[Castle: Drabble] "Unspectacular" [G]
Title: Unspectacular
Prompt: (unbelievably late) birthday present for naemi
Rating: G
Word Count: 400
Fandom: Castle
Character(s): Alexis Castle, ensemble
Summary: Alexis’s birthday is uneventful - just the way she wanted.
Unspectacular
No one had actually forgotten Alexis’s birthday.
She’d been very clear with her father that she didn’t want any kind of spectacle - like the literal three-ring circus of her eighth birthday or the pony incident of her eleventh - so the single sparkler and promise of chocolate chip pancakes he’d woken her with had seemed like a good start. It wasn’t his fault there had been a murder, not in New York City, so she took the spatula from him with a smile and sent him off to the crime scene.
Becket sent a text twenty minutes later, an apology and a birthday cake emoji. Alexis sent back a thumbs-up and grinned the whole way to her first class of the day. Gram came to pick her up for a quick lunch before her third class, and just before her last evening class she got another text, this time from Detective Ryan, the promise of a no-questions-asked secret-from-dad favor from him and Detective Esposito.
As class got out, she got one more text, from Dad, asking her to pick up a menu from the deli on the north corner of campus and bring it to the station. It must have been important, she thought, and changed direction.
“They’re in the conference room,” said a uniformed officer, when she arrived, holding out her permanent visitor badge.
The room was dark, shutters all closed, but Alexis cracked open to door - to a sudden bright light and a dozen voices yelling, “Happy birthday!”
“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed. “This is…”
The room was decorated with streamers and balloons, everyone crowded around the table to beam at her. It wasn’t anything fancy - but it was perfect.
“Jenny made cupcakes,” said Detective Ryan, holding up one with a candle stuck in it. “Make a wish!”
“We have to sing first,” said Lanie. “Come on…”
When they finished, Alexis blew out the candle, grinning. “Thank you.”
Beckett pulled her in for a quick one-armed hug. “Sorry we couldn’t do more, but we’re still investigating. I’m afraid the party’s going to end when we get the lab results back - although you and Martha are welcome to stay, of course.”
“Thank you,” Alexis repeated. “This is enough already.”
“It’ll be hard to top this next year,” said her father. “Maybe we could try the circus again-”
Alexis shoved a cupcake in his mouth. “Let’s do exactly this again.”
THE END
Current Mood:
clean
Prompt: (unbelievably late) birthday present for naemi
Rating: G
Word Count: 400
Fandom: Castle
Character(s): Alexis Castle, ensemble
Summary: Alexis’s birthday is uneventful - just the way she wanted.
Unspectacular
No one had actually forgotten Alexis’s birthday.
She’d been very clear with her father that she didn’t want any kind of spectacle - like the literal three-ring circus of her eighth birthday or the pony incident of her eleventh - so the single sparkler and promise of chocolate chip pancakes he’d woken her with had seemed like a good start. It wasn’t his fault there had been a murder, not in New York City, so she took the spatula from him with a smile and sent him off to the crime scene.
Becket sent a text twenty minutes later, an apology and a birthday cake emoji. Alexis sent back a thumbs-up and grinned the whole way to her first class of the day. Gram came to pick her up for a quick lunch before her third class, and just before her last evening class she got another text, this time from Detective Ryan, the promise of a no-questions-asked secret-from-dad favor from him and Detective Esposito.
As class got out, she got one more text, from Dad, asking her to pick up a menu from the deli on the north corner of campus and bring it to the station. It must have been important, she thought, and changed direction.
“They’re in the conference room,” said a uniformed officer, when she arrived, holding out her permanent visitor badge.
The room was dark, shutters all closed, but Alexis cracked open to door - to a sudden bright light and a dozen voices yelling, “Happy birthday!”
“Oh, my gosh,” she breathed. “This is…”
The room was decorated with streamers and balloons, everyone crowded around the table to beam at her. It wasn’t anything fancy - but it was perfect.
“Jenny made cupcakes,” said Detective Ryan, holding up one with a candle stuck in it. “Make a wish!”
“We have to sing first,” said Lanie. “Come on…”
When they finished, Alexis blew out the candle, grinning. “Thank you.”
Beckett pulled her in for a quick one-armed hug. “Sorry we couldn’t do more, but we’re still investigating. I’m afraid the party’s going to end when we get the lab results back - although you and Martha are welcome to stay, of course.”
“Thank you,” Alexis repeated. “This is enough already.”
“It’ll be hard to top this next year,” said her father. “Maybe we could try the circus again-”
Alexis shoved a cupcake in his mouth. “Let’s do exactly this again.”
THE END
Current Mood:
clean