A/N: Hello again - I had some thoughts running through my head after writing my first FF story, and P2P suggested I consider a second chapter for "Christmas Fright." So here we go. This is a separate little AU story about the Castle family celebrating their 1st Christmas together. This story will make better sense if you read "Christmas Fright" first.
We're All Together
A sequel to "Christmas Fright"
It's the day after Christmas and the Castle family is relaxing in the living room as five-year-old Emma sits next to Rick quietly playing with her new presents. On Rick's other side, three-month-old Eli is snuggled up with Kate watching the activity that is going on around him while keeping a tight grip on his new stuffed lion. With all of the activities from Christmas Day, Emma had slept through the night, and Eli was only up for a quick feeding. Now everyone is snuggled up on the couch still trying to wake up.
Rick and Kate were enjoying the quiet knowing they needed to feed the kids and get everything organized for Alexis' homecoming. If her flight is on-time, she should be arriving at the loft around 4:00 pm. Jim and Martha are planning to come back for dinner and join in a more subdued evening after yesterday's Christmas celebration. But for now, Rick and Kate know they have a few hours to relax before warming leftovers for a nice welcome home meal with Alexis.
Rick wanted to go all out and have another huge dinner that would include all of Alexis' favorites, but Kate reminded him that they have a ton of leftovers from yesterday's Christmas dinner, and it would be easier to plan a big meal later since Alexis is going to be home for a month. Rick stuck out his lower lip and pouted for a bit, then reluctantly agreed, but only if he could have carte blanche on the menu?
Kate had lowered her head and turned so Rick couldn't see her loving smile and said, "Sure Babe, that sounds like a fun plan. Just be sure to include some of Emma's favorites too." Rick did a fist pump in the air as his mind started spinning as he mentally planned the menu for his baby bird.
Rick and Kate had decided to keep Alexis' return as a surprise for Emma. They knew if they told Emma her big sister was coming home after Christmas, there would be an endless stream of questions wanting to know when Alexis would arrive, could she sleep in her room, or could Emma sleep in Alexis's room, will Alexis like Eli and on and on?
Today will not only be special for Emma, but it would be Alexis' first opportunity to personally meet her little brother. And of course, Rick was beyond excited to have his baby bird back in the nest.
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Rick gently stood up from his place between Emma and Kate and announced he was going to start breakfast.
"Well ladies, are you ready to have your post-Christmas breakfast?" Ricks asks.
Emma drops her toy onto the couch and quickly slides down smiling and asking if she can help?
"Daddy, can I be your wittle' sous chef again?"
Rick smiles and bends down so he is at eye level with his youngest daughter, and says,
"Absolutely, but don't you want to stay and play with your new toys?"
Emma shakes her head and says, "no I needs to help you cook daddy." Rick smiles and extends his hand to Emma as he winks at Kate, and says,
"Your chefs will announce when your morning feast has been prepared."
Kate shakes her head and smiles as she watches her beloved chefs head into the kitchen. She then looks down and kisses the top of Eli's head while sliding down on the couch for some warm hugs and snuggles with her son.
"What do you think Eli? Should we sneak in a little snooze while the chefs are fixing breakfast?"
Eli simply gazes up at his mother and gives her a smile which she takes as his agreement to her plan. The twinkling lights on the ten-foot Christmas tree are creating a peaceful setting as Kate and Eli doze on the couch while Rick and Emma pull together another family breakfast.
Suddenly, the quiet of their morning is disturbed by the sound of a key sliding into the door lock. Rick stops where he is at in their food prep wondering who is coming in? Both Martha and Jim aren't to be there until later. He looks and sees that Kate and Eli are still asleep, so he goes to open the door. Just as his hand touches the handle, the door swings open, and a smiling Alexis enters pulling her suitcases and carrying a bag full of gifts.
"Alexis!" Rick says not so quietly. "What are you doing here? I thought your flight wasn't arriving until later this afternoon?"
Alexis smiles and says,
"Well hello to you too father, it's so good to see you."
Rick's cheeks turn a little pink as he reaches out to pull Alexis into a big bear hug.
"Oh, Pumpkin, I am thrilled to have you home. I'm just surprised it's this early."
Then before they can continue their conversation a small whirlwind rushes from the kitchen yelling and wrapping her arms around Alexis' legs saying,
"Lexi, you be home!"
Alexis laughs, bends down and picks up her little sister, and spreads kisses all over her grinning face.
"Yes, I am home and I am so happy to see you." Emma clings to Alexis with no plans to let her go anytime soon.
Rick smiles as Emma continues to hug and chatter to Alexis. Kate, hearing the commotion, rouses from her nap looking over the back of the couch to see the sweet picture of Alexis with Emma, and quietly says,
"Well look who's here!"
Alexis cracks another smile and heads over to hug her stepmother. As she nears the couch, she sees Eli all wrapped up in a blanket sleeping away and not noticing the bustle that is happening around him.
"Oh my, he is even more beautiful in person." says Alexis.
With being at Oxford when Eli was born, she has only seen him on Zoom sessions she has had with her family. With Emma still attached to her hip, Alexis carefully sits down trying not to jostle Eli and gently runs her fingers through his deep brown hair. Emma proudly says,
"Oh, Lexi, dis' is my wittle broder, Eli."
Alexis smiles and says,
"Yes Emma, Eli is my brother too and it is so good to finally meet him."
Emma sits quietly for a minute as she processes that Eli is Alexis' brother too. Rick has been watching all of his children together for the first time and notices the look on Emma's face. He thinks she may be feeling that she is going to have to share Alexis with Eli.
He moves to the couch and reaches out to pick Emma up from Alexis' lap, and says,
"Emma, isn't it so fun to have your big sister home for your 2nd Christmas?"
The word Christmas registers with Emma, and her face breaks out into a big smile.
"Yes, daddy, it goin' to be so fun havin' two Christmases, where'd my presents?"
Kate and Alexis try not to laugh as Rick says,
"We will open presents later, Bug. Don't you think we should let Alexis have some of our yummy breakfast first?"
Emma wiggles to get down from Rick's grip, and is running toward the kitchen saying,
"Lexi, come eat our yummy breakfast, Me helped daddy cook."
With all of the talking happening around him, Eli begins to wake up and locks eyes with Alexis. He is still for a minute as he sees a new face, but then he takes a deep breath and cracks one of his huge smiles for his big sister. Little does he know, at that moment he now also has Alexis wrapped around his little finger.
Alexis looks at Kate who nods letting her know she can pick him up. Then they all move to the dining area to enjoy their first meal together as a family.
Emma asks Alexis to sit by her, and Kate sits Eli in his customized Green Lantern high chair, on the other side of the table by her so he can see both of his sisters. Rick sits at the end of the table where he can hold hands with both Alexis and Kate as they share their thanks for being together.
Their meal is full of delightful chatter from a little five-year-old as she tries to tell her big sister about the presents she received from Santa, her daddy and mommy, Grandad, and Grams.
Then she goes on to tell Alexis how she and Eli had slept in mommy and daddy's big bed and Santa still left presents.
"Lexi, you wontz' beweav' it. Eli and me sleeps in daddy and mommy's big bed and Santa still finded' us and leaved' us presents! It was, it was so, so," struggling for the right word, she looked at her daddy who said,
"Exciting?"
"Yea," Emma said. "Itz soooo citing!"
Rick and Kate exchange looks and both let out a small sigh of relief that the saga about Emma bringing Eli down to hide under the Christmas tree had not come up.
After finishing breakfast, Alexis offers to help Rick clean up while Kate takes Eli upstairs for his breakfast and morning nap. Rick convinces Emma that she should go check under the Christmas tree to see if there are any more gifts.
Emma rushes to the tree and looks all around, and finally in a little high-pitched squeal says,
"Daddy looks, we gotz tonz' more presents in da back of da twee!"
Rick smiles and says,
"Wow Emma, that is awesome. Can you move them all to the front of the tree for me while Alexis and I clean up the kitchen?"
"Oh, yes daddy, I canz' do dat," Emma says as she grins from ear-to-ear and begins to drag the presents around the massive tree.
She doesn't realize that in addition to Alexis's presents, Rick had held back some of Santa's gifts for today.
Rick and Alexis bumped shoulders and laughed as they chatted and had some private catch-up time in the kitchen. Rick has missed Alexis these past six months. He knows she is attending the best university in the world, but it's still hard to have her so far away, and he plans to cherish each moment he has with her while she is at home.
Rick glances into the living room and sees that Emma is still busy moving Christmas gifts, so he leans in closer to Alexis and quietly tells her that they had a little issue with Emma on Christmas Eve. He relates the entire saga of how Emma was able to get Eli out of his crib and bring him downstairs to wait under the tree for Santa.
Alexis listens quietly, but her jaw drops after hearing all of the details. Alexis finally says,
"Oh, dad, so much could have happened if Eli had slipped out of her hands."
"I know," Rick says.
"And equally bad was the fact that Kate was scared to death when Eli wasn't in his crib."
Alexis asks, "What did Emma say when you talked to her?"
Rick lowers his head and says,
"We quietly told her that if she ever thinks Eli wants or needs to get out of his crib, she needs to come and get either Kate or me or another adult to help her. We didn't want to make a real big deal about it and upset her and ruin her Christmas. In her little heart, she was convinced that she had to have Eli close to the Christmas tree so Santa would know he needed to leave gifts for him too."
Alexis agrees, but asks,
"What are you going to do?"
Rick explains what he and Kate agreed to do with Emma.
"Emma has been in the nursery with us when we get Eli up, but we are going to have her help us, and see all we do when we take him out of his crib, and get him ready for his day. By helping us, we hope to reinforce what we told her that night. We think she will better understand how to be careful with Eli if she can watch and help get him ready for his daily routine."
Rick says,
"We wanted you to know what happened in case she wants to talk to you about her Christmas Eve excitement. We don't mean to put you in the middle, Pumpkin, but you know how sensitive Emma can be, and she has become so protective of Eli. We don't want to do anything to make her feel like she shouldn't do things for him."
"I think that's a good plan dad," says Alexis.
"And thanks for telling me. I am guessing Emma is going to be so excited to help Eli, that the events from that night will take backstage when she can now tell everyone how she helped take care of her little brother."
Rick and Alexis wrap up the kitchen duties just as there is a knock on the door. Emma again races for the door knowing her grandparents are coming again. Rick meets her there and opens the door to his mother.
Martha flies into the foyer area with her typical flair and is met by Emma who immediately tells her,
"Grams Lexi is home, you gotta come see her!"
Martha bends down to kiss Emma on the head and then turns to Alexis with her arms wide open for a welcoming hug.
"Oh, my dear Alexis, what a joy it is to have you home! You are so radiant."
Alexis wraps her arms around her grandmother holding her tight for a little longer than normal.
"Grams, I have missed you so much too. Thank you for all of your phone calls. Those helped me get through many lonely times," said Alexis.
"Of course my dear. You are always on my mind and in my heart and our calls make me so happy too," says Martha.
Just as Martha and Alexis separate, there is another knock at the door.
Emma says, "Lexi, that gotz' to be Grandad."
Rick opens the door and Jim also comes in and greets Alexis with a warm hug.
"Hi kiddo, it's great to have you back. You have been missed."
"Hi Grandpa Jim, it's great to see you too. I am so happy you could come back over for dinner,"
Jim gives her another quick hug and says, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Just as Jim and Alexis step apart Kate comes down the steps and gives her dad a big hug.
"Hi dad, it is so great to have you back again."
Jim returns her hug and he too holds her for a few extra seconds. This time of the year is still hard for him without his beloved Johanna, but he is grateful he and Katie have Rick and his family.
"Hi Katie, it is so good to see you again too. Where is that grandson of mine," he asks. Kate chuckles and says,
"He is upstairs finishing his nap. He should be awake in about 15 minutes."
Kate had purposely stayed upstairs for a while giving Rick and Alexis some special father/daughter time.
At this point, Emma is getting anxious to open presents.
"Daaady, can wez' open presents now?"
Rick pauses and says,
"Why don't you help me sort the presents out like you did last night, and then maybe Eli will be awake so he can open his too?"
Emma reluctantly agrees, and races back to the tree. Kate offers to make coffee for everyone as the family all gather together in the living room. Twenty minutes later the baby monitor chirps and lets them know Eli is wide awake.
"Hey dad, would you like to help me get Eli up?"
"Of course, I would. Lead the way," says Jim.
While Kate and Jim go to get Eli, the rest of the family finishes sorting out gifts and Alexis tells Emma some stories about her Christmases when she was Emma's age.
The stories are fascinating to Emma and keep her occupied until Kate and Jim return with Eli. Jim is proudly carrying Eli and keeps him on his lap while the rest of the family dives into their presents.
Alexis is overwhelmed with the handcrafted briefcase she got from her dad and Kate, along with all of the other gifts she received from the family. Especially Emma's, which was a hand-painted picture of herself and Emma at the park. Emma is of course hyper-excited about getting more presents from Santa. Rick quietly whispers in her ear that she also needs to thank Alexis for her amazing gifts that included a mini statue of Big Ben along with a small hooded sweatshirt from The University of Oxford.
Emma reaches out to Alexis with a big hug and says, "Oh, Lexi, I lubed' all my presents. Tanks you so much!"
Alexis quietly bows her head and whispers to Emma. "You are very welcome little sis."
Alexis holds Emma close until she turns to try and put on her new hoodie. Then Alexis helps her straighten out her sweatshirt and both girls briefly hug again.
Not to leave out the other family members, Alexis also gifted everyone with Oxford gear, including Jim, who got a university cap. Jim put on a very serious face when he opened Alexis's present and said,
"Now I have a major dilemma."
Alexis is crestfallen as she thought her Grandpa would like a cap from her school. Jim looks up to his adopted granddaughter and asks,
"What am I supposed to do with my Mets cap? I always wear that one."
He pauses for a brief second and then breaks out into a huge grin.
"No contest. This has now become my favorite cap!"
He slaps it on his head as he stands and pulls Alexis into a hug and says,
"Gotcha kiddo, I love it. Thank you so much."
Alexis relaxes in his arms and whispers so only he can hear.
"I love you Grandpa and you are very welcome."
Everyone watched this special exchange between Alexis and Jim knowing they have always had a very close relationship. It makes Rick so happy to see that his "little girl" is so loved by Kate & Jim.
Rick then looks at Kate and winks.
"Well mommy, I think we are all done with the presents, it must be time to go to bed."
Emma's head snaps around and she almost bellows,
"Nooo daddy, I needs to play with all my new toys."
Kate, Martha, and Alexis turn their heads so Emma can't see that they are smiling. Kate then looks at Emma and says,
"Bug, are you sure you have opened all of your presents?"
Emma turns and looks at both of her parents and then squats down searching under the tree.
"Mommy, pleez help me look, I don't see notin'."
While Kate helps Emma, Rick quickly stands and goes into his office. Alexis and Martha keep encouraging Emma to look closer, as Rick quietly rolls another gift out for Emma. Emma sighs and sits back on her legs shaking her head, and disappointedly says,
"Ders' notin' here mommy."
Kate hums and pulls Emma into her lap, hugging her as she turns around. Emma sadly raises her head from her mommy's shoulder as her eyes fall on the gift Rick brought out from his office.
"Daddy," she says in wonder, "is dat' for me?"
Rick nods his head as Emma runs full speed toward him. Rick bends down to catch her in his arms before she crashes into him and her brand new bicycle.
Emma is speechless, which is very rare for her, as she gazes at a beautiful purple-colored bicycle that is complete with training wheels, handlebar streamers, a basket, light, and a small bell. She just keeps staring at the bicycle and then wiggles out of Rick's arms to gently run her hands over the treasured gift. She looks up to her daddy and in a hushed tone says,
"Tanks' you daddy. This is the mostest pirty' bike I ever sees."
Rick hugs his daughter and says,
"You are very welcome Emma, but this is from all of us."
Emma looks around the room and sees everyone smiling back at her. She rushes to each one and kisses them on the cheek and gives them a big hug all the while repeating,
"Tanks you, tanks you, tanks you." Then she walks back to her new bicycle and wraps her arms around her new gift and says,
"Dis is the bestest Christmas ever!"
A/N #2: I want to thank everyone who reviewed my first Castle FF story, and especially thank you for the warm welcome into this fandom writing circle. For the guests who responded, I can't send you a personal note, but I want to thank you for taking the time to read my first try at FF writing. And I hope you enjoy this one as well.
To all who celebrate, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
