Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.
A/N: This was a collaboration with my boyfriend. If it sucks blame him - no I'm kidding. That's not nice. Two things: This is for the Cub'verse and it's set before the twins turned 4. So it's not quite in the same timeline as the new chapters of Four of a Kind which is why I'm posting it solo.
It's half past five and she's a quarter past annoyed. Of all the nights for her family to lag, they picked this one. After countless hours of her son begging to go and asking a million times if it was five yet, he's now the one stalling.
"Weston! Let's go." For the fourth time she gets no answer. There's just silence from the second floor. "Castle, can you check on your son?"
"He's my son? I thought he was ours."
"He gets the primping from you." She smacks a kiss to his cheek, and chuckles at how ridiculous they probably look.
Elektra kissing Green Lantern with a small Spider-Man and Wonder Woman sitting on the couch. They're all waiting for Iron Man to make his appearance and now Wes is taking his time.
Castle heads for the stairs, and Beckett joins her twins. The theme had originally been the Avengers until Ella had stomped her foot for the Spider-Man costume and it became about each child picking their favorite comic character. Her husband had wanted a theme. She just wants to get through the night with all three kids - four including Castle - happy and she's hoping there are no meltdowns since naps were skipped in favor of baking Halloween treats.
She plops down between her daughters, forgetting about the sais daggers strapped to her thighs until Wonder Woman reaches for one. Beckett pulls her little fingers away from the very authentic looking but very harmless prop.
She went with a red skirt, tank top of the same tone, and the red satin bandana. Something less risqué because she's a mom to three small kids and she's never been comfortable showing too much. There's a jacket thrown over the arm of the couch for her to shrug into before they leave. If they leave.
"Westy takes too long." Ella slumps dramatically and lifts the cloth mask above her mouth.
"We'll go soon Els."
"I'm Spider-Man."
"Oh right. Sorry." Beckett tucks Charlie against her side, rubs her hand over Ella's head and makes a face over how weird it is to touch fabric instead of soft locks of hair.
"We gonna miss all the candy," Ella whines. Her little feet dangle and swing as she presses her face against her mother's side.
"Oh I don't think we'll miss anything. Neither does Wonder Woman, right Char?"
Charlie shakes her head and giggles when her sister growls. There's a meltdown pending and Beckett wants to make it out of the loft with all little heroes in a good mood. They've already dealt with costume tantrums because it took a couple tries to get all of Ella's hair into the Spider-Man cap without it being lumpy. She's already had Charlie crying over hers being Wonder Woman even though she asked for Wonder Woman a week ago. And now her son is taking his time even though she got him into his costume an hour ago after fifty questions of if he looked cooler with or without the mask.
"Mommaaaaa, make him hurry."
"Ella, be patient."
"I'm not Ella, I'm Spider-Man."
Kate tries to hide her smile, biting at the inside of her lip to keep it from tilting and giving away her amusement. "Right. I keep forgetting since you're usually Ella."
Charlie giggles again, her eyes sparkling as she watches her sister fling herself over onto the arm of the couch.
"I'm gonna die." For an almost four year old, her level of dramatic flair ranks the highest Beckett has seen out of all three kids.
"You're not going to die." She tries to soothe her by patting her knee but she can almost understand where her daughter is coming from. "They'll be down soon."
"Charlie wants to go. Can we leave Westy here?"
"Oh, is it Charlie who wants to go or you?"
"Both of us." All of them, she thinks but she keeps that to herself. There's no need to encourage Ella.
"We're not leaving your brother." Although in about three more minutes she might strongly consider leaving both boys.
Except she won't have to because they're bounding down the stairs the moment she opens her mouth to call for her husband. He's holding onto the cutest little Iron Man she's ever seen - even if she is slightly annoyed.
"Westy! Okay, we can go now." Ella scrambles off the couch, pulls the mask back down over her chin and sails toward her father. "You took'd forever!"
She collides with his knee, wraps her arms around his leg and starts chattering about candy and being late.
"Calm down, Spider-Man," Beckett chides. She stands and lifts Wonder Woman onto her hip before nodding toward her husband.
A universal sign of 'ready' that has everyone feeling the excitement begin to swell in their bellies. Everyone but the little girl in her arms who tries to hide her face. Kate's almost to the door before she feels the sniffle and then it's followed by a soft whine.
Ella sighs and leans her forehead against the door, Castle turns to look at their youngest and Wes is already patting Ella's back and telling her the candy isn't going anywhere.
"Charlie?" She sniffles louder and Beckett feels the tears fall against her collar bone. The jacket, she forgot the jacket but it's unimportant now. "Hey, it's okay. What's wrong?"
She doesn't answer but her sister does. "She wants to be Momma."
"What?" It takes a moment but then it sinks in. The fit she threw over the costume makes sense and Beckett hugs her tighter. "Charlie, did you want to be a cop?"
Her head shakes and they all wish she would talk more to avoid these moments. Kate fears she's going to stop talking completely in the near future.
"No?"
"You."
"Me?" A nod this time and Ella thunks her head against the door in true dramatic form. "Ella, the precinct isn't going anywhere."
"But the candy!"
Castle steps in, calms her with a quick look. "Calm down, Spidey, or I'll eat all your candy."
She sulks for a moment but quiets and Beckett once again turns her attention to the weeping girl in her arms.
"Charlie, you want to change? We have enough time to change into something else if we hurry."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Come on. Let's go find something to make you..."
"A hewo," she says softly. Just loud enough to be heard. Loud enough to have Castle beaming in pride and Beckett flushing.
Her heart skips a few beats at the adoration on her daughter's face as she smiles at her.
"Okay." The theme changes again. Instead of favorite comic character, they've switched to hero. And somehow her little girl thinks of her as a hero. She doesn't correct her, she knows not to. If Charlie thinks she's a hero then she can do her best to live up to the title.
That includes letting her change last minute so she can be exactly who she wants to be.
Ten minutes later they're rushing out the door with Spidey, Iron Man, and a little girl in her tiny heels, jeans and a blazer with a badge on her hip and handcuffs in her pocket.