Author's Note-This was all written in about an hour, on no sleep, because the idea wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it :/
I hope you can suspend your disbelief and enjoy it :D Let me know what you think :D
A super storm has hit New York, knocking out all the electricity, and gas, and trapping residents under tens of feet of snow. The temperature is dropping rapidly by the second, and our duo have to do everything they can to stay warm, and protect their family.
"Baby, I need you to do me a favour, okay?" Kate asked Jack quietly, crouching down to the four year old's level, gently tugging his woollen hat down over his ears.
"Okay, momma." He murmured, his tiny teeth chattering.
Kate's heart seized. "I need you to go upstairs, and find every blanket and pillow there is in yours and Lexi's rooms, okay?"
Her boy nodded.
"Good boy." She murmured, cupping his freezing cheek softly. "I want you to throw them all down the stairs, okay? I'll send daddy to help you bring them all in to us, okay?"
"Aye, aye, Captain." He saluted, before running up the stairs as fast as his little legs could safely go.
Kate loved how, even in the bleakest of situations, he could still be her happy, bright little boy.
She made her way into the master bedroom, watching silently as her husband's gentle hands swaddled their daughter tight in her blanket, before reaching for another. He caught sight of her in his peripheral vision, sighing at the worry across her face.
"Where's Jack?" He asked softly, even as he gently lifted their baby girl and nodded to Kate. She quickly got the message, and carefully straightened out the second blanket, letting Rick set their daughter in the middle before he started to swaddle her again, making sure to cover her head despite the hat already encasing their tiny month old girl's caramel locks.
"I sent him upstairs to grab every blanket he could. I told him you'd help him bring it all in." She murmured, watching her second born as she blinked lazily up at her father, she was always so calm once swaddled. It was a blessing really, the last thing they needed was a screaming baby added to the mix
"Kate." Castle murmured, keeping a hand on their daughter even as he gripped his wife's elbow with his other. "It's gonna be okay."
She nodded. "I just wish I knew if everyone else was okay. I barely made it home before this storm hit Rick, the boys both live further out..."
"Hey." He interrupted gently. "They'll be okay. They're brilliant. They'll be okay."
Kate nodded. "Are you finished with her?"
Rick carefully smoothed the last edge of the blanket behind Ava's back before lifting her and settling her into her mother's arms. "I'll go help Jack, can you go line the jacuzzi with all the towels, give it a bit of padding? I threw all our bedding in the bathroom already."
Kate nodded, shuffling Ava into one arm so she could wrap her hand around Castle's neck and pull him down to kiss her. "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled softly, knowingly. "You get the jacuzzi ready, I'll grab Jack." He left the room quickly, once she'd tugged his hat back down, while Kate carried their newborn through to the bathroom.
With one, quick hand, Kate made a nest out of their comforter and carefully set Ava inside, checking that she was safe, before raiding the linen closet.
She quickly dragged down every towel they owned and piled them beside the tub.
She'd thought it was a frivolous purchase when Rick had told her about it a year ago. A four man jacuzzi tub for their personal bathroom was excessive, even for him, but now she was thanking her lucky stars that he had indulged. His idea to pile everyone up in it had been a stroke of genius. Much easier to keep them all warm in a confined space, rather than trying to fit it all on a bed, or try and keep a whole room warm without power or gas. They couldn't even light a fire without running the risk of suffocating themselves.
"It's gonna be okay, baby." She murmured as she carefully covered the bottom of the tub, before setting to work draping their largest towels over the edges. "Daddy and I are gonna keep you and your brother safe. I promise."
"Hey, buddy." Castle called, as he entered his son's room to find him trying to nudge his spare comforter off the top shelf in his closet, with his lightsabre. "I got it." He assured him, gripping it and pulling, making his son giggle when it landed on his head.
His wonderful, light-hearted little boy.
"I'm so cold, daddy." He murmured softly.
Rick quickly knelt down and unfolded the quilt, wrapping it around the boy, much like his had his sister. "Come on." He murmured as he lifted the boy into his arms and carried him down the stairs.
He marched through to the master bath, where Kate was just finishing, and put the boy back on his feet. "Stay with your mom, I'll be right back."
Jack nodded, cuddling up to Kate when she drew him closer, while Castle ran from the room to grab the pile of bedding from the stairs and living room floor. He picked up as much as he could carry, kicking the rest along, dropping it all outside their en-suite.
"Kate? Anything else?" He asked quickly.
"Books, maybe? The crate of water in the fridge?" She answered as she layered the edge of the tub with pillows, padding the bottom with Alexis' comforter and spare, layered on top of one another.
Castle ran back out to grab the supplies while Kate continued her task.
"Okay, baby boy." She murmured, picking him up and placing him inside the tub. "Just stay there for a sec, okay?"
He nodded, smiling bravely at his mom, watching as she carefully scooped up his sister.
"Baby, sit down for me? I'm gonna pass you Ava, and I need you to be a big boy and hold her for a minute, while I get everything else, okay?"
Jack nodded eagerly, dropping to a sitting position, holding out his arms like his momma had shown him. Kate smiled at him warmly, before carefully easing Ava into his arms. She watched proudly as Jack immediately brought her into his chest.
But she didn't have time to linger. With the temperature dropping by the second, she had to work fast.
She quickly threw all of the blankets into the tub, making sure to put them all on one side before climbing in herself.
The moment he came back into the room, Rick passed the books he'd brought- a selection of both the children's' books and theirs- to Kate, who sat down against one edge and placed them next to her, before taking Ava from Jack.
"Sit up with your mom, kiddo." Castle smiled gently, even as he set the case of water within reaching distance inside the tub; they'd have to keep it under the blankets with them, if they had any hope of keep it from freezing.
Jack quickly crawled into Kate's side, where she tucked him in, making sure all his extremities were covered by the blanket Castle had wrapped him in earlier.
Rick took one last sweep before shutting the door, locking it, and climbing in, sitting the other side of his son, before dragging up each blanket, one at a time, to cover his family.
"Make sure there's no gaps." Kate murmured, as she tucked each edge behind her shoulder and under her hip, arranging them to cover her chest without smothering their youngest, before folding them around Jack.
Castle nodded, settling himself down, picking Jack up and pulling him into his lap.
"Body heat." He explained softly as he curled into his wife.
"Good idea." Kate nodded, snuggling into him while he tucked the blankets around himself.
Once they were all settled- the children as warm as they could be, settled in their parents' laps while both adults huddled in together- Kate turned her face into Rick's shoulder.
"I'm scared." She whispered.
Castle sighed softly, wrapping his arm around her to draw her further into his chest. "I know. Me too. But we're doing everything we can." He murmured, pressing a kiss to her hat covered head. "We're gonna be okay, so long as we have each other. Lex is the other side of the world with my mother and your dad, so everyone is okay. We'll get through this and it'll pass."
"I'm really glad I have you." She whispered, her voice thick with tears, terror and anxiety rolling in her gut.
"I'm glad I've got you too, Babe." He murmured softly.
They'd ride it out, hope it passed soon.