Thank you all for your continued support and enthusiasm for this story. This chapter takes place in January and early February 2021.
Reece and Jake's first birthday fell on a Thursday, and preparations began in earnest in mid-January. Despite it being a workday, everyone had already told Kate and Rick they were planning to be there before they were even formally invited, including newborn Robert Scott Masters, Lanie and Alan's second son, who was born, to his mother's eternal relief and delight, at Mount Sinai Hospital, where Lanie received an epidural, on January 10. Will, who would be two in April, was still adjusting to having a baby brother at home. He didn't like it when Robbie cried, but he did like to show him toys and books and stuffed animals.
"Are we doing a theme?" Rick asked Kate as they watched Lily encourage Reece and Jake both to walk to her in the living room when everyone was off for the Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday weekend. (Jim, much to his regret, had a bad cold, and was staying at home because he didn't want to spread his germs to his grandchildren.)
"Reece and Jake are just now turning one. They're not really into anything enough to have a theme," Kate pointed out. "The theme would be more for us. Besides, I was already planning a Star Wars party for your birthday."
"Seriously?" he asked excitedly.
"Well, now I am," Kate admitted. "But I think I can safely speak for Lanie and Jenny when I say that none of us are dressing up like Princess Leia unless we get to be General Leia."
"The buns over the ears were horrible, I agree, but it was the '70s," Rick pointed out.
"But it wasn't supposed to be the '70s," Kate pointed out. "'Long ago in a galaxy far away' does not say 'the 1970s,' and oh my god, it's true!"
"What's true?" Rick asked, puzzled.
"When you've been married for a long time, you really do start to act like each other!" she exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with mock horror.
Rick burst out laughing, and Kate couldn't keep her own laughter from bubbling up. When she had recovered herself, and Rick was still chuckling, Kate said, "I never laughed so much in my life before you came into it."
Before Rick could reply to that, Lily exclaimed, "Mommy! Daddy! Jake's trying to climb the baby gate at the stairs!"
Indeed, Jake was clutching the gate and trying to put one tiny foot on it. Rick and Kate both jumped up and rushed over to him while Lily and Reece went back to their game, playing with Reece's shape-sorter blocks, with Lily cheering him on whenever he put one of the correct blocks through the correctly shaped hole in the lid of the large bucket the blocks came in.
"And that's enough of that," Rick said as he swooped Jake up in his arms. Jake made his displeasure at being thwarted known immediately and loudly, but Rick was unmoved by Jake's tantrum. "No way, Jellybean. I get that you want to climb, but the gate is a big no-no." He set Jake back on the rug with Reece and Lily. "Play with your brother and sister."
"Jay!" Reece exclaimed then. Reece was the more talkative of the twins; Jake really only spoke intelligibly when he wanted a specific person's attention or when he had something to say. Both boys could say "Mama," "Dada," "Yiyee"(Lily), "Yexis" (Alexis), "Hahhvee," (Javi), "Gam" (Gram), "Gampa" (Jim), and "Pops" (Earl), but Reece was the one who attempted the names of the rest of the family and eagerly hung on every word whenever anyone addressed him directly. Reece also called Jake "Jay," while Jake referred to Reece as "Eece," since neither boy could properly pronounce their 'R's yet.
"You think you can keep Jake out of trouble, Peanut?" Rick asked Reece.
Reece looked at his daddy and earnestly said, "I twy."
Rick and Kate exchanged a shocked look. "Reece just spoke his first sentence!" Rick exclaimed. "It had a subject and a verb. It's a sentence!"
"Way to go, Reecey!" Lily cheered.
Reece reached out and grabbed Jake's hand. "Jay," he said.
"Jake," Lily corrected Reece. "He's Jake, Reecey. And you're Reece."
"He'll learn it eventually, Lily," Kate said. "These things take time."
Rick had his phone out and was coaching Reece to repeat "I try," and after a couple of attempts, Reece said it again-"I twy!"-and Rick sent the video to everyone then added the text: "Reece's first sentence! Jan 18, 2021!" The rest of the afternoon, Rick's phone, and Kate's too, buzzed with congratulatory texts or rang with phone calls, everyone excited about Reece's latest milestone.
That night, after the boys were asleep, Kate and Rick were helping Lily with her bedtime routine. "Okay, Lily, what should we read tonight?" Rick asked, perusing the many titles on Lily's bookshelf.
"I don't want to read a book tonight, Daddy," Lily said very seriously. She looked at Kate. "I want a real story. I want a story about Grandma Johanna. Grandpa tells me about her all the time. He told me that's why he calls me 'Lily Jo,' 'cause my middle name is the same as her first name. And he told me she's an angel, and that she'd love me and Reece and Jake lots and lots if she was here."
"She would," Kate said. "Your Grandma Johanna was my mommy, like Gram is your daddy's mommy, and I'm your mommy, and Reece's and Jake's mommy, and Alexis's mommy." Since Lily had never known anything but Alexis referring to Kate as "Mom," she accepted this.
"If she was your mommy, then you must know lots of stories about her!" Lily said enthusiastically. "And different stories than Grandpa knows."
"Some of them are different than the stories Grandpa knows, yes," Kate said. "Let's get you tucked in, and then I'll tell you a story about me and your Grandma Johanna."
"Okay!" Lily agreed happily. Rick and Kate tucked Lily in, and then Kate sat next to Lily, leaning against the headboard of her bed, while Rick, not wanting to intrude on the mother-daughter moment, went and stood in the doorway of Lily's bedroom, leaning against the door jamb.
"When I was about your age, Grandma Johanna taught me how to ice skate," Kate said after Lily was tucked in and looking up at her mother raptly. "We went to the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center-"
"Where they put the super ginormous Christmas tree every year?" Lily interrupted.
"Yes, it's the same place," Kate replied. "Anyway, one day when your grandpa was at work, Grandma Johanna didn't have to go in to work, and we went to the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, and she taught me how to ice skate." Rick could tell by the look in Kate's eyes that she was mentally reliving that day. Lily couldn't conceal a yawn as Kate continued the story.
"It was really cold, because it was January, and there was snow on the ground, but we got all bundled up, and Grandma Johanna got us both ice skates, and she helped me lace mine up nice and tight, and she held my hand as we went out on the ice. It was really, really slippery, and even holding her hand, I fell down a lot."
"Did it hurt when you fell down?" Lily asked sleepily.
"Not much, no," Kate said. "And Grandma Johanna was very patient with me, and she helped me get back up on my feet every time I fell down, and she held onto both my hands after the fifth time I fell, and we kept at it. Your Grandma Johanna was such a good ice skater, she could skate backwards without falling down at all. It took hours, we made an afternoon of it, and she just kept telling me, 'You can do it, Katie. I'm right here, and when you fall down, you have to get up and keep moving. Keep trying. You'll get it, and soon you'll be skating circles around me.' I never actually was as good at ice skating as your Grandma Johanna, but I learned that day, because she taught me. She taught me how to push off and glide, she taught me how to stop without crashing into the wall or falling down...and a few years later, she even taught me to skate backwards. I could never skate backwards like she could, but I can do it without falling down. That was one of the best, most fun days I ever had with your Grandma Johanna."
Kate looked over at Lily, who was sound asleep. Then she looked up at Rick, still leaning on the door jamb, smiling softly.
"And I'm gonna teach you and your brothers how to ice skate, the same way my mom taught me," Kate concluded quietly. She leaned over, smoothed an errant strand of hair off Lily's forehead, and then gently kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams, baby girl. I love you all the way to the moon and back."
Rick had already kissed Lily good night and wished her sweet dreams and told her he loved her when he had helped Kate tuck her in. Kate crossed the room and walked right into Rick's open arms. "I never even told you that story," she reflected softly as they stood in the doorway of Lily's room, holding each other.
"I agree with Lily. I bet you have a lot of stories like that about your mom," Rick replied.
"I do," Kate agreed. She drew back. "And I'm looking forward to sharing them with Lily, and someday sharing them with Reece and Jake."
"And me?" Rick asked.
"Definitely 'and you,'" Kate assured him before stretching up to kiss him softly.
The scene at the loft on February 4 was complete and total bedlam. Reece and Jake were both walking now, albeit still falling down a lot, and Lily, Sarah Grace, Nick, and Will were chasing after the boys. The kids, except for Robbie, had indulged in the ball pit, having to take turns, which was oh-so-helpfully decided when Nick declared that the girls all had cooties, so they couldn't be in the ball pit at the same time he and Will were in there. (It was really only built to comfortably hold two kids at a time, and so Lily and Sarah Grace, on the outer edge of being able to fit in the ball pit at 7 years of age, played in the ball pit without any of the boys.)
There were more adults than children, and the happy chaos swirled around them as everyone fawned over Reece and Jake, who were wearing different shirts (Kate patently refused to dress the boys alike, wanting them to develop their own identities, and, she said, given the Castle penchant for mischievousness coded into their DNA, not to give them any help in pretending to be the other boy as they got older) proclaiming their newly minted status as one-year-olds. Reece's shirt was blue, and Jake's was green.
The adults were wearing birthday hats, but all of the kids refused to leave theirs on, even though they weren't the kind with the rubber-band chinstrap. Everyone fawned over the still practically newborn Robbie, who wouldn't be one month old for a few more days, and Rick never made any of his children wait until after the cake to open their birthday presents, so Reece and Jake had torn into the cornucopia of birthday gifts they received from everyone, and Rick had gladly left the construction of the soft climbing set he and Kate gave as a joint birthday present to both boys, comprised of one red half-cube, one set of two steps in blue, and one gentle wave climber in yellow, with a pronounced dip in the middle, covered in non-slip vinyl, to Jim and Kevin, who had it assembled in 25 minutes.
Reece and Jake received a profusion of books, toys, and even a few clothes. Alexis had already outfitted Lily in Columbia University gear, and she found tiny Columbia University shirts for Reece and Jake. "They can be legacies if they go to Columbia too," Alexis said. Javi and Alexis together gave the boys toddler basketball hoops with Nerf basketballs. Everyone agreed that Jake was most likely to inherit Kate's athleticism. Their gift to Reece was sit-to-stand dancing tower.
Reece was enthralled by all the gifts that produced music: the toy piano from Martha and Earl (who gave Jake a dance and move robot that ultimately Reece would enjoy playing with more than Jake did); the light-up activity table that also played music from Rick and Kate, who gave Jake an identical activity table; and the Pull-and-Sing Puppy from the Ryans, who gave Jake a wooden building block set, since he loved building with blocks and then knocking town the towers he built if they didn't fall first and make him crack up laughing. The Gateses and the Fallons gave both boys several books.
Jim gave both boys toy toolboxes filled with plastic tools, and the Masters' gave both boys a Roll and Bounce Tower Toy, which, when put together, had several small vinyl balls that would race down the ramps when dropped through various slots built in to the tower. "Alan plays with Will's more than Will does, so I figured this would be a good bet for Reece and Jake," Lanie said as she held the dozing Robbie; he was worn out from being fussed over and passed around among almost all the adults in the room. He would be christened in a few weeks, with Kate and Rick, and Jenny and Kevin, once again standing as his godparents, as they had done for Will.
"Now that is something you don't see every day," Javi remarked suddenly. The others followed his gaze to where Victoria Gates was chasing after all the kids but Robbie, mock growling at them as they shrieked and squealed with joy. When she caught Reece and Jake, she lifted a boy in each arm and gave them smacking kisses on the cheek, making them giggle with glee.
"We've known Gates long enough to know that she's very much human," Rick pointed out.
"Yeah, our first clue was when she told you to kiss Castle after you got off the bomb," Kevin reminisced.
"Is it time for cake yet?" Nick shouting.
Rick and Kate exchanged a look. "We probably should get to it, what do you think?" he asked Kate.
"Yeah, I think so," she agreed. "Especially since we're probably going to have to hose the boys down afterwards."
"Mark and I can take ice cream duty," Madison volunteered.
"We have a sheet cake, and then smash cakes for the boys," Rick said.
"What kind of cake is it?" Nick asked.
Sarah Grace rolled her eyes at her younger brother's question. "Nick, you'd eat the cake if Uncle Rick and Aunt Kate told you it was worm and cricket cake."
"I love cake!" Nick shouted indignantly.
"Sarah Grace and Nicholas Javier, if you don't start behaving yourselves this instant, you won't get any cake," Jenny said sternly. The threat of not having any cake was enough to turn Nick into an angel. Sarah Grace rolled her eyes again, but didn't try to bait her brother any longer.
"It's vanilla cake with buttercream frosting, which is also what the smash cakes are, but only Reece and Jake are going to want to eat those," Kate said.
"I'll be on cake-cutting duty," Martha volunteered.
Alexis was already putting on a fresh pot of coffee, while Kevin raided the fridge for milk for the kids.
"We can't forget the candles!" Lily told her parents.
"Right, Sweetpea," Rick said.
Victoria approached, still carrying Reece and Jake, with Gerald trailing behind her. "Do you two need some help wrestling the birthday boys into their high chairs?" she asked.
"Actually, yes, that would be very helpful, Victoria, thank you," Kate said.
Gerald helped Victoria get the boys into their high chairs, and Rick and Kate put large bibs around them. "Are those lobster bibs, Richard?" Martha asked.
"I brought them," Madison piped up. "Kate said they needed really big bibs, and we have a ton of these at Q3."
"You probably should have put a couple of tarps on the floor," Kevin said.
"Oh, sure, now you tell us," Rick said.
Jim had Reece's smash cake, and Earl had Jake's smash cake. Alexis, having started the coffee, approached with the two number candles in the shape of the number one and the lighter.
"Okay," Alan said, shifting Will from his hip to his shoulders so that Will had a perfect view of the festivities over the heads of all the adults crowded around, while Lanie held the sleeping Robbie up over her shoulder, and Lily sat at the table in her booster seat, with Sarah Grace and Nick seated across from her, Nick especially eager as he waited for cake and ice cream. Madison had the ice cream on the counter, softening up, and Martha had the sheet cake on the island. "Are we all ready?"
A chorus of "yes"es rang through the room as Rick stuck the candle in Reece's smash cake, and Kate stuck the candle in Jake's smash cake. Jake looked up at Kate questioningly. "Mama?" he asked.
"Daddy and I are gonna help you with the candles," she told Jake.
"Cake!" Reece exclaimed.
"That's right, Reece, you get cake because it's your birthday," Rick said. "Okay, first we sing, then we blow out the candles, and then we all get to have cake and ice cream. How are you doing over there, Nick?"
"I'm ready, Uncle Rick!" Nick exclaimed, practically vibrating in his chair.
Everyone sang then.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Reece and Jaaaake,
Happy birthday to you!"
Alexis lit the candles, and Jim, Madison, and Javi all recorded the singing, the lighting of the candles, and Rick and Kate blowing out the candles for the boys. Then everyone watched as Reece and Jake demolished their smash cakes after Rick and Kate removed the blown-out candles. Reece eagerly gobbled cake, blue buttercream frosting coating his fingers and winding up smeared all over the lower half of his face. Jake was slightly more reserved, tearing into the cake and spreading it all over the tray of his high chair before digging in to the pieces.
Jim watched Reece and Jake with a big smile on his face, knowing that if Johanna were here, she'd be thrilled that their grandsons shared her birthday, and while she would insist that they celebrate Reece and Jake more than her, she would still have her own birthday cake and presents. He looked at Katie, pulling faces for the boys, her arm around Rick's waist, Rick's arm around her shoulders, and he gave thanks again for Rick Castle, for everything he had brought to Katie's life and to Jim's. Kate then looked over and caught her father's eye, her face serious now. Jim just nodded, knowing what Katie was thinking: how much Johanna would have loved all of this. But her grandchildren would know her. He and Katie would make sure of that.
And while Madison, with Mark's help, dished up the ice cream according to everyone's flavor preferences—chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, coffee, potato chip fudge, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, butter pecan, chocolate chip, or caramel delight—and Earl helped Martha cut and hand out the sheet cake, in the middle of the buzz of their family surrounding them, Kate said, "Hey, Rick?"
"Yeah?" he asked, turning his attention from Alexis, who had just told him that she and Javier had found an apartment and would be moving into it in April, to look at his wife.
"Thank you," she said, sliding her arms up so they were around his neck.
He knew what she meant. "Thank you," he responded. "I wouldn't have all this without you, Kate."
"I wouldn't have all this without you, babe," she said.
"We make a great team," Rick said, pulling Kate closer.
"Best team in the league," Kate replied. "Going all the way."
They stole a kiss then, but were interrupted when Victoria said, "Okay, you two, there are impressionable children here."
"And not just me and Ryan," Javi piped up, making everyone laugh.
"Later?" Rick whispered in Kate's ear after they broke the kiss.
"Later," she agreed with a grin before they had plates of cake and ice cream (potato chip fudge, of course, for Rick; coffee for Kate) pushed into their hands, and they basked in the warmth of their family, all gathered together for Reece's and Jake's shared first birthday.
