AN: This chapter is based on Season 6 Episode 10 "The Good, The Bad, & The Baby". Thank's to everyone for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. Here's the next chapter everybody, enjoy. Don't forget to Review. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or it's characters.
Little Friend
It was that time of the year again, a time to give thanks for everything we're grateful for and to stuff ourselves with scrumptious food. Yes, it's Thanksgiving and it's just around the corner. It was already getting cold outside with small flurries coming down, so I'm thinking this holiday season is going to be a cold one.
I was sitting at the kitchen isle, playing a video game on my tablet, waiting for Castle and Aunt Kate to come back from shopping. Things have been going great around here and I finally felt like things were practically normal. Alexis actually moved out with Pi a few weeks ago, so it was a little quieter than normal and I missed her a bit, but it's all good.
The door opened and in came Castle and my Aunt Kate with bags of groceries.
"Castle, I thought this was gonna be a small gathering. I mean… There's enough food in here for, like, 50 people," Aunt Kate said as she closed the door.
Castle came over, placing his bags on the counter and said, "Never underestimate the importance of leftovers second-day stuffing, turkey soup, microwave yams, and a visit to the food bank."
Aunt Kate put her bags down and said, "Okay."
"How was shopping?" I asked.
"Don't ask," my aunt huffed out.
I chuckled and she patted my head.
"And so that you know, Alexis always makes dessert. Pi said he would make a cranberry concoction of some kind. Even mother cooks something. It's not always edible," Castle said.
"I heard that!" Mrs. Rodgers said from upstairs.
"Well, you know what? I make a killer stuffing. And my dad makes a great traditional corn casserole," Aunt Kate said.
I mouthed the words, "It's not that good."
She glared at me and said, "You be quiet."
Castle chuckled and said, "Nice. And I know the perfect costume for you two, so you don't have to worry."
"A costume?" Aunt Kate and I asked together.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be, uh, settler John Rolfe, so you will, obviously, be Pocahontas his bride. Mini Beckett will be a cute little Indian girl. Alexis goes back and forth. Sometimes she's puritan, sometimes she's Native American. Just depends on where she is in her life. Your dad can be whichever. Nothing elaborate."
"Uh, so you guys dress up for Thanksgiving?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Doesn't everybody?" Castle asked.
"No, I think that's pretty special to you. Um… So is there anything else I should know about you before we get married?"
"So, many, many thing."
Aunt Kate's phone started to buzz and beep, so she pulled it out of her jacket pocket. She read the text message and said, "There's been a murder in a church downtown."
She started heading to the door and I decided to tag along. I was tired of sitting at home, I wanted something interesting to do.
"Oh. Too bad it wasn't in a cathedral. That would be so T.S. Eliot. Huh? Murder In The Cathedral? Thomas Becket? Beckett and Becket?" Castle said.
"Come on," Aunt Kate said.
"Nothing? Anyone?" Castle whispered.
"Let's go. Thank you," Aunt Kate whispered.
"I get it, Castle," I said as we walked out the door.
"Thank you," he said.
We arrived at the church and there was a dead guy, laying right in the middle of the aisle.
"You know, when we do this, let's not do the dead body in the middle of the aisle," Castle said.
"Okay. Good call," Aunt Kate said.
"That would be cool though," I said.
All I received were two equal glares that made me shrug with awkwardness.
"So what happened?" she asked Ryan and Esposito.
"Well, our victim entered the church during 6:30 mass with multiple gunshot wounds, made his way towards the altar before collapsing," Ryan said.
"But not before handing the priest a little something-something," Esposito said while hitching a thumb over towards Lanie.
"Mmm," Ryan mumbled.
Lanie turned around and in her arms was an adorable little baby. The baby had on a green hat and was wrapped in some blankets.
Castle gasped, walking over towards them, saying, "A baby!?"
"A boy. I'm guessing he's about 3 months. And he's hungry, 'cause he keeps going after the girls," Lanie said.
Castle took the baby from Lanie and said, "Well, who can blame him? Hi, buddy. What's your name, little man?"
I walked over and looked at the cute little baby boy. I've never really seen a little baby before and he was a cutie.
"That is a very good question," Lanie said.
"So, is this the baby's father?" Aunt Kate asked as she looked at the body.
"We don't really know," Ryan said.
"But what we do know is his name is Cameron Ducane, 30. Lived in the Bronx. There's no baby pictures in his wallet. He's got a commercial driver's license, probably drives for a living. He's got a car wash coupon, and like Ryan, spent his hard-earned money on a lottery ticket," Esposito said.
"That is the Five-State Magicball jackpot. At $247 million, you're crazy not buying a ticket," Ryan said.
"Yeah, 1 or 2. But not 50."
"I'm just increasing my odds of winning."
"Increasing your odds of being broke."
"Listen, do you have any idea what it costs raising a child in New York City?"
"I don't know how much it costs."
"Guys," Castle said.
"That's right. Of course you don't," Ryan said to Esposito.
"Guys!" Castle said once again, trying to get their attention.
"How about we don't fight in front of the baby?" Castle whispered.
Aunt Kate rolled her eyes at Castle with a small smile on her face and said, "Okay, contact Ducane's next of kin. Let's see if this little guy is indeed his."
"And then what happens to him in the meantime?" Castle asked.
"Well, we'll get a hold of Child Services, and they'll place him until we're able to get him back to his family," she said.
The baby started fussing and Castle said, "I think Lanie's right. I think he is hungry. Um, how about you finish up here, I'll grab a uniform, and we'll just go pick up some stuff for him?"
"You really want to do that?"
"Of course. Highly qualified. I have an RHD in childcare."
"And an RHD is…"
"Ruggedly Handsome Dad."
"Ah," Ryan whispered.
"Okay. Fine. Go," Aunt Kate said.
"I'll go with," I said.
"Great, the more the merrier. Hey, buddy let's go." Castle said as we walked off.
Castle grabbed one of the uniforms and the uniformed officer looked at Kate questionably.
"Don't look at her. Come on. We'll get ice cream," Castle said to him.
We left the church and headed out to get the little baby boy some food and anything else a baby needs.
Castle and I did a whole bunch of shopping for the baby, and I'm pretty sure that Castle went a little overboard on the stuff that the baby needed. We went to the precinct and the uniformed officer was carrying all of the items we bought for the kid.
"Hey. So, that's a couple of things?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Yeah, I just grabbed the essentials. You know, uh, diapers, a carrier, wipes, blankies, bottles, formula. Don't want little Cosmo going hungry," Castle said as he carried the baby.
"Cosmo, huh?" she said.
"Yeah. We can't just keep calling him "the baby.""
"Uh, why "Cosmo"?" Ryan asked.
"It's what I was gonna call Alexis if she was a boy," Castle said.
"Ah," Ryan mumbled.
"A turkey outfit? Really?" Aunt Kate asked.
"It's a turkey onesie. It's Thanksgiving. It was expensive, but it's adorable. And like I said, my family dresses up for Thanksgiving," Castle said.
"It's so cute," I said.
"Mmm-hmm," Castle agreed.
"Oh. I'm suddenly getting a clear and frightening visual as to what my future will look like," Aunt Kate said.
"That would be so cool to have a little cousin," I said.
Another glare earned from my aunt Kate and I shrunk back from her slowly. I was earning myself a lot of glares today, but they are well worth it.
"Hey, Castle, um, mind if I hold him? It'd be good experience for me," Ryan said.
"Oh, yeah, absolutely. Here. Good," Castle said as he handed over little Cosmo to Ryan.
"All right," Ryan said.
"Ready?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Uh…" Ryan groaned as he held the baby.
Cosmo started crying in his arms and Castle said, "Hold his head there."
"I know."
The baby was crying more and Castle said, "Okay, hold him under his…"
"I know. He's crying. What am I doing wrong?"
"Just try to remain calm. They can sense fear."
"This is not at all like the practice doll. I thought I was ready. Clearly, I am not," Ryan said as he handed the baby over.
"All right," Castle mumbled as he took ahold of Cosmo.
"Oh, God. I'm not ready," Ryan said as he walked away.
"Oh, he really likes you," Aunt Kate said.
"Oh, yeah. I don't know if you know this about me. Babies love me. I'm the baby whisperer," Castle said, then looked at Aunt Kate and asked, "Wanna hold him?"
"Uh, no. I'd rather figure out where he came from."
"Well, when a…"
"Stop. Stop. I know where babies come from, Castle. Just not this one."
"I can't believe you don't want to hold the baby! Everyone wants to hold the baby!"
"I don't want to hold that baby," Esposito said.
"Can I hold the baby?" I asked.
"Sure," Castle said.
He handed Cosmo over to me gently and made sure I held him correctly in my arms. The baby was a little heavier than I expected, but he was so cute. The little baby smiled up at me and I smiled down at him.
"Would you look at that? I think he's made a friend," Castle said.
"Looks like he likes you too," Aunt Kate said.
"This is awesome," I said.
"Guess I'm not the only baby whisperer around here," he said.
"That is pretty cute. So, I got a hit in the, uh, prison tattoo database. Check it out," Esposito said.
"Mm-hmm. Just like Roman described it," Aunt Kate said as she looked over the paper Esposito showed her.
"Yep. It belongs to one Jimmy Wolfinsky, a.k.a. Jimmy the Wolf. Suspected in a handful of bank and jewelry jobs. He was arrested seven years ago and convicted when a bank robbery went south. He just got paroled two weeks ago."
"Any connection to our victim?"
"Well, the bank that he robbed, Jimmy would have gotten away, but when he came outside the building, his getaway car was gone. Jimmy's partner bolted when the alarm sounded. Cops never caught him, and Jimmy never ratted, but witnesses were able to provide a sketch of the getaway driver. Look familiar?"
"That's Cameron Ducane, our victim," Castle said.
"Our mild-mannered limo driver had a criminal past," Esposito said.
"Looks like that past just caught up with him," Aunt Kate said.
I handed Cosmo back over to Castle and he placed him in the playpen he set up. Aunt Kate started putting things up on the investigation board while Esposito left the room. Ryan came in and sat on his desk, looking at the baby.
"So, it's a tale of betrayal and revenge. Cameron abandons his partner, Jimmy, when the heat comes down, leaving him to take the fall. Ridden with remorse, Cameron tries to put it all behind him, start his life anew. But, surprise, surprise, Jimmy made parole, after spending seven long years thinking of ways to make his old partner pay," Castle said.
"No wonder Cameron was adding locks," Ryan said.
"He didn't want to tell his wife about it because he didn't want her to know about his criminal past."
"That's a great theory, Castle. Except where did the baby come from?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Ah. Maybe… Nope, I got nothing."
"Hmm," Ryan hummed.
Esposito came in and said, "I just talked Jimmy the Wolf's parole officer. Jimmy's got an apartment in Queens."
"Okay, head up there, see if you can track him down. Whatever happened last night, he was a part of it," Aunt Kate said.
Esposito and Ryan left to go find Jimmy, while we stayed here with Cosmo.
Castle looked into the playpen and said, "Don't you worry, little Cosmo. These guys are the best. If anyone can find your folks, it's them."
"Except we have double-checked with hospitals, the FBI and the NCMEC, and nothing. If someone was missing their baby, wouldn't they have come forward?"
"Maybe they don't know he's gone."
"Or maybe they're not alive. I mean, we don't know what happened that night."
"Well, whatever happened, happened near that church," Lanie said as she came in.
"Lanie, what are you doing here?" Aunt Kate asked.
"I had some information. I thought I'd come by and check on my little patient. Hi, you little doodle bug. How you doin'?" she said as she picked Cosmo up.
"What makes you think Cameron was shot near the church?"
"Well, based on the nature and the severity of the wounds, your victim maybe had only five or ten minutes before he bled out."
"He couldn't have driven that far," Castle said.
"Twenty blocks, at most. I also found something unusual under his fingernails. Wax residue, charred nitrocellulose, and camphor," Lanie said in a baby voice.
"Nitrocellulose?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Yes. It's used to make celluloid. You can find it in old film stock, certain kinds of plastic, but it's highly flammable. Well, isn't it?"
"Charred celluloid? Where would that come from?" Castle asked.
"Beats me. That's your job. Right now, my job is to play with the little baby. Yes, it is! ," Lanie said.
Castle and I were hanging in the observation room with little Cosmo, looking at Jimmy in the investigation room.
"Hmm, see that man? That is a bad man. He's gonna confess. And we're gonna know just who you are," Castle said.
Ryan came in and asked, "Castle, mind if I try again?"
"Of course. Here you go," he said as he handed over baby Cosmo.
Cosmo started crying in Ryan's arms again and he said, "On second thought, I'll just wait outside."
Ryan handed over the baby and Castle said, "No problem."
"He's cute," Ryan said and left the room.
Castle whispered to the baby and said, "You did that on purpose, didn't you? High-five. Good job."
"Did you just high-five a baby?" I asked.
"Hey, he did pretty well," Castle said.
"He did do well," I said as I stroked the baby's soft little hand.
My aunt and Esposito went into the investigation room and sat across from Jimmy.
"Mr. Wolfinsky, do you recognize this man?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Never seen him before in my life," Jimmy said.
"Really? I think he looks a lot like your old partner the one who left you to get busted at that bank job seven years ago."
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"That's a grown-up lying. Get used to that," Castle whispered to Cosmo.
"Must have ate at ya, huh? All those nights in the joint. Knowing you were in there rotting away, while he was out there free, because he ditched you at the bank," Esposito said.
"Like I told the DA, I didn't have a partner. And if I did, I ain't no rat," Jimmy said.
"What about a murderer?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Cam's dead?" Jimmy asked.
"So you do know him," Esposito said.
"Yeah, okay, but I had nothing to do with this."
"The day you made parole, he installs a security system, gets all new locks. Now, why would he do that?" My aunt asked.
"Because I don't know, when I was convicted, I may have told some folks that, uh, Cam would pay. But that was years ago. Look, the truth is, I was the one who messed up that day. I got hung up inside, Cam waited as long as he could, longer than he should've. I told him that. He knew we were square."
"Witnesses at Cam's work say otherwise. Said you two were fighting. That afterwards Cam was scared to come back to the garage at night," Esposito said.
"What? Nah, it's just, I'm trying to get my life together like he did. I thought maybe he could put in a word with his boss, help me get a job driving."
"Well, that's funny. 'Cause witnesses say that the conversation was heated."
"Because he wouldn't help me. He told me he couldn't be around me anymore, that that part of his life was over. After all I'd done for him, keeping my mouth shut all those years, he couldn't even put in a good word? That's the last I saw of him."
"Mr. Wolfinksy, where were you last night?" Aunt Kate asked.
"I was with my girlfriend out in Jersey. I've been with her all week."
"What about this morning, between 6:00 and 7:00?" Esposito asked.
"We were having breakfast at a diner. People saw us. Look, I swear, this wasn't me."
"Have you ever seen this baby before?" my aunt asked as she showed him a picture of Cosmo.
"No. What's a baby gotta do with this?"
We were sitting at Aunt Kate's desk and baby Cosmo was in the lounge, in his new car seat. Ryan and Esposito came in and Ryan said, "Well, he's telling the truth. According to his girlfriend and a roommate, he spent the last few days at their apartment in Jersey."
"And a waitress at that diner places him there during the shooting window," Esposito said.
"Okay, well, if Jimmy was telling the truth, then Cam didn't have any reason to be afraid of him," Aunt Kate said.
"Then why was he avoiding the limo garage at his 3:00 a.m. lunch break?" Castle questioned.
"Maybe he wasn't avoiding it. Maybe something else was going on. Most limo companies use GPS services to track their vehicles. Maybe they can tell us where Cam was going all those nights."
"On it," Ryan and Esposito said.
"Uh, excuse me, Detective Beckett?" a lady asked as she came over.
"Yeah," my aunt said.
"Hi. Sandra Whitman, Child Services. Sorry it took me so long to get here. This time of year is always bad."
"Oh, no, uh, not a problem. He's right in the lounge."
"Oh, great, thanks."
"Um, uh… What's gonna happen to him?" Castle asked.
"County facilities don't currently have any beds, so we're working to find a foster family to take him. I'll let you know as soon as we do," Sandra said.
"Thank you." Castle said to her and turned to Aunt Kate, "I don't know if we should just be handing him over to strangers."
"Castle, we were strangers until this morning," Aunt Kate said.
"How can you be logical in the face of that face?" Castle said.
"Well, because I have to be. I mean, we don't know what's gonna happen to Cosmo. We can't get attached."
"Is that why you won't hold him?"
"Yes. Okay, Fine. I've never really been a baby person. I mean, some people see babies and they want to hold them, they want to nibble their toes, and I've never been one of those people, so…"
Wow, never thought Aunt Kate wouldn't be a baby person, but I guess that explains why she didn't see me a lot when I was little.
"Oh. I did not know that about you. I suppose you hate rainbows, too," Castle said.
"I don't hate babies, Castle. I just don't see the appeal. But I'm sure I'll feel differently when we have one of our own," she said.
"Will you? Will you!?"
"Cool, little Caskett babies," I smiled.
Castle smiled and said, "Very cool."
"So, do you think little Cosmo will be okay?"
"I hope so. I'd just hate to see him go. I think he's grown on me."
"Yeah, me too. I kinda feel bad for him."
"Yeah. I just hope he goes to a nice family."
"Me too."
I was walking through the precinct with Castle, Aunt Kate, and Ryan, while Ryan was talking about the case, "We scrubbed traffic cam footage from the Colfax Building between the time Cameron left his house that night to when he arrived at the church."
We reached Esposito's desk, where he was looking at the traffic cam footage and he said, "We found this behind the Colfax Building."
"That's his car," Aunt Kate said.
"Two guys are with him."
"3:57 am. Where are they going with that briefcase?" Castle pondered.
"Don't know, but then about 15 minutes later," Ryan said.
"Here they come. Same briefcase. It's a heist. And Cam is the wheelman."
"What's in the building?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Uh, high-end offices, a jewelry store, real estate, and law offices, a TV station and a couple of banks," Esposito said.
"I checked the blotter. There were no reports of any break-ins from anyone at that address," Ryan said.
"Well, they might not know they have been hit. Is there any evidence of the baby in the footage?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Nope. Only three men and a mustang."
"So where did Cosmo come from?" Castle asked.
"Must be from wherever Cameron was between 4:12 a.m. and when he was shot at 6:30. Canvass the area in Alphabet City where Cameron's practice route ended. See if you can figure out where those guys were holed up. Castle and I will head down to the Colfax Building. Someone down there must know what these guys took," Aunt Kate said.
I stayed behind at the precinct and spent time with baby Cosmo while the lady from Child Services tried to find a home for him.
"So, little Cosmo do you really want to go with some random strange people? No… Yeah, I understand. I also understand not having any family, but at least I had my Aunt Kate. That was lucky or I'd be in the same boat you're in," I said to him
He babbled happily and I said, "You're so cute. I wish I had a baby brother. I wonder if Aunt Kate will ever have a baby with Castle. That would be so cool. I wish you didn't have to go. I guess I'm getting a little attached."
He giggled some more and I spent the rest of my time with him, getting the most fun out of having a little friend before he had to go for good.
Aunt Kate and Castle came back a little while later and the three of us were sitting at her desk.
"You okay?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Yeah. I just keep wondering about whose blood that was on the wall of the hideout. And every time I think about it, I don't like how the story ends," Castle said.
"Well, I've contacted every business in the Colfax Building. No thefts and no missing babies."
Esposito came over and said, "Hey. We took another look at Jimmy Wolfinsky. If he is involved, we can't find a connection."
Ryan came over too and said, "I spoke to Cameron's wife again. There's no indication of any new friends in his life, but they were having money issues. They were on the verge of losing their house. So odds are, whatever he was doing, it was for the money."
"But there was nothing unusual in his phone records and no activity that night."
"Well, CSU's just getting started, and we're not gonna learn anything more until tomorrow, so…" Aunt Kate said.
"All right. Good night, guys," Ryan said.
"Good night" Esposito said.
They left and Aunt Kate said, "We should probably get going, too."
"You know, even though he had been shot, Cameron did everything he could to keep that baby safe. That doesn't seem like the actions of a bad guy," Castle said.
"Yeah, well, he's probably not a bad guy. He just made a bad choice and got in over his head. Now, come on, let's go home."
We were walking towards the elevator and heard a baby crying.
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay, shh. Hush, hush, hush," the lady from earlier said.
"Oh, no. What's wrong, Cosmo?" Castle asked as he went into the room.
"You're still here?" Aunt Kate asked.
"Yeah, I've been trying to locate a foster family, but because it's Thanksgiving week, no one's available. I'm gonna have to bring him to the County Crisis Center until I can find someone who can take him," she said.
"I thought you said there weren't any beds," Castle said.
"When it's this crowded, they have to double up."
"There's no other options?"
"That's the only place that can take an infant."
"Well, what if we take him?"
"Wait. What?" Aunt Kate asked with shock written on her face.
"That would be so cool," I whispered.
"Well, we've already bonded. I got all the stuff," Castle said.
"No, no! Castle, I told you…" Aunt Kate said.
"I know, I know, you haven't been around babies that much. Not a big deal. I got this. I'm the Baby Whisperer."
"Look, she's not gonna just give you a baby. I'm sure that there are background checks and forms that we have to fill out, right?"
"Not if the baby officially remains in the custody of the NYPD. And you guys have done an amazing job so far," the lady said.
"What do you say, Beckett? Wanna have a baby? Come on, It'll be fun!" Castle said with excitement.
The baby started crying and Castle said, "Sorry."
We got to bring little Cosmo home and it was awesome. It was like having a little baby brother, but a little baby brother who wouldn't stop crying. Castle was bouncing him in his arms, but it wasn't doing anything.
"This is so not fun," Castle said.
"Castle, if this is a part of your plan to turn me into a baby person, it's not working," Aunt Kate said as she flipped through a baby book.
"It isn't. Well, it was, at first, but he was so good at the precinct."
"I thought you were the Baby Whisperer."
"I am. There's something wrong with this baby."
"Ooh, okay, so it says here that "gently bouncing your baby should calm him or her down.""
He continued bouncing him and mumbled, "Okay, okay. Okay, okay."
The baby continued crying and Aunt Kate said, "I have an idea."
She left the room and Castle said, "Shh, shh. Okay… You're making me look bad, kid."
"He doesn't need to help you do that," I said while sitting on the couch.
"You shush. Anything you want, okay, buddy? You just tell me what it is, I will give it to you. Okay, shh."
"Okay, here" Aunt Kate said as she came back with a red medicine ball in her hands, "Sit. Bounce."
"Okay, okay," Castle said.
Castle started bouncing and Cosmo started calming down a bit.
"Ooh, it's working!" Aunt Kate whispered.
"Yeah. You're a genius," Castle said.
Aunt Kate clapped her hands together and all of a sudden the baby spit up on Castle's black t-shirt.
"Eww…" I said.
Aunt Kate stifled her laughter and Castle said, "Do not laugh."
"I'm not laughing," she whispered with a small smile.
"You do not laugh. Get me the towel," he said.
"Okay here."
"Here, take him."
"Huh?"
"Take him."
"Okay.
He handed Cosmo over to her and she took him carefully.
"Okay, thank you," he said.
"Here we go," she said.
"Here we go," Castle said as he tried to clean his shirt.
"Hey! Here we go!" she said making a funny face at the baby while holding him oddly.
She started to place him on the rug and Castle said, "Not on the rug!"
"Okay," she said.
She started to go place him on the chair and Castle said, "Not on that chair."
"Okay."
"Put him on the blanket. I hate that blanket."
"We're going to the nasty blanket," she said, laying him down on the blanket beside me and said, "Yeah. Okay, good."
"Hold him or he'll roll off," Castle said.
She turned back around quickly and said, "Yes, yes."
Cosmo started crying again and she said, "Castle, I think he needs a change of clothes."
"Uh, get him undressed. I'll get a onesie."
"Okay."
"Changing, changing," she said in a singsong voice and said to Castle, "And a new diaper."
"Uh, all right, switch."
"Yeah."
"Here. Okay," he said a she handed her the onesie, "Wipes. Lotion. Diaper. Onesie. And… Victory. You've done it. All right, you hold him."
"Okay, got him."
"Here we go. And I'll take care of this. Okay."
Castle went to throw away the dirty diaper and clothes while Aunt Kate held little Cosmo lovingly.
"Uncle Rick's pretty funny, huh? I think you're pretty funny, too," she said.
"Ugh," Castle mumbled as he chucked the dirty diaper and onesie.
Aunt Kate gave Castle a look and Castle asked, "What?"
"Nothing," she said.
"All right. Now all we have to do is get him to sleep."
I watched the two of them trying to get baby Cosmo to sleep all night. It wasn't fun when he woke up very three hours or so. We all wound up falling asleep in the living room, Castle was on the floor, leaning against the couch, Aunt Kate was curled up by his head on couch, and I slept on the other end of the couch.
I woke up when Mrs. Rodgers came in and Cosmo was fussing a little bit. She made Cosmo a bottle of formula and she picked him up. I moved over, so she could sit with him and feed him.
"Well, you are a hungry boy. Yes, you are. Good for you!" she said.
Castle and Aunt Kate started to stir and Mrs. Rodgers said, "Oh, well, look who's up."
Alexis walked into the apartment and said, "How long have I been gone?"
We all filled Alexis in on what happened and she thought it was pretty cool. Aunt Kate and Castle got ready to head into the precinct while I stayed behind at the house to hang out with the baby and to help Alexis and Mrs. Rodgers.
I loved hanging out with the baby. While Alexis was helping Mrs. Rodgers make some lunch I stayed with Cosmo and played with him. I decided to sing to him and settled on a tune that I couldn't get out of my head, "Timmy is an average kid that no one understands. Mom and Dad and Vicky always giving him commands. Bed Twerp! Doom and gloom up in his room. Is broken instantly. By his magic little fish who grant his every wish. 'Cause in reality... They are his oddparents. Fairly Oddparents. Wands and wings. Floaty crowny things. Oddparents. Fairly Oddparents. Really mod, pea pod, buff bod, hot rod. Obtuse, rubber goose, green moose, guava juice, giant snake, birthday cake, large fries, chocolate shake… Oddparents. Fairly Oddparents. It flips your lid when you're the kid with Fairly Oddparents. Yeah right!"
He smiled softly and Alexis said, "Aww… He really likes you."
"Yeah, it's kinda cool."
"I think you'd make a great big sister."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
We continued playing with little Cosmo and hung out together. I liked these moments because it made me feel like I was a part of a big extended family.
A few hours later we got a call from the precinct to bring Cosmo in. turns out they found his mother and he was going to be heading back home. I was kind of disappointed that he was leaving, but I knew he was going back to where he belonged. I decided to tag along because I wanted to say goodbye to the little friend that was growing on me.
We arrived at the precinct and Alexis carried him in.
"Look whose here!" she said.
"Benny! Oh, my God!" his mother said as she ran to him.
Alexis handed him over to the mother and the father and she said, "My grandmother got him some new clothes."
"Hey, buddy," his dad said.
They looked at their son, Benny, with tears in their eyes. Even though I'm going to miss the little guy, it was so worth it to witness the moment of him being reunited with his parents.
I went to stand over by Aunt Kate and Castle at her desk, so I could let Benny's parents coo over him.
"Well, the good news is, I mean, besides saving that family, they are rolling over the lottery. So I got another shot at that $247 million. All I gotta do is tape my tickets back together," Ryan said.
"Oh, dude. They, uh… They already took out the trash." Esposito said.
Ryan bolted out of the precinct to go retrieve his tickets and Esposito pulled out the ripped up tickets from his pocket. He laughed and said, "I'm just gonna let him swim around the dumpster for like an hour, and then I'm gonna pull him out."
We laughed at him and he said, "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Yeah, you, too," Aunt Kate said to Esposito and then turned to us, "You know, I think I'm actually gonna miss little Benny."
"Well, who knows? Maybe in a few Thanksgivings from now, we'll have a couple Bennys of our own running around," Castle said.
"Hey, if you guys have kids in a few years, and I have kids in a few years, they can grow up together," Alexis said.
"And it's ruined. And the Turkey will be, too, if I don't get it out of the freezer. Come on, ladies. Chop, chop."
We were back at home and Castle was making our thanksgiving feast. It smelled delightful in the place and I couldn't wait to pig out on all of the Thanksgiving goodies. Aunt Kate dragged me into her and Castle's room and gave me an outfit.
"What's this for?" I asked, looking at the costume with bewilderment.
"It's a costume," she said.
"Well, I know that, but why?"
"Castle said that they dress up on Thanksgiving."
"Wasn't he joking?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure, but I'm pretty sure he is. So, I'm going to get him at his own game."
She pulled out her own outfit and said, "I got a pilgrim outfit for Castle to wear."
"Oh, that's cool. Yet this kinda sucks…"
"Blame Castle."
"I already do."
"Now, get dressed before dinner starts."
"All right," I said with a sigh.
I went into their bathroom and got dressed in the cute little Indian costume Aunt Kate got me. It was a cute little tan dress with a colorful design on it. I also put on the cute little tan boots my aunt gave me. It wasn't too bad looking, but I'd still like to eat in my own clothes instead of some weird costume.
I came out and Aunt Kate was dressed in her own Pocahontas costume. She smiled at me and said, "You look so adorable."
I blushed and said, "Thanks. You look pretty."
"Thanks. Let me do your hair."
She quickly put my hair into two short braided pigtails and helped me put my head piece on which had one tiny, colorful feather in the middle of it. She put her hair into braided pigtails too and put on her own head piece which only had a simple design around it.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess," I said.
She chuckled a bit and then composed herself. She took my hand and we went out to the kitchen.
"Katherine, Emily, what on earth are you wearing?" Mrs. Rodgers asked us.
"Our outfits. Your family tradition?" Aunt Kate said, playing dumb.
"Yeah, uh… You do know I was kidding about that, right?" Castle said awkwardly.
Aunt Kate smiled slightly and said, "You know, I actually wasn't sure about that. So I figured, if this isn't a Castle family tradition, then maybe it should be."
She pulled out a pilgrim outfit and said, "Better put this on, pilgrim."
Aunt Kate pushed the outfit into Castle's chest and Alexis and Mrs. Rodgers chuckled at the situation. She high-fived Mrs. Rodgers as she passed by her and headed towards the kitchen. Castle got dressed in the outfit reluctantly and wasn't too happy at the predicament he was in, but he only brought it upon himself.
Eventually Pi and my grandpa showed up for the feast and we dug into everyone's special food. I have to say, this was a very interesting Thanksgiving dinner, but I really hope wearing these outfits don't become a tradition because this thing itches.