10. Castle: Home
by: jewel of athos
Summary: In which Castle comes home to his family after a particularly grueling case…
Prompt: Home
Author's Note: I really like this one. I like how it feels for me; something comfortable and warm and showing daddy!Castle. I want your thoughts on this one ;).
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Castle rushed up to his apartment as fast as he could, his keys jingling in his pocket and his breath coming in short gasps. He fumbled with the lock on his door, nearly breaking the key before he finally made it turn and burst inside.
"Dad?" His eyes flickered over to the kitchen, where Alexis and Martha were taking cookies off of baking sheets. His daughter looked concerned. "Are you okay?" She wiped her hands on a towel before she walked over to him. Castle cleared his throat and tried to relax as he hugged her.
"Well, actually, I smelled your…" he glanced into the kitchen, "…chocolate chip cookies from all the way over at the police station, and I got him as fast as I could so I could taste them before you two cookie monsters devoured them all." Alexis pulled back and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Really, Dad? I'm fifteen, come on." Rick sighed.
"Alright fine, you got me. Your grandmother called and told me about the cookies."
Alexis smacked him lightly in the arm. "Dad!"
"Well I'm sorry, sweetie! Maybe I just wanted to get home and be with my lovely family, did you ever think of that?" He hugged her shoulders. "Besides, your grandmother really did tell me about the cookies."
"That's hardly the kind of thing to send you into a panic like that, though," Martha pointed out as she finished off a gooey cookie.
"Hey, don't be so sure. Cookies and I have a very deep, very passionate long-term relationship. I might even ask them to marry me."
"You know, Richard, sometimes you can be an absolute idiot. So why don't you come sit down? You can explain everything to us over a nice big glass of scotch."
"But Mother, you know that I prefer milk with my cookies. Besides, little ears hear when you talk about alcohol." He stroked Alexis's hair while making puppy eyes at his mother. Alexis rolled her eyes when Martha waved a careless hand.
"Oh, whatever. Just tell me what's got you so wild and full of lies tonight?" Castle sat down on a stool next to his daughter.
"While I don't see how what you've described is any different from a normal day for me, would you be satisfied if I said that I finally found a murder a bit too gruesome for words?"
"Like what?" Martha asked, leaning forward.
"Mother, do the words "too gruesome for words" mean anything to you?"
"Dad, it's alright," Alexis assured him, patting his shoulder. "You don't have to tell us."
Martha rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself, kiddo."
"After dealing with that case today, it just made me feel a little bit more excited to get home than usual. That's all." He shot his mother a look as she opened her mouth to speak. With a huff, she took a sip of wine instead. "I like coming home to my family all safe and sound. I love you girls." He hugged Alexis. "Now, is the Inquisition over? Arguing while I eat gives me indigestion." Alexis shrugged. With a wink, they both turned expectant glares across the counter at Martha. With a long-suffering sigh, she gave in.
"Alright, fine, I'll leave you alone for now. But don't think I won't get to the bottom of this, Richard! I'm sure that your pretty detective will be able to give me some indication of what went on today."
"Mother, if you even so much as think about harassing Kate for details of the case today, I will kick you out," Castle warned through a mouthful of chocolaty bliss.
"Oh, you wouldn't dare; think of the publicity you would get! I can see the headlines now; "Famous Author Rick Castle Outs Own Mother"; "Broadway Beauty Left Abandoned on the Streets by Her Son"; "I Won't Kill You, But I'll Kick You Out: Richard Castle's Dark Side"…"
"Yeah, you know, that first one wasn't technically correct. When you use "out" that way…"
"Oh, so now you're going to insult the way I speak? That'll be another angle to add to the whole bad publicity thing."
"I will only insult you when you speak wrong," he promised. "And I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere once that the only bad publicity is no publicity…"
"Yeah, that was on "Scout's Safari" when I was twelve, Dad. Thought that was a good show."
"Yeah." Rick nodded thoughtfully.
Martha looked scandalized. "Richard Alexander Castle – "
"Hey!" Alexis interrupted quickly, turning a glare on each of them in turn to keep them silent. She started with her grandmother. "You, are overacting; you might want to tone it down a bit before your audition on Friday; I know you'll do great, but this seems a bit much. And you," she pointed at her father, "need to stop threatening to kick her out. You're causing trouble, you know."
Rick gave his daughter a tentative smile. "But I do it out of love," he quipped.
"But you're both driving me crazy; some of us have actually matured past eleven now."
"And some of us just hide it better." He winked, and her serious face cracked to reveal an amused grin.
"Clearly," Martha muttered, biting into another cookie. Castle opened his mouth.
"Ah!" Alexis raised a warning finger and an eyebrow at him. With a reluctant sigh he closed his mouth again. She smiled.
"Good. Now that that's over with, I guess it's time for bet…"
"Oh, no you don't!" Castle insisted, hopping off the stool. "Not tonight; it's movie night."
"But Dad, it's only Wednesday; I have school tomorrow."
He nodded. "I know. And it is also father/daughter movie night; what do you want to watch?" Alexis hesitated. "Oh, go pick something, anything. I'll make the popcorn."
"Deal."
Castle watched her run off with a smile. With all the crime and horror he saw and wrote about every day, one of the best things in his life was to be happy with his family. To be home.
Martha looked at him and smiled, their argument already forgotten.
"I know that look," she said. "What is my son thinking about now?" Coming out of his reverie, Rick shrugged.
"Just that I love my daughter," he said, "and that it's good to be home."
fin.
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