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helsinkibabyTitle: Little Star
Author: helsinkibaby
Fandom: Castle
Pairing: Lanie/Esposito
Rating: G
Length: 866 words
Author notes: For the cotton candy bingo prompt "sick child"
Summary: "I'm sorry" are the first words he says.
"I'm sorry."
They are the first words out of Esposito's mouth when he enters the hospital room; they're also the second, third and fourth. It's not the first time that he's led with those words, he's fairly sure it won't be the last but for once, his wife doesn't say anything. Instead, she leaps up from the chair beside the bed, crosses the room to meet him and throws her arms around his neck. Her grip is tight, body pressed firmly against his as she buries her head in the crook of his neck. It seems like a long time before she pulls back, but even then it's only far enough that she can look him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says again, shaking his head, gaze drifting over Lanie's shoulder to the small form lying in the hospital bed. "I was on the damn stand and the prosecutor just wouldn't quit..." Which meant his phone had been turned off and the first he'd known of a family emergency was when he exited the courtroom, blood boiling as he loosened his tie, to see Beckett's worried face waiting for him. "Beckett told me."
Lanie nods, a small smile ghosting across her lips. "Castle's been here the whole time... he refused to leave."
Esposito makes a mental note to buy the man a drink when next he's in the Old Haunt, but based on his present feelings, that could be a while. "How is she?" he asks, stepping towards the bed, towards their daughter who is lying there unnaturally still.
"She's ok," Lanie whispers, and he can't tell whether she's unable to talk or whether she's trying not to wake Anna. "It was a febrile seizure...we got her here as quickly as we could..."
Esposito shakes his head. "Damn temperature," he mutters more to himself than Lanie. "I shouldn't have gone..."
"Hey." Lanie's voice is stronger, more like he's used to. "You couldn't have known, Javi... I'm a damn doctor and I couldn't see it coming... but she's ok, Javi... she's going to be fine."
Except he knows that whatever her voice may be saying, she's shaken. It's in the look in her eyes, red-rimmed with dark shadows underneath; it's the way that she held him so tightly when he first entered the room, in the tremor he could feel across her shoulder blades when his arms were around her. She's holding it together because that's what Lanie always does, but he knows his wife well enough to know that she's been badly frightened and he curses himself that he wasn't there for her, for them.
"Papa?"
The voice from the bed is tiny, tinier even than usual but it makes them jump. Esposito recovers first, summoning a smile to his lips, closing the gap between them and taking her tiny hand in one of his, the other one going to her forehead, smoothing back her curly hair. "Hey there, Estrellita," he whispers as she reaches up and takes his hand in one of her tiny four-year-old ones. "You need to go back to sleep and not give your mama such a fright."
Anna's eyes are dark and serious as she looks at Lanie. "Sorry, Mama," she says, closing her eyes obediently and it's all Esposito can do not to laugh because she does this at home, usually right before she leaps out of bed demanding one more story.
"It's ok, sweetie," Lanie says, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Anna's forehead. "Go to sleep."
"Song." The eyes are closed but the voice is strong, demanding and Esposito chuckles.
"Who's the boss?" he mutters to Lanie before obediently singing the lullaby she wants, the same one that his mother used to sing to him and his sisters.
"Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?
Quiero verte cintilar
en el cielo, sobre el mar.
Un diamante de verdad.
Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?
Quiero verte cintilar. "
By the time he's finished the verse, Anna's breathing is deep and even, lashes dark against her too-pale cheeks and Esposito is able to turn to Lanie, to look down at her and see once again the strain on her face. "Hey," he says, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Anna's not the only one who needs to sleep."
Lanie shakes her head. "Javi, I'm fine..."
"Believe me, Chica, that I know." A little bit of humour can't hurt and when Lanie rolls her eyes, he knows it's done its job. "But you've been through hell the last few hours... and Anna's gonna need us both when she wakes up." He pulls the chair beside the bed back, all but folds her into it, her resistance a mere token. "Go to sleep, Querida," he says gently, running a hand over her hair as he squats down beside her, the endearment reserved for quieter moments when it's just the two of them relaxing her still further. "I'll be here when you both wake up."
Lanie's eyes close, her hands finding his. "Promise?"
He nods. "Always."
*
Notes - there are apparently many translations of "Twinkle Twinkle" from Spanish to English, this is the one I went with!
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine
in the sky, over the sea;
a real diamond.
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine
Author: helsinkibaby
Fandom: Castle
Pairing: Lanie/Esposito
Rating: G
Length: 866 words
Author notes: For the cotton candy bingo prompt "sick child"
Summary: "I'm sorry" are the first words he says.
"I'm sorry."
They are the first words out of Esposito's mouth when he enters the hospital room; they're also the second, third and fourth. It's not the first time that he's led with those words, he's fairly sure it won't be the last but for once, his wife doesn't say anything. Instead, she leaps up from the chair beside the bed, crosses the room to meet him and throws her arms around his neck. Her grip is tight, body pressed firmly against his as she buries her head in the crook of his neck. It seems like a long time before she pulls back, but even then it's only far enough that she can look him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry," he says again, shaking his head, gaze drifting over Lanie's shoulder to the small form lying in the hospital bed. "I was on the damn stand and the prosecutor just wouldn't quit..." Which meant his phone had been turned off and the first he'd known of a family emergency was when he exited the courtroom, blood boiling as he loosened his tie, to see Beckett's worried face waiting for him. "Beckett told me."
Lanie nods, a small smile ghosting across her lips. "Castle's been here the whole time... he refused to leave."
Esposito makes a mental note to buy the man a drink when next he's in the Old Haunt, but based on his present feelings, that could be a while. "How is she?" he asks, stepping towards the bed, towards their daughter who is lying there unnaturally still.
"She's ok," Lanie whispers, and he can't tell whether she's unable to talk or whether she's trying not to wake Anna. "It was a febrile seizure...we got her here as quickly as we could..."
Esposito shakes his head. "Damn temperature," he mutters more to himself than Lanie. "I shouldn't have gone..."
"Hey." Lanie's voice is stronger, more like he's used to. "You couldn't have known, Javi... I'm a damn doctor and I couldn't see it coming... but she's ok, Javi... she's going to be fine."
Except he knows that whatever her voice may be saying, she's shaken. It's in the look in her eyes, red-rimmed with dark shadows underneath; it's the way that she held him so tightly when he first entered the room, in the tremor he could feel across her shoulder blades when his arms were around her. She's holding it together because that's what Lanie always does, but he knows his wife well enough to know that she's been badly frightened and he curses himself that he wasn't there for her, for them.
"Papa?"
The voice from the bed is tiny, tinier even than usual but it makes them jump. Esposito recovers first, summoning a smile to his lips, closing the gap between them and taking her tiny hand in one of his, the other one going to her forehead, smoothing back her curly hair. "Hey there, Estrellita," he whispers as she reaches up and takes his hand in one of her tiny four-year-old ones. "You need to go back to sleep and not give your mama such a fright."
Anna's eyes are dark and serious as she looks at Lanie. "Sorry, Mama," she says, closing her eyes obediently and it's all Esposito can do not to laugh because she does this at home, usually right before she leaps out of bed demanding one more story.
"It's ok, sweetie," Lanie says, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Anna's forehead. "Go to sleep."
"Song." The eyes are closed but the voice is strong, demanding and Esposito chuckles.
"Who's the boss?" he mutters to Lanie before obediently singing the lullaby she wants, the same one that his mother used to sing to him and his sisters.
"Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?
Quiero verte cintilar
en el cielo, sobre el mar.
Un diamante de verdad.
Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?
Quiero verte cintilar. "
By the time he's finished the verse, Anna's breathing is deep and even, lashes dark against her too-pale cheeks and Esposito is able to turn to Lanie, to look down at her and see once again the strain on her face. "Hey," he says, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Anna's not the only one who needs to sleep."
Lanie shakes her head. "Javi, I'm fine..."
"Believe me, Chica, that I know." A little bit of humour can't hurt and when Lanie rolls her eyes, he knows it's done its job. "But you've been through hell the last few hours... and Anna's gonna need us both when she wakes up." He pulls the chair beside the bed back, all but folds her into it, her resistance a mere token. "Go to sleep, Querida," he says gently, running a hand over her hair as he squats down beside her, the endearment reserved for quieter moments when it's just the two of them relaxing her still further. "I'll be here when you both wake up."
Lanie's eyes close, her hands finding his. "Promise?"
He nods. "Always."
*
Notes - there are apparently many translations of "Twinkle Twinkle" from Spanish to English, this is the one I went with!
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine
in the sky, over the sea;
a real diamond.
Little star, where are you?
I want to see you shine
