The usual disclaimers apply: I'm not making any money off of this, Castle belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe, and any similarities to real people or places are strictly a coincidence.

This story is intended to be not only an alternate ending to The Spellbound Affair, but to open up a wide new alternate universe world focusing on the new family born out of the strife in TSA. This is the first part of a multi-story series that will hopefully span intermittently over the next 20 odd years and beyond.

This chapter is very similar to The Spellbound Affair Chapter 64, however there are differences, especially at the end.

Author's notes are at the bottom. Please enjoy!

The Spellbound Affair - Alternate Ending

Chapter Sixty-Four

Note: The alternate ending picks up, without interruption, directly following the end of The Spellbound Affair Chapter 63. This will not make sense without reading the original story up to that point. If you need to go back, please visit my profile page to find the story. Can't wait to see you back here!

On to the alternate ending...

Castle swore as he struggled to come to terms with the single vehicle wreck. Even Kate looked dumbfounded as she stared unblinkingly at the upside-down car. The only one whose head was still in the fight was Bianca. She took advantage of the necromancer's split attention to rush closer and pummel the baddie with a barrage of spells from within the sphere of his shield. She succeeded in sending him flying into the trunk of a young tree, nearly snapping the innocent sapling in half.

The writer realized that they had one chance to rescue the doctor from his wrecked car before the fumes turned into flames. With the dark and light witches focused entirely on each other, he could reach the car with less risk of getting blown to Timbuktu in the space between. First though, he had to secure his boys.

The junior detectives were gaping at the combination of the overturned car and the broken tree. In order to face the driveway more squarely, they'd had to loosen their holds on Beckett. Castle took advantage of the opportunity to pull the kids away from his girlfriend and shove them back into the house. He pulled the front door shut. Hopefully they followed the unspoken but strongly implied command that they stay inside or it wouldn't be the necromancer they'd have to worry about trying to kill them.

He spared one last glance to check on the conflict between Bianca and Dresden. Bianca huffed slightly, catching her breath while the necromancer struggled to untangle himself from the mangled tree. Beckett launched herself in their direction, intent on arresting or (preferably) shooting Dresden in his smug face. He knew that fiery look in her eyes and it would be useless to try to stop her. It was up to Castle to drag the younger witch out of the GTO before it exploded.

The car leaned towards the passenger side, meaning that the larger, less crushed window opening was next to the driver. That was a small miracle. Castle dropped to his knees and peered through the shattered window. Randy had a large gash in his forehead and he blinked to keep the blood out of his eyes from a smaller cut on his cheek. Castle sent up silent thanks that the witch was still alive for now. In ten seconds, maybe not. The smell of spilled gasoline was becoming nauseating.

"Randy, can you hear me?"

"The seatbelt is stuck," the doctor said through gritted teeth. "My shoulder's wrenched and I can't reach it with my other hand." Well, that explained why the older man was basically dangling upside down from his seat. The top of his head nearly brushed the roof of his car, showing how much the upper part of the car had already given in.

"Shit." Castle tried to reach around for the jammed buckle but there wasn't enough room in the crushed cabin. "Hold on." He hurried around to the passenger side of the car. He disregarded the puddle of gas as he flopped down on his belly in the broken glass and tried to reach the buckle from that angle. The crushed frame prevented him from shoving his upper body into the car, meaning the seatbelt was still out of his reach. Cursing up a blue streak, he gave up and returned to the driver's side. "Can you get it with magic?" he asked anxiously.

"I… dizzy," the older man admitted, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead. Castle compared the amount of blood gathering on the roof of the car to the size of the gasoline puddle and his stomach clenched. He needed to get the man out of the car. The writer felt lightheaded himself from the fumes and he wasn't suffering from significant blood loss.

Crunching glass drew Castle's attention to the front of the car and the nine-year-old that stood there in his Scooby-doo sleepwear and smelly leather sandals. "Kevin Ryan, you get your skinny little butt back into that house before I smack it so hard you can't sit for a week!"

"You need my help," said the boy defiantly. His little face was still pink from the long hours of pre-spell illness and the dried tears Castle had noticed when he retrieved the kids from their room. The color accented the determined glint in his eyes and the thin set of his mouth. The writer didn't like that look one bit.

Castle wasn't fast enough to grab him before Kevin dropped to his hands and knees and crawled through the passenger side window. "Get out of there!" he shouted. His heart skipped a few beats when the frame of the car groaned and settled a couple more inches, shrinking the size of his son's escape route. "Kevin!"

"Give me two seconds," the boy argued.

"Now!" Castle reached through the hole to grab Kevin's ankle and tug. At this point, getting dragged over the broken glass would be the least of the detective's concerns, but Castle couldn't stomach the thought of how poorly the thin cotton pajamas would hold up during the move. He had to get the boy to come back out on his own. But convincing Detective Ryan to leave a friend stranded in a dire situation was something the writer was ill-equipped to do.

"Just let me try," Kevin pleaded as he kicked the writer's hand away. The car let out another dying shriek and Randy feebly joined Castle's bid to talk the child back to safety. Kevin ignored them both as he pressed down the release button and tugged on the belt.

"Kevin, I swear-"

"I've got it," the nine-year-old said triumphantly. The two halves of the contraption separated and the doctor dropped the last six inches to rest fully on the roof of his car. The motion caused the car to rock and Castle had to back away to avoid getting pinched as the passenger side fully collapsed.

He raced back to the driver's side and nearly skidded on the gravel and broken glass. "Randy? Randy, can you move?" he asked frantically. He wanted the doctor to live, sure, but right now the man's body was blocking his little boy's only way out of the death trap. The horrible smell of burning plastic joined the gasoline fumes and Castle nearly lost his last meal at the sight of the thin curls of black smoke twisting out of the air conditioning vents.

"Let me help."

Castle probably lost ten years of his life at the unexpected voice. He looked up at the grim face of Saul Davis, ignoring the ache in his chest as his heart thudded against his ribcage.

Completely defenseless against the witch and hidden from Bianca's view, Castle tried whatever he could think of to repel the overdressed villain. "Get back! Be gone, evil spirit!" He crossed his fingers to make a crucifix and held it up in Davis' face. The witch blinked in confusion at him. "By the power of-"

"Oh, come off it," snapped the witch. "You can't exorcise me. Now move or you'll lose both of them to a fireball."

Castle didn't have a better option. He brushed his hands off on his pants and then reached into the car to grasp Randy under the arm. Davis grabbed the other man's shoulder and together they were able to pull the doctor out of the wreckage. Castle left Davis to help Randy limp into the grass side lawn while the writer renewed his admonishments for Kevin to get out of the car. This time the nine-year-old listened, crawling quickly through the window. Castle scooped him up as soon as he was clear and sprinted towards the two witches.

"Get down!"

Castle was already dropping to the grass with Kevin's smaller body rolled protectively under his when he finally registered the shout. A split second later, the car exploded. The searing heat of the fireball washed over him and debris fell from the sky like metallic rain. He braced himself for a bigger impact, but fortunately none came. Once the patter of small scraps stopped hitting his back, he dared to look up and was practically blinded by the inferno that enveloped Randy's sports car.

"Castle? Castle, can't breathe." The author had momentarily forgotten about the crushing hold he had on his younger boy. He loosened his hold just enough to allow the kid's lungs to fully expand.

"You are in so much trouble," the older man promised, unable to take his eyes off of the burning car. Kevin grinned self-gratifyingly and snuggled into the writer's broad chest. Castle huffed. Kevin was sorely mistaken if he thought being thirty-four again would save him from the writer's wrath. In the meantime, Castle rested his chin heavily on the boy's tangled blonde locks and mentally regrouped before setting out to find Javier and help for the doctor.

xXx

The edges of Beckett's vision went red after Randy's car was flipped with the doctor still inside. She had no idea if the witch was alive or not. Not that it mattered either way - Beckett was going to put an end to Dresden right now.

She chambered a bullet and stormed towards the place where Dresden had impacted the tree after Bianca brought him down. She towered over the man and held her gun unwaveringly, pointing it directly at the space between his eyes. "You're under arrest, jackhole."

Instead of pleading his case or stating his innocence, the downed witch started to laugh manically. It took all of Beckett's will power to not silence him permanently. Her desire to do the right thing and play by the book stayed her hand, even though she could see the cracks in his shield. He was at her mercy, anyway, and a pair of handcuffs would do just as well as a lead ball at keeping him that way.

Her mercy proved to be her undoing. Dresden surged upwards, using his unnatural speed to catch her off guard. A moment later her back impacted a neighboring tree. The rough bark of the mature oak's trunk dug into her skin through the thin material of her wrinkled shirt. She struggled to regain the wind that had been knocked out of her. The necromancer's putrid breath fanned over her face, bringing back the unpleasant memories of their altercation the day before.

"Get off of me," she growled, scratching at the fingers wrapped around her throat. Instead of letting go, Dresden tightened his hold, causing black dots to dance around the perimeter of her vision. She could sense that he was trying to use magic on her but the charmed necklace resisted him.

"Dresden, release her!" shouted Bianca. The white witch tried to pull the horrible man off of the detective but her strength lay in her magic, not her physical body. Any spell Bianca summoned strong enough to dislodge the necromancer would probably kill Beckett. To that end, the evil man, not having the same qualms about hurting anyone close to Bianca, blasted the good witch directly in the chest with an attack that sent her rolling across the grass.

"Bianca!" Beckett choked when Dresden tightened his hold on her throat even more. She was forced to look at him, leaving her in the dark about Bianca's well-being. She momentarily despaired that they'd lost both of their witchy allies. She pushed the thought away forcefully. She would not give up while boiling blood still pumped through her veins. She didn't need magic to protect her unconventional little family.

It would help though. Beckett dug her nails into Dresden's wrist as her sight began to waver and brought her knee up between his legs. Both her aim and force were off due to her on-going struggle to breathe. Still, he staggered a small distance away, giving Beckett the chance to draw precious air into her lungs and cough up the stench of his breath. Unfortunately, he recovered more quickly than she. She barely had time to raise her arms to protect her face when he swung at her, the blow knocking her back against the tree again. "You'll pay for that, bitch."

His magic surged around her again, yet could not penetrate the superficial barrier created by Bianca's necklace. Out of patience for the interfering jewelry, Dresden grabbed the charm in his fist and his hand began to glow brightly. The metal chain instantly started to smolder and she could smell her own burning flesh. She was just about to cry out in pain when the chain snapped and Dresden threw the locket across the yard. Instantly, she could feel tendrils of magic creeping over her like an unwanted caress and she lost the ability to control her limbs.

"What will do you do now, without your witches and charms to protect you, Detective?" He pressed the full length of his body against hers, trapping her against the tree trunk. Now that she was restrained by magic, his hands were free to wander over her torso. She couldn't even gag as the necromancer continued his assault, hissing disgusting tidbits of his plans for her into her ear. She fought against her invisible bonds, throwing all of her might into willing her arms or legs to move as his dirty fingers slipped under her shirt to slide over the soft skin of her belly. He was in for great disappointment if he thought she'd ever submit to him in the bedroom, restraining spell or not.

She nearly cracked a tooth clamping them together so tightly as she pushed against the magical chains. She tried to turn away from him when he brought his face in close, but his hand on her chin prevented the movement. He licked the side of her straining neck and over her cheek. "My, my, Detective. Is that salt I taste?" He chuckled maliciously before repeating the gesture. "Who's been making you cry?"

"Get off!" Her jawed ached as she unclenched it enough let the words through. She hadn't really thought he would comply, but he pulled back unexpectedly with an irate snarl. He twisted around to swat at whatever had interrupted him. Beckett sucked in an anxious breath when she saw her eleven-year-old land hard on his rump in the dirt, cupping his injured cheek from where Dresden had just backhanded him. Javier glared hatefully at the necromancer and didn't stay on the ground long.

"Leave her alone, you sick bastard!" Javier launched himself at the older man again, trying to do as much damage as he could with his little fists. Beckett could tell that the potion running through his body, in preparation for the new spell, was slowing down his movements and weakening his punches. Just hours ago he'd barely been able to lift his head as a brutal fever raged within him. It was no surprise that Dresden could flick him away with little effort.

But Javier wouldn't give up. He stumbled back a few yards after Dresden's last shove but managed to keep his feet. He had to take a few deep breaths to summon his strength. Dresden, considering himself finished with the child, turned his disgusting attention back to Beckett. She renewed her own fight against the invisible restraints, now doubly determined to rescue both herself and Javier.

The necromancer had just managed to land his hands on her again when he jerked away with an enraged shout. The debilitating spell broke and Beckett dropped to the ground to immediately cough up a mouthful of bile. Her skin crawled with the memory of his touch and she didn't know if a hundred scalding showers could ever wash it away.

She could deal with that later, though. Once she finished dry-heaving, she searched out her savior.

The necromancer continued to shout angry curses as he grabbed Javier's upper arm and bodily threw the boy away from himself. He ripped a bloody pocket knife from his lower back while he staggered after the child. Beckett felt her blood turn to ice at the villain's murderous visage, directed at her Hispanic partner. Her frozen nerves couldn't transmit her desperate attempts to get to her feet and jump in front of her baby.

However, the necromancer was unable to catch up to Javier as the cursed detective scrambled backwards, away from the mad man. Dresden suffered a spasm every few seconds and eventually dropped to the ground, frothing at the mouth. A couple of yards away, Javier blinked in surprise at the reaction he'd gotten from driving Bianca's gift into the bad man's kidney.

"Katherine, are you all right?" Bianca hurried to the younger woman's side, disregarding the dying sounds of the necromancer behind them. Well, Beckett didn't think he was actually dying, but she could hope. At least it sounded like he was suffering.

"I feel sick," she said. And violated. Physically and mentally. She just wanted Castle to hold her and erase the feel of the other man's hands on her. Maybe after she took a shower. Or Castle could hold her in the shower. They better have a lifetime supply of soap stashed in that tiny bathroom.

"But you're alive," said Bianca in relief. She pushed herself off the ground, already seeking out their adversary. Beckett didn't miss the way that Bianca's usually fluid movements were hindered. The older woman practically dropped to her knees beside the gurgling Dresden and had to take a moment to regain her bearings. Once steadied, she retrieved a small vial from her pocket with stiff motions.

"Beckett?" Javier knelt next to her when the white witch left, his face filled with concern.

The need to be strong welled within her. "I'm okay, sweetheart." Beckett reached over to take his trembling hand. She dared to look at the convulsing man and shuddered at the sight. "What's wrong with him?"

"The knife was infused with white magic," explained Bianca. She sprinkled the contents of her vial over the tormentor and muttered a short spell. With one final, ear-splitting scream, the man's body convulsed and his lightless aura imploded, sucking in his skeletal spirit like a black hole. In its place was left a decayed corpse, the face twisted into a howl of agony.

The white witch returned to Beckett's side. "Do not look at him," said Bianca softly as she brushed Beckett's hair away from her face.

"What happened?"

"When your brave little soldier stabbed him, it transferred the white magic directly into him where it reacted negatively with his dark spirit." Bianca rubbed Javier's back fondly and Beckett could see the faint glow as the witch imparted strength to the boy that she probably couldn't afford to spare. She appreciated it, however. He looked worn out from his short little spat. "While dangerous, it was the most expedient way to neutralize his power."

"Good boy, Javi," mumbled Beckett. She absently rubbed at the thin lines of burned skin near her throat where the necklace had once rested.

"I didn't know it would do all that," admitted Javi. "I was just trying to get him off of you and it was the only weapon I had." His expression darkened from one of concern to one of hate. "But I'm glad it did. If I was full size, I'd break his stupid neck."

"You just stay here by me," she said. The tortured sounds of the necromancer still rang in her ears, even though they had stopped minutes ago.

"He's gone," stated Bianca. "You gave me the chance to do the final spell that undid his spirit and ended his unnaturally prolonged life. Truly, you are a treasure, child." Javier ducked his head momentarily before looking up shyly through his dark lashes at his female partner.

"I'm just glad you're all right, Becks."

"You too, sweetheart."

From across the yard, a stranger called out to the white witch. "Bianca?" Bianca, Beckett, and Javier all turned towards the incredulous newcomers. A group of four witches, vaguely recognizable from the Council, walked towards them. In the distance, the ruin of the GTO smoked but the flames were extinguished. "What happened here? We have come to help."

"You're a little late," said Beckett sardonically.

xXx

Despite the fact that the witches from the Council had arrived too late to actually do something about Dresden, they were useful for cleaning up the mess in the yard. That left Bianca and Randy free to tend to their injuries and Castle to comfort his little family. Thankfully, the doctor's prognosis was much better than Castle had originally feared. As was its wont, the gash in the witch's forehead had gushed theatrically but little real damage had been done. Hanging upside down in the car hadn't helped to staunch the flow, either.

By the time Castle learned the full story about the necromancer's fitting end, the Council had already incinerated his remains and stashed the urn out of sight. The writer would have traded his fortune for the chance to confront the disgusting man who had tried force himself on Kate. Unable to find comfort in vengeance, Castle resigned himself to being thankful the assault hadn't gone any further and working to erase the other man's touch from his girlfriend's memory.

Kate was in the shower now, washing away the dirt and the sweat from the fight while the witches made final preparations for the last stage of the spell to undo the retrogression curse. Castle sat with his boys, making sure their adrenaline-fueled exploits in the mini-battle hadn't worn them out too much. He was perched on the edge of the bed, fiddling with his phone and hating Dresden with more passion than he really wanted to waste on the villain. Javier leaned against his left arm, hugging the appendage for both comfort and balance. Kevin was curled up to the right of Castle, on the verge of dozing off again. Like the original retrogression spell, the pre-spell left them achy and tired.

A soft knock on the door heralded Randy's entrance into the room. Thanks to the unfair healing advantage that the witches possessed, a small Band-Aid was all required now to cover the cut above his eye. Castle nodded grimly at the doctor.

"Ready?" Randy asked in a low voice.

"You sure you're feeling up to this?" Castle asked. He gave the witch a hard look. The writer knew that they had a finite window of time in which the final stage of the spell could be completed, but he wasn't going to risk his friends' well-being.

"Yes," said the other man confidently. "I would not risk it if I did not think I had enough strength to complete the spell." He smirked at the author. "Are you sure about this, though? They're pretty useful at this size."

"Oh, I'm sure," said Castle. "When they're big, they won't be able to crawl through collapsing car windows anymore."

"I would have just lifted the car up," said Javier. At least, that's what Castle thought he heard. The words were kind of mumbled, given the way they were spoken directly into the side of Castle's arm.

"I'm sure you would have," replied Castle skeptically. He shrugged his shoulder to get the eleven-year-old to sit up straight. "You prepared for this, buddy?"

"Yeah." Despite the confident delivery of the reply, Javier made no move to let go of Castle's arm or unhide his face.

"I've been thinking about it," started Randy, looking between the two detectives. "The second spell - the one that bumped them up to nine and eleven - seems to be an overlay to the original retrogression. It would be better to remove it first, and then address the primary spell."

"Meaning they'll be small… well, smaller… again?" asked Castle.

"Yes, but just temporarily," said the doctor.

"I don't want to be six again," stated Javier, finally looking up at the witch. The petulant tone penetrated Kevin's sleepy haze. The younger boy sat up with a concerned frown.

"You'll be thirty-six in a few hours," said the writer. He switched his attention to Randy. "Is it going to take much magic to undo the second spell?" His main concern was how Kevin would react to the change, and if it would interfere with his ability to return to adulthood.

"No," said Randy. "It's kind of like a Band-Aid. It'll only take a minute and I can change them both at the same time so the little one is set when it's his turn."

There wasn't much Castle could do besides trust that Randy knew what he was talking about. "Come on guys," said Castle, nudging both of the hesitant detectives. "This is what you've been waiting for, for over two weeks. Let's not put it off any longer."

"We're going in the wrong direction," grumbled Javier. Nevertheless, he scooted forward so he was sitting on the edge of the bed with his feet dangling off the side. Kevin followed his partner's lead. Castle stayed as close to the pair as he could while keeping out of Randy's way.

Randy took one of the boys' hands in each of his own. The witch breathed in deeply and then closed his eyes. Castle imagined that the older man seemed to glow from within, but when he blinked, the effect was gone. He didn't imagine, however, the spirals of flashing lights that spun around each of the boys, obscuring them from view. Like that fateful Friday night in June, the bright magical cocoons shrunk down with the physical bodies of the detectives. With a brilliant burst of light, the magic blinked out of sight, leaving a four- and six-year-old drowning in clothes that were much too big. Javier's were especially big, given that he'd already changed into adult clothes in preparation for undoing the spell.

Unlike the first Friday, the boys didn't faint at the end of the transformation. Randy released their hands and backed away to give them a chance to catch their breath and regain their bearings. Castle hovered anxiously, one hand poised at each boy's back in case he started to topple over.

Javier coughed a few times, but otherwise recovered quickly. Kevin lost his hold on a muted groan of discomfort and let himself fall back down into a prone position on the bed. The three older males all watched the four-year-old closely until Kevin stated that he was fine.

"I'll start setting things up in the other room. Just come over when you're ready," said Randy. He bowed out of the room to give the three friends some privacy.

"Come here," said Castle, holding out his arms invitingly to the older boy. Javier rose up to his knees so he could wrap his arms around Castle's neck. The writer returned the hug tightly. "Thank you for saving Kate today," he whispered, followed by a kiss to the dark hair above Javier's ear.

"Always," said the boy in an equally low voice. "Thank you for… everything."

"My pleasure. I love you, son." Castle blinked back the moisture gathering in his eyes and was glad the macho veteran couldn't see the action. It turns out he wasn't the only one feeling sentimental. He easily felt the slight hitch in Javier's breathing. With a faint chuckle, he pressed another kiss to Javier's temple and then pushed the younger man back so Castle could see his face. "You haven't seen the last of me, kiddo. I'm sure that by the end of the day, you'll be glad you can get away from me."

Javier shrugged in response, his chin dipped down to his chest. "You're not that bad."

"Just wait until I pull out all of the videos I made over the past two weeks." Castle pressed his fingers into Javier's side, eliciting a surprised laugh from the six-year-old. "Okay, say 'see ya' to your little brother and then I'll walk you over to the witches."

Castle stood up from the bed to give Javier access to Kevin. He stretched his hands over his head and grimaced as the muscles pulled in his back. He definitely needed to schedule a visit to his chiropractor.

Javier scooted closer to his partner and looked down seriously at the smaller boy. "I'm going now."

"Have fun," said Kevin. His light-hearted tone sounded painfully forced.

"I will. You better not wimp out on me and decide to stay small after all."

"There's no chance of that," said Kevin.

Javier gazed at the younger boy for a long moment. Castle could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he tried to phrase his next statement. "Just… make it through the spell, okay? I don't want to spend our first days as adults again in a hospital because you had to get sick."

"I'll be okay," said Kevin. He smiled encouragingly at his partner. "You should take your own advice though. Just because you didn't get the fun of a cancer scare last time doesn't mean you're immune."

Javier guffawed. "Espositos don't get cancer."

"Yeah right."

Javier stuck his tongue out at the prone blond. Kevin returned the gesture and they both laughed at their own ridiculousness. Castle wished he had his video camera now. He settled for smiling widely as he watched them banter. They did need to start making their way down the hall, though, so he had to interrupt them. "Let's go, buddy." He brushed his hand over the top of Javier's dark hair.

"See ya in a few, Javi."

"See ya in a few, Kev."

Castle let Javier precede him through the door to the hall. He admonished Kevin to stay put until he returned and then closed the door softly behind himself. He grinned down at the Hispanic boy, who looked back at him curiously. "What?" asked the boy self-consciously.

"You look ridiculous in your getup," Castle said.

"Castle!" His face flushed red and Javier half-heartedly punched the older man's stomach. This was a look that Castle couldn't possibly miss capturing for all eternity. He whipped out his phone and pointed it at the six-year-old. He didn't think Javier had ever looked as adorable as he did then, drowning in a man's tee-shirt with men's sleep pants cinched around his waist and pooling at his ankles, and his face flushed with embarrassment. Javier made a grab for the phone but the writer easily held it out of reach over his head.

"Let's go, Espo. Your destiny awaits."

"You're horrible," complained the younger man as he slipped his hand into Castle's. The writer smiled fondly in response to the exasperated words. He started them down the short hall to the last and smallest bedroom on the second floor.

The bed had been pushed towards the middle of the room to allow room for chairs on either side of it. The diminutive window, now centered over the mattress, cast a square of warm yellow light onto the blanket. Bianca, seated on the near side of the bed, beckoned for the Hispanic detective to approach her. Javier hesitated, his little fingers tightening around Castle's.

"You're okay," soothed the writer, pushing their conjoined hands forward to encourage the boy to start moving. "I'm not going to leave you here alone."

Javier took a deep breath and dropped Castle's hand. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked nervously at Bianca. The white witch smiled in an effort to soothe him, but her mused hair and clothes detracted from her efforts. This was the first time Castle had seen the witch sport an appearance less than perfectly tailored. She looked more human, sure, but right now Castle was more interested in the help of a powerful, poised witch.

At least her bearing was normal. Bianca cupped Javier's face and stared into his chocolate-colored eyes, performing one last check to confirm he was ready for the spell. She nodded briefly to Randy, seated on the opposite side of the bed, and released Javier. "Lay down, tesoro. You will be more comfortable that way."

As the Hispanic boy struggled to find a comfortable position - having everyone watching him so closely probably wasn't helping him relax - Randy asked if he had any questions. Javier shook his head slowly. With the practiced ease of someone long in the medical field, the doctor calmly started to describe what he thought would happen once he started the spell. His low voice gradually pushed some of the anxiety out of the room and Castle found himself feeling a bit better about all of this, too. It helped to know what to expect. Apparently, Javier didn't feel the same.

"This was kind of easier when the other witches just did it," muttered Javier at the ceiling.

"Less build up, hm?" Bianca brushed her hand over his forehead, smoothing away a few of the wrinkles.

There was a short knock on the door, followed by Kate's prompt entry. Her hair was twisted into a damp braid and her face was clear of makeup, allowing her natural beauty to shine. She looked relieved when she saw that they hadn't started without her. Instead of standing next to Castle, she claimed the last chair next to Bianca and folded her hands around one of Javier's.

"Hey, sweetheart."

"Hi."

Kate's brow furrowed and she looked between the three adults in confusion. "Why is he so little?"

"He made me stupid small again," complained Javier, pointing at the doctor.

"It's better that we remove the second spell before undoing the first," said Randy patiently. "The little one is smaller again, too."

"Oh," said Kate faintly. She didn't look convinced that taking her boys back five years again was necessary, but she held her peace.

Kate's eyes never left Javier's as Randy placed one large palm on top of Javier's head and clasped the boy's free hand with his other. Bianca leaned back in her chair, content to watch until Randy indicated that he needed her. Castle waited until Javier's body started to glow from the influx of the magic and his eyes fell closed, and then the writer silently slipped out of the room so he could check on Kevin.

to be continued…

Author's Notes:

Please let me know what you think, especially if you have ideas of ways I can improve. I cherish all my reviews. I write for fun but I always want to improve, so constructive criticism is always welcome. All mistakes are my own.