Title: Thanksgiving

Summary: Ryan, Alexis, Devlin, Castle, and Beckett decide to accept the invitation to attend the Ryan's Thanksgiving. Takes place a short time after Ryan and Alexis get married.

Genre: Family

Characters: Ryan

Ryan pulled into the driveway and glanced behind him at Castle's car before climbing out and stretching his back. It had been a long drive with his pregnant wife needing to stop every little bit to use the restroom and walk around to help blood flow to her feet and legs. While no one really cared how long it took it had made for a very long morning.

"Wow Ryan, this is beautiful," Beckett commented. "I wish my dad had decided to come with us."

Castle grabbed the suitcase from the trunk and nodded. "Mother too. Too bad Jim wanted to spend it with his brother and Mother decided to go to Hawaii."

Once everyone had their belongings they began to walk across the lawn to the large ranch style home. Ava suddenly burst through the door and ran outside screaming like a maniac and intercepted Ryan in the middle of the yard. Striking a superhero pose she held out her fist and waited for Ryan to touch her knuckles which he did with a small smile. "Wonder twin powers activate! Form of…"

"A brat," he finished dryly.

"Done!" she shouted and proceeded to knock him down and tickle him.

He giggled hysterically as he tried to get away and eventually he shoved her and tried to stand only to have her grab his leg out from under him and pull him back down again. "Stop it you jerk. Who else is here?"

"Jules and Lydi, Aunt Bella – who dear God steer clear of her if you value your life, she's been drinking since eight this morning-, and all you people. Leah's on her way, I guess the baby vomited in the car so Seth is dealing with that. Every time I talk to her all it does is reaffirm my decision to never have kids."

Ryan smiled, "They're not that bad."

"Don't start, you're having another therefore your opinion in biased. I brought my new boyfriend; he's inside trying to not have an aneurysm. He's never hung out with an Irish family before. If he can handle this I might consider keeping him."

Castle and Beckett approached the pair still lying in the grass while Alexis and Devlin started to make their way up to the house. "Nice to see you again Ava," Castle said pleasantly.

She jumped up and smiled brightly, "You too! I'm glad you guys came, I think mom about died when she found out you two were together."

Beckett's eyes slid to Ryan who shrugged, "You two are more obvious than you think, they'd just find out anyways." Conceding that the words were true they all entered the rambunctious house and Castle could only smile at little kids screaming and dogs barking while woman laughed hysterically and men sat drinking. It was everything he had hoped for and more. According to Ryan the attendees this year included: Lila and Patrick and their three german shepards, Lila's sister Bella and her two pomeranians, Leah and her husband Seth and their three children, Lydia and her husband and their two children and yellow lab, Julie and her husband and their child, Ava and her boyfriend and her two bulldogs, Ryan and Alexis and Devlin, and to top it off Castle and Beckett. To sum it all up, a lot of people and animals.

As soon as someone noticed them once they entered the house everyone ran over and quickly introduced themselves excitedly. Ryan, Alexis, and Dev used the distraction to sneak by and enter the kitchen where Lila ran over and hugged her son. "Oh my baby you're here!" Her gaze quickly moved to the next person and smiled warmly at Alexis, "Honey you look beautiful! Kevin said things have been making you nauseas lately so I made sure to get ginger ale. I had to hide it behind the vegetables because everyone keeps trying to add alcohol to it. I swear everyone in the family drinks like a fish."

Alexis hugged her tightly and pulled back with a smile, "Thank you Lila."

"And you!" Lila said as she looked at Devlin. "You are getting too big and now that you're so big you have to help me in the kitchen. First thing I want you to do is taste the pie I made, tell me if it's good or not."

"If you say so Móraí," Dev answered with a giggle.

"You must."

Ryan glanced around a little nervously and his mother pointed to the back door after guessing what caused his mood change. "They're outside if you want to see them and they're just as nervous as you are. Go on, go see them."

Ryan met his wife's eyes and kissed her cheek before exiting the house and walking out onto the porch where Julie and Lydia were seated at the table underneath a large umbrella talking. Lydia was facing him and when recognition set in she stood and nudged Julie who did the same. As soon as Ryan hugged her she broke down crying and he laughed when Julie shouldered her way into the hug too. The family was finally whole again and the thought made him have to fight tears of his own. "I wasn't sure I'd ever get to see my baby brother again," Lydia sobbed into his shoulder.

He kissed the side of her head and hugged her closer, "I'm sorry Lydi. For everything."

"Don't," Julie warned. "We're not talking about any of it, we're just glad you're here. You didn't get much taller after we saw you last."

Thankful for some humor that he could latch onto he mock glared, "Good things come in small packages."

"Is that how you convinced your wife to marry you?" Ava said from behind him.

Ryan kissed both his sister's cheeks before turning to face the sister that just wouldn't quit. "No I tricked her with Dev, sometimes I have to be creative."

"At least you're honest."

A short time later almost everyone was in the massive back yard, the weather just too wonderful to ignore. Most of the girls were wandering in and out of the house and kitchen all while trying to keep an eye on their children.

Beckett and Alexis watched Ryan, Devlin, and Castle all play in and around the massive oak tree in the back yard with smiles on their faces. Beckett began to laugh when Ryan hung upside down on a branch and made faces and waved happily at the pair, all the while trying to keep his transformers t-shirt from falling over his face. Even at thirty-two he still wasn't quite ready to grow up, which wasn't too bad when compared to Castle who still wasn't ready at forty-two. Alexis's eyes widened when she noticed Leah sneaking up behind him and covered her mouth in concern when she tickled him and he fell from the tree into the bushes.

Seth walked up behind him and picked Ryan up like he was nothing and dusted him off, "Good as new."

"Thanks Seth, you're wife's kind of mean."

Leah pulled him into a hug and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek, "I love you too Booger."

"Don't call me that!" he whispered as his eyes looked around. "If Castle hears that I'll never hear the end of it."

She began to laugh, "If you think that's the worst thing he'll hear you are sadly mistaken. Ma just intercepted him and who knows what she's saying."

His eyes widened as he quickly glanced around before noticing his mother and Castle laughing. "Shit, I have to go."

Later in the day Castle was gazing curiously at all the pictures on the walls, an amused smile on his lips at the out of control bunch. He turned when he felt a presence next to him and nodded in greeting at Ryan's father. "Your house is beautiful, I was just admiring all the family pictures."

"Thank you," he replied with a small smile. "The kids are the life and death of me."

Continuing their light conversation they began to move through the house. Patrick and Castle turned the corner but the older man held out an arm and stopped their progress. Castle frowned in confusion before noticing Ryan and Alexis standing at the end of the hallway locked in a lazy kiss. Her back was pressed to the wall with her arms around her husband's neck, Ryan pushed against her with his hands placed lovingly on the sides of her pregnant belly.

Patrick tugged Castle away and smiled, "They'll be together forever. The way he looks at your daughter is the same way I've looked at my wife for the last forty years. You excited to be a grandfather?"

Castle smiled happily, "I didn't expect it to happen right now with Alexis being so young but I'm happy."

"She's not that young," Patrick said with a wave of his hand. "Lila had Leah when she was twenty-one. Then all the others came."

Castle nodded, "After Ryan you decided no more?"

"Kevin was an accident." It was said so calmly that Castle almost misunderstood him. Seeing the writers expression he nodded, "Lila got pregnant with Kevin when Ava was only three months old, he definitely wasn't planned. Doesn't mean we loved him any less he was just a surprise. I was so happy to finally have a boy to carry on the Ryan name but he grew up… different than I thought he would."

"Different how?" Castle wondered.

Patrick shrugged, "Just not as… tough as I wanted him to be. We Ryan's are a strong bunch and he just wasn't."

Castle instantly turned to face him better and waited until he had his full attention. "Ryan's one of the strongest and toughest people I know. He never complains even when he's waist deep in a dumpster searching for a victims wallet or when Kate's had him running around for over twenty-four hours straight. I didn't see it but after Lockwood got him… he's a strong person."

Patrick frowned, "Who's Lockwood?"

He grimaced instantly, "Oh, he didn't tell you about that. I don't really know if I should…"

"Tell me."

With a sigh he glanced around and made sure they were alone, "Without getting really deeply into it Ryan and his partner Esposito were caught by one of our murder suspects. They tortured them; Ryan got the worst of it. When we found them Lockwood was just about to shoot out Ryan's kneecap. They found quite a bit of ice water in his lungs from them holding him under until he had to breathe, he never got pneumonia by some miracle but he was treated for hypothermia."

Patrick could only stare as concern for his son warred with pride at his ability to survive. "I had no idea. He told us about him getting shot."

Castle was silent for a moment before finally nodded, "I'll never forget that as long as I live. It was… it's been two years and I still don't like to think about it. He's been through a lot, especially with Jenny dying and raising Devlin on his own."

"It was a stroke right?"

"Yeah. Ryan kept it together the entire time through everything and kept working and taking care of Devlin. You should be proud to have him as a son, there's not a lot of people out there like Ryan. I feel honored that he's with Alexis."

Patrick just nodded quietly and Castle and he went their separate ways, both men feeling like they just learned something very important.

As the afternoon continued Ryan found himself in the kitchen stealing food while Alexis sat outside with her father watching Devlin and Kate swing on the swing set. His phone began to ring and after grabbing one more roll he answered it, "Hey Javi, how's the family?"

"You know I hate it when you eat and talk on the phone but it's going great, Lanie on the other hand not so much. If I don't come back you know where to look for my body. How's it going for you, everything you hoped for?"

"Yeah, going pretty well if I must say. So what's up?"

"Sorry to bug you on Thanksgiving but could I talk to Dev for a sec? My nephew's birthday is next week and I was going to step out and grab something for him but I have no idea what."

"Hang on bro." He held the phone out and shouted for Dev who came flying inside and around the corner. "Uncle Javi wants to talk to you."

Dev smiled brightly and ran over to grab the phone, "¿Hola?" He listened intently and offered his opinion, in Spanish no less before smiling brightly and ending the call with, "Adiós tío Javi. Voy a decirle a Beckett que llamar a Lanie."

After handing his dad back his phone he looked around and after finding Beckett again ran over to her. Ryan noticed Julie's god smacked expression as he slid his phone back in his pocket. "Cool huh? He speaks Irish too."

"Your seven year old son is tri-lingual?"

He grinned, "Yup, don't be jealous."

"Picture time!" Lila suddenly shouted and one by one everyone in the family made their way to the living room. Castle of course knew he needed to see this because it was the only time the entire family seemed to be in one place. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Ryan with his four sisters on the couch while Lila tried to take a picture. Leah was seated calmly at one end next to Lydia who was trying not to laugh, Julie was seated on the other end rolling her eyes and in the middle Ryan and Ava were trying to piss each other off.

"Ma," Julie started. "Why are those two sitting next to each other?"

Ryan yelped when Ava pulled his hair and tried to shove her away which would have worked if she wasn't already climbing on top of him and trying to wrestle him to the ground. "Ava, stop it! I… ow! Leah make her stop!"

Lila sighed heavily and just took the picture anyway, three of her girls smiling brightly while Ava shoved her hand into Ryan's face and Ryan yanked her head back by her hair. Castle had a strong feeling that the picture perfectly captured them as they had been growing up.

"Kevin and his girls," Seth commented fondly when he appeared next to the writer.

"So how long have you known Ryan?"

Seth's brow scrunched as he thought about it, "Since he was… thirteen I think? Thirteen or fourteen. Leah and I got married when he was sixteen."

Castle glanced around and slyly tried to figure out what the deal was with Ryan and his family, "Has he changed much?"

"Nope. Almost the exact same as he always was. I'm just glad he got it together, everyone really missed him. Hell, Patrick and I were surprised he was even alive after the last time we saw him but we'd never say that to the girls."

His poker face came in handy because if he showed confusion or surprise it would give away the fact he didn't know what he was talking about. "That bad huh?" seemed like a safe response.

Seth nodded, "He was so strung out his muscles wouldn't stop twitching, then we just sent him away with no regard that he was driving like that. We handled it horribly, thank God nothing happened to him because we all would have felt responsible."

"Drugs?" he blurted out in shock before he could stop himself.

Seth's eyes widened as he met his eyes, "You didn't know did you? Wow, um. Well, I best be going to the… kitchen."

As the sun dropped in the sky everyone made their way to the table and Castle just shook his head at all the people they managed to squeeze in. Patrick sat at the head of the table and said the prayer, everyone so silent you could hear a pin drop. While he knew Ryan was Catholic he didn't think he was overly religious yet he could tell that it wasn't something to be ignored or disrespected in this household. When it was done it was like the gates opened. Everyone began grabbing everything and passing things, filling their plates to the brim with every food you could imagine.

Once everyone settled the stories began and Alexis paid close attention, eager to learn more about her spouse's childhood.

Ryan began to laugh when Julie stopped speaking and pointed to Ava with his fork. "Remember when you 'came out' your senior year?"

"I thought I was gay!" she argued. At the amusement dancing in his eyes and smothered laughs she crossed her arms, "Remember when you informed us you were going to play professional basketball?"

"I was eleven! I had dreams before you crushed them."

"Right," she said with an eye roll. "Because I was the one that had to break it to you that four-foot Kevin wasn't going to be the next Michael Jordan. Just call me Ava, crusher of dreams and bringer of obvious truths."

Leah laughed, "Ok I've got one, Seth's first Thanksgiving with us."

Everyone began to laugh and at Alexis's confused expression Lila explained. "It was just so bad. The dog knocked the potatoes off the table and all over him and he was too large to borrow any clothes so he had to spend the day dressed in a bath robe. Then Kevin kept glaring at him all day because he didn't like him then to top it off I wasn't aware he was allergic to nuts and when he ate desert he swelled up like a balloon."

"Fun times," Seth said dryly as everyone laughed hysterically. "I considered it an initiation. What about you Rick, any good stories?"

Alexis looked up with wide eyes and shook her head but her father was already talking. "Best one by far, one I'll never forget was when Alexis was five. She wanted to help cook and when I wasn't paying attention she stuffed all these things into the turkey before I put it in the oven. Everything laid out on the table and I cut into the bird to find the melted tv remote, a spoon, and an entire bag of vegetables still in the plastic."

Ryan laughed at the story, elbowing his wife teasingly as he took a bite of turkey. With a grin she looked at Lila, "So Ryan got attacked by a turkey?"

Patrick began to laugh, and as the tears began rolling down his face he shook his head. "I can't… I just," he tried to say around his laughter. "You tell her," he said as he squeezed his wife's arm.

Lila looked at Ryan sympathetically, "We went to a petting zoo and for some reason that turkey just had it out for him. He didn't get hurt but we couldn't get the damn thing off of him and Pat was no help, all he was doing was laughing. Come to find out later Ava had stuck treats in all his pockets."

Ava smiled cheekily at Ryan who was just glaring. "You realize you scarred me for life right?"

"It was payback for popping all my dolls heads off. Barbie did not look better without a head."

"I beg to differ."

Inside the Ryan household their was a definite hierarchy so when the meal was finished the women jumped up to clear the table while the men all wandered off. Ryan had at least offered to help but his sisters had shooed him away so with a shrug he made his way to the front porch swing to watch the sunset.

Ryan stared out at the empty road in front of the house and stretched out his arms over the back of the swing as he allowed his eyes to slide shut. A few minutes later he listened to the door open and close and opened his eyes when he felt someone sit down next to him. To his surprise it was Beckett. He instantly began to sit up straighter and pull his arms back but she stopped him.

"You look comfortable, you don't have to move."

He nodded and relaxed again, Beckett's hair tickling his arm as she leaned back. "What's up boss?"

She laughed softly, "You know I'm not your boss anymore. You and Espo are the same rank."

"Doesn't matter," he said with a small smile. "You'll always be the boss, Javi will always be the enforcer, and I'll always be the rookie. We've all been together too long for it to change."

She couldn't argue with that. "Eight years Ryan, can you believe it? We've been together for eight years."

"We're lucky," he said honestly. "Not only do we work well together but no one's been transferred or worse."

The pair descended into silence for a few minutes until Ryan began to rock the bench back and forth. "How's things with Castle?"

She bit her lip and shrugged a little, "Things are… fine."

He instantly arched a brow and looked over, "Fine? That's it? After working together for years and years and fighting so much sexual tension Javi and I couldn't even breath most days it's just… fine?"

Showing the vulnerability she always hid at work she leaned into his side and laid her head on his shoulder. It wasn't often they spoke privately or touched but after eight years of working together they were just as close as any siblings could be. "I think in my mind it was so much more exciting and then when it finally happened it wasn't as... I don't know."

"I get it," he said instantly. "Sometimes the anticipation makes the actual event seem less exciting. Although I can't imagine life with Castle could be boring."

Both laughed and Beckett shook her head, "Definitely not boring."

"Don't give up Kate, it'll get better. I think both of you have worked towards this for so long that now that it happened neither knows what to do with it," he offered. "It'll get better."

"Growing up I always wanted brothers," she said quietly after she digested his words.

Ryan grinned, "Did you ever think you'd end up with an Irish and a Puerto Rican one?"

Laughter bubbled out of her, "No I did not, but I think I got pretty lucky." She looked over when the door opened revealing Alexis and smiled in greeting. "Thanks Kevin," she said quietly before squeezing his knee and walking back into the house.

Alexis watched her before walking over and taking her previous spot. "What were you and Kate talking about?"

At her tone he frowned before smiling in disbelief, "Are you jealous of Beckett?"

"What? No!" she snapped before sighing. "Maybe a little. I don't like her to touch you. She's so gorgeous and I'm chubby."

He began to laugh a little and pulled her close, "First off, you don't have anything to ever be jealous about. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, giving person I know and I thank God everyday that you're in my life. Secondly, you're not chubby you're pregnant. Only you can manage to look completely adorable and sexy carrying our baby. Lastly, Beckett's not a threat."

Alexis felt a little better but she still had a small stress line in her forehead, "Did you and Beckett ever…"

"No," he answered in amusement. "When I transferred I definitely took notice of Beckett, I'd have to be blind to not notice her, but she was my boss and she always viewed me as more of a pesky little brother. Javi on the other hand…"

"No way," she said with a grin.

"No one will confirm it but I'm pretty sure they had a few hot nights together before I got there. Guess we'll never know."

They continued to sit on the front porch swing, Ryan rubbing her feet while a soft breeze blew across their faces. "It's so beautiful here. I wish we could have a house."

Ryan nodded, "Me too but with the apartment's proximity to the precinct and my salary…"

"I know. Nice to dream though."

He turned and smiled at how beautiful she looked with her hair slipping across her skin. "How about this? I promise you we will have a house someday, just like this. You'll have the wrap around porch and the bay windows and anything else your heart desires."

"You promise?"

"I promise that if you're patient with me I will give you everything you could ever want."

She sighed contently before grabbing his hand and pressing it to her stomach. Ryan grinned when he felt movement, "She's kicking."

"She?"

He nodded, "It'll be a girl, you'll see."

She shook her head fondly and felt her eyes start to slide shut. Forcing herself to stay awake she stood and kissed his forehead. "I'm going to go lie down, love you."

"I love you too."

He chose to stay on the porch and enjoy the quiet solitude, it not lasting too long when Castle decided to join him. Apparently he was quite popular today. Castle plopped down next to Ryan and handed him a beer before opening his own, "Ryan can I ask you something personal."

"If I say no you will anyway so have at it," he responded with a grin as he twisted the top off the drink.

The writer turned a little to face him more, "Did you use to use drugs?"

"Wasn't expecting that," he said with a raise to his eyebrows but no embarrassment or anger. Alexis had at long last taught him to move on from the past and he had finally embraced the fact he couldn't change it and shouldn't shy away from it. His drug use was a part of him and had helped shape him into the man he was today. "I was a heavy cocaine user for two years. Who told you?"

"Seth. Is that why you stopped speaking to your family?"

Ryan nodded once and took a pull from the bottle in his grasp, "Getting a little too personal Castle. Here's not the place to talk about certain things."

"Sorry. You've been clean since I've met you right?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "It was right when I transferred out of narcotics I stopped. Long before you and Alexis came along."

They descended into a comfortable silence until Castle pressed on. "Why didn't you tell me? Does Beckett know?"

"No but I'd be surprised if it doesn't get to her one way or another. I didn't tell you because I was afraid it would influence our professional and now personal relationship. People don't like to work with addicts, even if they don't use anymore. People with addictions are often viewed as weak and untrustworthy. Can you honestly say you wouldn't have thought differently about me?"

"You're right, it probably would have changed my opinion."

"Does it now?" he asked a little softer than his regular tone.

Castle instantly shook his head, "Not in the slightest, it just makes you more interesting. I'm determined to get a full background on all of you even though none of you are making it easy."

Ryan let out a laugh and pointed to him with his beer bottle, "So what else have my blabber mouth relatives told you?"

"Not much… Booger."