Deny
"That's not true!" Kate hears from down the hall, wincing at the petulance in her daughter's voice. She only meant to kiss Castle after he was done cleaning up from dinner, fleeting and grateful. But their kids were upstairs, determined to do bath time without Mom and Dad's influence, so she dragged him into the study and pushed him down onto the couch.
They got. . .a little carried away. And by the sound of things, in the meantime their kids have been waging war. "Jackson, Beatrice, what's going on?"
When she steps into her daughter's room she comes seriously close to turning around and going right back into the hallway again, calling her husband to deal with this. She doesn't have the energy right now.
Bea is standing on her bed, a little precarious as the mattress throws her balance off but somehow still so defiant. From across the room her brother goads her, holding Bea's stuffed elephant by the scruff of the neck and threatening to toss him under the bed.
"Mommy." Kate's daughter cries out, a little more mournfully than is perhaps warranted, but by now they're all used to Bea's melodrama. "Jack said he'll feed Boot to the monsters under my bed. But there aren't any. Daddy said."
Oh jeez. "Jackson Roy Castle. Give your sister back her elephant and go to your room please. Now." Her son is almost ten; she didn't think she'd have to deal with him teasing baby girl anymore. Not when so much of the time her little boy is this fiercely compassionate thing.
Jack drops the toy on Bea's bed and scurries from the room, and Kate presses her wrist to her forehead a moment before she comes to sit on the mattress and pull her little girl into her lap. "Hey, Little Bean."
"Mommy, can you get Daddy to check for monsters? Not that I believe in them." She hastens to add, chest puffed up in silly, seven year old pride. "Just to make sure."
Kate pushes on Beatrice's shoulder to have the girl lie down, pulls the sheets up over her daughter's curled-up body and presses a kiss to her cheek. "I'll get Daddy."
Leaving the door open to let a slither of light from the hallway come crawling into Bea's room, Kate heads down towards Jack's room and catches her husband coming upstairs. "Hey babe. Bea needs you to go check for monsters."
"I'm on it." Her husband grins, wriggling a little in delight. This is something he used to do for Alexis, Kate knows, and it's so good for him to have that back with his youngest little girl. For him to be the hero again.
Kate pushes open Jackson's door slowly and comes inside, eyes taking a moment to adjust after the brightness of the hall and Castle's grin. Heading to sit at her son's hip, Kate strokes a hand through his hair and feels the heat of indignation coming off of him in waves.
"Hey, my man. What happened?"
Their daughter is vibrant and energetic, yes, but often spiteful too. Jack is rarely the one to start arguments between the two of them; it's something Kate and Rick are still trying to figure out how to manage. Jack grunts and props himself up on an elbow, frowns at his mother. "She said I used up all of her shampoo but Mom I didn't. And then she wouldn't let me borrow The Bad Beginning from her."
Ah, yeah. Beatrice is fiercely defensive of the Lemony Snicket books in their ornate collector's box, adamant that she should be the only one allowed access to the story of her namesake. Sometimes she and Jack come crawling into the big bed and beg Castle to read to them, clinging to Kate so their mother will stay and listen too.
"Okay, that wasn't nice of her. But that doesn't mean we tease. What's protocol if Bea's not sharing?" Kate murmurs to her boy, coaxing him into lying down again. She can hear the familiar rumble of her husband's voice next door and it seems to soothe their son as well, Jack already flagging on her.
He's grinning at the police terminology though, even as he fights sleep. "Protocol is to tell you or Dad. Not retaliate."
"Right." Her son's chest falls heavy with the sucking tide of sleep and Kate smiles to herself, kisses his forehead and tucks the sheets a little closer around his shoulders. "Goodnight, Jack. I love you."
She meets her husband in the hall again and lets herself sway against him, the fortress of his body so warm and inviting that she could almost fall asleep herself right here. Her heart cries out in anguish for him, the thought of him doing this all alone for Alexis.
And yes, so Alexis didn't have any siblings to fight with. But parenting is such hard work, such a team effort, and she can't fathom doing this without him. Even with only one child. "All good?"
"All good." He says back, leading her towards the stairs. "No monsters. She denied it vehemently, but she was scared. Poor thing."
They make it down the stairs and to the couch before Kate speaks again, the dog lifting up to watch them get settled before he drops his head back to his paws again. Curling into her husband's side, Kate tugs at the blanket folded over the arm of the couch and arranges it to cover their legs, kisses the soft skin of his neck. "She's okay. She knows her daddy will keep her safe."
"Actually, Kate." He laughs, his mouth just brushing her temple. "I told her that if there really were monsters, Mommy would use her gun on them."
That makes her laugh and she presses her cheek to his shoulder, feels the weight of his chin at her crown. "I use my gun on monsters all day at work, Castle. When I come home? That's your job."
