A/N: You guys know I hate putting these things in the beginning, but had to add this. Like with Like Father Like Son' this fic will contain some parts taken directly from the episodes, it's unavoidable, especially now. In season two and the seasons that followed, Alexis and Martha had more screen time, more to do with the show itself, so therefore Rome will have more parts in actual episodes, so you have been warned. I do try and add bits to the parts to make it less like the actual episode and more original, but again it is unavoidable so please be gentle.
I know I said I would be on a week/every other week schedule for updating, but I'm not one to leave it at just one chapter then make you guys wait a week-two weeks for the next update, so you guys get chapter two right away. Chapter three is written, but I need to make some tweaks to it so that should be up either next week or the week after in time for Thanksgiving.
Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed or put this on alerts/ favorites. It means a lot to me and it really means a lot to see those who I consider now friends coming from 'Like Father Like Son,' and the summer fic to stick with me for the new one, you guys are awesome. Please keep the reviews coming, it really does make a difference.
Enjoy chapter 2!
Xxx
Meanwhile at the 12th Beckett was actually contemplating where exactly she had lost control, lost her vote in the whole 'keep Castle off of the island'. She sat at her desk, giving dry answers to the ridiculous questions the reporter was asking her, as Castle turned the 12th into a photo shoot mixed with strip club. She watched in disgust as the photographer instructed one of the girls to lean closer to Castle…point taken it wasn't a photo shoot anymore, it was now an all-out strip club.
She had known from the beginning that this interview/photo shoot was a possibility, the minute Castle had made it clear that she was the inspiration for his new novel, Beckett would have to answer questions as Nikki Heat. But that whole thing with her mother, the fact that Castle went behind her back and did exactly what she asked him not to do, she had asked, threatened, even begged for him to leave her mother's case alone and he'd betrayed her.
She'd made it clear they were done, she wanted nothing more to do with the mystery writer. They were finished. She knew it, Castle had known it, the Captain, her team, everyone was made aware that the partners were done.
Then Alexis had shown up at her doorstep, soaking wet, eyes red and puffy from the endless tears, begging Beckett for help, Rome had been kidnapped, the Castle family needed her help. The kidnapper was calling for Nikki Heat, demanding that Nikki Heat and Derrick Storm solve the kidnapping.
Even then, she was hesitant to get involved with the mystery writer again, the anger was still there, but she knew she had to put that aside, Rome was innocent, he was not responsible for his father's betrayal and Beckett knew she could never forgive herself if she had turned Alexis away or if anything had happened to Rome.
So Beckett agreed to help. Slowly as the days went on, the partnership returned. Beckett was able to keep Castle from chasing down wild theories, she was there to comfort him and even control him. Even so, everyone seemed to know that when Rome was brought home safely, it wouldn't change anything between the partners, whatever relationship Beckett and Castle had managed to build in the few months he shadowed her and the team was crushed when he looked into her mother's case.
But it was during their hunt for Rome, that the ease of how well the partners worked together crept back into the scene, at least until Espo and Ryan arrested 'Mr. Smith' who refused to give his real name and at first refused to cooperate. He was a dead ringer to a sketch that a hot-dog vendor had described, they all knew he was involved in the case somehow, but no one was quite sure how…Beckett pushed and threatened, using all of her instincts as a cop to get Mr. Smith to break, he knew something about Rome's kidnapping, Beckett knew he was the step they needed to find Rome.
Of course, Beckett had not been prepared for the answer she was given, nor the weight of that knowledge as it stayed on her mind through the rest of the case. Mr. Smith's identity…Castle's father, Rome and Alexis' grandfather, he had gotten involved in the case to save his grandson. He gave the detective all the information he could to help find Rome, on the condition that Beckett was not to tell a soul, especially not Castle himself.
She'd kept that promise for as long as possible, from the final clue that brought them to Rome, to his rescue and the take down of his kidnapper, to Rome's near death experience and his slow, but steady recovery.
But the guilt was weighing heavy on Beckett's mind, was it guilt though? Or was it something else, she'd kept the promise for Rome's sake, but now that he was safe, Beckett wasn't entirely sure why she had told Castle about Mr. Smith.
Did she really do it out of the guilt of lying to her partner or had so done it to get back at Castle? Beckett wasn't one for revenge, it never seemed her style, but she had willingly told Castle everything, including the fact that Smith had asked her not to tell.
She wasn't entirely sure what she expected, and even though she was a little taken aback, Beckett really wasn't surprised that Castle had blown up, that he felt betrayed, hurt, just like she had standing in the hospital hallway when he had done the same to her.
Not willing to sit and take even an apology, which Castle seemed more than willing to give, despite the whole fight, Beckett had simply left the loft and hadn't looked back.
No that wasn't entirely true, she had looked back, she'd called and even swung in to check in with Rome's therapist, just to see how the youngest Castle was doing, see if he was making any progress after his kidnapping.
But why was she so concerned, both of Castle's kids were the complete opposite of their dad, they were thoughtful, sweet…Beckett thought that over, okay maybe they had gotten that from their father, but being close to the kids meant being close to the obnoxious, big Castle
"Sexy, sexy. Ladies, I love it. I love it. Sexy. Sexy's not a crime." The photographer's obnoxious voice pulled Beckett out of her thoughts, just in time to hear Amy Saunders, the reporter launch into her next question.
"What's so special about world-famous mystery novelist Richard Castle? He's rich, he's handsome, and he's basing his next best seller on you. Tell me, Detective Beckett, what's it like being the inspiration for thrill-master Richard Castle's new character, Nikki Heat?"
Beckett forced out a smile and tried not to grit her teeth.
"On behalf of the NYPD, it has been a pleasure to offer Mr. Castle insight into the profession."
"Given all his best-sellers, it's obvious Mr. Castle has tremendous insight into the criminal mind. I'm told in many occasions, his participation was essential to solving your toughest cases."
"Really? You were told that? By who?" Beckett asked even though she knew she really didn't have to ask.
"By Castle." Amy replied and Beckett forced out another smile, unable to match the giddiness that was the reporter
"Sexy. Try unbuttoning his shirt. Just, just the first one right there." The photographer was saying in the background, as two barely dressed women, mimicking cops, clung to Castle.
Beckett took a deep breath when she spotted Montgomery heading towards his office, enough was enough, she was putting a stop to this whole thing.
"Could you excuse me for a moment?" she said to Amy whose painted on smile didn't waver as she nodded cheerfully, creeping Beckett out just a little. "Sir," Beckett called rushing over to her boss "could I talk to you in private for a moment, please?"
Montgomery seemed to have guessed what was on his lead detective's mind and was going to try and avoid her as long as possible.
"Beckett, I have a couple..." he started to say, but before he could say anything else, Beckett basically herded him into his own office.
"Now." She insisted, shutting the door behind them
"We had a deal, Beckett." Montgomery reminded her gently
"The deal is off."
"What's the problem?"
"Not only does he have the bachelor party cop twins out there using him as a stripper pole while I make nicey-nice with the press, but do you know what he said?" Beckett asked expectantly while Montgomery looked slightly confused
"No?" Montgomery dared to ask
"He said that he has been instrumental in helping us solve crimes."
"Well, hasn't he?"
Beckett stared at her captain in utter disbelief
"That's not the point." She grumbled
"Do you know how hard it is for NYPD to get good press? I mean, in a magazine that people actually read?" Montgomery said gently, not the first time his voice was more like a teacher talking to a student "This article is very important to the mayor, therefore we are going to cooperate. Do I make myself clear?"
Beckett sighed,
"Okay. Fine." She glanced back at Amy and sighed again, she wasn't really giddy about returning to the interview, at least not right away, instead she headed to the break room, hoping to grab a soda, or perhaps something stronger. Ryan and Espo were both inside, both blatantly flirting with one of the two 'models'
"It was nice to meet you." Ryan said as she walked out, he turned to Espo and nodded "We should have photo shoots here more often."
Espo looked up at Beckett and grinned
"Hey, Beckett, how come you don't wear a uniform like that?" he asked, trying to sound serious.
Beckett glared at him
"Because I don't want to get paid in singles." She answered, but before she could say anything else, Castle poked his head inside, looking kind of sheepish.
"Hey." He said carefully, Ryan and Espo looked at one another and Ryan nodded towards the door.
"Oh, hey, uh, don't we have that thing?" he said to Espo who just looked confused.
"No,"
"Ryan looked at Espo harder
"Yeah. You know, the thing with the guy."
Now Beckett got involved in the looks, and Espo finally got the hint that Ryan had already gotten.
"Oh yeah. The thing." Espo said standing up quickly
"Yeah, Excuse us." Ryan added, as the pair made an quick exit, stage left.
"I just wanted you to know I had nothing to do with this. I mean, it was the magazine.
Well, the mayor thought it would be good press." Castle explained, the sheepish still on his face, Beckett tried not to look at it, afraid that she'd fall for it.
"You don't have to explain yourself." Beckett replied
"Really?" Castle asked, knowing she wasn't being entirely truthful.
"Really. See? I don't care anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an interview to get back to."
Castle sighed
"What did I do that was so wrong?" he asked, following Beckett out to the bull pen
"The one thing I asked you not to do." Beckett replied shaking her head at him as if it should've been obvious.
"Okay, so you asked me not to look into your mother's murder. But I apologized for that many, many times and besides, look at what I found."
"It doesn't matter what you found. I put that all behind me a long." She paused "look you know all this, but it just isn't sinking in." Castle looked defeated for a second, but his expression changed for a moment "what?" Beckett asked
"Look, I just want to say thank you,"
"For what Castle?"
"Not for me, for Rome, his doctor said you've been checking in on his progress, I just wanted to thank you for that, it means a lot, to me and to Rome. The whole family owes you a lot Detective and there is nothing we can do to ever repay you for that, you helped me get my son back."
Beckett wasn't sure how to answer that, she wasn't ready to make peace with Castle, but hearing his gratitude did make her question whether her grudge was worth holding onto. When she neared her desk though and saw the wide expectant smile of the reporter, she knew the grudge was well worth it.
"We can get back to the interview now." She said between clenched teeth, hoping Castle would once again get the hint.
"Nope, you're gonna have to reschedule. We just caught a body." Espo called across the bullpen and it was all Beckett could do to not break out in a relieved smile, finally the excuse she was looking for to get away from not only the reporter, but Castle too.
"So sorry to step out on you, Amy." Beckett said, trying to sound as disappointed as possible, but the reporter didn't see it that way, instead she jumped into action so to speak, pen and digital recorder ready to go.
"Oh! Are you kidding? It's perfect. A chance to see Castle in action. Our readers'll love it."
Beckett's mouth dropped. As she made a move to argue, Montgomery stepped in, pulling rank.
"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint your readers, now, would we, Detective?" he asked, Beckett looked at him in disbelief and he gave her a look right back, one that clearly said 'play nice.'
xxx
Rome was surprised that his dad wasn't home yet from the photo shoot by the time the family returned home from the restaurant, considering how late it was, a couple of bottles of wine between Martha and Gina kept them there for a while as the two caught up. Catching up however gave Rome and Alexis free range with the restaurant, and Rome managed to wrangle three desserts off the menu before the grownups realized it.
But it was strange that Castle hadn't called or texted, he was usually really meticulous about checking in with the kids, so while Rome was ready to panic about his dad's whereabouts, Alexis reminded him that it was a safe bet that things were going okay at the precinct, at least Rome hoped his sister was right.
Gina stayed for a few minutes, visiting with the family before she bid them goodnight and headed out.
Even though Rome had stuffed his face at the restaurant, (including dessert) he was still hungry and began migrating around the kitchen looking for something to snack on.
"So what did you get at the art store?" Alexis asked eagerly, helping him reach the bag of goldfish from the cabinet.
She normally would have asked him at the restaurant, pestered him until he cracked a smile and told her all about the art supplies and styles that weren't all that interesting to her, but knew how important they were to her brother so she never let on that it wasn't as interesting to her as it was to him.
She knew how her brother got when it came to new art supplies, at least how he had always been before his kidnapping. Rome had been slow to return to his usual enthusiasm with anything dealing with art and it scared his sister a little, wondering if something that had always been so important to her little brother, was gone forever.
Alexis was taking an art history class for her sophomore year and Rome had been thrilled at looking through the textbook when school first started.
A week or so following his kidnapping though, whenever she showed him a new piece the class was studying, he'd just kind of look at it, give a half smile, and a shrug, then go back to whatever he was doing, usually reading a book or playing a video game.
Rome hadn't really picked up a pencil to sketch since he'd come home and it worried everyone. In the beginning they knew it was just going to take time, after all his wrists were still wounded from his ordeal and that made signing tough let alone holding a pencil at the angle he needed to sketch.
Instead of the lately attitude of 'blah,' Rome actually grinned at his sister, a look she'd missed the last few weeks.
"Gavin had these new markers, they're awesome, I can't wait to test them out with my India Ink, it'll really look cool on my graphic novel pages. Plus my charcoal pencils came in so I can finish sketching the Hamptons house." Rome explained "and speaking of graphic novels, check this out!" Rome reached into the bag and carefully pulled out the Sherlock Holmes graphic novel, he handed it to his sister who admired it.
"Wow, this is really well done, did Gavin do this?"
Rome shook his head
"A friend of his, but he can't publish it, copyrights, Warner Brothers doesn't want a graphic novel to be released for the new movie, but Gavin's friend did this and gave a few copies out to friends."
Alexis nodded as she flipped through the book, even though she wasn't a fan of comic books or even graphic novels like her brother, she did appreciate art when she saw it, especially when it clearly made Rome happy, especially now, when the look on his face was something they really didn't get to see often enough.
"These are beautiful, wow, look at Robert Downy Jr, he's so cute, even in comic form." she giggled and Rome rolled his eyes
"I can't wait for the movie, you're still going with me and dad to the midnight release aren't you Lex? Please, please?" he asked giving her the saddest puppy dog eyes he could pull off without actual tears. Alexis rolled her eyes and nodded
"Of course, it will be fun, just because I'm not a fan of graphic novels Rome doesn't mean I don't like the story of Sherlock Holmes, who was it that read you the Hounds of Baskerville when you were little? Huh?" Alexis added, poking her brother in the ribs gently.
"You did," Rome admitted grinning, "dad read me James Bond novels, but you thought I'd like Sherlock Homes and I did." Rome paused hugging his sister, "anyways, Dad wants to dress up in authentic Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes costumes, you down for that?" Rome asked mischievously "you could be Mrs. Hudson the housekeeper," and Alexis pushed him gently
"Housekeeper?! No way you two are on your own on that one."
"Chicken," Rome replied, "come on we can get you a feather duster and one of those little bonnet hat things,"
"Shut up Rome," Alexis shot back
"Okay fine, you don't want to be the housekeeper, how about Toby," Rome suggested innocently.
Alexis raised her eyebrow, wracking her brain trying to remember the characters in Sherlock Holmes, in all the books, all the cartoons, movies, everything she could ever remember their dad reading or showing her and Rome about Sherlock Homes, she couldn't remember a character named Toby.
"Rome who is Toby?"
"Sherlock Holmes' rent-a-dog." He answered his grin getting wider
"What!?"
"He's been played by many breeds, usually a Blood Hound, but I think in this movie Toby's going to be an English Bull Dog." Rome paused "love you Lex!"
"You are such a brat!" Alexis exclaimed reaching over, she hugged and kissed him, exactly what she knew he'd squirm away from. He didn't disappoint and grumbled and groaned trying to get away from his sister, but he was grinning at the same time and Alexis couldn't help but match it. She hadn't seen the mischievous side to her brother in a while, not since before his kidnapping anyways, but she loved that look and was happy to see it again.
Giving him one last shove, Alexis headed off to do homework and Rome migrated to the kitchen counter, giving his new markers a try.
As the hours clicked by, Rome was starting to wonder what was taking his dad so long to come home from the photo shoot. He didn't have a reason to be hanging out at the precinct anymore, not since Detective Beckett got mad at him…again.
It didn't seem fair to Rome, him and Alexis had heard the whole argument, well she had heard, then signed it to him. It didn't change anything though, Rome was on his dad's side in this argument, so was Alexis.
Sure Detective Beckett had every right to get mad at Castle when he went behind her back and looked into her mom's murder, but Rome didn't think that was the newest reason the partners were at the kindergarten stage of 'I'm not speaking to you'.
It seemed really childish to Rome and Alexis and of the two, Rome knew childish, so it was pretty bad when even he thought they were acting like babies, besides it was a one sided version of it, because Castle had been trying to contact Beckett to apologize with no luck, even though Rome didn't think his dad had anything to apologize for, his dad was trying to do the right thing.
Detective Beckett had gotten mad at Castle because he'd been upset over her not telling him right away that she had met Richard Castle's MIA father, and that he'd had a hand in Rome being rescued from M. With that being the case, if anyone had the right to be mad it was his dad, having something like that kept from him wasn't fair.
Even with his dad and the detective at odds with one another, Rome couldn't forget that Detective Beckett had been part of the team to rescue him and he owed her big time for that. He wanted to go to the precinct and give her flowers or something as a thank you, but he was worried that she would think that his dad had sent him as some kind of peace offering and get mad at Castle all over again.
So as time crept by, Rome's wonder began to turn to worry, especially when his 'not usually enforced with dad' bed time came and went. 9:30, 9:45, 9:55, still no dad. Alexis texted him, called him, Rome texted, but still no response. This wasn't like their dad, he always texted back, always called back, no matter what. Rome watched as his sister's pacing and texting became more frantic even though she was clearly trying to keep away from him so not to worry him.
Finally an hour into panic mode, at 10:30, the house phone rang. Rome knew it had done so because his dad had put on the flashers, which would flash certain lights in the loft twice when the phone was ringing. It was one of the many gadgets his dad had been playing with for a long time in regards to Rome's hearing loss and Rome was equally as enthused as his father.
He just knew that the flashing lights were all well in good, but if his hearing was doing so bad that he needed the flashing lights to let him know that the phone was ringing, then he wasn't going to be able to answer said phone. The fun thing was the flashers as they called them were also attached to the smoke alarms, the video phone, and to the buzzer for the loft, those made a lot more sense to Rome.
He had taken his hearing aids out at the restaurant because they were bothering him a little bit, his hearing, which had been on a quick decline in the last year or so had stayed somewhat steady the last month or so, but Rome knew it was only a matter of time before that coasting changed again and it was downhill.
Martha got to the phone first before Alexis could. She moved closer to Rome and held him close, Rome's reaction in the past would've been to squirm away from his sister's hugs, but since his kidnapping, he didn't react the same way to being hugged, he welcomed being hugged by his dad, grandmother, sister. Being closer to them made him feel better, calmed him, reminded him that he was safe and home.
Alexis was shaking, Rome could feel it, so he wrapped his arm around her, trying to calm his sister. Gram had her back to them so Rome couldn't read her lips and his sister was too fixated on their grandmother's back and what she could hear, to sign to him.
"Lex?" Rome whispered "Lex, what's going on, is it about dad, is he okay?"
Finally Martha turned to face her grandkids, the look on her face was one of relief, which instantly calmed Alexis and Rome.
"Thank you Detective Beckett, take care darling, yes, you too." She hung up the phone and sighed at seeing the identical worried expression on her grandkids. "He's fine," she explained and Rome let out simultaneous sighs of relief.
"What happened?" Rome asked, louder than he meant too, it was always tough for him to judge even his own volume when his hearing was on the fritz. His grandmother and sister didn't seem to notice or even care.
"There was a slight incident and your father was involved." Gram explained, Rome and Alexis exchanged a look, incident and Castle usually went hand in hand with one another.
"What did he do?" Alexis asked
"Want me to get his ATM card to get bail money?" Rome asked "I know the pin."
Gram chuckled and shook her head
"No kiddo, that would won't be necessary, Detective Beckett said he should be home shortly."
"So what happened?" Alexis repeated
"There was a murder and the reporter who is doing the story on your father wanted to see your father and Detective Beckett in action. For some reason, only your father probably knows, he was riding in the medical examiner van with Dr. Parish, when there was an accident and, well the body was stolen at gun point."
Rome's eyes went wide as he looked over at his sister for a second.
"Holy crap," he exclaimed
"He's fine Roman," Martha replied "and I'm sure he'll have a wonderful tale of horror and exaggeration to tell us as soon as he gets home."
Rome nodded as his grandmother headed off to her room and Lex wandered towards the kitchen. He took his new graphic novel to the couch and flopped down on it to read the new book. He looked up when he saw a shadow walk past him and realized it was Lex, she walked by him once, then a second time. She was on the phone and giggling. Rome rolled his eyes, watching his sister twirl her hair as she spoke.
"I'd love to," she was saying as he peered over the top of his book to watch her "I have to ask my dad first, but sure sounds like fun." She looked over at him and winked, before turning back to the stairs, which meant Rome lost the conversation. Not that he really cared, he knew who his sister was talking to, Owen, her boyfriend and he had a pretty good idea what they were talking about.
The movie Fame was set to be released on Friday, Alexis wanted to see it, but Rome also knew that their dad wanted to see it too. They were all supposed to see it together, Rome who first of all had no desire to see the movie in the first place, had made plans to sleep over Gage's. They were going to see Nine, which they weren't entirely sure if it was a good movie or not, but both knew it had to be better than whatever Fame was.
But Rome also knew, that Castle was going to be pretty hurt that Alexis was choosing to see Fame with Owen, over seeing it with their dad.
Finally around 11, the door to the loft opened and Castle waltzed in, as if nothing had happened. Alexis and Rome ran to the door to greet their father.
"Dad. Thank God you're home. Are you okay?" Alexis exclaimed hugging him tight as Rome bypassed his sister and jumped into his dad's arms,
"Yeah, I'm fine. Whoa, hi Doc," Castle breathed, lifting Rome up and hugging him and Alexis just as tight before gently putting Rome down. Why? And what's with the greeting Doc, not that I don't appreciate it. I'm fine,"
Rome and Alexis exchanged a dumbfounded look.
"Fine? Masked gunmen, body snatchers? Rome and I texted you, like, a thousand times."
"Yeah dad!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. My phone must have been off. How- how did you know?" Castle asked, clearly confused as he pulled out his phone
"Beckett called." Alexis explained
"Really?" Castle asked,
"She just wanted to let us know you were all right." Gram explained, shaking her head at her son.
"Which would've been nice if you did too, seriously dad." Rome added "we were worried about you."
"Mmm-hmm. Sorry guys" Castle said, hugging Alexis and Rome tight "got a little caught up in the case and helping Beckett out." He moved towards his office, he reached his desk and dropped his wallet onto it.
"So, has she forgiven you?" Gram asked
"Uh, not exactly, Mother. But I'm working on it. She has agreed to let me help on the case."
"Well, that's a start, I suppose."
"It is more than a start. It is an opportunity. She may have built a wall between us, but I am going to build a door in that wall, or put up a ladder, or dig a hole."
"You could use a catapult. Or a wooden horse." Rome suggested and Castle chuckled, nodding
"Could use that too Romey,"
"You have a strategy?" Martha asked "Aside from using Rome's Spam-a-lot methods."
"Be my usual charming self." Castle replied
"Uh-huh. What about plan B?" Martha asked and Castle shrugged as he turned on the cell phone.
"So was it awful? Were you scared?" Alexis asked hugging Rome's shoulders
"Me, scared? No way. Come on. Now excuse me while I change my shorts." Castle replied, Rome laughed at that but Alexis made a face.
"Dad." She chastised a bit
"No," Castle reassured "I was scared. But all they were after was the body." He explained to everyone.
"Why?" Rome asked sitting next to his sister
"Why indeed my minions?" Castle replied as his phone woke up and he went through his text messages. "Dad, where are you?" "Dad, are you all right?" "Dad, call us right away." "Dad, can I go see Fame with Owen on Friday?" Your concern is touching."
"All Alexis," Rome spoke up quickly "my messages are completely focused."
Alexis gave him a gentle shove
"Okay, that one was after we knew you were all right."
"Yeah, but I thought we were going to go see that the three of us?"
"Dad I really don't want to go see that," Rome spoke up but stopped when his dad gave him a look "but I can easily rearrange my plans," he added
"We were, and we still can. But he invited me to go see it with him next Friday." Alexis explained and Castle sighed
"You'd rather go with your boyfriend than your dad? What is wrong with you?"
"I think the bigger question is why are we getting all up in arms over this movie in the first place." Rome spoke up, grinning
If you really want me to go with you, I will." Alexis said, ignoring her brother's comments.
"No, no." Castle said with a sigh "You tell Owen he has won this round, but I got dibs on A Christmas Carol."
Now Rome grinned wide, all excited
"Sweet Christmas Carol! He exclaimed jumping around
Alexis reached over and hugged Castle tight
"Thanks, Dad. And I'm glad you weren't killed by body snatchers."
"Me, too." Castle said with a nod
"Me three," Rome added as Alexis skipped out, Rome looked at his grandmother and father expectantly.
"They remade Fame and A Christmas Carol." Martha started "Has Hollywood totally run out of ideas?"
Castle and Rome exchanged a look and grinned
"Well, they just optioned, uh, Asteroids, the videogame, so my guess is yes. But Ryan Reynolds is playing the wee triangle, and he's good."
Martha sighed and threw her hands up in the air as Castle and Rome burst out laughing.
"I think Space Invaders is next gram!" Rome called
"Very funny Roman, how do you even know what Space Invaders is?"
"It's in my history books,"
Martha's mouth dropped open
"History books?" she said walking out of the room, Rome looked over at his dad, sharing identical grins.
"I think you got her Doc,"
"It's true though, my history books have this thing in the back of the book, things of that decade and for the 70s it talks about Atari and Space Invaders." Rome paused "I'm going to bed, night dad, glad you're okay."
Castle reached out and grabbed Rome around the waist as he was heading out of the office
"Hold up a minute kiddo," he said lifting Rome up and pulling him back.
"What's up dad?"
'You doing okay Doc?' Castle asked, signing, Rome nodded 'honest?'
'Better dad, I promise, doing better,'
Castle smiled and hugged Rome tight
"I'm proud of you kiddo," he said "you've come really far and I couldn't be more proud of you."
"Thanks dad," Rome replied hugging Castle back
"Okay Doc, go on off to bed, before you sister starts hunting you down and wondering why you're not in bed." Castle paused "hey, doc?"
"Yeah dad?"
"Love you,"
Rome nodded
"Love you too," he said running off to bed.
Xxx