See the Joy - Chapter 5
When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things — not the great occasions — give off the greatest glow of happiness. - Bob Hope
Sometimes she feels bad about taking time off on the fly, but she has faith in her sergeants and their abilities to manage the precinct when she's not around. After yesterday's sea of meetings (read: ass chewings) and then the marathon of interrogations and paperwork, she'd been fried when she got home; she needs the morning at least to get herself back in order.
Of course, that's easier said than done, given that she and Rick oversleep, Eva is fussy, and Reece, Jake, and Lily are virtually impossible to wake up. All three of the older kids stomp through their morning routine, fighting against Kate's attempts to brush their hair (Lily eventually surrenders when Kate offers a glittery barrette that only will work if her hair isn't an unruly mess) and refusing Rick's breakfast (until he breaks out the syrup and sprinkles and lets them go to town). They make it out of the house almost half an hour late and elect to drive instead of trying to walk everyone to school. The have to go into the preschool to drop the boys off, and check Lily in at the office of her elementary school, where their daughter barely gives them a second glance before running off to her classroom with the office aide on her heels.
Thankfully, the baby settles down soon after the chaos dissipates, returning to her easygoing self as they're on their way back to the loft.
"So," she starts, "what are your plans for the day?"
Castle checks his mirror and glances over his shoulder before turning into the garage. He pulls around to their space, parking easily before reaching for her hand across the center console.
"Oh, some writing. Tummy time, nap time–"
"Funny," she drawls. "I meant you, Rick."
"So did I." He grins. "I usually spend the time on the floor with her; I don't want her to get lonely, after all."
"That's cute," Kate says. She squeezes his hand. "I have some paperwork to do, but I was also thinking about working on Lily's room some. It's a disaster again and she's been begging for that extra tree – which we have no room for downstairs – so I figured we could put it in her room, but…"
"Let me know when you want to start. I think Eva and I can tear ourselves away from Sesame Street, isn't that right, E?"
Glancing into the backseat, Kate finds Eva grinning up into the mirror over her car seat. Her little legs kick.
"Well, I think that's an agreement."
Thankfully, her time spent reviewing a report is short-lived, giving her the opportunity to sit for a while with Eva and play while Castle works on his book. The baby squeaks and squawks, resting with her back against Kate's chest. Her little hands pat Kate's legs.
"So, we need to go out for another tree?" Castle asks sometime later, sounding like he's only partially listening even though he's the one who brought it up.
"I think there's another small tree downstairs," she says, tickling Eva's foot. "Which I guess is the one Lily was going to give to Eva. We can just take one that's already up here to Lil's room and then grab the baby one for the baby later on. Lily really likes the one by the window anyway."
"Before the Sprout gets home."
"Obviously." She blows a raspberry on Eva's neck, eliciting another squeal from her youngest daughter. "I bought her something else the other day – some of those little string lights like Alexis used to have in her room before she moved out."
Rick smiles, looking up from the computer. "She'll like those. Alexis loved them."
"I remember. I had strings of multicolor Christmas lights in my room when I was a teenager. My dad thought they were tacky, but Mom let me keep them up all year long."
She smiles at the memory, pressing a kiss to Eva's hair. "I loved those things."
"Lily will too," he assures, closing his computer lid. "And I think to make sure we get them up before we have to pick up Lily from school, we should start working on her room right now."
Kate nods, wrapping an arm around the baby and holding out her other hand for him to help her up off the floor. "Lead the way, babe."
They make quick work of tidying their oldest daughter's room, picking up the trash and storing the toys Lily left in the middle of the floor after she definitely didn't get out of bed to play a little more last night. Clothes get folded and put away, and while Rick hangs the lights, she and Eva bring up the little Christmas tree Lily had claimed as her own years ago and decorate it just enough. Lily can add the rest of the ornaments if she wants to; it's simple now, but Kate has no doubt that Lil will make sure it's fabulous in a few hours.
The baby looks around the room with awe, her eyes wide and reflecting the lights after Castle plugs the strings in. The little fairy lights are a soft, warm white, and they illuminate the room with a delicate glow. It's the perfect balance of gold to go with the purple lights on Lily's tree.
"What do you think, Eva?" Kate murmurs, kissing her little cheek and swaying. "Will your sister like it?"
"She'll love it, Kate."
Castle steps behind her, resting his cheek against her temple. His arm slips around her waist, nudging just underneath Eva's behind to support some of the baby's weight too. Together they look around.
"It's pretty great," she agrees, grinning at their handiwork. "Good job."
As predicted, Lily absolutely loses her mind when she sees it. They have to coax the girl down from her cozy little cave for dinner, and it's only with the promise of playing a game for a little while that they manage to keep her downstairs afterward, too.
Thank you for reading. Got this chapter in under the wire today. Prompt: Fairy Lights