Laundry Day: The Sequel
Note: None of these characters are mine. Scratch that. The little one is.
"Do you remember what to do, honey? You hide, and when I say ten, I'll come find you. Yes? Okay? Ready. Set. Go."
Kate smiled at the patter of feet advancing rapidly down the hallway. After a moment the curly haired head of their two year old peeked around the corner. When she saw Kate, the little girl let out a cheer of joy and ran into the room, wrapping herself around Kate's leg. Kate squatted and placed the basket of laundry she'd been carrying onto the floor at her feet.
"Shh, sweetie, Daddy will hear you." Kate whispered to the girl, pulling her close. She hushed immediately, thrilled to be in cahoots with her mother. "Hide here. Be very quiet, and I'll make sure Daddy doesn't find you."
"Nine point nine eight. Nine point nine nine. Ten!" Castle's footsteps cleared the length of the hallway in seconds. He turned the corner of the living room just in time to see Kate heave the laundry basket into her arms. She let out a small grunt with the effort.
Castle grinned, and she winked at him conspiratorially. He sidled over to her. "That basket looks mighty heavy, Love. Can I take that off your hands?"
Kate laughed softly, "I'll manage on my own, thanks." She shifted her grip and swung the basket onto her hip, obviously struggling to balance the weight.
"Those are some awfully heavy clothes. Are you sure there's nothing else in that basket?" He took a few steps towards her, trying to peer through the slats in the sides of the basket.
"Just laundry," she replied casually, backing away from him, carefully maneuvering around the couch and coffee table as she walked backwards.
"You're sure? Nothing short, cute, and curly could have slipped in when you had your back turned?"
"Hmmm," Kate paused, pretended to consider the possibility. "No, nothing by that description comes to mind."
By this point, they had backed their way to the edge of the room. Kate bent, and placed the basked down on the floor with a heavy thunk. As she turned to open the laundry room door, Castle pounced.
Like a flash, he was on the laundry basket. He dug his hands deep into the clothing, fingers wiggling, ready to tickle. Then, like a smaller but cleverer flash, 25 pounds of green polka dots flew out from behind the throw pillows on the couch next to him.
There was a warrior cry (not from Castle) and a girlish shriek (not from the child) and Castle found himself quite suddenly flat on his face with a two-year old sitting on his lumbar region. The girl giggled madly as Castle grunted and rolled over, heaving her onto his stomach.
Glancing up, he caught Kate's eye. "That wasn't nice, Detective." Kate winked at him, dropping a kiss on her daughter's forehead.
She swung the laundry basket into her arms as though it weighed nothing and disappeared into the laundry room, chuckling softly as she went.
Thanks for reading!