Young at Heart
The water show is cool. Except she can't see from here and if she could just move a little to the side she might be able to see more of it.
She glances back at Mom and Rick. They're watching the fountains and holding hands and she doesn't want to interrupt. So she just scoots along the fence, fingers tripping over the rails as she walks, trying to find a better view of the show. There are these annoying bushes and she's just not tall enough to see over them.
Right here. There's a break in the bushes and she can finally see the jets of colored water. She pushes up on her tiptoes, watching the end of the show. The water splashes back into the pool, the music transitions to a different song, and Al turns around to find Mom and Rick.
There's a person who looks like Mom walking off toward the space place. Mars, maybe. Or Jupiter because that one's red too. But Mom wouldn't just walk off, not without Rick and her.
She starts running toward the woman because maybe Rick had to go to the bathroom and Mom was following him.
Except when she gets to the person in the same green shirt as Mom, it's not Mom. Mom's hair is in a ponytail and is a pretty brown color. This person has dark blonde hair around her shoulders. The shadows made it look darker, like Mom's, but they were wearing green and…
She turns around, looking through the people for her real Mom, for Rick.
Someone bumps past her, running toward a store and she stumbles a little right into another person.
"Hey, princess."
She looks up and sees the little pin nametag. A worker. "Hi," she says softly, eyes already looking around again for Mom and Rick.
The man – his nametag says he's Sam – crouches down so they're on the same level, his hands on his knees. "You looking for someone?"
"Mom," she says, starting to sniffle because Mom's gonna be so angry since she wandered off and she knows Mom goes through worst case scenarios when things like this happen. "Looking for Mom and Rick."
"Okay. Let's go over here and we'll see if we can find them," Sam says gently, reaching out for one of her hands.
He leads her back toward the big space golf ball to an information booth. He talks to another worker who smiles and waves at her even as she tries to hold back tears. Because Mom's not here and Rick's not here and they're gonna be so so so angry.
The worker woman comes around the little booth and kneels next to Al. "Hey, sweetie. My name's Emily. Sam says you're looking for your parents. Is that right?"
She nods, swallowing the tears. "Mom and Rick."
"And what do Mom and Rick look like? We're gonna send out a search party."
It takes a few minutes for her to describe Mom and Rick but Emily is patient and smiling and eventually Sam picks up one of those walkie-talkies that Mom sometimes uses and starts repeating the information.
"So, hopefully one of our other cast members," Emily is explaining, "will find your Mom and Rick and bring them here. You okay for right now, princess?"
She manages a little nod.
Emily stays next to her the entire time, pointing out cool things about stuff around them and giggling with her about the strange clothes people are wearing. Emily's nice and is good at distracting her, letting her hand out stickers to people that stop by for help finding different attractions.
"Al!"
Her head snaps up from the coloring page she and Emily are doing together when she hears Mom. Rick's at her side, sprinting past Mom to the table. And it's Rick that picks her up from the chair, the crayon she was using clattering to the ground as he pulls her against him.
"I take it this is Mom and Rick," says Emily, standing up and finding the crayon, putting it back on the table.
But she's too busy being squeezed against Rick's chest with Mom hugging around the both of them to tell Emily that, yes, this is Mom and Rick and everything is okay again.
"Mom, I'm sorry," she sniffles against Rick's neck, her fingers playing with Rick's soft hair. "I'm sorry, Rick. I'm so sorry."
Mom is kissing her hair and squeezing her sides and Rick is holding her tight and it feels good. She feels safe again.
"Don't be angry," she whispers, her voice scratchy and rough. "Ple-Please don't be angry. I thought it was you, Mom, but it-it wasn't and I was scared and…"
"Shh…" murmurs Mom against her hair. "Just glad you're okay, kid."
Rick presses a kiss to her forehead. "Scared us, Al."
Rick is thanking Emily and Sam, shaking their hands. But she doesn't see much of it because she's hiding her face in his shirt and shoulder and feeling Mom still touching her head.
And slowly, her heart stops racing and she stops shaking a little and she hugs Rick back. So so tight.
He never, ever, ever wants to feel that way again. So he squeezes the girl harder to make sure she's still here, safe and with them, as he looks at Kate over Al's shoulder. Her eyes are shiny, tears barely being held back by will.
"Still want to try World Showcase?" he asks, starting back toward the fountain, staying closer to the gift shops around it than the fence.
She nods, fingers still touching Al's back. Like she needs to prove to herself as well that their daughter isn't lost anymore. "Might as well. We're here."
"Could go back to the resort and sit by the pool. Might be less stressful," he suggests, tugging on Kate's elbow to spin her around to face him. She doesn't look convinced, eyes darting between husband, daughter, and the entrance to World Showcase beyond them. "Mom." He waits until those still-shimmering hazel eyes land on his. "Let's go back to the pool." There's a "please" that hangs in the air until she picks it up.
"Okay. You cool with that, kid?" she asks, rubbing a finger over Al's cheek. "Going back to swim for a little while?"
Al shrugs, burrowing back into Castle's body. "M'kay."
It's not a wasted day, he tells himself, shifting Al in his arms – the girl hasn't made a move to get down and walk on her own and he doesn't blame her – so that he can link his fingers with Kate. He needs the connection, to know his entire family is here.
They're moving against the flow of traffic, more people heading into the park than out.
And then, on the walk toward the busses, he pauses. "Hey, Al?"
"Hm?" she hums, turning her head to blink up at him.
"Wanna ride the monorail?"
Al perks up. "The train from last night?"
"Yeah." He's checking with Kate, who nods with a smile that's far away from where they are. "Come on."
They change paths, walking up the ramp to the station for the monorail. It's not crowded and they wander through the lines for the monorail. Kate leans against his side, squishing Al between them.
"Here's a game, kid," she says, just loud enough for both of them to hear. "Try to guess the next colored monorail that pulls in."
It's enough to distract them, watching the horizon for one of the monorails. He sneaks his hand down to touch Kate's waist, right above the waistband of her shorts. Her body tilts further against his and she lets her head fall onto his shoulder, right next to Al's.
"Alright. Guesses," Kate says as one of the trains appears. "I say purple."
Of course she would. "Dibs on silver. You, Al?"
"Teal!"
When it pulls into the station, they're all wrong. The stripe along the side is lime green.
"No winner this time," Kate sighs, waiting for the doors to open, letting the people get off before Castle tugs them toward the nearest car.
They sit along one of the benches and Castle finds himself in the corner, Al kneeling in his lap to see out the window, with Kate pressed against him. They have the car to themselves so he stretches his feet out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles.
This rail only goes to EPCOT from the Ticket and Transportation Center. They transfer to the other rail, playing the same guessing game that Al wins this time with her choice of red.
And when they get into the car, Castle is shushed by Kate so they can hear the announcer.
"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas."
He gets a kick out of Kate whispering the words into his ear. "You know," he returns, a hand over Al's stomach to keep her from sliding off his lap and onto the ground as she watches the Polynesian Resort come up on the rail. "It is so hot when you speak Spanish, Mom."
She shoves him, hiding her face against his shoulderblade, pushed between him and the seatback. "Don't *say* things like that out in public, Rick," she admonishes, muffled from the fabric of his shirt.
"Why, Kate Beckett. Willing to break a few laws here?"
Her face is a pale red – he knows she'll just say it's sunburn – when she rights herself, pushing at her hair, now a mess from worrying at it when Al went missing and nuzzling against his shoulder on the monorail. "No." There's a pause, then her nose is a hard point against his upper arm. "Maybe." Then she shakes her head fiercely, ponytail hitting him in the back. "No. Not with Al here."
It's so not her, the "maybe" a pleasant surprise. One he files away in his brain for a day where opportunities present themselves.
They ride through the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian with its sharp red roofs and the pretty wedding pavilion. Then they're back at the Contemporary and Al makes a point of waving to the people waiting for tables at Chef Mickey's. A few wave back, making the girl's smile even brighter.
His chest loosens each time she grins. God, if being a parent is like this except all the time, he's gonna need to take some serious lessons from Kate about not tying their kids to a chair in the living room to make sure they're safe all day, every day.
Kate pulls them off at Magic Kingdom to take the bus back to the resort. Al is back to babbling, squirming out of his arms to walk between them. He notices that she has a hand from either of the adults clasped in her little ones.
Al talks about what she wants to do with Minnie when she's born. How she's going to teach her how to sneak out of bed to watch TV after Mom tucks her in – that earns the girl a glare. And how to do princess hair and watch all of her favorite movies and paint toenails with Lanie. Trips to their coffee shop after school and tricking Minnie into doing the dishes.
Suddenly, he can't wait to get back to the room. Because he's watching Kate's face glow with each word and her hand has been inching toward her abdomen. And he just wants her alone for thirty minutes.
So when they get off the bus at their stop, he can't help it if his hand is tight around hers or that he walks just a tad faster than usual. He can tell Kate notices since she sends him a half-lidded glance as he fumbles with his wallet, finding the key card for the room.
"Hey, kid? Go get into your swim suit and wait in the living room," he says, toeing off his sneakers in the hall. Kate's already walking down the hallway to their room and damn her, she's swinging her hips just for his benefit.
Al trots off into her room, the door closing with a click. It's the signal he needs as he dashes off toward his wife who is throwing heated looks back at him. He hooks her around the waist, pulling her back to him.
"We've got maybe fifteen minutes before she gets bored out with the TV and wants to swim," she gasps as he nips at her neck. In one quick move, he's the one up against the little wall dividing the bedroom from the bathroom with Kate pressed up against him. "Make 'em count, Rick."