Their Monday started lazy with snuggles, kisses, and coffee while they waited for Lily to wake. Kate noticed that Rick seemed antsy, but Lily woke before she could question him about it. Rick volunteered to prepare breakfast while Kate got Lily changed and dressed.
Kate made a mental note to ask Rick what he's hiding. She knows there's something he's avoiding telling her.
Lily is watching Sesame Street when Kate decides to dig into Rick's mood. "Babe, what aren't you telling me? I know you're hiding something this morning."
"Okay. About the plane trip tomorrow," Rick pauses, takes a deep breath and takes Kate's hand. "We're flying in a private jet." Before Kate can protest, Rick hurries to explain. "Hear me out. You have never flown with an infant in tow, but I'm sure you've been on flights with an infant on board." Kate nods an acknowledgement, but Rick can see she's barely able to hold back her objections. "I never traveled by air with Alexis when she was an infant. She was almost four before I took her on an airplane. I'd seen the frazzled adults trying to deal with a baby on board planes, and decided not to do that alone. I didn't want to deal with a miserable baby and the angry stares from the other passengers." Kate starts to say something, but Rick plows on with the points he's been polishing for days. "I couldn't book three first class seats or even business class seats together for our trip. My travel agent tried to get seats for any day this week, and it wasn't going to work with Lily's schedule. We don't want to disrupt her schedule. A private plane can fly straight to Key West. We don't have to deal with the insanity at JFK or LaGuardia. We'll fly from a private airport. It will save us hours of waiting, and an hour of flight time. No other passengers to get upset if Lily isn't a good traveler. Plus, Lily won't be exposed to hundreds of people and their germs."
"Rick, how much is this going to cost? A private plane has to be exorbitant."
"It's not that expensive considering the pluses. It's an executive jet. We fly out just before lunch. We'll eat on the plane. Lily's nap time is after lunch, so she will sleep through about half of the trip."
Kate sees trepidation in Rick's eyes, and smiles at him. Rick makes his final points, "It's a little less than 3 hours air time on the private jet. That's more than an hour less than flying on the two commercial jets that we'd have to take. No sitting in the airport waiting to board, sitting in the plane while everyone boards, dealing with crowds getting off the plane. We'd have to do that twice: once to get to Miami, and once to get to Key West. We can take whatever we need with us, and not be restricted by airline rules on luggage."
Rick takes a breath, and Kate interrupts, "Alright, Babe, you have convinced me." At Rick's surprised expression Kate smiles, "You've spoiled me with first class seats already. You've researched the executive jet company, I'm sure."
"Of course. I've flown private a few times in the past. We're booked with the best one I know. You, Mrs. Castle, are going to love flying private."
"You, Mr. Castle, need to help me start packing." They both laughed loud enough to get Lily's attention.
"Mama, Gus Gus," Lily called out actually sounding annoyed. Her parents laughed even more.
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Kate called the Chief of D's and left a message with his secretary that she will call next week after the surprise vacation her husband had arranged.
Rick had suitcases out for clothes, totes for toys, and a couple of garment bags. The forecast for Key West will be mild, not toasty this time of year. Since there would be no limit on how much luggage they can take, Kate was happy to take extra clothes to be prepared for any weather. The list they had sent to Mia included the size and brand of Lily's diapers, her wipes, baby food and their adult food preferences. Rick has a rental SUV reserved. Being married to a multimillionaire has definite perks. She reminds herself that technically she is a multimillionaire. The accounts are in both their names.
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Tuesday Morning
Charlie arrives with a limo to take them to the airport. There's a TV in the limo to keep Lily entertained with Gus Gus on the ride to the airport. Rick thinks of everything. Rick and Charlie load the pile of luggage in the trunk, while Kate listens to Lily babble. Her elephant is in her car seat with her.
"Tiger Lily are you excited to go on a trip with Mommy and Daddy?" Rick draws Lily's attention when he sits next to her in the limo. "We're going on an airplane and flying to Florida." Rick talks as if Lily knows exactly what he's talking about.
Lily looks at Kate with a furrowed brow, "Mama?"
Kate laughs. "It's okay, baby. We're going to have fun and see the ocean today. Mommy and Daddy will have fun with you."
Lily returns her attention to Gus Gus on the TV and pops her thumb in her mouth. Charlie asks if they are ready to leave, and after receiving an okay he pulls away from the curb. The trip to Teterboro is almost 30 minutes. They are driven to the Meridian FBO (fixed-base operation). Their luggage is transferred from the limo to their plane. The Castles are escorted to their jet and get settled in. The flight attendant helps them choose the best seat for Lily and secure Lily's car seat in place. In less than 20 minutes after they enter the plane, the jet is taxiing down the runway.
Lily is in her car seat buckled in next to Kate on a divan that seats three people. The car seat is bulky enough that Rick takes the seat across from the divan. The sensation of the plane taking off causes Lily's eyes to open wide, and she calls to Rick loudly, "Dada?"
Rick smiles for Lily, "We're flying, baby. In just a little bit, you can sit on my lap and look out at the clouds. We're up in the air like birds."
Lily looks at Kate with obvious hesitation showing on her face. Kate holds Lily's hand and starts to sing to Lily, "Somewhere over the rainbow…"
Kate's singing entrances Lily. Kate sings until the pilot announces that it's safe to move around the plane. Rick unbuckles his seat belt, so he can remove Lily from her car seat. "Come sit with Daddy and look at the clouds."
Kate is entranced by the awe on her daughter's face. Rick is explaining to Lily that they are up in the clouds, and Lily is looking from the window to Kate and back again. She babbles "'Ook, see, Mama, 'ook. Dada? 'owds?" Rick is using his story-telling voice creating a narrative about Lily's plane adventure. This is why Kate resigned from the NYPD, this moment with her family.
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There's no high chair in the plane, obviously. There are trays that lift from the sides of the seats, and Lily's car seat puts her at the correct height to use that tray. Kate had packed Lily's lunch in the diaper bag. Once Lily had eaten and been cleaned up, Kate sang her daughter to sleep. Rick adjusted the car seat after cleaning out the food debris, and Lily slept strapped in. Kate and Rick ate the delicious lunch provided for them and talked quietly while watching their daughter sleep.
"Babe, flying like this is worth whatever it cost. No TSA lines. No crowds. The food is restaurant quality. We have plenty of legroom. Thank you."
"I was worried you'd be upset with me for this. We won't fly private for every trip, but maybe until Lily and perhaps our future Castle baby are all at least 4 years old, private planes will be worth the price. It's the same price if it's one person or we use all the seats."
"Have you ever flown private with Alexis?"
"Yes. She was in elementary school. It was similar to this trip, in that I couldn't get first class seats together on a flight that fit our schedule. My millions weren't quite so multi back then."
Lily woke before they arrived in Key West. A diaper change and some juice and Lily was happily sitting in Rick's lap for another story about a rainbow hiding in the clouds. Their plane landed 2 hours and 50 minutes after take off. They thanked the pilot and flight attendant for an enjoyable flight. Lily's awe reappeared upon seeing palm trees. Rick carried Lily and told Lily about palm trees and the ocean she'd see soon. They were transported in a cart to pick up their car rental. Rick tipped the driver who also transferred their luggage into the SUV they rented.
With Lily in the middle of the back seat and Kate riding next to her, Rick entered the address of Michael's house in the car's GPS. Kate called Mia to tell her they would be arriving at the house soon. Mia would meet them there to give them a tour and the keys.
Michael's house was a lovely 4-bedroom bungalow. It had a private beach, private pool and beautiful flowers in the landscape. Mia was a 30 something blonde with a tan, blue eyes and a little boy on her hip. "Mr. and Mrs. Castle, welcome. Mr. Connelly told me you had a beautiful little girl, and he was not exaggerating. What is this little beauty's name?"
Kate liked Mia immediately, "It's nice to meet you, Mia. Please call us Kate and Rick. This is Lily. Who is the little cutie on your hip?"
"This is Josh. Can you say "Hi" baby?"
Lily hears Mia and answers her, "Hi, hi!"
Mia, Rick and Kate all laughed. Mia answered Lily, "Hi to you, too." She turned to Kate and Rick, "Let me show you around."
After the tour and answering their questions, Mia and Josh left for home. Rick managed to get Josh to wave goodbye.
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After unloading the SUV, they decided to take a walk on the beach. Lily was so in awe, she barely said a word. Rick dangled Lily so that the waves touched her feet. Lily squealed with joy. "This trip is one of your better ideas, Babe. Thank you."
Rick answered Kate with a kiss. "Let's find some food."
The next morning Kate and Rick were cuddled naked and sated in their bed. The bedroom they were using was the equivalent of a 2nd master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and sliding glass doors opening onto a private patio. Lily had trouble falling asleep in the strange environment, and she was sleeping late. Her even breaths were barely audible on the baby monitor. "So, Mrs. Castle, what would you like to do today?"
"Well, Mr. Castle, I think a day of private beach and pool time would be a perfect way to recuperate from yesterday's travel. Perhaps we could build a sand castle with our little castle baby."
Rick wished he had a witty comeback, but all he could do was kiss Kate deeply. Kate responded with matching fervor, but the sounds of Lily waking made them fall apart with a sigh. "We will return here when the princess has her nap and finish what we were about to start."
"Perfect plan, Babe. You make the coffee. I'll get the munchkin." Kate kissed Rick once more, hopped out of the bed and grabbed her robe on her way out of the room.
A/N: Health issues are getting to be a real problem for me. I'm trying to use that as a prod to get this story finished.
Sorry if I got too bogged down in the private jet part. I never flew with an infant, so I did a LOT of research about it. I chose the private jet option, because if I was a multimillionaire I would definitely choose to spend the money for that. The plane described is an 8 seat jet that is shown in Meridian FBO's site for Teterboro.
At this point in my story, Lily is 9 months old.