For my awesome BrainTwin on her birthday!
This story was inspired by a prompt that will be revealed at the end.
"Kids, bedtime, now," a voice echoes out throughout the loft, eliciting a peel of laughter out of the children, followed by the frantic padding of footsteps as they sprint up the stairs and into their shared room. The twins crawl into bed and tug their respective blankets up to their ears, both trying their hardest to stifle their giggles as they attempt to settle down.
Kate blows out a heavy sigh of relief, followed by a quiet chuckle, casually leaning up against the door frame as the kids finally situate themselves into bed. "You guys good?" she asks after a few moments, moving into the room to stand between the two beds.
"Do we get a story tonight, mommy?" Lucy asks, bright blue eyes peering up at Kate from over the covers.
"Yeah, isn't daddy home?" Charlie chimes in, propping himself up against the pillows.
Kate merely shakes her head, easing herself down onto the bean bag chair in between the two beds and glancing between them. "Dad should be here any minute now. He left super early this morning to go with Uncle Curtis to the workshop. It's almost that time of year again," she explains.
"But daddy is always here for story time, mommy," Lucy points out with a frown.
"Well, why don't you guys tell me what kind of story you want so that I can start it and when dad gets home, he can take over. Does that sound okay?"
"That sounds good to me. What do you think, Luce?" Charlie asks, grinning at his sister.
"You're going to tell us a story, mommy? You never tell stories. It's kinda always been a daddy thing," Lucy giggles, clearly excited at the concept of her mom being the storyteller.
Kate laughs, affectionately leaning over to ruffle her daughter's hair. "Well, kiddos, your daddy and I have been together a long time. I guarantee my stories are just as good as his, maybe even better."
"We'll see about that," Castle interjects with a smirk, shaking his head as he pads into the room. He pauses in between the beds, leaning in to kiss the top of each kid's head before he gently hauls his wife up off of the chair and plops down onto it, tugging Kate into his lap and slipping his arms around her.
Kate snorts out a laugh and playfully rolls her eyes, tilting her head so that she can press a kiss to his jaw.
"Ooooooh," Charlie begins, wriggling excitedly in bed, "can you both tell the story?"
Kate shrugs while Rick nods, silently agreeing to tell whatever story it is that the kids are so eager to hear.
"Whose turn is it to pick the story?" Kate asks, glancing to Charlie and then Lucy.
"We both picked this one," Lucy chimes in, rolling over onto her side so that she can see everyone better. "Right, Charlie?"
"Yeah! We didn't just want a regular old story tonight, especially 'cause it's the weekend and we get to stay up a later than a regular day. We want something different."
Kate and Castle share a look of amusement, not at all sure of where this conversation is headed, but still intrigued at the thought of what their eight year old kids have conjured up with their elaborate imaginations.
"So, what kind of story are mommy and I telling?" Castle inquires curiously, tilting his head first at Lucy and then at Charlie as he waits for one of them.
The twins' faces light up as they nod at the other, turning to look at their parents. "We want your story."
"Our story," Kate repeats with a smile, tilting her head to glance up at her partner, whose expression mirrors her own.
"Yeah," Lucy says with a nod, "we want to know all about you and daddy, mommy."
"We have the coolest parents on the planet. Our mom is a cop.."
"And daddy is a writer who also happens to be Santa Clause. How does that even happen?" Lucy interrupts, glancing questioningly at her parents.
"We're almost nine, Mom and Dad. We can know things now," Charlie states matter-of-factly.
"Think they're ready for it, babe?" Kate asks him, aimlessly trailing her fingers along his arm before she twines them through his.
"Only if mommy stays and helps me tell the story?" he counters with a grin, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Please, please, please, mom," the pleading begins, and Kate can't help but smile.
"Okay, okay, fine. I'll stay," she acquiesces with a laugh, sinking back into her partner's hold, wriggling around a bit to get more comfortable.
"Once upon a time….." Castle begins but is almost immediately interrupted by the familiar ringtone of his wife's phone. Kate quickly reaches for the device and reluctantly flips it open before quietly slipping out of his lap and down the hallway to take the call.
"Mommy has to work?" Charlie asks.
"I thought she's on vacation?" Lucy inquires, confused.
"Not yet, guys. Her vacation doesn't start until Monday, which is only a couple of days from now. So, how about we read a for the next couple of days and then, when we know for sure that mommy's phone isn't going to ring, we'll tell you our story? Can we do that instead?"
Charlie and Lucy stare at each other for a moment, as if they're having a conversation that telepathically, before finally nodding in agreement.
"Can we read something out of the Disney book?" Lucy requests hopefully and, much to Castle's surprise, Charlie agrees and climbs out of bed to retrieve the book.
"You can pick the story, daddy," the boy replies a few moments later as he resituates himself back into bed.
Castle flips open the storybook to a random story and begins to read. He's not even halfway through the first story before realizing that both kids are sound asleep, which surprises him. Usually it takes a couple of stories to get them to settle down. They must've had a really long day.
Shrugging his shoulders, Rick quietly closes the book and clumsily pushes himself up off of the chair. He kisses both kids and tucks them in, placing the storybook back in its place on the shelf before exiting the room, making sure to switch on the nightlight before softly cracking the door.
Prompt: Sort of based on the Santa Clause movies. From day one Rick Castle has been keeping a BIG secret from Kate and the gang at the 12th. As of a few years back, he's the current Santa. Only Alexis, Martha and his dad (the previous santa) know this fact. And with Beckett always working around and on Christmas it's been easy to hide. But right before Christmas something keeps Kate around Castle a lot making his secret harder and harder to keep.
More to come soon! Thanks for reading. As always, reviews/feedback of any kind is always appreciated. :)