Very Castle Celebrations

Chapter 45

Castle doesn't need to worry about packing. The movers will do that. He just has to keep an eye on Jackson to make sure the boy isn't freaked out by the changes. Taking him out somewhere while the professional packers do their jobs wouldn't be a bad idea either. Kate only has one meeting planned for the morning, then she said she was going to come home.

Maybe she can meet Castle and Jackson somewhere - like the Mommy, Daddy and Baby Gym. Jackson loves the place, with all the brightly colored foam filled structures to explore. There are a few things for parents too, notably weights which are kept on racks too high on the wall for the toddlers to reach. Castle has never been much into weightlifting except to build the upper body strength and endurance necessary for fencing. Even for that sport, he's always found the multiple reps with smaller weights required to build smooth muscle, boring as hell. They were occasionally worth the effort, to win a light-saber tournament or two, but he hasn't had time for many of those in the past couple of years and doesn't expect to anytime soon. There will be a movement class later for parents and their toddlers. If Kate arrives in time, they can all get down to the lively if corny music together.

Remembrances of Alexis dancing around the loft fill his mind's eye. That will never happen again. It's unlikely it would have in any case. She and Cary are pretty serious, and he suspects that an engagement may be on the horizon. If she dances, it will be with the man she's declared to be her soulmate. Still, the loft is filled with millions of memories, and much as he's convinced he's doing the right thing for Jackson, the move will be wrenching.


Kate shows up at the gym a bit later than Castle expected she would. She stopped by the loft briefly to grab an outfit more appropriate to giving a wiggle, than the trim suit and heels she wore to her meeting. She tells Castle that she had to dig into wardrobe boxes to get it. The packers are moving along pretty fast. At the rate they're going, the contents of the loft should be boxed, moved and unpacked by late afternoon. She's going to want to be at the brownstone to supervise, as is Castle. They can take turns riding herd on Jackson, and having the yard for him to play in will come in handy.

Castle has already had some of the play equipment installed. The rest, including the treehouse, will have to wait until Jackson is a few years older. The spa, now filled and fully operational, is newly surrounded by a secure enclosure, with the locking cap serving as a double safeguard. Castle had a botanist come in and check for any plants that would have to be fenced or removed and recommend harmless ones for the gardener to plant for spring. The yard will not only be a safe haven but pleasing to the eye.

As the toddlers in the gym bounce around to the music, Jackson is a champion wiggler, but Castle is enjoying watching Kate, too. She is displaying none of the sinuousness that characterizes her seductive motion when it is just the two of them, but the way she jiggles is adorable. Castle notes the slightly red-faced look on the only other father in the room, who is doing his best to get with the program. Castle sends him an encouraging look. He can remember a few moments of embarrassment himself in early classes with Alexis until he decided that it wasn't worth giving a damn about what anyone else thought. And it turned out that for the most part, the other parents weren't paying attention to anyone except their little ones and the instructor anyway.

The truth is that until he met Kate, he'd gotten over caring what much of anyone thought - in or out of a gym - except maybe for the opinions of his readers about his books. That changed the moment she walked into his book party. He worked like hell not to show it, but after that, everything he did that wasn't about his family, was all about Kate. Now the circle is complete. Everything is about his family, including Kate.

He checks his watch. If he takes Kate and Jackson to lunch after the class, things should work out just about right for meeting the movers at the house. He already has a portable crib there on the off chance that Jackson might actually decide to spend part of the afternoon napping. The toddler's explorations at the gym and exertions during the class may help with that.


Fast moving Kate snags the last available high chair as Castle and Jackson stake out a table at Family Circus - a restaurant down the block from the gym and a popular place for parents to recover while their little ones enjoy a variety of meals intended for the grasp of small fingers. Castle and Kate both get massive cheeseburgers to replenish their own supplies of energy. As a fortified family, the Castles arrive at the brownstone just as the moving van is pulling up.

Castle takes Jackson out to the yard while Kate supervises the unloading and unpacking. Between the yard and the gym, Jackson is mercifully ready for a nap by three in the afternoon. Once Jackson is down, Castle slumps in a newly unloaded chair to recover enough to deal with setting up the kitchen.


It's ten o'clock. Jackson is finally asleep - hopefully for the night - in his regular crib. As Castle and Kate lie side by side on the barely made bed, he isn't sure that he could move if he wanted to. She doesn't seem to be doing much better. The house is livable, if in need of finishing touches. They had managed to muddle through preparing dinner and had loaded and run the dishwasher.

The bed is familiar, but everything else feels strange to Castle. Linus is not yet on the wall. Fewer city lights penetrate the windows, and the solidly built structure seems quieter than the loft. During Martha's gypsy years, Castle lived in a lot of places. The loft was the most longstanding residence he had, but he expects that he and Kate will occupy the brownstone for many years to come. He rolls on his side, wordlessly inviting her to spoon.

As long as she is with him, anywhere, even a shack in the woods would be home, but a piece of New York history is better - especially since the heating, air conditioning, and appliances have all been updated and the Wi-Fi is working. He's receiving all the TV channels he wanted, too. The vacuum system will be installed the next day. A couple of armoires to provide extra closet space will be delivered as well. The brownstone has more rooms than the loft did. He and Kate will get to furnish those together.

Kate's mark will be throughout the house, except that now Castle can have both an office and a den of his own. Come to think of it, a den is where Linus should belong. And Kate will have a room for the workouts she craves - at least the ones that don't involve him. She snuggles into the curve of his body, and his arms automatically enfold her. Yes, he is home.