Greetings once more lovely people. I find myself needing to distract myself from the grimness of real life with a little fluff and nonsense. I think perhaps I will use this space in which to do so with whatever should pop into my head, so expect oddities and frivolity, however possibly to probably infrequently, we shall see.

Suggestions or prompts may be considered, as they say, 'Can't start a fire without a spark'. I will do my best, or should that be worst?

Playing with other people's toys always was more fun…

1

Cuckoo

There is an antique clock hanging on the living room wall in the cabin belonging to Beckett's father. It is ornate and beautifully detailed, festooned in leaves of the forest which camouflage tiny carvings of woodland creatures and, best of all, a magnificent stag stands proudly at the top, baying, surely calling out to the herd. The piece is crafted entirely in rich dark wood and when it catches the early evening light from the window, it shimmers. She remembers being fascinated by the clock as a child, finding something new to look at even after an age looking, imagining she saw movement in the leaves and of the tiny creatures, even seeing the stag's breath billowing on a cold winter's morning.

Kate was pleased to see that the clock had also captured her daughter's heart. Even when it wasn't in action, Lilly would stand below it looking up to the space it held on the wall. "Clock" was a new word, learnt just this weekend and it seemed her current her favorite, used often when she was drawn here. Her little girl, so similar to herself at that age, already tall with an athletic build, her chestnut hair is long with a slight curl to it, but she is feisty enough to not like anyone messing with it too much. She wants to be doing, not sitting around, not for any reason so long as she has an ounce of energy left in her body – which is essentially all the time.

She picked her daughter up and propped her easily on her hip, just as she remembered her mother doing with her when she was small. Kate set the clock in motion, beginning the sway of the pinecone pendulum with her free hand. Lilly watched with rapture as the motion continued, Kate saw her eyes tracking the side to side motion of the long swing. "Tick tock." The girl said almost in time with the clock, while the pendulum drove the gears within. Together they watched until Lilly directed her attention back to Kate's face. "'Gain" she said, demanding further action from her, knowing there was more to see.

Happy to oblige, Kate began to twirl the clocks hands, setting it close to the hour. "Nine!" Kate exclaimed pointing to the numeral on the dial. "You're in for a treat today." With less than a minute to wait, Kate focused her attention back on the girl who was once again watching dividing her attention between the pendulum and the clock's face, anticipation clearly displayed on her own. Her hazel eyes glittered and as the anticipation built she began to giggle, Kate could feel her small body coiling up, the tension mounting. A loud click sounded as the mechanism released, the girl had learned that this was the signal for action to begin, it alone was enough for another spate of giggling to bubble up from within her. The following loud chime from within the clock made the girl both startle and laugh with pure joy. She focused all her attention now on the small door near the apex of the clock, just in time to witness the door flap abruptly open and a small, yet startlingly blue bird, erupt into space, 'Cuckoo' the bellows inside blew. The bird retracted, the gong sounded again and the bird popped back. On her hip the girl bounced, jiggled and giggled, throwing her head back with renewed laughter after each cycle completed and reset. After the ninth and final time the girl was still fixated hoping for more. Kate knew what came next and the girl did not let her down. "One more time." She said, both hoping for and knowing that Kate would indulge, at least once more.

Playing the game though Kate asked "Again?!" in mock incredulity. Bringing forth yet more merriment, from her beautiful little girl.

"More." She nodded her confirmation, eyes wide and expression of pure love.

"You got it." she said placing a quick peck on her nose, then her check and finally blowing a raspberry on her neck which caused her to squirm and shriek with musical laughter. A sound Kate would never ever tire of hearing, it was her favorite thing in the world, her everything.

The clock left a lasting impression.

Weeks later Castle had been tasked with driving them to collect Alexis from the airport, returning from a trip to catch up with some college friends. Kate was in the back with her girl, not a bad place to be in her opinion, but it felt slightly strange. Alexis was already waiting as Castle pulled up, he jumped out to greet her with kisses and hugs before he helped her load her cases in the trunk.

"Hey you guys." She greeted occupants in the back having clambered into her seat, immediately turning see them. "There's my Lilly!" she called with exuberance.

Her little sister bucked in her seat kicking her legs out wanting out of her seat to claim her hug. "'Lexi, 'Lexi," she chanted.

Alexis clambered further back, sneaking in a quick kiss "You get a hug when we're home, 'kay Squirt?" then she looked to Kate, "You too." she said with a smile.

Castle was back behind the wheel positively buzzing with energy. "Everyone buckled up?" he asked loudly, waiting for the affirmative from everyone before he would pull back out into traffic.

Just as he was filtering towards the freeway, a cab cut them up forcing Castle to slam the breaks on hard. Although they were not traveling excessively fast, the momentum of the rapid stop affected everyone. Castle only just held his tongue, or rather he managed to not swear, Alexis Likewise. Kate's attention was drawn first forward to the cause of the incident, but swiftly to her little girl in her car seat next to her. She however found nothing alarming about the whole thing, indeed as the momentum brought her forward rapidly, her harness pulling at her shoulders, her little voice piped up "Cuckoo!"

Despite her shock of the rapid stop and probable near miss, Kate found herself laughing with her daughter. Here, as always she found her little Lilly utterly captivating, so innocent and effervescent, already showing signs she would take after Castle with the quick creativeness of her mind.

However shortly after, as Kate calmed down and once the cab had pulled away leaving their path clear to go once more, she rolled her eyes and puffed out her cheeks in relief.

"Hey, Castle?" she called to him from behind his driver's seat. "No more Cuckoo stops."