A/N: Just a quick filler. Some scenes that I've had in back log that i felt fit well together. The fun is starting! Oh! And any spelling or grammar mistakes you see are all my fault; I'm sorry.

Enjoy!

Disclamor: Not mine; just borrow them

"Daddy!" The two girls race towards him, garment bags dragging behind them. Miyana reaches him first and barrels intro his chest for a hug.

"We got our costumes today!" she shouts, holding up her two bags, waving them happily in front of his face. Finn copies her sister; both super excited to have received their costumes for their upcoming dance recital.

"I see," he replies, taking them from his daughters, leading the girl back to their bags and lays their costumes on an empty seat. "Here," he says, handing them their bags. "Change out of your shoes and then it's time to go home."

The girls sit on the floor in front of and next to him as one of the dance moms, Janet is her name he thinks, approaches him with a toothy grin plastered on her face as if she's three seconds away from an actual mental break down. She has dirty blonde hair, blue-grey eyes, typical 'soccer mom' clothes: a tee shirt and jeans, with a very kind demeanor. In the handful of times Rick Castle has dealt with her at his daughter's dance studio, he's agreed that Janet is very nice.

"Hi!" she greets cheerfully. "Rick, right? I'm Janet, Clara's mom? Our girls are in the same class." Clara? He has to think for a second to place a name to the face. But he finally can see the little girl: jet black hair; dark, almond shaped eyes; tiny, she's the smallest in the class. Come to think of it: were she not adopted, Rick would think the child has an amazing resemblance to her mother. "Anyway," Janet continues. "I'm room mom for Recital this year and I wanted to make sure you knew about costumes and hair this year."

"Okay," Castle nods.

"Okay, so I typed this up," she says, handing him a piece of paper with information listed on it. It's divided between the two dances the girls' class is doing. Each section includes details on costumes and hair and how it should be done. "So pictures are on Thursday and they need to be in full costumes, makeup and hair. I know it says they need flowers for their tap dance, but they're not finished yet, but they will be by Thursday, so don't worry," Janet says, waving her hand as if to say it was no big deal.

"Well, great!" Castle says, folding the paper and sticking it into the pocket of Miyana's dance bag.

"Great!" Janet smiles. "I'll see you girls on Thursday," she says looking down at Mia and Finn who are looking eager to go home.

"See you then," Castle nods. "Come on girls, get your stuff." He stands, handing bags to their respective dancer and starts to walk towards the front door. There are calls of goodbye to Miyana and her sister, and last minute hugs from friends who are staying for later classes and rehearsals, but Castle finally gets himself and his daughters in the car and on the way home.

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"Wow! Look at you!" Castle exclaims, admiring his wife standing before him in their kitchen. It's the first time he's seen her since that morning when he was helping out on a case before heading off to work meetings and in the interim, Kate had gone to the hair salon and cut off a good six inches of her hair. The brown locks now brush her shoulders, and have streaks of lighter caramel brown dotted in to make the style pop.

"Yeah? You like it?" she smiles, running her fingers through her hair.

"I love it!" he nods.

"Good," she says, kissing him quickly before turning to the fridge.

"So did everything turn out alright? I know it was touch and go there for a while," Castle asks, sitting at the bar, about the case he had helped out on.

Kate sighs, shaking her head. "You know how these things are, Castle. They can drag on for weeks with no outcome in sight."

"So that's a 'no,' then?"

"It's more of a 'wait and see'," she replies, heating up leftovers for dinner. "But enough about that," she replies, waving a hand. "How was your meeting?"

Castle sighs, dropping a hand onto the counter. "You're gonna hate me for this," he starts. "But the first date for the new Nikki Heat book tour is the Saturday after we get back."

"Oh; okay," Kate nods. It's really the best seeing as they would have just gotten back from vacation a few days prior, but it's not the worst.

"In Chicago," Castle finishes, wincing at the anticipation of Kate's reply.

Oh.

"And you agreed to that?" Kate questions, trying to understand why her husband gets home from vacation and then almost immediately has to jump right back onto a plane for work obligations.

"Well I told them to start the tour after our trip; I didn't think it would be the weekend after!"

"Okay, you're right: that is stupid," Kate agrees. "I can't believe they would do that, knowing full well you just got home."

"I know right! Sometimes I wonder why I keep them around," Castle chuckles.

"Go call your kids; dinner is ready," Kate instructs, starting to plate dinner.

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The little boy sat curled in an armchair, finger in his mouth, eyes glued on the TV hung above the fireplace before him. Austin wiggled and wiggled, working on the loose front tooth; it was his first and had been loose for nearly a month. His dad had threatened that if Austin didn't wiggle it loose first, he would personally yank it out.

"How's it coming, Austin?" Castle asks his son, leaning over the couch.

"Okay," Austin replies, though the words come out muffled over his fingers.

"Alright, well keep trying," Castle encourages. Having seen the tooth in question, Rick is certain it could come out today; it's that ready.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle; Austin keeps at it; and finally feels the tooth pop out on one side.

He gasps and removes his fingers; lets it sit for a few minutes, before starting back at.

Tien minutes later the tooth is hanging on by a literal threat and with one more yank, and a pinch, the tiny front tooth comes out in Austin's fingers.

"Daddy! Mommy!" Austin cheers, hopping of the chair, ignoring his siblings' questions. He goes into the office where his parents had been talking about 'Grown-up' stuff.

"What's up buddy?" Kate asks, sitting up on the couch.

"My tooth came out!" the boy cheers, holing out his hand.

"Wow; let me see," Kate requests, opening her son's mouth and sure enough there is a slightly bloody hole where the baby bottom front tooth used to be.

"Daddy, see?" Austin asks, going over to his dad.

"Yeah, let me see," Castle nods, looking first at the tooth in Austin's hand then at the gap in his mouth. "Alright, buddy! That's awesome!"

"Come on, let's go put you tooth in a bag so you don't lose it," Kate says, standing and heading for the kitchen, Austin on her heels. The other four kids are even more curious and cheer and jump around and ask to see when Austin shows him is missing tooth, safely contained in the plastic baggie.

Later that night, for the first of what will be many times, the Tooth Fairy makes a visit to the Castle house. She takes Austin's tooth and the note he had written for her and leaves a note in response, three dollars and a brand new pack of gum.

For share time that week at school, Austin tells his 'lost tooth' tale and proudly shows off the gap in his smile.