A/N: For #CastleFanFictionMonday, and because I think the Esposito-Castle relationship needs a boost.
Rick Castle was a lot of things – ruggedly handsome, bestselling crime novelist, Master of the Macabre, husband, father, cop helper – but one thing he wasn't was an athlete. If you needed evidence, well, there was the time Alexis tried to play catch with him and they broke a vase. And there were the many times a little game of catch was used to help the team at the precinct, but of course, he never managed to catch anything (even his wallet). But as he looked at his one year old son, he had a feeling that someday, he would need to be able to catch a baseball. From the moment they had placed Jamie in his grandfather's arms, Jim had talked about playing catch with him. Jim had played catch with Kate so much she was able to catch almost anything thrown to her. She also had a great arm. Rick knew he could never keep up with the Beckett side of the family. But he wanted to try. He didn't want to look less than okay to his son.
So he had to learn how to throw and catch a baseball. He could ask Kate but he knew they'd end up doing something else instead. He felt weird asking Jim. He decided to swallow his pride and talk to Esposito. Today would be the day; he knew Kate was testifying in court, and Ryan had taken the day off, so it was just Javier in the bullpen today. So he asked Alexis to hang with Jamie for a bit, went to Remy's and got Sito's favorite burger, fries and Coke, and brought it by the precinct.
Esposito was happy to see Rick. "Castle, bro, how the heck are you? Are you looking for Beckett? She's testifying today, remember?" he said as they feed the birds.
"Yeah, I remember. I actually wanted to talk to you," Rick nervously replied. "Could we go in the break room?"
"Sure, bro," Sito grabbed the bag of food as he got up. Now he was curious. As soon as they entered the break room, Rick closed the door and turned to Esposito.
"Hey, Sito. I've kind of got a weird request," Rick started. Javi looked at him and grinned.
"Do you want to know the secret to the Esposito charm?" he asked.
"What? No, no, I don't need help in that department, thank you very much," Rick replied. "No, what I need is something really important. But you have to promise not to laugh, okay? Remember I grew up without a father, and well, you know my mom," Rick said. He could tell that Esposito was intrigued. "So what I need is someone to teach me how to catch a baseball. Or a football. Or both. Alexis only played soccer, and it was easy enough to kick a big round ball. But you've seen me try to catch a baseball or a football. Horrible, right?"
Javi had to agree with Castle. He had no skills in the athletic arts. He was ready to tease Castle when he continued talking. "See, I can just tell that Jamie is going to love baseball and football, and he's going to want to play catch with me. He's going to hear stories from his grandpa about how he played catch with Kate, and he's going to want to do that with me. And I can't disappoint my son. I just can't. So do you think you could teach me? I'm willing to give you the Ferrari for a month if you think you can do it," Rick looked at Javi with hope in his eyes.
Esposito swallowed the quip that came to his lips. Castle looked so very serious; Javier didn't have the heart to tease the man. Castle was the best father Javi had ever known. (And Kev was a close second) He obviously wanted Jamie to never think he was deficient in any area. Javi looked at Castle and said, "Sure, bro. I'd love to help you out. We can start slowly, and by the time Jamie is old enough to want to play catch with his dad, you'll be ready. And I don't need the Ferrari, man."
The two men worked out a schedule, and soon Rick started to look forward to the time they spent just throwing a ball back and forth. There was something about the ritual that made the men start to talk to each other about all sorts of stuff; stuff like growing up without a dad; about what made a great slice of pizza, and which pizza joint was the best in the city; about how Javi really wanted to settle down and start a family, how he envied Rick and Kevin; how nervous Rick had been when he proposed to Beckett; when Javi met a great woman he told Rick how nervous he had been to ask her out and when he thought about proposing, he told Rick; and on and on. And when the day came that three year old Jamie wanted to play catch with his dad, Rick was ready. All because he was willing to do anything for his kid, and because he had a great friend who was willing to help him.