Javi woke with Lanie in his arms and, if it wasn't for his crying boy in the next room, he would have been content to stay like that. He sighed and gently extracted himself from the woman he loved, trying not to wake her. Javi fumbled his way through the dark, tripping over boxes that littered the apartment. His usually tidy home was full of mess and clutter as he and Lanie prepared to move into their new house. Javi entered his son's room and immediately stubbed his toe on the chest of drawers.
"Shit." He cursed, "That hurt." He slid his hand over the wall until his hand found the light switch. When he flicked it on he was able to move through the maze of boxes until he reached Sebastian's crib. "What's wrong little man?" He asked the four-month-old as he picked him up and held him to his chest. "Are you hungry?" Of course, Javi knew the answer and he went into the kitchen to heat up a bottle for him.
Javi grabbed a pre-made bottle from the fridge and put it in the microwave to heat as he gently rocked his crying child. "Come on, little man, Lanie's sleeping please don't wake her." The microwave beeped, signalling the bottle was ready. With the bottle in hand, Javi settled on the couch and fed his little guy. Already exhausted from his week's work, Javi tried not to fall asleep as his son slowly fed. When Sebastian had finished his bottle Javi quickly changed him and put him straight back to bed, before collapsing back in his own.
It felt like he had just laid down when his alarm invaded his sleep.
"No!" He groaned hitting the snooze button.
"Get up, Javi." He heard Lanie order. He opened one eye and saw her fully dressed and standing over the bed with a disapproving look on her face.
"No! Ten more minutes."
"Javier!" He could hear the smile in her voice, "Come on, Castle and Beckett will be here in an hour to help us move."
"What time is it?"
"Seven."
"Seven? I was up with Sebastian only an hour ago!"
"Up."
Sighing, Javi knew she was right and forced himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom on autopilot. After a quick shower he dressed in only sweatpants and entered the kitchen for his much needed caffeine fix.
"Morning Espo." Beckett greeted him, far too perky for this time on a Saturday morning.
"You're early." He observed, turning toward the coffee machine.
"We got you one on the way." She handed him a white take away cup which he took gratefully.
After silently taking a few sips he deemed himself perked up enough to hold a conversation. "You're early." He repeated his earlier statement.
"You said that already." She told him.
"Girl," Lanie started, entering the kitchen, "There is no point talking to him before his morning coffee, he will have no recollection of the conversation."
"Noted." Beckett replied with a smirk, "Anyway," She said to Javi, "Blame Castle. He was itching to get here."
Javi noticed for the first time that the writer wasn't in the room, "Where is Castle?"
"He's in the nursery." Lanie said, "He actually offered to change the diaper. Not that I'm complaining."
"Yeah," Beckett chimed in, "Kids and Castle go together surprisingly well."
"Javi, go get some clothes on." Lanie ordered.
Downing the last sip of his coffee he ducked into his bedroom and threw on a polo shirt and switched out his sweats for jeans. When he re-emerged Castle was playing happily on the living room floor with Sebastian.
"Morning Castle."
"Oh, good morning Espositio."
Javi watched as his friend dangled a small blue elephant toy in front of Sebastian, amused as his son attempted to grab it from where he lay on his stomach.
"Alright, where are we starting?" Beckett asked.
"Well," Javi surveyed his small apartment. There were boxes scattered everywhere and empty ones lined the walls waiting to be packed. "Moving guys are going to be here at midday, so I guess..."
"What have you got packed?" Beckett decided that would be an easier question.
"My room," He told her sheepishly, "And some of the nursery."
"Really, Espo? You've had weeks to pack."
"Kate, men are notorious for procrastination." Castle declared, joining them in the kitchen with Sebastian in his arms.
"Yeah, you should really know that by now. Don't you live with Castle?" Javi joked.
"Well, how about Kate and I do the kitchen while you boys get cracking on the nursery?" Lanie delegated.
"Sounds like a plan." Javi took Sebastian from Castle and headed into the nursery.
"Do you reckon they'll get anything done?" Lanie asked Kate when the boys were out of sight.
"Doubt it."
The two women began wrapping the crockery and glasses and stacking them in the empty boxes.
When the kitchen was completely packed away they moved into the living room and began packing away the DVD's.
"A hundred bucks says the boys aren't even half done in the nursery." Kate said. "It's almost eleven."
"I'll go check on them." Lanie got to her feet and pushed the door open to the nursery. Instead of finding them doing nothing like she suspected she walked in to find them putting the label on the last box. "Wow." She told them, "You've actually done it."
"Of course we have." Castle told her, feigning hurt.
Javi scooped Sebastian up from where he lay on his playing mat, "How's the kitchen going?"
"Done. We're working on the living room now."
"You have a whole lot of action movies, Espo." Kate said appearing in the doorway.
Lanie laughed and took Sebastian from Javi, "We need to get everything into the living room for the moving people. I'll feed him if you and Castle get the drawers and crib out there."
She and Kate returned to the kitchen where she quickly mixed up a bottle and began feeding the baby.
"What have we got left to do?" Lanie asked, surveying the room.
"Um, just the CD's and then I think we're done out here."
"The nursery is all done." Javi declared, dragging the crib through the door and into the living room.
"Well, as soon as we get that chest of drawers out." Castle added.
"Well, if you guys finish the living room I'll go and get some lunch." Kate told them.
"Good idea." Castle tossed her his car keys.
"I will return." She declared as the door closed behind her.
By the time Castle and Javi got the chest of drawers from the nursery into the living room, it was almost impossible to get through to the door. When Beckett returned with burgers for everyone she was shocked.
"Wow, this is crazy messy."
"Yeah, well the movers will be here in fifteen minutes." Javi replied.
"Well," She held up a bag of food, "I have lunch."
"Oh, goodie!" Castle snatched the bag from his fiancée's hand, "I'm starving."
When everyone was finished their lunch there was a knock on the door.
"That will be the movers." Javi speculated, getting up to open the door.
The two movers wanted to start with the larger furniture so they all rearranged the boxes so they had a path to the door to get the bed and lounge out first.
When the truck was at capacity Javi gave the men the address of the house and then loaded the remaining few boxes into his and Castle's cars.
"Alright. That's that done." He said, glancing around the empty apartment that had been his home for so long.
"Time to go." Lanie told him, handing his son to him.
They all left the apartment for the last time and climbed into their respective cars.
"You're quiet." Lanie said when Javi hadn't spoken for the drive. They were just pulling into the street that the house was on. "You ok, Javi?"
"Yeah." He placed his hand on her knee, "I really am."
He pulled the car into the driveway of their new home. Castle and Beckett weren't far behind them and before long they had the truck unpacked and all the boxes stacked in the garage.
"Alright, Castle and I will go with the movers to the storage place and get Lanie's things." Javi announced.
"Alright." Lanie walked with Javi to where his car was parked with the doors wide open and a sleeping Sebastian in his car seat. Carefully she took him from the seat and lay him on her shoulder. "We'll start getting some of this packed away." She kissed him goodbye before taking the sleeping baby inside to where Kate had set up the porta-crib.
She gently laid him down, taking a moment to watch him sleep.
"He's precious, isn't he?" Kate declared after a moment.
"Yes he is." Lanie smiled at the sleeping boy she thought of as her own. "You ever think about having kids?"
"Me?" Kate seemed astonished at the question, "I've never thought about it, no."
"Would you ever?"
Kate thought on it for a moment before giving her answer. "I don't know." The two women were silent for a moment until Kate changed the subject. "Where do we start with the boxes?"
Lanie lead her friend out of the office and through the kitchen to the garage. There was definitely a lot of work to do. "Well, these ones here say 'Kitchen', so let's start there."
They each grabbed the closest box to the door and headed into the kitchen to start unpacking.
By the time Castle and Javi returned, Lanie and Kate had cleared enough space in the garage to fit everything from the storage unit.
They were attempting to get the king sized bed up the stairs and into the master bedroom when there was a knock at the door. Lanie, who was supervising with Sebastian in her arms, opened it to see Kevin and Jenny with Sarah Grace.
"Hey, guys." She stepped aside to let them through, "Javi said you weren't going to make it."
"Well, we thought we should swing by and lend a hand." Kevin said, "Where is everyone?"
To answer his question there was a bang from upstairs, followed by a string of curse words.
"They're trying to get the bed into the master bedroom." She walked to the bottom of the stairs and called up to them, "You had better not be breaking my house."
"Nope." Came Castle's strained reply, "Just my foot."
"Man up, Castle," Beckett told him, "It barely got you."
"Are you kidding? You dropped the entire bed on my foot!"
"Can we please get this into the room? It is really heavy!" Javi snapped at them.
"Maybe I should go give them a hand." Kevin said, dashing up the stairs.
"How have you been, Jenny?" Lanie asked, leading her to the couch. It was the only thing in the bare living room.
"Good. You know, tired." She nodded toward the pram where the little girl was sleeping. "But it's been so good."
"That's good to hear."
"This is a lovely house." Jenny said after a moment's silence.
"Isn't it." She beamed, "Would you like a tour?"
"I would love one."
Lanie gave Jenny a tour of the four bedroom home, pointing out features such as the floor to ceiling windows and the ducted heating.
When they came to the master bedroom they watched, amused, as Javi, Kevin, Castle and Beckett tried to place the bed where Javi wanted it.
"But what's wrong with here?" Castle was complaining.
"No, it has to go over there!" Javi ordered.
"Just do not drop it on my foot again, this thing is heavy."
"I didn't drop it on your foot! If you'll remember I was still holding my end when Beckett dropped it."
"I only dropped it because Castle couldn't hold on to his part."
"Guys, come on!" Kevin intervened, "This thing is really heavy, can we please put it somewhere?"
Lanie and Jenny watched on silently as the four eventually got it to where Javi wanted it.
"Amused?" Beckett asked when she spied them.
"Very much so." Jenny said.
"Now you only have to get the crib, two chests of drawers and the bed side tables up here." Lanie informed them with a smile.
"Well, why don't you help?" Kevin asked her, challenging.
"I will. Let me just go put Sebastian down." She and Jenny went back to the living room where Lanie laid out Sebastian's play mat.
"I'll watch him." Jenny said, "Sarah Grace needs feeding now anyway." She gently rocked her fussing child.
"Thanks, Jenny."
Lanie met the others in the garage where they proceeded to move the large furniture and place it where it belonged.
The sun was just beginning to set when they got the bookshelf into the office.
"Is that everything?" Beckett as they slid it against the wall.
"Just the dining table now, I think." Javi told them, "Then we'll call it a day."
When the five of them had set the table in place in the large dining room the each plopped down on a chair.
"Thanks for all the help today." Lanie said, knowing all her friends were exhausted from the day's work.
"What is there left to do?" Castle asked.
"There's still a heap of boxes in the garage but I think we got all the furniture away." Javi said. "But thank you for helping."
"What are we here for, man?" Kevin said, slapping his friend on the back. "But we should go." He leaned back on his chair to check on his wife who was happily entertaining Sebastian while Sarah Grace slept in the porta-crib in the corner of the room.
After saying their goodbyes, Kevin and Jenny left.
"I'm going to order take-out." Javi declared, pulling four beers from the otherwise empty fridge, "You guys staying for dinner?"
"Sure." Castle answered, "As long as you're buying."