Set mid-season 4 of castle (2011-2012)
Castle had been planning it for months, and now they were finally here. It had taken a lot of convincing initially to get Kate to take two weeks' vacation from the precinct; a lot of bribery, rationalizing and begging had been involved until one day, when he had brought up the subject of a vacation again, she had turned to Castle with a bright smile and agreed. Rick hadn't expected her to acquiesce quite as easily as she had, but he had excitedly dropped her at the precinct before returning home to get some "work" done, although they both knew that he'd be spending the day researching and booking their vacation, of which he refused to tell her the destination.
The turning point of the conversation for Kate had been the realization that it would be the last chance she and Rick would get to spend with Alexis before she'd leave home for the first time to embark upon her collegiate journey. She was a bright, independent girl who could hold her own in almost any situation but she was still Rick's little girl, and he was having an especially difficult time with the knowledge that his little girl wasn't quite his little girl anymore, no matter how many times Alexis would try to placate her father with a hug and a reassurance that she'd always be his little girl. Even though she was only going a mere five miles away to Colombia, she wouldn't be living at the loft, and that would be a big adjustment, not only to Castle, but for Kate and Martha too.
It hadn't shocked Kate as much as Rick had expected when they had gotten to the airport and Rick had pulled out three tickets to Disneyworld, Florida. Kate was well aware she was married to the biggest man-child around, and the look of pure excitement and unadulterated joy on her husband's face perfectly mirrored the expression on Alexis' face. All Kate could do was laugh and shake her head. Unbeknownst to the pair who were now hurridly rushing towards the check in desk, she had done her own fair share of research and had a few tricks of her own up her sleeve. This was going to be a vacation none of them would ever forget.
Standing on Main Street USA, even Kate had to declare it was nothing like she had ever imagined. The park map in her hand had begun to crinkle as she had become distracted, looking up at the bright sights and sounds around her as the people filtered into the park with a hum of electricity she'd never felt away from a crime scene before.
"Put the map down, Kate," Rick says with a grin as he steps in front of her, pulling the paper from her hands before balling it up and throwing it into a nearby trashcan. "Disneyworld is to be explored, to be discovered. You don't have to follow the rules here, we should just walk and see where we end up. We don't need a map, it's all part of the fun. Think of it as a huge scavanger hunt" he grins, taking her hand in his own as Alexis nods in agreement.
"Just as long as we end up in Adventureland at some point, because I want to meet Captain Hook," the redhead interjects with a grin, causing Rick to laugh.
"Alexis always did have more of a penchant for the villains than the good guys," Rick explains as together the three of them begin to venture deeper into the park.
"Got a thing for the bad boys, huh?" Kate teases, and the link from the fictional world of Disney to the fact Alexis is on the verge of leaving for college causes Rick to narrow his eyes as he snaps out of his bubble of excitement and looks at his daughter pointedly.
"Just remember that at the end of the day, the villains never win out," he says with a glare, causing Alexis to grin.
"Don't worry, dad. I won't run off with a forty year-old tattooed biker that I meet at the bar on my first day of college," she says with a reassuring smile, watching as her father seems to visibly relax at her verbal promise. "I'll wait until my fourth day for that," she adds with a wink, causing Kate to snort with laughter as Rick's face pales.
"Hold on," Kate suddenly says, stopping as they pass a row of shops and she pats Rick's chest with a nod. "You two stay here, I'm going to get us something," she says, before disappearing into a store. A glance over her shoulder confirms that her husband and step daughter are standing outside of the store, probably discussing the various rules Rick had already set out for Alexis' college life.
A little research back at the precinct had led Kate to a website where she had been in touch with what the Disney world website called the dream makers. Over the course of a couple of days, Kate had pre-ordered and paid for some mouse ears to be embroidered and personalized. When the cast member disappears to the back to collect her order, a shiver runs down her spine in anticipation of what she's about to do; of what is about to be cemented into reality – and all at the happiest place on earth. She could almost picture Rick's face as she stands behind the cash register. Snapped out of her day dream as the cashier hands her the carrier bag with her purchases, Kate smiles and shows the cast member her proof of purchase which is subsequently stamped and signed before she turns and exits the store.
"What'd you buy me?" Castle asks instantly when he sees the bag in his wife's hands, and she rolls her eyes as she fishes out the first hat from the bag, handing it to Alexis with a grin. Not the traditional black ear hat, this one was a myriad of blue and green which had been ornately decorated with pearls and beads. A sea shell sat on one ear, and a starfish on the other. "Alexis," the stitching on the back of the hat in red declared exquisitely.
"The little mermaid!" The redhead had grinned, putting the hat onto her head, turning around proudly, causing her red hair to flick out in the wind. One of the first things Kate and Alexis had done on what they had later declared their 'girly days', had been spending the day on the sofa in their onesies watching Disney movies. 'The Little Mermaid' had quickly become a favourite, with Kate pointing out the similarities between Alexis and Ariel throughout the movie, causing the then younger redhead to blush and shake her head. But now, she steps forward and throws her arms around Kate, squealing before she pulls away to kiss Kate on the cheek. "It's perfect. I love it! Thanks, Kate!" It had always been abundantly clear that Alexis had inherited her father's childish qualities, but it was something Kate had loved about the father-daughter duo from the start.
"Don't pout, Rick. There's something for you too," Kate had laughed, noticing the dejected, melodramatic expression on her husband's face. For Rick, she had ordered the traditional Mickey Mouse ear set, with "Castle" stitched onto the back. When she had handed it to him, he had taken it and placed it on his head delicately, as though it were a crown before knocking one of the ears so it was tilted on his head, before throwing Kate a wink and a sultry look as though he were modelling it for her. She can't help but laugh and shake her head, before revealing her own set of ears. "Now you have your own crown," she smirks, as she watches him continue to model the hat proudly. "You can insert your own joke about being king of your Castle later," she adds with a smirk before she steps forward to kiss him quickly, well aware that they're in public and surrounded by young families.
Minnie Mouses' bow lay between the her own pair of ears, with "Beckett" stitched onto the back. She smiles as she holds it up and shows Rick and Alexis her own pair, "I know it's corny, but I wanted to do something to surprise the two of you just as much as you have done me," she nods, looking between Alexis and Rick, before handing him the bag she had been given inside the store. "Hold this for me while I put this on," she says, thrusting the bag towards him.
"You got me good, Beckett, and it's not corny. I love it" he grins as he takes the bag, his face contorting as he feels the weight remaining in the bag. "There's something else in here," he comments, before looking at Kate with wide eyes and a grin as he realizes there may be another present in it for him. "You got me something else?" He asks eagerly, and Kate shrugs in a nonchalant manner.
"Is there? I have no idea what it could be," Kate answers with an inflection to her tone of voice, feigning ignorance as she settles the ears on her head, looking to Alexis with a shrug and a wink as Rick begins to rifle energetically through the bag. Streams of tissue paper seem to be masking the last item, but his fingers find purchase on a box which he pulls eagerly from the bag. Like a child on Christmas, he tears the lid off the box, finding a smaller hat, this time with a blue sorcerer's hat in between the pair of ears.
"Cute," Rick says with a slightly confused smile. "You got a spare pair? These are a little small for my head though," he adds as he looks towards Kate, turning his focus towards Alexis as she begins to speak.
"That movie used to freak me out when I was a kid," Alexis confesses. "I hated that the brooms could move by themselves. I had nightmares for weeks and made dad clean with a dustpan and brush," she admits, and Kate has to really try hard to stifle a grin.
"Keep looking, Castle," she encourages, and Rick looks back towards his wife, following the direction of Kate's gaze back to the box. "You know, this is why I'm the detective," she smirks, crossing her arms over her chest.
Of course, he hadn't bothered to look at the stitching on the back of the hat, which surprised even Kate, especially when she had made such an effort of showing the embroidery on the backs of their own hats. But it's worth it when she watches Rick's face change into that of what can only be surprised as pure shock.
"What is it, dad? What did Kate get you?" Alexis asks, stepping forward, having already seemingly understood where this was going when she had seen the size of the hat in her father's hand. Reaching out, she grips Kate's arm with a wide grin, her blue eyes shining brightly as she watches her father.
"It's going to take some time to get here," Kate says, finally breaking the silence between herself and Rick as he lifts the ultrasound from the box. "Don't you want to read what the back of the hat says?" She asks, and when Rick can finally bear to tear his eyes away from the ultrasound, Kate can see the tears of joy welling in the corners of her husband's eyes.
"Baby Castle, due 03/29/12," Rick reads slowly, before he lifts his head to look at Kate.
"Seven months time," she nods. "I'm eight weeks already," she tells Rick, chewing her lower lip nervously.
"You've done the impossible, Kate," Alexis says with a broad grin, causing Kate to turn to look at her step daughter. The grin on Alexis' face is infectious and Kate can feel the familiar sting of tears sweeping into her eyes, although these are happy tears - something she's grown accustomed to over the past couple of weeks.
"What's that, Lex?" She asks, turning her head back to look at Rick just as he sweeps her into a mammoth, all consuming hug which has Kate's feet lifted from the ground.
"You've outdone dad. I don't think anybody has ever done that before," Alexis laughs as she reaches forward and takes the ultrasound from her father's hand while he continues hugging Kate; husband and wife sharing their own intimate moment as Alexis traces the index of her fingertip across the picture of her baby brother or sister. "The newest addition to the Castle," she says quietly as Rick gently lowers Kate back down to earth, sweeping his hand immediately across her abdomen.
"Best vacation, ever," he says, his voice barely above that of a whisper as Alexis wraps her arms around Kate before they are engulfed by Rick's arms - all four of them.