"Daddy! Where are you, daddy?" Rick Castle smiled to himself as he hit the save button and started to get out of his chair. Four year old Hannah was home from preschool, and it sounded like she wanted to see him. His father-in-law had kindly picked her up from school so Rick could write.
"Hannah, my darling! I am here! What can I do for you?" Rick said as he walked into the living room. He shook Jim's hand as Hannah came running over to him, backpack in hand.
Jim smiled at his granddaughter. "I think there is going to be some kind of father-daughter, mother-son dance at her school soon. She hasn't stopped talking about it since I picked her up!" Jim told him.
"Daddy, Grandpa is right. It's called Pirates and Princesses Dance! We get to dress up! And we get to dance!" Hannah was jumping up and down in her excitement. "Do you want to go? I do!" She handed her backpack to her dad. Rick looked in it and found the paper explaining the dance.
"Sure, sweetheart, that sounds like fun. We'll tell Mommy tonight," he replied. He could picture her dressed as a princess; his girl did love to dress up. Maybe he could dress as Dread Pirate Roberts. Jim left to pick up Jamie from school, as Rick helped Hannah with her homework.
A few hours later, Kate walked through the front door, put her gun away and then stepped into the kitchen. She smiled at her family; Alex in his high chair, "talking" to his big brother James, her husband at the stove putting the finishing touches on dinner and then Hannah jumped up to talk to her. "Mommy, I have news!" Kate smiled to herself. Hannah may look like a Beckett, but when it came to drama, she was all Rodgers/Castle.
"You do? And what is it, my darling girl?" Hannah threw herself into her mother's arms.
"There is going to be a dance at my school! Daddy is going to take me. And we get to dress up!" Hannah replied. Kate laughed at her daughter as she hugged her tightly. She looked at Rick for clarification.
"Yes, Kate, I am going to be our daughter's dancing partner at the Pirates and Princesses Dance this Friday night. It's for fathers and daughters and mothers and sons for the 4 year old preschool class," Rick grinned at his wife. "Dinner's almost ready, let's all go wash up."
The family sat down to eat and to talk about all sorts of things. Soon, it was time for baths and bed. Kate took care of the boys, and Rick got Hannah ready. The main topic of conversation was the dance. Rick saw the wheels turning in Hannah's head and wasn't surprised when she said "Daddy, I have an idea. I think all the girls will dress as princesses and all the boys will be pirates. But don't you think it would be funny if you dressed like a princess and I dressed like a pirate?" She giggled as she said it.
"Hey, that could be fun! Everybody would certainly remember us," Rick said. "Let's do it!"
Over the next few days, the two of them made plans. Rick didn't even tell Kate; he figured she'd get a kick of it. On Thursday, his mother watched Alex and Jamie while he and Hannah went shopping for all they would need. They came home with a few shopping bags, but they didn't share anything with the family.
The big day arrived. Kate made sure she got home from work early, and Grandpa Jim and Grams were also there for the big unveiling. Rick helped Hannah get into her pirate outfit complete with pirate scarf on her head and a parrot on her shoulder. Rick wore a button down shirt with a nice pair of slacks but he accessorized them with a pink feather boa and a plastic tiara. The father and daughter duo looked at each other and grinned. Now it was time to share their dress up with the family. They walked to the top of the stairs and then Rick announced, "We are ready! Come see the Pirate and the Princess Castle!"
They could hear the family gathering in the front hall. When they all saw Rick and Hannah, they clapped, even little Alex. Jamie grinned at his dad and gave him a high five. Martha and Jim looked at each other and smiled. "Never a dull moment in the Castle household," Jim said.
Kate saw them and smiled. "You guys look fantastic," she said. "Pirate Hannah, you look wonderful. And Princess Rick, how lovely you look too!" Rick told them how Hannah had thought of the role reversal. It warmed Kate's heart to see how Rick supported their daughter; he had absolutely no problem with wearing a boa and a tiara just to make his daughter happy. She kissed her husband and her daughter as they left for an evening of fun. She smiled at her father and her mother-in-law; she could tell they too loved what Rick had done. Seeing Rick Castle the dad had been one of the first things she loved about him, and every day when she saw how Rick just wanted his kids to be happy made her love him more. Raising kids wasn't always easy, but when you had a partner like Rick Castle to do it with, it was certainly fun.
A/N: This actually happened in my family. My niece's Girl Scout troop had a Father-Daughter dance called "Pirates and Princesses". My niece asked my brother-in-law if he would dress as a Princess and she would dress as a Pirate, and my brother-in-law did it. I always loved that he did it for his daughter, and I thought that Rick Castle would do it too.