Ok, so I had this idea weeks ago, but couldn't get beyond the basic concept. I think my muse eloped or something, and I couldn't get into the *spirit*. Then when the time got close I got distracted by a little thing called the freak nor'easter. Yeah, it's not fun to wake up and find out it's 51F IN my house. Got it all back together and..holy crap how did it get to be Nov 3rd. But the idea was too cool NOT to use, in my opinion. So here you go. If you even still remember who I am. If you do, LOVE you.

Lanie rang the buzzer beside Kate and Rick's door and waited. She smiled as she identified the strains of 'Monster Mash' filtering through. When the door opened, she was greeted by a large furry creature. "Nice costume, Castle."

The figure nodded and bowed, then stepped backward to allow her to enter. Lanie unfastened the toggles on her cloak to reveal her costume. No longer burdened by the weight of her outerwear, her monarch butterfly wings sprung up to shadow her shoulders. She adjusted her antennae headband as she slowly scanned the room. A flash of crimson satin caught her eye, and she gravitated toward it.

"Hey, Red. Glad to see you could make it up for the party."

Alexis spun from where she was fixing herself a plate from the buffet, and as she did so, the hood of her cape fell to her shoulders. "Hi, Lanie. Yeah, me too." She glanced around before lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I think Mom and Dad were pretty thrilled that I chose to come home rather than 'experience' what campus life had to offer on Halloween weekend. Dad sent the car service right to my dorm."

Next she caught sight of a field of flowers, printed in pastel on a voluminous flannel gown. "Martha, nice outfit. What, they didn't have any animal print nighties?"

"They did, but Richard persuaded me…" she said as she adjusted the matching nightcap, "that 'traditional' would work better to sell the whole theme."

Lanie nodded knowingly. She excused herself and turned, nearly jumping out of her skin when she bumped into Rick. Far from being scary, he wore an innocuous shepherd's outfit, complete with crook, and, in case anyone needed to be clued in, a hand printed name badge that read 'Peter'. Still, how had he gotten out of the wolf costume so quickly? She got her answer a moment later when a furry arm wound itself around her waist. She stared into the eyes and found hazel glittering with mischief. "Oh, very funny, girl."

"Well, technically you weren't wrong. Castle IS my name, too," Kate reminded her. Besides, why does everyone always assume the wolf in those stories is male. The mothers are just as fierce, especially when protecting their young or hunting for supper for everyone.

"Speaking of young, where ARE your 'cubs'?"

"In their basinets. Go see."

Lanie drifted to the quiet corner where the three basinets were positioned. She pointed at Jim, who'd been sitting in an armchair reading to the trio. "Father time?" she asked with a wink, indicating the large chronometer hanging around his neck.

"Do you see a flowing white beard?" he teased back. "No, grandfather clock. Nice and simple, and I think the ticking soothes the kids, even if I don't quite fit the whole fairytale theme. But if you don't mind, I think I'll take advantage of your presence to stretch my legs."

The ME laughed out loud when she saw how the basinets had been 'renovated' for the evening. One was covered with straw, the second with sticks, and the third was lined with foam rubber bricks. All three babies were burbling away, the sounds slightly muffled by their little piglet noses.

She turned to find the proud parents right behind her. "You dressed the children of a police officer as little pigs?"

"Please," Kate responded, rolling her eyes." If you had heard the ideas he pitched that I rejected, you would realize that this was the best compromise. "

"Like what?" Lanie asked. Kate groaned as Rick rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"Well, my first thought was three blind mice, but I couldn't find sunglasses that small. My next idea was 'See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Actually I think I'm going to save that one for a few years down the road when they can follow instructions. I also tried for 'bacon, lettuce and tomato', which, really is better than the pig thing. She wanted to color code them."

"Not code them, don't make me sound like some stuffy librarian. I just thought it would be simple to pick up rompers in the colors we wanted. I suggested red, white and blue. Red, yellow and green was another idea. That way, they could either be M&Ms or a stop light," Kate added eagerly.

"Not a librarian?" Rick countered with an arched eyebrow. "How about when you pitched 'A,B,C and 1,2,3?"

"What, no 'Do,Re, Mi?" Lanie snickered.

"Actually, that one was my idea," Martha offered, joining the conversation.

"I still say we could have pulled off the Three Stooges," Castle grumbled, earning him disapproving glances from all of the women around him.

"Don't be silly, you, Ryan and Esposito will always be the stooges to us," Kate quipped.

Overhearing their names and the zinger they were contained in, the pair of detectives strode over, trading indignant looks with Castle in a show of solidarity. Lanie's eyebrows shot up when she took in their costumes. "And what in hell are you two supposed to be, besides color blind?" she demanded, taking in the garishly colored jackets, sideways baseball hats, and thick gold chains with huge medallions.

"How many is that, now?" Esposito demanded of his sheepish partner. "I told you nobody was gonna get it, bro."

See...cute, right? and painfully short, yes, I know. But maybe some nice reviews will help get the creative juices flowing again...Let's try that, shall we? Thanks.