Rick Castle opens the door of the loft for the twelfth time today. The last of his daughter's friends smiles sweetly up at him, holding a pink 'I Love Barbie' bag filled with – if he can base this on the multiple animal ears poking out the top – stuffed animals.
"Paige!" He says, feigning enthusiasm. He opens the door a little wider so that the 8 year-old-girl can rush through into the living room and the rest of her friends.
"Lucinda, how nice to see you again." He smiles at Paige's mother.
"You too Rick. Um, here are her pajamas and toothbrush." She hands over a Victoria's Secret bag to him.
He takes it graciously and sends her off, then grabs his phone from his pocket and clicks on his texts, opening to the first chat.
RC: Wish me luck. Bunch of 8 year-year-olds having a slumber party. I'm in for a long night.
KB: Ha, I remember that stage. My mom loved it, my dad had no clue what to do. Is your mom there at least?
RC: No, when she found out, she suddenly had a very important appointment with her director for her latest play.
KB: Goodluck xxx
He then turns off his phone and turns to face the oncoming night of squeals, giggles and noise that he is not surprised twelve 8 year-olds can make.
"Alright girls. What would you like to do first?"
"Food!" The girls shout in unison. Alexis leads them all to the cupboard in the kitchen where he keeps his secret stash of popcorn, Skittles, canned soft drinks and all the sweet and unhealthy types of food you could ever dream of.
"Let's watch Barbie: The Mermaid Tale." One of the girls suggests.
Castle cringes. Alexis has made him watch that movie with her about 5 times this week. But who is he to deny his daughter's and her friends' wishes. So he approaches the group of giggling girls at the couch in his study and flicks through Netflix to find the movie.
"There you are girls. I will be your waiter for the movie tonight." He spices up this statement by flicking out a notepad and pen from his pocket and bowing to the girls. "What do the lovely ladies desire to eat and drink?"
They giggle, and they huddle into a circle to discuss their options. Alexis turns to face her father. "Can we please have MnMs, Skittles, popcorn – butter, salt and sour cream and chives –soft drinks, pizza, ice cream and chocolate?" Her eyes replicate that of a puppy's.
With that request, he presses play on the remote and closes the door to his study to place the pizza order and assemble the other items.
Once the items are delivered to the Movie-watchers he sits on the couch and begins to write, until his phone pings as a message comes through.
KB: How's the slumber party going Writerboy?
RC:So far so good. They wanted to watch Barbie, so I had to be their waiter.
KB: Had? What are you doing now?
RC: Other than dreaming of the day you finally give in to you falling for me? Doing the thing I do best of course.
KB: What? Procrastinate and annoy?
RC: No! Detective, you wound me. Writing.
KB: Oh, Mr. Castle, I'm sure your massive ego can take it. Now I will leave you to your writing. Call if you need any help. I was like that too remember? Bye xxx
RC: Farewell fare maiden. *with dramatic wave of hand*
About an hour and a half later, the door to Castle's study flies open, and the girls rush into the living room, screaming and shouting over each other about the movie. He closes his laptop and puts it in the top cupboard, safe from tiny hands.
Without him realizing, each girl has a fluffy pillow in each hand. They all sneak up on him while he is on his toes and is about to close the cupboard. Oh, how funny it is that they think they are so quiet, he thinks. Little does he know of what type of attack they are planning.
Coming down to his normal height he doesn't even have time to turn around before his back is bombarded with usually soft pillows, but not when they are hit against one's back repeatedly and hard. Wow these kids are strong!
"Woah! Guys, what are you doing?"
"We're having a pillow fight of course!" One girl replies.
"Well isn't it unfair if I don't have a pillow and it's 12 against 1?"
"No!" They all laugh at his high-pitched whiny voice.
He can't do this. It's been 2 and a half hours and they have had a pillow fight, watched a movie, slashed him at lazer tag, covered him in his mother's make-up and eaten 15 boxes of large pizza.
He grabs his phone from the floor, where it has fallen and dials his favorite number.
"Beckett"
"Detective, surely you have a caller ID so you don't have to answer so formally." He teases.
Kate smiles at the end of the line and ignores that statement. "Hey Castle. Have the kids settled down or are you still attempting to control little girls?"
"Control them? Beckett, you will not believe what a bunch of 8 year-olds are capable of."
"Actually, I can. I was 8 once too Castle, and I know no girl doesn't NOT enjoy a good slumber party with lots of mischief."
"Well then detective, care to –"
His statement is cut off by Paige asking very loudly: "Hey Lex, who's your dad talking to?"
And Alexis replying with: "Daddy is talking to his girlfriend, Kate." And then they all break into song, of Ricky and Kate, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
He groans. "Castle! Why would Alexis think that we are dating?"
"Well, oh – I don't know, maybe because I see you literally every day and I always have to leave to go to a crime scene, so of course an 8 year-old would find the romance in that." He pleads innocent, his voice whiny and very unmanly.
Kate laughs through the speaker. "Rick, from the sound of things" – the girls are still singing – "you need me to come over and rescue you?"
"Okay, one – I did NOT miss the 'Rick' you just said, and two, yes I would like that very much thank you."
They say goodbye and he puts down his cellphone, ready to inform the girls of his current relationship status with Detective Kate Beckett. Unfortunately, he can't do this, as they all decide to grab hold of him and tie him up to a chair with duct tape.
He hears his phone ping, and Beckett's message pops up on the screen. He tries to open it, but can't reach the phone, as it is currently lying on the floor, meticulously placed so it's just out of his reach.
There is a knock on the thick door of his loft. Still tied up, he tries to ask Alexis to open the door for Beckett, but fails as his mouth is also taped closed. Thankfully she sees him, and rushes to the door, swinging it open with a young-girl-on-a-sugar-rush level of enthusiasm.
"Kate!" She throws her thin arms around the older woman's thighs.
"Hey Alexis." She bends down to return the embrace to her favorite child. "Alexis where is your father?" She questions as she scans around the inside of the loft.
"He's in the kitchen. Over there." She points to her father's brown hair peeking out the top of the island. "I think he might need a little help."
Kate rushes over to her best friend and lov- no, not that. They are just friends. She needs to convince herself more than anyone else.
"CASTLE! What the hell?" She saves herself just in time.
He tries to say something, but only manages to communicate through eyebrow-lifts and eye-widening. She registers, and rushes to rip of the tape from his hands, waist and ankles. He tilts his head quizzically about the tape on his mouth.
"Nah. I think I like you more when you can't talk." She teases, then gives in when he gives her a look that could make her melt.
She isn't so gracious though, and she rips it off hard.
"OW!" He rubs his mouth and cheeks to soothe the pain.
"Don't be such a baby Daddy." Alexis says as she and her friends watch trying to hide their giggles.
"Yes, listen to your daughter Rick." She nods. They all stand around, watching Castle in a creepy awkward way.
"Ummm…" He clears his throat and it brings them all back to attention.
Kate reaches down to help Castle up from his sitting position. "Geez Castle, it must hurt when your young daughter manages to capture you and tape you to a chair." She mocks.
Castle gives her a Beckett-glare, and excuses himself to set up mattresses for their guests to sleep on in Alexis' room. Twenty minutes later, he strolls down the stairs and is greeted with the beautiful sight of Kate acting all homey with his daughter and her friends.
"And then she picked up the frog, and kissed its green lips. Magically, the frog turned into a handsome prince, and the princess married him right away, and they lived happily ever after." Kate reaches out her hand to one of the girls and is handed a hairband. She finishes off the last French braid on the last girl's head. They all notice Castle standing there, and turn their heads so he can see the beautiful unique hairstyles on each girl's head.
"Daddy, look what Kate did to our hair! Isn't it amazing? You absolutely MUST get lessons form her about how to do braids!"
He chuckles and walks over to the group. "Hey, maybe I'll marry her one day and you could ask her to do it for you every day." He jokes. Kate looks up at him quickly from her spot on the couch swiftly. She knows that that is what she wants so much, so much she doesn't even know what to do with that want. She wants to sit at the table with his family, braid his daughter's hair, sleep in his bed, live in his house. That is he wish she wants most.
He looks at her looking at him. Their eyes lock, and this is another one of those moments they both want to lock in a safe in their brains and cherish it forever. Eye-sex as Lanie and the rest of the precinct calls it. Their moment is interrupted though, as Alexis and her friends start making gagging noises and covering their eyes.
"Daddy stop having eye-sex with her in front of us!" With that, they all giggle and run away to Alexis' room.
"Oh my god. Not just the precinct who says that! How does she even know about sex, let alone eye-sex? I am so going to kill Lanie!" He covers his eyes, feels his face going red hot.
Kate laughs at him and gets up off the couch. "C'mon Castle, it's late. We'd better go put them to bed." She grabs his elbow and leads him up the stairs.
"You're quite comfortable here Kate. Anyone who didn't know you would think we were married. I mean you're braiding their hair, putting them to bed…oh, and calling me Rick." He mocks.
"You never know Castle, anything could happen." She reaches in front of her and pushes on his lower back. "Slowpoke." She mumbles and chuckels at his grunt of defiance.
The friends stand at the door of Alexis' bedroom, shoulders touching, – not going unnoticed by either adult mind you – just observing the steady rise and fall of the girls' stomachs as they breathe.
Kate takes the first step, tilting her head to the right and resting it on his shoulder. He looks down at her and inhales her prominent cherry scent. He wraps an arm around her torso and pulls her closer into his side.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kate says softly, almost a whisper.
"What is?"
"This." She gestures to the roomful of sleeping girls. "The tranquility of it. Nothing bothered me when I was that age. I never watched my back on the street incase something happened to me or my family. I never worried about making the right decisions in life, because I knew my mother would always get me through it. I miss being carefree and just enjoying life."
Castle doesn't feel like words are necessary. He just turns to face her and engulfs her in his arms. His chin rests on the top of her head – he has a height advantage as she is only wearing her socks. He relishes in how at home she seems.
She fits her face into the crook of his neck and inhales his musky, arousing scent. She feels so at home here, with him, his family. There is no place she'd rather be. She gives his amazingly muscular body a quick squeeze. She loves the way she can feel the muscles in his back ripple as he shifts, as he is only wearing a worn, grey shirt, sweatpants and sheepskin slippers. She loves how he can just dress so casually for her, the way he doesn't worry about her with his family alone while he is busy prepairing other aspects of a slumber party.
They pull away from each other reluctantly and turn for the stairs. One last glance in the direction of his daughter's room, they head downstairs. Their hands brush and she wraps her pinkie finger around his. Halfway down the stairs, she sneaks a glance at his face. She notices a small bead of sweat forming on his flop of brown hair. He looks down at their hands, smiles and then they continue downwards.
At the bottom of the stairs, he turns to face her. He looks at their pinkie fingers again and turns his hand upwards. They look at each other, their connection prominent, even though no words are said. She twists her own hand so that it fits snugly in his. It feels like this is the moment and the place her hands have been waiting for all their life.
It feels so perfect. So right.
She leans forward slowly. She feels electricity rip through her body. She may not be the perfect she was hoping to be for him, but she knows that right here, right now, she is ready for their always. She wants to dive into life with him.
Their lips connect lightly, more like a brush of air than a kiss. He leans more forward and their lips connect again, this time more forceful. She wraps her arms around his neck, his fit around her waist. They move closer so that their bodies are touching, and oh, she is so far gone, so head-over-heels-in-love with this man. Now she can admit it, now as their tongues fight for dominance, as their flavors mingle and create the most beautiful and delicious taste. Now she can admit that she love Richard Alexander Edgar Castle. Her writer, and now her man.
He walks forward, and she has to place her feet on top of his like a child would do to not fall over. They move past the popcorn bowls and sweet packets in his study and through into his room. He lowers her gracefully onto his King-size bed.
"Rick." She whispers through the darkness.
"Kate? Are you okay? If this isn't what you want, we can stop right now." He assures her.
His thoughtfulness and care for her overwhelms her. "No, Rick. Not that." She lifts up her head and they share a passionate kiss. "Rick" She pauses "I love you."
"God Kate." He removes her shirt and hungrily eyes her torso. "I love you too."