Somewhere Close to Me

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free
"Wildflowers" - Tom Petty

Her husband has not stopped running around since he got home. She understands his reasons, knows he wants this to be perfect, but he is driving her insane.

A father-daughter dance should not be this exhausting, especially for the person not attending it. Especially when the daughter in question is four and it's not like Castle is a hands-off parent by any stretch of the imagination. He's just as present for Lily's dress-up games and tea parties as Kate is; there's no reason for him to be a wreck over a dance that intended to be a bonding experience for fathers or father figures and daughters. If anything, Rick Castle is the poster boy for good father-daughter relationships; all others should be following his lead.

"Babe, you need to slow down," Kate murmurs, patting Jake's back. He stiffens after a moment, belches, and relaxes in her arms. "Lily's going to have fun tonight whether you're wearing a tuxedo or not."

Her husband sighs, sinking beside her on the bed. Jake twists, giving his father a gummy grin while Reece does his best to roll toward Rick. Kate smothers a smile; the kids adore him, even when he's being completely absurd.

"I know, but I want it to go well. She deserves it; she's been such a trooper lately."

Lifting a hand, Kate tugs him closer. Her lips brush his cheek, curving upward against his skin. "You're sweet, baby, you're sweet. But you're also being completely absurd."

Rick lowers his head, smiling sheepishly.

"I do have something for you to wear tonight though," she adds, patting his cheek. "Take Jake for a second?"

He nods, slipping his arms under Jake and pulling him to his chest. Tickling Reece's belly, Kate slides off the bed and makes her way to the dresser.

"So, as you know, you were forbidden from seeing Lily's dress, but she asked me to make sure I got you something special so the two of you would match."

She grabs a small paper gift box from her sock drawer, moving back to her husband and propping it on his thigh. Rick eyes it, pressing a kiss to Jake's forehead before settling him on the comforter beside his brother, tweaking their little feet.

"Let's see what Mommy bought me, guys."

Kate presses her lips together, swaying by the bed.

"It's not big, but like I said, Lil asked me to get it. She was very specific with her instructions, in fact."

Rick smiles, shimmying the lid off the box.

"This is your one hint about her dress, by the way," she offers, sifting her hand through his hair.

Rick nods, thoughtful as he peels back the tissue, lifting the necktie from the wrapping. He grins, turning it over in his hand.

"This is great."

"I went to three stores looking for it. Her dress is this exact shade of pink. So, you'll not only be matching, you will be perfectly matched."

She presses a kiss to his temple. "And you do not need a tuxedo for tonight. Trust me; your regular, dashing suit will be fine."

Her husband sighs, brushing his fingers over the tie. "You're right. I'll save the tux for when we chaperone her prom."

She laughs, resting her cheek on his head. "We're chaperoning her prom now? In thirteen or fourteen years?"

"Uh huh. I marked it on my calendar – the date is tentative, of course, but I marked it."

"You're a weirdo," she says, softening her words with the pucker of her lips in his hair. "A complete whack job."

Rick chuckles, slipping his arm around her waist and tugging her closer.

"That's me."

She squeezes him. "Okay, I'm going to check on Lil, see if she's still napping, and then I'll give you a time-check too. We don't want you to have to rush, after all; you need time to do your hair."

He grins, lifting his head. "You know me too well, Beckett."

She pats his shoulder, pulling away. "Yes, yes I do. I'll be back; keep PB and J occupied while I'm gone."

Like she really needs to tell him twice. Already he's leaning over the boys, tickling their bellies until they squeal.

She checks her watch on the way out of the bedroom. Lily has been asleep for almost an hour, which means she can probably let her sleep for a little while longer before she wakes the girl to do her hair and get her into her dress and shoes.

Lily's been excited for this dance for weeks; there's no way they're going to be anything more than fashionably late.

Kate steps into her daughter's room, hiding a laugh behind her hand. Lily's covers have been thrown to the floor and her pillows are scattered across the mattress. The girl has somehow managed to stretch out and avoid every one of them in the process.

"Lily," she murmurs, rubbing gentle circles over her girl's back. "Baby, do you want to get up and start getting ready?"

Lily squirms, rolling away from Kate's hand.

"Okay, I'll take that as a no." She dusts a kiss over the top of her kid's head, breathing in the delicate pear scent of Lily's shampoo. "I'll wake you in a few minutes, then."

Instead of getting up immediately, she stays perched on the edge of Lily's bed, relishing in the quiet warmth of having her daughter near. She'll go back downstairs and help Rick get the boys settled for their naps in a moment, but for now Lily's soft breathing keeps her in her spot.

"Hey," Rick whispers from the doorway. He wiggles the baby monitor when she looks up. "Boys are down for the count. I'm going to take this with me into the bathroom while I shower. 'Kay?"

"'Kay, thanks. We'll meet you downstairs in a little while."

He grins, looking past her to where Lily sleeps. "She's beauty, she's grace, she's going to have pillow creases on her face."

Kate laughs, turning back to her daughter to be sure they haven't woken her up with their chatter. "You're terrible."

"Maybe. You know, she looks just like you when you're asleep, Beckett," he adds, jogging out of the doorway when she threatens to fling one of Lily's discarded pillows at him. "Love you!" he calls down the hall – already halfway to the stairs, no doubt.

Lily does have pillow creases on her face when she wakes up, but they fade in the time it takes to change into her dress and start working on her hair.

They're almost done when Lily sighs, looking in the mirror.

"What?" she asks putting the curling iron down, stroking her fingers through her daughter's hair. "What's that face for, Little Flower?"

"I fink I need lipstick."

Kate chuckles, petting a flyaway piece of hair down. "Lipstick, huh? How 'bout a little lip gloss and a smidgen of eye shadow and we'll call it even?"

Lily considers it. "Pink?"

Smothering a smile, she nods. "If that's the color you'd like. I think I have some pinks for you to choose from."

"Okay."

"Okay," Kate agrees, turning her head gently, lifting the curling iron again. "Let me just finish with your hair and then we'll tackle your makeup."

Lily sends her ahead when they're done, citing Martha's insistence that making a grand entrance is important. Her new job is to make sure Daddy is ready before Lily emerges. Thankfully, she finds Rick in the living room, sans jacket, buttoning the cuffs on his shirt, the pink tie she had presented to him tied expertly around his neck.

"Hey," she says, grinning at his jump. "Boys still sleeping?"

He nods, checking the monitor to be sure. "Totally out. I think the game of 'find your toes' really got to them this time."

Kate chuckles. "It is a hell of a game," she says moving to him, brushing his shoulders. She runs her hands down his arms. "You look good."

"Yeah?" he asks. "I pass muster?"

Lifting onto her toes, she presses a kiss to his mouth. "More than. If your date weren't so cute and sweet, I might try to steal you from her."

A sly grin slips over his face and he loops an arm around her waist, drawing her closer. "Now, now, there's enough of me to go arou-"

"Mommy, s'he weady?"

"I call dibs on you later," Kate hums. She sneaks another kiss before stepping away and lifting her face toward the stairs. "He's ready, Lily. You can come down!"

"Oh! I need my camera!"

True to her grandmother's example, Lily makes a drawn out, dramatic entrance, pausing halfway down the stairs for their oohs and ahhs and picture-taking before carefully making her way down the final steps.

Kate tugs the camera from her husband's hand, urging him to join the girl. He does, offering Lily an exaggerated bow.

"Miss Castle, may I say you look beautiful tonight?"

Lily giggles, wrapping an arm around his neck and giving him a squeeze. "Fanks. We match, Daddy! See?"

She releases him, twirling so her dress can flare around her in an umbrella of pink organza and sparkles.

"We do," Rick agrees, taking her hand and spinning her again, his face lighting up at her joyful laughter. "Thank you for picking a matching tie for me, Sprout. It was the perfect touch to my outfit."

Lily beams, swaying happily. Rick drops a kiss on her hand. "Well, what do you think, Sprout, shall we go?"

The girl nods. "Just gotta get my purse firs'," she says, hopping down the final step and running to the table where she'd staged the clutch Martha had given her for the occasion. Kate snaps a few more pictures as they reconvene, taking one final one of the two of them posed on the stairs.

"Okay," Rick starts, helping Lily button her sweater. "I hope you're hungry because I made a reservation for us at Le Cirque. And if you'd like, after the dance we can get," he lowers his voice to a stage whisper, "ice cream. What do you think?"

"Sounds perfec', Daddy!"

He claps his hands, grinning in Kate's direction. "Fantastic. Okay, Mommy, we're going to go now."

She nods, holding out an arm to Lily, giving the girl's shoulders a squeeze when she comes closer. "Have fun and don't get too crazy. Daddy, make sure this party animal doesn't get wild."

Rick grins. "No promises." He cups Kate's cheek, his lips finding the corner of her mouth. "See you later."

"Mhmm," she hums. "See you later."

Her evening is quiet. The boys wake up from their naps happy and playful, taking it easy on her the rest of the day, even during dinner and their eventual bedtime, which is a miracle in itself. She does opt to skip bath time without her partner there to help her juggle the twins, but even with that omission to the nightly routine, she feels the warmth of accomplishment. After they've gone down again, she finds herself basking in the silence with a glass of wine and a long-unfinished novel. Soon enough, though, her eyelids begin to grow heavy and she pulls the blanket down from the back of the couch, draping it over her legs as she leans back against the throw pillows and allows herself to drift off.

The scrape of a key in the lock startles her out of her light doze and she has to take a few deep breaths to calm her heart before she sits up. She rubs her eyes, trying her best to look awake and alive when the door swings open and Rick steps inside.

"Look who's back," she says, covering her lips with soft fingers. They're quite a picture in the soft orange light coming from the end table, beautiful and sweet.

Lily's head lolls on Rick's shoulder, her arm tight around his neck. He cradles her close, one hand on her back, his other arm supporting her behind to keep her from sliding. In that hand, he holds their daughter's sparkly pink ballet flats.

"She danced so hard, her feet started to hurt," he explains as Kate joins him and takes the footwear from his fingers. "We didn't even make it to the ice cream shop; she was so tired from the party. So I told her we could all go tomorrow to make up for it."

"Poor baby." She rubs Lily's back, taking the girl's purse and helping Rick ease the sweater off her shoulders. "Did you guys have fun?"

He nods. "She had a blast and I had fun, too. It was great. It wasn't just dads there, either; I talked to a few moms, a few aunts and uncles, grandpas, too. It was nice. Also, you were right: a tux would have been overkill. Ruggedly handsome overkill, but overkill nonetheless."

She chuckles, tossing Lil's sweater over the arm of the couch, slipping an arm around his waist and pulling him closer instead of treating him to her mother's favorite phrase.

"You're so good with her, Rick," she murmurs, pressing her lips to his shoulder. "You didn't need a dance to help the two of you bond, but the fact that you made the entire night so magical for her…"

"Makes you want me, right?" he quips.

She grins, lifting her hand to rub Lily's back. She pulls away after a moment, allowing her palm to linger on Rick's side.

"Hmm, well when I called dibs on you earlier, I had been planning to get you to make me a drink and rub my feet while wearing the heck out of that suit," she drawls, tilting her head, trailing her eyes over him. Rick smirks, his shoulders squaring at her perusal. "But since you've asked about me wanting you, I'll tell you what: get her settled upstairs in her room and then come to our room and find out."

Prompt from Colleen (blueismyfave91 on twitter): "Rick & Lily are going to their 1st daddy/daughter dance & her dress is pink, so Kate gets Rick a pink tie to match her dress."

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this story. Be safe, everyone.