A/N: Hello, hello! This chapter is in response to the prompt- imagine your OC playing 'Careless Whisper' on a saxophone- and considering in my little world this family does have a sax player who loves being funny and playing jokes, I knew it fit him well.

Also? This chapter is rated M for a tiny, little smutty moment in the middle. Viewer discretion is advised.

Enjoy!

Finally alone. Finally, a moment to sit in silence and breathe. They'd hardly said anything to each other in the last three days, only seen each other in passing, and only been along together while they were sleeping or quickly passing each other amidst a transition from one thing to another.

Deadlines, phone calls, job responsibilities, and teenage attitudes consumed all their time. Castle had been on a short book tour around the East Coast, and Kate's responsibilities as captain had been picking up as their precinct was having its annual review and every single department was under scrutiny. She'd had to have more stressful conversations with her people than she'd liked, which always made her feel bad.

And the kids? Well, they were fourteen and full of opinions and emotions. Even Finn and Miyana, who always had a great relationship, were currently not speaking and Mia had temporarily moved into the guest room where Alexis and her family sometimes stayed. There had been lots of slamming doors and shouting, but finally, all five kids were in their rooms, and, in theory, sleeping.

"Ugh." Kate sighs, breaking their silence.

Castle breathes out a chuckle, laying a hand on his wife's thigh. He finishes the sentence he was on and closes his laptop, sets it on the coffee table, and turns to her. "What are the chances we can get away this weekend? Go to the Hamptons or your dad's cabin?"

"Slim to none," Kate says with a pout.

"Try. I miss you," He says, pulling her closer to his side.

"Me too," Kate says, snuggling closer. She looks up and steals a kiss and then another.

In the quiet of the house, they steal the moment lost in each other; kissing, and getting reacquainted with bodies they both knew so well. Hair is gripped between fingers and clothing gets roughly pushed aside and soon Kate finds herself wedged between the couch and her husband.

Unbeknownst to them, one of those grumpy teenagers had stopped on the catwalk above their heads. She'd been on her way down for a snack and upon hearing the telltale sounds of her parents loving on each other, she stopped and observed.

It amazed her how even after all these years together her parents still loved each other so much. How her dad cared for her mom and knew her every thought and how to make her happy. How her mom knew her dad's sense of humor and how to make him swoon or turn his face bright red.

But in the next thought, the teen smirked mischievously to herself. She had an idea of how to apologize to her parents, and also make them laugh.

She hoped it would work.

Silently, she backtracked up the hall and into her brothers' room.

"Wow, knock much?" Austin scoffs at her.

"Be quiet! Mom and Dad might hear you. Sorry," Finn says. "Anyway, I was going to get a snack and heard Mom and Dad downstairs–"

"Gross. I didn't need to know that," Austin groans, giving his sister and twin a disgusted look.

"No one asked what you thought," Finn scoffs, rolling her eyes at him.

"Whatever," Austin says, putting his headphones back in and turning his attention back to the textbook on the bed in front of him.

"Anyway, I was thinking. I might have a plan to mess with them.

"What?" Liam asks her, intrigued.

"Do you still have the music we used for summer band last year?"

"Yeah. Why?" she can see the questions on his lips.

"Wanna play a prank on Mom and Dad?" She shares her sly smile with her brother.

"Yes!" He cheers, perking up. Finn's not one to play jokes on people, so this was a once-in-a-lifetime treat for him.

"Okay, so this is what we're gonna do." She spends the next few minutes filling Liam in on the plan and not long after, she's positioned right back on the catwalk, hidden from those below but able to see everything. "When it's time, I'm gonna give you four counts, and then you go, okay?" Finn stage whispers, conducting the four counts to her brother who is standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

Liam, saxophone hung around his neck, sheet music open on the floor in front of him, nods confirming he'd heard her

[][]

He can hear music.

Why can he hear music?

He stops kissing his wife just long enough to grope around for the remote to turn off the music he thought was coming out of the speakers. But even after pushing multiple buttons, it doesn't stop.

He grunts in annoyance but pushes it to the back of his mind and goes back to his waiting wife, his mouth and hands traveling lower on her body; loving the way she arches into him.

.

.

.

He's playing with the button on her jeans when he hears it again, louder this time.

"What is that?" he asks, breaking the moment yet again.

"It's just the kids. Ignore it. Come here," Kate purrs, guiding his mouth back to her with the soft touch of her hand.

.

.

.

She's nearly there, he can feel it, hear it, and see it. The way she writhes under his careful ministrations between her legs; her moans and cries as she begs for him not to stop. The way her body, hot and wet and oh so beautiful, tightens around him.

Then the music starts again; the loudest it's been.

"What the fuck," he grunts, pausing.

"No. no, don't stop," Kate moans; she's trying to keep a clear head and not succumb to the blur of pleasure.

"Is someone playing music?" He looks all around the room, towards his dark office and the front living room. But he knows they're the only one's down there.

The kids are all in their rooms pouting at them.

At least he thought.

He listens again and instantly knows the music is coming from right above their heads.

"What is that?" Kate finally asks, cognizant enough now to hear what Castle's been hearing.

"That's what I've been asking." It's a saxophone, that much he knows for certain. But the only person in their house who play that instrument usually leaves it at school during the week.

And the slow melody suddenly becomes recognizable to them. Every jump from low note to high, the legato section as the phrase continues, they know it well. It's as synonymous with romance scenes as the William Tell overture is with cowboy movies.

"Oh my god!" they both groan at the same time.

They knew what their kids were doing.

"Oh my god!" Rick shouts. He hears giggling, whispering cries to run, scampering feet, and then the slamming of a bedroom door. "Go to bed!" He yells.

He feels Kate under him and he looks down to see her absolutely writhing in hysterics; tears are streaming down her face as she howls with laughter.

"Oh. My. God!" she gasps between peals of laughter.

He succumbs to the humor next, laughing along with his wife.

It takes them nearly half an hour to calm down - each attempt thwarted when one would look at the other and start laughing all over again - and somehow, they end up on the floor between the couch and coffee table. But finally, they manage to sit up and lean back against the couch as they catch their breath and wipe their eyes.

"Oh my god! That was great!" Kate says, giggles still coming out. "I really needed that."

"They're clever," Castle agrees.

It definitely eased the tension in the house. He hopes those two kids will pass the message along to the other three.

Kate leans into his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his bicep and drawing patterns with her finger. "Do you want to –," she asks, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. She looked sexy and cheeky at the same time.

He steals a kiss and then stands, pulling Kate along behind him. He pulls her close and kisses her hard, leaving her breathless and wanting more when he pulls back. "My office door locks," he husks and he can see the way she shivers at that.

"Hurry," she says to him.