

At the door to the Conference Room, Lanie issued both boys orders. "Ryan, I need every clean sheet and towel you can round up."

At his nod, she turned to Javi who had joined them at the door. "Javi, I need gloves, the newspapers from your desk and some sharp, sterilized scissors. I'd prefer that the scissors be boiled in hot water, but if I need them before that can happen, take a full bottle of alcohol from First Aid and soak them in that, then bring them to me."

He nodded to her. "As you wish." and scurried off to do her bidding.

Rick settled Kate in a chair while he and Lanie pulled the couch into a bed.

Ryan returned with some sheets and some pillows and hurried off to find towels.

While both boys were off carrying out her orders, Lanie made the bed up while Rick pulled the blinds and closed the door undressed Kate and wrapped her in a clean sheet and settled her in the bed.

"I'm so sorry, babe."

"Sorry for what?" Rick asked.

"For not listening to you and going to the hospital."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I love you, Kate."

"I love you, too." Kate replied, squeezing his hand as another contraction hit.

"I can see his head." Lanie said, looking up from in between Kate's legs,

"Too early, Lanie. He isn't supposed to be coming yet. I'm so scared, Lanie."

"Well, two weeks isn't so early that it's cause for alarm. Besides, you may well be full term."

"What? I don't get it. Dr. Clay said two weeks." Rick said.

"Doctors are flesh and blood, just like you, Castle. Determining a woman's due date isn't an EXACT science.. We can only go by what a woman tells us according to her last menstrual cycle., which could be off.. Look, I know that this isn't the best of circumstances and this isn't my area of expertise, but I need you both to trust me on this."

"We do. Unconditionally. You did deliver Sarah Grace, after all."

"Yes, I did and now it looks like I'm about to deliver my second godchild. And I'm so excited and happy for you both. Now Kate, with the next contraction, I need you to push as hard as you can."

There was a knock at the door and Rick went to answer it, blocking Kate from view, using his body in the 12 to 15 inches of open space in the open doorway.

Ryan stood there holding the towels Lanie had asked him to find. "It's going to be okay, Castle. We'll all get out of here safely and you'll have the newest member of your family when we do. I don't know if Lanie will need them or not, but I also found some light weight blankets. They are a bit scratchy in feel, but would work if she needed them. "I also found a video camera in the Property Room."

"Ryan! You lifted a video cam for us?" Rick exclaimed, trying and failing to smother his mirth.

"No! I didn't lift ANYTHING! I simply borrowed, Castle. The things in the Property Room are items that have been confiscated during drug raids and what not. They will go on sale during an online Police Auction. Anyway, from one father to another, I thought you may want a video of the birth and giving birth here is a far cry from doing it in a hospital where they video it for you."

"Gee, Ryan. Thanks! We're touched. And I'll buy the cam when all is said and done."

"Not a problem, man. I just know how I felt with SG being born in the back of an ambulance and I wasn't able to be there until afterwards and we didn't get this. Not that I'm not grateful."

"I get it, man. Thanks, Ryan. It means a lot to me."

"Yo! I got the things Lanie needs." Espo said, as he joined them.

Javi, I need you to go to the ladies bathroom and bring me some of the products from the machine on the wall."

"Wait! No! I am not going to the ladies bathroom! Are you kidding me?"

"Javi, I wouldn't ask if it weren't necessary. You're so good at kicking in doors, I figured you'd be my best candidate. Besides, what's more important here, Kate and the baby or you and your pride?" Lanie stated snidely.

Rick smiled jubilantly at Espo. "And while you're at it, could you bring me that large mirror hanging on the wall?"

Espo glared at him. "And how would you know what's on the wall in the ladies bathroom?"

"Javi, he's right. Now go! And when you're done, I need you two to pull up chairs outside this door and be ready when I need some warm water."

"You mean we have to give up our investigation, too?" Espo complained.

"Your investigation is NOT what I am worried about at this time, Javier! Besides, it's not like your victim is going anywhere. He can't get any deader and you can't chase down suspects right now, anyway. And I repeat my question as to what or whom is more important here."

"Okay. FINE!" Espo replied, vehemently.

"Come on, bro. I'll go help you." Ryan added.

Lanie cast Rick an understanding look over her shoulder and added, "And don't forget the mirror."

Rick turned, smiling at Lanie and mouthed a thank you at her.

She nodded back at him.

A few minutes later, the boys returned with all the requests and were allowed entry after Lanie made sure Kate was modestly covered.

After setting up the mirror and Ryan turned on the video cam, both boys made a hasty retreat to take up their posts outside the door.

"Man, I never expected to be a part of this, but it sure is an honor." Ryan said to Espo.

"Yeah. For me too, bro." Espo admitted, as they listened to Beckett's moans and groans and Lanie's instructions to Kate through the door behind them.

"Woah! This is fascinating! Can you imagine trying to push a watermelon…" came from Castle behind the door.

The boys laughed and could only imagine the glare Lanie would be giving Castle.

"Finish that sentence and you won't have to wait for Kate to kill you. I'll do it for her." Lanie huffed back at Castle.

"Understood." Castle replied.

"Hey, guys! I'm going to need some warm water in a few minutes." Lanie called out to them and they scurried off to do her bidding

"Okay, Kate. With the next contraction, push with all of your might."

A few minutes later, the boys delivered some warm water and Castle opened the door just a bit to take it from them and the door was quickly shut again.

They smiled and fist bumped as the sounds of a crying newborn came to them from the closed door behind them.

At approximately 2:30 am, Montgomery James Castle slipped into Lanie's capable hands

"He's not crying! Is he okay? Please, Lanie, tell me he's okay!" A panicked Kate cried.

"He'll be fine, honey. Just try and stay calm." Rick assured her, hoping his assurances were true.

Kate and Rick watched as Lanie held Monty upside down and flicked the soles of his tiny feet with her fingers, causing Monty to wail.

" Oh girl, he's perfect! So beautiful! Welcome to the world!" Lanie exclaimed as she bathed the new infant, and then placed the infant at Kate's breast' "He's probably hungry, though."

Rick and Kate breathed a huge sigh of relief as tears of joy coursed down their cheeks.

Kate brought her hand up to pull the sheet covering her down and gently turned Monty to her breast and she gently stroked the soft, pink flesh of his cheeks and he instinctively began to suckle.

A thrill of love ran down her spine and she shivered. "I've always known I'd love him, but this is…"

"Indescribable? It's amazing, isn't it?" Rick said.

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes to find him, lifting the towel covering Monty as she examined their son, the love and joy, and pride shining brightly in his eyes. "Yeah." she replied, nodding.

"That inexplicable love you can only have for your child." he said, stroking the soft, light brown fuzz on Monty's head.

"I love you." she said, raising her head to brush a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you, too. And Kate, you've always been beautiful in my eyes and always will be, but you couldn't be more so and I couldn't love you any more than I do right now. And you've made me the happiest I've ever been."

"Me too," she acknowledged, beaming that mega-watt smile that he loved so much at him..

"Okay, Kate. I now have to manipulate your uterus to help you expel the afterbirth and I'm sorry, but it will be painful." Lanie said, rolling her chair to the other side of the bed to work on Kate.

Once the afterbirth was expelled, Lanie used her shoe laces to tie off the umbilical cord and extended the scissors to Rick. "You want to do the honors, Castle?"

"Of course, I do. Thank you."

She handed him the scissors and instructed him where to cut and after it was severed, she collected the after birth in newspaper, put it in a plastic bag so it could be transported to the hospital where Kate's OB/ GYN could examine it for any abnormalities.

"Okay guys. I am going to leave you alone with your baby now and I'll be right outside if you need me. Castle, if Kate or Monty goes into any distress, you call me in here ASAP!"

After instructing him on the signs of distress, she turned for the door.

"Lanie, thank you. I owe you for this." Kate's voice had her turning to face her.

"Girl, please. You don't owe me a thing. Castle, on the other hand, owes me a week at my favorite spa."

Rick grinned at her. "Done! Just let me know which one."

At 7:00 am, Espo got the all clear call from Captain Gates. The bomb had been located and disarmed by the Bomb Squad. The suspects were still on the loose, but all three agencies were still on the lookout and the FBI had some good, solid leads they were chasing down.

Gates was updated on the birth of the newest Castle family member and apprised that all had gone well. "That's great. Congratulate them for me. Good work, Detectives! And tell Dr. Parrish thank you for me. In the meantime, an ambulance is en route and boys, I think you can take the rest of the day off. Go home and get some much needed rest."

"Yes, sir." Ryan and Espo chorused together.

"Hell of a day." Espo said, as he placed the phone back in it's cradle."

"Hell of a day and who knew when we woke up this morning that there would be a terroristic threat against the 12th AND Castle and Beckett's baby would be born here and we would be instrumental in that?"

"Yeah. I could have done without that threat, but Castle and Beckett's baby, that's just awesome, bro and I couldn't be happier for them."

"Me either. Let's go tell them the news and get a peek at the little guy."

After a brief but light knock, Lanie pushed the Conference Room door open.

"Alright you two. Deliver your news, get your peek at the baby and leave so I can prepare Kate for transport. And hurry the hell up. That bus will be here any second."

The boys had no sooner offered their congratulations and informed them of the latest developments on the threat than the EMT's arrived to whisk Kate and Rick and Monty to the hospital.