It's just two days before the start of school. Jo has some all day soccer camp at school and Kate's trying to make sure they get out the door on time. Half the kids are asleep which is ok, but she can't seem to get Arejay up. She'd forgotten till about a minute ago they had one last doctors appointment before school mostly to see if there was any last things they needed to add to his IEP.
Having had no success, Kate really had to pee, so she leaves Arejay and heads to the bathroom. Seeing her mom leave Jo buzzed into her brothers room and scooped up the half-asleep child.
"You don't like school do you?" She says setting him up in her lap. He wreaked of pee from the diaper he had on, but Jo was just going to push it off. She figured she could also just change him when she was done talking to him.
"No school." The four-year-old pouts leaning awkwardly on his sister.
"I know, school sounds boring, and it did to me at first too." Jo starts
"When I was about to go to school I was resisting just like you; I was so happy just staying home with dad and playing with Nate. Mom would come home early and sometimes we would go to the park." She sighs softly.
"Really?" Arejay asks looking up at his sister.
"Yeah, I was just like you, but mom dragged me to school, and I went my first day, I wanted to hate it for about a week, but I kept going because mom was making me, and I started to really like it." Jo continues.
"Just give school a chance buddy, it might take some time to make friends at first, but I have no doubt you'll charm the ladies." Jo chuckles as she lifts up her brother and walks him over to the changing table. At this point, Kate is standing by the door watching. She had to try and keep her laugh in when Jo told Arejay he would charm the ladies. She's smiling now as she watches her oldest help her youngest.
"You mean I might like girls like you like Jess?" Arejay asks as Jo changes the boys diaper and helps him pick out clothes for the day.
"Yeah, or you might like boys like I like Jess." She smiles kissing her brother as Kate still looks on.
"You will figure all that out soon enough." She smiles lifting her cleaned up brother off the changing table and into his wheelchair. Kate by now had left the two alone so she would not get caught looking in on them. Heading into the kitchen Kate starts on a lunch for Johanna and a lunch for Arejay. She wants to try albeit a little late, get him sort of used to school. Finishing up everything, she gives Castle a kiss before helping Jo and Arejay out to the van. Having Jo help her she gets Arejay into his car seat before lifting his chair into the back. Kate was thankful they had finally gotten the handicap placard but still stressed waiting to hear from insurance if the family would be approved for a ramp kit on their van. That was the big issue. When Arejay was littler they could easily get a stroller in and out of the car but now that he was older it was becoming harder and harder to get him lifted in and out of the car and into his chair. Not to mention lifting the chair into the back of the van. It was a tight squeeze and also heavy.
Pulling up to the high school, Jo gets out and waves to her mom pulling the sliding door open and giving her brother a kiss.
"You be good champ." She smiles softly.
"I'll call," She tells her mother making the sign for a phone up to her ear. Sliding the door closed she gives it a tap letting her mother know she could pull away. Running into the field with her soccer bag and lunch she gets ready for her soccer camp. Driving off Kate turns on the kid-friendly playlist on the iPod and heads to Arejay's doctors office.
"Are you going to be good for mommy?" Kate asks glancing in the rear view mirror to see her sons face
"I try mommy." He smiles as he starts waving his arms to the music.
"Good, mommy likes that." She smiles as they pull up to a red light. Smiling again at him in the mirror Kate can't help but giggle a little at his dancing.
"Go Arejay, Go Arejay!" She giggles watching him but keeping a careful eye on the light ahead of them. It turns green, and Kate pulls out and heads the rest of the way to his doctors. Pulling into the first available handicap spot Kate hangs the placard and gets out of the van grabbing the diaper bag before going around to get Arejay's chair. She lifts it out and pushes it to his side of the van. Putting the breaks on she lifts him up and carefully sets him in the chair.
"Oof." She groans setting her heavy child down.
"You gotta lay off the junk food with dad kiddo." She chuckles buckling his seatbelt and closing the door of the van. She locks it and undoes the breaks on her son's chair before pushing him up towards the office building. Heading inside Kate signs them in and within minutes they are called back. They take his vitals and weigh him before taking the two back to the room. It does not take long, and Arejay's doctor has arrived. Checking him over Dr. Gee talks with Arejay asking him some simple questions and then asking about family. He just wants to get a taste of where the boy is at to see if he has changed any.
"My sister, she has a girlfriend, her name is Jess, she's pretty." Arejay smiles glancing over at his mom. He's still a bit nervous, but she gives him a warm "it's ok" smile.
"What do your mom and dad think about her?" Dr. Gee asks reaching for the boys arms and lifting them up.
"Momma likes her, buts daddy he's nots ready." Arejay giggles as his arms are being moved up and down. The doctor lets go of the boys arms and goes to study his face now.
"Oh really, daddy must be scared then." He smiles as Arejay nods.
"He says she's not old enough; buts moms tells hims it's ok and pats him on the backs." Arejay smiles as Dr. Gee takes a few notes down on his clipboard. He does a few more things with the boy before having help from Kate and lifting him up onto the table. Since he can't stand on his own and they want to accurately get his height they lay him on the table and use a tape measure to see how tall he is.
"You sure are getting big!" He smiles closing his tape measure and ruffling the boy's hair before putting a note of the numbers on the clipboard. After they finish the exam, Kate helps him up and into her lap. It does not take long as they are talking when Kate can smell that her son has used his diaper. She tells Dr. Gee she just has to change him, and that sparks some questions from him about his bathroom habits. He asks how often he is going pee and if it seems like he's pooping on his own and what not. She answers him and then talks about the milk incident that ended in a trip to the ER and how he should be pretty cleaned out by now. She knew her kids felt upset that they forgot Arejay couldn't have regular milk, but they had a talk and they all felt much better.
Getting him cleaned up, Kate puts the diaper in a plastic bag and ties it up so she can throw it out. Lifting him up she pulls the boy into her lap and kisses his head. Holding him she listens to what the doctor had to say. They finish up the exam and Dr. Gee is going over his chart one last time before they finish up.
"I was going to wait to give him that last shot we talked about over the phone but since you are here, I figured we might as well get it done." He says looking up from his chart. Kate knew this was going to be hard for him. Arejay hated shots, so Kate starts trying to smooth him and comfort him.
"I also want to add one more thing to his IEP, I want to see if we can get him in to see the school speech pathologist at least once a week for a few weeks, I'm noticing a few things I think she can clear up for us." He explains standing up and heading towards the door.
"I'm going to get the nurse; I'll be right back." He says leaving the room. Kate is not one of those moms to hand over her phone to a child or give a tablet to make them happy, but today was different. She knew he'd scream getting the shot, so she pulls his iPad out and opens up one of his favorite games.
"I forget how to play, you have to teach mommy." Kate smiles, her arms snuggled around her son. She sees the nurse come in and turns him away slightly so he can't see her. She's prepping the needle as Kate tries to keep her son occupied. It was working but then just as the nurse goes to stick him Arejay catches a glimpse of her and freaks. He starts to cry, and his arms are jerking around. Kate was trying to hold him still, but he was moving too much the iPad slipped from their lap and onto the floor. He's crying even more now seeing his iPad on the floor. Even though it was in a tough case, he was still upset. Trying to sooth him Kate picks up the iPad. She turns it back on and brings up the game. She also tells the nurse it will be a few minutes. It will happen she just has to calm him down.
"Baby, It's ok, mommy will not let her hurt you, but you have to do this. This is to help make sure you don't get sick in school." She tells him, holding him close and rocking him. He's still upset, but Kate is now singing into his ear. She knows that will help too. Moments later she got him calmed down and distracted enough that the nurse can give the shot. She finishes and slaps on a sponge bob band aid leaving the two alone for a moment so he can recover.
"See buddy? That was not so bad." Kate smiles softly kissing her son's head. Giving him a moment she cuddles him closer before putting him into his chair.
"Let's go get you some lunch, and then we will go watch Johanna, maybe we can see Jess." Kate smiles giving her son one last kiss and pushing his chair out of the room. They get to the car, and Kate pulls one of the dads for some quick help to get Arejay's chair in the back of her van. She thanks him and makes sure Arejay is buckled before getting in the car and heading out of the parking lot. Heading down the road Kate pulls into the nearest fast food place and is now trying to decide if she should struggle with getting his wheelchair out or just carrying him inside. She knows he's heavy and would rather be held after his traumatic doctors visit; but Kate does not feel up to holding him, so she decides to get his chair out of the back and put him in it. Locking her van Kate puts the diaper bag on the handle heading inside the restaurant. She orders Arejay a kids meal and a chicken wrap for herself. They go sit at a table, and Kate helps Arejay open his box and drink. She puts a bib on him and digs into her meal.
"Use a napkin, buddy." Kate sighs and hands him a napkin hoping he will wipe his face with it. He tries and Kate sighs again reaching over to help wipe his face. They finish about 20 minutes later, and Kate takes him back to the car. They head over to Johanna's soccer camp, and Kate helps the boy out and into his chair. She knows she will be done soon so she figured she might as well just go early and cheer her on. Pushing Arejay to the stands, they take the ramp up and sit towards the front. Pulling him out of his chair Kate lets him relax in her lap as they watch the scrimmage match going on before them.
"Run Jo, run!" Kate cheers as she throws up her free arm. She smiles when she sees Johanna smile and wave at her brother. She pointed her out to Arejay, and he waves back excited to see his sister.
"Pretty cool huh." Kate smiles kissing Arejay's head. He nods and is now mesmerized by the game in front of him. He was now getting to the age where he could watch something and pay attention to it. Her last season he was still young and not at all interested. The game finishes and Johanna comes running over with Jess trailing her. The two hug just before walking up to Kate and Arejay.
"Hey, buddy!" Jo smiles and reaches for her brother. Sliding him on her hip the two are quietly chatting about their days as Jess looks up to greet Kate.
"Hi, Mrs. Castle." She smiles softly.
"Call me Kate, please." She smiles softly as Jess nods.
"Kate, I guess I can do that." She says turning to see her girlfriend with her brother.
"Mom, can Jess come for dinner?" Johanna asks trying to hold her brother still.
"Yeah sure, why not." Kate beams watching Arejay play with Johanna.
"Go clean up and talk with your coach, I'll come with Arejay's chair and meet you." Kate says as Johanna, Jess, and Arejay go off towards the field. Getting the chair off the bleachers Kate pushes it through the AstroTurf and meets the two girls cleaning up their stuff. Putting Arejay in his chair, Johanna buckles his straps and the four of them head towards the van. As they are heading home, they talk about what went on during the camp and hopefully when the first game would be. They get home a while later, and Kate cleans up Arejay and puts him down for a nap. The rest of the family play a little Wii before Castle goes to start dinner. It's taco night and even Castle can't wait to have tacos. The family is sitting around the table talking and having a good time when Johanna says she has an announcement.
"I know you most likely already know that this is Jess, and we are really close, but Jess and I have talked, and we are officially going out!" Johanna smiles as she looks around the table. Her mother and some of her siblings have smiles on their faces, but her dad has a shocked face. Johanna sighs and walks over giving her dad a hug.
"I'm sorry baby; it's been a while, and I'm just not ready for my baby to grow up." He sighs softly.
"I know daddy, we are taking it slow, I promise." Jo smiles and kisses her dad.
"Thank you." He nods and hugs her back. She lets go and heads back to her seat. The family finishes dinner and Kate lets them have some TV before bed. Castle was going to take Jess home but with the news of her parents not home for the next few days, Kate offered to let her spend the night. According to Johanna, Jess' parents weren't home often. It seemed right now Johanna was everything Jess had. After TV, Kate sends everyone to the showers and then off to bed.
Heading up to her room, she sits with Castle on the bed and goes over the stuff that had gone on during the day and the findings of Arejay's doctors appointment. She wanted to make sure the two were on the same page before the two dozed off to sleep.
A/N: Thanks so much guys! I'm passed the 50,000-word mark! This has been an amazing journey. I do plan on continuing with a few more chapters. I also want to do an epilogue but not sure where I wanna go with it. So if you have any ideas on maybe future events hit me up!