บท 71: 71. Chapter 71
They stop off at Wal-Mart for supplies; Kate has to run in and gather dog food, leash, the necessities. She takes his credit card in with her, hopes they don't ask for ID because she doesn't have it on her. Castle stays in the car with Ellery and Rex, keeping the engine running so they stay cool, while Kate is inside.
It takes her longer than she'd like, but there's just so much stuff to choose from. She settles on a bag of kibble for older dogs, pricier because she figures it must be better, and grabs a leash, a chew toy in the shape of a dinosaur (she just can't help it). She doesn't want to buy much else, because they'll have to fly it back with them, but does find a black dog collar that looks like it will work.
It's full dark outside, the moon hidden by overcast skies. The wind blows, warm and humid, and she can't help think they still have to get the kids a bath and into bed after all of this. Not sure that Dash will sleep at all tonight, but there's not really a whole lot she can do about that.
When she gets back to the rental SUV with everything, she pulls open the back door to be greeted by her daughter's giggles, the dog's nose snuffling into her carseat.
Castle is grinning; he raises his eyebrows at her in askance but she shakes her head and gets everything into the car without any trouble. Kate runs a hand down the dog's neck, pats his shoulder, then shuts the door. When she's back in the passenger seat, she turns around to watch.
Ellery's laughter is continuous, tickled by the dog's nose crammed into the crannies of her seat. "What's Rex doing?"
"Eating her leftovers," Castle laughs.
"Oh gross," she moans. "Castle."
"Don't worry. It's like Cheetos and Cheerios," Castle says, pulling out of the parking lot. "Can't hurt him."
Kate watches for a moment, listens to Ella's breathless giggles, her hands at the dog's ears, tugging ineffectually but not really trying all that hard. She arches in her seat and Rex gets at another piece, seems to inhale whatever it was, and pulls back, licking Ella's knee, her shin, before going back for more.
"Oh my word." She feels the thump of Rex's tail against the back of her seat as he wriggles around, trying to get all the crumbs. "We have a crazy dog."
"Fit right in," Castle laughs. His hand lays over her thigh as he steers the SUV back to the highway. "Good choice, Mommy."
Kate beams over at him, chews her bottom lip. "You really don't mind? You'll be doing all the work-"
"Not all," he shrugs. "I have you, when you can."
"You do have me," she murmurs back, trailing her fingers up his arm, curling around his elbow. "I was hoping that since he's an older dog, there'll be less to do. No house-breaking, no need for much training, no middle of the night puppy howling. . ."
"Good thought." His fingers knead at her thigh. "Either way, it's a good time to start training Dash at least."
She hums a laugh and glances back to the kids - or rather, the kid and the dog - using her grip on Castle's elbow to keep her balance. Ellery has stopped giggling, Rex seems to have given up the hunt for leftovers. Ella is leaning over, stretching her fingers out to the dog; Rex licks at them, puts his head back down in the floorboard, eyes opening and closing.
She thinks, maybe, she did good. She feels Rick's thumb stroke hard across her thigh and looks back at him.
"Come kiss me," he says, his eyes sliding away from hers back to the road.
Kate laughs, throaty, hearing the delight and desire that lowers her voice. What he does to her with just a few words. "Oh?"
"Beckett," he growls at her, casting her a quick look.
"Imperious," she murmurs, but slides closer, pressing her lips to his jaw, to the sweep of skin under his neck. She feels his happy hum, slides half out of her seatbelt and onto one knee to tongue the corner of his mouth, sliding her hand up to his bicep, her thumb stroking the vulnerable skin there.
He breathes raggedly, his hand coming up to her neck, her ear, fisting in her hair. "Be nice."
"But why?" she says, nipping at his cheek with her teeth. "This is so much more fun."
The dog is at first not entirely okay with the idea of getting on the elevator - smart dog, he thinks, having had his fair share of weird elevator experiences - but Kate strokes her hand over and over Rex's head, rubs his ears, and eventually the dog comes. Again, smart dog. Castle would too. Come that is. Ooh, he needs to find a way to work that into the conversation when little ears aren't around.
Even though Kate has his leash in one hand, Ellery slips her fingers under the dog's collar and holds on too, her elbow propped on Rex's back. The dog, which Rick actually thought was mid-sized, comes up to Ellery's shoulder. Bigger than he realized, as they are all crowded in the elevator riding up to their condo.
Condo. Oooh.
"I'll have to run by the rental office in the morning and pay a pet deposit," Castle says, reaching over and lacing his fingers in Kate's free hand.
"I didn't think of that," she says, eyebrows knit together when she glances over at him. "What if it's a no-pets-allowed condo?"
"I don't remember seeing that in the literature. Some of them are, I know, but I can't remember this one being one of them."
"I hope not."
"We'll just pack up and move to an unoccupied one. This is technically their off-season, so. . ." He shrugs and glances down at the dog. "Who is he sleeping with?"
She laughs. "Dashiell?"
"Yeah."
"Are you disappointed?" she murmurs, shaking off his hand to stroke his neck, giving him a kiss.
"Well, not if you keep doing that," he mutters back, trying to keep his words in her ear, sliding his lips to her jaw, just about to get to the sweet spot when the elevator doors open.
She sighs.
He smiles back. "At least we won't have company tonight."
Kate laughs, pressing her lips together, eyes wide and deep and promising. Oh, promising.
Ellery and Rex jostle their way out first, bringing Kate behind them. Rick follows, taking her hand again, watching his daughter walking at the dog's side like a royal emissary. Quite adorable. The braid that Kate put in her hair earlier today has mostly unraveled, but those blue eyes spark, even as tired as she must be.
"Hey, El-" he starts, squeezing Kate's hand to get her to slow down.
Ellery half-turns back to him, raising her eyebrows.
"Whoa, scary," he murmurs, nudging Kate with their joined hands. "That is so *you*, Beckett."
"Hush," she says, bumping his hip.
"Ellery, when we get inside, you need to yell out really loud to Dash, make him come into the entry."
"Okay, Daddy."
"And when you see him, yell, 'Happy Birthday, Dash!' Can you do that?"
"I do it."
"Good girl. Want to practice?"
She looks at him again, disdain etched into her features. Whew, that's not exactly a Kate look, but it's very adult.
"I no need practice," Ella says with a slight down curve of her mouth.
Castle holds up a hand. "My bad. You'll do just fine."
Kate is trying not to laugh; he can tell from the sounds she's making, her head turned away.
At the end of the hall, Castle fishes out his keycard and unlocks the door. The three of them - with a doggy fourth - come through the doorway tripping over each other, trying to get food, dog, paperwork, and people all inside. Castle closes the door and Ellery is already yelling for her brother.
The excitement in her voice cannot be missed. "Dashy! Dash Dash Dash!"
Castle stands behind Kate, shifts to one side to see down the hall. Alexis is the first to poke her head out from the living room; her mouth drops open.
Dashiell is right behind her, swinging around her leg to see them.
Ellery yells, "Happy Birthday!" as Kate unhooks the leash from Rex's collar.
Dash's knees hit the floor hard, his body trembling. "Mommy. Mommy. Oh, Mommy."
Castle feels Kate press close to him, feels her trembling as well, the same tremble she had when they came to the hospital to see her and baby Ellery, and Dashiell crawled up into the hospital bed with her and saw his sister for the first time. She's that joyful now, presenting him with the dog.
"Mommy, Mommy, my dog," Dash breathes. "Oh, it's my dog."
Ellery pushes on Rex and walks him down the hall to where Dash apparently can't even get to his feet. Dashiell's hands come up and his arms encircle the dog's neck, face to the muzzle, a pale pink tongue licking behind the boy's ear, his cheek, making him giggle.
"My dog, my dog," he breathes, gasps as the tongue gets his nose. A lick across his stitches makes Kate flinch beside Castle; she starts forward but Castle grabs her by the hand, holds her back for a moment, shaking his head at her.
Dashiell is running both hands over the dog's fur, at his ears, down his back, circling his tail, the dog standing over him like a beast. His face comes up and beams down the hall at them. "Mommy, you got my dog. You saved my dog."
"Oh, the melodrama, baby," Kate says, and they both walk down the hallway towards the living room and the tableau playing out.
"T-Rex. Hey, T-Rex, hey." Dashiell gets a few more perfunctory licks of his face, but Castle is surprised by how sedate the dog is, how Dash and Ella's fawning all over him doesn't bother him.
Alexis gives him a hug, her eyes in that squinting, smirking face. "So. All the times I begged you for a puppy. . ."
"This isn't a puppy?" he says back, lifting his lips.
Kate is petting the dog, on her knees now next to Dash and Ella, telling their kids that they'll have help with the dog's care, food and water and walking and playing with him.
Alexis bumps his shoulder. "Oh yeah?"
"And." He shrugs, shakes his head at her. "Sorry, pumpkin. I wasn't sure I could do it."
"I know, Dad," she says, her voice soft, her eyes melting at him. "But now there's Kate."
He wraps his arm around her shoulders, tugs her against him to press a kiss to her forehead. "I wish you'd had that, Alexis. I wish you-"
"I have it now," she says, shaking her head at him. "I had you. I had more than enough."
"Daddy?"
Castle glances down, sees Dash at his feet, a hand thoroughly wrapped in Rex's collar, the dog patient and waiting at his side. "Yeah, my man?"
"Thank you for my dog. My dog! Hugs, Daddy."
He lifts his hand in a gesture Castle hasn't seen in awhile; it brings him down to his knees beside his son to wrap both arms around him and lift him, just a little, into a tight hug. He kisses Dashiell's cheek.
"You're welcome. Happy birthday."
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