First, I would like to thank my guest reviewers, especially The Fifth Sister, since I can't do so directly.
Secondly, we're getting close to the end of this particular story. After this short chapter ("insane week" is the shortest explanation I have for this), I'm going to go out on a limb and say there are three more chapters left to this story, but no more than four. However, after a short break, I will be back with more stories in this universe, one-shots or shorter stories covering various events in the lives of this extended Castle family I have created through the years after this story ends, including when the kids are grown.
In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm.
At ten months of age, Reece and Jake were two little whirling dervishes of perpetual motion. They could each walk while holding the hands of one of their parents or another adult family member; they were beginning to speak actual English (Reece's first word was "Mama," and Jake's was "Dada"); they each had the same favorite activity: pulling themselves on the furniture and standing for a few minutes at a time while holding onto whatever piece of furniture they had used to pull themselves into a standing position; and, like Lily, both boys loved all of the Christmas lights and decorations and what Lily described as "the pretty tree" that dominated the living room for the entire month of December.
Jake, in particular, was fascinated by the ornaments on the Christmas tree, and he loved to make his way over to the tree (Alan had nicknamed Jake "Daredevil" after the Marvel character when, undaunted by both his parents', sisters', and grandparents' attempts to keep him away from the tree, and the difficulty of keeping his feet beneath him, Jake took several halting steps, holding on to various pieces of furniture along the way, in order to get to the Christmas tree) and yank off the shiny baubles hanging from the lower branches to roll on the floor or play with. Unfortunately for Jake, everyone but Reece took the shiny baubles away from Jake, causing the baby a great deal of unhappiness, which he expressed very loudly.
Rick and Kate took Lily, Reece, and Jake to see Santa Claus in the middle of December. This being her fourth visit to Santa, Lily was an old pro at waiting in line, sitting on Santa's lap, telling him what she wanted for Christmas, and posing for the requisite picture. This being Reece and Jake's first Christmas, it was their first visit to Santa.
Kate insisted on individual pictures of each of the kids with Santa, before getting the three of them together for a group picture, and luckily they managed to catch Santa at a not-very-busy time, so he was game.
Lily did great, and Rick and Kate answered for Reece when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas this year.
As soon as Rick set Jake on Santa's lap, though, Jake went into hysterics, totally terrified of the large, strange man in the red velvet suit and hat with white trim, black boots, and long white beard, exclaiming a loud and hearty, "HO HO HO! And what's your name, little fella?" right in his face. Jake balled up his fists and flailed them around in the air as he sobbed until his face was as red as Santa's suit.
Kate was holding Reece, whose reaction to Jake's fear was to burst into tears himself, and Lily, confused at the whole thing, alternated between shushing Reece and telling Jake not to be scared, because Santa Claus was nice. Rick pulled Jake out of the hapless Santa's arms and cuddled him close, rubbing soothing circles on his back and trying to calm him down by speaking right into his ear and reassuring him that Mommy and Daddy were right here, but Jake would not be consoled. He buried his face in Rick's shoulder, so traumatized by Santa Claus that he didn't even want to look at him.
"Mommy, what about our picture with Santa with everybody in it?" Lily asked urgently. "We have to have a picture with everybody in it with Santa!"
Kate and Rick exchanged a look, momentarily stymied by Lily's insistence on a group picture with Santa standing in direct opposition to Jake's obvious feelings on Santa Claus.
"Lily, Jake is scared of Santa," Kate pointed out gently.
"But Santa's not scary!" Lily insisted.
"Not to you, no," Kate replied, "and not to Reece. But to Jake, Santa is very scary." Jake was now down to hiccuping whimpers, his face still buried in Rick's shoulder, lest he catch sight of Santa again and return to a full-blown tantrum of panic.
A line, albeit a still short line, was starting to form now. "No picture?" Rick asked.
"We have to have a picture, Daddy!" Lily exclaimed indignantly. "We just have to!"
"Do not raise your voice to your father, Lily Johanna," Kate said sternly.
Lily, chastened, said, "I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm sorry, Daddy," and leaned against her mother's leg, her eyes downcast.
Kate looked at Rick helplessly. Rick considered things for a moment, then said, "Maybe if Jake and I stand behind Santa's chair, and Jake doesn't have to see him..."
Lily looked up at Kate so hopefully, Kate couldn't bear to take the hope and joy out of her eyes. "That line is getting longer, so let's make this quick," Kate said. "How're you doin', Reece? You okay, Peanut?"
Reece smiled at Kate and said, "Mama!"
Rick moved to stand behind and to the right of Santa's chair, careful to keep Santa out of Jake's line of sight.
After the group picture was taken, and Rick had paid for the pictures, and the boys were safely ensconced in their stroller once more, the family headed home.
Jake returned to his even-keeled, happy self after they left Santa's Village and returned home. That night, after all the kids were asleep, Kate was looking at the pictures and she couldn't help the snort of laughter that bubbled up at the sight of Lily beaming, Reece cooing, Kate herself having pasted on her best smile, and poor Rick looking like a deer-in-the-headlights, with a still-whimpering Jake up over his shoulder with his little back to the camera and one of Rick's hands splayed protectively across Jake's back.
Rick returned to the living room to find Kate leaning over the coffee table, laughing at the picture of all of them together with Santa. "I should ask Mother if I was ever traumatized by Santa Claus," he said. "I don't remember ever reacting to Santa the way Jake did, but maybe I did when I was his age."
"It's not necessarily genetic, babe," Kate pointed out. "Besides, with little kids, Santa's a hit-or-miss thing. Some of them love him, some of them are scared of him. Jake just happened to be scared of him this year. That's not going to put any kind of a damper on his love for Christmas."
"Oh, that reminds me," Rick said, holding up a red glass Christmas ball. "I don't know how he smuggled it into his crib, but it was in there when I was putting him down."
"Oh yeah, he's definitely your son," Kate said with a smile. "He loves all the decorations and lights." Without waiting to see if the boys would react as Lily had when she was a baby, Rick had put up strings of Christmas lights in the nursery, over each of their cribs, the same day he put up the Christmas lights in Lily's bedroom while they were in decorating mode.
"This year, he and Reece are going to be more about the wrapping paper and boxes than the toys, anyway," Rick reflected after finding an ornament hook and replacing the ball on the Christmas tree. He then sat down on the couch beside Kate, who laid her head on his shoulder and put her arm through his.
"Yeah, probably," she agreed. "Lily was for her first Christmas."
Rick rested his head against Kate's. "Another chaotic Castle Christmas is on its way," he mused.
Kate shifted so that she could look up at him. "I love the chaos," she said, "especially now. The boys definitely inherited your love of Christmas, and so did Lily...and my dad is so excited for this first Christmas with three grandchildren."
"Mother and Earl will be here bright and early Christmas Day," Rick reflected. "And I think Alexis and Esposito are going to spend the night on Christmas Eve too, along with your dad."
"The more the merrier," Kate said.
She looked at the stockings hanging from the mantel; they had gotten Reece and Jake's stockings last year, the red stocking with a snowman on it for Reece, and the green stocking with a grinning elf dressed in red-and-white stripes on it for Jake, and, as they had for the past few years, Johanna Beckett's stocking hung next to Jim's. A flash of sadness descended on Kate when she looked at her mother's stocking, but she remembered what her father had said when he had hung Johanna's stocking next to his when they put all the stockings up a couple of weeks ago. "I truly believe she knows about Lily and Reece and Jake, Katie. And I've already started telling Lily stories about your mother, and showing her pictures. I'll do the same thing with Reece and Jake when they're a little bit older. They're going to know she was their grandmother and how much she would have loved them."
Rick followed Kate's gaze and knew she was thinking about her mother. She felt him wrap an arm around her waist. "She would have loved all of you so much," Kate said quietly. "She would have loved being a grandmother." She fell silent again, and Rick, knowing he wasn't expected to answer, said nothing. A beat later, Kate went on, "I've never really talked to the kids about my mom. It's time, I think. It shouldn't all have to come from my dad. And talking about her with Lily, and with me, even...It's really helped him."
Rick kissed Kate's temple. "She'd be really proud of you, Kate," he said.
"I think she would," Kate agreed.
"I know she would," Rick gently corrected Kate before pulling her into his embrace. He smiled as he felt her wrap her arms around him and settle against him, only the lights of the Christmas tree and the fire in the fireplace illuminating the living room now.
