Chapter 39

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The Castle charm was hard to resist and Gabriel Anderson Brewer was, however unknowingly, falling happily into their spirited lifestyle.

It started like this:

"Daddy! Leaves!" Zoey tugged at Castle's hand to get his attention.

They were on a field trip and every child in Zoey's class had a chaperone. The Summerhill School was very much into parental involvement. Maybe a little too much. Kate and Castle received weekly updates and monthly newsletters and it was frowned upon if a parent missed a PTA meeting.

"Is this normal?" Kate had asked one night when Zoey had presented them with yet another bulletin about a charity bakesale.

"It gets a little less intense after elementary school," Castle had answered. "Attendence is no longer mandatory."

"So, basically, Alexis learned to filter out those events where you could have potentially embarrassed her."

"Basically, yes."

On this particular October day, Zoey's class was visiting a pumpkin farm. Having just finished picking out their perfect class pumpkin for Halloween, they had all decided on a snack-and-washroom break.

Castle turned and saw the giant piles of leaves that had caught Zoey's attention. Alexis had just taken Zoey to Central Park on the weekend to jump in the leaves; evidently, Zoey hadn't gotten enough.

"Do you want to go?" Castle asked Zoey, even though he knew the question would be met with enthusiastic nods. "What about your juice?"

Zoey quickly slurped down the last of her grape juice. "All done!"

Castle caught the attention of Zoey's teacher who was only slightly surprised at Castle's own enthusiasm at the prospect of jumping into a huge pile of leaves (she had met him more than once, after all).

The other children enviously watched Zoey play in the autumn foliage with joyous shrieks while the parents – though in most cases, it was the nannies who had come along as the child's chaperone – had either dubious or unimpressed expressions on their faces.

The concept of nannies had been a new one for Zoey who still egocentrically assumed that every family operated exactly like hers.

"Daddy?" she had asked one day after school.

"Yeah, Zo?"

"Gabriel says his mommy doesn't pick him up; he says Lina isn't his mommy."

Castle had just finished buckling Zoey into her carseat. "That's right," he had replied, "Lina is Gabriel's nanny."

"What's a nanny?"

Castle had taken the time between shutting the backdoor and climbing into the driver's seat to think about how best to phrase his response. He had met Lina within the first week of school as Gabriel and Zoey had forged an immediate bond over insects. This, coupled with the fact that because their last names fell one after the other on the class list, they often ended up as partners, meant the two of them had become fast friends. It hadn't surprised him that most parents couldn't afford to pick up their children from school every day; what had perturbed him was the fact that in actuality, most of Zoey's classmates weren't in situations where both parents worked. "A nanny is kind of like a babysitter," Castle had finally answered.

"You mean like Uncle Ryan or Auntie Lanie?"

"Hmm… yeah, sort of."

"Then Gabriel's lucky," Zoey had concluded.

"Why?"

"Because he gets to stay up every night."

Castle had chuckled. "Oh, is that what Uncle Ryan and Auntie Lanie let you do at their houses? Wait until I tell your mommy about this."

Thankfully, in this situation, Zoey didn't yet have the self-awareness to care about the looks they were getting and Castle, of course, had never let others' reactions stop him from doing age-inappropriate things.

Zoey, seeing Gabriel returning from his trip to the bathroom, called out to him, "Come play with us!"

Gabriel looked up at Lina. He normally wasn't allowed to play in the leaves.

Lina shrugged. "Go ahead, Gabe." She would find a way to explain the inevitable stains to his parents later. In many ways, she was glad that Gabriel had found a friend in Zoey Castle and that the little girl's family was so different from the ones that the Brewers tended to associate with. Lina had always been a big proponent of letting kids play and get dirty and explore in their own ways. While she understood why the Brewers wanted Gabriel to be able to speak French and play the piano, Lina couldn't help but prefer Castle's style of learning. She saw with her own eyes how Gabriel changed during his time with them, how he actually acted like a carefree child for once.

Lina sat down about a foot away from Castle as Gabriel and Zoey were currently attempting to cover him in leaves. "You are much like a child yourself, Mr. Castle," she commented.

Castle snorted. "Yeah, Zoey's mom likes to remind me of that daily."

.

Curiosity eventually got the best of Nancy and Charles Brewer. After hearing Gabriel, and quite often Lina, mention Zoey day in and day out, they made a point of picking up their son – together – the Friday before a long weekend in November. They had already gathered from Lina that Zoey would be picked up by both mom and dad that day.

"This is a coincidence!" Nancy said, though her tone betrayed her real emotion.

It was about five minutes before the end of the school day. Kate and Castle had been quietly going over the aspects of their latest case but they looked up when they heard the high-pitched exclamation. "Oh!" said Castle, reacting first, "Mr. and Mrs. Brewer, what a surprise."

"Oh please," said Nancy, "You can call us Nancy and Charles. After all, your daughter and my son are calling themselves 'best friends'."

Kate knew how fickle elementary friendships could be and quite honestly, she had been surprised when Zoey hadn't moved on to another "best friend" at the end of two weeks. This frank reminder by Nancy, though, suddenly brought to light that Zoey and Gabriel's continued friendship would inevitably mean a lot more interaction with the Brewers. Kate wasn't sure how she felt about that just yet.

"You know," Nancy continued, "when Gabriel first mentioned Zoey, I had a feeling it might be your Zoey."

Kate smiled politely, "Well, they seem to have hit it off."

"Where's Lina today?" Castle asked.

"Oh, we've decided to go out of town for the weekend," Charles answered, "We're heading to the airport straight from here."

"And how about you two?" Nancy asked.

"Normally, Rick gets Zoey after school but we're picking up Zoey's older sister, Alexis, from the train station at two-thirty so I thought I would join them."

"And where is she currently?" Nancy asked.

"Alexis?" Castle replied, "She's attending Yale—" neither Kate nor Castle missed the Brewers' raised eyebrows. Kate resisted the urge to roll her eyes "—she's just coming home for the weekend."

Just then, the bell rang, saving Kate and Castle from any more questions that were sure to be prying. The feeling that they were being judged and scrutinised wasn't lost on them. In any other situation, Kate wouldn't have been so polite.

Gabriel and Zoey walked out of the classroom together, each clutching construction paper turkeys.

Charles' reaction – a nod of acknowledgement before placing the craft into Gabriel's backpack – was completely different from Castle's.

"Can we put it up daddy?" Zoey asked.

Castle held onto the multicoloured turkey while Kate helped Zoey with her jacket. "Of course!" he answered, "We'll put it up on the fridge, right next to the birthday card you made for mommy."

Zoey gave them both a wide smile. "Are we seeing Lexi now?"

"Not just yet," Castle replied, "First we're going to have lunch because mommy's hungry—" at Kate's wayward glance, he added, "—even though she doesn't want to admit it."

"Can I choose?" Zoey asked hopefully.

"How about daddy and I pick three different places and you can choose from those," Kate said, knowing that if they let Zoey choose, they would most likely end up eating cupcakes at Magnolia.

"Bye Zoey," Gabriel said before she could agree to Kate's suggestion.

Zoey waved. "Bye!"

"Maybe we should plan a playdate for the two of them," Nancy said over her shoulder.

"Sure," Castle answered breezily with absolutely no intention of following through.

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Needless to say, Nancy was an initiator and she made sure to call the Castle residence just two days after the long weekend.

"Why don't you and Kate come over to our house?" she suggested. "The four of us can have coffee and chat while Zoey and Gabriel play."

Kate made sure Castle scheduled the playdate for Sunday afternoon so that they had an excuse to bail.

"Okay, so we're agreed?" Kate said, right before stepping out of the car and onto the Brewers' driveway, "One hour minimum and then, if it's bad, we say that we have to get ready for dinner with my dad."

Castle jumped out of the passenger seat, opening the back door to get Zoey. "Why are you so against this playdate again?" he asked.

"I'm not against the playdate," she answered, "I think Gabriel is a sweet kid but I grew up in Manhattan too, Castle. Remember when you told me that money just magnifies who you are?"

Castle knew where she was going. Still, it didn't stop him from grinning. "Now that you know how much worse it could've been, doesn't that make you appreciate my inner child that much more?"

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It hadn't been a disaster. Unfortunately, it hadn't been very fun either – for both children and parents.

Still, due to the growing friendship between Zoey and Gabriel, it didn't take long before the playdates became a regular occurrence. Some days, instead of having Lina pick Gabriel up, Castle would simply carpool both him and Zoey back to the loft until Charles or Nancy was ready to pick him up which, most of the time, entailed sending a car with Lina.

Without fail, these playdates always happened at the loft. It became an unspoken agreement. The Brewers' house, while big, contained so many potentially breakable objects that it had to be navigated like a maze. And, unlike the child-friendly Castle household with soft blankets draped across the couches and various knick-knacks littered across surfaces, the only room that could be considered even a bit messy was Gabriel's playroom and that was only while he was using it. Somebody always reorganised it immediately afterwards.

Paradoxically, even though the little boy had a lot more toys than Zoey did, it always seemed like there was a lot more to do and a lot more fun to be had at her house rather than his. At the loft, they could make a game out of overturned couch cushions and use their imaginations to create rocketships out of cardboard boxes. As long as it wasn't dangerous, Castle and Kate let the two of them do whatever they wanted: whether it be blowing bubbles in the house or making stamps out of cut up pieces of fruit. The one time Alexis was home while Gabriel had been there, she had taught the two preschoolers how to play hide-and-seek.

"Mommy, it's snowing!" Zoey bounded up to Kate when she entered the loft after work on a Tuesday.

"I know," Kate replied, shaking out her wet scarf, "Mommy got caught in it on the way home."

"Somebody sounds crabby." Castle waited until Kate had taken off her shoes and had flopped down onto the living room couch before giving her an upside down kiss. "At least you're home now," he said.

With her head still tilted back to look up at him, she replied, "You always make me feel less tired."

It was a rare moment of confession that made Castle's face light up even as he asked rhetorically, "That's a good thing, right?"

Kate smiled and then, "Hey—" she sat up abruptly upon realising that they were missing a body, "—I thought Gabriel came over today."

"He wants you to find him mommy," Zoey said, jumping up and down in front of her.

"Oh really?" Kate said, subsequently finding herself getting pulled around by her daughter.

"I know where he is," Zoey whispered, not so secretively. Dragging Kate into Castle's study, she pointed excitedly at the table.

Kate exchanged an amused look with Castle before walking around the left side of the desk and peering underneath. "Hi Gabriel," she said, giving him a wink.

He giggled. "Hi Katie!"

"Is Lina coming to get you soon?" she asked, offering her hand to pull him out.

Gabriel nodded, unable to hide his reluctance to leave.

"But," Castle said, "I told him that after you came home, we would all celebrate the first snowfall of the season with some hot cocoa."

"That sounds really good," Kate replied.

"But I'm not allowed to have chocolate," Gabriel said.

"That's so sad," Zoey replied, as if Gabriel had just told her his goldfish had died.

"Well," said Castle, "You don't have to tell your mom an—"

"—Castle! Don't tell Gabriel to lie to his parents." Kate turned to the two of them, "Remember, you should always tell the truth."

Zoey stared at Kate curiously. "Do you always?"

Kate paused and Castle barely concealed his smirk. "I… try to," Kate finally said, "But, you should always tell the truth to the people you trust. Like family."

"Oh." Zoey nodded slowly, "Okay…"

"Gabriel," Kate said, having seen Nancy allow her son an iota of junk food at a classmate's birthday party and knowing that a little chocolate wouldn't hurt him, "How about you drink a little bit of the hot cocoa with us and we'll tell your mommy and daddy that Rick and I gave you permission. Okay?"

Gabriel nodded, feeling much better about breaking a rule since an adult had told him it was okay.

Gabriel and Zoey seated themselves at the dining room table, swinging their legs back and forth in order to make simultaneous thump noises against their chairs. Their heads were bent towards each other, talking and giggling conspiratorally.

"They're cute," Kate remarked, handing Castle the carton of milk.

"I had an interesting conversation with their teacher the other day," Castle replied, rummaging through the cupboards until he found the cocoa mix. "Apparently, they balance each other out in the classroom."

"How? They're both so shy."

Castle shook his head. "Not according to Miss Thomas. I like to think Zo's just adventurous but I believe the word she used was 'boisterous'."

Kate chuckled. "You're kidding." She looked over at her daughter. "I guess she just needed time to get comfortable around new people."

Castle leaned against the counter next to Kate as they waited for the milk to heat up. "Zo's the one who urges Gabriel to stop being so restrained and quiet while Gabriel keeps Zoey from getting into trouble when she gets too loud and, occasionally, bossy." He nudged Kate's side.

"Hey, you're the loud one," Kate replied.

"Yeah, but you're the bos—take-charge one," Castle amended after Kate's glare cut his original adjective short.

She smirked. "You better believe I am."

Castle went to go grab the bag of mini-marshmallows before helping Kate with two of the steaming mugs. "Okay," he said after he had placed the drinks in front of Zoey and Gabriel, "How many marshmallows do you want?"

"The most you can have is five," Kate added.

Zoey, who already had an answer ready – a number well above five – closed her mouth in slight disappointment.

"So, that's five for Zoey," Castle said, grinning. He turned to Gabriel, "What about you, kiddo?"

Gabriel tilted his head in consideration. "Umm… three?" he replied, clearly of two minds.

"Gabriel!" Zoey exclaimed. She looked up at Castle. "He wants five, too."

"I think that's Gabriel's decision, Zo," Kate said, taking a sip of her cocoa in order to hide her smile.

Zoey looked expectantly at her friend as if saying, "We-ll? Hurry up, then!"

Castle and Kate watched, with amusement, the silent exchange between the two: Zoey urging Gabriel to just go for it and Gabriel clearly pondering how naughty he wanted to be.

While Kate didn't hate the Brewers, she did dislike the fear and apprehension they had seemed to instill in their son. So much so that he wasn't even willing to ask for something he clearly wanted (and that Kate and Castle had clearly given him permission for). So, she deliberately took the bag of marshmallows from Castle and dropped five into his mug before doing the same to hers.

That seemed to be enough incentive for Gabriel. "I want five!" he declared as if a giant anvil had been lifted off his shoulders at this decision.

Zoey pumped her fists. "Yess!"

Half an hour later, Lina showed up at their front door. With winter gear fully zipped and buttoned, Gabriel made sure to give both Kate and Castle a hug. Then, in a whisper as effective as Zoey's had been earlier, he turned to her and said, "Zoey, you have the best mom and dad ever."

A/N: (Nope. Haven't finished the new Eyes Open chapter, yet... about halfway if that's any consolation... )

Oh, and I don't know if you guys remember but I had previously introduced the Brewers in chapter 34 – I'm a fan of Chekhov's gun. ;)

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