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Early December 2013
Kate put the car into park and let out a discontented sigh as she brushed her loose hair out of her face. She looked into the rearview mirror and made eye contact with Kevin, who was strapped into his awful car seat behind her seat. Her forced smile didn’t do much to make him feel any better about this visit. The last time Kate had brought him to the cozy little house tucked into one of the suburban neighborhoods outside the city, no one involved had been happy afterwards. He wished they could visit Javi’s mom again, instead.
Kevin undid his own restraints and was halfway out of the stupid plastic booster by the time Kate opened his door. She let him climb out himself, though she immediately reached for his hand when a car sped past them on the residential street. The lead detective slammed the door shut, locked the car with her key fob, and straightened her expensive scarf. “We don’t have to visit today, do we?” he asked. Honestly, it was better when Castle brought him to visit the Ryans. He was a little less confrontational and the Ryans didn’t blame him as much as they did Kate for what had happened to the cursed detective.
“We’ve already been spotted,” Kate replied. She tugged on his hand to get him to start walking up the drive. Kevin saw the flutter of the sheers in the large picture window at the front of the house. A few seconds later, the front door opened.
His mother was the same as he remembered her. Maggie was a few inches shorter than Kevin, with a round face that would be inviting if not for the downturned corners of her mouth and the reflection of sadness that never quite left her green eyes. It was hard to see her this way. While he was growing up (for the first time), she’d been spirited and always ready with a funny anecdote or generous smile. Now, she wore the heavy burden of grief like a mantle as she mourned the loss of her son. What frustrated Kevin the most was that he wasn’t dead, just a little bit smaller.
His father, Peter, stepped into the doorframe behind his wife and placed his hands on her shoulders. He was nearly as tall as his son, having lost a few millimeters with age. See, it wasn’t Kevin’s fault that he hadn’t been the tallest cop on the force.
“Hi,” said Kate as she stepped onto the front porch. This forced smile was even less believable than the one she’d given him in the car.
“Hello,” greeted Mr. Ryan.
“Please, come in,” said Mrs. Ryan. Kevin looked up at her hopefully. Maybe this time she’d be able to bear seeing her son in the body of a five-year-old. When the older woman’s eyes turned glassy upon meeting his, he resigned himself to another afternoon of feeling like he was attending his own funeral. “Can I get you anything to drink?” Mrs. Ryan asked, as if seeing to her hostess duties would help her cope with the curse. They followed her into the kitchen.
“Nothing for me, thank you,” said Kate. It had never been in the senior detective’s nature to accept food or beverages during house calls, a habit that would have served Ryan and Esposito well back in June, and her aversion often spilled over into friendly visits without her even realizing it. “Do you want anything, baby?”
Mrs. Ryan noticeably bristled. It was probably due to a combination of feeling like her hospitality was being dismissed and having another woman act motherly towards her son. Hoping to restore some of the already fractured peace, Kevin requested a glass of milk. Mrs. Ryan stiffly found a glass and filled it nearly to the brim with the white liquid. He had to hold it with both of his tiny hands to avoid dropping it.
“So, how are things at the precinct?” asked Mr. Ryan, trying to fill the conversational void.
“They’re good,” said Kate. “It was rough for a long time, but things are finally starting to smooth out.”
“I hope you’re keeping your new partners out of the reach of witches,” said Mrs. Ryan in what meant to be an off-handed manner. No one bought it.
“We tell them in orientation now not to drink the lemonade,” rejoined Kate, barely hiding the sarcasm in her tone.
Kevin listened to the conversation with a sinking heart. To make matters worse, the heavy feel of the whole milk on his tongue was foreign now and he’d lost the taste for it a while back. Still, he did his best to drink it without making his dislike obvious. Unfortunately, both females were watching him closely and Mrs. Ryan’s frown deepened. “What’s the matter, Kevin?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said quickly, but it didn’t stop Kate from jumping to his defense.
“You gave him like three servings of it and he’s not used to drinking whole milk,” stated the detective. Castle’s fridge was always stocked with 1% or non-fat, depending on who’d done the shopping that week.
“That’s probably why he’s so skinny,” said Mrs. Ryan. “Are you even feeding him over at that apartment?”
“Of course we’re feeding him,” replied Kate, clearly offended. It wasn’t her fault that it was taking Kevin’s appetite a while to come back, though it was better than it had been when he was first cursed. “He’s regaining more of his appetite every day.”
“I’ll give you some suggestions for what he likes to eat,” said Mrs. Ryan. “He never had trouble eating when he was a real child.”
“That’s kind of you,” said Kate through her clenched jaw.
Kevin’s mother warmed to the conversation and she started pulling food out of the fridge as if she was going to make one of his old favorites right then. His stomach protested the very thought, full as it was from the lunch they’d eaten on the way over and thick milk. “You know, the boys could stay with us for a while, until you’re settled with the baby and finally married. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed.”
“I think I can handle it,” said Kate. Kevin hoped her irritation wasn’t as evident to his parents as it was to him.
Mrs. Ryan’s eyes went misty again. “Even though you think you’re doing us a favor by play-acting as his mother after you let him be turned into a child, Kevin is still our son and we’re quite capable of taking care of him.”
“I didn’t let him be turned into a child,” corrected Kate. “And I’m not play-acting, either. Did you forget that we agreed back in July that it was best for everyone if Kevin stayed with me and Castle?”
“Circumstances change,” argued Mrs. Ryan. “You didn’t tell us in July that you were pregnant and had no intention of ever getting married.”
“The baby is irrelevant to this agreement,” said Kate. “She has no bearing on our ability to take care of Kevin and Javier. And as for the wedding - it’s happening in April.”
“You’re not getting married before the baby is born?”
“Maggie, that’s none of our business,” said Mr. Ryan, butting in when he feared that tempers were about to flare. Kevin set down his half-full glass and squared his shoulders.
“I’m happy at Castle’s, Ma. I want to stay with Javi. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’ll always worry about you, Kevvie.”
“He’s not fond of that nickname,” stated Kate. She reached down to take Kevin’s hand and pull him a step closer to her side.
“I gave birth to him; I can call him what I want.”
“Why don’t we move to the living room so we’re not standing in the kitchen all afternoon,” suggested Mr. Ryan. “I’d like to hear more about what Kevin and Javier have been up to since we saw them last.”
Mrs. Ryan harrumphed before leading the way into the comfortable, slightly dated living room. “Please, have a seat,” she offered to Kate with only the barest hint of civility in her tone. Kate graciously agreed that the armchair to which she’d been directed was the perfect place to sit. The Ryans sat together on the flower-patterned couch. Kevin headed for the second chair. He was just about to hoist himself up onto the overstuffed corduroy recliner when he suddenly found himself lifted into the air. A second later he was in Kate’s lap, with the detective’s arms encircling him possessively.
Mrs. Ryan’s eyes narrowed briefly, but in the interest of not starting a shouting match, she bit her tongue. Instead, she picked up a framed photograph from its new permanent home on the side table. It was a portrait of Kevin, all decked out in his dress blues and proudly sporting his new detective stripes. “Every time I look at this picture, it reminds me of what promise Kevin’s future held.” She pressed her fingers against her mouth as her chin wobbled slightly. Mr. Ryan wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“He still has a promising future,” argued Kate. “He’ll have every opportunity to follow whatever career path he chooses.”
“He turned out just fine without your fancy private schools and connections,” said Mrs. Ryan. “And he avoided being cursed by witches for thirty-four years.”
“Kevin worked with me for seven of those thirty-four years, from - oh, about the time that picture was taken,” said Kate. “The spell was the result of the unfortunate coincidence of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just wish that the hag who actually did this to him was still alive so you could lay your blame where it really belongs.”
“It’s nobody’s fault,” said Kevin. “And it’s stupid to try to blame someone, anyway. It can’t be broken, so now Javi and I just have to deal with it.”
“Are you sure it can’t be broken? You gave up trying to find a cure after just two weeks,” said Mrs. Ryan.
“We didn’t give up,” said Kate heatedly. “Attempting to undo the curse nearly killed Javier. You might think that I’m incapable of raising them, but I care enough to not endanger their lives with theoretical spells that have never been tested.”
“Not that their lives aren’t already ruined,” said Mrs. Ryan snarkily.
“And this is why I’ll be taking Kevin home tonight,” said Kate. “His life isn’t ruined, it’s been delayed a few years. At least I can look at him and not equate his circumstance to being dead.”
Mrs. Ryan burst into tears then, clutching the frame to her chest. Mr. Ryan hugged her more tightly and tried to calm her down, but the older woman wanted nothing to do with his attempts to soothe her. Kevin hated it when people cried, but especially when it was his mother and she was crying because of him. His stupid five-year-old emotions kicked in and he had to sniffle back his own tears.
“I’m sorry, baby boy,” Kate whispered, cuddling him as closely as she could with her protruding stomach in the way. “I promised myself I wouldn’t get into it with her, but I just…”
“I know,” said Kevin, wiping angrily at his unwanted tears. As much as she denied it, to everyone who accused her and most of all, to herself, he knew that in her heart, Kate felt responsible for what had happened to her partners and being unable to fix it. Javier and Kevin didn’t blame anyone but Nora Bellefonte and her son and they tried to tell Kate and Castle that as often as possible. Still, it would take time for the senior detective to accept the change and the fact that she wasn’t the cause of it.
Kate took a deep breath to regain her own composure and nudged Kevin to slide off of her lap. “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome,” she said as she stood up and captured Kevin’s hand in her own. Mrs. Ryan didn’t acknowledge her, but Mr. Ryan stood to walk them to the door. “Oh, and just so you know, we’re going to Colorado for Christmas, so you won’t be able to see Kevin again until January.”
“You can’t take him away for the holiday!” Now the older woman was ready to brawl again.
“We can talk about this later,” said Mr. Ryan. He followed Kate and Kevin as the detective marched towards the front door. “Kate…” he started, but trailed off at a loss for words.
“I’m really sorry,” Kate said. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I promise, I’m taking good care of him.”
“I know,” said Mr. Ryan. “This is still hard for Maggie. It’s hard for all of us, but she’s struggling to accept that Kevin is five again, instead of thirty-five. She was hoping for more grandkids sooner than later.”
“I understand that she’s in mourning, but none of this is my fault.”
“She knows that, but grief is making her a bit irrational and she’s looking for anyone to blame.”
“I’m not going to keep bringing him over here if he’s crying every time we leave,” said Kate.
“We’ll work it out. And maybe it’s better if you do take the boys to Colorado for Christmas. I’m sure she’ll still be hurting and I don’t want Kevin to be any more miserable than he has to be for his first Christmas as a child again.”
“Exactly,” said Kate. Her posture relaxed and she offered Mr. Ryan a small, but genuine smile.
“Okay, Kevin,” said the older man, leaning down so he could be closer to eye level with the five-year-old. “Be good. Try to forgive us for how poorly we’re handling this.”
“It’s okay,” he said quietly. It was difficult to hold a new wave of tears at bay, but he succeeded. Mr. Ryan wrapped him in a brief hug and then slowly rose to his full height again to shake Kate’s hand.
Kate waited until the front door closed behind them before picking Kevin up and settling him on her hip. She rested her forehead against his, taking a few moments to center herself again and rejoice that the visit was over. She didn’t linger too long on the front porch of the Ryan house, eager to put some miles between herself and the distraught parents. Kevin wanted that too. He didn’t dawdle when she put him back on his feet and tugged him in the direction of the car.
xXx
Castle took one look at the pair as they entered the loft and shook his head. He’d obviously been home long enough from his book signing to change into lounge clothes, but he was still in the process of getting ready to write.
“How long did it take for you and Mrs. Ryan to butt heads this time?” he asked his fiancée.
“Two sentences,” said Kevin dryly. He didn’t waste any time moving to the writer’s side and tugging on the hem of his shirt. Castle, unhindered by an ever-growing baby bump, easily picked him up.
“Well, I know just the cure for family reunions.” He led the way into the kitchen with Kate following closely behind. She smiled at Kevin when he caught her eye over Castle’s shoulder. Just being with the writer did wonders to heal her hurt feelings. He smiled back at her.
The End