Very Castle Celebrations

Chapter 14

Castle wants Kate's first Mother's Day as a mother to be perfect. He can remember times when she spent the special Sunday in May working. He was with her on a couple of them when his own mother was working out of town or had Sunday performances off-Broadway. Kate had seemed to actually prefer being on duty. He can understand that. Kate has always used her work as a shield against the intrusion of remembrances of Johanna's murder. Those memories would have been agonizing on a day celebrating motherhood.

This holiday is going to be different. Castle's first gift for Kate is a no-brainer. Once Jackson does his break-of-dawn nursing, Castle will keep his son happy and amused so Kate can return to dreamland for as long as she likes. He's also planned a brunch of fluffy Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. And there will be jewelry, a sapphire bracelet to match her ring and pendant. He had an adornment made for her hair as well - even if that item of bling will more of a present to himself. He's looking forward to having a reason to pluck it from her tresses.

He made a reservation for dinner at a family-friendly restaurant, too. It will be a few months before Jackson is ready for a high chair, but Castle happens to know that Porodica has changing stations in both the men's and ladies' rooms. He can keep up his responsibilities for the day and allow Kate to enjoy herself.

The only thing standing in the way is finishing his Drake Bentley story. He has his hero and heroine hiding out in the attic of a gilded mansion to spy on the sonofabitch, Simon Putzger, who lives there. Putzger has made a practice of promising jobs to runaways and then turning the unfortunate adolescents into unwilling participants in the production of child pornography. Drake would love to beat the asshole to a bloody pulp with his bare hands, but there is the matter of several armed bodyguards, two of whom are always with the pervert. Bentley also has to ensure that the evidence he's gathered will reach the hands of law enforcement officials who are not in thrall to Putzger's money and power. That means that Drake and Grace will have to make their exit as undetected as their entrance was. That maneuver will be challenging because Bentley has no way to tamper with the security system from their present location. Drake and Grace will just have to figure out how to get around it.

Castle decides to have Grace search through some old trunks. It would be a trope for her to locate priceless artifacts. In fact, much of what she finds will be old and forgotten junk. But there will be vintage drapes – intricately crafted brocade abandoned in favor of the heavy velvet trimmed in genuine gold that now covers Putzger's windows. With the help of his ever-useful Smith and Wesson drop-blade pocket knife, Drake will cut the fabric into strips which Grace will braid into a sturdy rope. Rather than breaking a circuit and setting off an alarm, Drake will remove the glass from the attic window with his favorite diamond glass cutter. As soon as it is dark enough to cover their escape, he and Grace will make their exit into the nearby woods, where Putzger often leads drunken sojourns during which he and his twisted friends shoot whatever helpless prey can't get away in time. Finally, the impetuous pair will meet up with Drake's old acquaintance Jerry Moynihan who heads up the vice squad. The final challenge will be when Moynihan turns on Drake and Grace because he's a partner in the distribution of Putzger's sick wares. Drake will grapple with him, and Grace will kick the dirty cop where it will hurt the most. To save his own worthless hide, Moynihan will flip on Putzger, and the captive young people will be rescued and afforded support to recover from their ordeal.


Castle rotates his stiff shoulders and stretches. He checks the time in the corner of his screen. He's been writing for two solid hours. Jackson will be up from his nap any minute, and Kate will be coming home from a shopping expedition with Lanie.

Other than the not-unwelcome increase in the size of her breasts, Kate has returned to her pre-pregnancy dimensions and is looking for some things to fit her freshly recovered shape. To Castle the most enjoyment he'll get from whatever she decides to buy will be in removing it from her newly-toned figure, but he's sensed that she's been looking forward more to assuring herself that she's back in shape, than acquiring new garments. The way he sees it, having his wife secure in the knowledge that she's back in fighting form can only lead to greater delights for both of them.

Jackson sounds off, right on schedule. After retrieving the bottle of Beckett brew Kate stowed in the refrigerator, Castle goes to the nursery to feed his son.


It still amazes Castle just how little Kate buys when she goes shopping. Both Meredith and Gina would always make enough purchases to burden a pack horse. Mother and Alexis are not shy about giving his credit cards a workout either. Kate has returned just with two pairs of jeans, which she can't seem to help announcing are size four. He could have told her they would be before she went shopping. Between his years backstage with Mother, raising a daughter, and two previous marriages, he has a pretty good eye for what size a woman will wear. His ability to successfully evaluate female dimensions no longer matters. For the smile on Kate's face, he would have happily bought out Levi-Strauss.

Jackson is fussy throughout the evening, crying whenever he isn't in his swing. It takes hours to get him to sleep. It is not the night for Castle to worry about pulling a pair of pants or anything else from Kate's perfectly curved hips. When Jackson is finally ready to settle in his crib, their bed will be strictly for sleeping.


One upside resulting from the parental challenges of the night is that Kate truly appreciates Castle's gift of a few extra hours of shut-eye. He could have used some more adventures on the dreamscape himself. The first waffle he sleepily turns out is closer to charcoal black than golden brown.

Dinner at Porodica goes much better than his preparation of the earlier meal. Both he and Kate enjoy the tender lamb, and the baklava is to die for. Jackson has shed his petulant mood and gleefully waves his hands and kicking his feet throughout the meal but doesn't give out with any significant objections.

Castle tops the evening's adventure off with a horse-drawn ride through Central Park. When purchasing his tickets, he'd specified a carriage festooned with white and red roses. The driver, sporting a top hat, tails, and white gloves and provides Kate with a stool to ease the climb to her perch. Castle would have rather cupped her well rounded derriere to boost her up himself, but he regards the driver's courtesy as a nice gesture.

By the time the Castle family disembarks from the old-fashioned conveyance, clouds are gathering overhead. They barely make it to the car before the fat drops of water descend.


Rain beats against the windowpanes of the loft for most of the night, providing background music for adult-style rhythmic adventures. Castle is terrified when there is no demand from Jackson for middle-of-the-night sustenance. He hurries into the nursery to reassure himself that his son is still breathing. He expels a tremulous breath as his questing fingers detect the gentle rise and fall of the baby's tiny chest.

Jackson's first wail at 6:30 a.m. signals that the youngest Castle has delivered, if slightly belatedly, his Mother's Day present to Kate. It's the first time he's slept through the night.

A/N Guest, someone who is, let us say, a close relative of mine, got clearance to work in a government laboratory. In fact, the DOD paid for him to get a Ph.D.., in exchange for his future services. Being a native-born citizen was required. Weaponry may have been involved, but obviously he could not tell me. The check didn't go back much past junior high but even included talking to our pastor. An additional factor might have been that the person involved was third generation native born and there were clearances on both sides of the family, also going back generations. During WWI, my mother, uncle, and grandfather were all working on secret projects and couldn't talk to each other. The requirements may be higher to work for an alphabet agency than to just do some research.