A/N: I had several requests that I continue this story, but my husband got very ill just as I started this chapter. It's been a scary few months. I'm so happy that I still have a husband, and that he is almost back to his wonderful self. Sorry for the delay, life was overly real for a while.
Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1.
Dust motes cavort in the slender shafts of sunlight that sneak in between the curtains. The room gains a soft golden glow from the sunrise. Kate feels a breath on her cheek and opens her eyes. The beautiful blue eyes of her son are just inches from hers.
"Mommy, can I have some cereal?" Ian asks in a whisper.
"Would you rather have pancakes?" Rick surprises them by answering.
Ian turns his attention to his father with Bunny clutched to his chest, "Daddy, can I have pecan pancakes, please?"
"Yes, you may, Little Man. Do you want chocolate chips also?" Rick picks up the little boy as he answers.
"Not little! The doctor said I am tall for three, didn't he Mommy?" Ian protests.
"Yes, he did. You are going to be taller than Daddy one day," Kate answers with a smile and a chuckle.
"Alright, big guy, let's go to the kitchen and let Mommy get dressed," Rick heads toward the door with Ian.
"Daddy, I gotta go potty," Ian whispers loudly.
"Well, we'll just go to your bathroom, so Mommy can use this one. Okay?" Rick carries Ian from the room, and as he closes the door he winks at Kate.
As the pancakes disappeared from everyone's plates, Rick leans over to talk to Ian, "We need to get cleaned up and pack. We're going to Poppa's cabin today. Gram and Alex want us to come over to see his cabin now that it's all finished. Won't that be fun?"
Ian claps his hands and splatters some syrup on his pajamas. "Oopsie! I'm sorry, Daddy."
"Not a problem, buddy. We have to get cleaned up anyway. You go with Mommy for that, and I will clean up here," Rick reassures Ian as he wipes Ian's face clean.
After cleaning up, dressing and loading the SUV, the family is settled in for the trip to Lake George. Ian watches "Frozen" on the DVD player in the back, until he falls asleep in his car seat after they had stopped for lunch. Once Ian was asleep, his parents turn off the sound to the movie and listen to a jazz playlist from Kate's iPod.
"Your Dad knows who Alex is now. Has he said anything to you about this? Is he concerned about having him so close?" Rick asks Kate softly. He doesn't want Ian to hear anything.
"As a father himself, Dad is satisfied that Alex wouldn't have moved to the house on Lake George, if he thought it would be dangerous for us," Kate responds. "Dad enjoys having another neighbor that he can hang out with, actually. Now that he's retired, you know he'd rather be at the lake all the time. We're lucky he comes into the city at all anymore."
"I am absolutely certain that the reason for any visit to the city is asleep in the back seat," Rick chuckles as he speaks.
The Castle family arrives at Jim's cabin just as Ian starts to stir from his nap. The trip usually takes about 4 ½ hours, and having Ian nap for the last two hours is a blessing. Jim, Martha and Alex are all waiting at the cabin for them. Ian strains to get out of his car seat when he sees his grandparents and Alex. Jim opens the back door to the SUV and frees Ian from his car seat. "Poppa! I missed you. And Gram's here, too. Yay! Hey Alex. I missed you, too." Ian's enthusiasm is followed by wet kisses to all his grandparents.
The grandparents and Ian go into the cabin after barely greeting Kate and Rick. Rick looks at Kate, "Maybe we could just go back to New York for some alone time. Do you think they'd notice?"
Kate slaps Rick's bicep and walks to the back of the SUV. "Let's grab the luggage, writer-man. Ian will notice we're missing in a couple of minutes."
"I think we should sit on the porch and wait to see how long it takes," Rick replies with a mischievous smile. Rick leans into Kate, and she knows what he wants. After a few kisses, Rick starts to kiss Kate's neck.
Just as Kate tightens their embrace, they hear Ian call to them, "Mommy, Daddy….What is taking you so long?"
Jim walks out the door with Ian on his hip. Jim notices that his daughter and her husband pull apart as he exits the door. "Sorry to interrupt your moment. This little man noticed you two were missing."
"Daddy, Alex and Gram want to show us the cabin. It's all fixed now. Can we go soon?" Ian smiles with pleading eyes.
Rick chuckles and Kate answers her son, "I see that look. Did you learn that from your father? Let's get the car unloaded and then we can go, if that's okay with everyone."
"Thanks, Mommy." Ian turns to Jim and holds his face as he speaks with a very serious look on his face. "Poppa, I'm not a little man. Doctor says I'm tall for three."
Jim is barely able to keep from laughing at the seriousness of his grandson. "Well of course you're tall. You have tall parents. Maybe someday, you'll be taller than your father."
Kate reaches out to caress Ian's face, "That's right. One day you can be the tallest man in the house. The doctor said you will be taller than Daddy." Kate looks back at Rick and makes a silly face that only Rick can see.
"Wait…that is so far in the future, I don't even want to think about looking up at my son," Rick tells his wife, and then gazes wistfully at the back of his son as Jim and Ian enter the cabin. "Life is moving too fast. I want him to be small forever. I wanted Alexis to be small forever, too."
Kate caresses Rick's cheek, "Alexis is about to get married, babe. You'll have grandchildren to play with in a few years."
"Don't say that. I can't think of my baby girl as a mother. I'm sure Jim understands how that feels. Speaking of which…..We need to tell them our big news," Rick smiles broadly at his last words.
"Tonight at dinner. I actually wanted to have Alexis here and tell them all, but we'll just have to tell her when we get back. I don't think we can keep it a secret while we're here. You know how I get in the mornings," Kate smiles back at her husband.
"Okay, beautiful, let's get unpacking. Don't pick up anything heavy."
Alex walks out of the house, "Need some help with the luggage? We old folks are too easily distracted by that little boy. How do you get anything done at home? He is a force of nature."
"Oh, Darling, you missed out on Richard's pre-school self. He was in constant motion. It was exhausting," Martha said dramatically as she appears behind Alex. Ian is now happily leaning against his grandmother's shoulder, smiling around the thumb in his mouth.
Jim follows Alex and Rick to the car. "Katie, you don't have to unload the car. Let the men flex their muscles. You look a little tired."
Kate smiles at her father and hands him the small bag she had removed from the trunk. "I am a little tired. Martha, let's go fix this big boy a snack, while the men unload the car."
"I could use a snack, too, Mommy," Rick says in his best little boy imitation. Everyone laughs.
After the car was unloaded and snacks were eaten, the three generations settled into two cars for the short drive to Alex's cabin. As they arrive, Jim speaks to Rick from the back seat where he sits next to Ian, "Alex has installed some new security to the gate. I know the code. It's Ian's birthdate. You enter it backwards, year-month-day and with 4 digits for the year."
"Does he change the code often?" Kate inquires.
"He does change it randomly. He lets me know when he changes it. He doesn't tell me the new code over the phone, though. He's very cautious. He only tells me the code when we're face to face. It's usually some variation on your birthdays. He'll use them backwards or in European format, but never straightforward. I do appreciate his caution, but it gets a little confusing sometimes. If I forget the code, I just call. He has some fingerprint-controlled gizmo that he can unlock the gate from inside the house. Since he bought the new boat, he drives over to my place and picks me up to go fishing. I was really surprised that he enjoyed fishing so much." Jim is interrupted at this moment by Ian.
"Fish, Poppa. I like fish."
"Well, we'll just have to go fishing tomorrow. Just you, me and Alex. How does that sound?" Jim asks.
"Daddy, too? Please, Daddy can come too."
"Sounds like a plan, my man. We'll let Mommy and Gram have some time without the men around," Rick tells his son as he parks his car in front of Alex's cabin.
"Yay, we go fishing tomorrow."
Alex walks to the car and opens the door next to Ian's car seat, "Well, Mr. Ian, are you ready to see what Gram has been doing to my cabin?"
"Did Gram break it?" Ian asks timidly with a worried expression.
The adults laugh as Alex lifts Ian out of the car, "No, she made it comfortable and lovely. You have a place to sleep here now, whenever your parents will let you."
"Really! Can I see, please?"
"Let's let Gram show it to you. I know she wants to show your Mom all the little things that she has added to the cabin, since you were here last," Alex finishes as he looks at Kate. "I have some new gadgets to show your Dad."
Martha enjoyed showing her son's family around. Jim had already seen it all, so he and Alex settled on the deck and sipped lemonade as they looked out over the lake. The deck had folding glass doors that Alex had opened to let a breeze in. The screens kept out the insects and made the deck Jim's favorite place in Alex's cabin. Rick joins his father and father-in-law with his own glass of lemonade. "Ian is making a mess in the room Mother prepared for him. You know, Dad, you didn't have to stock it with so many toys."
"Let me spoil him. It's my job, now." After a few sips of his lemonade, Alex continues, "I keep asking your mother to marry me. I want her here, and I want to hear my grandson call me Granddad. Would you be able to push her a little bit on my behalf?" The expression on Alex's face is so hopeful.
"Hurricane Martha will do whatever she wants, but I will see what I can do. She does seem to enjoy it here, and that has certainly surprised me. I never thought she would be happy without an audience," Rick chuckles at the end.
Martha and Kate arrive on the deck with their own drinks. Martha settles in next to Alex on the settee. Kate sits on the arm of Rick's chair and takes his hand, "Rick and I have something to tell you all. We were going to wait until dinner, but I can't wait." Kate pauses a moment, then smiles widely. "We're having another baby."
The men smile and congratulate Rick, while Martha sweeps Kate into an exuberant hug, "Oh, Katherine, I am so happy. You two make beautiful babies, and I do so enjoy having grandchildren. How soon will I have a new little one to spoil?"
After receiving a tearful hug from her father, Kate answers, "It will be in 7 months. Everything is going well. We haven't told Alexis, yet. We will when we get home, so please don't let anything slip. When I am feeling ill in the morning, you'll understand why we told you now," Kate rolls her eyes as she adds that last phrase. "Also, Ian doesn't know yet. We are going to tell him once we get home. I have a t-shirt for him to wear that proclaims him as a "Big Brother." We are going to let him tell Alexis with that. It should be fun. Martha, do you want to be there for that? You can go back to the city with us."
"That would be splendid, and I can stay in New York for a week or so. I'll catch some shows, help Alexis with her wedding details, and these two men can spend all their days fishing. Alex won't even notice I'm gone," Martha smiles at Alex as she finishes.
"Martha, I always notice when you're gone." Alex looks tenderly at her. The room goes silent, except for the birds in the trees.
"It is entirely too quiet up there. I'm going to go see what mischief my son has gotten into," Kate breaks the moment as she rises.
"Mother, what is the plan for dinner? My wild child will be getting hungry soon. I wouldn't want to have him melt down due to lack of sustenance," Rick jokes. He follows Martha into the kitchen.
"We have dinner in the fridge. I'll just warm up a few of these dishes and we should be ready to eat in 30 minutes or so. Don't worry, I didn't cook them myself," Martha smiles at Rick.
Rick notices that he is alone with his mother, "Mom, Dad told me he has asked you to marry him. Why haven't you said yes?"
"That's getting right to the point. You usually aren't quite so blunt, my boy." Martha pauses, looks towards the deck and then at Rick. "I love him, I do. Marriage has never worked out for me. I'm afraid it will all fall apart if we take that step."
Rick steps forward, wraps his mother in a hug, then kisses her temple. "Kate told me long before we got married, that maybe the third time would be the charm for me. She was certainly right. You deserve happiness, and I see how happy you are now. Don't let fear keep you from having your happy ending."
Martha pulls back from Rick, slaps playfully at his chest and laughs as she says, "How did you get so smart? Must be living with Katherine has had a maturing effect on you."
Rick just laughs.
A/N #2: With all the fanfics centered on Rick's abduction, I wanted some fluff. I'll try to update soon.
