The usual disclaimers apply: I'm not making any money off of this, Castle belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe, and any similarities to real people or places are strictly a coincidence.
Author's notes are at the bottom. Please enjoy!
The Spellbound Affair
Chapter Fifty-One
Castle yawned and tried to subtly stretch without disturbing Kevin, who was paying rapt attention to the lovely dark-haired elf as she dodged yet another attempt from a ringwraith to steal away the sickly hobbit she was transporting on the back of her stolen horse. Well, that was Castle's interpretation of the scene at least. He preferred the original version of the scene - the one written by Tolkien - but he could understand why the screenwriters had made the switch. Arwen was nicer to look at and the number of male characters in the film was already quite large.
His bladder was protesting the amount of coffee he'd drunk during the earlier part of the film and his arm was starting to tingle as Kevin's weight against his shoulder cut off his circulation. The writer kept reminding himself that the upcoming entrance to Rivendell heralded the end of the first half of The Fellowship of the Ring and then he'd be able to get up without earning any more low sounds of displeasure from his detective every time he was distracted from the film.
The sound of the front door to his loft opening caused Castle to strain his ears in order to determine who was coming in. He suspected that it would be his mother, who'd doubled up a shopping outing with taking Alexis back to Columbia. The familiar sounds of the older woman eased his apprehension. He dared to bring his free hand across his body to press against the nine-year-old's forehead. Kevin whined as the motion momentarily blocked his view of the television.
"Oh, boo-hoo," said Castle. "How many times have you seen this?"
"Shut up, this is important."
"No, it's not. It's just a bunch of cut scenes of random people arriving in Rivendell."
"They're not random," said Kevin shortly. "That's Boromir and-"
"I know who they are," interrupted the writer. He couldn't stop himself from chuckling at Kevin's rude hand gesture. Apparently, he was a genius when it came to picking activities that would keep a shrunken police officer's mind off the fact that his partner was being turned back into an adult when he was not.
Martha was spared her own look of derision as she entered the office just as the scene faded to black and the DVD prompted its audience to switch to the next disc. "Good morning, darlings."
"Welcome back, Mother. Did you leave anything on the shelves for other people to buy?"
"Very funny, Richard." The actress rolled her eyes. "How are you feeling this morning, Kevin?" Martha brushed her hand lightly over the top of the dark blond hair.
"Okay," he mumbled, mostly into the rumpled fabric of Castle's shirt.
"He's made it all morning without a fever spike or bout of dizziness and nausea," reported the author. "That's an improvement from the past few days."
"Have you given him any of his medication yet this morning?"
Castle groaned faintly as he pushed himself into a seated position, tightening his arm around the boy to make sure Kevin didn't slide off the chair during the adjustment. He'd been reclining in his wide chair and making good use of his ottoman during the movie while Kevin was tucked under his left arm, using the man's broad chest as a pillow. The thin comforter, kept especially for the purpose of getting comfortable during a film, was tucked mainly around the nine-year-old as Castle had started feeling a little warm.
"Not yet. I was thinking about making pancakes during the break, since the doc recommended against taking the stuff on an empty stomach."
"Break? The movie's not over yet," protested Kevin.
"It stopped all by itself, didn't it?"
"Yes, but-"
"So it's over."
"We have to watch the second part."
"We will, in like twenty minutes," argued Castle. "Come on, up." He gently nudged the boy until Kevin grudgingly climbed off of him and waited impatiently next to the chair. Castle stood himself and took advantage of the opportunity to stretch his hands high over his head. He instinctively reached for the child's hand when he was ready to leave the room, still subconsciously worried that the blond would disappear again or his health would take a turn for the worse. Kevin didn't seem to mind.
"How did this morning go?" asked Martha in a low voice as they walked towards the kitchen. The foot and a half she had on Kevin now didn't really translate to a distance over which the detective in question couldn't still hear her inquiry. Castle squeezed the little hand in his to offer what little comfort he could at the reminder of Javier's enviable fortune.
"Tearfully," he responded. "Pretty much as expected."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, kiddo." Martha placed her hand on the nine-year-old's shoulder. Kevin gave her a wan smile that barely turned up the corners of his mouth, let alone brightened his eyes. Once they reached the kitchen, Castle set about pulling out the mixing bowl and pan he needed for the sugary sweet flat cakes while Kevin and Martha each took a seat in one of the barstools at the island. The detective propped his chin up tiredly in his hands with his elbows braced against the countertop. At least now he could sit normally and not have to kneel. Martha sat perpendicular to him and rubbed his back soothingly.
Castle hid his smile at the tender gesture by turning his back to the pair in order to retrieve his pancake mix from the cupboard. Until the kidnapping, his mother had kept her distance from the cursed detectives, only really stepping in when Castle needed her help. He knew that she was concerned with smothering the boys and didn't want to further discomfit them by being overly attentive. The actress had given up on her charade of indifference now. After all, the nine-year-old was basically her long-awaited second grandchild.
"Do you want any, Mother?" Castle asked as he started pouring globs of batter into his frying pan.
"No, thank you. I ate with Alexis after making a few stops up on Fifth Avenue. Kevin, when you're done eating, you'll have to try on some of the pants I found for you. They're size nine, but looking at you now, I'm worried they'll be a little too big."
"You went shopping on Fifth?" Kevin looked over towards the fancy designer bags waiting by the door, each with various colors of tissue paper peeking out from the top. Castle set a plate with two small pancakes and a light swirl of syrup in front of the boy to take his mind off of the high-end clothing hidden in the bags.
"I'm sure she stuck to the clearance racks and only picked things that were heavily marked down. Right, Mother?" Castle raised his eyebrows as he made eye contact with the redhead. Martha easily understood his unspoken words.
"Of course, darling. Really, I'm surprised they haven't driven the department stores out of business with the way they keep marking down prices." Castle shook his head and Martha gave him a dirty look. She shifted to a smile before the detective turned to regard her skeptically.
"Eat." Castle tapped on the counter next to Kevin's fork, drawing the boy's attention away from his mother's awful acting. Seriously, she taught acting classes? It wasn't her fault, though. It was easy to forget that the cute little kid dressed in an oversized pajama set featuring Lego caricatures of Batman and Robin still possessed the shrewd mind of a highly skilled police detective. Castle made up his own plate of deliciousness and claimed the last barstool, putting Kevin between the two full-sized adults. "When you're feeling up to it, we'll make a trip down to Goodwill. I'm sure they'd love to get all of the nice things that you and Javier barely wore. We can donate the car seats, too."
Kevin merely nodded slowly. He poked his brunch with his fork but made no move to actually put any of the food in his mouth. Castle nudged him as a reminder that the pancakes were for eating, not playing. Kevin reluctantly changed gears and did his best to ingest as much of the breakfast food as possible.
"What are your plans for the rest of the day, Richard?" asked Martha.
"Probably just to hang out around here," he replied. "Kate and Javi should be back late this evening, depending on how things go over at Bianca's. Kevin will want to keep watching Rings, I'm sure."
"I'm going to head to my studio for a few hours, then," said Martha. "Do you need anything before I go?"
"We're good. Be safe."
"I will, dear." Castle exchanged air kisses with the woman. Martha patted Kevin's back fondly as she rose from her seat. "Don't have too much fun without me."
"Of course not." Both males watched her grab her purse off of the table in the entry and give them a quick farewell wave before closing the door behind her. Castle refocused on his little boy and the barely touched pancakes. "At least finish one so you can take your meds. I'm not going to turn the movie back on until you're done."
"I'm trying," complained Kevin. He stuck another microscopic bite into his mouth. "I don't want to take the stupid medication anyway," he muttered to himself. Castle heard him clearly.
"Come on, kiddo. I know you're having a bad day, but this really isn't the end of the world. Almost, but not quite."
"I don't want to be difficult, I just…" He dropped his fork on his plate with a clatter and bowed his head over it, taking a shaky breath.
"Hey, it's okay. Maybe the pancakes were still a little too heavy for you. What if we try some more of Bianca's special purple smoothie?" Without waiting for a response, Castle moved towards the refrigerator and pulled out the chilled thermos. He didn't completely buy into the restorative capabilities of the random mix of juices and herbs, but it certainly hadn't made the boys any worse last night. As for Kevin's improved condition today, for that the writer gave all of the credit to the prescription medication.
He traded the small serving of the beverage for the soggy plate of pancakes and instructed the blond to drink. Kevin slowly sipped at the concoction while Castle quickly cleaned the mess from their meal. Fortunately, most of it could go into the dishwasher.
"Castle?"
The writer barely heard the softly spoken word over the sound of the running sink water. He turned off the faucet and grabbed a dishtowel to dry his hands. "What's up, kiddo?"
"Did… did you and Beckett know about this before yesterday?"
Castle startled at the unexpected question. Fortunately, Kevin didn't seem to notice. The blond was focused on his cup, which thankfully, was nearly empty. "Know about what, Kev?" Maybe Kevin hadn't actually gotten wind of the huge secret they'd kept from him for two days and was asking about something completely unrelated.
"That the doctor witch wouldn't turn me back into an adult. Is that why you already had fake papers ready?"
Castle did not want to admit that he and Beckett had knowingly let the younger detective foster a false hope that he'd be freed from the curse. He struggled to think of a response that would relieve the two lovers of any culpability yet still be satisfying to their friend. "Captain Gates had the adoption papers made for both of you before we even found you in Vermont," he said. That much was true.
"But you knew."
Castle sighed heavily. It was pointless to keep up a charade of ignorance. "Yes, Kevin, we knew. Randy told me on Wednesday that he wouldn't undo the spell on you when the jump from four to nine made you so sick. We didn't tell you because we still had hope that he'd change his mind. He still might. If Javier goes through the change with no ill side effects, maybe the good doctor will reconsider helping you."
"Okay." The single word was delivered emotionlessly. Kevin mechanically finished the last of his drink and pushed the glass towards the writer. Castle wished he was truly a mind reader so he could figure out what the shrunken detective was thinking. He feared that the Irishman felt betrayed by his so-called friends, even though Castle and Beckett had never meant to hurt him. They were just trying to spare their own feelings at the expense of his… This was such a screwed up mess.
"I'm really sorry, son. We shouldn't have let you go on believing that you'd be freed from the curse with Javier. It was the cowardly thing to do."
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't call me that," said Kevin. "You don't have to lie to me. I'm not a child. I don't want to play pretend games."
"I'm not pretending," said Castle resolutely. He walked around the island to reclaim his seat next to the miserable nine-year-old. "Kevin Ryan, you're mine now. Mine to love, to protect, to cherish, to guide, and to dress in designer kid clothes if I want. And I can't think of anyone I'd rather call 'son' than you. If the endearment makes you uncomfortable, that's one thing, but don't ban me from using it because you think I don't mean it."
"How can you? I'm just an inconvenient burden at the most inopportune time. I can't pay you back for the hospital or the damage to your house. I don't have the money for all these expensive clothes Martha keeps buying me, especially now that I'm going to lose my job and my apartment."
"I don't know how to convince you that I don't consider you a charity case, Kev." Castle felt his own emotions fluctuate towards sadness. "I want to keep you, I promise. I can't wait to watch you grow up. I can't wait to see all of the things you'll achieve and act like any of it was thanks to my positive influence. I can't wait to take credit for the amazingly loyal, steadfast, and honest young man you'll become in ten years. You can go to the police academy again, or you can chose a new career path, like rocket science or brain surgery. Heck, you could become an astronaut. Everyone wants to go into space. Can you imagine how jealous everyone will be of me for having two spectacular kids?"
"You'd like that," said Kevin with a watery smile.
"Oh, you can bet on that." Castle grinned brightly at the child. "I know it's not always going to be easy, especially with the sorts of people you'll be likely to attract. Witches, supermodels, brain trust executives…"
"Castle, you do remember what I was like as an adult, right? No supermodels or brain trust executives in a ten mile radius."
"That's just because you didn't have a concerned role model telling you not to wear cheesy three piece suits and atrocious ties to work every day," teased Castle.
"I looked good," argued Kevin.
"You keep telling yourself that, squirt."
"Can I ban you from calling me that?"
"Sure, when you're taller than me."
"That's not fair." Kevin pouted theatrically.
"That's life," rejoined the writer. "So, squirt, Halloween is coming up in a couple months and you know that's one of my favorite holidays. At first I was thinking that you'd make an adorable little leprechaun, but that was when you were four. However, having discovered your rabid love of Lord of the Rings and knowing that hobbits are also about four feet tall, I've decided that you would make the perfect halfling."
"I'm not dressing up as a hobbit. I don't want to dress up as anything."
"Oh, come on. It will be so much fun. I could be the wise and immortal wizard. Kate would make a very sexy shieldmaiden. I'm sure we could convince Javier to go as an orc. I know Alexis would love to dress up as an elf."
"Castle! No."
"You don't have a say in my brilliant plan, kid. Now, go switch out the DVDs. I'll join you in a minute."
"I'm going to tell Beckett on you and she'll also veto your Halloween idea," promised Kevin.
"You always tell Beckett on me. I'm not afraid of her." Castle stuck out his tongue. "Shoo, young hobbit."
Kevin shook his head but slid off his chair nonetheless and headed towards the office. When the boy turned the corner and left the writer's line of sight, Castle's sunny disposition evaporated and his shoulders slumped. He wanted to call Kate but worried that he'd interrupt something important with the spell that would break Javier's curse. Everything he'd said to Kevin was the honest truth - he was looking forward bringing the Irishman up as his own son. Unfortunately, he knew how hard it was going to be for the little guy and that was something the writer couldn't protect him from.
A quick trip to the restroom was in order to relieve his screaming bladder. Once back in the kitchen, he retrieved the bottle of liquid steroids and measured out the blond's dosage carefully. He located the half-finished bottle of Gatorade from yesterday in the door of the fridge and was just about to make his own way towards the office when the front door of his loft opened again. He automatically assumed that Martha had forgotten something she needed at the studio, so he was stunned when his girlfriend walked in, carrying a take-out bag of deli sandwiches and holding the hand of an eleven-year-old Hispanic boy.
"Hey guys," he greeted. Had something happened? They both looked fine, so why weren't they with the witches?
"Hi, Castle," said Kate.
"Is everything okay? Why are you here?" Castle squinted as he looked at Javier, who was shyly toeing off his flip-flops and avoiding eye contact with the writer. His cheeks were a little pink but nothing looked off about him.
"I'll explain it to you in a little bit," Kate whispered. "But we're going to keep Javi for now, too. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure." Castle was having a very hard time thinking of a reasonable, or even unreasonable, explanation for why Javier wasn't in the middle of being returned to full size. It was all the boy had talked about since they were reunited in Vermont. Castle hadn't thought anything could keep the veteran from breaking his curse. What about his job? His secret love? His whole life?
"Where's Kevin?"
"He, um… He's in the office." Castle shook his head to clear away the surprise that was making him sound so confused. He cleared his throat. "Kevin! Come see who's home early."
The nine-year-old materialized a minute later, looking equally impatient and curious. When he recognized his partners, his surprise mirrored the writer's. He hurried over to stand before Javier. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"Nothing," said Javier. He looked down at his toes and then bravely raised his face to look directly at his partner. "I decided that I really wasn't feeling up to going through the painful transformation just yet, either."
Kevin stared at the older boy for a long minute. Javier held his gaze, letting his best friend seek out the answers to his unasked questions in Javier's dark eyes. Castle was about to pass out from holding his breath as he waited anxiously for Kevin's response.
The Irishman's answer wasn't verbal. He suddenly sprung forward, throwing his arms around the older boy's neck and nearly knocking them both to the ground. Javier recovered his balance and wrapped his arms tightly around Kevin's back. His eyes were squeezed shut as he hugged the smaller boy. Kevin was crying again, but this time Castle knew they were tears of happiness. He felt choked up himself. Javier had chosen his partner over his own happiness and freedom from this horrible spell. He'd chosen Kevin over his job, his possible relationship…
"Well, call me silly," said Castle as the realization hit him like a Mac truck.
"Huh?" asked Kate. She tore her eyes away from her partners to look up at her lover.
"The blond at the precinct…"
"Oh, you're just now figuring it out?" Kate smiled mischievously at him.
"Hey, maybe I've known subconsciously since the beginning. In my defense, Javier hasn't exactly acted any differently than he always has."
"Keep telling yourself that, Rick." Kate kissed the corner of his mouth. "The rest of us just know you're slow on the uptake."
"I'll show you slow," threatened the writer. He swiftly captured her lips in a passionate kiss and had her moaning for more in no time. He completely forgot about their location and their audience.
xXx
After being rudely reminded by Javier that the two shrunken detectives were still present and that people ate at that island thank you very much, Castle grudgingly backed away from Beckett and rubbed his hand over his face to erase his wide grin. Beckett tried in vain to fight down her blush as she moved around the island to shoo her partners away. Before the kids got too far, Castle called Kevin back to take his forgotten medication. The little blond obediently drank the shot-sized serving and made the prerequisite grossed-out face before gulping down the Gatorade in hopes of overriding the unpleasant taste.
Beckett wandered over to the collection of designer clothing bags and reached through the mass of tissue paper in one to pull out a tiny dark blue polo shirt. She rubbed the fabric between her fingers. It was much softer than the cotton she was used to when it came to the casual top. It reminded her of the high quality clothes Castle wore and she realized that Martha must have gotten a head start on upgrading Kevin's wardrobe. Curiously, she reached for the cardboard tag affixed to the hem of the shirt with a bit of ribbon and a safety pin. Her eyes widened when she saw the price. Knowing her eco-conscious partner like she did, she predicted a strong reaction when the Irishman found out how much his new digs cost.
She put the shirt back and walked over to lean against the island next to Castle. "Castle, have you seen what your mother bought for Kevin? He's going to flip."
"Oh, he already has," the writer replied. He shook his head. "Just the names on the bags caused him to whine about how he couldn't afford such expensive stuff now that he's jobless."
"Javi's worried about that kind of stuff, too. I told him that they could collect disability until this mess is cleared up and he seemed okay with that idea. They're very concerned that you're going to think they're taking advantage of your generosity."
"I know. Well, Martha thinks the clothes are probably too big for him, anyway. He might be nine, but that doesn't mean he wears a size nine. We need to figure out a way to get him to eat more or he'll be able to go as a stick figure for Halloween, no costume required."
"You're already thinking about Halloween?" Beckett laughed and leaned up to kiss him. "I'll take the boys to a more reasonably priced store in a couple hours and see what damage we can do to your checking account there."
"Sounds like a plan. I told Kevin we could take their old stuff to Goodwill sometime, too."
"In the meantime, I feel like I could use a nap." She winked seductively at her boyfriend.
"You know, I'm feeling a bit tired myself," he responded with a devilish grin. He threaded his fingers through Beckett's and led her towards the leather couch where her partners had taken up seats and were looking at something on Javier's smart phone. "You two can take care of yourselves for a couple hours, right?"
Twin expressions of confusion turned towards him. "Why?" asked Javier.
"Kate and I are going to take a nap." Beckett felt her face grow warm once more. Her partners weren't stupid. They would never believe that the two lovers planned on sleeping the afternoon away. She could already see the wheels turning figuratively in their minds as they plotted to antagonize the lovers.
"Can we come?" asked Kevin innocently. Beckett didn't believe his act for one second, though Castle bought into his earnest expression.
"What? No. Why would you want to?" asked Castle.
"I'm tired, too," he said. He pretended to yawn widely.
"You have your own bed to sleep in," argued the writer.
"But I haven't seen Beckett all morning." Apparently, Castle was too flustered by trying to come up with a legitimate reason why the boys should stay out here, by themselves, without actually admitting what the two adults were planning to do, to notice Javier snickering behind his hand and Kevin's wavering poker face. It was time for her to take matters into her own hands.
"It's okay, Castle," she said, stepping towards the couch. "I'm not shy. I don't mind if they want to watch." That wiped the smiles off of her annoying partners' faces.
"Geez, gross, Beckett." Javier stuck his tongue out at her after making a gagging sound. Kevin took his turn blushing with embarrassment.
Beckett ruffled Kevin's hair. "Stay put and be good," she said firmly. She smiled sweetly at them before returning to Castle's side and nudging him towards the master bedroom. The sounds of Kevin and Javier complaining about needing brain bleach followed them until the door closed soundly behind them.
"Are you sure you want to do this, knowing that they're out there, knowing what we're doing?" asked Castle.
"They understand that Mama's got needs," replied Beckett. She licked her lips slowly and popped the top button of her peasant top.
"When you put it like that…" Castle coughed to clear his throat. He made a low whine of desire when she undid the next button and accompanied the move with a slow twist of her hips. She continued her sultry dance to the beat in her head as she finished undoing her top and let it slide off her shoulders to fall into a puddle on the floor. Castle's pants were looking a bit tight across the front, just the way she liked them.
"Do you need help with that?" she asked, motioning towards his waist. Really, there wasn't much to help with. He was still in lounge clothes and the drawstring wasn't even tied. Still, he stepped towards her, eager for her attention. As she slipped her fingers under the low-sitting waist of his pants, he returned the favor by working her belt loose and popping the button of her shorts.
Their play became a little more rushed as Beckett found Castle's favorite bit of anatomy and wrapped her long fingers around it. Eager to finally join together after a stressful and emotional week, they quickly shed the rest of their clothes and fell onto the bed. Beckett settled in comfortably on her back as Castle crawled over her. He leaned down to kiss her passionately and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to draw him in even closer.
to be continued…
Author's Notes:
Thank you, TXMedic, for doing such a great job beta-reading.
Thank you Lezzles for the wonderful cover art: lsmwalls[ d o t ] tumbl r [ d o t ] com[/]image[/]58939397473
Thank you very much my dedicated guest reviewers! Your comments always make me smile and want to jump right back into the story.
The Lord of the Rings movies are property of New Line Cinema and the original novel is by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Please let me know what you think, especially if you have ideas of ways I can improve. I cherish all my reviews. I write for fun but I always want to improve, so constructive criticism is always welcome. All mistakes are my own.
