"Mother! We're here!" calls Castle as he opens the door letting the ladies enter first.
"Kaate!" sings Martha coming down the stairs in a manner that always seems like it has been weeks since she last saw her. "Oh and the good Doctor Parrish! Hello and welcome, I'm so glad you coming on our shopping safari!"
"Yes, it sounds like fun and please call me Lanie."
"Then you must call me Martha." the two exchange in greeting "Richard, this is going to be grand, I'm glad you suggested it to her. If you ladies will give me a couple of minutes I'll get ready to go!" she turns and heads up the stairs in her usual chipper manner.
Lanie and Kate look at each other smiling. "Oh this is going to be fun." they say almost in unison.
"Great, this is going to end poorly for me." says Castle softly as he goes to the kitchen to start the coffee machine. "Would you ladies like any coffee?"
"No thanks Castle, we'll fuel-up when we get to our first stop." Says Beckett.
"Ladies, make yourselves at home, I'll be back in a minute. I want to check to see if she's got everything she needs." he says heading for the stairs. Once he's upstairs he knocks lightly on her door "Mother? You free for a moment?"
"Yes dear." she says opening her door "You need something?"
"Yes, my head examined but that's not going to happen soon. However, my immediate need is this" pulling his wallet out and handing her a credit card "My purpose in giving you this is important. Neither of those ladies are to want for anything while you're shopping. Whatever store you go into, you make sure the manager knows that it's important to me that those two are treated as well as you are. Additionally, if you find an outfit Kate will look particularly good in, you can suggest she take it anyway, if she doesn't, have them ship it to me here and I'll send it to her. If the two find an ensemble, same rules apply. Understood?"
"Yes Richard, everyone understands that you're a big softie!" she says pinching his cheek "I'll make sure they are well taken care of dear. Have no fear."
"Thank you mother and they are not to be told. I would suggest that you consider something nice for yourself but I'm sure you've already got that planned."
"Go keep the ladies company Richard, I'll be down in a few minutes." she says closing the door.
As he turns to head down the stairs "Yup, my karma is down for repairs."
When he arrives at the bottom of the stairs, Beckett asks him "Castle, Lanie asked me a good question, are there any ... shall we say ... special instructions with regards to your mother?"
"That's very nice of you to ask. There are and they're fairly simple. First. Always hang on with both hands, the ride is going to be fast and furious. Second. Saying 'no' to her is usually much more trouble than just accepting the inevitable. The third is simple. Have fun. Oh, sorry, there's a fourth. Don't try to drink her under the table, she'll be dancing and singing show tunes on the table while you two are passed out under it."
The two ladies are enjoying the rules and are laughing when Martha breezes down the stairs "Are you ladies ready to begin?"
"Yes Martha. I'm ready and waiting. My car's downstairs." Kate says.
"Drive yourself? Nonsense! Richard's already insisted that we use his car service."
"I did? When did I do that?"
"Oh Richard, you're such a kidder. Come on girls, let's get this party started." called Martha as she opens the front door "Don't wait up Richard!"
"Ladies, enjoy yourselves but remember, you're responsible for your own bail if something happens." he says smiling as the door close behind them.
The sudden silence surrounds him and he looks around with a blank look on his face and then smiles to himself and heads for his office. "I guess its time for work."