Both jaws dropped open on the recognition of what had just happened. Both parents could only stare in amazement at their daughter. One shared look to each other and back down at Joey told them that they weren't dreaming.
Kate could barely breathe. It was the most beautiful sound Kate had ever heard. It played over and over as she looked at her little girl. Her heart burst with love and pride for her baby girl. They had been preparing for the worst. Learning signs and how to live with silence. It was an enormous weight on her shoulders and it had been weighing for years. She was afraid this moment would never come and now it was here.
Rick wasn't fairing much better. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish trying to form a response. Ironically, there were no words for this situation. It was amazing and beautiful and he didn't think he could be any prouder.
He looked at two of his favorite girls. Kate was still a mess, understandably, and Joey was deflating fast. Understanding dawned on him as he scooped them both up against his sides. Kate laid her head on Rick's chest and gave herself a moment to compose herself, all the while keeping her eyes on Joey.
At first, Joey had smiled up at her parents. The biggest and sweetest of smiles to accompany her words. But when she saw her mother crying and her father struggling too, she had begun to deflate in confusion.
She had felt completely at home and safe when she spoke. Snuggled up between her parents, safe and warm she had been invincible. She wasn't afraid to open up and share a piece of her little heart. She wasn't so sure now. She actually didn't know what she had expected, but she didn't mean to make her Mommy cry. Now, she wanted to crawl back into her safe little shell.
"I'm so proud of you, princess!" Her daddy's voice cut through her silent war with herself. She was squished into his side and she felt her Mommy's hand on her back. The covers were pulled over all three of them and she was safe again. She snuggled down into Daddy and chanced a glance at her Mother. The tears had disappeared off of her face and were replaced with a loving smile.
"We love you too, baby!" Her mother whispered to her as they shared their live pillow. Joey fell asleep in her own little cocoon of safety.
Rick and Kate lay there too worked up to sleep. They were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts and dreams for the future. Joey lay there with them completely oblivious and comfortably asleep.
All of a sudden Rick felt Kate shaking against him. He turned from his daughter to see her face had crumbled as she buried herself into him. He slowly extracted himself from Joey and tucked her in warm and tight into his pillow.
He got off the bed and sat down on the rug just beneath it, right in front of the fire. He reached up at a slightly confused Beckett before pulling her down into him. He meant to pull her down beside him to lean on his shoulder, but she had other plans. She came willingly and landed across his lap. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, fully encompassing her into his arms, and let her have her moment.
This was the first time she had sought him out for this kind of comfort since he came home. Whenever she had a tough day or a case got to her or she found herself missing her mom she would come find him. Whether he was playing a videogame, writing in his office, or sitting right beside her (outside the precinct of course) she would always come straight to him. The only warning he needed was one look to her face and then she was on him. Wrapping herself around him and letting herself fall apart. He was the only one she trusted enough to be like this. Completely open and a bit needy.
He was honored to be the one she chose to come to for comfort. Of course, she had come assistance in her comfort seeking this time, but it still felt good. He knew her well enough to know that she would eventually talk it out. She needed a minute to grieve, to gather herself and work out her emotions, before she was ready to share.
"She's gonna be okay, Castle." She forced out after her sobs had quieted to the occasional hiccup. He looked down at her in question.
"Yes, well we knew that, Kate. She's always been okay, great even. You said it yourself she's perfect."
"No. I mean really okay. She's going to talk and have friends and play sports and have dance recitals." She took a deep breath and he let her work it out for herself before he added. "For three years I have been telling myself that she was going to get better. Don't get me wrong, she is perfect and I love her more than life itself. I would have been completely okay if…if…"
"If this morning hadn't happened?" He provided. She nodded looking down a bit. "Kate, no one is questioning how much you love her. Your feelings are warranted. I felt it too, maybe not for three years, but I felt that constant worry. I understand. I love her too, with or without her voice."
"I know. I just… I read pamphlet, after pamphlet about kids who couldn't talk. They couldn't read or write well for the rest of their lives. They were behind in school and with their social lives. Something about sentence structure not processing the right way. It was all too much. But she was improving and she was learning the signs you, we, taught her and I had you to worry with me. I knew we would make it.
"And then this morning… and it was the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. She's okay. There isn't anything wrong. She'll need a lot of help to get her back up to speed within the next few years, and she's only said three words, but god, Castle. She's gonna be okay." She fell back into him and completely relaxed, having spilled everything going on in her mind.
"She's going to be great! We're going to be great!" He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her head. A gesture she pretended to huff at, but secretly loved.
Neither of them knew how long they sat there in front of the fire. Neither cared. They were happy, blissful even. Eventually though the bubble was burst when they heard Joey stirring on the bed.
A glance at the clock told Rick that it was just past 9:30AM. He wanted nothing more than to sit here with her in his arms all day long, but he knew that wouldn't happen. As soon as she heard Joey waking she would be up and getting ready for the day. So for now he just soaked in the feeling.
"I think I hear her waking up." Always the detective, it didn't take her very long to notice the faint signs. "We should get up." He felt her muscles tense in preparation to stand up.
"Wait!" He tightened his arms around her to keep her with him for a moment longer. "Why don't we just have a lazy day today? We can cancel my appointment and put off the errands for another day, change into a fresh pair of PJ's and build a fort in the living room."
It wasn't often that Kate allowed days like this. In fact, there had only been one other time. A few weeks after their move to the Hamptons, only a couple days after the first official "Mommy appreciation breakfast", and both Kate and Joey had gotten sick…
She woke up with a pounding headache. She had felt the tinge of sickness the day before, but she had chosen to ignore it and go to bed early to stop it from blowing up any further. Clearly, that plan had failed.
She groaned as her muscles protested her cat-like stretching. She turned over and curled up into a ball against her writer and decided that a few more hours of sleep were in order.
It wasn't thirty seconds later that the door creaked open. Kate cracked an eye open to see Joey, well more accurately Joey's eyes peeking up above the side of the bed, silent tears running down her face. Kate held back another grown as she recognized the look in her daughter's eyes.
"Oh, baby." Kate croaked out despite her protesting throat. She tried to sit up and swing her legs over to comfort Jo, but her entire body protested. Her loud groan was enough to wake Rick from his log-like state of sleep.
"Whass goin on?" He slurred still as good as dead to the world.
"Castle." Kate choked again before she broke out into a fit of coughs that raked her body. The sound was enough to have Rick up and at attention.
He rubbed his hand soothingly up and down her back as she gathered herself, all the while Castle was mentally cataloging soup ingredients and ways to make her feel better. That's when his eyes landed on Joey. She looked like a ghost, pale and clammy.
He was up in seconds, careful not to jostle Kate as he moved. He picked Joey up and cradled her briefly before depositing her on the bed with Kate. Joey was still tentative around him and didn't seek out or tolerate too much touching from her Father, so he moved fast enough for her to only register his warmth and then Kate.
She didn't seem to mind as she immediately settled down into Kate's lap.
"We should get her some breakfast and then maybe you can go get her some medicine and I'll make her some soup for lunch. Hopefully it's just a twenty four hour thing and she'll shake it off before school tomorrow…" That was all she could manage before dissolving into another violent fit of coughs. Joey seemed less than thrilled with all the racket and shaking. Castle sat down beside her on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him.
"Wow, wow, wow, Kate. What are you talking about? Look at you. You can barely talk without coughing up a lung." His attempt at humor was ill received.
"I'm not sick, Castle. Just let me hop in the shower and I'll be fine." She attempted to wringle out of his grasp, but he had other ideas.
"Kate this is crazy. I know you better than I know myself. You feel awful. You're pail and faint, your coughing up a storm, and you feel like a human furnace .There is no way that I'm going to let you get out of bed, much less run around trying to be supermom." He suddenly turned very serious with his next sentence.
"This is what I am here for, Kate. This is what I live for. I love you. I want to take care of you, both of you. You're clearly feeling awful and I'm not going to let you suffer in silence. I hate to see you in pain. Please just let me take care of you.
"You don't have to do this alone anymore. You don't have to completely disregard your own feelings for her. I am perfectly capable of taking care of her, and you."
He could see the fight leaving her body.
'She must be worse off than I thought if she is giving in this easily.' He thought to himself.
He watched with a small smile as she lay down and pulled Joey to her chest. The little girl was breathing heavily through her mouth due to her congestion and he could tell she was uncomfortable, even in her mother's arms, the one place she always felt safe.
He hated to see them like this. Two of the most important women in his life in pain and clearly suffering, even if it was only for, at the most, a couple of days. He vowed to make them the most comfortable little nest on the couch downstairs and the best pot of soup either of them had ever tasted. There was no way he was letting either of them lift a finger, until they were both one hundred percent.
They had spent the whole day all wrapped up on the couch watching Disney Movies, reading stories, and napping to pass the time. Castle played the part of a perfect nurse. Keeping them fed and entertained, dosing theme each with the appropriate medicines to help them through the day, and allowing them all the rest they needed.
It was the first sick day Kate had allowed herself in over three years and it felt good. She was able to just be for a day. No appointments, errands, or chores to complete. She just curled up with her little girl and allowed herself to be taken care of. She was feeling much better by the early afternoon, but she didn't let it show.
She could tell that Castle was having the time of his life taking care of her and their daughter. His face lit up when he brought them his "Famous Feel Better Soup", a new book, or even just a glass of water. He loved to feel useful and loved it even more when he could help them feel better. She didn't mind.
It was one of the first things that attracted Kate to him in the first place. How fiercely he cared for and protected those he loved. And really she was really getting the better end of the deal. She got to spend time with her two favorite people in the whole world, without a care in the world.
Whenever Joey got sick it was extremely stressful. She obviously couldn't tell Kate what hurt or what was wrong. Kate had to go with her gut and study the little girl to make decisions. Was it just a cold that needed fluids and a lazy day to rest or was it something worse? Just the thought made Kate cringe. Add all of the things Kate had to get done on a normal day plus a sick child was almost too much to handle without the added stress of her silent.
That day, though, Kate had only Joey to focus on. She didn't have anything to do, but hold, watch, and read her daughter. It was a freeing feeling. Every time Joey smiled at the movie or at the smiley face cookie Rick made her as a reward for finishing her soup it lightened her heart and made her forget about how crummy she felt.
What started as a terrible looking day turned out to be a great memory for them all.
Kate thought for a moment about the day ahead and all the excitement of the morning. She had a list of things to do and she was sure the boys would appreciate help on their case. But, honestly she couldn't bring herself to care.
The thought of a pillow fort/ pajama party sounded like the perfect way to spend the day. She knew Joey would love to watch her favorite princesses and cuddle up between her parents, maybe bake some cookies after lunch, and play board games under the protection of the fort.
"Yeah, Castle. I think a lazy day is just what we need." She kissed him soundly as she moved off of his lap to fully awaken their little girl and get started on their lazy day.
Sorry for the long wait and the short chapter. I've already started the next chapter and I have planned the next few. A lot more family fluff, twists, and turns for our favorite little family! I cant wait to share it with you.
As always thank you all so much for your continuous love and support! I would love to hear what you have to say!