Right Within Your Heart - Chapter Twenty-one
December 2024
He sees the exact moment that Kate's patience finally wears out. It's somewhere between laps twelve and thirteen around the kitchen, with the final straw being their sons using the couch as a crash pad in between laps.
"Rick," she clips, getting his attention. He stops mid-jog, letting the boys run off without him. "Take them outside. Please. Before they break something or each other."
The "or I lose my mind on them - or you," goes unsaid but very much heard. Message received, Rick claps his hands, turning to head the twins off before they can complete another pass, ushering them out of the kitchen and away from the pie Kate's prepping to make for Christmas in a few days.
"Okay, hooligans, suit up. We're taking this obstacle course outside."
"Nooo," Reece whines. "S'cold!"
"You'll warm up," Rick assures, guiding son number one to the kids' bedroom. He picks up son number two on the way back, flipping the little stinker over as Jake giggles and squirms, trying to make an escape.
"Sprout, Pumpkin, we're going outside to run around. Do you want to come too?" he asks, poking his fingers into Jake's side. The boy jerks, squealing for help that neither of his sisters provide. Even Cosmo seems uninterested in coming to his aid, never moving from his spot beside Alexis on the couch.
"Pass for me, thanks," Alexis murmurs, barely glancing up from her laptop. Her fingers fly over the keyboard, telling him she's still working on her proposal for increased funding for the Justice Initiative. "But maybe in a little while," she adds before Jake can pout.
"Sure," Rick says, shifting the boy. "What about you, Lil?"
His youngest daughter shakes her head, looking happily immovable in the recliner with Jim, a book open on their laps.
"No thanks, Daddy. 'M reading with Grampa."
Rick smiles. He's never going to complain about that. "Okay, Sprout. Enjoy your book."
He rights Jake a moment later, tapping his nose. "Suit up, Jelly. We're going outside."
Jake giggles. "I don't wanna weya my suit!"
"Nah uh," Rick denies, steering him into the room to join Reece. His son looks up, halfway into his snow pants. "We're all going to wear our warm clothes to go out and play. Even me."
"Eben Cosmo?" Jake asks, looking up. Rick laughs, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Cosmo's got his own snowsuit already built in. He'll be okay in just his fur."
His son nods, looking thoughtful. "I gonna be fwuffy wike him."
Rick grins, reaching over Reece's head and grabbing Jake's identical pair of pants.
"While you work on being fluffy like Cosmo, let's get you into warmer clothes. The sooner we get dressed, the sooner we play."
That seems to inspire them to move faster, and before he knows it they're holding out their jackets, waiting for his help putting them on.
"Good boys," he praises, zipping both jackets with a flourish.
They grin. "You now!"
"Me now?" he asks. They nod, pointing to his shirt. "Right, yes. Remember your boots, guys, okay?"
They nod, scrambling to the front door in their socks. Rick winces, hoping they don't skid into the wall. He ducks into the second bedroom to grab his own snow pants – which perhaps aren't necessary for him, but a deal is a deal – and pull them on. When he emerges to grab his own boots, he finds Kate kneeling in front of the boys, sliding their wiggling feet into their snow boots. Cosmo sits patiently at her side, watching everything with keen eyes.
"Fanks," Jake breathes when she finishes with his shoes. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek, then Reece's, reaching over to rub the dog's head.
"Okay, monsters. Let Daddy get his boots on and you can go outside and play."
They grin, jumping up and waiting at the door while Rick slips his feet into his shoes. Standing, he wraps an arm around Kate's waist and steals a kiss from her mouth.
"We'll be back once we've burned off some energy." He grins.
Kate presses her hands to his chest, pecking his mouth again. "That's a very good idea. For my sake and theirs. See you in a bit."
He grins, rubbing her back once before moving to the door, flinging it open wide. The boys tear out onto the porch and down the steps, shrieking their delight at having an entirely new playground at their disposal. Cosmo's a bit more sedate, definitely quieter, trotting down and immediately starting to sniff around for a place to do his business. Rick follows on their heels, though he's a bit slower than the three of them.
Within minutes, the boys have made up an outdoor version of their game from inside. Just like before, he's the monster trying to catch them to eat them, but this time instead of the couch being home base, they pick a new base seemingly at will. They spend a fair amount of time reminding him of that rule change – "S'base, Daddy!" gets said more than a few times – but they seem to be having fun nonetheless. Even Cosmo gets in on it, attempting to herd them back into an easy to capture clump when they split up.
They play for close to an hour before Rick catches them once and for all, scooping one boy under each arm and pretending to gobble them both up.
"Daddy! You're cwazy!"
"I'm crazy? Nooo, I'm hungry!" he fake-growls, making gobbling noises again.
"Mmm, no. I think you're crazy," another voice chimes in.
Rick jumps, spinning with the boys to find Kate, Alexis, Jim, and Lily all standing on the porch in their winter gear, looking amused.
"Hey! Come to join us?" he asks, hefting the boys. They giggle, reaching toward their mother, bellowing Kate's name.
"Something like that," his wife hums, leading the group down the stairs. She tilts her head, offering a sly smile, and Rick finds himself backing up.
"Oh?" he asks, lowering the boys to their feet before his arms can start to ache. They take off again, already back in their own game, but his eyes stay on Beckett.
She nods, her smile widening.
Oh, this can't be good. Looking past her, he finds his daughters giggling to themselves and his father-in-law offering a sympathetic look.
"Mhmm, I think we should play a new game," Kate says, still moving closer. "Now that we're all out here."
"What kind of game?" He takes another step back, just in case.
Kate leans over, dragging snow into her gloved hand, packing and shaping it with the same precision she reserves for cleaning her service weapon. She looks up after a moment, winking. "You'll figure it out, Castle.
Lily's the one to throw the first snowball, but it's Kate's follow-up lob that lands center mass, thus assuring their impromptu snowball fight becomes an all-out war.
A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me and this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until tomorrow.