Chapter 26 – Take me out to the ball game

"Castle, we are not getting a puppy!" Kate said in exasperation. For the last fifteen minutes she and her man-child husband have been debating (read: he whining, she admonishing) the issue of adding a pet to their home. And yes, Kate had pointed out that Rick was already like an animal to which he leered at her suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.
She only rolled her eyes. Walked right into that one...
They were strolling hand-in-hand, pushing past the hordes of people as they made their to the legendary Yankee stadium. Baby Lizzy was safely tucked against her daddy's chest in a carrier attached to him, watching the world curiously and occasionally clapping her small hands together in excitement. She was wearing a cute pair of jeans with ladybugs on them, a tiny white shirt that had 'I'm cute and I know it' written on it in red, cursive letters, a pair of adorable Nike sneakers (Rick's idea of course) and a small blue Yankees cap – a smaller replica of the one her mother was wearing. Kate was casually dressed in a dark pair of skinny jeans, a gray, form-fitting t-shirt, sneakers and a blue Yankees cap, a pair of paparazzi-fooling sunglasses while her hair fell freely over her shoulders. The baby bag - with Snuggles in it - was slung over her shoulder. Rick was dressed in a crisp, white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of light blue jeans (his wife had to resist the urge to grope him indecently in public whenever he was wearing them; in private it was a whole different ball game), a pair of paparazzi-fooling sunglasses and a red Yankees cap.
"But why not?" He was whining… again. She sighed heavily, dropped her head and pinched the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb.
"Because… we just can't." She turned to look at him. "We live in a loft, Rick. A loft."
"So?" He shrugged.
"So, how are going to handle a puppy in an apartment? There's no backyard or garden or anything."
"I'll take him for walks," he replied instantly with innocent sincerity.
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yeah, right... Correction, I'll be taking him for walks, I'll be feeding him, I'll be cleaning up after him. You-" she poked him on the shoulder with her free hand. "-will only play with him."
"Nah-uh." There's the nine year-old again.
"Yeah-uh," she shot back. He sighed dejectedly. Just then, Lizzy shrieked happily in an effort to get her parents' attention. At six months old, she was now in the social butterfly/centre-of-attention-phase - much to the amusement, entertainment and delight of her two biggest fans. Sometimes they would have competitions to see who gets her to smile first or laugh the most. Obviously, normal adult behaviour and coherent language flies out the door when you have an impossibly cute, chubby-cheeked little baby giggling because of your attention.
It was the best kind of addiction.
"See? She agrees with me," Kate quickly pointed out.
"Nah-uh. She'll love having a furry friend." He turned his attention to the small, plump bundle against his chest. "Won't you, Sweet Pea?" Lizzy turned her head slightly and grinned toothlessly at her father, kicking her tiny legs enthusiastically. 'Like father, like daughter', Kate thought, amused.
He grinned back at his baby girl and then looked at his wife. "See? She likes the idea."
"Castle, do you remember what happened to Bubbles and Nemo?" The smile instantly fell from his face. "Yeah, thought so."
They got Bubbles and Nemo (due to his puppy-dog eyes and earnest promises to look after them) - two gold fish - a couple of months after they were married. Unfortunately, a few weeks later Bubbles and Nemo made their journey down to the sewers of New York City.
Turns out remembering to feed fish was not so easy task.
"But he or she won't be a boring fish who only swims around in a bowl... You'll also like - no love - a dog, KC. I know it. Your heart will completely melt if I show you the little Jack Russels I saw at the pet shop the other day," he continued to argue, by now removing his sunglasses. He knew that his eyes were her downfall. Now if he could just get that puppy-dog look right, he'll be able to turn her to complete mush.
She gave him a pointed look, despite feeling a tiny bit of her resolve being chipped away. 'Stand strong, Kate.' "No."
The puppy-dog eyes were back in full force. 'Damn it! Don't break. Just hold firm. Just hold firm, Katie... He's not that adorable.' She steeled herself. "And don't even bother giving me that look, Castle. It's not working this time." Kate was doing a little internal happy-dance at not giving in to his vast array of charms. Well, not this time at least.
With that (along with a disappointed pout from her husband) the discussion was ended - for the time being.
"Must be a cat person," he mumbled sourly. Kate bit her lip and struggled to suppress a grin; he was ridiculously cute (and exhausting) being this childlike.
But just like an ADD kid, his mind quickly shifted to another topic as they reached one of the gates. "Hey, so your dad's bringing someone?"
Kate smiled broadly at the young ticket collector as she handed their tickets to him and then turned back to her husband. Rick noticed the poor schmuck's slack-jawed expression and stupid grin - she had that affect on people, in particular men. His mouth curved up, feeling a stab of pride at the fact that she was his and suddenly had the urge to kiss her senseless just to prove it. Damn it! That form-fitting t-shirt, tight pair of jeans and sexy little smile were going to be the end of him.
"Uh, yeah. He's bringing a friend - a Cameron or someone," she replied with a slight frown as they made their way through the gate.
"Oh." Rick's brow furrowed. Jim had never brought someone with him on baseball Saturdays before. Strange. "Who's that?"
Kate shrugged as she laced her fingers with his again. "Dunno. Probably a friend from work, I assume. He didn't say much. Just asked whether he could bring a friend along."

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"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Boston Red Sucks!" Rick heckled loudly with a cocky grin as the duo of Red Sox-fans approached.
"You gotta big mouth, Stankee. Remember what happened last time your mouth got too big?" Ryan hit back with a broad smile, proudly clad in a Red Sox top and an arm around his wife who was also clad in Red Sox colours.
It was baseball season.
It meant summer sunshine, hot dogs, Cracker Jack, home-runs, strike-outs, (mostly, mostly) friendly banter between rival fans, running into Joe freakin'! Torre, high-stakes bets and the best of all? Box seats courtesy of Richard Castle, Inc. Today it was the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. The Castles versus the Ryans. Javier and Lanie were sitting out for this one - they had a wedding to plan, mothers to satisfy and two hot-under-the-collar families to appease.
In short: they were trying to prevent World War Three from breaking out.
"Yeah well, the past is in the past, Irish. History doesn't count here. It's the battle on the day that matters, the titanic struggle between two arch nemeses. The sweat, the tears, the-" Rick mused dramatically.
His mother would have been proud.
"Yeah, yeah Writer Boy, we get the picture," Kate cut him off with a wide smile and a shake of her head as she walked passed him towards the Ryans. Shifting Lizzy to one arm, she gave Jenny a brief hug. "Hey Jen."
The petite blonde smiled in greeting. "Hi Kate." Her smile grew as she turned her attention to Lizzy. "Hey Sweetie. Oh, you are getting so big!" Kate looked at her daughter who was lapping up all the attention and smiled proudly.
"Yeah, she's growing up so fast."
"Much to her old man's dismay," Rick added, stepping in behind Kate, taking hold of his daughter's small hand and pressing a kiss against it.
"Hey Lizzy!" Ryan greeted his adopted niece with a grin. "Come to Uncle Kev." He took her from Kate and lifted her up in the air, much to the little girl's delight. He frowned in mock disgust when he spotted her little cap. "Ah no! What's this? Child abuse I'd say, Squirt." He smirked at the two adult Castles who were glaring with him. "Don't you worry Lizzy, we'll be amending this travesty. I promise." Lizzy took in her surrogate uncle's serious expression with fascinated wide eyes (the same blue eyes of her father) and a slightly agape little mouth.
"Ryan, hand over my kid before you brainwash her," Kate said in mock displeasure and with a raised eyebrow. Her colleague chuckled and handed Baby Castle over to her mother.
"So, where are the boys?" Rick asked as the four of them walked towards the seats just outside of the box.
"At my sister's for the weekend," Jenny answered, briefly glancing at her husband before adding: "We just needed a little time on our own, you know? It can get a little crazy."
The two Castles nodded in perfect understanding - they only had one little person (so far) and were struggling to juggle everything (includig a love life) while the two Ryans had two very busy, energetic, mischievous and ridiculously cute twin toddler boys of two-and-a-half: Colin and Liam. To complicate matters even more, both Kevin and Jenny were working full time. As a result, a chance to spend a few hours - not to mention a whole weekend - on their own was jumped upon quicker than rabid dogs on a bone.
"I can only imagine," Kate murmured thoughtfully, focused on placing Lizzy's pacifier in her mouth.
Rick draped an arm around the back of his wife's seat. "You have our sympathies." His mouth curved up into a sly grin after a few moments. "Especially since you'll be losing today as well. And by losing I do mean getting your asses whipped!"
And with that, the two Ryans protested loudly leading to the first round of healthy bantering.

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15 minutes later...
"Oh come on Ryan, you know that's BS!" Kate argued with a short, disbelieving laugh. She and her colleague were having a friendly debate about the merits of their respective teams' pitchers. Before he could refute her claim, a voice interrupted them.
"What's BS?" Jim Beckett enquired with a broad smile as he walked towards them.
"Dad!" Kate exclaimed with a wide grin as she leapt up with Lizzy in her arms.
"Hi Katie," her father greeted, kissing her cheek and hugging her loosely. His whole face lit up upon seeing his granddaughter and for a moment, Jim Beckett completely forgot the world outside of Lizzy Castle.
"Hey Cupcake! Come to your Granpa!" He took Lizzy from Kate with a large grin. "Hi Rick," he greeted the father of his granddaughter absent-mindedly; all of his attention was focused on the little person who had her small hands on his cheeks and looking at him curiously.
Rick grinned and shook his head in amusement, draping an arm around his wife. "Hey Jim."
"Oh she is just adorable!" An unfamiliar female voice commented from behind Jim. A blonde, elegant and attractive middle-aged woman stepped in beside him.
Jim turned to look at the woman and then turned his attention back to Kate and Rick who were both sporting similar confused expressions. "Ah… Kate, Rick." He glanced at the woman again. "This is Cameron. Cameron Munroe." Kate's expression cleared, but remained neutral.
"Cam, this is my daughter, Kate, and my son-in-law, Richard."
"Pleased to meet you," Cameron responded politely, first shaking Rick's outstretched hand.
"Likewise," he responded with a charming smile. "I'm always happy to meet a beautiful woman." Cam placed a hand on her chest and laughed heartily before turning to the older man.
"Well, Jim you were right. He's a real charmer." Rick grinned back and immediately took a liking to this woman. "By the way, I'm a big fan your work," she added with a wink, causing the author's smile to grow even wider.
She turned her attention to Kate and smiled, carefully trying to gauge the younger woman's reaction. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Kate. I've heard so much already. Your dad just cannot stop talking about you."
"Uh… I- Pleased to meet you too," Kate responded a little awkwardly as she shook the other woman's hand. She was still trying to process the fact that Cam wasn't a buddy from work, but rather looked more like her dad's date. "I hope you've only heard the good things," she recovered with a smile, glancing at her father.
The older woman let out a laugh. "Oh don't worry, it was only the goods things. I promise," she said looking at Jim with an expression that Kate knew well: unbridled affection.
"You don't trust your old man, Katie?" Jim Beckett grinned at his daughter, his eyes sparkling. 'He's happy,' the realisation dawned on Kate.
Her father was happy and it probably had a lot to do with the beaming woman standing in front of her.
A woman who wasn't her mother.

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Two hours later...
"Shhh, baby. Oh, honey. Shhh... shhh," Kate tried to soothe her highly cranky and tired baby girl who was by now crying and struggling lethargically in her mother's arms. She was walking back and forth in the room, gently rocking her daughter - the sounds of the game outside, the noise of the large crowd and the others' animated chatter filtering through. She sighed. Bringing a baby to a baseball game with thousands of people screaming and the vast amount of stimuli was probably not such a good idea.
After a few minutes and with Lizzy finally (finally!) settling down, Kate's phone rang throwing her into a mild panic as she tried clumsily to reach for her blaring phone in her pocket.
"Here, give her to me," Cam said, suddenly appearing next to Kate and holding out her arms. The younger woman hesitated a moment before handing Lizzy over to the other woman and quickly pulling out her ringing phone. She was following Cam with her eyes the whole way before glancing at the caller ID.
It was Lanie. Calling in the middle of what was supposed to be a dress-fitting session. With her mother.
Not. Good.
"Hey Lanie-"
"Girl I'mma kill someone! Or end up in an asylum! Or both!" Lanie said in greeting. Yep, this sounded like an emergency. Again.
Kate had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop from bursting out in laughter. The last thing the fiery ME needed was her best friend's amused sniggering.
"Okay, what happened?" Kate enquired with a longsuffering sigh. She took a seat at the bar, knowing this could be a while. At the same time, she kept an eagle eye on her father's 'friend' who had her daughter.
For the next ten minutes Kate listened to Lanie rant, rave and vent. And swearing that she's going to cancel everything and just elope... to Las Vegas. Again. At one point in the very one-sided conversation, Jenny came by to get more drinks and upon hearing Kate's mono-syllibical reassurances, she frowned in question. Kate mouthed Lanie and rolled her eyes. The other woman just shook her head and smiled. The Parish-Esposito nuptials was a topic of frequent discussion... and intervention.
After releasing all of her frustration, Lanie changed the subject. "So, how's your day going?"
Kate hesitated a moment, her eye catching Cam (with a sleeping! Lizzy in her arms) talking with the others. "Uh... good."
Her very astute friend, however, picked up on her hesitation. "Girl, I know that tone. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Kaaaattee."
"No, really nothing's the matter. We're having a great time. I mean the Yankees are winning after all," she replied with a chuckle, trying to lighten her tone.
It didn't fool Lanie. "But?"
Kate sighed and made sure that everyone was still outside. "My dad brought a friend."
"So?" She could almost hear Lanie's shrug.
"It's a woman."
"Oh," Lanie replied carefully. "And? How is she?"
"She's..." Kate glanced at the woman in question who was currently laughing at something Rick was saying - he was now cradling their daughter. "She seems great, Lanie," she finally said with a sigh.
Her best friend was silent for a moment before speaking again. "But it bothers you."
Kate bit her lip and took a breath. "I don't know why, but somehow it does." She paused for a moment. "My dad seems happy, you know? Really happy. I haven't seen him laugh this much since..." She trailed off, knowing her friend would follow her line of thinking.
"Ah Sweetie," Lanie breathed in understanding.
Kate let out a humourless laugh. "I'm just being silly, Lane-"
"No you're not. It's a pretty normal reaction, actually." She paused for a moment. "Besides, it seems like your dad kinda sprang this on you."
"Yeah, he did. We thought Cameron was a buddy - a male buddy - from work. Turns out she's his... lady... friend."
Lanie laughed at the other end and shook her head. "How's Castle handling all this?"
Kate looked over to her husband who was still conversing animatedly, their sleeping daughter safely tucked in the bend of his arm. She smiled. "How do you think?"
"Probably charming her into oblivion."
"Yeah, but she's doing the same to him. He seems to like her."
"Not unnatural for Castle."
"No," Kate said absently biting her lip while her mind drifted to an array of potential future scenarios. Sunday afternoon lunches with her dad and Cameron, school recitals with her dad andCameron, birthdays with her dad and Cameron, Thanksgivings and Christmases with her dad and Cameron. Everything significant moment and event with her dad and this woman.
A very nice woman. A very likeable woman. A woman who made her dad happy.
A woman who wasn't her mother.
"Kate-"
"Mmmm?"
"Do you like her?"
She took a moment before replying, casting another look at her father and his companion. They were laughing.
"Yeah... yes, I do."

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That evening...
After eating too many hot dogs, winning a bet against Ryan and taking his daughter to her first ball game (although she wasn't awake for most of it), Rick leaned back into the couch and sighed in satisfaction. Yep, all in all, it was a good day. A day that included a surprise or two, but nevertheless it was a good one. At least he thought so. Did Kate think so? He glanced at the stairs again waiting for their return. His two girls were taking a bath after their day of fun in the sun. His mouth curved up into a sentimental smile thinking about the first time Lizzy and Kate had taken a bath together - he had found mother and daughter squealing and giggling loudly amidst a sea of bubbles. He couldn't resist taking a picture. Obviously, not one that he was allowed to show or even mention in public. Ever.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the soft tone of his wife's voice - she was whispering to their daughter as they approached him. She was cradling their baby girl protectively; her damp hair in a simple, messy bun while she was comfortably clad in a pair of shorts (revealing her long legs) and an old NYPD-shirt. She was motherly, domestic, feminine, sexy and stunning all at the same time. When she lifted her head, locked her eyes with his and flashed him that utterly beautiful, dazzling smile while still whispering to their daughter, Rick felt his heart slam against his chest at a rapidly increasing pace. He fell in love with her all over again. With them all over again. With their life all over again.
Gosh, she was beautiful.
"Look, Honey, here's Daddy," Kate said softly as she sat down closely next to him, curling a leg underneath her.
"Come here, Sweet Pea," Rick said with a large grin, holding out his arms as Kate handed over Lizzy. She sighed and placed her elbow against the back of the couch while holding her head in her hand, watching father and daughter with a smile.
"Did you have a good time today? Are you also happy the Yankees won, baby?" Rick asked as he bounced his little girl on his lap. Lizzy shrieked happily when her father suddenly lifted her up in the air to hover just above his grinning face.
He brought her back down to his lap and turned to look at Kate. "And what about you Mommy? Did you also have a good time today?" He asked, subtly trying to gauge her feelings about the developments of the day. Kate smiled softly, her eyes on her daughter (who was now lying with her head against her father's shoulder and sucking on his shirt) while running a hand gently over her dark brown smattering of hair.
"Yes, Daddy, I did," she replied quietly, her focus still on Lizzy. She met his eyes and he could see a multitude of emotions emanating from them - affection, desire, contentment and a hint of sadness. He watched her for a moment before lifting his hand to cup her cheek, softly running a thumb over her cheekbone.
"You okay, Kate?" She sighed, briefly closed her eyes and placed her smaller hand on his larger one that was embracing her face delicately.
She opened her eyes again and cocked her head slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine... I promise." He removed his hand from her face and wrapped it around her slender one.
"Your dad-"
"-Is happy, Rick." She dropped her head and pursed her lips before returning her gaze to his. "And that's all that matters. Is all that should matter."
"So, you're okay with this. With him and Cameron?"
She momentarily tilted her head upwards and slowly blew out a breath. "Yeah... I am."
"He's in love with her, you realise that right?" Rick said softly. Jim Beckett had dated a few women in the past before, but nobody that he actually introduced to his daughter. Cameron Munroe was different. Rick wanted to make sure that she understood the situation. That she understood how serious her father was about this woman. That she understood what this meant.
She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. "I do," she whispered. "I saw the way he was looking at her. It's the same way he used to..." she trailed off and turned her head away, silently cursing the sudden tears stinging her eyes. She composed herself and looked at her husband again. "I'm happy for him. God knows I am. He deserves to love someone and to be loved in return. He deserves at least that, Rick. My dad was unhappy for a long time." He knew just how unhappy; Kate had told him of her dad's battle with alcoholism and how that almost ruined their relationship. "I haven't seen him this happy in ages." She swallowed again, the tears blurring her vision. "If she can make him happy, then... I'm happy."
He watched her for a long moment, their daughter fast asleep against his shoulder. "I think your mom is happy for him too. Wherever she is," he said gently. At that Kate let out a watery laugh and wiped her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure she is," she replied with a sad smile, her brow furrowing as she tried to fight off the stubborn tears flooding her eyes. "Wherever she is." He carefully shifted Lizzy to his other arm and pulled his wife into a comforting embrace, pressing a few kisses in her hair.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching their daughter sleep against her father's chest.
"I guess we have to get her to bed," Kate said sitting up. "It was quite the day."
"Yep, and hopefully one of many more. Isn't that right, Sweet Pea?" Rick planted a tender kiss in Lizzy's soft, dark hair. Before he got up, Kate cupped his face in between her hands.
She gave him a sweet kiss and leaned her forehead against his. "I love you, Richard Castle." He smiled and gave her another peck on the lips.
"I love you too, Katherine Castle." She rolled her eyes at the use of her given name.
"Don't call me Katherine," she warned, her tone laced with humour.
"But you called me Richard! I don't mind that." His brow furrowed for a moment. "Just don't ever call me Di-"
"Castle!"
"Okay, okay." His mouth curved up into a devilish grin. "My, my... don't you have a dirty mind, Detective. You do realise that I still have our daughter in my arms, right?"
Kate chewed on her lower lip and leaned in closer while enticingly tracing a finger across his chest.
"Castle, the sooner you get our adorable daughter to bed, the sooner you can get to all and I do mean all... my... bases... Who knows? You might even score a home run tonight."
As he practically ran back down the stairs after putting Lizzy to bed, Rick came to the conclusion that there was no greater American pastime than baseball.
Especially when you hit it out the park...

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If you were the wood, I'd be the fire.
If you were the love, I'd be the desire.
If you were a castle, I'd be your moat,
And if you were an ocean, I'd learn to float.

All I want is you, will you be my bride
Take me by the hand and stand by my side
All I want is you, will you stay with me?
Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea.

P.S. Lyrics at the end are from Barry Louis Polisar's cute song "All I want is you." I thought it fit with the chapter. The title of this chapter is a famous baseball song performed by a multitude of artists over the years.