Back and Forth (A Castle Fanfiction)

Daily Tasks

A few days later, as Kate laid out on the couch with her son sleeping on her chest, Rick sat on the other end with his notebook, and continued, "So we have Henry's doctor's appointment scheduled for his one month and two month checkup, we have the appointments scheduled to look at three different venues in three weeks, we have the meeting set up with your father's attorney, and we have the long awaited meetings with my publisher, all established for one whole day where you get the whole house to yourself and the kids."

"Did you add in your tour dates to the calendar," Kate mournfully questioned.

The writer sighed, "I was trying not to think about that." At that, Kate looked down at the newborn laying against her chest, and a morose sense of longing came over her. "Look, Kate, I can postpone the tour a while longer. My publishers would have to understand after everything that happened. And they're not going to cut my book deals if I tell them that I can't leave you and the baby at this moment. It would be too damaging."

"No, no, you- you have to go. I understand, it's part of your job," Kate replied, looking straight up at the writer. she then allowed her eyes to wander for a second time as she told him, "I just don't want to have to change all of those diapers on my own."

He then smiled, knowing she was only half joking, telling her in a sweet tone, "I promise, I'm on diaper duty for the entire day before I leave and when I get back."

"Daddy," Alexis called from the stairs. The child still had sleep in her tone as she must have just woken from her nap.

Quickly, the writer put aside his notebook and wandered over to his daughter. "Hey, pumpkin, how did you sleep?"

"I tired," the child replied, "You come nap with me, daddy?"

Rick let on a gentle smile, looking to his future wife over his shoulder before telling the young girl, "Of course, honey. Lets go back to bed."

An hour later, the child woke her father by simply starting to stand up. Alexis told him with amusement and fatigue, "You look funny when you sleep, daddy."

Castle's eyes had barely opened and still the humor on her lips caused him to smile. "Do I?"

"Yeah," she giggled, "Like a puppy."

"I look like a puppy when I sleep?"

"Yeah," she answered, sitting on her bed. "Daddy, we go to the park?"

His eyes finally opened all of the way as he questioned, "The park, huh? That would be fun, but you know Cavin is coming over for another tutoring session this afternoon."

"He come too," the girl carelessly stated.

Rick then laughed a bit, finding the will within to moan, toss the princess covers aside, and sit up. He then glanced at his daughter over his shoulder before turning back to the door. With a snap, he jolted up and yanked his daughter into the air, standing all the way up and spinning her above his head as she furiously laughed. When he lost that burst of energy, he brought the child back down to his hip with a gleam in his eyes as she told him, "You silly, daddy."

"Oh, you're silly," he answered, tickling her tummy. She then caved into his touch and laughed endlessly.

When he pulled his hand away, with a massive grin on her lips, she told him, "No."

"Yes," he replied.

"No."

"Yes."

This time, as the child shook her head from side to side, she hummed her no.

Rick then asked, "Does the silly girl want something yummy to eat? Like... a cookie?" Alexis looked at him, somehow knowing this was a trap, though she didn't know how, and she shrugged her shoulders at him. He then asked in a theatrical disbelief, "You don't know?" The child shook her head once more. "You don't know," he asked again, then lifting his hand and once again tickled her tummy. "Well then I guess you don't get one, huh," he teased, "I guess you don't get a cookie."

The child continued to laugh, and knew somehow that her father was teasing. When the pair made it downstairs, Kate was just barely burping the infant on her shoulder, and her eyes managed to latch onto the sight of the writer's face. She then looked at him with a strange bewilderment, and Rick questioned her. "What?"

"You've got a little something," Kate replied, quickly gesturing with her hand at her over face, straight between her eyebrows.

Rick then looked up for a moment before bringing his hand up and feeling the sticker on his face peel off. When he pulled it completely off of his face, he listened to his daughter laughing at his side as he looked at the funny face sticker. Alexis nearly burst out in hysterics as he held to thing in his hands, and he looked it over once before asking his daughter, "Did you do that while daddy was sleeping?" She just laughed, just the same as her mother was doing. "You little stinker," the father answered. "You think that's funny," he teased. "I'll show you what's funny," he then continued to once again tickle to child endlessly, this time making her laugh all the way to the couch where he safely and gently dropped her from maybe an inch above the seat.

He then walked away as the young girl struggle to get up and walk around the couch to catch up. This gave him the perfect amount of time to wander over to his lover and tell her playfully, "That wasn't funny."

"Uh huh," she replied with a grin, "sure it wasn't." He then leaned all the way in to give her a short, comfortable kiss before pulling away.

With Alexis at his side, he then asked, "So one of us is taken care of. Have you eaten lunch?"

"Not yet, I was just about to make myself something when this one woke up."

The writer nodded. "Alright. I'll make something. And next time you get to nap with the prankster and I will stay up with the quiet one."

"He's only quiet for so long."

"Believe me, I know. Which is why, as soon as baby falls asleep, mommy is off duty until after dinner. I will handle these things and you can handle keeping our bed company."

"Aw, thanks babe," Kate replied, leaning in to steal a kiss from the writer.

He then told her, "Anything for the woman of my dreams." The writer then got to work making dinner, and Kate went back to taking care of Henry. Once he was asleep, there was food to be inhaled and sleep to be had. And the two went on with their day to day, acting as though this was the most natural thing in the world because despite their troubles, despite their pain, this family was now everything they needed, and it was everything they never knew to wish for.