Young at Heart
She wakes up feeling strange. Nothing is really out of the usual, but she feels weird.
He has his arm around her shoulders, fingers curled around the collar of the dress shirt she's slipped back into. Her head is cushioned on his bicep, legs tangled with his under the sheet. They've got another thirty minutes on the alarm before they need to get up, get breakfast, and jump on a bus for the Studios.
But something is off.
Her nose crinkles as she feels her stomach do a flip and she buries her face into his shoulder. Okay, so maybe a pretzel and popcorn was not the best dinner but she's had worse after long hours at the precinct. An unhealthy meal shouldn't be doing this to her.
"You okay?" Castle mumbles, half-asleep. His hand skims along her arm, tugging her closer to him.
She pushes away from him, shaking her head. "No." Kate gets tangled in the sheets as she tries to get out of the bed, swinging around the dividing wall into the bathroom. The tile is hard under her knees as she rests her head on the seat of the toilet. Not sick but feeling so close to it.
He's behind her; she can sense him standing in the doorway. "Kate…"
"Maybe a little more than a twenty-four hour stomach bug," she mutters, not moving her head.
Then he's sitting at her side, pulling her against him. She goes willingly, letting her nose burrow into his collar, using the smell that is purely him to try to wash away the nausea. She's breathing deeply, trying to settle her stomach even as it cartwheels. He presses his lips to her forehead and she knows he's testing her temperature. She feels sweaty, clammy.
"Let's stay here today. Go bike riding or lay by the pool again or…"
She cuts him off by lifting her head up, looking into his eyes. "Wanna go to the park today. Follow the plan."
"If you're sick, we're not leaving the room, Kate," he says firmly, gathering her hair at the nape of her neck so he can study the planes of her face. "We're going to get you some medicine and let you sit on the balcony. Get some fresh air."
Since meeting his gaze didn't work, Kate places her hand over his mouth. "Rick." She can feel his lips moving still against her palm, slowing as she just sits, watches. "I don't think medicine will help much."
And then she waits, eyes searching his desperately for understanding.
She sees the moment it hits him. It spreads over his face and even then, she feels her heart and stomach clench in fear. Because what if…
"Are you…?" he starts, choking on the words, forehead hitting hers gently, noses brushing. "Are we…?"
"I don't know." Before he can respond, she begins again. "But this was what I was like with Al in the beginning, but I don't know."
"But you could be?"
"Maybe," she sighs, letting her head fall back onto his shoulder. "Can we still go to the Studios?"
"Kate, I –"
She slaps his hand away, weaker than usual, and uses the edge of the toilet to get up. "I might be pregnant, Rick. I'm not dying."
Al is already awake, sitting on the end of her bed with Penguin clutched against her chest, watching some over-excited blonde run around the parks, counting down the top ten things to do at Disney. They're at a water park, running through a wave pool, and Al looks more confused than excited by the prospect.
"Mom, why play in a pool with waves when you can just go to the beach?" she asks as Kate steps into the room, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. "It's weird."
"Because some people can't go to the beach whenever they want so they need to see what waves are like." Al still shakes her head, frowning at the blonde chick as she jumps to one side of the screen and appears on a safari. "You ready for breakfast, kid?"
The girl nearly falls off the bed as she scrambles toward the door. "Yes! Breakfast!" she shouts, running into the kitchen, Penguin hitting Kate's leg as she goes. "Can I have PopTarts?"
Castle intercepts her in the hallway, snagging her wrist, tugging her back against his chest. His lips are bruising as he backs her against the wall. She wants to inch her hands up to his shoulders but he's not letting her. He steals the startled gasp from her mouth, grinning against her as he sets his forehead to hers.
"What was that?" she hisses, eyes flicking toward the kitchenette where Al can be heard pulling down boxes to find the PopTarts.
"I'm gonna love you both no matter if you're pregnant or not," he whispers against her cheek. "Because I love you."
She twists her hands in his, digging her short nails into his wrist before he lets go. "You had to push me against the wall to say that you love me?" Kate tiptoes, touching her lips to his jaw. "Such a strange sense of romance, Rick."
"Guys," calls Al and Kate can hear her bare feet on the tile, padding toward them. Kate steps back from Castle, just far enough so as not to scar the girl too much, and rubs the back of her hand over her lips, trying to erase the taste of him. "Where are the PopTarts?"
"Over the sink." Kate tapped Al's nose, moving into the kitchen. "I know you and your tendency to sneak out and steal them."
Castle is starting up the coffee machine, taking down two mugs and a short glass for Al's orange juice. Except Kate reaches around him and replaces one of the mugs with another glass with a whispered "Just in case" as she goes for the fridge to pour out the juice. The thought of another year without caffeine nearly brings on a headache.
Don't think about it, she tells herself, sipping the juice from her cup, and taking one of the PopTart packages out for Al. They bought doughnuts and Kate opens the box, taking a crumb-topped one from the row. Castle picks out a chocolate one and bites into it as he follows Kate to the table. Kate sits next to him, propping her feet up on his chair as she eats the doughnut, catching the crumbs in her hand.
"Are we gonna be in the movies?" Al asks, breaking off a piece of the strawberry PopTart and chewing it.
"Not exactly," Castle says, letting a hand fall to Kate's ankle, massaging the joint, his thumb sweeping over the top of her foot. "But there is some talk of Mom being in a movie."
"What?" Kate exclaims, nearly spitting orange juice across Castle's face. "I'm not going to be in a movie!"
"Well, not you, exactly," he clarifies, finishing off the doughnut. "Gina said some production company was eyeing Heat Wave for a feature film. So, Detective," he says, leaning one elbow on the table as his hand travels from her ankle up to the ticklish back of her knee, "how do you feel about being immortalized on the silver screen?"
"Mom, you're gonna be a star!" Al says, throwing her hands up in the air, sprinkling crumbs across the three of them.
Kate shakes her head. "No, I'm not, kid. Nikki is. You remember Nikki, right?"
"But, you're Nikki," Al insists, looking at Castle for back-up. "Rick says so."
That earns him a glare. "I'm not Nikki, Al. Nikki's like…"
"Her alter-ego," tosses in Castle. "Because does Nikki have an Al?"
"No." Al wraps both hands around the glass of juice and drinks some. "She doesn't."
"So Nikki isn't Mom," Castle concludes with a sip of coffee. His fingers wiggle against Kate's knee and she has to bite back a strangled giggle around her mouthful of doughnut.
"You done with breakfast, Al?" Kate asks, giving Castle's thigh a little kick in retaliation for the tickling. When Al nods, Kate jerks her head toward the bedroom. "Go get dressed so we can get on the road."
As soon as Al tosses her trash into the bin under the sink and dashes down the hall, Kate slides forward on the chair until she's nearly on his lap. One hand braces the table as she leans toward him, brushing her lips over his. "Heat Wave as a movie?"
"Maybe. Gina, Paula, and the production group out in L.A. are still talking. It's exciting, right?" he asks, a hand curling around her back and tugging her closer. "Because I'll only agree to it if you want."
"Might be fun. Keep me in the loop?"
"Of course, Nikki," Castle says, hand twisting into her hair so she won't pull away as he kisses her hotly. "Whatever you want, Detective Heat."
"It's Hollywood Studios," he corrects for the millionth time as they stop by the Coca-Cola truck inside the entrance.
She nudges him with her shoulder, throwing off the camera angle that he's been trying to get on Al, balanced on the side of the truck. "When I was here, it was the MGM Studios. That's how it's going to stay with me." She jerks forward when Al looks like she's about to topple from the truck but the girl catches herself. "Take the picture before she falls, Rick."
"Can we do Star Wars first?" Al asks, bouncing over to their side once Castle finishes snapping photos. "I wanna see C3PO and R2!"
They start toward the left after the short walk up toward the huge sorcerer's hat. "Later," whispers Kate into his ear as he eyes the hat, the photo op waiting for them.
"Avoidance," he returns, hipchecking her as they watch Al carefully, running ahead toward Gertie the dinosaur.
"Hey. I made a promise. One family photo per park. Let the girl go see the droids first."
"Or," Castle says, eyes lighting up as he scoops Al up to turn back to Kate, "we could go see Indy!"
She narrows her eyes at the two then at the Indiana Jones stunt show to their left. Castle has some weird obsession with the treasure hunter; his first guess at crime scenes as to what could be behind a door or in a box is constantly the Arc of the Covenant and he insists that, according to the law of averages, eventually they'll find the Arc and become famous.
"Jot down the times and we'll see if we line up with any of them," she sighs. "But Star Tours is our first stop."
There's a full sized AT-AT outside the entrance to the ride, the line wrapping around the huge legs and feet of the Imperial walker. Castle has his phone out, the camera taking quick snaps of Al as she skips ahead, eyes wide at the sight of the vehicles they had only seen on the sheet-screen Castle used for the projector in the loft. Even Kate has to admit that it's sort of cool, reading some of the little-known facts from the movies that are placed along the pathway to the building. But it's cooler to see her husband geek out next to her, grinning at the tidbits of knowledge and letting her know when he already knew about a fact.
She shushes him once they're in their vehicle, Al sitting between them, feet wiggling against the seat as C3PO up front tells them about their mission to Kashyyyk to help the Wookies.
Once they're out of the gift shop where Kate refused to let Al get another lightsaber, they go left, making a loop around the park so they end back at the exit. With Al between them, one hand in either of theirs so she can swing from them every few steps, they end up back home.
The Empire State Building is visible next to the Chrysler Building. Apartment buildings are squeezed next to townhouses. A local movie theatre advertises its showings. There's a sign warning pedestrians that there are NYPD cameras nearby. Street signs are familiar and Kate can almost place herself mentally in the city, smiling as she glances at beaten-up trashcans and bikes chained to light posts.
"Home?" Al asks, looking confused, glancing back toward the AT-AT as if to prove to herself that, no, they're still at Disney.
Castle barks out a laugh, trying to disguise it as a cough and failing. "No, kid. Not quite home."
But the street is so very lifelike, as if Disney took a street from their city and dropped it into Orlando. Down another street, the Golden Gate Bridge is visible up a hill that exemplifies San Francisco. People are going up to doors, pulling on handles as if they'll open to the foyer of an apartment or waiting in line for movie theatre tickets.
"So cool," he mutters. Kate watches as he spins around, trying to take in every detail of the street. "This is so double rainbow, Mom."
"Double rainbow?" She arches a brow as they start up the street. "You're quoting that weird guy from YouTube?"
Al tugs on Kate's hand and starts singing some put-to-music version of the video.
"And you showed it to our kid," Kate adds, shaking her head. "Is this what you two do when I'm working and you're home?"
"Uh, yes?" he ventures with a shrug. "She likes them."
The wait for the next stop, Toy Story Midway Mania, is ridiculous and Kate honestly doesn't see Al being patient while waiting in line for almost two hours. Especially it being so close to lunch.
"Let's get FastPasses and come back after we eat," Castle suggests, edging them toward the kiosks for the passes.
It's a good idea and Al's already getting a little grouchy as she pushes ahead of Kate to get to the machine first, shoving her park pass into the right slot. Castle takes back both the pass and the little slip of paper telling them to come back in three hours.
So they skirted past the sorcerer's hat again toward Sunset Boulevard. There's a grouping of food places to their left and Kate finds a free table, leaving Castle and Al to go order lunch. Kate takes her phone from the pocket of her shorts, pulling up a map of the park on the screen to plan the route. They could eat, double back and see the Little Mermaid show before turning in their FastPasses for Toy Story Midway Mania. Then back to this area to see the Beauty and the Beast show before perhaps seeing if the Indiana Jones one has any more showtimes. That'd make everyone happy.
Her husband and daughter return, he carrying a tray of food and drinks while Al holds onto a hot dog like it's going to grow legs and run away.
"Got food, Mom," Al says, plopping onto one of the benches.
Castle slides a hamburger over to Kate with a bottle of water. Her head is starting to throb a little from the lack of caffeine but she cracks open the water and hopes the liquid will hold back the pain. She can see him eyeing her but she ignores it, spreading ketchup over the bottom of the bun before replacing it on the burger.
"You make a plan, Mom?" Castle asks, dragging a French fry through a pool of ketchup. "Queen of Plans."
She rolls her eyes as she takes a bite of the burger. "I did."
"Can we see Ariel and Flounder?" Al is inhaling the hot dog, ketchup smeared over her cheeks.
"Right after we eat, kid. Then we'll go to the Toy Story ride."
"Cause we have passes," the girl states.
They eat slowly and Kate's about to kick Castle's shins under the table if he shoots her another concerned look as she picks at fries. She's fine. Her stomach has settled though she won't be getting on the Tower of Terror any time soon. So he's just annoying her, not comforting her with his not-so-subtle glances.
With a quick check of the time by pulling Castle's arm over to see his watch, Kate shrugs. "Let's get ice cream on the walk over to Little Mermaid."
With soft serve cones, they make their way back up Sunset Boulevard. Kate stops once, swinging from a light post, grabbing hold of Don Lockwood's umbrella. She knows Castle got a picture because instead of holding his chocolate ice cream, he's got his phone. The cone is upside down on the sidewalk.
"Hope the loss of your ice cream was worth that," she says cheekily. "Because I'm not sharing mine."
"We'll see," he counters, taking hold of her wrist and aiming what's left of her cone toward his mouth. He misses, hitting his cheek and ending up with swirled vanilla and chocolate across his jaw and nose and even a little up near the corner of his eye.
"Rick, you look funny!" Al chortles, pointing at his face with a giggle.
Kate switches hands, snagging his phone from him, and clicking a photo. "Blackmail."
The show is just starting when they reach the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and after tossing napkins into the trash, they sneak in before the doors close. Al spends the entire fifteen minute show singing along and mouthing words and gasping when bubbles float from the ceiling along with spritzing water.
"Flounder!" Al hisses in a whisper, hitting Castle in the knee in her excitement. "It's Flounder!"
"Shush, kid," he returns, tapping her nose.
Once the show is over, they're the last out of the auditorium because Castle is trying to explain to Al that she can't go see Ariel and Eric.
"But why?" asks Al as Castle nudges her toward the exit behind Kate.
"They're off on their honeymoon," clarifies Castle. "Just like Mom and me right now."
With another few hours before their time on Toy Story, Castle ducks down to murmur into Kate's ear, "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
"Fine," Kate sighs, heading toward the stage for the Indiana Jones show. "Let's let Rick get his adventure kick in."
Another chance where luck is in their favor. The show is just about to start, people filling in the seats in the auditorium-style seating. And this time, it's Castle who can't shut up during the show. He's grinning and squeezing Kate's hand the entire time, jumping when things catch fire or people leap from windows onto awnings.
"This is so cool," he gasps as Indiana Jones shoots at the bad guys in a Jeep.
She claps a hand over his mouth, smiling. "Double rainbow cool?"
His lips purse in a soft kiss to her palm. "Most definitely."
And then it's over and his watch says that they might as well head over toward Pixar Place. As they pass the sorcerer's hat, Castle grabs Kate's elbow. "Picture," he says, winking at her. She rolls her eyes even though she knows he loves it when she does that. So it's no surprise to her when he continues the movement until she's against his chest to lower his mouth to hers. "One picture per park, Kate. That was the rule."
"Fine, fine. Al, come here. Rick wants a picture."
So they gather in front of the hat, Al sandwiched between them. Castle had handed over the PhotoPass from the Magic Kingdom, letting the photographer put this new photo on the same card. Kate can feel Castle's hand on her lower back drifting down during the photo until it pinches at her butt. She tries to swat at his hand, face lighting up as he continues to coast his hand over the top of her thighs.
"Behave," she shushes, grabbing his fingers and tightening her grip. "Or this will be the last photo on this trip."
Once Castle has the PhotoPass back in his wallet, they walk back toward the ride. The line was longer – the wait-time is edging toward three hours now – but once they show their FastPasses to the cast member at the separate entrance, they're able to bypass the winding line and get to the ride in five minutes instead of one hundred and eighty.
It's a ride with two on either side of a car and Kate takes the hit, sitting on the opposite side of Al and Castle.
"Still gonna kick your butts," she calls, sliding the 3D glasses onto her nose.
"No, you aren't!" shouts Al and Kate grins at the stranger sitting next to her. The girl is on her phone, texting instead of preparing for the ride and Kate gets the sense that she doesn't really want to be here.
"Must have forgotten that I'm a trained cop," Kate counters, swinging the plastic gun in front of her, getting a sense of the range.
"Cops use fake guns often?" asks Castle as the ride starts up.
Kate sighs then focuses as they round a corner to a wall of water balloons pinned to a corkboard. No problem. Shouldn't be, she thinks. Trained cop. But she misses most of the balloons and even though her family on the other side of the car can't see, she's a little ashamed that none of that big-talk held up.
And she spends the rest of the ride trying her upmost to get a higher point tally than her six year old. The girl next to her spends the ride fervently texting, gun untouched.
"Mom, I got a lot of points!" Al exclaims once the lapbar is lifted up and she's off the car. "Bet I beat you."
"Bet you didn't," Kate says, nodding toward the exit.
"Prove it. What'd you get?" Castle taunts, twisting his fingers with hers and tossing her a devastatingly arrogant glance.
Kate nibbles her lip, pulling her phone out. "Uh, we should have time to get over to the other stage to see the Beauty and the Beast show."
"That's what I thought," mutters Castle. "We totally beat her, Al. Five!"
The two slap palms.
Did she really want to do this again? Have another kid he can turn against her on rides at Disney World? Another brown haired, blue eyed child to worry about for every second they're apart knowing that she might not make it back to that kid?
As Al holds onto three of Rick's fingers, chattering about their game strategy, Kate knows the answer in her heart is most certainly yes.
"You okay, Mom?" Castle asks as Kate nearly walks into trashcan.
She smiles, nodding as she rests her head on his shoulder. "Absolutely fine. Time to see Belle."
"Belle!" Al shouts. "I love Belle."
People are waiting outside the theatre, sitting on the stone wall or window shopping at the corner store. Castle finds a spot near the sign for the times and leans against it, scooping Al up onto his hip to make room for other people. They're talking about their favorite parts of the movie when a cast member taps Castle on his shoulder.
"Excuse me but are you waiting for the show?" the young woman asks.
"We're gonna see Belle," says Al.
"Well, princess," the cast member says with a secretive smile, "how would you like to meet Belle and the Beast?"
Her joy from the Little Mermaid ride doesn't hold a flame to this expression. Mouth open, eyes wide, hands gone slack from around Castle's neck. She's glancing from Castle to Kate to the cast member to random people around them then back. "Really?" she says.
The cast member nods. "Definitely. They love meeting other princesses. You get to go up once the show is over and they'll talk to you for a little while. Sound good, princess?"
"Oh yes," Al says, hiding her face in Castle's neck. "Oh yes."
"There's a special seat a few rows from the front. Just ask one of the ushers where to sit," says the young woman before disappearing.
"Can I take pictures of this?" Castle questions, shifting on his feet as another cast member opens the walkway to the theatre.
Kate nods, running a hand over Al's hair. "Definitely. This is pretty sweet."
Their seats are in the second row and Al wiggles on the bench as she watches the abbreviated version of the movie, complete with dances and the magical transformation of the Beast into a human. Once the cast takes their bows, the same young cast member from outside the theatre waves Al over from the edge of the stage. Kate is half on top of Castle as she leans around the people in the front row to see Al up on her tiptoes, talking animatedly to Belle and the prince. He has his phone out, thumb hitting the shudder button as rapidly as possible.
Then the prince pulls out a rose and hands it down to Al, taking Al's hand to kiss the knuckles before waving goodbye. Kate's surprised the girl is still upright as she spins around to find them in the audience. Al nearly trips on the stairs, clutching the fabric rose to her chest.
"I met Belle and Beast," she says, so quietly that Kate can barely hear her. "Best day ever."
Castle has to carry her again as she stumbles on the walk back toward the buses. The smile hasn't left any of their faces as they get on the right bus back to the resort. Al is curled up in his lap, Kate slumped against his side, fingers tracing a pattern across his knee.
"Still want to try and find a place to buy a test?" he murmurs into her hair, a free hand wrapping around her shoulders.
Kate hums. "We'll need to take the car unless the General Store has one. You bring her back to the room. I'll get off at the store to check, meet you back at the room."
"Good idea, Queen of Plans."
So they do just that. Kate stays on the bus after Castle gets off at their bus stop. And she can't help but remember how different this was last time. Begging Lanie to run a test and panicking and no, this is so much better. If it's anything, she reminds herself. Might just be nothing. False alarm.
The woman in the General Store finds two tests for Kate after Kate finds little gummies shaped like Mickey's head that Al will like. She walks back to the room, the humidity from the day coating her skin. A boat is on the river to her left, headed to Downtown Disney. Another place she needs to remember to bring them.
Castle is in the hallway when she opens the door. "So?" he asks, eyes flicking to the bag then back up to her.
"Got Al some candy," she says, pulling out the gummies.
"She's on the couch, watching Disney Channel. Kate."
She smiles softly, holding up the bag. "And a few other things." She presses a kiss to his cheek. "Go sit with our daughter. And be patient, 'kay?"
"I can promise to try. No guarantees," he says, tilting her head back toward him to capture her lips. "I love you so much, Kate."
"I know." Kate shoves him back toward the living room. "Go. Back in a few minutes."
And she is. Empty-handed and heading straight to the kitchen to take down a box of Cheez-Its. She curls her feet under her as she sits in the chair even as Castle stares at her.
"So?"
"Go see," Kate says quietly, munching on the orange squares.
Al's napping on his lap, rose still in her hands, and he has to maneuver so that she doesn't wake up as he runs for the master bathroom. Kate leans over the arm of the chair to brush Al's hair back from her face where it's stuck in her mouth. She's listening for a response from her husband, watching their daughter sleep. Kim Possible is saving the world on the TV when Castle rounds the corner into the living room.
"Kate," he breathes. He hits the coffee table with his shin and he goes down on his knees in front of her. And God, his hand his trembling as it touches her cheek and she can't not drop the Cheez-Its onto the side table to put her hand over his. Her thumb brushes under his eyes and the skin is already wet and she just has to lean forward to rest her forehead against his. His voice breaks in his throat as he whispers. "Oh, Kate…"
One of her tears falls onto his thigh as she tips her head up to kiss him gently until he pulls her off the chair and into his arms, crushing her to him.
"Oh, Kate…"