A/N: I suck at writing while on vacation, but now that I'm back home I'll hopefully suck less. So I kind of borrowed this scenario from my big brother, who did this about ten years ago with Make A Wish. It was basically the coolest thing ever, so I probably won't do it justice but, you know, suspend disbelief for a few I guess. I'm also kind of leaving certain things ambiguous, but I might change that later. Basically, I'm a little nervous about this one but I hope everyone likes it.
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Pressing his fingers against the cool glass, Jonah Beckett turned a serious eye upon his mother, who was sitting slightly behind him on the bench. "I think Rick is a psychic."
Unable to contain her laugh, Kate snorted into her coffee. That was a new one. "I think you're a nut."
"No, really." Jonah insisted. "First, he signed a book for you years ago and then the next time you see him is 'cause someone's copycatting killing people like that same book. Second, he knew you forgot to go shopping again and brought us sandwich stuff last week. And then, he just knows-"
"First, spend more time doing homework than cooking up crazy ideas." Kate frowned, narrowing her eyes at the back of her son's head. Another "Rick trait" Jonah seemed to have picked up on. Jonah shot a grin back at her.
"Come on mom. You know its kind of spooky."
Kate shrugged. Richard Castle had been a whirlwind into their lives, a force to be reckoned with as he had taken up residence in their lives and in their minds. Even when she wasn't at work, being pestered by him, he managed to sneak his way into her subconscious. Whether it was in the robot toy she knew he'd love as she shopped for Jonah's birthday, or in the long pause between speech where she just knew he'd have a quip for, he was there. He followed her home, as well. In her son's voice as he mimicked a funny conversation between Rick and Martha he'd heard, and in his book report as he cited him as a source and received a curious note home for. Richard Castle was everywhere. And, to Kate's dismay, she wasn't as bothered as she projected herself to be.
So as she watched the quite impressive hockey team do on the ice , she re-laced Jonah's skates with bright blue and orange laces, waiting for the man in question to appear. The boy in front of her had been absolutely buzzing all week, nearly unable to sleep at night and bouncing off the walls every waking hour, interrogating her constantly about how she thought he'd do.
"These guys are pros. Like, super serious. Do you think they'll think I suck?"
"Hey, you play half as good as you do at your games, and you'll knock their socks off." Sure, he was just on a junior league, but if one thing was for certain, the ten year old had a knack for the ice. Even she had her doubts when she signed him up for his first lesson when he was only four. But once she got him on the ice, she realized, it was unlikely of her to ever get him off. So even now, six years later, she was still surprised at the ease and skill he routinely displayed, and even a bit proud to admit that she was a "hockey mom". Snack-making and carpooling and all. Even the boys had joined in, wearing super-sized versions of Jonah's team's jersey on game days and making sure that they were the loudest and most embarrassing spectators as they cheered him on.
Jonah sighed. "You're my mom. You kinda have to say that."
"No." Kate frowned. "If you sucked, I'd probably tell you that you sucked. We couldn't have you getting a big head over nothing, now could we?"
"Okay, fine." Jonah tried not to laugh. His mother was brutally honest at times, and while she may have accepted poorly-made pencil holders and glittery cards in stride, he truly did think that she'd never set him up for embarrassment. So humor it was. "But those guys are huge."
"And I doubt any of them will be actually body checking you, J-Mac. They want to instruct you, not send you through the Plexiglas."
"Thanks, mom." he rolled his eyes. "Now I feel so much better."
"Hey, guys!" On cue, as always, Rick hopped down the stairs towards where they were seated.
"Hey!" Jonah exclaimed, finally tearing himself away from the ice and pivoting into the bulky man, nearly toppling himself over with his force as he wrapped his arms around him.
Rick steadied him easily, flexing his fingers over the pads covering his small shoulders. "Careful, buddy!"
Jonah fist-bumped him with a grin and returned to pressing the pads of his fingers against the glass, staring almost hungrily at the other side.
"He is totally zoned out." Rick observed in amusement.
"Yeah," Kate chucked. "Its his hockey mode. An earthquake wouldn't shake this kid out of it."
They exchanged grins, holding each others eyes for a few moments too long before they broke, turning their attention back to the entranced boy. He settled down on the bench next to her as she finished re-lacing, falling in a comfortable silence.
"Castle, I can't even begin-" Kate began, but she was silenced by his knuckles placed gently across her lips.
"Trust me, that look on his face when he leaves? That'll be all the thanks that I need."
Kate shook her head. "No, really-"
"Beckett." Rick said firmly. "
Finally, acquiescing, she bit her lip. "Where's Alexis?" She didn't see the redhead anywhere, and hadn't heard from her the entire day. The teenager had planned on being there as well, but Kate ventured to guess that her attention was required elsewhere.
"With Paige." Rick shrugged. "Some emergency best friend thing. I heard a bunch of crying from over the phone and got out of there before Alexis started cursing my gender."
Kate laughed. "How I don't miss those stupid high school relationships."
A man approached them with a polite smile, holding a clipboard and looking rather harried. "5 minutes, and he can go out."
Jonah snapped out of his reverie and whirled. "Mom! Skates!"
"Right here, bud." Kate lifted them up as proof. It had been a last minute decision to bring the old skates instead of his new ones. Jonah complained that his old ones were too small now, but Kate secretly thought that the idea of the entire team seeing his worn skates was daunting for him. So they had compromised with new laces to replace his old ones, and left the new ones to be broken in later. Her son was as bullheaded and fearless as she was, but sometimes she was brutally reminded that he was still just a kid, embarrassed by his ratty skates and his mom singing power ballads in the shower when his friends were over.
Jonah settled anxiously next to her, shaking slightly as he wriggled his toes down into them and adjusted his jersey self-consciously. "I'm going to suck."
"Nah," Rick said easily. "These guys? Total cake."
Kate ran her fingers through his hair. "Skate you ass off, okay?"
"Remy's afterwards?" Jonah smirked at her as she whacked him with the packaging for his laces, even as she raised her eyebrows in agreement.
Jonah stood experimentally on his skates, relishing in the familiar feeling. He adjusted his pads nervously, staring at his laces as his mother clipped his helmet on. "Chin up, baby."
He shot her a smile, sliding between her legs and hugging her as best as he could. Huffing out a breath, he gazed out at the ice once more. Hopping over the lower board section, he skated to where everyone was assembled in the middle, sliding next to one of the players.
"Hey, buddy." He smiled kindly. "You ready?"
Biting his lip and popping his mouth guard in, he glanced at the bench where his mother and the writer sat and nodded.
"Cool laces." Another one remarked, causing Jonah's face to twist into a smile as one of the coaches pulled him forward for introductions.
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Something obviously weighing on his mind, Rick tapped his foot anxiously, earning him a few glares from Kate. He sat quietly for a few minutes, watching the guys on the ice instruct Jonah on how several drills would go and testing out his skills before they scrimmaged. Finally having enough of the silence, Rick turned to Kate. "Hey, can I ask for your opinion on something?"
"I usually don't get asked when I give opinions, but I'll bite. What?" Kate just barely tore her eyes from the ice, giving him the side eye.
"It's Alexis."
"What about her?" Kate looked concerned. She'd just seen the teenager the day before, when she'd picked up Jonah. She had looked a little harried from racing with him around the loft, but looked otherwise fine.
"Nothing's wrong," he clarified, recognizing her look. "But I worry about her, you know."
"Really? Alexis?" Kate snorted. If only he'd had a daughter whose teenage years mirrored her own. Then, maybe, he'd have true cause for worry. "I mean, you're a parent so it's understandable, but Alexis?"
Rick shrugged, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not worried about her like that. I just worry sometimes that, well, you know how great I can be at listening." When Kate didn't jump at the opportunity to rib him some more, he continued. "She talks to you, right?"
Kate wouldn't call the teenager and herself the best of friends, but the two had met semi-frequently for lunch or even just coffee and chatted. Hell, just two weeks prior she had asked Kate about her career building program and study abroad programs. "Yes, sometimes. Why?"
"Well, Mother, as great as she is, isn't exactly girl talk material. And God knows Meredith will turn everything around to be about herself. Hardly someone to actually talk to about girl things. There's kind of a shortage of good female confidants in her life."
Kate understood. If it weren't for the boys at the precinct and, recently, Rick, she'd probably worry about Jonah's male influences as well. She shifted her eyes again to focus on her son as he and the team went through another drill. "I wouldn't exactly call myself a good role model, Castle." She loved Alexis, she really did, but she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted the fifteen year old to be looking up to her for advice.
When she finally looked back up at him, his expression nearly took her breath away. "I don't know," he murmured lowly, just loud enough for her to hear over the sounds of sticks slapping the ice. "I think you're pretty damn extraordinary myself."
They held each other's gaze for a moment before she guiltily turned back towards the ice, focusing on the way her son easily glided along. He slipped between two defenders and shot the puck, and it smoothly arced into the net. The goalie, who had been totally at ease and probably ready to take it easy on the kid who had 'joined' the team for the day, looked stunned. Kate bit back a smirk as Jonah shot a a proud smile her way.
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"That was so cool!" Jonah spat out his mouth guard with a grin. They'd just finished the scrimmage, where Jonah was allowed to pick his team, and they had barely pulled ahead at the end.
"You've got a great arm, Jonah." The goalie smiled. "I gotta say, you can probably shoot better than some of ours." Some of the other players looked properly offended, but smiled good-naturedly all the same.
Kate grinned, running her fingers through his sweaty hair as he beamed at the praise. "
Jonah shook hands and fist bumped the rest of the team.
"Hey, Ricky!" One of the guys yelled.
Rick turned around and met him with a grin. "Hey, how ya been?"
"Not bad, yourself?"
"Pretty good," Rick smiled before turning towards the two Becketts. "This is my old friend, Mike. We had a brief stint in junior high together."
"Yeah," he ribbed. "Until Ricky got himself booted for dropping a dissection worm down the front of Alicia Verano's sweater."
"Rick!" Kate hit him softly in the chest, looking at him in disbelief.
The writer merely shrugged, not bothering to act apologetic. "I was a 10 year old boy."
"That's no excuse. I'm a ten year old boy." Jonah looked skeptical, even as he studied the player in front of him in wonder.
"Yes, and your mother has far more effective parenting techniques than mine did."
Kate paused, slightly insulted. "Was…that a compliment?"
Rick glanced at her. "Just pretend."
Kate was good at pretending. She pretended not to see the impressed look the captain gave Rick as she requested the day off. She pretended not to notice his hand on her back as they walked together, or the way her heart beat a little faster when she caught him staring a little too long. She pretended to be annoyed when he and Jonah ganged up on her. She pretended that it was no big deal, that he was just her friend like all of the other guys, but it was getting harder and harder. Especially now, as he concerned himself with not only her happiness, but her son's as well.
"So not only are you this little superstar-in-the-making's mom, but you're the poor cop Ricky's been shadowing too, eh?" Mike looked at her with interest, watching the way she glanced at Rick with something akin to affection.
Kate, deciding to play along, nodded and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Yeah. The very same"
"My condolences to you, then." He grinned, ducking away from the shoulder punch that Rick tried to send his way.
"Hey, hey!" Rick protested. "I'm not that bad!"
"Please." Kate laughed, leaning towards Mike conspiratorially. "Just last week he backed into a patrol officer's car trying to 'outsmart' my stay-in-the-car rule."
When he let out a loud laugh, Rick tried to glare at Kate. "I did say I was sorry. And paid for the damages."
After a few more moments of teasing Rick, Mike decided to head downstairs to wait for a shower, offering to show Jonah around the locker room in the meantime.
Plopping back down onto the bench, Kate glanced up at Rick. "He had a really good time."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"It's not." Kate replied. "It's not. It's just, I can't..." She trailed off, shaking herself out of it and compartmentalizing it for later. "So. Remy's?"
An hour later, ravenous hunger and overwhelming exhaustion overpowered the young boy as his head drooped forward. Kate pulled him to her as they vacated their booth, heading towards the counter as they waved goodbye to their waitress.
Watching the way he melted into the detective as she forcibly insisted on paying their bill, Rick whispered over Jonah's bowed head. "10 bucks says he's out before we hit your street."
Kate tried not to smirk as she tucked her credit card back into her wallet. "Make it 20, and he doesn't make it to the intersection."
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"Thank you." She whispered as they pulled into the garage.
Rick waved her off easily, glancing back at the boy sleeping in the back seat. Sometime between Kate buckling Jonah in and pulling out onto the street, he'd passed out cold and made Rick's wallet a little bit lighter. "Well worth the few strings I pulled." He slid from the drivers seat and pulled open the back door. He unbuckled Jonah and carefully slid him into his arms, easily lifting him and shutting the door with his hip.
In silence, they made their way into her building. When they reached the elevator, she sagged against the back wall and closed her eyes, jerking her head towards her son. "He's got the right idea."
Rick chuckled softly. "I thought he was going to fall asleep in his fries."
Kate grimaced as she remembered the ketchup and ranch dressing smears on the front of his shirt, already dreading that particular load of laundry.
They got off on her floor, and Rick stumbled as a yowling cat weaved around his feet. As Kate opened the door to the apartment, the cat slipped between her legs and headed straight towards an old pillow that sat on the ground, stretching stiffly as he settled on it. Rick shifted Jonah in his arms, raising an eyebrow.
Kate shrugged unapologetically. "I felt bad, he's been out here since yesterday. He may be a demon, but he's not too bad after a bath. Or, six. We wore gloves."
Rick grinned. "I knew there was a softie somewhere under that tough cop exterior."
She rolled her eyes. He'd already seen her almost at her lowest at the precinct. Giving an annoying yet innocent cat a can of food and a bed every now and then wasn't exactly an award-winning act.
Jonah shifted restlessly again and Kate jerked her head down the hall, indicating for Rick to follow her to his room.
As he finally stood next to Jonah's bed, Rick gently laid him down and Kate pulled the sheet and blanket over him as Rick quietly exited the room. She pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead before creeping out of the room after Rick, who stood waiting for her in the dim hallway.
"You thirsty?"
Rick shook his head. Even in the dark, she could feel his steady gaze on her. His silence unnerved her and she began to babble quietly as she twisted her fingers in her jeans.
"I don't think I've ever seen him more hyperactive. I thought I was going to have to start giving him Nyquil. Or at least some tea." She sighed. "You know, you've officially made this an impossible birthday to top." Kate bit her lip. She really should be angry with him. But the excitement that still was in Jonah's eyes as he told his favorite waitress at Remy's all about the day was enough to steam out the detective.
He smirked confidently, tucking his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the wall, pulling her to stand in front of him. "Don't worry, I'll come up with a way to top this next year."
Kate's breath caught as Rick studied her expression. The implication that he'd still be around, taking part in their lives and bringing her coffee and showering her son with things she could never afford otherwise, was too much.
"Too much." She murmured, steadily meeting his gaze. Even she was unsure if she meant the extent of his kindness, or the renegade feelings traipsing through her as they refused to look away from one another.
"Not enough." His eyes glinting in the dark, he firmly shook his head. "You're both amazing. You deserve it.."
Kate broke and finally looked down. "We...I don't deserve you."
"I beg to differ." Before she could say another word, Rick dipped down slightly, her bare feet making her only a few inches shorter than him as her head just reached his nose. Catching her eyes, he let his hands settle on her shoulders, using his thumbs to bring her head up. His palms slowly followed, and in moments his hands were framing her face as she struggled to keep her emotions in check.
"Trust me," his lips quirked in an almost-smile. "I wouldn't rather be anywhere else." After a short pause, a large grin formed. "Besides," he teased softly "It's either this or I buy Alexis another Furby. And trust me, no one wants that."
A laugh burst out of her without permission. "You ridiculous, ridiculous man." Kate whispered, the tears blurring her vision as she framed his face in her hands. Ignoring her every protesting instinct, she dragged his face towards hers, pressing their lips together. "Why?" She whispered against his lips, her eyes searching his as one hand dug into her waist. He simply smiled at her, using his elevated position to drag her up to him, taking her lips more firmly as her thumbs pressed into his jaw. "Do I really need to spell it out for you?" He murmured, pulling back and letting his other hand slowly slide from her cheek to her neck.
"Mmm, maybe." Kate's lips ghosted against his as she spoke, her heart hammering in her chest. She felt him smile as he smoothed his fingers along her hip.
"Well then, it looks like I've got my work cut out for me, huh?" Rick chuckled, dragging her just a bit closer and pressing themselves firmly together.
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