A Growing Family

Chapter 2

"We have determined," the doctor began, "that the reason you have not been able to conceive yet is because Kate has Polycystic Ovarian System." At that moment, both faces of the couple fell. Kate looked like she would cry any second. Rick quickly pulled her into a hug, murmuring quiet, comforting things into her ear in an effort to cheer her up. The doctor gave them a moment, before clearing her throat. The couple turned to face her. "I know this is upsetting, but we have options here. The one that I recommend the most is Invitro fertilization, or IVF," the doctor explained. "What exactly do we do for IVF?" Kate asked. "IVF involves Kate having to take drugs that would stimulate her ovaries into producing eggs. The doctors would take the eggs out of her body and fertilize them outside of the womb with Rick's sperm. After the fertilized egg or eggs have had time to grow, they would be put back into Kate's uterus. Then we would wait and hope for a month before actually knowing if Kate was pregnant," the doctor explained. "Will you give us a minute to think about it?" Rick asked. "Of course. I'll be right outside," she said, waking out of the room. Rick and Kate talked about it for a few minutes before deciding that they wanted to try IVF. Castle went and got the doctor. "What have you decided?" The doctor asked the couple. "We have decided that we want to try it," Kate told the doctor. "Ok then! Let's see when we can schedule your appointment," the doctor said. After scheduling their appointment for the next month, Rick and Kate walked out of the office. "Hell of a day," Castle commented on the walk to their car. "Hell of a day," Kate agreed. The rest of the walk was in a comfortable silence. When they got to their car, Kate decided to let Rick drive. With a shocked look on his face, Rick got in the driver's side of the car, Kate having already gotten in the passenger's side. The couple began the drive to the loft. About two minutes into the drive, Kate began chewing on her nails. "Hey, it's ok," Rick said, trying to comfort Kate. "No it's not! It's my fault that we can't have kids naturally! It's all my fault!" Kate said, finally giving into the tears that had been threatening for the better part of the day "It's ok. I don't care that it's your fault. I don't care. I still love you with all my heart. It's ok, I promise everything is going to be ok," Rick comforted. "You don't know that," Kate said. "I do. Because I believe in us, and I believe in our family," Rick said. Kate smiled. Castle and his beliefs in fate. Of course he would believe in fate when it came to this. It put hope into Kate's mind. They could do this. They could do this. That was what was running through both of their minds as they drove home in the rush hour traffic.

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When the couple got back to the loft, they saw that Martha and Alexis were there. "Hello darlings!" Martha greeted. Neither Martha nor Alexis knew that they had gone to the fertility doctor. "Hi Mother," Rick greeted back. "Hey dad! Hey Kate!" Alexis greeted, coming down the stairs. "Hey!" Kate greeted. The four went to sit on the couch. "What do we want to do today, family?" Castle asked. They thought about it for a minute. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Alexis' head. "We could have a movie day!" She said excited. "Yeah! That sounds fun!" Kate agreed. Martha and Rick agreed as well. The family then sprung into action. Within minutes, the family had four bowls of popcorn, four boxes of candy- found in the stash under the kitchen sink- and a bunch of movies that they all agreed that they wanted to watch. After deciding on watching Pitch Perfect, Rick put it in the DVD player, and the family settled on the couch. The laughed and joked through the entire movie. When Pitch Perfect was over, they put in another movie. By the middle of the second movie, the entire family was asleep on the couch. They slept for the rest of the day, leaving their movies unwatched.

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One month later, Rick and Kate were back in the fertility office, waiting to start their first try of IVF. They had done the injections and we're ready to do this. Castle went back first, for the doctors needed his sperm before they could fertilize Kate's eggs. When Castle came out, the nurse told him that Kate was already in room 3. Castle walked back to the room. "How'd it go?" Kate asked. She had all but gotten over her being upset over this being her fault. Now her focus was on having a baby. She wanted it. As soon as possible. "It was sexy," Castle said, a sly grin on his face. Kate laughed. Castle started laughing as well. The two were still laughing when they heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" They both said at the same time. They exchanged a look. The two of them and their crazy "mind thing". The nurse walked in. "They're ready for you, Kate." "Ok," Kate said. The couple kissed goodbye, and the nurse took Kate back. When they were done, the doctor went to talk to Rick and Kate. She told them that Kate needed to rest for the rest of the day, and that she could return to work the next day. She also told them that she would see them in ten days to insert the eggs into Kate's uterus. The two did as she said, excited to reach the next step of this process.

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On the way back to the loft after this step, Kate and Rick decided that they needed to tell Alexis and Martha about having to use fertility treatments. When they got home, Martha and Alexis were sitting on the couch watching TV. The four greeted each other, and all sat on the couch together. "We have something we need to tell you two," Rick started. Martha and Alexis gave them a look of curiosity. Kate continued. "I have Polycystic Ovarian System," Kate said. Alexis immediately threw herself into a hug with Kate. She really cared for her mother figure, and knew that this was a huge blow to her. Kate was so grateful to have Alexis as a step-daughter. Kate hugged Alexis until she let go. Martha, however, still hadn't said anything. She looked shocked. "Mother, it's going to be ok. We're doing fertility treatments. That's where we were today. We have already started a cycle of IVF," Rick said, sensing his mother's shock. With that, the couple received lots of questions about the treatment and how it works. The couple answered all of the questions to the best of their knowledge. After answering all of the questions, the family decided to watch TV. They saw that a marathon of the show 'Friends' was on. They decided to watch that. For the rest of the day, the family watched and laughed to their favorite TV show. They were happy to have a time together as a family.

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Ten days later, the couple was back at the fertility doctor for the final step of the process before they had to wait a month. The doctor told them that they had six eggs fertilized and ready to implant. The doctor did so, and then took Kate to a recovery room. "How'd it go?" Kate asked once Rick was back in the room with her and her doctor. "Great. We got all of them!" The doctor answered. "What do we need to do now?" Rick asked. "Well, Kate needs to keep her pelvis elevated for the next 24 hours, and she needs to be on bed rest for the weekend. After that, she can go back to work, and the two of you can resume your lives for the next month. When the month is up, Kate will see her usual OB/GYN to see if she's pregnant," the doctor explained. The couple thanked the doctor and walked out of the office. Now, they wait.

A/N: Ok, so, I've never written fanfiction before, so this story could quite possibly be terrible. That's also why my chapters are probably going to all be short until I figure out how to make them longer without feeling like I'm rambling. Sorry about that. The next chapter is going to be a fluff about what Kate does while on bed rest for the weekend. Enjoy!