8. costume party - season 7 (set immediately after chapter 6)
The knock on the door has her dropping the casserole onto the counter and running to answer, her skirt swinging back and forth around her ankles. She heads for the door, her hand wrapping around the knob, and pulls it open to reveal Esposito and Lanie standing on the other side.
The scoff comes instantly, and as expected as it was, it has her cheeks burning pink.
"Yo, you guys did the costume thing again?" asks Espo. "And here I thought the cowboy costumes on your honeymoon were enough for you."
She rolls her eyes, ignoring the flush that must reach the tips of her ears by now. "This was all Castle's idea," she tells him.
"Yeah," he says, "but you went along with it."
Lanie reaches over, slaps him on the chest. "Shut up, Javi," she says. "They're newlyweds, give them a break."
Espo's shoulders sag as he takes a step back and turns just enough to see–
She might be dressed a Pilgrim, but Ryan's costume has her slapping a hand over her mouth to trap her chuckle, her chest bubbling with laughter.
"Dude, a turkey?"
Ryan turns beet red, his head digging towards the floor as he adjusts the strap of the diaper bag on his shoulder. "It was, uh, Jenny's idea," he mumbles.
From behind him, Jenny scoffs, stepping past Ryan. "No it wasn't," she says. "You, Kevin, are the one who came home with that turkey costume, this pumpkin costume and a piece of red fabric for Sarah Grace."
Kate presses her hand more firmly against her mouth, muffling her chuckle with her fingers as Ryan's face reddens even more and Espo's face scrunches up in disgust.
"What? Really, bro?"
"Castle said costumes were encouraged!" defends Ryan, waving his arm past them.
At the call of his name, Castle comes running, appearing behind her, his hand curling around her waist. "I did wh– Whoa, when did you order Thanksgiving dinner for delivery?"
She slaps him playfully on the stomach, her head falling against his shoulder. "Be nice," she tells him. "You are the one who told him to come in costume."
"Technically, I said costumes were not mandatory, but highly encouraged," he corrects, making her roll her eyes. "And I expected, you know, natives or Pilgrims, not a turkey dinner."
"See?" says Jenny, turning to Ryan. "I told you." And then she slips into the apartment, holding Sarah Grace's carseat in one hand. Castle reaches over and carefully takes the handle from her.
While Castle brings Sarah Grace into the living room, Kate ushers Lanie, Esposito, Ryan and Jenny into the apartment, closing the door behind them. She adjusts her apron around her waist before following them, staring at the dark brown fabric that covers Ryan's back.
Yeah, Pilgrims really aren't so bad.
Had Castle suggested they get dressed as food, she might have skipped Thanksgiving dinner altogether.
She watches as Castle undoes the buckles of Sarah Grace's carseat, as he lifts the happy baby girl out of her carseat, adjusting her costume as he does.
"What is this little one supposed to be?" he asks softly.
Jenny lets out a laugh. "She's a cranberry, per Kevin's request."
"Well, she's the most adorable cranberry I've ever seen," says Castle.
And he's right. Sarah Grace is adorable, all chubby cheeks and a toothy grin, surrounded by red fabric, puffed out in a ball around her tiny body.
Ryan might look like an idiot, but Sarah Grace is adorable, as always.
Kate walks over to them, wraps one arm around Castle's waist, letting her head fall to his shoulder. Her fingers slide under the leather of his belt, and she smiles against his bicep as she watches him play with the baby.
Funny how babies and Thanksgiving always seem to coincide.
He bounces Sarah Grace in his arm, reaching up to gently tap her nose, drawing an adorable baby laugh from her.
"Oh, so baby dressed as a cranberry is adorable, but my turkey costume will be laughed about for years," says Ryan.
She turns her head, pressing her cheek against Castle's shoulder so she's looking at the others. Jenny isn't even trying not to laugh anymore, and neither is Lanie, and Alexis is emerging from upstairs, eyes going wide immediately. Espo still looks disgusted, eyes still narrow.
"Dude, you're a grown man dressed like a turkey," he tells Ryan. "You had to have expected this."
"I thought Castle's costume would be worse than ours!"
Castle laughs, shaking his head. "I had to choose something both Beckett and Alexis would approve of," he tells everyone. "I didn't have a lot of options."
"He didn't," she confirms.
"Yeah, I know better than trying to get Beckett dressed as food," he says. He looks down at her, smiles, and then back up at where Jenny is now running her hand up and down Ryan's back, probably trying to comfort him. "Although–"
She slaps him, again. "Don't even think about it."
"Oh, come on, Kate," he says. "You have to admit it's kind of cute."
She rolls her eyes.
"Not to mention more colorful than Pilgrims," he adds. "I mean, look at us. Aren't we boring, all in black and white when we could be in all the colors of fall."
"It's not going to happen, Castle." She sighs, reaching up to pluck at the maroon fabric of Sarah Grace's costume. "Besides, the look is not complete without the cranberry."
He looks up at their friends again, and she follows his gaze, finds their friends all watching them, Alexis lingering by the bottom of the stairs.
His daughter seems to see something in his eyes, because suddenly she's inviting everyone to sit down, announcing that she'll finish up the casserole. She goes to follow, but he snakes his arm around her waist, holds her back.
And then he leans back down, presses his lips to her temple and dusts his mouth to the shell of her ear. "Maybe next year we'll have our own little cranberry," he suggests. "And then we can dress up as Thanksgiving dinner."
She looks up at him, her eyes wide. "Next year? That's pretty soon, and I'm pretty sure it takes nine months to…grow a…cranberry," she whispers.
"True," he says. "But, once we do have a little cranberry, could we?"
Her mind flashes, the image clear. Her in Jenny's costume, him dressed as a turkey, Alexis opting out of the family costume that year. And their little cranberry, their baby, with big blue eyes and messy brown hair, surrounded by a pillow of red fabric.
She blinks, and his grin comes into focus, wide and happy until he leans in and smudges it against her own smile.
It takes until he's pulling away for her to realize she actually agreed.
A huge thanks goes to Marielyfan for reading over this chapter.
