Author's note: A little bit of fluff I imagine our favorite crime fighting family would go through during this pandemic.

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, but since we didn't get as much as their names, I'd say I'm responsible for the characterisation of Lily, Reece and Jake Castle in this story :)


"Dad, do we have to?" Jake whined. He was lying on top of his bed, headphones on, phone in hand.

"Yeah, can't we just-" Reece tried, he was sitting at his computer, his fingers moving over a console.

Castle glared at his two teenage sons, they had turned fifteen last week. The pandemic that had taken over the entire world, was in full swing. The Castle household had been home for three weeks now, the children following their classes online as best as they could. Castle who was now a guest lecturer at Columbia, had been holding online lectures himself from his office; much to the chagrin of his children who weren't allowed anywhere near his office or the kitchen for that matter during that time.

It wasn't easy, being locked up with three hormonal teenagers, defiant on every front. If only this had happened when they were little; then they wouldn't have had to deal with the snide comments, the sighs, the bickering over the poor Wi-Fi connection, and excessive use of shower time. They would have been even more exhausting; Kate had reminded him that night. Castle had gone over the day's frustration when they were retiring to bed.

Kate had wrapped her arms around her husband from behind, her head on his shoulder.

"Remember how exhausted we were? Even on a good day, where they would play nice and there weren't any accidents. Those three were the death of us," her breath tingled his neck.

"You're right," he huffed, remembering how his back had been in constant pain, his clothes always out of place from two ruffians poking, prodding and pulling on him endlessly.

"Even so, if it would have been Alexis -" he started, Kate turned him around at that, her arms around his neck, a playful eye roll.

"Oh come on, Rick. It would have been even worse. Her, Ashley, Max and Andrew? I don't think we want to add a screaming baby to this household. And if you're referring to when she was a teenager, she was alone. I'm sure she would have been just as pissed off as Lily if she'd had two extra Castles on her hand."

"Oh, so you're saying it is a Castle problem?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just saying, whenever you're complaining it's about your mini versions, not mine."

"That's because Lily's too busy talking to her girlfriend half the time; I'm sure if we'd confiscate her phone she would be just as dark and gloomy," he mumbled.

"Think of it this way; now she doesn't get to go off and get those tattoos you're so afraid off," she winked which earned her a growl and a push onto the bed. She shrieked, as Castle joined her, attacking her with kisses, pokes.

"Ugh, really?" they released each other quickly, like two teenagers caught by their parents, looked up to see their seventeen-year-old daughter in the doorway, with a phone in hand, her eyes reddened. Castle and Beckett got up straight away, dusting and readjusting their clothing. Lily rolled her eyes, was about to turn away when her father's voice beamed:

"Lily Castle, you don't get to roll your eyes at your mother and me without explanation. What's wrong?" he said. If there's one thing he had learned from his second daughter, it was that she was nothing like his first. While they shared the same smarts and wits, Lily was strong-headed, independent, stubborn, much like her mother. Castle, not knowing how to deal with a rebelling daughter had gone for the strong authoritative figure, in contrast to how he was more like the fun uncle to his two sons, who shared many of his childish quirks.

Lily turned around, not daring to look at her parents. Eventually, when she spoke, her voice was barely audible: "She broke up with me," tears rolling of her cheeks.

The atmosphere did a 180. Castle's severity vanished and was replaced with concern. Beckett knowing heartbreak all too well, made her way over to her daughter, her hand on the back of her daughter's head.

"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry," Kate shared a glance with her husband, silently communicating what they should do. While they had both experienced their fair share of heartbreaks, Kate was inexperienced in her children going through it. Castle, on the other hand, had learned a few things from Alexis.

"Come, let us go to the living room, I'll prepare the ice-cream and you can tell us all about it," he gave his wife a nod. They started moving towards the living area, Lily not letting go of her mother.

When Lily was young, she barely cried. It freaked Castle out at first, believing that something must be terribly wrong with their baby. Whenever she would fall or get scrapes, she'd get up and keep running. While other children around her would run to their parents for a hug, a kiss on the booboo, Lily would already be back on the playground, with her hands in the sand. The only times she would come for hugs is when she noticed her parents were down.

Seeing his daughter now, enwrapped in her mother's embrace… a shot of pain went through his body. If it weren't for a worldwide pandemic, and the fact that the ex in question was a girl (talking about double-standards), he would go over to the ex's house right now, to give her a piece of his mind. How could she hurt his daughter like that?

He heard his wife cooing little words to their daughter, her hand stroking the brown locks softly. He had taken out a tub of ice, some spoons and placed it on the side table, when he decided that this should be a family moment. He walked up the stairs, knocked on his sons' door, and entered when he heard a low grumble from either Jake or Reece.

Their voices had been changing drastically in the last few months. While Jake's had dropped first, Reece's seemed to have gained a constant. Jake's voice still braking every other word.

"Guys, come downstairs, your sister needs comforting," he said, looking at them, both entranced by their electronics.

Jake was the first to look up: "Dad, do we have to?" he whined.

"Yeah, can't we just-" Reece added, not even giving so much as a look.

"Yes, your sister has been dumped and we are her family. So, move your asses and let's go," at those words, they dropped their respective games and got up; worry marking their faces.

His sons, in many ways an exact copy of their father, had inherited the need for justice from their mother, their need for protecting from their father. While their sister was the oldest, they had always felt a big responsibility over her.

Castle and Beckett had long before concluded that if Lily would ever kill somebody, their sons would do anything to cover up the crime, and discard of the body. With their mother being NYPD Captain turned Senator, and a bestselling crime novelist as a father, they were convinced, and a little scared at that, how easily they'd probably get away with it.

Arriving back downstairs, Kate and Lily were in the same position Castle had left them. He watched as his two sons walked up from behind, jumped on the sofa, opened their arms to join the family hug.

"Don't worry about it sis, she wasn't that fun anyway," Reece said, to which Jake added "yeah, she didn't even like Star Wars or Nebula 9."

Castle chuckled at that; how his son could mention Star Wars and that utter tragedy of a show in the same breath, was beyond him.

"Any room left for me?" he quipped as he let his full weight fall on the four of them, arms right open.

"Dad, no," he heard his children's squeals, and protests. Only when he heard his wife's captain voice: "Castle…" he repositioned, relieving some of the weight.

"Now scoot, old man," she said, her finger finding its way through the many tangled limbs, finding its intended target in Castle's side.

"Ey," he yelped, "I'm not old," he rubbed his side while letting himself roll off them onto the couch.

"Not old huh?" she smirked, eying her three children. With no further words, they all turned their heads towards their dad, eyes narrowing. While his daughter was a spitting image of Kate, she had her father's blue piercing eyes. His sons however, had their mother's. Even so, by the age of three, they had all mastered the Beckett glare with proficiency. Something which still scared Castle very much.

Before he could analyse or predict what'd come next, they sprung up on him, pillows drawn, hitting him wherever they could. He let himself fall backwards on the couch, his children falling with him which gave him the advantage. He stretched his arms backwards, grabbed one of the cushions and hit the first brown haired head he could reach.

He heard his wife laugh loudly, her silhouette in the corner of his eyes, observing the situation from a safe distance. Yeah, you laugh now, he thought. He prodded his two sons, one of them attempting to push him off the couch. Both their heads bopped up, as if two soldiers on duty, awaiting their leading officer's command.

Castle wiggled his brows, a sign language he had perfected over the years. The boys grinned at him, and then turned around at the same time. Beckett's laughter died, her eyes catching up with the switch in sides.

"Oh, you don't know what you've gotten yourselves into boys. I expected as much from your father, he's a lost cause," the boys sniggered at that," but you? You're messing with the wrong gal. Lily," Lily grabbed the boys' pillows before they knew what was happening; they tried to object, but Lily had already stolen their ammunition and joined her mother's side. Kate raised an eyebrow, which Lily imitated.

"I see, very low of you, Kate. I thought you were all about fair play," Castle tried his best to copy his girls' intimidating glares.

"Just two seconds ago, you wanted to attack four against one. I'd say I'm just evening the score," she retorted. Their children moving their heads from side to side, as if watching a tennis match.

"How about we truly make things even? You and Lily, me and the boys; last one standing?" an eyebrow raised.


The loft was darkened, the only light coming from the kitchen hood. Couches and chairs had been rearranged, no room was off limits. When Lily had turned five, Alexis had bought her her first mini laser tag gun with accompanying suit. Castle had cried with glee; missing the time he and Alexis would have their long-standing tournament of one thousand points. Given, Lily had been too young to truly master the sport, growing out of the suit in only a matter of months. But with every passing year, and their ever-growing family, the tournaments became grander, and more intricate.

Castle was on the ground floor, crouched down behind the piano. He was on his own now. Reece and Jake had teamed together to draw Lily out, who had been keeping cover behind the kitchen counter. Reece had come from the left-hand side, the fire place. Lily who had seen him coming, having the advantage of the reflecting fridge, was able to shoot him. But when she did, it allowed for Jake to sneak in from the right as he hit her right in the back. Glorious in their success, he had forgotten to seek cover, at which point Kate had taken him right in the chest.

Castle had seen a glimpse of his wife, as she disappeared towards their bedroom. He held his breath, all ears. Then he heard something fall in the bedroom followed by a mutter. He grinned. He felt his children's eyes on him as he crept towards the study, as silently as he could, ignoring the strain in his knees and shoulders. Beckett held the advantage, she could seek cover behind one of their armchairs, while Castle had to cross the emptiness of the study to reach their bedroom.

But Castle had a trick up his sleeves. He grabbed the remote of one of his electrical car toys on one of his bookshelves; if he remembered correctly, the last time he had been bored during one of his online breakout sessions, he had been driving the car around their closet. He pressed the on button, and heard the car come to life. His memory was right. All he had to do was bump the car against the closet door, and draw Beckett out of hiding. The car hit the door, but for a moment, everything remained silent. Then, he saw her lean figure rising from behind one of the chairs, sneaking with satisfaction towards the closet door. He could tell his wife was pleased, ready to end the war.

In a swift movement, he closed in on her, his finger on the trigger, when his toe bumped against the shelves and made her turn around in haste. He let out a grunt of pain, cursing himself for his clumsiness. Their guns pointed at each other. Their eyes battling with one another, both knowing that if either of them would concede, the other would never let them live it down.


It had been a few minutes since they had seen their father grab the car remote and enter the master bedroom. The three children remained silent, holding their breaths, not wanting to disrupt the grand finale. They loved playing with their parents, but as on many other occasions, they ended up waiting for their parents' final battle to settle the score; having had much more experience than their children both in and out of the field.

Jake was just about to go check, when their parents exited the bedroom. Their faces revealing nothing. The kids glanced between them, in suspense. And then Kate smirked, Castle shaking his head in defeat.

"Yes," Lily screamed out, giving her mom a high five after which she started teasing her two brothers for having lost once again.


"You're welcome," Castle said as his lay in bed watching his wife stow away some of their clothes in the hamper.

"Hmm?" she responded, without looking up.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me. You and I both know I let you win," Kate rolled her eyes, as she joined her husband in bed.

"I don't know what you mean," she blew some hairs out of her face, pulling up the covers to her armpits.

"Uhu, sure you don't. But for what it's worth, it made her really happy," he said, his eyes glazed, remembering the moment right after they had announced the girls had won.

"It did," she scooched closer after which she whispered "thank you," in his ear.

"Whatever for?" it was Castle's turn to play dumb.

"Oh, you know what," she stumped him playfully, swinging one leg over him, strangling his thighs.

"Beckett, I don-" he tried, his eyes on her body.

"Just shut up, and kiss me," she interrupted, leaning in for a searing kiss, which Castle didn't mind one bit.


Author's note: Thanks for reading! I always appreciate a kind review! Let me know if you'd be interested in more one-shots; I might write some more in the future when inspiration strikes :)