Genre: Crime, Drama, Family, Romance, Humor

Rating: M for violence, language and sexual situations

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: There's a lyric from the song Kicked around No More by Paul McCartney here, from his album Off the Ground: The Complete Works.

A/N #2: The title of this story is a mixture of lyrics from the song Maxwell's Silver Hammer by The Beatles, from their album Abbey Road. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Down to the River by Paul McCartney, from his album Off the Ground: The Complete Works.

Where The Waters Flow

Lying still in bed, Beckett listened to the sound of the waves breaking outside the window, the noise interrupted from time to time by the cry of a seagull. She finally made herself get up, sliding out carefully before going to one of the windows. Looking out on the water, she saw there was a slight haze that was nearly gone and she was relieved, since when it had been getting a little foggy the night before when they'd arrived, Julia had grown worried about their chances to swim the next day. She smiled as she glanced back at Castle, looking around his room in his beach house, remembering the last time they'd been there they'd been freezing.

As Beckett was thinking about the weather that Memorial Day weekend, Julia peered around the doorway until her mother saw her. She smiled when she put her fingers to her lips before hurrying inside to hug her tightly. "Morning Mommy," she said happily, but in a whisper.

"Morning sweetie, how'd you sleep?" Beckett asked, picking her up and kissing her temple as she turned to the window so they could look out.

"Really good, I love the water, it sounds nice," Julia replied. "Can we go swimming today?"

"We can, but we need to wake up Castle first," Beckett said, unable to help laughing softly as her daughter looked surprised to hear the word we.

"You want me to help?" Julia asked.

"You can start," Beckett replied simply. "But I think you'll need my help eventually." She had walked over to the bed as she'd spoken, and set Julia down, getting on after her.

Shaking his shoulder, Julia watched Castle groan loudly before turning onto his back. "Is he up?" she asked her mother.

"I don't think so," Beckett replied with a smile as she knew from the tone of that noise that her fiancé was already awake. "Maybe if you slap him on the cheek he'll-"

"Whoa, okay, I'm up now," Castle said, cutting her off before she could continue. "Really?" he asked her.

"Well, you probably would have dragged things on for a lot longer if I hadn't said that," Beckett replied with a shrug.

Shaking his head, Castle looked at their daughter then and said, "Good morning Julia, how'd you sleep?"

"Mommy asked, and I slept nice," Julia said. "She said we can go swimming."

"So I guess the weather cleared up?" Castle asked, pulling her to him for a hug.

"It did," Beckett said, watching them. "But you still need to wear your vest sweetie."

"No, she's right," Castle said as Julia started to open her mouth to protest. "You know how to swim now but it's still tough to swim in the ocean."

"Then I can practice," the little girl pointed out.

"Yes you can, but, when you're not practicing," Beckett said. "You need to wear the vest."

"Can we swim in the pool?" Julia asked.

"Yes, it's ready," Castle answered as Beckett had looked to him to answer that. "But you know," he then continued with, grabbing Beckett's hand to pull her down on the bed with him. "I am a little tired still, you must be too right?"

"Very much so," Beckett said jokingly, knowing what he was doing. "Aren't you sweetie?"

"No, I want to go swimming, I waited a long time to get to come back," Julia protested seriously as she looked down at them.

"Really? How long?" Castle asked, reaching down and taking his fiancée's hand since he had his arm under her neck.

"Very long, since Christmas," Julia said.

"Sure you don't want to take a little nap before we get up for breakfast?" Beckett asked.

"No," Julia said firmly, shaking her head back and forth. "I wanna go to the beach and swim, forever."

"That's a little too long," Castle said as he and Beckett laughed at their daughter's tone. He let her go as she sat up to hug Julia to her, and followed her, kissing the little girl's temple saying, "I'll get breakfast started."

"Can we eat outside?" Julia asked pleadingly.

"We can, but you need to get dressed first," Beckett replied as Castle looked to her to answer.

"Good, I can wear my bathing suit," Julia said.

"We'll meet you downstairs," Beckett said as she got off the bed and he helped Julia down.

Grabbing her hand before she could follow Julia out into the hall, Castle pulled her close and kissed her gently before they pulled apart slowly. "So I finally managed to get you out here for Memorial Day," he said.

Shaking her head, Beckett said, "It was inevitable, this will be our house too once we're married," as she was leaving the room.

"I think it already is," Castle corrected her. Once she was out of earshot, he grabbed his clothing, looking around the room while he did so, and feeling a strange sense of that being true. Since they'd arrived the day before, he'd felt that they'd been making the trip many times before; not just the two previous times they'd come with their daughter. Shaking his head at that when he heard Julia's laugh from down the hall, he hurried to change and get breakfast prepared, knowing the little girl was as ready as he was to begin their holiday weekend.

Running out of the house ahead of her mother and Castle, Julia would have gone straight down to the water if her mother hadn't called her name sternly. She stopped abruptly on the transition between grass and sand, and turned to them as they sat at the two white chairs behind her. "Sorry," she said as she walked back to them at her mother's beckoning hand. "But I wanted to see shells."

"We'll go down together okay? But for now, eat your pancakes that you and Castle made," Beckett said, kissing her cheek tenderly.

"Do I have to sit?" Julia asked, since there wasn't anywhere else to sit except their laps.

"Only if you want to," Castle said, handing her a fork. "So I got us dinner reservations at The White Narrows."

"Did you not know you'd be able to?" Beckett asked with a smile as she easily remembered the place.

"No, I was struggling to get a table; luckily I think having to go so early helped me out there. But it'll likely be crowded," Castle said. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked Julia as she was tugging on his sleeve. "Finish your piece you just ate before you talk," he said before Beckett handed him a napkin to wipe off her chin.

When she had finished, Julia quickly asked, "Is that where we ate before?" When both Castle and her mother nodded she then asked excitedly, "Do we dress up?"

"A little," he replied, seeing Beckett looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "It's not going to be fancy, but you will get to wear a dress."

"Do I have one?" Julia asked her mother, frowning as she didn't remember her packing one in her suitcase.

"No, but that's because of him," Beckett said, nodding her head to Castle. "He told me not to."

"After lunch with the Fosters," he said, trying not to laugh at the two turning to him at nearly the same time. "I want us to head into downtown and get some gelato for dessert. But first, a dress for tonight; Alexis told me there's a new kids clothing boutique. She insisted her friend Stephanie said they had great clothes for Julia."

"Which she would know since she does know her," Beckett said, remembering the young woman. "Okay, we'll go, but she's picking out the dress."

"I'll buy it for you," Castle said. "And you need to promise me something."

"Kay," Julia said, finishing another bite of pancakes.

"Make sure you can wear your necklace with it," Castle said.

"I'm sure she will," Beckett said, shaking her head with a smile as Julia was doing so too. "You do realize she'll likely pick a dress in blue."

"That's what I'm hoping for," Castle said. "Oh, now I remember why talking about the shells made me think I was forgetting something. You know how I have something on my table in the middle?" he said, directing the question to Julia. When she nodded; eating again; he said, "I wanted to get some shells for a bowl, to put out during the summer. Want to pick them out this weekend?"

"Can I?" Julia asked excitedly. "Mommy, what about my vases?"

"Vases?" Castle asked his fiancée.

"Earlier this week we were talking about her room," Beckett said, nodding back to the house. "And she's ready to start decorating it."

"I'll bet," Castle said. "And you want to put vases in there?"

"She needs another dresser," Beckett said simply. "A tall one, for more storage, and also because her room is big enough for it. So what she thought of doing is getting two tall vases, and picking shells from here to put in them."

"And sand, I wanna put that on the bottom and then a lot of shells," Julia explained.

"Knowing you, they'll be a lot of shells," Castle said. "Luckily you have the buckets for making sandcastles so we can use those. Sounds like we'll be getting a lot; I just hope we'll have enough time to swim."

"We will," Beckett said quickly when Julia turned to her with a worried expression on her face. "Finish eating and we'll see how the water is."

Trying not to race through the rest of her meal, Julia waited on one of the chairs as Castle and Beckett took everything they'd used back into the house. She was tempted to go down to the water, but knew her mother was serious about giving her a time out if she did that. So she waited, swinging her feet back and forth until she was suddenly lifted up, crying out in surprise before she saw that it was Castle. "Now we can go?" she asked.

"We can," Beckett said, holding a bag with her daughter's beach toys. She gave it to Julia, telling her, "Go ahead and look now while we get everything set up."

Running to the line of shells in the water, Julia started to pick up whatever she could find; studying each one to make sure it wasn't broken before putting it into the bucket she'd brought with her. "We'll find lots of shells," she said in a matter of fact tone as her mother and Castle joined her.

"Looks like you're right," he said. "For now though, swim?"

"Yes please," Julia said, dropping her bucket. When she heard the clatter of seashells in it she cried out, "My shells!"

"They'll be okay," Beckett said as the little girl was peering at them. She got Julia's attention and took off her cover up dress and took the vest Castle held out to her. "It might be too cold," she warned as she got the buckles along the front set.

"That's kay, I will get used to it," Julia said simply. "Are you gonna go swimming? Please?"

"I will, just let me take off my dress," Beckett said.

Castle walked over to her then, since he was in his just his trunks, and knelt in front of the little girl, testing her vest. He then pulled on the buckles, making her rock back and forth to her giggle. "Okay," he said to Beckett who was walking up to them. "I think she's ready to go."

"Looks like it," she said as their daughter took their hands, pulling them.

"It's cold!" Julia cried out with a squeal as the water lapped over their feet.

"Still want to swim?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, but it's still cold," Julia laughed as he pretended to stagger back when the next wave washed over them.

"We'll work our way in," Beckett commented. "But very, very slowly."

Once she was in the water enough for her feet to come off the sand, Julia tried to duck but had a little difficulty because of the vest. "Can we go down?" she asked her mother and Castle who were watching her.

"I think that can be managed. You up to it Kate?" Castle asked his fiancée.

"One, two, three," Beckett simply counted off in response before they went underneath at the same time, she and Castle holding their daughter in between them. "Freezing," she breathed when they resurfaced.

Walking around to her, Castle ran his hands over her middle, exposed by her bikini, and laughed when she pushed him away from her before splashing her. "No taking me down?" he asked as Julia dog paddled to him before getting on his back.

"Not with her there," Beckett said, leaning up as he leaned down. She kissed first their daughter's cheek before brushing her lips against Castle's, saying, "I thought you wanted to swim sweetie?"

"Can I jump into the water from here?" Julia asked eagerly, patting his shoulders.

"Yes." "No," Castle and then Beckett said. They looked at each other before he caved in and finally said, "I guess not, but you can jump into the pool from the sides."

"As long as we're there to catch you," Beckett said.

"But what about throwing her into the water?" Castle suggested.

"Yeah, lemme do that Mommy!" Julia said eagerly.

"Fine, but please, that way," Beckett said jokingly as she motioned out towards the water.

"Why does he throw me to the sand," Julia asked as she let go of him so he could pick her up.

"I think your mom's kidding. Ready?" Castle asked. When she nodded he threw her up a little before she landed with a splash in front of them. He and Beckett were quick to make sure she resurfaced; which she did laughing with delight. "I think she liked it," he said to his fiancée.

"I think so," Beckett said, before he was suddenly grabbing her. "Oh no," she said quickly, able to dig her feet into the sand enough to stop him before he could pick her up. "Now I might take you down," she teased him.

"You don't want him to throw you?" Julia asked, watching them.

"I can just do that in the pool," Castle said simply, laughing with the little girl before he turned to his fiancée and nearly jumped back when he found her so close her nose was pressed up against his. "Uh… no?"

"You do anything that involves me falling into the water, you will be punished," Beckett said simply. "Severely, got it?"

"As you said," Castle said, gulping as he had several ways to go in figuring out what exactly she meant by punishment. He didn't let her go though, instead held her to him saying, "Okay sweetheart?"

"Yeah," Julia said, sounding confused until he kissed her mother. She giggled a little and looked down at the water, splashing her hand on it before another wave pushed her back up to the sand. She found her feet back on relatively solid ground, and jumped up and down as the two parted and turned to her. "Can we swim out now?" she begged.

"Why not?" Castle said. "But not that far okay?"

"Yeah, I want you to throw me again," Julia said eagerly as she followed them back out into the water. She began to swim as she'd learned in swimming classes, and kicked her legs as they swam through the waves. "I feel like Lilo!" she cried as they went through one of them.

"Let's stop here," Beckett said, looking back to the beach and seeing they'd gotten a pretty good distance away.

"Can we go more?" Julia asked.

"You're not tired?" Castle asked.

"No, that was fun," Julia replied. "When can I swim without this Mommy, Castle?" she asked, indicating her vest.

"When you're older," Castle said.

"Let's head back," Beckett said, smiling when Julia frowned at that.

"Let the waves take you," Castle told the little girl. "If you get too tired."

"I'm not tired," Julia protested before she started kicking and moving her legs. But she did let the motion of the waves push her towards the shore, and she sat down in the water saying, "Now I am."

"Told you," Castle said, tickling her neck. "You're not going to go swimming again right?" he asked as he'd knelt to get her vest off.

"No," Julia said, watching him. She lay back once he'd finished, and heard the roar of the waves as her ears were underneath the water. She suddenly remembered the shells they were supposed to look for, thinking they didn't have enough for two vases and a bowl. She sat up and turned around, seeing that her mother and Castle were standing in front of the blankets under their umbrella, talking together quietly. She got up hurriedly and ran to them, wrapping her arms around them both before they sat down in front of her and Beckett pulled her onto her lap. Her mother wrapped her up in the towel around her, making Julia laugh as she kissed her cheek and cuddled her close, Castle ruffling her hair at the same time; making the little girl feel safe and very happy with them both.

"They're here," Beckett said, looking over towards the door to the back as Julia was crying out the same thing. She smiled when Castle hurriedly closed the fridge and followed her over to where their daughter was waving at their guests for lunch.

"I hope it's okay," Rebecca Foster called as she, her husband and daughter walked up the grass to them. "We brought our dog."

"That's fine," Castle said quickly. "A Bernese Mountain Dog?" he asked, recognizing the breed their dog was.

"She is," David Foster replied. "A gift from my parents to the kids."

"Speaking of your kids, where's Shane?" Beckett asked as she and Rebecca exchanged a quick hug before they turned to see their daughters were talking quietly together.

"His Boy Scouts troop is on a boat trip this weekend. They're sailing up the coast to camp at a site up north; well, they're there already. And they'll stay until tomorrow afternoon," Rebecca replied. "Rick didn't mention it to you?"

"I never asked," Beckett said with a slight shrug. "Do you want anything to drink?" she asked after she looked over at Castle and saw that he was talking to David.

"I'll help you get some," Rebecca said. "Mari, do you want something to drink?"

"Please Mommy, can we play with Lily?" the Fosters' daughter asked.

"Me too Mommy, can I?" Julia asked her mother.

"Go ahead, but don't go down to the water sweetie," Beckett said to her daughter. She and Rebecca went inside and she wasn't surprised when the woman asked how things were going at work. "Things are fine," she said simply as they went to the kitchen.

"Is your friend Lanie still trying to set you two up?" Rebecca asked, sitting at the island as Beckett went to the fridge first.

"She is, but not so much as she first was, which is a relief," Beckett replied. "What's she's doing now is talking to me about how he's such a great father, that kind of thing."

"Just that?" Rebecca asked with a smile. "She's not mentioning how he might be good for you yourself?" When she heard her friend's groan at that she laughed a little and asked, "So she is. Do I even want to know what she's saying about him?"

"I don't think so," Beckett said, shaking her head. "But she's basically saying I never know, I could be surprised if we became lovers."

"Not surprised she'd go in that direction, since you did mention her saying you needed…" Rebecca started to say before trailing off.

"I know," Beckett said, shaking her head in response to that. "But she's eased up, so it's not an annoyance now."

"I have to wonder how she'll react when you tell her about you two," Rebecca said.

"She'll be hurt I didn't confide into her," Beckett said, handing the woman a glass of wine before she poured out three more. "By the way, if you ever meet Lanie; likely you will at our wedding; don't tell her you knew already."

"Of course not," Rebecca said quickly to assure her.

"But I'm just hoping she'll understand why we lied to them," Beckett said, taking a deep breath.

"So are you two nervous about the election?" Rebecca asked.

"Slightly, we're more worried than anything else," Beckett said, looking into her glass with a slight frown on her lips. "I just wonder if we're being ridiculous about things though."

"In what way exactly?" Rebecca said.

"We're not exactly officially partners, he's a consultant and he's not a cop," Beckett said. "When he started working with us I thought, at first, it would be temporary. When Gates became Captain of the 12th, I thought his return would be temporary too. But we managed to stay together through this, but now… I mean, I'm not saying I can't work without him, just-"

"You don't want to," Rebecca finished. "And neither does he." When Beckett nodded to that she said, "Well, I don't see what else you could do unless…" she began before trailing off and looking away from her friend as she made a quick face.

Watching her, Beckett said simply, "Unless I left the force. Yeah, I've thought of that, and I know he has too but it won't help anything. It's still a little over a month away, and who knows, the current mayor's friend could win. So it's still a little early to worry."

Rebecca didn't reply to that, sipping her drink, but she finally knew she needed to saying, "I'm not sure about that, though you're right, those polls could be wrong, it's pretty close I think."

Before Beckett could reply to that, she heard Castle calling her name before she heard Julia's crying following it. She ran over to the door with Rebecca, seeing that her fiancé was carrying their daughter. "What happened?" she asked when she saw the scrape on Julia's knee, following him to the bathroom.

"She slipped on the steps up to the house," Castle said, setting the little girl down on the counter next to the sink. "She'll be okay though," he said, kissing Julia's temple.

"You will," Beckett said reassuringly as she turned her tear streaked face to her. She squeezed Julia's hand before getting a washcloth and wetting it before drying her cheeks. By then Castle had returned with some items for the scrape, and she held their daughter as he cleaned it off first, feeling her heart beat in a hard thud as Julia let out a pained cry that ripped through her.

"Just a little ointment," Castle said as he was rubbing it on the wound. "And a nice band-aid," he said, placing it on her knee. "And there you go, you're all set. Does it still hurt?" he asked as Beckett hugged their daughter tightly and kissed her cheek.

"No, thank you," Julia said, her chest hitching a little from her crying. "Mommy, can you…?" she started to ask.

Smiling at that, Beckett leaned over and kissed the band-aid; since she did that whenever her daughter got hurt; and she stood back up to let Castle hug her tightly. "She scared you?" she asked him as he picked their daughter up and then carried her out to the kitchen where the Fosters and their dog were waiting for them.

"Yeah, that crying does not help," Castle said.

"Can I go down?" Julia asked.

"Sure," he said quickly, setting her down after kissing her temple. He felt his fiancée take his hand and he leaned over, kissing her cheek before they turned their attention to their guests. "Sorry about that," he told them, taking the glass of wine Rebecca held out to him.

"Not a problem, and something we're used to," David commented. "You're okay Julia?"

"Yeah," the little girl said after finishing sipping her drink. "Now what?" she asked. "Can Mari and I play?"

"We should eat," Beckett said. "You have dinner to make?" she asked Rebecca.

"We do, his parents are coming over," she answered. "And we're making his dad's favorite, ribs, which take time."

"They're cooking now," Mari piped up.

"Luckily you're right next door if you need to check on them," Castle said as he took a plate of sandwiches out of the fridge he and Beckett had made. "We're eating in the dining room, hopefully that's alright."

"It is," Rebecca said quickly. "You do have a stunning view of the water from there. Have you gone swimming yet Julia?" she asked as they headed to the room.

"Yeah, we're gonna swim in the pool," the little girl answered before slowing down. "Can I still swim?" she asked her mother and Castle worriedly.

"You can," he assured her. "We'll go after we come back from the store."

"Making dinner tonight yourself?" David asked.

"We're heading to a children's clothing store," Beckett said. "For Julia to find a dress for dinner."

"That should be fun," Rebecca said as they started to eat. "Where are you headed?"

"The White Narrows," Beckett said. "But there's something I'm more interested in hearing about," she said to change the subject. "We heard from your mother about your birthday plans Mari," she said to the girl who blushed at being singled out.

"Oh, Mommy told me what yours said about it, but what are you gonna do?" Julia asked excitedly.

"I got a present already, Lily," Mari said, smiling as the dog was lying at the doorway to the room. "My grandma and grandpa brought him early. And we're gonna have a beach party with lots of swimming and games, and then I get to have a sleepover after."

"Sounds like a pretty good birthday," Castle commented. "Did you tell her about yours," he said to Julia.

"No, but it was sooo fun," Julia said eagerly. "And I got some nice presents."

Listening as she proceeded to name all the gifts she'd gotten, Beckett shared a smile with Castle as they continued eating, though she and Rebecca had to urge their daughters to do so as they were soon chattering excitedly; the last of their initial shyness with one another disappearing quickly. After Castle and David had cleared the table, she let Julia go outside with Mari and the dog and she and Rebecca went out to the gazebo, standing in the shade to watch the two play. "We need to leave soon unfortunately," she commented after a while. "I'm not kicking you three out, I'm just saying. Castle wants to get gelato, and once he said it Julia did too, so I'm sure at some point she'll remember."

"We should be going anyways," Rebecca said. "But I wonder, are you coming back this summer?"

Smiling as she knew the woman was wondering if they'd visit before or after she and Castle got married; having told her via e-mail they were hoping to get married in August at the earliest; Beckett said, "I really don't know. We may try and come for the Fourth of July if it's possible, but, I couldn't tell you for sure about that."

"Fine with me, but if you come, you're invited to come over for a meal, likely dinner, but you're invited," Rebecca said, seeing that her husband and Castle had come out of the house. "Before we go, let me see your ring."

"Right, you never had a chance to before this," Beckett said, holding her left hand out to her. She'd taken off the ring and put it with her pendant to swim earlier before putting it back on, and watched as Rebecca whistled as she studied the three diamonds.

"That's pretty… nice," the woman said. "Where did he get it?"

"Tiffany's," Castle said, walking over to them with David. "She never asked so she doesn't know."

"Okay, that would explain that," Rebecca said as Beckett looked to be startled. "So we should go Dave."

"Yeah, before the Crock-pot becomes a mass of rib meat," he replied.

"Thank you so much for inviting us, we'll do this again," Rebecca said as she and Beckett exchanged a quick hug.

"We will, and you're invited to come over for a meal next time too," Beckett replied. She shook David's hand as Castle said goodbye to Rebecca and they followed the couple down to the grass. "Have a great holiday Mari," she called as the family left with their dog once Julia and Mari had hugged goodbye. "Tiffany's?" she asked, turning to her fiancé as she rubbed her thumb over the band of her ring.

Nodding, Castle cleared his throat and said, "When you told me the story about your mom's engagement ring being from there, I had to go and see for myself if I could find one. I wasn't looking for an exact ring, but just wanted at least that link. Hopefully you don't mind-" he'd been about to say when she threw her arms around him and kissed him hard. Though Julia was of course there, he responded to it instantly, holding her tightly against him as they kissed until they needed to breathe. "Since you don't mind, I also was looking for a ring that screamed your name, and that one did, loudly."

"How does a ring scream?" Julia asked, making the two jump as they hadn't expected her to speak.

"I think he means figuratively sweetie," Beckett said.

"I picked what looked like it would look best on your mother's hand," Castle said.

"Oh, then you did a really good job," Julia said, leaning against him. "It's perfect. Now though can we get gelato?"

"Yes we can," Beckett said with a smile. "But first we get your dress remember?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna pick a pretty dress so I look grown up," Julia said seriously as they walked up to the house.

"Not that grown up, remember, I really want you to stay five for as long as possible," Castle said, ruffling her hair. He smiled when she giggled at that, and he followed his fiancée and their daughter inside to get ready to leave for downtown.

"Think it is really pretty Mommy?" Julia asked her mother softly as they walked down the sidewalk almost forty-five minutes later.

"I do sweetie," Beckett replied, squeezing her hand. "And that was the prettiest blue shade they had there too. So you made a great decision."

"She's right," Castle said. "And you found the balance of looking grown up but still looking like our little girl."

Smiling at that widely, Julia went inside the gelato shop with Castle first saying, "Why didn't we come before?"

"Well, we can't really go in winter, and in the summer we were a little busy trying to get used to each other. It just never came to mind to bring you here," Castle said as they got in line. "But I should have thought about it, you would have liked me for that I think."

Julia bit her lower lip and wrapped her arms around him before they got to the tubs of gelato. "What do I get? Oh! Mommy, Castle, can I get a cone?" she asked eagerly, looking at all the different kinds there were.

"Yes, but one scoop only," Beckett said a little sternly.

"You must choose wisely," Castle said gravely. When Julia and his fiancée looked at him he shrugged saying, "Always wanted to say that line from the movie."

"What movie?" Julia asked.

"Indiana Jones, but those you need to be a little older to see, maybe next year if your mom agrees," Castle said quickly. "But for now let me read to you what they have, and if you want to try something just ask okay?" At her nod he proceeded to read the flavors, not realizing that Beckett was watching them, a slight smile playing across her lips.

Comparing how they'd been nearly a year before, Beckett couldn't help feel a sense of relief that the two were basically as close as a father and daughter; as Castle was with Alexis. She stepped up to them as they looked at her to order, and she kneeled down to kiss Julia's forehead before they shared a kiss. Standing up, she saw her fiancé was looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and she squeezed his hand before she took her cone to let him know she'd do better than that later, his body relaxing letting her know that he'd gotten the message loud and clear, making her smile widely as she and their daughter waited for him to pay.

"Can we go back home on the beach?" Julia asked once they had left the shop.

"We can," Castle said. "Follow me and I'll show you the way. Remember this because Alexis loves to go get some gelato and then walk home."

When they were walking on the sand, Beckett said, "She was flirting with you."

"Oh, I was aware of that," Castle said, shaking his head as he remembered the attractive cashier that had helped them. "It's why I was trying to hurry. And if you brought that up to see why I didn't flirt back… Julia doesn't need to see that."

Nodding as a way of saying thank you, Beckett was quiet for a little; as was he; watching Julia walking down the beach a little ahead of them. She finally spoke saying, "Alexis told me about your weekends you've had here."

"You mean she warned you," Castle said. "And I'm not surprised she did that, but that was before you and Julia so, I don't see myself going back to the way I used to celebrate this weekend. Definitely not breaking out the fireworks."

"Is that because I wouldn't let you or for our daughter's safety?" Beckett asked as they were nearing the beach house.

"For her safety, of course," Castle said. "And partially because you told me not to." He smiled when she shook her head in response and said to Julia once they'd caught up to where she was waiting, "Ready to go swimming?"

"Yes, please," Julia said eagerly, having finished her cone. She followed Castle and her mother followed her as they went to the pool and she didn't wait for them to help her as she took off her dress covering her bathing suit.

"Julia," Beckett said warningly as the little girl started to step towards the pool.

"I know how to swim," Julia whined before she giggled, having been teasing her mother.

"Come here, you do need to put more sunscreen on anyways," Beckett said. When the little girl was close enough, she wrapped her in her arms and said, "How is your knee?"

"I was going to ask her that too," Castle said as they looked down at it.

"It's good," Julia said. "Are you sure I can swim?"

"You can," Beckett said, letting her go as she could hear the tension in her voice. She quickly put sunscreen on her, sending her off with Castle who was ready by then to go. Smiling as she watched the two sit on the top step she called, "Waiting for me?"

"Yeah, I wanna swim with you too Mommy," Julia said, standing up and turning to face her. She jumped a little on the step, splashing Castle before he grabbed her, tickling her a little. "You can swim," she told him after she was sitting on his lap.

"I'll wait for your mom too," he replied, turning to see his fiancée was putting her engagement ring on her necklace again. "Now we can go," he said, setting Julia on the step before he grabbed her mother, falling back into the water with her to her startled cry.

Laughing at her mother's surprise, Julia hurried down the steps and then jumped out into the water, swimming over to where they were resurfacing. "How did you go under?" she asked as her mother held her so she wouldn't need to tread the water.

"You just bend your legs," Castle said, laughing when Beckett pushed his shoulder. "Want to go under?"

"Please," Julia said eagerly.

"Take a deep breath," Beckett said. "One, two, three," and with that they were ducking underneath the water. She opened her eyes to see Julia had her mouth open, letting bubbles float out of it. She laughed when they resurfaced and said, "You love bubbles sweetie."

"Yeah, can I get some later?" Julia asked readily.

"We packed the bottle you have already," Castle said.

"Which one?" Julia said, swimming over to him.

"On my back?" Castle asked before answering her. When she nodded he turned and let her climb onto his back before saying, "The big bottle we bought you last week."

"Oh good," Julia said as he started to swim to the deep end. "Those are nice bubbles." She looked over at her mother, who was following them, and watched as she suddenly ducked under before resurfacing ahead of them. "Can we do that?" she asked him pleadingly.

"Okay, but hold on tightly with your legs," Castle said. "And another deep breath," he told her before he went under, swimming a little distance towards Beckett before he came back up. "Good?" he asked them both.

"She's fine," Beckett said with a smile as Julia was wiping the water away from her eyes. She then started to swim back to the other end when they were close, waving at her daughter when she waved first. Waiting for them, she wasn't surprised when Castle stood, and Julia jumped off before coming back up to swim to her. Scooping her up she kissed her cheek tenderly saying, "Tired yet?" in a joking tone.

"No! Can I do something now?" Julia pleaded.

"What?" Beckett said.

"Help me float," Julia said quickly.

Castle looked on as the two did that, and then went over to the steps to get out and walk over to the deep end. "So you noticed," he said as the two were looking over at him.

"Hard not to hear the water leaving with you," Beckett said, shaking her head as he jumped into the water. "I hope you're ready," she teased him as Julia was already out of the pool.

"Don't run," Castle and Beckett said together when Julia did so for a few steps.

"I want to get back in," Julia said with a smile, though she slowed down to walk. "I'm gonna jump," she warned Castle before she did so. She heard the muted sound of the water before he was picking her up and she said, "Put me back so I can do that again!"

"Kate," Castle said, looking over to her.

"I'll help, but in the meantime…" Beckett said before she trailed off and ducked under the water, swimming back to the deep end.

"She looks like the ones that swim in the lines," Julia commented as Castle put her outside on the edge.

"Except she's not racing," he told her. "Just exercise."

"It looks boring," Julia said honestly.

"I know," Castle said with a laugh. "But she's not going to be doing that the whole time. Now come on, jump in and then we'll go to the deep end together and jump."

"Will you make sure I go back up?" Julia asked, looking a little hesitant at that.

"Of course," Castle said seriously.

"And in case you need me to I'll help you back up Castle," Beckett said, having stopped to watch them.

"Do you know CPR?" he said, looking over at her.

"Don't think I'm going to make a demonstration," Beckett said simply in response since he already knew she did.

"I just want to be sure," Castle said before she rolled her eyes. He smiled and then turned to Julia, watching her jump before he helped her back up.

"Do we have to go to the stairs?" Julia asked as he turned towards them with her in his arms.

"Actually, no," Castle said simply before he put Julia out on the edge and then climbed up after her. He had to struggle for a moment as his feet were slipping against the wall, but he was soon out and he and Julia went to the other end, seeing Beckett sitting on the top step. "I'm surprised you're not filming this," he said to her. When she shrugged he smiled and then said, "Here go, one, two, three," before he and Julia jumped into the water. He was quick to help her up once they were under, and was pleased to hear her laughing loudly. He took her on his back to her mother, and after their daughter was sitting on her lap, leaned over to kiss his fiancée.

"I told you no demonstrations," Beckett said teasingly.

"Did you? Must have had water in my ears," Castle said before he kissed her a second time. It was very chaste and quick, and he then leaned down, kissing Julia's forehead before asking, "Want to play now?"

"Yeah," Julia said, nodding wildly. She giggled when Castle shared a kiss with her and she looked at her mother, pursing her lips before they kissed too. "I love you Mommy," she said with a smile.

"I love you too sweetie," Beckett said, smiling at the joy she could see on her face, cuddling her daughter close as Julia giggled and hugged her back as tightly as she herself was being held.