Unvanquished: Return
~Then~
Kate stroked the hair off her daughter's forehead, watched Reese's eyes grow drowsy in their bed. It was naptime, but the girl hadn't truly slept during an afternoon nap in years now. She had the feeling that Reese had agreed to lying down with her solely to kick Jack out.
Reese was terribly jealous, but she needed to know the world didn't revolve around her. Better sooner than later.
Castle came through the doorway with the baby, but he paused at threshold when he saw them. "She asleep?"
"Getting there," Kate murmured, propped up on the pillows as she cradled their daughter.
"No, 'm not," Reese sighed, but she turned her face into Kate's chest and blinked slowly.
Castle came to the bedside and eased carefully down to the mattress. His eyes kept shifting between Reese and Jack, like he couldn't make up his mind which child to adore first.
Kate smiled and stroked her thumb over the soft shell of Reese's ear, brushing the hair away from her neck. She'd gotten Castle's coloring, but she spent so much time outside that it'd turned golden around her face, highlighting the darker locks.
"Leave him in here," she said finally, noticing that Castle still hesitated.
"Yeah? I promised Dad I'd take him to that new used bookstore. I could-"
"No, you go. Meet him. He had his woodcarving group and-"
"Yeah, I know. It would be hard to reach him to cancel. I can't believe he won't carry the iphone we bought him."
"He hates it. He says there are too many alerts." Kate smirked and shook her head, nodded to the mattress. "Set Jack down right here with me and Reese."
Castle did, putting the baby on her other side and blocking him in with a pillow. He leaned over to brush a kiss to Kate's lips and she felt his smile forming. He moved to Reese and the little girl struggled awake to wrap her arms around him, murmuring French endearments into his ears.
"No idea, peanut butter. But I love you too."
Castle leaned back and winked at Kate, his palm coming out to settle on Jack's belly. "You got him?"
"I got him."
"All right. I'm going." He stood up from the bed and Kate curled her free hand over Jack's skull as he slept, letting Castle know she was paying attention. He finally left the room, only one or two wistful backward glances.
When Reese finally fell asleep, Kate worked herself free and turned over to play with Jack. The boy was awake and happy, those huge blue eyes in his round head. She hadn't loved his round head when she'd been pushing it out, but look how adorable he was. She loved the brush of soft hair over his scalp, the wide and round heft of him in the bed.
"You're like a little football," she murmured, laughing when he gurgled back at her, grinning just like a Castle. "You gonna play football, Cracker Jack? Maybe grand-pere can teach you to throw."
Jack jerked his arms and legs in happiness, his eyes focused on her, his movement shaking the bed. Kate felt Reese stir and lift up; she turned her head and the girl yawned widely and flopped down over Kate's side, her chin digging into her mother's ribs.
Kate winced but put an arm around her daughter, smoothed the sweaty hair back from her face. "Good nap, peanut?"
She sighed and burrowed her cheek and nose into Kate's armpit, wriggling closer so that she was draped over her mother. Kate rolled her eyes, such a drama queen this little one, and she scratched Reese's back to help her wake.
"See your little brother? Look how happy he is," she murmured. "He's done with his nap too."
Reese wrinkled her nose and reached out a hand to Jack, but the baby could only bounce happily against the mattress.
"Quand est-ce qu'il pourra jouer avec moi?"
Kate sighed, but she knew it was more difficult for her to switch languages when the girl had just woken up. "He can play with you when he gets a bit older."
"Il est pas marrant," Reese pouted, withdrawing her hand.
"But he will be fun. I promise. You know how much fun it is to play with Daddy? Well, Jack will have so much energy - he'll want to play all day with you because you're his big sister. And you can boss him around a little at first, tell him what comes next. He'll adore you. Look at him, he adores you already."
And it was true. Jack was watching her with those big beautiful blue eyes. Kate reached out and stroked her fingers down his face just to have him nuzzle her, rooting into her hand. She laid her palm over his fat belly and smiled at him.
Reese huffed loudly and lifted up against Kate. "Est-ce qu'on peut le rendre?"
Can we give him back?
"No." Kate turned and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "And you're supposed to be speaking English. Come here, crawl over me and let's see if we can make Jack smile."
Reese didn't seem very happy about that, but she crawled over Kate to burrow down at her mother's chest.
"Sa tĂȘte est trop grosse," Reese pointed out.
Kate laughed and snuggled her daughter closer, kept her from touching that fat head she'd just pointed out. "Well, not too big. It's just his arms and legs - they look so skinny compared to his head. And your head wasn't small either, peanut. But, I'll admit - you were tinier all around."
"Yoda," Reese said with relish.
Kate tugged on the girl's hair, shaking her head with a sigh. She strained to think of something else to connect the two siblings, a way to bring Reese into the quiet circle that she and Castle had unwittingly created around Jack.
Reese leaned over and snatched her brother's hand. Kate jerked to catch her, but Reese was only splaying the baby's fingers out over her own. Jack latched on, a stronger grip than Kate had yet to see, his eyes riveted to his sister.
"Regarde ses tous petits doigts," Reese murmured thoughtfully.
"He's so small," Kate added. "And his toes. Look, sweetheart." She drew off one of Jack's socks, let Reese wrap her childish hand around his foot.
Her daughter crawled out of the circle of Kate's arms and hovered at the baby's side, dipped her head close to look at his toes. Jack's arms jerked out happily, enthusiastic sounds coming out of his mouth. Reese laughed and lifted her head to peer at his face.
"Ses yeux sont...blue," Reese trailed off and reached one small hand up to pat the top of his head. "His eyes are blue."
"And Daddy's too," Kate murmured, smiling, strangely relieved.
"And my sister's," Reese said carefully, lifting her head to look at Kate. "Daddy's other little girl."
Kate kept her eyes steady on Reese, but she wondered if this was a little insecurity from their daughter. Was that why she'd been so dismissive of her new brother?
"Yes. Alexis," she said calmly. "She has Daddy's blue eyes. But she's not really a little girl anymore, is she?" Was that what Reese wanted - to be Daddy's only little girl?
Reese looked at Jack for a moment and then she turned a serious face to her mother. "Do I have to stop being Daddy's little girl?"
"No," Kate said, shaking her head. "In fact, I think Daddy would be very sad if you weren't his little girl."
"But why isn't Alexis? Do you. . .not like her?"
Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing - the child's terrible logic. "I love Alexis. And maybe I got you confused, peanut. Daddy still calls Alexis his little girl, doesn't he? I meant she's not little like you are - she's a lot older, and she lives with her husband, and she'll have little girls of her own soon."
"Do I have to move away too?"
"No, butter cup, never. You can stay with us for as long as you want."
"I always want to stay. Will Jack leave me?"
"No. Jack is your brother. You guys are stuck together. Do you think Alexis left you?"
"She left me," Reese said quietly, then let out a tremulous little breath and raised her tearful face to her mother. "She did leave. And I never see her, and she's my favorite, Mommy, but I never get her anymore."
"Oh, poor little abandoned thing. Come here," Kate murmured, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Reese absolutely hated it when it looked like her parents were laughing at her dramatics.
Reese slid into Kate's arms and huddled there, making little pitiful noises.
"Reese, what drama, sweetheart. I know you love your sister, and you miss her. I miss her too. Daddy misses her. But she visits us, and we video her, and she hasn't stopped loving you."
"Video is not enough," Reese mourned. "Why can't we visit her instead?"
Kate swallowed and suddenly it wasn't funny anymore. It wasn't Alexis's fault that her husband was from the one place Kate could never go. Alexis had spent enough time agonizing over that as it was, but Kate and Rick couldn't - wouldn't - punish Reese for it.
"You can visit her," Kate said quietly. "But since Jack is just a little baby, it should be you and Daddy together. I'll stay home with Jack."
"But you do miss my sister too?"
"I miss your sister too." Kate reached out and stroked her finger down Jack's cheek, watched him turn his head to see them. "Do you think we can be happy with just us here? You, me, Daddy, and our baby Jack?"
Reese let out a tender sigh and picked her head up from Kate's shoulder. Her eyes were dry though, not a single tear, and Kate figured she'd needed someone to acknowledge all the changes.
"I'm happy, Mommy. I do want more people, but maybe if Jack is good, we can get me a baby sister?"
Kate laughed and reached down to scoop up Jack, bringing him into their embrace. "Well, let's see how well you two like each other, and then maybe - you never know."
"Don't let it be another brother, though."
Kate chuckled and cradled Jack against her chest, let him see his sister. "You get what you get, my little drama queen. And that's not a yes, either. That's a family discussion we'll have when Jack is much older."
"Much?"
"Much."
"Sigh."
Kate laughed at the spoken sigh from her daughter, and she reached out to curl her fingers in Reese's hair, giving it another little tug. "Okay, enough of this. Want to go see if Gram is home?"
"Oh, yes. She will let me play and speak French all day."
"What a lucky girl you are."
Reese stood on the bed and then jumped down to land with both arms up, gymnastic style, her face beaming as if she was imagining her adoring crowd in the audience. She bowed and turned to her mother, came in against the bedside to reach for Jack.
"I can bring my little brother? He has to watch us play the fun things."
"Oh, he does?"
"So he can learn, Mommy. You said he'd play."
"When he's older."
Reese rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "But he has to know what to do."
"Calm down, peanut. If you want Jack there, I guess we'll all go. But I'll have to carry him. You find Gram's key on its hook and we'll unlock the in-between doors."
"Oh, yay!" Reese scampered off, Jack's head turning to follow her path until she disappeared down the hall.
Kate let out a breath and reached for her phone, arranging Jack against her chest, calling her husband. When he didn't answer, she left a message instead.
"Remind me to tell you about Reese. And Alexis. We need to talk."
