Young at Heart
They don't go to the main pool. Instead, they find the quieter, more secluded Turtle Pond. In fact, it's almost completely theirs – most people taking advantage of the nice day and heading to the parks. Kate claims a section of lounge chairs, tossing a pile of towels on them along with her grey sarong. Al's already in the pool, cannonballing into the deep end with a giggle.
"You going to swim or lay here?"
She curls her toes against the heated cement of the pool deck, regarding him from under her eyelashes as he strips off the t-shirt he threw on for the walk over. "Gonna swim with Al for a while. Gotta cool down after…"
Kate trails off as she starts toward the stairs into the shallow part of the pool. She pushes off from the bottom step, stroking through the water to reach Al. A glance back at their chairs shows that Castle is still staring at her. Take a picture, she thinks. Because in a few months, I'll be bloated and complaining and you'll want to remember exactly what your wife looked like without an extra being hanging onto her stomach.
"Mom," the girl gasps, doggie paddling over to Kate's side and looping her arms around her mother's neck. "Race me across the pool."
She drags Al through the water to the side of the pool, holding onto the edge with one hand. Her feet are planted on the tile under the water line, ready to propel forward. Al looks just as ready, brown hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks. Grinning and wiggling in the water as she prepares.
"Rick, count down!" Al yells at him.
Castle is wading his way over to them, ducking under the water before emerging again, shaking out his hair and sending droplets onto their faces. Al giggles, wiping a wet hand down her face as if it'll get rid of the water. "Ready, Becketts?" he asks, lifting himself up onto the side of the pool to get out of their way. He counts down from three, imitating the starting gun of a horse race.
Kate doesn't hold back for Al, pushing through the water quickly. It's been a while since she did laps in a pool but it comes back easily enough.
Until a hand wraps around her ankle and tugs her backwards in the water. Her head dips into the water and she comes up sputtering, watching Al zip ahead with a peal of laughter. She twists and her foot connects with Castle's chest, sending her back under the waterline. "Rick!" she manages once she gets her head up again. "What're you doing?"
"Catching my wife," he says, dragging her until her back hit his chest. His arms band around her upper arms, trapping her. His lips touch her cheek as his fingers dance over her stomach. "And letting our daughter win the race."
Sure enough, Al touches the other side of the pool with a victory whoop, splashing back into the water. "Beat you, Mom!"
Kate shoves Castle off her, pushing out into the middle of the pool. "Control yourself," she hisses. "It's been less than half an hour."
"Such a long time," he sighs, swimming toward Al. He scoops the girl from the water, lifting her up as she giggles, flailing her arms out. "I'm taking a hostage."
"Mom! Help!" Al says as Castle pulls her down toward the deep end of the pool.
Kate has the chance to take a single step closer to the two of them before Castle tosses Al into the pool with a splash. She comes up, pushing her hair out of her eyes with a grin.
"That was fun!"
So Castle picks the girl up again and tosses her further into the end of the pool. Then he turns to eye Kate. "Your turn."
"Oh, no," Kate says, backing up even as he stalks toward her. "You are not throwing me into the pool." She hits the side of the pool and her gaze turns for ways to escape, holding her hands out to stop him from getting closer. He doesn't pause though, wrapping his fingers around her wrists and placing them against his chest.
"But it's fun," he whines, pulling her closer, hands coasting down under the waterline to her thighs.
"Rick," she draws out, kicking at him though the movement slows in the pool. "As your wife and mother of your unborn child, I forbid you from –"
He lifts her up, hefting her over his shoulder with an arm around her knees to hold her in place. "From what, Kate?"
She doesn't answer, grinning at Al as the girl treads water in the deep end of the pool. Instead, Kate tickles her fingers down Castle's sides until they're under water, slipping between his skin and the fabric of his swim trunks. Immediately, the arm around her legs loosens and Kate drops into the water, swimming away from him.
"That," he says, pushing off the floor of the pool toward her, "was low."
Kate winks as she walks up the steps back toward their chairs. "Love and war, Rick."
They're all tired when Castle decides it's time to head back to the room in order to get ready for dinner. As Kate rubs a towel over her hair back in the bedroom, still in her swimsuit and knowing his eyes are roving across the curve of her spine down over her hips to her legs, squeezing out as much water as possible.
"You gonna tell me what I should wear tonight or is that a secret too?" she asks, tossing the towel at him as she moves to the drawers to find underwear.
He comes up behind her, arms to either side of hers, and digs through her drawer. "Nothing here. Where're your dresses?"
"Closet. Pick something that don't give you the urge to drag me into secluded corners and have your way with me," Kate warns, picking out underwear and heading down the hall to Al's room.
"Leaves few options for me," he shouts. "Everything you wear makes me want to…"
She doesn't hear the end of the sentence as she ducks into Al's room. Al is dressed, sandaled feet swinging against the bed. Penguin is on her lap, her chin propped on the bird's stuffed head. "You ready to go, kid?"
"Where're we eating?" Al asks, tilting her head to the side, ignoring the television for her mother.
"Secret. Rick won't tell."
Al slides off the bed, grabbing her lightsaber. "I'll get him to tell," she says, running toward the bedroom.
"Rick! Incoming!" Kate warns even as Al's battle-cry drowns out any of her words.
Castle throws her a sundress over Al's head as he is beaten back by the girl. "Try that. I'll hold back the Jedi."
Kate tugs the dress on, smoothing it over her hips. Soft seafoam green jersey, a modest scoopneck, slim bright yellow belt. Totally not the choice she thought he'd go for. When she comes back out of the bathroom, the bedroom is empty but the sounds of battle echo from the living room. She pulls on a pair of flats before rounding the corner.
Al runs straight into her, lightsaber clattering to the ground a moment before Rick hits the girls. He turns it into a bear hug, pulling them close against him.
"Such a playboy," Kate grinds out, his fingers digging into his sides.
"Only girls I care about are you two."
"And Minnie," adds Al, picking up the fallen lightsaber and running it into her room. "Don't forget my sister."
Castle grins, linking his fingers with Kate's. "We are so not naming our daughter after a mouse."
They took a ferry from the boardwalk at the resort to Downtown Disney. The skipper joked the entire ride, asking trivia questions and letting Al drive for a little while. It distracts her for long enough that Castle is able to trail a path of hot, open-mouthed kisses down from Kate's lips to her collarbone. It was only the not-so-subtle cough from the skipper that separated them before Al bounced her way back down the length of the boat to their bench, giving Kate just enough time to steady her breathing and to glare at the man looking pleased next to her.
Castle thanks the skipper before dragging the girls off the boat, one of their hands in either of his. "Come on," he says, impatient as he pulls at their hands. "I've heard great things about this place."
The Earl of Sandwich is busy at dinnertime but Castle squeezes them into line. "They've got great sandwiches. They're all grilled and there's peanut butter and jelly and roast beef sandwiches and they're all so good."
Kate's scanning the menu, shifting forward when Castle pushes lightly on her lower back. "What did you want?"
"Meatball sandwich."
"Go find us a place to sit then." She waves him off, even when he starts to pull out his wallet. "I've got it."
They find him tucked into a corner table and she puts the tray on the table between them. There's three wrapped sandwiches, drinks, and a bag of cookies.
"You've got the top one," Al says, handing him one of the sandwiches.
Kate unwraps hers after stabbing the straw into one of the half-and-half cups.
"What'd you get?" he starts, trailing off when Kate licks a smear of peanut butter and jelly from her thumb. "Juvenile, Mom."
She sucks her thumb into her mouth, a wicked little grin at the corner of her lips. "Juvenile, huh?"
The bus from Downtown Disney to EPCOT isn't crowded; they're able to get a row of seats together. Al sits on Kate's lap, stopping Castle from taking advantage of Kate's legs pressed against his. The girl is playing with the end of her mother's braid, her head cushioned on Kate's shoulder.
She hasn't really let go of either of them for the entire day.
They're all still a little shaken.
"Going home?" Al asks sleepily, blinking up at Kate through her curls.
"Nope. More fireworks." Castle is thumbing through his phone but he pauses, smiling at Al. "And lasers." He reaches over and smoothes a hand over Al's head, squeezing Kate's shoulder when he touches it. "Then home for bed."
Al snuggles into Kate's arms, sighing. "'Mkay."
They're the last ones off the bus, Kate shifting Al further up on her hip before stepping down behind Castle. He hooks a finger around the yellow belt, keeping both Kate and Al close as he slides all of their tickets through the counter to get into the park. They bypass the fountain and Kate feels Castle's hand tighten around her belt. She manages to hold Al with one arm, touching her fingers to his wrist.
"We're okay. Everyone's here," she whispers as they walk toward World Showcase. Then she moves on, nodding toward the man-made lagoon in front of them. "I've heard Mexico is a good place to watch."
As they walk toward the left, Al wiggles out of Kate's arms. One of her hands clutch to Kate's skirt, the other wrapped around the hem of Castle's shirt. The pull is comforting as Castle steers them toward the edge of the walkway, right against one of the railings over the water. They have a clear view of the water, an unilluminated globe floating on a barge in the middle, brightened only by the flickering flames from the torches placed around the lagoon.
"Too bad," Castle mutters into Kate's ear, ruffling the stray waves of hair curling around her cheek.
"What's too bad?"
His fingers, still around her belt, splay out over her stomach. "This one." When she narrows her eyes, he touches his lips to her cheekbone. "Could have found some tequila, limes, and salt."
"Seriously?" Kate brushes her hands through Al's loose hair, idly braiding little bits of it as the girl watches the fire from the torches. "You want us to, what? Role-play with your characters?"
A voice rings out from the speakers and Al hits her hand against Castle's leg, shushing him from responding to Kate's quip. "Good evening and welcome. We've gathered here tonight, around the fire, as people of all lands have gather for thousands and thousands of years before us, to share the light and to share a story. An amazing story, as old as time itself but still being written. And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one. I hope you enjoy our story tonight; reflections of earth."
Then, with a huff of breath, every one of the torches surrounding them blew out.
A screech that sounds like a hawk sounds as a single firework blazes across the night sky. Fire blooms on a barge nearby and Kate can feel the heat licking over her skin. Fireworks explode, bursts of color on the black curtain until the chaotic music slows, letting the globe light up, the continents becoming screens with shots of wild horses and the desert and people shopping in the marketplace. It's water fountains, changing from blues to purples to green to orange next before the buildings at each of the countries become outlined in sparkling lights. Lasers shoot across the sky, using the smoke from the fireworks to become visible. Shimmering waves of green light mix with sparkling fireworks. Blues mix with whites as they twirl together into the sky.
When a woman begins singing, some of the people around them move to leave. Kate catches Castle's fingers, holding him in place. "Not over yet," she manages just before the globe in the center cracks open.
The torch inside sends red fireworks into the air, lighting a flame in the middle of the lake. And as the chorus reaches the conclusion of the song, a sustained chord is spattered with bright flashes of fireworks coming from every direction in the lagoon, as if filling the sky with fireflies. Spirals burst at their apex into pink light as the music ends, leaving only the lit torch in the center of the water.
"That was so pretty," Al sighs, leaning her head against Castle's leg. "Can we go home now? I'm sleepy."
It's a rush to get to the exit so Castle scoops Al up into his arms to keep track of her, his fingers tangling with Kate's until they get onto a bus back to Old Key West, also crowded with late night park-goers. Another man gets up, letting Castle sit with a drowsy Al cradled in his lap, Kate standing between his knees and using his shoulders for support on the ride.
Kate unlocks the door to the room with her own key, flicking the light on in the kitchen to flood enough illumination for Castle to navigate his way into Al's room. She hears him whispering to the girl, getting her to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth. But her own eyes are drifting shut even as she stumbles toward the master bedroom, shedding the sundress and throwing it toward the dresser as she collapses onto the bed after pulling on a tanktop. It takes energy – too much energy – to slide her legs under the sheet, pulling the pillow against her cheek as she burrows into the cushions.
She feels him slip his arm over her waist and senses the dip in the mattress as he kneels on the bed. "Hey," she says, snuggling deeper into the covers as he tucks himself along her back.
"Hi, sleepy-head," he whispers as his fingers tease up under her t-shirt to trail the pads of his fingertips around her stomach. "Still flat there."
She laughs, the sound coming off as tired rather than amused as she hoped, resting her hand over his. "Rick, I'm barely a month and a half along. We've got a good four months until I start showing signs of your virility."
Castle presses a kiss to her cheek and Kate can feel his smile. "It is so hot when you talk like that. Especially when you're this exhausted." He dips his forefinger into her belly button and grins when she gasps. "She's still in there."
"She?" Kate asks, turning her head enough to see his eyes, their laughing blue depths watching her. "You think it's a girl like Al does?"
He shrugs, sneaking his fingers under the waistband of her underwear. "Another girl would be nice. Someone would always be around to make me a sandwich."
"God, why did I marry you again?" Kate says as she shoves him on the shoulder.
This time he rolls so she's draped over his chest, his hands holding lightly to her waist as she brushes her hair back behind her ears. "Cause you love me?"
"Mmm, there's that," she hums a moment before she leans forward to kiss him. "Tell you what. If it's a girl, you get to pick the name. If it's a boy, I get to pick. Deal?"
He skims his hand up her side, savoring the shiver that runs through her body, until he can hold it out to her. "Deal."
"Guess this means that I need to start thinking up boy names," she says with a teasing smile as she scoots away from him.
Castle snags her tanktop with frantic fingers. "Wait. Veto rights to the loser."
"Worried that I'll be naming our son something ridiculous like Fabio?"
"Yes. Yes, I am."
"Goes both ways. I don't want a Roxy or Bambi running around our house," Kate says. "Go check on our daughter before we go to sleep. Make sure she brushed her teeth and stuff."
Castle is out of the room, holding onto the doorframe in order to swing himself around into the hallway to Al's room. While he's gone, Kate takes a moment to run her fingers over her midsection. She's right – her stomach is still flat and there's still a while until there's any proof that she's pregnant. But Castle's right, too – baby's there.
"Fast asleep," he says, sliding back into bed with her, pulling the sheets up around them. "Don't think this means that it'll be my job to tuck everyone in every night."
She's sleepy as she cuddles into his side. "You're such a good daddy," she murmurs against the hollow of his throat. "Fabio will be so lucky."
"So not funny."
