"Kate?" Rick heads out into the living room, searching for her with her phone in his hand. She comes around the corner from the laundry room, Ellery trailing behind her with that beast in her hands. Still.

"Yeah?" Kate says, prompting him.

"Oh. You missed a call. I think you've missed a lot of calls."

"I have?" she sighs, heading for him and taking her phone. "I'm on call - oh. Huh. Four unknown and two from-"

When she stumbles to a halt, he stops eyeballing the lizard cradled to Ella's chest and glances up to Kate. "What?"

"Two from Raglan."

"Who is that?"

Her breath stutters and she draws a shaky hand through her hair. "Ella, baby, go back to the bar. Dinner's almost ready."

Ellery refuses to budge for an instant, but Castle gives her a look, completely willing to punish her disobedience by taking away the lizard. She seems to read it on his face because she scoots back to the kitchen.

"Kate," he says softly.

"John Raglan. Lead detective on my mother's case."

Castle stares at her. "What? Why is he calling you?"

"I don't know. I don't know," she says, and now she's shaking her head and pushing her phone into his hands, like she doesn't want it.

"Kate?" he says, hesitant over this. They've talked so very little about her mom's case, since that one time when Dash was a toddler and she'd taken some time off to help him catch up with the book. He remembers her saying she packed it up when she found out she was pregnant.

But surely it's not just over. Can two kids really close off that need for justice?

"I have to finish dinner," she says, and turns away from him.


Castle stares down at the four missed calls from Unavailable, the two from John Raglan, and he can't help the dread that washes over him. He doesn't want her to ignore this, not if there's new information out there, not if it's possible that there's a break in her mother's case.

She keeps treating this life like it's a deal she's made. She gets to be happy if she ignores how tragically her mother died. She was doing it before too, but in the reverse - wallowing in the murder because she made a deal to give up on life if it meant catching the killer.

He thought, mistakenly, she was past that kind of thinking. Perhaps not.

He thinks about it long and hard; he really is tempted. He might still-

But instead he goes upstairs and calls Dashiell for dinner, helps the kid put away every single lego he's dumped out on his floor because Dash can't do anything if his room isn't clean when he leaves it.

Dashiell chatters away about gross lizards and pointy beards and his dog. Rex was sleeping across the threshold to the boy's room, but woke when Castle came inside. He follows them now down the hallway.

"Dash, you wash your hands after petting Lincoln?"

"Yeah, Dad, course." As if he's saying, What do you take me for?

When they get downstairs, Rex slinks under the dining room table to wait for fallen soldiers, as Dash enjoys calling the scraps of food that fall to the floor. Ellery's got Abe Lincoln on the bar counter; she's coloring a picture of her dragon in which the lizard actually does have a beard, and strangely enough, it looks somewhat like the assassinated president.

Weird.

"Okay kids, set the table," Castle says, reaching out to pluck Ella from the bar stool and set her on her feet. He takes the crayon from her and drops it to the counter, nudging her forward with a hand on her head.

"But my dragon?"

"He'll stay right here. Hang out and watch you eat."

"I can take him to dinner with me?"

"No," Castle says, and Kate catches his eye with a look but he's firm on this one. No way is that thing sitting on the dining room table. "No, cricket. He'll have to wait here."

Dashiell climbs up onto his stool, then from there onto the countertop. He opens the cabinet door and pulls down his and Ella's plastic plates, then their cups. Kate is taking the casserole dish out of the oven, so Castle opens the fridge and pulls out the milk.

Dashiell hops down, hands over a plate and cup to Ellery, and the two of them scamper to the dining room table. Kate is poking at the lasagna. "Do you think this is done?"

He glances over at it, ducks to look at the noodles through the clear glass. The cheese is bubbling and it smells like heaven. "I think so."

"Seriously, I think-"

"Looks fine, Kate. I love your lasagna," he says, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

She pushes his face back with her fingers, narrowing her eyes at him. Yeah, not in the mood. Got it.

He brings the milk to the table and pours a glass for each kid, then glances around dramatically. "Hey. Where's mine? Where's Mom's?"

"Forgot!" Dashiell laughs and jumps out of his chair, races back into the kitchen. Kate, at that moment, is turning around with the lasagna in her oven-mitted hands.

"Kate - incoming!" Castle warns, jerking towards them but knowing he is too, too late.

Dash plows straight into his mother and bounces back with the force of it; Castle sees Kate stumble and clutch at the casserole, an oven mitt falling to the floor, the dish bobbling. Castle drops the milk on the counter as he comes around, but Kate's already spun back to the stove and dropped the dish on top with a clatter. He's surprised it's not broken, just from that.

"Shit, shit, shit," she groans, shaking her hand, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Mommy?"

"It's okay, buddy," Castle says, grabbing Dashiell by the shoulders and nudging him out of the way. "Accident. Go sit down."

Kate is leaning over the counter, her back to them, silent and white. Dashiell hesitates at the entry to the kitchen, and Ellery has come up at his side, her face tight with shared worry.

Castle blocks their view of Kate and comes up behind her carefully. "Hey."

She bows her head, almost to the counter.

"Burned?" he says.

She grunts something that might be agreement.

He steps past her and turns on the water, letting it run until it's lukewarm over his fingers. He takes Kate by the elbow and tugs her towards the sink, stays at her side so that the kids can't see her face.

"God, that hurts," she breathes out, and turns her head into him, pressing her face into his neck.

"I know," he murmurs, cradling his hand around her wrist, waiting on her.

She lifts her head after a moment and glances down at her left hand, slowly relaxes her fingers until he can see the damage.

"Ah, Kate," he sighs. "We need to run some water over this."

She nods, but he can feel the tremble of pain up her arm. "You're gonna have to do it, Castle. I can't-"

He thrusts her arm forward, the water hits her palm, her fingers, all without warning. She buckles, her knees slamming into the cabinets, but he's behind her, he's got her. He wraps his other arm around her waist to hold her up.

She's gritting her teeth, and he's got to keep a tight grip on her wrist to prevent her from jerking her hand out from under the water.

"Daddy?"

"It's okay, kiddo," he says, glancing over his shoulder to Dashiell. The boy's face is a wretched mix of guilt and grief, and Castle wants to go to him, but Kate-

She stands up then, legs shaky, leaning against the sink, and she elbows him with her right arm. "Go, go. Get him." She presses her lips together; they go white.

"Five minutes under the water," he warns.

She nods jerkily.

Castle turns and scoops up Dash, hugging him hard, kissing his cheek. "Just an accident. Mommy will be fine."

"It hurts her."

"It does. That happens sometimes."

"I'm okay, Dash. Not your fault, my man." Her voice is thin, but Dashiell's little body does ease at the sound, if only slightly.

Ellery is clinging to his leg, so he leans over and gets a hand under her armpit, lifts her up to his other hip. Both kids wrap their arms around him, at his neck, heads leaning against his shoulders. He kisses them both, then heads back to the sink to check on Kate.

She's giving him a tight grimace of a smile, her right hand wrapped around her left wrist like she's got to hold herself in place.

He meets her eyes, questions in them, but she can't seem to keep it up.

"Hey," he says quietly, knowing the kids are watching, reminding her as well.

"Gonna. . ." She presses her lips together. "Okay. Be okay."

He nods, but he's feeling the kids' anxiety absorbing into his skin now that he's not needed for the emergency.

She seems to not be doing so great either. "Come here," she murmurs.

He steps in closer, the back of Ellery's legs hitting the sink, and Kate lists to one side, leaning against him. He can feel her breathe slowly, feel even her lashes fluttering at his shirt.

He drops a kiss to the top of her head, his arms growing heavy with the kids, but unwilling to move away.

"That's better," she says on a long sigh. "Oh, better."


Maybe the strange, unanswered phone calls from Raglan started it, but Kate getting burned on the casserole dish just topped them off. Everyone crowds into the big bed downstairs, the kids trying to be so very careful about bumping into Mommy. Castle wrapped her hand loosely with gauze after slathering it with aloe. He tested her skin to make sure it was only a first-degree burn, nothing worse. She cried when he administered the first aid.

She told him she'd rather be shot. He didn't think it was funny.

They ordered pizza and ate on the couch, and now that it's the kids' bedtime, they all bunch up together, cuddling in their dog pile. Even Rex is in the bed with them, but Castle made Ella put the lizard in his terrarium with the excuse that Abe was too tired for dog piling.

Poor Dashiell will not soon get over this. He lays at Castle's side, but his eyes are on Kate, troubled still. Ella's turn to pick, and she chose a movie instead of a story, so they're watching on the tv in their bedroom, the girl down at their feet, her head on Rex's back.

"Mommy," Dash whispers. He likes Spirited Away, but his mind obviously isn't on the movie.

"Okay, baby, I'm okay," she murmurs. She's curled up at Castle's side, her injured hand over her head and resting on his pillow.

"Mommy, I'm so sorry," Dash whimpers, his face twisted.

"I know, I know, sweetheart, don't-" But Dashiell's already crying fat tears, burying his face in Castle's armpit. He sighs and curls his arm around Dash, glances to Kate. She nods, sliding her hand across him to lay her palm against Dash's neck.

"Come over here with me," she murmurs. "Dash. Come on, baby. Please?"

Dashiell sucks in a stuttering breath and mewls as he climbs over Castle, sliding onto Kate's chest and wrapping his arms around her neck.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so-"

"Baby, you are fine. Not your fault. It was an accident. Neither of us were looking where we were going."

"And I'm the one who made you get up and go back for more plates."

Dashiell keeps his face against Kate, but his tears seem to slack off after a while. Castle catches Ellery's face peering at them down by their feet; he nudges her with his toes and she crawls up the bed to claim Dash's spot at his side. He kisses her forehead and strokes his hand through her hair, trying to untangle it as he goes.

They didn't do bathtime; the kids aren't even in their pajamas. Ella went upstairs to put away her lizard, and she shucked her skirt and her top, so she's got on her striped leggings and a thin tshirt. Dashiell is in his sweatpants and the long-sleeved Yankees shirt he wore to preschool.

Kate strokes the kid's back over and over, her head still tilted to Castle's shoulder. He curls both arms around his family, watches Kate try to comfort their son as he lays cradled between them.

Dash lets out a long sigh, turns to press his cheek to Kate's collarbone. She smooths down his hair, brushes at the dampness on his face.

And then her phone rings. Castle reaches for it, sees the display, turns it so she can see.

"No," she says, and her voice is the strongest he's heard since her hand was burned.

He presses ignore to John Raglan's third call of the night.