Work Text:
Beckett had put the finishing touches to her now complete load of paperwork that had made Castle disappear after they had finished the case but she had a feeling that when she went over to the loft after dropping said files off in Captain Gates office she would find her goofball boyfriend laying in wait for an impromptu laser fight and was glad that she let him talk her into him buying her a vest and laser gun and it got her wondering if Alexis would be home to lay in wait for their laser tag battle or if she was out with Martha shopping and a smile came across her face at the thought of her little family as she collected her jacket and purse.
When she entered Castle’s building Edward greeted her then handed over a small bag that she recognised as her laser tag bag that she left with him two days ago for when she needed it and the cheeky smile Edward the doorman gave her let her know she was right a laser tag battle was to be had that evening and so with a quick thank you she made her way to the elevator and pressed the button that would take her up to the loft with a smile on her face.
Castle was proud of himself for building a great battleground and hoped Kate had her vest and laser gun, as soon as he’d seen her with a pile of papers to finish the case he had quickly left the precinct as he felt she would need cheering up, Alexis had text him that she and her gram would be home later with Chinese as they were still shopping in a way he was thankful as Kate and Alexis had a bad habit of ganging up on him in battle so was happy she was with his mother.
It wasn’t long until he heard the telltale sign of a ding from the elevator and got into position hoping to get the drop on his favourite detective and was so happy she was his girlfriend and not an enemy as she was deadly with a real gun and she was a excellent shot too which transferred over into her laser tag skills. Ryan an Javier had warned him against playing this with her and recalled their words “Don’t do it bro she will bring you to your knees” at the time he laughed it off as them being them, but he forged on as he got to hear one of his favourite sounds which was Kate’s carefree laugh.
Kate opened the door carefully as she wouldn’t put it past Rick to have set himself near to the door so she immediately went into stealth mode as if she was stalking her prey and so she wouldn’t make it easy for him got low to the ground as she shut the door with her foot and managed to make sure her purse and jacket were put near the bottom of the stairs and she continued towards the sound of movement.
Rick slowly emerged from his office as soon as he heard the front door shut with a snick and wondered if he was going to be lucky and get his first shot in, he sprung out with gusto “aha I have you now detective” only to be met with empty space and then he heard the sound of a laser gun and dove for cover on the sofa “oh this is how it’s going to be my lovely detective then so be it”.
Kate had to keep her giggles in check at how much her writer was a goofball and got extra weapons from the kitchen to throw him off his game which worked extremely well as she used the handful of grapes to pelt him and when he wasn’t looking got a few hits in and Rick managed to get a few hits himself and he thought he was about to win when Kate came out of nowhere and double shot him and his vest betrayed him as it gave a sad sound that meant he lost so he proposed a new game of who could sneak up on who.
Two hours later Alexis and Martha walked through the door to see Kate leap over the breakfast bar and tackle Rick to the ground as their laser tag outfits had clearly been abandoned and it looked to be who could sneak up on who and both women laughed at the total look of surprise on his face as he was tackled to the ground and left dazed as Kate had jumped up and ran over to where Alexis and Martha was stood watching the events unfold laughing really hard.
“I see you guys are having fun” Alexis managed to get out when her laughter died down and moved into the kitchen with her grams following behind who was walking with Kate in a half hug embrace, when they looked over to Rick he was in the middle of getting himself up off the floor, when he looked up he saw his three favourite girls watching him with amusement and he was so happy then he caught the scent of Chinese food and he was much quicker in his movement as he had worked up an appetite and when they got all the plates and cutlery out and were sat around the coffee table with only Martha sat on the couch they shared out all the food and chatted about their day.
“So mother how much did you and my darling daughter cost me today?” Rick asked teasing in his voice as he didn’t mind as he normally benefited from their shopping endeavours as Alexis would leave new toys in his office and Martha didn’t miss a beat “No more than usual my boy, however we will be taking Katherine with us on her next day off as I saw a wonderful dress that she would look beautiful in” Kate was still startled that they wanted to include her in what she had dubbed in her head as quality grandmother and granddaughter bonding and so stayed silent while a blush stained her cheeks, Rick and his mom kept talking so didn’t really see what Alexis was up to.
Alexis noticed how Kate suddenly looked a bit startled and slightly confused about being wanted on their shopping trip and was quick to shuffle round to the woman’s side and pull her into a side hug whilst reiterating her grams invite in a quiet but determined voice “I would love if you came with us Kate also I picked up some horror films to try and scare dad so are you in for a movie marathon please because if your shift pattern is correct you have his weekend off don’t you?”
Kate was impressed the young girl new it was her weekend off felt better about her answer “I would love to go shopping with you and Martha and a horror movie marathon sounds awesome to make it interesting shall we dare your dad to beat his high score of fitting marshmallow’s in his mouth and see how long it takes him to notice us throwing popcorn at him” Alexis eyes sparkled with mischief at that and was so happy that his dad had finally asked Kate out as she was such an amazing women for one putting up with her dad and two for being just as mischievous as him and herself and three she protectected the three of them either when she was with her dad at work or when she came over as she always made sure nobody could get in and was a good confidant for herself when she needed girl advice that sometimes her grams and dad couldn’t help with.
Martha had caught Alexis and Kate’s little moment and was moved at how her girls acted more like mother and daughter than Meredith ever did with the young girl and she also noticed that Rick was looking at his girls too as they were in their own little bubble and it warmed her heart to see the soft loving look he gave the girls.
As soon as they had finished eating Martha decided to announce that she would be home late as there was a party one of her friends was hosting and promised that there would be potential producers from a couple the theatre companies attending so she could probably manage to wrangle an audition before she disappeared upstairs to get ready she asked Alexis “should I wear that blue number I picked up today ?” Alexis was quick to respond as she knew exactly what dress her grams was on about “yes grams that would look perfect on you” with that Hurricane Martha went upstairs to get ready.
Once Martha had gone to her room, Rick smiled to himself then shook his head before he glanced over at Kate and Alexis and saw that they had started to clear the leftovers away and watched as Alexis then pulled out popcorn and many different sodas and what appeared to be a bag of snacks and sweets form their stash cupboard he was excited for movie night and was even happier when he realised Kate was staying as she helped Alexis with carrying some of their haul to the coffee table and he leapt up to gather the rest and asked his daughter to grab the movies which she did as she had them in a bag near the couch, Kate felt better about their movie night and suggested pj’s to be worn “shall we change into pj’s before we start so we won’t have to later as I have a feeling we’re gonna crash out here” Alexis thought about it and decided they should have a fort now Rick being on the same wavelength as his daughter was quick to reply “excellent let’s go change and then Alexis and I can show you how to build a fort Castle style so meet back here in ten” with that they nodded and went to change.
Alexis scampered upstairs and could hear her grams singing to herself while she was getting ready and it made Alexis smile, back downstairs and past his office Rick and Kate were getting changed but Rick being the lil shit he is kept stealing kisses and was making it difficult for Kate to finish off getting ready so she had to think quick “Castle I’ll make you a deal you let us get dressed with no more interruptions and we may have fun later deal” Rick mulled over his options and agreed to her terms as he knew it would be worth the wait “fine you have a deal I will try to behave and Kate I’m so glad your here and staying the weekend” and showing that she didn’t need to reply as he could see the happiness reflected back in her eyes he gave a lingering kiss then they finished off getting their jammies on and met Alexis back in the den at the same time.
As soon as they put the first movie in and was getting ready to press play Martha gracefully swept down the stairs and caught all three’s attention and when they saw her they stood in unison and walked over to her.
“Martha you look amazing and the colour blue suits you very much” Kate was the first to compliment the older woman who embraced her while speaking “thank you Katherine my dear your too kind”
“I agree with Kate grams I told you you could pull this outfit off”
“oh sweetheart thank you I’m glad I listened to you”
Rick swept his mother into a hug “you look beautiful mother all I ask is you stay out of trouble tonight” “really Richard lecturing me on behaving while out at a party, but thank you ,my boy you always know what to say” when she pulled away from her son in a twirl she made her way to the front door “Don’t wait up my darlings” and with that hurricane Martha was out the door to party.
They settled into watch the first horror film ‘zombies the undead are back for vengeance’ and Kate would chuckle when she felt Rick jump in parts and when she spotted Alexis hiding her giggles form her other side she knew by the next film marshmallow contest would begin as the next film was something they had seen before so it would become background noise and she had ideas for halloween costumes which she would bring up later for now was enjoying how quickly her boyfriend was getting scared and laughed when he explained why he was flinching “Beckett they are called jump scares for a reason, and I could so take down a zombie” “sure Castle you keep telling yourself that” all Alexis felt was happiness with her dad and Kate spending time together as a family.
At one point Kate had gotten up to use the bathroom after a good way into their second movie so Alexis got the marshmallows ready and when she caught site of Kate coming back and crouching so she was directly behind her dad Alexis made sure to keep her dad’s attention and then watched as she sprang up and made sure to place her hands on his shoulders and it was worth it to see Rick flail and fall of the couch with a very girly scream that Alexis managed to record and send to Kate so they both had blackmail material if they needed it.
Rick finally caught his breath “why would you I could have died” Kate just laughed while Alexis gave him a side hug while giggling and once both girls had gotten themselves under control sat back down and as the horror films seemed to be forgotten as Kate issued the challenge “I dare you to fit 20 marshmallows in your mouth” “yeah dad but don’t be a coward and do 25” Kate nodded in agreement her eyes wide as she thought Alexis suggestion was good, Rick not one to back down from a challenge agreed and gave Kate his phone to time him while Alexis had a drink ready in case he failed.
Rick wondered how he got himself into these situations but shrugged it off after he gave Kate a silent challenge that she couldn’t do as well as him which she accepted ,he was enjoying himself and was proud that he was up to fifteen marshmallows already and he was determined to push past 20 and even 25 he had decided to try and fit 30 in his mouth all timing of this forgotten and wondered what his price would be. Alexis watched her dad in fascination then did a double take as Kate seemed to be catching up to him and realised she was dealing with two overgrown children but laughed at the clear competitiveness of the both of them and wouldn’t change them for the world and was glad she set up her phone to video this momentous competition and continued counting and was surprised when Kate won as she managed 31 to her dad’s 30 marshmallows and when they had eaten the treats it looked as if her dad was about to start celebrating until she had to burst his bubble.
“Omg Kate how did you manage 31, dad only got 30 marshmallows” Alexis asked in wonderment and wasn’t disappointed by the answer only amused “oh well Esposito and Ryan thought it would be funny to challenge me to a competition when we had no active cases mind you this was before your dad joined me and Montgomery was our judge as he was snarking off from some paperwork he didn’t want to continue looking at and so the stakes were if I won the boys had to get me coffee and do all my paperwork for a month but if they won I had to do it for them so without timing it as it was pointless Montgomery said go and we were off and I beat their asses by 25 to their 18 as Esposito managed 10 and Ryan managed 8 it was a glorious month but I have more fun now playing them off one another so Castle you should be happy that the challenge i issued was to see which of them could eat the hottest chilli pepper without running off for water and they accepted as it’s between them i said I’d be the judge so you in to watch them with Lanie and me in a couple days time?” “You really are my perfect woman and yes I’ll be there I’ll supply the peppers oooh this is gonna be so good” he gave her a soft kiss aware that Alexis was in the room still when his daughter also piped up “ I would like to see it too please Kate and I’ll record it and everything” she even pulled out the puppy eyes her father taught her when she was four and saw Kate completely melt and nod her head. The next couple of days they spent plotting for the duo who managed to find mischief and Kate felt content finally as she was home.