Okay, so this one will start off sad, but I think you'll like where it goes. Enjoy!
June—Father's Day
Castle sighed as he stared out the window, looking down at the tiny, crowded street, watching as children hung off their fathers. It wasn't the first time he'd wished somebody was there to share this day with him. Every single time was the same; he'd wish for his long-lost father to come knocking at his door and they'd go off and spend the day together, playing football or watching wrestling or something manly and tough, even though Castle sucked at sports. If he had a father to play them with, he wouldn't mind them so much.
On one or two Father's Days, his mother had been dating a man and he'd been the fill-in, taking them both out to lunch and buying Castle a little something (usually a baseball mitt or something else Castle didn't even like) but it was never just for his benefit. Both men were trying to get into his mother's pants and Castle would be banished from the apartment for at least an hour when they returned. The men both left less than a week following Father's Day, once when Castle was 5 and then again when he was 8.
This year, however, Martha was single and getting ready to head off to her show. She had offered to take Castle along so that he could hang out with the extras backstage, but he declined. Martha was in the middle of calling their latest nanny, Jennifer, to watch over him while she was gone.
Then, there was a knock at the door.
"Richard, darling, will you please get that for me?" Martha called from her bedroom. Castle sighed and stood, making his way to the door; it only took ten small steps to reach the other side of the apartment. When he opened it, his face brightened at the sight of Kate, standing there with a smile on her face.
"Hey, Castle!" she greeted.
"Hey, Kate," Castle replied, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Mets game with your dad?"
"Well, actually," Kate said, "we came up with an extra ticket and since Lanie, the boys, and their dads are all meeting us, we figured we might as well invite you to come along."
"Gee," Castle deadpanned, "thanks. But I don't want to impose on your Father's Day plans."
"It wouldn't be imposing if we invited you, you dolt," Kate said, rolling her eyes, "so are you in or are you out?"
Castle thought about it a moment. On one hand, he absolutely hated baseball (he didn't see the point of hitting a ball with a fancy piece of wood and then running around in circles), but on the other hand, Nanny Jen was probably the creepiest he'd ever had and he was pretty sure she practiced voodoo…
"I'm in," he decided, "just let me tell my mother." He turned around. "HEY MOM! I'M GOING TO A METS GAME WITH BECKETT AND THE BOYS!"
"And Lanie," Kate reminded him.
"Oh, right," he said. "AND LANIE! TELL NANNY JEN THAT SHE DOESN'T NEED TO COME ANYMORE."
"Alright, darling," Martha called from the other room. "Have fun and don't stay out too late. I'll be home by six."
"Okay," Castle said, "see you later, Mother." He turned to Kate, smiling. "Let's go." Kate grinned and led him down the hallway to the stairs, allowing him to shut the door behind them.
When they got outside, Jim was holding a cab for them. He smiled at Castle and shook his head. "Hello, Rick," he greeted, "it's nice to see that you'll be joining us."
Castle smiled in return. "Thanks for the invite, Mr. Beckett," he replied.
"Oh, just call me Jim," the older man replied, "now let's go see out team kick some butt, shall we?" Castle nodded and slid into the cab, blushing slightly as Kate slid in next to him, the back of her hand brushing his. He smiled at her and she grinned back, nudging him slightly.
Jim eyed them for a moment, trying to hold back a sad sigh; his little girl was growing up.
X_X
When they arrived at Citi Field, they were met with Lanie, with her father, Terrence, Kevin, with his father, Colin, and Javier, with his father, Martine, who was visiting from Florida. Kevin's sisters had opted out of the baseball game in favor for taking Colin out to a nice dinner later on. And Thomas, Lanie's brother, hung off his father's chest in a baby carrier. They were all there. Castle was the only one without a baseball mitt or a father.
Kate seemed to notice his forlorn expression and nudged him again, offering him an encouraging smile. He grinned back, somewhat sadly.
"Cheer up, Castle," Kate whispered as the men all greeted each other. "Today's gonna be a great day, you'll see." Castle's smile brightened slightly and he thanked her, allowing her to drag him towards the entrance of the field, where they found their seats straight across from home plate, in the Home Run zone.
"Whoa, Dad!" Kate gasped. "These seats are awesome!"
Jim chuckled, hugging her to his side. "Don't I know it! Only the best for my Katie Bug." He kissed her forehead and Kate groaned.
"Da-ad!" she said, blushing. "Come on! Not in front of all my friends!"
Jim pouted and Kate sighed. "Fine," she groused, allowing him to pepper her face with kisses as she giggled.
"Aww," Javi teased, "Kate loves her daddy!"
Kate glared at him. "Shut it, Javi!"
"What?" Martine asked, nudging his son, "You don't love your daddy?" Javier blushed while everybody else laughed.
Soon, the game started and everybody took their seats, cheering as they announced the players. Jim sat at the end of the aisle, Kate next to him, then Castle, then Lanie, then her father, then Colin, then Kevin, and Javier, and lastly, Martine, who sat in the other aisle seat.
Halfway through the first inning, Jim and Colin went off to get them something to eat, leaving Martine and Terrance to watch over the kids—namely, their kids. Terrance's eyes watched Javier like a hawk, making sure that he didn't so much as look at his daughter. So Javi tried to entertain himself by bickering with Kevin over whom they thought the best player was.
"It's totally David Wright, dude," Kevin insisted.
"No way!" Javier argued. "It's Ike Davis!"
"In your dreams!"
Kate rolled her eyes and looked over at Castle, shaking her head. "Boys," she sighed.
"Which I am one of," he reminded her.
"So you say," she teased. Castle gave her an affronted look, making Kate giggle. Lanie, on the other side of him, rolled her eyes.
"You two disgust me," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Us?" Kate snorted. "What about you and your boyfriend?"
"Yeah," Castle said, "whenever you're together, you—" Lanie slapped her hand over his mouth, effectively silencing him.
"Finish that sentence and you're dead," she hissed, chancing a glance at her father, who was thankfully oblivious, still watching Javier like a hawk and bouncing Thomas a little, making the little boy laugh.
When Jim and Colin returned, their arms were filled with hot dogs and sodas, and they handed them down the aisle, before handing down the box with condiments so that each person could take their own. By the time it got down to Javier and Kevin, the two were stabbing at each other with their forks for the last packet of mustard, which Martine snatched to end the feud.
"HEY!" the boys chorused, indignantly.
Martine laughed. "Sorry, boys," he said, "you snooze, you lose."
When Jim sat down, he smiled over at Castle, before pulling something out of his sweatshirt pocket and handing it to him. "Here ya go, Rick," he said, "I think it's your size."
Castle's eyes widened as he took the brand new baseball mitt from Kate's father. "Whoa," he breathed, "thanks Mr. Be—Jim, but you really didn't have to."
"It's no trouble," Jim assured him. "Every boy needs a baseball mitt." Castle highly doubted that, but he didn't argue.
"Thank you," he said, softly. "This means a lot."
Jim smiled. "Don't mention it, son."
Castle's chest tightened; he knew that Jim didn't mean it that way, but he couldn't help but smile at the sentiment, forcing the tears back as he turned forward, slipping the glove onto his hand and turning it over. Kate nudged him and smile when he looked over at her. He grinned back, happier than he could ever remember being.
Until, that is, around the bottom of the ninth. The Mets were behind by three points and already had two outs against them. They needed to pick up their game if they were going to win.
All nine of them were at the edges of their seats, their breaths held in anticipation.
The bases were loaded David Wright was up to bat, which caused Kevin to grin as he nudged his best friend, who just rolled his eyes.
"Your boy better not screw this up," Javier growled, "cause I'll never let you forget it."
"He won't," Kevin breathed, surely.
They continued to hold their breaths as Wright stepped up in the plate, taking a few practice swings before nodding to the pitcher that he was ready and taking stance.
The first ball thrown was a strike. As was the second. Kevin's face began to fall and his eyes became desperate.
"Come on…come on…" he mumbled. His father did the same, wiping sweat off his brow.
The pitcher threw a curve ball. Wright swung and…
CRAAACK!
The bat and ball connected, creating a wave of sound. First, from the actual joining of the two objects, and then from the crowd around them, a sea of New Yorkers getting to their feet to cheer and root for the players, who ran straight for home.
The ball, meanwhile, sailed over the heads of the opposing team, going straight across the field and straight towards their little group.
Everybody in their section stood and raised their gloves and some even took off their hats, using them to try and catch the ball. Castle raised his own and squeezed his eyes shut, praying that the ball would not hit him in the face, which is where it seemed to be heading.
At the last second, however, another glove shielded him, catching the ball in a firm grasp.
"Hey!" Kate shouted, causing Castle to open his eyes and see his friend glaring at the man sitting behind them, who was holding the ball and grinning. Castle took in the brown eyes and blonde hair and though his man was not somebody he particularly knew, he still recognized him somehow.
"Relax, kid," he said, gruffly, "I was just saving your friend here the trouble of a concussion." He took the ball out of the well worn oven mitt and handed it to Castle. "Here ya go, boy. It's a signed one, too." Castle thanked him and took the ball, turning it over in his hand. There were at least three signatures on it, none of which were legible, but special, nonetheless.
"Thanks, man," Castle said, grinning up at him, "this is awesome."
The man tipped his hat at the boy, grinning. "Don't mention it, kid," he said, before standing and making his way towards the exit.
"Well," Kate said, "that was nice of him."
"Yeah," Lanie agreed, "must be from out of town."
On their way out, Castle kept tossing the ball up—and dropping it—playing around with it as he followed Kate and Jim out to catch the subway into Manhattan. Javi, Kevin, and Lanie, as well as their parents, were catching a ride with Martine in his car. They all waved goodbye and promised to see each other at school.
As they walked across the parking lot, the man with brown eyes watched, scratching his head before finally pulling off the wig. And since he'd taken off the bigger part of his disguise, he popped out his colored contacts, putting them away and shoving the case into his pocket, his blue eyes crinkling as he watched his son play with the baseball.
When his phone rang, he answered it. "Hunt," he said, before listening. "Okay, I'll meet you at the drop-off. Roger that." He hung up, spared one more glance at his boy, before making his way in the opposite direction.
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