Disclaimers: Nope, AWM still hasn't handed the reins over to me.

Summary: Castle spends a busy day with Jack as Ari makes a startling revelation about the night she was kidnapped by Tyson and Nieman.

A/N #1: A couple of reviewers have asked me to include more of Jack. I'm sorry that he's been overlooked. It's just that I write older kids better than I write pre-schoolers.

A/N #2: I have a 4-year-old nephew who was obsessed with all things Spiderman. He insisted that he was Spiderman, right down to trying to climb up walls and shoot spider webs from his wrists. He calls Doc Oc from the comic books Dr. Phil. We don't know why this is, but even after we correct him, he still calls him Dr. Phil.

A/N #3: I'm also going to have something in here that shows the bond between siblings, even very young ones.

Chapter 7: Spiderman and Revelations

Morning

"Ari, Jack, come and eat breakfast!" Kate called the two kids to the counter where she'd placed bowls of cereal.

"Mommy, I'm not Jack! I'm Peter Parker!" Jack called back.

"Mom, would you please tell Jack that he's not Peter Parker," Ari climbed up on her barstool. "And he's not Spiderman. He keeps trying to shoot spider webs at me."

"Sweetie, he's just pretending. Hey, Peter Parker! Come and eat your cereal!"

Kate laughed as she watched her son run over to the counter and climb up on his barstool. He had received his first Spiderman toy for his second birthday and since then, the superhero was his obsession. He would play with his action figures for hours. He insisted that he'd only wear Spiderman pajamas and his room had to be made up in Spiderman sheets and comforter. He'd had a screaming meltdown when Alicia had accidentally made his bed up in plain sheets.

"See, Sissy. Mommy knows who I really am," Jack told his sister.

Ari rolled her eyes. "You're just a silly boy. Mommy just doesn't want to hurt your feelings," she got down and took her bowl to the sink.

Castle was on his cell phone when Kate came in to get a light jacket for work. "Fine, Gina. Three-thirty. Uh, I'll have to bring both kids. He's not destructive, Gina. He just likes to climb things. Why? Because he thinks he's Spiderman," he looked at Kate, who was trying not to laugh. "Come on, Gina! He has an active imagination. I'll see you this afternoon."

"So you have a meeting at Black Pawn this afternoon?" Kate sat down on the bed next to him.

"Yeah, 'Shimmering Heat' is getting ready to come out in paperback. I guess they also want to talk about my next book. Mother and Alexis both have to work, so I'll take the kids with me."

"If I don't catch a case, I can probably leave early," she offered. "Or you can bring them to the precinct."

"Didn't Gates get pissed off the last time I brought Jack to the precinct when he locked himself into an interrogation room and refused to come out?"

"Capt. Gates loves the kids. Yeah, she wasn't happy about that, but she knows how kids are. After all, she raised three of her own."

"I'll just take them with me. I'll load him down with enough toys to make climbing book shelves unappealing."

"I wish you luck with that. I'm taking Ari to school and then I'm off to work. I love you."

"I love you, too," he reached for her wrist, keeping her in place as he placed his hand on her stomach. "You too, Hope."

She kissed him one more time, before getting up and leaving the room. "Ari, kiss daddy bye! We have to go!"

Ariel skipped into the bedroom and threw her arms around her father's neck. "Bye, daddy. Have a good day."

"You too, sweet pea. Hey, we have a meeting at Black Pawn this afternoon, so you know what that means," he made a face at her.

"Daddy," she groaned. "Jack is like taking care of a spider monkey."

"I'm going to take a lot of toys."

"There aren't enough toys. We're talking about your son here, daddy," Ariel said, sounding very much like her mother as Castle couldn't help but grin.

"Yes, we are," he kissed her before giving her a swat on the bottom. "You're better go before mommy gets mad."

Mid-morning

Castle was sitting at his laptop paying bills while keeping one eye on his small son, who was standing in front of the bookcase in his office, staring toward the ceiling. "James Jackson, don't even think about it."

"Grams lets me," he turned toward his father.

"I'm sure that your grandmother doesn't let you climb bookshelves at her house."

"Play Spiderman with me," he walked over to stand beside his father's desk. "I'll be Spiderman and you can be Dr. Phil."

"The bad guy's name is Doc Oc, Jack. He doesn't look anything like Dr. Phil. He's not bald and he doesn't have a mustache."

"Come on, daddy," Jack tugged on Castle's hand. "I'll be Spiderman and you can be Dr. Phil."

It did no good to keep telling Jack that the bad guy wasn't Dr. Phil. Kate once told Castle that she'd think it was funny if Jack saw Dr. Phil on TV and thought that he was Doc Oc. "Let's go play, buddy," Castle got up and walked out of his office with Jack right behind him.

Early afternoon

"What're you and Jack doing?" Kate asked from her desk.

"He just finished lunch and is now playing with his toy soldiers. I'm getting old, Beckett."

"Why do you say that?" She smiled.

"I used to be able to spend hours chasing Alexis around the loft. Even with Ariel, I could chase her around. This morning, after chasing our budding Spiderman for an hour, I felt like I was going to die. I'm old, Beckett," he repeated.

"I've got proof growing inside of me that would disprove that theory," she teased. "He's a very active little boy, Castle. Martha says that he reminds her of another very active little boy."

"Ha-ha."

"Speaking of which, when you take them to Black Pawn this afternoon, take the tablet. That'll keep Ari entertained and maybe she can get him to play games on it with her."

"Okay, will do."

"Also, pack some snacks."

"Gotcha."

"It's going to be fine. The moment that you get home, I will take both of them off of your hands."

"Kate, I like being a stay at home, dad. I'm not complaining about that. I'm just complaining because I'm old."

"I love you and I'll see you later this afternoon."

"I love you, too."

Kate was still smiling when she heard footsteps. "So, how are Castle and the children?" Capt. Gates asked, taking Castle's old chair.

"He has a meeting at Black Pawn later today and he has to take them with him. The last time that he had to leave them in the waiting room while he had a meeting, Jack climbed up a 10-foot bookshelf and broke a couple of vases. Gina then told Castle that our son needed to be on medication."

"When my son was five, he was dared by his eight-year-old brother to swing from the chandelier at his grandmother's house. I learned on that day, Detective Beckett, that boys will be boys. They climb, they play with things that explode, and they do stupid things on dares. They can't help it. It's ingrained in their DNA. Let's hope that baby number three is a girl."

"I'm already way ahead of you in that respect, sir," Kate laughed. The 'boys will be boys' comment reminded her of one of the first things Castle had said to her when they'd first met when she'd commented on his rather lengthy rap sheet.

Mid-afternoon

Castle walked into the reception area of Black Pawn Publishing, holding each of the children by a hand. "Hi, Michelle," he greeted the receptionist. "Can you let Gina and Paula know that I'm here?"

"Ms. Cowell, Mr. Castle is here. Okay, I will. She'll be a few minutes, Rick," Michelle informed him after she'd hung up.

"Thank you," he turned to the kids. "Listen to me, both of you. Jack, you have a whole backpack full of toys. You have some snacks. I don't want you climbing on anything. Do you hear me?" Jack looked at his father and nodded. "Ariel, find some games on the tablet and let him play with you. I shouldn't be too long."

"Can we go into the room with your posters?" Jack asked, referring to the covers from Castle's books.

"Can you look at the posters and not climb on anything?" Castle asked as both kids nodded. "Okay, you can go in there. Don't go anywhere else."

"Rick," he looked toward the opened doorway and saw his ex-wife standing there. "You can come back now. Michelle, if you let that child climb on anything, you'd better have your resume updated."

"Yes, Ms. Cowell."

"Come on, Jack, let's go look at daddy's book covers," Ariel took her brother by the hand, glaring at Gina as she led her little brother into the next room.

The first thing that Ariel noticed was that the room had been reorganized and updated with her father's latest book covers. "This is how it all started, Jack," she led Jack over to the huge poster for 'In a Hail of Bullets.' They slowly walked around the room, looking at each of the book covers in order.

"Daddy's written a hundred books," Jack looked around in awe. "He's famous."

"He hasn't written a hundred books, Jack. More like 40 or so," Ariel stated wisely.

They continued walking around the room until Jack almost collided with Ariel, who stood frozen in front of the book cover for 'In the Eye of the Beast,' the book that Castle had written recounting the crimes of Jerry Tyson and the decade of terror that he'd put Castle and Beckett through. Jack stared at his older sister, who was starting to breathe funny. "Sissy? Sissy? Don't be scared, Sissy," he put his hand in hers. "It's just one of daddy's covers."

"Let's get out of here, Jack. This room is scary."

They returned to the reception area and sat under a nearby table with the backpack of toys that Castle had packed. Sharing boxes of raisins and juice boxes, they played with Spiderman toys, laughing and giggling while they waited for their father to come out of his meeting. "When I'm older, I'll be able to have spider webs in my arms," Jack told his sister.

"Jack, you're not Spiderman," Ariel told Jack once again.

"Duh, not yet."

"Did you just say 'duh?'"

"Sissy, why is daddy's book room scary?"

"It just is. I'm never going in there again."

They looked up when the door opened and Castle stepped out. He knelt down beside the table at the two kids underneath it. "Nice fort," he commented. "Pick your toys up and let's go home. We'll text mommy on the way and see if she's home yet or if she wants to meet us for dinner."

"Daddy, Sissy says that your book room is too scary," Jack informed his father.

"Shut up, Jack!" Ariel shouted at him.

"Ariel, hey. Don't tell your brother to shut up," Castle scolded her. "Tell him you're sorry."

"No, I won't!" She got up and stalked from the room.

"Come on, Jack, we need to catch up with your sister."

Ariel was standing by the elevator when Castle and Jack caught up with her. "Am I going to be in trouble?"

"Oh, I don't know. That's entirely up to you," Castle looked down at her. "You used to love my book cover room."

"That was before. Come on, daddy, we need to go home. Jack's probably hungry."

When Kate entered the loft later that afternoon, she could hear the kids screaming and laughing. "Look, mommy's home," Castle walked over with a kid under each arm, giving Kate a kiss.

"I thought that you were getting old," she reminded him.

"I must've gotten my second wind. I was going to call in an order for Chinese food. Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she reached out and took Jack from his grasp. "How did it go at Black Pawn?"

"Great, only Ariel has now decided that my book cover room is off-limits."

"Why?" Kate looked at Ari, who shrugged. She then turned to Jack. "So, you didn't try to destroy the place this time?" She hugged the little boy, who squirmed in her arms.

"Mommy, when am I going to get my spider webs? If I have my spider webs, I can climb outside."

"Jack, you're not Spiderman! Spiderman isn't real! You need to grow up!" Ariel struggled from her father's arms and ran up the stairs to her room.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Kate looked at Castle.

"Sissy got really scared by daddy's book room. I told her that it was all right."

"Oh god, Castle, the book covers," Kate's hand flew to her mouth. "Gina must've added the new book covers. Which means—"

"I'll go and talk to her," Castle ruffled Jack's hair. "Go ahead and order us something to eat."

When Castle entered Ariel's immaculate pink and white bedroom, he couldn't find his small daughter anywhere. "Ariel?"

"Go away!" He heard her voice coming from the walk-in closet.

He opened the closet door and looked around until he finally saw Ariel huddled in one corner of the closet. He sat down across from her and waited for her to say something. Her head was resting on her knees, which were drawn up to her chest. "Ariel, do you know why I write books?" He asked as she looked at him.

"No."

"When I was in school I'd get these things stuck in my head and I found out that the only way these things would get out of my head was to write them down. I know that you're only in first grade, but you know a lot of big words—"

"That's because you and mommy use a lot of big words."

"Yes, we do. Would you like to write down what you feel about what happened that night? If you want, I can help you with that."

"I didn't mean what I said to Jack," her lower lip trembled. "He wasn't there, so he doesn't know how scared I was."

"I know you didn't mean to say cruel things to Jack. You're always kind to him, even though he can be a little annoying and he thinks that he's Spiderman. But, he's just a little boy with a very active imagination. Right now, he doesn't know that the world isn't always a nice place. And I wish you didn't know that, either."

"They had a bomb in the car," Ariel told Castle. "The man had a gun and he kept wanting to shoot me. But the lady wouldn't let him. He kept saying that he wanted to make Castle pay. She told him that Castle was going to pay because he was going to die. I started screaming that I wanted my mommy and daddy and he told her to make me shut up. That was when she opened the car door and threw me out in the street."

Castle's eyes filled with tears as he listened to Ariel's recounting of that night. "Come here, baby," he opened his arms as Ariel flew into them, hugging him around the neck as she cried on his shoulder.

"I'll tell Jack that I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me!"

"I'm not mad at you, baby. I can never be mad at you. I love you, Alexis, Jack, and whatever mommy has wiggling around in her tummy right now. Now, I can help you write down your feelings or you can draw them. However you want to do it."

"Will it help me to forget about what happened? That's all that I want to do."

"Well, it won't help you forget, but it'll help you try to move past it. You're always going to remember it, Ariel. It's part of who you are. Now, I think mommy was ordering us Chinese food. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Did she order crabmeat Rangoon?"

"I'm sure that she probably did," he smiled.

***CCC***

After ordering enough Chinese food to feed a small army, Kate got down on the floor with Jack, who was playing with his Avengers action figures. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to play on the floor with him in a few months, Kate took advantage of playtime with him now. "Can I play?" She asked the little boy.

"Here, you can play with Ironman and The Hulk," he offered her the two action figures. "I'll take Thor and Captain America."

"What? No Spiderman?" She teased.

"Mom, Spiderman isn't an Avenger," he looked at his mother indulgently.

'So much like your daddy,' she thought to herself. He barely knew his full name, but he knew who the Avengers were. "So, what did you and daddy do today?"

"He was Dr. Phil when we played Spiderman this morning."

"Sweetie, his name is Doc Oc. Come with me for a second," Kate got up and picked up her cell phone and did a web search. "Look, this is Dr. Phil. He doesn't have octopus arms."

"How do you know? They could be under his shirt."

"That would explain why Robin is always so happy."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Why was Sissy scared in daddy's book room?"

"One of daddy's book covers scares her. It has to do with when daddy hurt his leg."

"Oh."

Kate turned when she heard Castle's footsteps on the stairs. He was coming down the stairs with Ariel on his back, her legs wrapped around him. "Did you order dinner? We're starving."

"It should be here soon."

"Sissy, play Avengers with me."

"Okay," Ariel agreed as Castle swung her off of his back and she ran over to play with her brother.

"Is she okay?" Kate whispered as the doorbell rang.

"We'll talk about it later," he told her before walking to the door.

Later that night, the two of them were relaxing in the bathtub together, Castle's fingers tracing lazy paths down her arms as she rested her head on his chest. "I'm beginning to worry about her, Castle. Can children get PTSD?"

"I'll call their pediatrician in the morning and make an appointment to go in to talk to her. Maybe she can give us some other recommendations. I suggested to Ariel that I can help her write down her feelings or she can draw them out."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Castle. So, they were good when you took them to Black Pawn?"

"They were great. It's a good thing that they were, because Gina threatened to fire Michelle if Jack misbehaved again."

"Have I mentioned how much I detest your ex-wife? Was she ever that awful to Alexis?"

"No, but then, Alexis wasn't a three-year-old boy who can dismantle a room in seconds," he kissed her temple.

"I love your babies, Castle, even though one is a master of disaster and the other is far too serious for her own good."

"What do you think this one will be like?" He placed his hand on her stomach.

"Oh, I don't know," she put her hand over his. "But, whatever it decides to be like, I know that we're going to love it. I love you. You're the most awesome daddy," she kissed him.

"You're not so bad yourself," he grinned at her.

"What did you and Ari talk about?" When he didn't answer her, she craned her head around to look at him, shocked to find tears in his eyes. "Castle? What did she tell you? Did she tell you about being inside of the car? Oh my god, what did she tell you?"

"I can't talk about it right now, Kate. Trust me, right now you're better off not knowing," he kissed her fiercely as he wrapped his arms around her.

A/N #4: As the pregnancy progresses, so will the full story. My plan is for one chapter to be a flashback that will hopefully explain everything. It's not all going to be dark, I promise.

As usual, I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.