Disclaimer: Do I own Castle? No in the least.
A/N: Just a short one-shot idea that popped into my head when I was reading another story that had Lily and her favourite toy (a stuffed elephant.)
Lions and Elephants and Monkeys, oh my!
Richard Castle loves his children and he will always make sure they want for nothing. Having said that he also doesn't want them to grow up to be privileged brats that only care about themselves and value material things. That is why, as he had done with Alexis, as soon as little Lily was old enough to understand the concept of sharing he had also made sure she understand how lucky she is and the importance of helping those that are less fortunate.
For Lily's up-coming fourth birthday, Castle and Beckett have decided to have Kate's mini-me pick out her own favourite things to celebrate the big day while at the same time making equivalent donations to charities. The plan is to go grocery shopping to purchase ingredients for Lily's favourite meal (odds on favourite is spaghetti and meat balls) and non-perishable foods for the local food bank. Then a stop at a mom & pop toy store to pick out some books and an addition to the little girl's already impressive collection of plush animals along with something to give to the Children's Hospital.
But as with a lot of things between the writer and his muse, it has somehow turned into a competition.
"She's definitely going to pick out a lion plush. Did you see her looking at Linus and imitating a roar?"
"No way, Castle. She's going to choose an elephant. She's been asking all about Grandma Jo's elephant family."
"Alright Beckett, why don't we make this interesting? If Lily choses a lion, you dress up as Trinity when we go to SuperNovaCon."
"You are on. WHEN Lily picks an elephant, you will binge watch Nebula-9 with me. And no snarky comments allowed."
"Deal."
And so in the few weeks leading up to Lily's birthday, there was no shortage of watching animal movies (Lion King, Dumbo, Born Free, Horton Hears a Who, The Chronicles of Narnia, Babar) and random interesting factoids being offered in the battle of the two iconic African animals.
"Elephants are the largest land animal in the whole wide world! Isn't that amazing?"
"A lion can sleep for 20 hours a day!"
"Elephants love swimming in the water and taking mud baths to help them cool down. Doesn't that sound fun Lily?"
"Do you know what a baby lion is called, Lily? A cub."
"When a baby elephant is born, it weighs 250 pounds. That's even heavier than daddy."
"Lions have excellent eye sight, they can even see at night. Wouldn't it be super cool to be able to see at night?"
And now they're nearing the finish line of the battle of the plushies as Lily eagerly leads her parents down the block to the toy store after their first stop at the supermarket. The writer in Castle could not be prouder as upon entering the store, the newly-minted 4 year-old made a bee-line for the books section rather than the toys area. Soon Lily returns with a book clutched in her hands, which she hands to her mother.
"Mama, hop-pital?"
Beckett looks down at the whimsical and colourful cover and read the title out loud. "Don't Think About Purple Elephants. That's an excellent choice sweetheart. The kids at the hospital will love reading it. Go on and pick a book for yourself."
Running off to do as she's told, Lily scrutinizes the aisles of picture books with the same intensity her mom would a murder board. After several minutes and her decision made, Lily happily bounces back to her parents with another book in hand, this time handing it to her father.
"Daddy, for Lily!"
"If I Were a Lion. Another fantastic choice Lily." And smugly, out of the corner of his mouth he adds to Beckett, "And Richard Castle takes the lead!"
"More like a consolation prize, Writer-Boy." Beckett retorts back still confident in her pachyderm ally in the final showdown. "Okay sweetheart, ready to pick out a plushie?"
"Yeah!"
The store's plush toys section is creatively arranged by geography and unsurprisingly Lily heads straight to the Africa pavilion. With no hesitation, the little girl picks up a lion and an elephant, holding one by an ear and the other by its trunk. Walking back to her parents, blissfully unaware of their anticipation, Lily first hands the elephant to Beckett then the lion to Castle.
"Daddy, Simba hop-pital."
A quiet yelp escapes Beckett's mouth as she only manages to semi-successfully keep from celebrating her triumph.
"Of course, sweetheart." Castle says, trying his best not to think about how the inside of his cheek will bruise from his endlessly biting it to keep from making any comments during a Nebula-9 marathon.
"Mama, Dumbo hop-pital too?"
Bringing herself back to the present from her internal dance of victory, Beckett is caught slightly off-guard by her daughter's proclamation. "But Lily don't you want one for yourself?"
Instead of answering, Lily runs back to the mountain of plushies and promptly picks out another animal. Holding it up over her head, its long tail comically dangling in front of her face Lily proudly announces, "Lily wants Monkey Bunkey!"
All Castle and Beckett could do is stare at each other in stunned silence. Little did they know, in the previous week while baby-sitting, Big Sister had regale Little Sister with tales of grand adventures she had with her beloved Monkey Bunkey when Alexis was around Lily's age. How they had climbed Mount Everest on daddy's bookshelf walls; how they sailed the Seven Seas and braved many storms in the bathroom; how they made a daring escape from the rumbling monsters in the laundry room; and the magnificent concert they performed at Carnegie Hall on the piano.
Simba, Dumbo and all their collective cohorts never stood a chance against Monkey Bunkey.
~ END ~
A/N: Yes, those picture book titles are real.
Please excuse any terrible grammar and mistakes.