Hello!

Here's a new Braden Series Companion. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine :/

[Boy's Night]

July 22nd, 2018

He couldn't contain his excitement. He'd been waiting all day for this and now the time has arrived, he was practically bouncing off the walls.

A night out with his little boy. Just the two of them. Couldn't get any better than this.

With his hand firmly wrapped around his son's, Rick led the boy up to the large stadium before them. Braden looked up at it in wonder, his gaze partially blocked by his baseball cap as it hung low on his forehead, the bill crooked. A gasp of wonder left the three-year-old's lips as he eyes grew wide at everything going on around him.

Everywhere he looked there were people. Many were dressed wearing their team's colors or jerseys with their favorite player's number. The smell of peanuts and popcorn invaded his senses, making him giddy.

This was Braden's second time at a baseball game, the first time back when he was two. Kate and Alexis had been with at that game, but not this time.

Tonight was boy's night. No girls allowed.

So, while Rick and Braden were at the game, Kate and Alexis were having a girl's night of their own. What those two were up to, Rick would never know. And, frankly, he didn't want to know. All that mattered to him was spending some much-needed time with his son, so that's what he was doing.

"Come on, buddy," he ushered, picking Braden up by the arm pits, the boy's arms wrapping around his father's neck, and carrying him over to gate four.

The line seemed to go on forever, it'd take a bit before they'd be able to get in. But ten minutes later, the father and son duo finally reached the front of the line.

Rick handed over his ticket and let Braden hand his over to the woman security guard, who gave a big smile Braden's way. With a quick "thank you" to her, the two slowly made their way into the stadium. It was packed with people, most of them wearing Yankees apparel, but there were a few here and there with Red Sox apparel on.

"You excited, Brae?"

Arms still securely wrapped around Rick's neck, he nodded vigorously, causing his hat to fall over his eyes as it sat lopsided on his head; a few tufts of his brown hair poked out from underneath. A loud giggle spilled from his lips, making his dad laugh as well. Braden's laugh was contagious he couldn't help it.

"Let's go find our seats, okay? The game will be starting soon."

"Go Yankees!" Braden cheered, arms in the air as he let out another giggle, his face scrunched up with laughter.

Chuckling, Rick bounced the boy lightly in his arms. "That's right. Go Yankees."

It was nearing the fifth inning, the Yankees were down by one run; it was a close game. The score was three to two. And with the bases full and only one out, the Yankees could manage to get a lead over the Red Sox. Everyone was on the edge of their seats.

They were seated right on the third baseline, giving them a great view of the entire field. Braden was perched on his father's lap, Rick's hands holding onto to the boy for dear life. His little feet dug into Rick's thighs as he bounced up and down in excitement, but he didn't seem to mind.

It was a rather amusing sight actually; Braden was completely enamored with it all. His eyes were wide and his mouth had a permanent smile graced upon it.

He'd been like this the entire game. The three-year-old would cheer when everyone else cheered and boo at the opposing team when they did.

And he surprisingly had a grasp of what and who everyone was on the field. Of course, he didn't know everything but he knew a fair amount. It was quite an accomplishment, especially for a boy his age.

The crowd then let out a huge roar as the Yankees managed to hit a double, allowing two players to run home and giving them a one run lead on the Red Sox. Everyone around them was ecstatic letting out whoops and cheers. High-fives were passed between a few of them, and one burly man next to Rick and Braden gave them each a high-five.

Once the excitement had calmed down, Braden patted his dad on one of the hands holding onto him. "I'm hungry, Daddy."

The statement grabbed Rick's attention and he merely nodded, grabbing his son in a huge hug as he stood from their seats and shuffled through the aisles before walking up the steps to the second level. The ground was covered in peanut shells and food wrappers.

Do people not know how to pick up after themselves? Apparently not. Rick had stepped on a rather large wad of gum on the concrete floor as soon as he'd made it to the second level.

He growled. Doing his best to get rid of it off the bottom of his shoe, he then continued to make his way through the maze that was the second level of the stadium. It was just as crowded here as before, if not even more so. Dodging and ducking their way through, they made it to one of the many concession stands that were scattered about.

"What would you like to eat?" Rick asked his son, nodding toward the sign above the stand with all of the various food items to choose from. "You can have a hot dog, nachos-"

His boy cut him off. "A hot dog!" Braden yelped, smiling like no other. "Please. I want a hot dog!"

Shaking his head on a laugh, he squeezed him tightly in his arms and nodded. "Hot dogs it is. Anything else, buddy? Candy or popcorn?"

"No thank you," he thanked, always being one to be polite to his parents. "Mommy says it will sp- spo..." Braden pouted and huffed; clearly frustrated he couldn't pronounce the word correctly. "Spoi-"

"Spoil."

"Mommy says it will spoil dinner."

Rick gazed around them before landing back on his son. "Do you see Mommy anywhere, Brae?"

Confused, Braden looked around in search of his mom. "No?"

"Well, what Mommy doesn't know won't hurt her. This will be our little secret, okay?" He nodded. "Besides, it's boy's night, we can spoil our dinner if we'd like to, but not all of the time. This will only happen every once in a while."

"Cool..."

"So, what will it be, my man? A hot dog? Popcorn?" Something then caught Rick's eye. "Oh, how about some ice cream?"

By the time the game reached the top of the eighth inning, Braden was completely out. The excitement and constant commotion of the game, plus all of the food, eventually wore him out. Braden was passed out in his father's arms, gone to the world.

Rick began to make his way out of the stadium, see if could beat the rush. A part of him was upset to miss the last two innings, but he could always read about it in the paper the following morning so it wasn't too big of a deal.

Keeping a solid grip on his son, Rick walked down a block from the stadium to the Metro Station on the east side of the stadium on 161st Street.

Climbing down the steps, Rick swiped his Metro card and entered the concourse before waiting for the right train to appear. Once it did, he boarded with his son burrowed in his chest, small hands gripping his jersey. Luckily it wasn't too full, so he was able to sit down on one of the bench seats.

With a long, exhausted sigh, he glanced down as Braden shifted in his sleep. He had his head nestled in the crook of his dad's neck. The game had definitely worn the poor kid out.

Placing a chaste kiss on the boy's head, Rick leaned his head back and shut his eyes briefly, the exhaustion finally hitting him. He hadn't realized how tired he was until he finally sat down. Baseball games tended to do that to him, all of the activity and mass amount of enthusiasm of the game got him wired up, but by the end it was all worn off.

But it was worth it. He got to spend time with his son, something he would always cherish.

Rick loved boy's night.

There you go!

I have not been to Yankees Stadium, so I don't know entire layout of the stadium, so I did my best with a map I found online. Hope it did it justice. Reviews are love. Until next time!

Follow me on Twitter at KB_RC23, Follow me on Tumblr at KB-RC23, and Follow me on DeviantArt at kbrc23