A/N: So, I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter. I've written the entire thing to Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros, so maybe that's it? Either way, I'm posting this earlier than I'd planned because of graduation party mania and more possible travels, since I feel bad about my sporadic posting tendencies. Edit: I was told that this wasn't showing up for some people, so I deleted and reposted it. I hope that fixes whatever the problem was.
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Early Sunday morning, two sharp knocks woke Richard Castle from his peaceful slumber. After a few moments of pretending he didn't hear it, the knocks sounded again. "What?" he groaned out loudly, raising his arms up to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
"Dad!" his daughter's voice called from the other side of the door.
Groaning once more, he rolled over and called to her. "Come in, 'lexis."
They had long before established boundaries, always knocking before entering the other's room, but it was early mornings like these that he wished his daughter had also inherited his night owl tendencies.
"Dad." she repeated, once she was settled on the pillows opposite his head.
Turning slowly from being buried in his pillow, he tiredly scrutinized his daughter. "7 o'clock in the morning? Well, you're not bleeding, so there goes that theory. What's up?"
Inhaling deeply, the teenager began. "So, last night, I was brainstorming-"
"Now that's a scary thought." he turning his face back into his pillow.
"Ha ha." Alexis deadpanned, lightly swatting her father's still-sleepy form as he mumbled incoherently.
"So, you were thinking," Rick groggily prompted her, slowly pulling himself up to sit against the headboard.
Alexis smirked at her father. "You know how Kate told us to not get Jonah any presents?"
"Uh oh." Rick moaned, falling back onto his pillows. "Need I remind you that the aforementioned detective is allowed to carry concealed weapons?"
"No." Alexis smiled patiently. "But you might need to remind me what a wonderful daughter I am."
"Okay, wonderful child of mine," he replied dutifully. "What's the big idea?"
Without hesitation, the redhead conspiratorially leaned forward. "Well, I was thinking…"
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The next morning wasn't an improvement from the previous. At exactly 6 o'clock, Rick's phone began to ring. He turned blindly, hitting the talk button and pressing it to his ear before groggily speaking.
"'llo?"
"It's Beckett."
Slightly more alert, Rick pushed himself up. "Beckett. New body?"
"Yep." the detective sighed. "And I have a feeling you're going to like this one as much as I do." He couldn't see it, her nose was wrinkled in aversion to the already powerful odor on her end. This one was most definitely Beckett-flavoured.
After getting the address, he balanced the phone between his shoulder and jaw as he wrestled his jeans over his tired, uncooperative limbs. "I'll be there in 15."
Hours later, the bullpen was a flurry of activity. Leads were coming in left and right, and they were all just barely managing to keep up.
In a brief period of leisure, Kate broached the subject that had been at the back of her mind all morning. Turning to both Ryan and Esposito, she spoke casually. "Hey, you game for dinner on Sunday?" A longstanding tradition with "her boys" was a fairly eventful evening at the Beckett apartment, always the Sunday closest to Jonah's birthday. The menu, activities, and guests were always a negotiation process between the detective and her son, and this year was no different. While it wasn't as ridiculous as his wish to have a cowboy party, complete with real horses and bb guns, his request this year was no less harebrained. Except this year, for lack of better judgment, Kate gave in. She inwardly sighed, not knowing whether she should be dreading or looking forward to spending an entire day in Richard Castle's company.
Esposito perked up immediately. "For Baby Beckett's birthday bash? Definitely."
Kate rolled her eyes at the moniker but nodded. "I'm making mostaccioli casserole." she informed him of her son's meal choice, adding the tempting declaration of "Extra cheese."
"I'm in, too." Ryan added quickly, his eyes eager and excited. Beckett's grandma's mostaccioli casserole recipe was notorious among those at the precinct, and would coerce even the hardest of homicide detectives and the most stubborn of little boys into compliance.
"Hey, he's going to be ten now." Lanie teased, striding into the bullpen with a file clutched in her hands. "You might not get away with that "Baby Beckett" crap for much longer, Javier. When my nephew hit ten, you could barely hug him without some damn whining." Lanie warned lightly. "Here's that paperwork you asked for. Don't get used to it, the morgue is not a delivery service."
Kate took the folder from her teasing friend's hand as she continued to joke with Esposito. "You'd better watch out, homeboy. That kid'll be tossing you around in no time, mark my words."
"Yeah?" Esposito shot back cockily. "I can take that squirt, any day."
Lanie grinned even wider, well-aware of the former soldier's ego. "We'll see if you're singing that same damn tune when he can snap you like a twig." Turning towards Kate, the medical examiner continued. "You know if you're making that mostaccioli I'll sure as hell be there. Kendra said she and the kids'll come up, too."
After Lanie left, Kate spent a few minutes flipping through the autopsy and making additions to the murder board. She then passed the file along to the other detectives and she was soon left alone with her thoughts as Esposito and Ryan volleyed ideas back and forth with Castle. Despite all the distractions a new case provided, Kate felt melancholy settle over her.
Without warning, she felt her throat close up and the all-too familiar feeling of tears burgeoning behind her eyelids. She abruptly stood, rolling her chair back forcefully and startling not only Castle, but Ryan and Esposito as well. She briskly walked away, praying that none of them noticed the rebelling tears forming in her eyes.
"I'll be…right back." Rick told them after a few tense moments, rising to follow her. The looks they shot him were enough of a warning he'd ever need. I won't hurt her, he thought firmly, as he turned into the hallway she'd disappeared down.
He rushed towards the nearest bystander, asking hurriedly as he looked around for any hint of her. "Detective Beckett. Can you tell me where she went?"
She pointed Rick towards the stairwell, and he took two at a time until he nearly tripped over her on the next floor. She acknowledged his presence with a brief flick of her eyes, but other than that, the sounds of her labored breathing and soft sniffling were the only sounds.
"You wanna talk about it?" he whispered, sinking down on the landing next to her.
"No," Kate whispered back, silently cursing the tears about to fall as she struggled to inhale normally.
Rick nodded silently, sitting against the wall with her in silence until he spoke softly once again. "Can I talk?"
Kate let out a quick breath, almost a laugh, even as a renegade tear curled itself around her chin. "Never stopped you before."
He chuckled lightly before gently settling his hand on top of her clenched fist. When she didn't recoil from the touch, he began to speak. "You know, I never learned how to ride a bicycle."
"What?" Without permission, a laugh bubbled up in her throat. Her heart was racing, but she was unsure if it was due to emotion or the lone finger he was caressing her knuckles with.
"It's true!" Even through the glistening of tears, he could still see the skepticism in her eyes. "Mother is not and never was an outdoors-y person, and I never liked any of her flings enough to even play catch, let alone listen to long enough to master the art of riding without training wheels."
She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand. "So you can't ride a bike."
"Nope." Rick popped,
"How did you even get around as a kid?" she choked out, her throat still thick with tears. The memories of being chased down the sidewalk by her father and his camera, skinned knees, of long afternoons riding around her old neighborhood with her friends and her last trip with her mother, a bicycle trail through Lilydale Park in Minnesota on one of her mother's infamous "just because" trips flooded from her memory.
Rick grinned at her. "I couldn't ride a bike. Doesn't mean nobody else I knew couldn't. Lacey Morris. I think I clutched onto her from the back of her bike every day for a year. Great chest."
Kate shook her head in disbelief, closing her eyes against the tears still threatening to fall. "Castle."
He held his free arm up in defense. "I was eleven! What was I supposed to do? Ignore it?" he gasped, like it was the worst thing he could think of doing at that age.
At Kate's strangled laugh and smile, the corners of his eyes crinkled. They sat in silence for a few more moments, the sound of each other's breath the only noises. Finally, she spoke again.
"You promise not to judge?" she weakly tried to tease, her heart still hammering away in her chest.
He responded without even a hint of humour in his eyes. "I promise."
Kate looked down at her hands nervously, watching Rick's finger move over hers. She twisted her other hand into her hair as she let her head rest on the wall behind her, eyes slipping closed. "It's stupid."
She could hear the smile in his voice as his soft voice echoed around them. "I'm probably the only grown man in New York that can't ride a bike. Try me."
Kate shrugged slowly, breathing in the smell of his cologne before speaking. "I don't want him to grow up."
"That's not stupid." Rick told her gently. "That's being a parent."
She hummed noncommittally. "For the longest time, Jonah was all I had. After my mom," she paused. "Well, my dad and I didn't speak for weeks after her funeral, and besides dragging him out of bars, I hardly saw him. I didn't even tell him I was pregnant. I knew I should have, but Jonah wasn't even born yet and he already had one person fail him. He didn't need another."
She hadn't expected to see her father in the grocery store that day, when she was eight months pregnant and desperately craving french fried onions and blini. The memory of her father stumbling along the international foods aisle was something she knew she'd never forget. The way he'd dropped to his knees and stared at her stomach like it was something from another planet. The smell of bourbon and the tears in his eyes. He went in and out of rehab before finally cleaning up for good when Jonah was three, appearing on her doorstep in a button-down shirt and slacks that were a few sizes too big, and a cautious smile on his face.
"And now he's growing up, he's going to be in middle school next year, and I feel like…I want him to experience the world, to pave his own way, but it's like he's halfway to twenty. To being on his own, to not needing or wanting me around."
Despite the heartbreaking sincerity of her words, Rick couldn't help but chuckle. "Have you met your kid? He's completely yours. I doubt that, that age or time or maturity will ever change that."
"I wish my mom could have met him. I hate that she isn't here to be so proud of him. To spoil him completely rotten." she whispered suddenly, slowly turning her hand around in his. Their fingers slowly entwined together as she used her other hand to wipe the last traces of moisture away. Holding his breath, Rick tentatively reached forward with his free hand, using the base of his index finger to brush away the tear on her chin. He slowly let his breath out when Kate didn't push him away, and he held her eyes for a few long moments. They finally looked away, both intimidated by the emotions they saw in the other's eyes.
"Come on," Rick stood up, using the hand still entwined with hers to pull her to her feet. He let his fingers gently squeeze hers before releasing them. "You hungry?"
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The later that night, Kate found herself being bombarded by text messages from a very anxious medical examiner. Apparently, someone had let it spill about her near-breakdown in the middle of the bullpen and her and Castle's subsequent disappearance for the rest of the afternoon. She made a mental note to threaten Javier Esposito with mall cop duty a little more often.
After spending about twenty minutes in the privacy of her bedroom, recounting nearly all of the details from the stairwell, she wandered out into the main living area. Kate pretended not to notice Jonah scribbling down a few answers on a worksheet before sliding down in his chair to continue read his newest literary obsession, deciding to fight the homework battle another day.
"Ugh, Lanie." Kate groaned into her phone, falling backwards over the arm of the couch.
"Don't ugh, Lanie me." Lanie sassed, rolling her eyes even though Kate couldn't see them. "You've got it bad."
"I do not have it-" Well aware that her very perceptive son was only yards away at the table, she lowered her voice. "I do not have it bad for anyone, let alone Rick Castle."
Lanie smirked. "Did I say anything about writer boy?"
Rolling her eyes, Kate retorted. "You implied it and you know it."
"Now, don't go and be putting words in my mouth." the medical examiner scolded lightly, enjoying the hole her friend was digging for herself.
"I don't have to. I know you well enough." Kate shook her head,
"And I know you." she pointed out. "Listen, honey, you and that hard head of yours may still not be willing to see it, but I do."
Kate groaned. "Lanie."
"Okay, okay." Lanie acquiesced, knowing now was not the time to push. "Fine. Tell me the plan for Sunday, you know how much I hate going into these things blind."
Unable to keep the smile from her face, Kate let her head fall back. "Well, dinner here at about 5, you know that much. Jonah wants us all to play this new interactive Clue game, so we'll do dessert after that."
"Really? The son of a homicide detective wants to play a murder mystery game? How original."
After hearing his name, Jonah looked up from his homework only to see his mother's bare legs hanging over the arm of the couch. Quietly leaving the table, he crept forward slowly, waiting for a lag in conversation on his mother's side before springing.
"It's not nice to talk about people!" Jonah yelled, standing between her legs and letting himself fall backwards.
"Hey!" Kate cried in surprise, unprepared for her son's back to fall on top of her, his hands twisting behind them to dig into her sides.
"Lanie, gotta go." Kate managed between laughter, balancing the phone near her ear so her hands were free to flip Jonah from on top of her body to the floor next to the couch.
Hearing the commotion on the other end, Lanie couldn't help but smirk. "Call me later, sweetie."
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"Did you do it?" Alexis, returning home on Thursday evening from an after-school study hall, made a beeline for her father as soon as she was in the door.
After Alexis planted the seed of idea in his brain, it seemed to miraculously grow overnight into a full-blown scheme. One that had the potential the backfire right into their faces, but even though he acknowledged that chance, the possibility that it would all work out perfectly was as much of an incentive he'd ever need. "Yes, my little co-conspirator." Rick joked. "Locked and ready."
She beamed. "You're the best dad ever."
Rick shook his head in mock bitterness. "Always with the surprise. It should be common knowl-"
Alexis clapped her hand over his mouth, kissing his cheek lightly before releasing him. "Don't blow it. Kate'll kill us both. Or at least you."
"Yeah, yeah." Rick sighed, a small smile on his face as he watched the fifteen year old take to the stairs with an excited skip.
Martha, perched on a nearby chair, merely shook her head at him. "For a writer, you seem to be awfully unobservant with your own feelings."
Shaking his head dumbly, he turned back to his glass of water and drank deeply. "I have no idea what you're talking about, mother."
"Mmm." Martha hummed skeptically. "So you and your lady friend are going to the fair in Belleville."
"Yes, mother. You know that." After Hurricane Gina, I'd be surprised if the entire building didn't know, he added silently. "And whatever connotations "lady friend" has in your head, get them out." The last thing he needed was his mother's interference, especially considering her flamboyant attitude and flair for drama.
She looked at him innocently. "Well, I'm sure Detective Beckett is very much a lady. And your friend."
Rolling his eyes, Rick turned pointedly to the newspaper on the counter, flipping through it dispassionately as his mother smiled knowingly in the corner.
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When Saturday morning finally rolled around, Jonah found himself getting antsy. It was looking to be an absolutely gorgeous May weekend, but he couldn't help but scan the sky for signs of clouds, looking for something, anything that would ruin his carefully constructed plans.
"Do you have the tickets, mom? You know how much it sucks to wait in line." he badgered, following the slightly irritated woman from her bedroom to the living room. "Mom. Do you?"
Kate huffed out an annoyed breath before forcing herself to answer patiently. She had since decided that it was, in fact, her son's day, and that she would make the best of it, no matter what or who happened. "Yes, Jonah, they've been safely put away all week. Like I've told you the last 12 times you've asked."
"Let me see." Jonah demanded, unsatisfied and wanting visual proof as reassurance.
Grabbing her purse from the dining room table, Kate began to rummage around in it. She looked curiously at the inside before her face fell. "Oh, no." She looked guiltily up at her son, whose eyes had widened almost comically as his face paled. "Shit."
For once not calling his mother out on her swearing, Jonah gaped in horror. "You lost them? How could you? Mom! "
Kate looked away briefly before shooting him a twisted grin. "Gotcha." She produced four small pieces of paper, safely tucked away in her wallet.
"Mom!" he gasped for breath, slightly winded by panic.
She shook her head in mock disappointment, eyes dancing with mirth. "You are so easy."
"You're not funny." Jonah protested, moving closer to ensure that the tickets were indeed the real thing until a soft knock on the door interrupted his scrutinization. "They're here!" he jumped up, almost like a deer.
"Chill out." Kate grinned at him as she moved towards the door. Before she got very far from the couch, however, Jonah rushed forward. "No! I got it!"
She rolled her eyes, his body slipping nimbly by her as he darted towards the door. "Whatever."
Only seconds later, Richard and Alexis Castle were greeted by a wide-eyed, out of breath child. "Hi!" he enthused.
Alexis found her voice first. "Hey! Happy birthday!" she leaned forward and hugged him before offering forward a small bag.
"Thanks." he beamed, lifting the bag from her fingers. "But you weren't supposed to get me anything."
"We know." Both Alexis and Rick said. The older man smiled down on him. "Feel any older yet?"
"Nah." Jonah shrugged. "Not yet. But this is my last night ever of single digits!"
"Don't remind me." Kate, coming up from behind him, kissed him lightly on the head. "Makes me feel old."
Jonah rolled his eyes at her. "You're not that old."
"Thanks for the reassurance." she said sarcastically, prying Jonah's fingers off the door and pulling him backwards, beckoning both of them forward into the apartment.
As they stepped into the living room, Kate turned to both of them with a genuine grin. "I'm glad you guys could make it."
Rick gave her a warm smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
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