Canis Familiaris
A "Take the Stairs" verse story.
Rick Castle was no stranger to the silly, crazy games children could play. Alexis, with her seemingly endless imagination, had introduced him to entire worlds he'd never considered, and now the twins seemed to be following in her footsteps – with one noted difference: instead of elaborate tea parties in space, they seemed to be embracing their inner canine.
"Daddy," Anna chirped from the carpet, crawling under the coffee table and grinning up at him. "Daddy, woof woof!"
"Woof woof?" Rick echoed, putting his laptop aside and leaning forward. "Are you a puppy dog, Anna?"
"Woof! Ya!" She giggled, turning to her brother, looking expectant. "Woof!"
Eli cackled, abandoning the truck he'd been pushing around the living room to join his sister under the table.
"Woof! Woof woof!" Eli barked, rolling over Rick's feet. "I pubby too."
Laughing, Rick wiggled his toes under Eli's belly. "Wait, you're both puppies? Twin puppies?" he asked, grinning at their eager nods. "Where'd my people twins go? How am I going to tell Mommy that I lost our babies and got puppies instead?"
They cackled, unfazed by his theatrics. Anna crawled closer, making a show of sniffing his leg, pawing at his knee. Rick hid a chuckle behind his hand, shaking his head at their antics. He had to get a picture of this for Kate.
Lifting his phone from the arm of the couch, he took a few photos for his fiancée, making sure to get the glee on their faces. He opted to take some video, too, wanting to get the full effect of their high-pitched yips and pounces. He even managed to capture his squawk as Anna's little tongue slid up his ankle.
"Anna!" he jumped, dropping the phone. "Squeaker, we don't lick Daddy. That's gross." He made a face. "That's super gross, yucky."
His youngest daughter giggled, patting his shoulder as he scooped her off the floor.
"Woof! I pubby!"
He scooped Eli up just as his son's tongue darted out. It wasn't enough to deter the boy, though, and Eli giggled, licking a stripe up Rick's cheek.
"Eli," Rick groaned in disgust. "No licking. Yuck."
His children laughed louder, full-belly cackles that shook their scrawny frames and rocked them sideways in his arms. Rick twisted toward the back of the couch, doing his best not to drop either one of them but making sure they'd have a safe place to land if he lost his grip.
"Okay, guys, let's make a few ground rules: you can be puppies it you want, but no licking each other, Daddy, Mommy, Alexis, anyone else, or our stuff. Just pretend, okay?"
Both dark heads bobbed, their agreement coming a beat later. Rick nodded in return, lowering them to the carpet. They giggled, woofing at him before dropping back to their hands and knees and crawling away.
"Hey guys," he called, leaning over and attempting to catch their legs. They squealed, evading him with bright grins and quick feet. "Easy, I just want to ask you a question."
Their heads lifted, curiosity taking over. "Ya?" they asked together.
"Who taught you to play puppy?"
Eli's smile widened. "Wexis!"
Rick grinned. "Alexis, huh?"
On one hand, he probably should've expected that. On the other, he had to hand it to his daughter, she was creative. The hints started at the beginning of the summer, once Alexis realized her opportunities to play with a dog were somewhat limited at their new home. She was subtle at first, small reminders of how much she missed Mrs. Lewis, and how disappointed she was not to have anyone in their building who needed a dog sitter. Then came the wistful looks at dogs in the park and on the sidewalk, the exclamations of "Look, Daddy! Look, Kate! They're so cute!" to remind them that she'd seen the canine companions. She even convinced Jim Beckett to buy her stickers, posters, and folders, even a calendar for her wall – all puppies, of course.
Now, it seemed she'd gotten her barely two-year-old siblings in on her puppy fever.
"Ya!" Anna answered on her brother's behalf, taking off as fast as she could.
Shaking his head, Rick sent the video to Kate. He was sure she'd get as big a kick out of it as he had.
He was right; her response a few minutes later was priceless.
They licked you?
He laughed, glancing over to find that the twins had flopped onto their bean bag seats and dozed off. Just like puppies.
Huh, maybe Alexis was onto something; though he wasn't sure he could condone her suggesting her siblings act like puppies to satisfy her desire for one.
Never thought 'Don't lick me' would be a phrase I needed to use as a parent, but yep, he replied. It happened.
He could picture Kate's laughter, the bright spark in her eyes, and his grin deepened.
I'm concerned that you imagined having to say it to someone at all, Rick, let alone your children.
Careful not to wake the twins, Rick laughed into his arm. Trust his fiancée to latch onto the wording. She really was a damn good detective.
They told me Alexis taught them to play puppy.
He glanced at the clock, wondering how long he could let the twins sleep before it was time to leave to get his favorite instigator from school. He wondered if they needed to talk to her about the puppy thing. It was just a game, really. Then again, she was teaching her siblings to go around licking stuff, so maybe saying something to her wouldn't be the worst thing. If only to remind her how sick that could make them.
We'll talk to her about that when I get home, Kate said, reading his mind even via text. Which will be soon. I got done early today, so I'll pick up our aspiring dog trainer. You keep the rest of the litter at home.
He grinned. God, he loved this woman.
Perfect. They're napping now, and I wasn't looking forward to dragging them out. See you in a bit.
We'll pick up puppy chow on the way home.
And she said she wasn't funny; Kate Beckett was a regular comedian.
Rick put his phone aside, picking up his computer again. He was behind on his work, but if he could finish one chapter today, he would be able to catch up on the other two tomorrow while the twins were at preschool. He could do it, he just had to buckle down.
His fingers started to move over the keyboard, but instead of working on his novel, he found himself looking up dog breeds.
Which, of course, was the first thing Eagle Eyes Beckett saw when she opened the front door and stepped into the loft.
"Hey Babe," she greeted as Alexis took the groceries into the kitchen, moving to lean over his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "How goes the wri-ting?" she finished, tilting her head, looking skeptical. "Really?"
"It's just research."
Her fingers plucked at his hair. "For your book, or…?"
He squirmed away, lifting her hand from his hair and bringing her knuckles to his lips. "Curiosity, but-"
"Rick," she warned. Her eyes flicked to Alexis. Right, that would kind of give off mixed signals, wouldn't it?
They had talked about a dog before, but it hadn't been the right time with their move, work, school, and making sure the kids were adjusting to everything. Now with wedding prep added to the mix, was the timing any better?
"What's for dinner?" he asked, changing the subject. His fiancée's lips quirked but she let it go, giving his head an affectionate nudge as she straightened up.
"Alexis wanted to try making curry chicken," she said, grinning back at the girl. His daughter beamed, emptying the last grocery bag onto the counter. "So that's what we're having."
"That sounds delicious, Pumpkin. Good choice."
"Thanks Daddy. Kate said so too. It's not gonna be too spicy. An' we're having rice with it. Yummy, yummy rice. Anna and Eli will like it."
Rick's smile deepened. She was such a good sister, always working to make sure her siblings were happy, too. "I bet they will. And speaking of the twins, we should probably wake them up before they sleep too long and keep all of us up tonight."
His daughter nodded eagerly. "I'll do it!"
Kate's chin landed on his head, her hands skimming his chest. "Wake them gently, bud."
Alexis all-but ran into the living room, dropping to her knees in front of the bean bags. "Anna, Eli," she crooned. Rick watched her hands rub circles over their bellies, moving up to brush their cheeks, their hair. "Wake up, wake up. I'm home. Did you miss me?"
Rick pursed his lips, trying not to laugh at her pout when the twins seemed content to sleep on, oblivious to Alexis's enthusiasm.
"Give them a minute to wake up on their own, Alexis," he said. "They were playing puppy pretty hard earlier."
Alexis looked up, her eyes widening quickly. Rick felt Kate's laugh ruffle his hair.
"They licked your dad," his fiancée added, squeezing his shoulders as Alexis giggled.
"Crazy babies. It's just pretend!"
"We had that conversation, yeah," Rick drawled. He patted the cushion beside him. "C'mere a sec, tell me about school."
She bounced over, plopping down and hugging his side. Rick squeezed her, dislodging Kate's cheek from his head to dust a kiss to Alexis's hair.
"We had a quiz today. A pop quiz."
"A pop quiz? Which class?"
She grinned, leaning her head on his chest. "Math. It was our times tables again and I crushed it! I did them so fast, I was like a multiplication ninja!"
Kate chuckled into his hair, lifting her head to smile down at them. "Congratulations, Alexis. I know you've been practicing hard."
Rick kissed Alexis's hair again. "Proud of you, sweetie. Did you ask about your report, too?"
"Uh huh. Mrs. Miller likes my idea."
"Which is?" he asked, catching her eye. She'd been keeping her ideas under wraps since coming home with the initial project sheet.
"Puppies!"
Now he got why.
"Puppies, huh?" Kate asked, moving around the couch and kneeling in front of the twins. She roused them quickly, shushing their displeased whines. "You've been on a pretty big puppy kick lately, Alexis."
His daughter nodded. "I know, I just love them so much," she sighed, leaning her cheek on his chest. "I wish we could have one."
And there it was. He'd give her credit for coming out and saying it.
Kate lifted Eli on to her lap, kissing his cheek as Anna crawled closer, flopping on Kate's leg.
"What? Your brother and sister aren't puppy enough for you?" Rick teased, tickling Alexis's neck. She squirmed in his arms, poking his belly.
"Daddy, that's just pretend. I know they're not real puppies."
Kate's lips quirked as the twins giggled and squirmed on her lap. The jury was still out on whether they knew they weren't real puppies.
"Real puppies are a lot of work, honey," Kate said, beating him to the punch. Her hand slid over Anna's back. "Even more than you think they are."
Alexis sighed. "Can we try it?"
Rick's fingers combed through the hair that had escaped her braid. "How 'bout this, Pumpkin," he started, checking Kate's face to make sure she wasn't horribly opposed, "you do the research for your paper and if you still want a puppy once you know more about them and what they need, we can talk about it. All of us."
His fiancée nodded in approval. It was a good compromise. Alexis got to learn more, and then they had time to do their own research and decide what the best choice for their family really was.
Alexis sighed, bumping her cheek against his chest. "Okay."
"Okay. Now should we start working on dinner? Or do you think you should tackle your homework first?" he asked, catching Anna with his legs as she came crashing over to them.
"Wexis!"
Alexis grinned, pulling away to hug her sister. She stood, lifting Anna of her feet, calling for Eli. "Neither, Daddy. Playtime first!"
"Playtime first," he agreed, holding out a hand to Kate. They could spare a little while for playtime. "In that case," he said, turning to his fiancée, "why don't you tell me about your day?"
Kate nudged Eli to join the girls, moving to the couch and dropping beside Rick. She sighed, dropping her head on his shoulder.
"Rough day?" he asked.
Kate shook her head, threading her fingers through his. "Just long, even though we finished early. Glad to be home."
His lips brushed her forehead. "Glad you're home." He grinned at the first yip from the other end of the room. "Because now you get to see this in person."
Every morning at breakfast for the next four weeks, Alexis greeted them with a new fact about dogs, some breed-specific, some general tidbits, but each one was delivered with a sense of expertise that made him proud. And each time she told him something new, he did a little more research too – even managing to adapt some of it for his novel – taking his findings to Kate at night as they got ready for bed.
His fiancée smiled around her toothbrush, leaning over to spit a moment later. "You're as bad as Alexis, you know."
Rick jumped at the tickle of her fingers along his back, the brush of her kiss over his bare shoulder.
"It's cute how into this you're getting, though."
"I just want to be prepared for whatever she throws at us." His stomach flipped at her soft puff of laughter.
"Know what she told me the other day?" Kate asked.
He twisted, leaning back against the counter, drawing her into his chest. "What'd she say?"
Brushing her fingers over his shoulders, Kate tilted her head, looking thoughtful, "She had to be prepared for what you'd ask her."
Affection bloomed in his chest. "That's our Alexis."
Kate brushed her lips over his. "She's too smart of her own good."
"Or I'm predictable," he grinned, catching Kate's lips in a quick kiss. "She has to know we're likely going to give in eventually; why not make sure she understands what a responsibility it really is to have a dog."
Kate hummed against his mouth. "And you say she's raising herself," she murmured, brushing the pads of her fingertips across his shoulders. He chuckled. He did say that. Less so since Kate had become his partner in crime and in life. "Okay, tell me more about the rescue group you found."
He grinned as she pulled away to go back to her nightly routine, outlining what he'd learned about one of the animal rescue organizations he'd started to research. They were based out of New Jersey but touted their desire to work with people in the tri-state area who had kids to add fur members to their families. They had dozens of animals in their care, and they seemed to understand when homes weren't perfect on visits, making him think that their crazy lives wouldn't put them off too badly.
Kate nodded, putting her toothbrush back in the holder and wiping her hands on a towel. "Have you contacted them?"
He followed her out of the bathroom, moving around the bed to his side and sliding under the covers while she slipped out of her robe and set her alarm.
"I sent their director some questions – mostly about their policies, the process. Nothing else, though. I didn't want to make any specific inquiries without you."
Castle watched her lips lift as she checked the volume on the baby monitor and slipped under the sheets with him. They squirmed in silence, getting settled, and he stretched out a hand once he'd found a comfortable spot, beckoning her closer. Kate scooted into him, slipping a leg over his, her cheek landing on his chest.
"I don't want a tiny dog, Rick," she said, trailing her fingers down his sternum. Her eyes lifted to his. "I mean it. I'd rather be cramped in the house than have to search my two-year-old before she goes to school every morning because the dog can fit in her backpack and she wants to bring it."
He grinned, smudging a kiss to her forehead. "Absolutely. Medium-sized dogs or larger only."
Kate hummed. "Perfect. And I'm not picky about breed beyond that."
"Me either," he agreed, feeling excitement rise in his belly. Had they just decided that they're really doing this? Of course, they hadn't found a dog yet, but agreeing to get one was just as big of a step at the moment.
"Alexis is going to be beside herself."
He chuckled. "I know, isn't it great?"
Her lips brushed his chin. "It is pretty great," she admitted, stroking his cheek. "When are we going to tell her?"
He shrugged, tripping his fingers down Kate's back, making lazy trails over her t-shirt.
"After her paper's turned in, I think. We can let her tell us everything she's learned and then tell her what we decided. Let her think she did a masterful job of convincing us with research and well-rounded arguments."
His fiancée grinned, pressing another kiss to his jaw. "Call the rescue tomorrow and do what you need to do to get us into their system, and we can go from there with picking dogs we might want to meet?"
Rick nodded, palming her hip, drawing her into his body as her mouth found his and their discussion concluded for the night.
Two weeks later on a Saturday, he and Kate sat their children down after breakfast and introduced them to a photo of the visitor they would be receiving later in the day. Alexis got it immediately, looking between them to make sure they weren't pranking her.
"Really?" she asked, grabbing the picture out of Kate's hand and studying the snapshot of the year and a half old mixed breed beauty with eyes so expressive, he and Kate had fallen in love instantly. "Really, really?"
Rick snickered. "Really. Meet Leia. Hopefully she'll be our dog."
Alexis squeaked, breathing that their visitor was named for her favorite character in Star Wars before turning to show her siblings the picture too. "Anna, Eli! This is our puppy! We're getting a puppy!"
Their eyes widened, excitement replacing the quiet confusion.
"Pubby? My pubby?" Anna asked.
Kate laughed, tweaking her cheek. Ah, the joys of everything being 'mine' at this age.
"All of ours. Anna's, Eli's, Alexis's, Mommy's, and Daddy's. She'll be a part of our family. So we're going to be super sweet when we meet her later, okay? We'll be gentle and help her not be scared, because she might be a little scared."
All three of the kids nodded, their eyes wide, smiles bright.
"Okay," Kate said, clapping her hands. "Let's go get changed and we'll be ready for when Leia gets here."
The kids scrambled off the couch and to the stairs, climbing with more care and caution than Rick would have expected, given their level of excitement. Alexis trailed behind her brother and sister, making sure they weren't going to fall on the ascent, flashing a grin over her shoulder once the trio reached the top. Kate laughed, leaning her cheek on his arm.
"I'd say that went well."
Rick grinned. "I'm still not sure how it could've gone badly. Other than an 'I want it now' tantrum."
"Which some parties are prone to having."
"Don't talk about me like that," he quipped.
Kate snickered into his shirt sleeve. As if she hadn't been on pins and needles, ready to go pick up Leia from the rescue group on her own. "Well, we both know the apples don't fall very far from the tree."
She had a point. Conceding that, he dusted a kiss over her hair. "Come on, our turn to get changed."
"Only if you want them taking their diapers off and going commando under their no doubt mismatched–"
"–Adorably so–"
"–adorably mismatched outfits. Which we'd have to change entirely too soon for obvious reasons," she finished, lifting an eyebrow.
"Touché. Okay, up we go. Then we'll get dressed while they're bouncing off the walls in anticipation."
She grinned, tugging him off the couch with her.
Any concerns they might have had about Leia's place in the family were quickly dispelled. She seemed to fall in love with them as quickly as they did with her, plopping herself in the center of the living room floor and accepting every coo, rub, and cuddle the kids (and Rick and Kate) offered. She'd even fallen asleep once her foster mom Cindy had left, doing her best to stay in contact with them. Her head rested on Alexis's lap, one paw draped over Eli's leg, and she welcomed the weight of Anna's hand on her back, the gentle clasp of the girl's fingers in her soft, fuzzy fur.
There was no doubt about it, she was home.
"I'm getting the impression that she likes it here," Rick remarked to his fiancée, grinning at her snort.
"Ya think?" She dropped a kiss on their son's head, rubbing his back.
Eli grinned, looking up at her. "S'Weia, Mama."
"That's right," Kate said. "She's so pretty and sweet, isn't she?"
He nodded, dipping to kiss the dog's paw. "I wub her."
Kate nuzzled their son's cheek, holding him close for a moment.
"Me too! Me too!" Anna insisted.
His fiancée leaned over, kissing Anna first, then Alexis, wrapping an arm around their eldest. "I'm so happy you love her so much already. Daddy and I both are."
Rick nodded, sliding over to join them. Alexis beamed, rocking just enough to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Kate. She's perfect."
He brushed his fingers through her hair, smoothing the flyaway strands of her ponytail away. They've been playing hard all day. "Yeah, she is." He kissed her forehead, reaching over to stroke Leia's back. "Now, no more hints about stuff for a while. We can't get a bird, or a fish, or–"
"Another baby brother or sister?" Alexis asked, squealing at Kate's tickling fingers. She did her best to squirm without dislodging the dog, making her look even more ridiculous.
"Enjoy the two you've got," Kate drawled, taking the words out of his mouth. They weren't opposed to the idea of having more kids, but they were also on the same page with the fact that it was not going to happen for a while. "And your new – real – puppy sister."
Alexis giggled, dipping her head to kiss Leia's ear.
"Best day ever."
Rick couldn't argue with that.
Prompted (a long time ago, as is my usual MO) by anon: Take the Stairs, the family gets a puppy when the twins are about 2. However you want to do it - fluffy Friday, one shot, whatever. Pleeeeaaassse?
Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!