See the Joy - Chapter 14
"Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance—each beautiful, unique, and gone too soon." —Deborah Whipp
"Daddy, where are we going?"
Castle fights the urge to laugh. It's not the first time he's heard the question since Lily climbed into the SUV to find her brothers and sister in their respective car seats and a pile of stuff packed in the back. It's also not the first time he's had to glance in the rearview mirror to find her eyes in the third seat and remind her that sometimes not knowing is part of the fun. "You'll see, Sprout."
Lily sighs, glancing out the window and narrowing her eyes as if she's trying to ascertain where they're going using landmarks alone.
Beside him, Kate hides a snicker beneath a cough. Her hand lands on his forearm, fingers slipping over his wrist.
"We'll tell you soon, Lily," she says, putting their girl out of her inquisitive misery. Partly, anyway.
There's another huff from the backseat but Lily doesn't respond. She must see something she recognizes, though, because she sits up a little straighter, looking toward the front again eagerly.
"Are we going to Grampa's cabin?"
He tries not to gawk at her guess and give it all away, but Kate's laughter is enough to tell Lily what she needs to know.
"We are. Good job figuring it out," Kate praises.
Rick watches in the mirror as Lily beams, leaning forward in her seat to see if her brothers appreciate how clever she is. Unfortunately, Reece and Jake are enthralled with the movie he'd started before picking Kate up from the precinct and don't seem to notice that their sister has solved the mystery.
"Is Grampa going to be there, too?" Lily asks. "Did it snow? Are we going to get to play in the snow? Mommy, is Eva gonna get to see snow?"
He can't help his laughter, because each time Kate opens her mouth to reply, Lily asks another question.
"Grampa isn't going to be there. He had a big meeting today that he couldn't miss. He'll come up after he has Christmas at our house and stay until New Year's."
Rick glances over at his wife, trying to gauge her feelings on that; she's happy, of course, that Jim will be spending Christmas with them, but he knows she doesn't love that her father will be alone at the cabin for the rest of the kids' break. Especially on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, when he could be at their place.
Kate smiles, squeezing his forearm gently. "You get to introduce Eva to snow, though. Grampa said Mr. Stanley sent him a picture and it's very pretty."
Lily grins. "She's going to love it."
Rick licks his lips. Eva probably won't love the snow – he has a feeling it'll be too cold and too damp for her, not to mention the discomfort of the snowsuit he'd packed for her to wear – but it is sweet of Lily to want to show her baby sister the staple of winter she's been looking forward to the most.
"We'll make sure you guys get to play in it tomorrow, honey," Rick says. "It's going to be dark when we get to the cabin tonight."
"Oh."
"But that's okay," he continues, changing lanes with ease; they're leaving the city early enough in the day and going in the opposite direction of much of the traffic, making settling into a cruise much less difficult, "because we are going to get to do something fun tonight. And the dark is exactly what we need for that."
Kate laughs beside him. "Way to sell it, babe," she murmurs.
He grins, turning his hand over and wiggling his fingers in invitation. Her fingers slip into the spaces between his, squeezing.
"They'll love it," he says.
"They won't be awake for it."
"Yes, we will!" Lily insists. She glances at her brothers and her sister before amending, "Me and Eva will!"
"Eva and I," Rick corrects gently.
Lily sighs. "We'll be 'wake! I promise. I so promise." She stops, waits for a moment, then adds, "Awake for what?"
"You'll see," Kate assures before he can. "It's going to be fun; I promise."
She squeezes his hand, almost as if she's reassuring him of that, too. It had been spur of the moment, deciding to pack the kids and the car and drive up to Jim Beckett's cabin, but they'd seen how crazy the house had been over the past few days (though the lightsaber battles were glorious, epic, and fun) and decided they needed the break. It's not for long, of course, they're leaving on Christmas Eve and coming home to be there for their traditional dinner and presents with his mother, but he can't help but think they need this time out of the city, away from the lights and the crowds.
He can't wait to see the look on Lily's face when she realizes how many more stars they can see, even compared to in the Hamptons.
"You brought the telescope?" Kate asks.
"I brought the telescope," he confirms. "I need to make some adjustments once we're there–"
"Spying on the neighbors again?" she teases.
"Funny," he drawls. "Binoculars work just fine for that, as you remember–"
"Too well."
"Uh huh. As I was saying," he continues, "I need to make some adjustments once it's set up, make sure everything's tight and secure since it's been in the case for so long, but after that we'll be good to go. Perfect for a clear starry winter night."
Kate leans over, pecking his cheek before twisting to check on the boys and the baby. "I can't wait."
To her credit, despite her early morning and long day, and then a late dinner and listening to her brothers and baby sister fuss, Lily does manage to stay awake long enough to bundle up and marvel at the stars with them. After about fifteen minutes, though, she burrows into Rick's side and lifts her arms for him to hold her.
He moves away from the telescope and scoops her up, tucking her into his coat, letting his body heat warm her up a little bit.
Kate steps closer, rubbing her back. "Tired, baby?"
Lily nods, pressing her forehead against Rick's neck.
"Ready to go inside?"
"Nothankyou," Lily mumbles. "I like this. S'pretty."
Rick smiles, swaying with her. He lifts his head, finding the little pinpricks of light in the night sky. The telescope makes it easier to see them, but the stars are beautiful even without it.
"Yeah, it is."
Prompt: Starry Night
Thank you for reading! Just 3 (maybe 4, if I decide to sneak a New Years Eve/Day installment in) chapters to go!