Genre: Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
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: The title of this story is the title of a song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles' album Rubber Soul. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Any Road by George Harrison, from his album Brainwashed.
Traveling There And Traveling Here
Feeling something shaking her Beckett opened her eyes and smiled at her husband as she saw he was sitting across from the seat that was a bed. "What time is it?" she asked as she sat up slowly.
"Almost twelve," Castle replied. "Everyone's getting ready to head to the dining car."
"I'm hungry myself," Beckett said. "Those almonds were way too long ago." She started to rub her abdomen as she could feel the baby moving and realized her husband was watching her, and she asked, "What?"
"No, just… you're beautiful," Castle told her seriously.
Beckett laughed softly and said, "Thank you but I just woke up."
"And I'm standing by what I said," Castle told her seriously before he leaned over to her and kissed her gently. "Come on, you said you were hungry," he said as he stood up.
"And so are you," Beckett commented.
"And so am I," Castle said with a nod before she stood with him. He wasn't surprised when she pulled him to her and he responded quickly to her kiss before they parted, and he said, "We can do that when we get back here."
"I guess we can," Beckett said teasingly. She squeezed his hand after he'd taken hers and let him lead the way out of their room they had so they could join everyone else in the dining car. It was the twenty-seventh of March and they were going with the Fosters, Davises, Darnleys and McColloughs to Niagara Falls where they would be staying into the next day to see the falls themselves. She smiled as she thought of the girls and what their reactions would be to them and their other destinations around Lake Ontario. Something came to mind then and she told her husband, "I'm fine by the way."
"No, I could tell, you're hungry," Castle said. "They have a burger," he added quickly.
"I know I'm eating partially for the baby but I'm not stuffing my face," Beckett said with a slight grin. "I'll leave that to you. No, I'll see what they have first." She looked ahead of them at the dining car they had reached and once they were inside she saw their daughters were sitting at a table together, looking behind at Alexis and Louis who were sharing with Jim and Martha. She and her husband smiled at each other before they went together to their family though they were quickly stopped before they could get there first.
"Good morning," Darnley said to his friend with a smile as he stood up from where he was sitting with his husband and their children.
"Nearly afternoon," Beckett said teasingly. She laughed softly when he rolled his eyes and she said, "How're they doing?"
"Really well," Darnley said as Maddy beamed when they looked at her before she went back to looking out the window. "How're you?"
"I'm fine," Beckett said. "Have you asked Lily that?"
"Oh sure," Darnley replied. He then squeezed her hand and said, "Better get something to eat."
"Everyone wants me to eat," Beckett said, rolling her eyes before she and her husband went over to their table. "Hey girls," she said, going to the side they were at.
"Hi Mommy, did you have a nice nap?" Eliza asked her.
"I did, have you been having fun watching the scenery?" Beckett replied.
"Yeah, there are so many trees," Julia said, watching her sister hugging their mother. "And it's really pretty," she added before she stood up and hugged her mother as tightly as she could. When they sat down she said, "Can we get dessert?"
"We'll see," Beckett said in amusement. "Did you pick what you want?"
"I want the macaroni and cheese," Eliza said. When her sister nudged her side with her elbow she added quickly, "Please."
"Yes, you can," Beckett replied. "And you?"
"The hot dog," Julia answered. "What about you?"
"You're not going to ask me?" Castle asked jokingly.
"We know already," Eliza said. "Jules said there was a burger."
"They know me so well," Castle commented to his wife.
"I can't imagine that they wouldn't," Beckett told him teasingly. "And yes, he is getting that," she directed to their daughters. "I'll get the salad with chicken." She turned to her husband and asked, "Any protests?"
"You've got chicken so I'm fine with that," Castle said before he was laughing as she socked his shoulder lightly. He couldn't say anything to that, turning his attention to the waiter that was coming to them to take their order. When they were alone again he glanced behind himself and Beckett telling her cousin, "We're not really going to have time to do much when we get there."
"Kate told me," Brennan replied. "But she mentioned something about a bookstore?"
Laughing Castle said, "I'm trying to get everyone to go there."
"We don't need to do everything all together do we?" Clara asked with a smile.
"True but it has the best selection of books there," Castle replied.
"He's right," Alexis called over to them. "And it's across the street from where we ourselves are going to eat dinner," she added before turning to her grandmother as she was asking her something.
"She's right," Castle said. "It's called Donatello's Restaurant."
"Good thing I brought my suit," Brennan said, his wife nodding to him.
"You won't need a suit," Beckett said. She smiled when the two looked at her in surprise and she told them, "I've never been but they've both been gushing about it."
"They have really great pizza," Castle told them. "And Alexis was gushing," he directed to his wife.
Rolling her eyes Beckett then said, "If you say so." When he smiled at her she shook her head and then turned her attention back to the girls across from them. She smiled herself then at the sight of them talking together quietly as they watched the view passing by them and she told them, "Did you hear us?"
"Daddy told us already," Eliza said, smiling at them. "And we're…"
Looking behind them, Castle saw one of the waiters coming down the car and he quickly told her, "There are a lot of people here, so it might take a while for us to get ours."
"We're okay with pizza," Julia finished for her sister, smiling at her.
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said.
"But what else will we do besides the bookstore?" Julia asked. "And can I get more than one book?"
"To answer your second question first," Castle started to say before he stopped himself at the sight of their waiter coming with a tray. He waited until their plates were in front of them and they'd taken some bites before he said, "You can get as many as you want we're driving around so you don't need to worry about it."
"And my first question?" Julia said. When her father just smiled she sighed and said, "You're mean Dad," though she was kidding.
"I know but I want you two to be surprised," Castle said.
"Do you know Mommy?" Eliza asked.
"Try and get your fork to your mouth sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile as her youngest had managed to smear some of the cheese on her pasta on her chin. "And I do know but are you two ready to go see the waterfalls tomorrow?"
"I am," Julia said eagerly. "I learned about a hotel there at school where they helped runaway slaves go over to Canada."
"Can we go there? To Canada," Eliza said. "I wanna go to another country."
"We went already," Julia said, frowning at her.
"Do you mean another country right next door?" Castle asked. When the little girl nodded he told her, "When we go visit the falls tomorrow we'll do that… sort of."
"Don't tease them love," Beckett told him before she squeezed his hand. "Oh, I shouldn't have done that," she said as she was pulling away her hand to find that there was some sauce on her palm.
"Sorry," Castle said, watching her clean her hand. "And we should get them dessert now."
"I heard them too," Beckett said in amusement as she could hear her cousin and his wife discussing that for Erin. "And we should. But nothing afterwards okay?"
"Alright," Castle said, looking at the other two who were watching them. "We're sharing."
"We knew that already," Julia said with a smile before she finished her last chip.
After her husband had spoken to their waiter about their desserts Beckett said, "After this we'll need to walk, we still have another four hours."
"Can we go to the special car on the end?" Julia asked. "Mari went already with her family and she said it was cool."
"You guys didn't go?" Beckett asked them in surprise.
"We wanted to stay with Dad," Julia explained. "And he wanted to stay close to you."
Glancing over at her husband, who was drinking from his glass at that moment, Beckett turned back to the girls and told them, "Not a surprise. But thank you for keeping him company and we can go there."
When their desserts were served Castle said, "We should probably switch you know."
"Go ahead," Beckett said, knowing he said that to let her know he was going to go over to the other side of the table. After he moved she smiled at Julia who had taken his seat and she gently kissed her temple before saying, "Are you still excited?"
"Of course," Julia said, smiling widely at her. "Aren't you?"
"I am but I just hope that you won't mind if we stay around our lake house for a few days," Beckett told her.
"On their birthdays?" Julia asked.
"And yours too," Castle said from across the table where he and Eliza were sharing their chocolate tart.
"But I had my celebration," Julia said in protest. "All my gifts and everything." Her eyes widened slightly, and she asked, "You don't have another gift for me, do you?"
"We don't, just dessert," Castle said. "Sort of a gift."
Julia laughed and then said, "Okay."
"Oh, sure you'll take that but not an actual gift," Beckett teased her.
"Yep," Julia said before they began to laugh.
After they had finished dessert Castle and Beckett took their daughters with them to the observation car, the Darnleys following as everyone else had gone to their cars. When they entered it, they weren't surprised when their daughters ran to the other end with Maddy and Keo with them.
"Are they practicing for your baby?" Darnley asked his friend.
"They don't need to," Castle said first. "Julia carried around Eliza when she was that age and Eliza has carried Dani before."
"You're going to be lucky you know," Darnley told Beckett.
"I realize that, and you have to remember that I had Julia's help with Eliza," she told him. When she heard her husband clearing his throat next to her she said, "And of course he was involved too. I can't say help because that makes it seem like you weren't the other half of Eliza's parents."
"I was involved with Julia too," Castle said after thinking that over for a moment. He smiled when his wife nudged him in the side and he then walked after her over to their daughters and the Darnley kids to look out with them on the view.
"Twee!" Maddy squealed.
"Yeah that was a big one," Eliza said, squeezing her hand that she was holding. "And then we're gonna go see water that falls."
"I go too," Maddy said.
"You will little one," Nkosi said. "We all will."
"You want to take Keo with us?" Darnley asked his husband.
"Someone may have to stay behind with him," Nkosi said. "But the rest of us can go."
"You don't think she'll have any problems?" Darnley asked.
"Have the kids stick with her," Castle said. "Cluster around her for protection."
Laughing slightly Darnley said, "That might work, we'll find out." He then looked at Beckett and said, "And you?"
"I'll be fine," she replied. "Rick is taking them on a speedboat after we get back from the staider boat." She then noticed that her husband was looking away from her and she asked, "What is it?"
"I'm actually not going," Castle replied as he decided he shouldn't really delay in replying to her. "Alexis, Louis and your father will join them, but I wanted to stay with you."
Beckett at first thought she should tell him he didn't need to hover but the words never really came to mind. Instead she said, "That'll be nice for them to spend time with their sister before she needs to go back."
"For her last term," Nkosi commented.
When Castle nodded rapidly Darnley smiled and said, "Are you counting down to that?"
"No, she would… berate me and say I should focus on the baby instead," he replied.
"Will she be here for that?" Darnley then asked them both.
"Unlikely," Beckett answered when her husband looked at her to do that. "The baby is due on the first of May and Alexis has to be back by the twenty-sixth of next month."
"She'll come back though," Castle said.
"I wasn't finished," Beckett said wryly to her husband.
"Sorry," Castle said quickly.
"Alright, we're going to head back," Darnley said as Keo was starting to whimper in Julia's arms. "Time for his nap."
"Do we need to go?" Julia asked after they had watched the family go.
"Not really," Castle said.
"I'm going to head back to our car," Beckett said. "The walk will be nice. And I'm fine," she added to her husband when he opened his mouth to speak.
"Can I go with you Mommy?" Eliza asked, going to her and taking her hand.
"Of course," Beckett told them. "Have fun."
Watching the two go Julia said to her father, "Did you want to go with her?"
"Of course, but I don't mind staying with my…" Castle began. As Julia looked at him in confusion at his trailing off he explained, "I can't really call you my middle little girl now."
Julia smiled and said, "You could just say you."
"Then I don't mind staying with you," Castle said. "Have you tried taking pictures?"
"Yeah but they don't come out too good," Julia said. "I want us to stop before I take pictures." She smiled when her father laughed, and she hugged him as he stood fully next to her. "I'm glad we came on the train."
"Me too," Castle said, wrapping his arm around her. "Remember this summer we're going on the train from Orlando to DC."
"I did," Julia told him. "And that's gonna be really cool. But Dad we're still on this trip."
"I know, I'm just excited about the summer since your littlest sister will be with us," Castle replied.
"Dad?" Julia asked seriously after she had smiled at his statement. When he looked down at her she asked, "You're not… annoyed there's gonna be four girls once the baby comes home are you?"
"Oh no," Castle said swiftly. "You know before I lived with you and your mom I lived with Alexis and your gram. I never minded being the only boy though there is Macca, JoJo and Max." He glanced at her as she smiled and then said, "You're learning about world history now and you just learned about Henry VIII, didn't you?"
"And the Sa… Sal…" Julia tried to remember the word though she couldn't.
"Salic law in France," Castle supplied for her. When she nodded rapidly he sighed and said, "I know sweetheart, there was a need to them that there had to be a king. But I'm not a king and I do not have a kingdom I need to leave to anyone. And really if I did I'd give it to your big sister. She'd do a better job at ruling it than I would."
Julia laughed softly and then said, "She would. But what about your name?"
"Your sister won't change it whenever she gets married," Castle replied simply. When the girl looked at him in surprise he said, "We talked about that a long time ago. She might do a hyphenated last name, but she won't change it fully."
"Why didn't you ask Mom to do that?" Julia asked.
Growing serious Castle shook his head and told her, "I would never ask her that. She asked me if there was anything I'd like for her to do and I told her the same. It was her name and up to her."
"Why didn't she change her name?" Julia asked.
"She likes it and when I told her you and our baby; Eliza; would have both our names she said she would let them take my name," Castle replied. "And I told her that was fine. When I met her, she was Beckett and I wanted her to stay Beckett. It would be a little weird to constantly call her Kate while we're working."
Smiling Julia nodded and then said, "Dad?"
"Yeah?" Castle said, looking down at her at the change in her tone.
"If I ever get married," Julia told him, slightly shyly. "I won't change my last name."
"I'm glad to hear that," Castle said, hugging her tightly as he could tell she was serious. "Just make sure whoever you marry is okay with that. Though you're like your mom so I get the feeling you wouldn't get married to them if they made you to take their last name."
Julia smiled and wrapped both her arms around her father and watched the scenery with him again. Finally, after a while she shook herself and said, "Can we go back to Mom now?"
"Yeah, I want to see how she's doing," Castle said honestly, glad she'd brought it up.
"Me too," Julia said in amusement before they stepped away from the end of the car and then left, walking quickly back to the one where their compartment was, and Beckett and Eliza were too.
"Mommy?" Eliza asked after she could turn her attention away from the window.
"Yes?" Beckett asked with a smile, watching her.
"Can you braid my hair?" Eliza said as she went closer to her.
"I can but I don't have anything to tie it off with," Beckett told her.
"Gram gave me this," Eliza said.
"Did you tell her you wanted to braid it?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah, I but I want you to Mommy," Eliza replied.
"Okay," Beckett said with a smile as she had her daughter sit in front of her so she could reach her hair. She was going to ask what type of braid exactly she wanted when she heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she called.
"Just me Kate," a voice said on the other side.
"Come in Alexis," Beckett said with a smile as she let go of her youngest.
"Hey, I thought Dad and Jules would be here too," Alexis said, coming inside and closing the door behind her.
"If you want to see them they're over in the ob-" Beckett began to say as her stepdaughter sat next to her.
"Oh no, I'm fine," Alexis replied with a smile, watching her start to braid Eliza's hair.
"And Louis?" Beckett asked.
"He's with his family," Alexis replied. "How're you?"
"I'm fine," Beckett said with a smile. "And you?"
"Really good, I'm excited for this," Alexis said. "Especially the falls."
"Me too," Eliza said as she turned around and looked at her mother after she had tied off the end of her braid. "'lexis you should have Mommy braid your hair," she told her big sister.
"That's alright," Alexis said in a little embarrassment.
"I can," Beckett said then. "But only if you'd want me to," she added quickly.
"Alright," Alexis replied. She took off her ponytail holder and after she had done so she handed it to her stepmother before quickly running her fingers through her hair and realizing something. "What about-" she started to say.
"Don't worry," Beckett interrupted her gently. "I'll be alright."
"I promise you we'll stop mentioning this," Alexis said.
"But you won't stop worrying about me?" Beckett asked with a wide smile.
"Yeah," Alexis said as she turned away from her. They all started to laugh and once they'd stopped she could feel her stepmother braiding her hair quickly and she realized she had no real clue when exactly she'd last had her hair braided by someone not herself. Just as she thought her father had been the last person to do so; and she was enjoying Beckett doing that; there was a knock on the door and Julia soon stepped inside.
"Hello," Castle said as he let his mother and father in law go inside first. "We decided to join you."
"Nice of you to do so," Beckett told her husband, finishing with Alexis' hair.
"Are we almost there?" Eliza asked her father, going over to him.
"Nearly," Castle replied, looking at his watch. "Another hour and a half."
"What will we do?" Julia asked him.
"Nice try," Castle said wryly. "I'm not going to tell you, you'll find out really soon okay?"
With a sigh; as she'd already asked him about their plans on the way to the compartment; Julia nodded and went to her mother, wrapping her arms around her as tightly as she could. She smiled and said, "It was really nice there Mom."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett replied, kissing her temple. "And it's been nice here too." When her daughter looked at her she smiled slightly and asked, "Will you stay with us?"
"Yeah, I'll play with Mari and everyone else after," Julia said simply. She giggled when her mother rolled her eyes and hugged her back after she'd done the same herself. "But what do we do now?" she asked.
"Let's play twenty questions," Castle said.
"We haven't played in a long time," Alexis told her father.
"Yep, and we never played with them," Castle said.
"How do you play?" Eliza asked eagerly, climbing onto her grandfather's lap with his help.
"You think of something," Beckett said. "A person, place or thing and we have to try guessing what it is asking only twenty questions about it."
"I wanna do it!" Eliza said eagerly.
"Alright, think of something," Castle told her. When the little girl stopped looking like she was thinking he said, "Are you ready?" She nodded so he then asked, "Is it an animal?"
"No," Eliza said with a giggle.
"I'll keep count," Martha told them then.
"Is it a place?" Beckett then asked.
"Yes," Eliza replied, giggling again.
"Is it Niagara Falls?" Julia asked eagerly. When her sister shook her head no she frowned and then looked at her grandfather questioningly.
"It is someplace in the United States?" Jim asked then. When his granddaughter shook her head no he then said, "Is it someplace we've been to?"
When Eliza shook her head again Castle and Beckett asked at the same time, "Is it Innisfree?"
"Yeah," the little girl giggled heavily. "I wanted to it to be the place, not my horsie," she explained to them all.
"Good idea, that almost had us stumped," Castle told her. He then thought of something and told his wife, "Whenever we go back to Ireland we should go there."
"I remember we walked about that," Beckett said with a smile. "And we will, don't worry," she assured him. She then said, "Who's next? It's not going to be us because we guessed the same thing."
"I'll go next," Julia said quickly.
"Okay," Castle said. "Let's go ahead and start once you're ready."
With a wide smile at her family Julia soon thought of a thing for them to guess as they continued down the tracks, making their way to Niagara Falls.
"Here we are," Castle said, holding open the door for his wife.
"This is fine Rick," Beckett said firmly, walking past him and then turning to him as he let the door close behind him. "It doesn't have to be five star, just clean and this is. And that view is stunning," she told him, adding the last with a smile as she walked over to the window.
"It is," Castle said, stepping out of the way of her suitcase she'd left behind. He'd dropped his off with hers and went to join her before he placed his hand on her back and they looked out together at what they could see of Niagara before either of them could speak again.
"I'm surprised the girls aren't breaking down the door," Beckett finally said.
Castle laughed briefly before he said, "I know but I get the feeling they're doing the same exact thing that we are."
"Probably," Beckett said. She finally tore her gaze away from the window and said, "We should unpack and walk around town just a little bit before we eat."
"We have time," Castle replied. "The kids are going to bed later so we don't need to eat earlier."
"True but what if I told you my hands are itching to hold my camera?" Beckett asked him simply.
"I'd tell you let's get started so we can go," Castle replied.
Beckett smiled at his reply and he went with her over to the bed where he put her suitcase up on top before she watched him go around to his case. She already had the clothes she wanted on top inside so it took little effort to unpack. When she had finished and ended in the bathroom with her makeup bag she asked him, "How was it with Julia in the car?"
"Not bad, we were talking mostly about you," Castle replied. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just remembering something while Eliza and I were walking back to our car," Beckett replied. "Remember the first time you stayed with her on your own?"
"I do," Castle said. "You had… more paperwork than usual, didn't you?"
"I did, plus I had to help Karpowski with her suspect," Beckett said. "It's why I was a little later for dinner then."
Nodding Castle said with a smile, "That was a lot of fun, but the weird thing was that we were completely alone in the loft."
"You can't remember what your mother or Alexis were doing?" Beckett asked him as they stepped out of the bathroom once they were done.
"I'm assuming Mother had a class and Alexis was in… was likely doing something with school since it was going on," Castle replied. "But yeah, that was a lot of fun. And it was nice talking with her in the car. Now are you ready because you said your hands were." He smiled when she rolled her eyes and waited for her to grab her camera and purse before he followed her over to the door so they could meet their family and then friends. As they were going he couldn't help remembering the day that his wife had reminded him about. And though it had been seven years since he could still recall it very easily as it had been a great day for both him and Julia and their fledgling relationship as father and daughter the November after Beckett had adopted her.
"Alright Julia," Castle was saying to the little girl as he walked over to her. "You're sure you don't have homework?"
"Mommy didn't say," Julia replied, shaking her head firmly. "Do I?"
"No," Castle said, slightly laughingly. He then held his hand out to her and once she'd taken it said, "Since you don't then why don't we do something?"
"Like what?" Julia asked.
"I was thinking of making something special for dessert for your mom," Castle said. "Want to help me?"
"Yeah," Julia said with a wide smile. She then paused and grew serious telling him, "You should make dinner too."
"I will," Castle replied, laughing again. He squeezed her hand that was still in his own and they went together to the kitchen where he searched for what he needed before he realized Julia was following him.
"What are you gonna make?" the little girl asked him.
"I was thinking a fruit tart," Castle replied. "Have you had that yet?" he asked her. He wasn't surprised when she shrugged her shoulders and he smiled before he said, "You'll have it tonight. So what you're going to do is help me out making the crust and cutting the fruit. Your mom told me that you know how to cut now?"
"Yeah but I can't do that by myself," Julia told him.
"That she told me too," Castle said. "But she didn't need to worry. I'd never let you cut on your own until you're much bigger; like when you can reach the top of the counter and wear an apron without it going onto the floor."
Julia giggled and then said, "But I can help."
"Yes, you can," Castle said, grabbing the apron he'd been looking for. He folded it a few times before putting it around her waist and tying it behind her. "Okay, we need to make the crust first so let's go ahead and get started on that."
Julia was delighted when Castle let her put the dry ingredients in the bowl to mix before she watched him take care of the wet ones. As he cracked an egg she smiled and said, "Is it hard to do that?"
"No, you just need to practice," Castle assured her. He mixed as much as he could before he told her, "Now we need to fill this tin that way we can bake it."
"I can help with that?" Julia asked in amazement.
"Definitely but first watch me so you can see what I'm doing," Castle told her before he started to press the dough into the tin. "Go ahead and try," he told her after he was sure he'd seen her do enough of it. "Just make sure that you fill in every space okay?"
"Yeah," Julia replied as she started to press it in. Once she and Castle had everything filled up she asked, "Can I taste it?" as she still had some of the dough on her fingers.
"Oh no," Castle replied. "Better wait to try it out with the rest of the tart."
"Kay, now what?" Julia asked.
"Now I need to make the cream that goes in the middle," Castle said. "I need to do that myself so you can run around and play. Just stay where I can see you okay?" He smiled when Julia nodded rapidly before he then began to make the cream as she watched closely.
"Okay," Castle said before he stopped when Julia used a spoon she'd grabbed to take some of the cream. "I guess you like it," he told her with a smile as she quickly tasted it. He smiled when she nodded and said, "Great that means your mom will too. I was going to say," taking the spoon and setting it aside to wash later. "That now we can get the fruit ready."
"What fruit?" Julia asked. She watched him set out fruits on the counter; her eyes growing wider as he took numerous ones out and set them on the island in front of her. "That's a lot," she told him seriously.
"I know but I couldn't resist, it's almost winter so we need to get all the good fruits while they last," Castle said. He saw the little girl was studying everything and asked, "Am I missing anything?"
Giggling softly Julia shook her head no and then said, "Can we make a rainbow?"
"I think we can," Castle said, looking at everything he had. "But why don't we do it red on the outside and then to purple in the middle?"
"Kay," Julia said as she nodded her head eagerly. "What do I cut?"
"Let me wash everything first," Castle said. He was relieved when she nodded her head rapidly yet again and he started, going as fast as he could at the sink before he had everything ready. "Let's start with the strawberries," he suggested to her. "That's easiest." She was nodding again, and he stood close behind her before he took her hands, making sure he paid close attention to her to see if she was uncomfortable with him doing that. "What you need to do; like chefs do; is curl your fingers back like this to keep the knife from cutting your hand," he explained as he showed her that with his fingers. When she nodded he then said, "And these we'll cut in half so we can lay them flat."
"Kay," Julia said eagerly before she let him cut the first strawberry. After he helped with the next three she said, "I can try it now."
"Alright but I'll stay here in case you need me," Castle told her before he watched her cutting carefully with the knife. "Nice job," he told her after she looked at him. "Keep going," he said.
Julia nodded until he had her stop and she asked, "Can I cut the blueberries?"
"That's a little small," Castle replied. "And those you don't really cut, you put them down so we'll do that later." He helped her cut the last strawberry and then took the knife, giving her a towel to dry off her hands.
"What now?" Julia asked him eagerly.
"Some papaya but this one I need to start cutting okay?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he quickly took care of it before he let her cut squares though he had to help her with the shape exactly. "Very nice," he said, giving her one of the cubes of fruit to eat. "Now it's some pineapple but that I'll take care of myself because I need time to make dinner for your mom remember?" At Julia's nod, he cut the pineapple he'd bought the day before and once it was ready he set it aside and said, "Now some kiwi for the green but this is already ready so I don't need to peel it."
"Good," Julia said.
"But I need to cut it myself because it needs to be thin," Castle told her. He was relieved when she just nodded and said, "I'll have to take care of the purple too, some grapes I'll cut in half."
"Kay," Julia said easily, not minding that as she was enjoying watching him. "Can I watch you make dinner too?"
"Definitely," Castle told her with a nod. He finished with the grapes last and said, "Now we can put everything together," as the crust was out. He went over to the fridge to get the cream and he said, "Now the fun part, getting this into the tart," not surprised when Julia was smiling widely at him and he began to spoon in the cream as she watched him closely.
"It's so pretty," Julia breathed.
Laughing Castle said, "Wait until it's all finished." When he had the bowl with the cream empty he told her, "Now the fun part, getting it as smooth as we can."
"I want to do it!" Julia cried out.
"I'll help you," Castle said, smiling at her. He then let her take her spatula and held her hand to help her smooth the cream out as much as possible until he thought it was good. "And now the best part-" he began to say.
"The fruit!" Julia said happily.
"Exactly," Castle told her. "And here you don't need my help at all."
"Yeah, it's too big," Julia protested.
"Okay, but you don't have to make it perfect," Castle said.
"Around," Julia said, pointing to the crust.
"Alright," Castle said, laughing slightly. He then took some of the strawberries and with her put them in a ring next to the crust. He and Julia then moved through the fruits until they were getting to the inside and he placed the grape halves he cut before it was finished.
"It's pretty," Julia told him, breathing out the words.
"It's pretty but not finished," Castle said, agreeing with her. "I need to glaze everything." He wasn't surprised when Julia watched him as he prepped the glaze and then put it on all the fruits. Finally, he told her, "Now it's finished."
"It's pretty still," Julia said seriously.
"It is, let's hope your mom likes it," Castle said.
"Yeah," Julia said, nodding her head rapidly. She went with him as he set the tart into the fridge and as soon as he'd done that she asked, "Now what can we do?"
"I say we should play," Castle said, checking his watch to see how much time he had before he needed to start cooking.
"Kay!" Julia told him eagerly. "I wanna play hide and seek."
"I don't know if we have enough time for that," Castle said. "But we can play another game I picked up for us to play."
"What about Mommy?" Julia asked though she was interested in the game as she followed him to the office.
"She'll play with us after she comes home, she promises," Castle said. He was startled to realize he could almost imagine that the word home applied to Julia too for the loft but shook himself as she was grabbing onto his hand and crying out that she wanted to play the game while she jumped up and down. "Okay, okay," he said, laughing again. He grabbed the box for it and showed it to her telling her, "What do you think?"
"Elephants?" Julia asked.
"Just one," Castle replied, going back out into the living room with her. "But you need to catch some butterflies he's going to shoot from his trunk for us." He smiled when she jumped up and down as he was opening the box and then began to put the game together under her gaze.
"It's cute," Julia said as she tapped the tube that was supposed to be the elephant's trunk. "What do I do?"
"Like I said this will shoot out the butterflies and you need to catch them; as many as you can," Castle explained. "While they're flying. Which color do you want?"
"Blue please," Julia said, taking the net he handed her. "Are you gonna play?"
"Can I?" Castle replied.
"You have the game," Julia said shyly.
"Oh no," Castle said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "This is your game so it's your decision."
Smiling Julia said, "You can play. I don't wanna play by myself."
"Alright," Castle replied. "Let's get started," he said as he picked up the green net. "Ready, go!" he told her after he set the game to start before he let Julia begin. After a moment, he then did so himself but only allowed himself to try to catch the butterflies from a certain height to give her a better chance.
"I have five," Julia said with a smile once the butterflies had stopped and she had counted them out of her net.
"I have five too," Castle said. He playfully tapped his net to hers saying, "Congrats."
Giggling softly Julia asked, "Can we play again?"
"I don't think we have enough time," Castle replied with a sigh as he looked at his watch. "I really want to make a nice dinner for your mom. She's been working very hard this week and she's going to be tired too. That's why I wanted to make the tart for her too."
"Will you kiss her?" Julia asked interestedly as she was helping him put away the game.
Pausing Castle said, "Do you think I should?"
"Yep," Julia said, busy getting the last few butterflies.
Castle smiled before he put the elephant away in the box and put the box in his office as the little girl was following close to him. "You know you don't need to stay with me," he told her, putting his hand on the back of her head.
"I want to, I don't want to miss Mommy," Julia confessed.
"Oh, don't worry," Castle replied. "Your mom'll make sure you don't." He squeezed her back gently before he went to the fridge and then took out what he needed again.
"Is dessert kay?" Julia asked him anxiously.
"It's doing great," Castle assured her, squeezing her shoulder that time.
"What are you making?" Julia asked him.
"Some Chinese food," Castle replied. "Since you know your mom loves that."
"Me too," Julia said with a smile back at him. "What?"
"Well I was thinking some sweet and sour chicken for you," Castle said. "And then some beef with broccoli because your mom wants veggies and just for me, honey shrimp."
"I like that, and Mommy does too," Julia replied.
"Then I guess we're all sharing," Castle replied. "And I'll make us some steamed rice too."
"Good, can I help?" Julia asked, essentially all together as she spoke in one breath.
At first Castle was going to say no but finally he smiled and said, "You can, set the table for me?" When the little girl nodded rapidly he got some plates, napkins and utensils, putting them on the table for her so she could start while he himself got started on their food.
Opening the door to the loft Beckett smiled when her daughter squealed, "Mommy!" and she held her arms out to catch her. "I missed you too sweetie," she told the little girl. She leaned down at kissed at her temple before she stood up, smiling at her boyfriend. "She had a terrible time?" she asked him teasingly as he took her bag.
"Horrible," Castle replied, hanging up her coat hurriedly before he turned to her. He wasn't surprised; when he took her into his arms; that she wrapped her own around him tightly and they kissed deeply. But because he could feel Julia with them holding onto her mother's side he didn't let that linger and once they'd parted told her, "We both missed you."
"I can guess that you did," Beckett said. "I missed you too Castle," she then told him with a smile. Their lips brushed together tenderly before she said, "It smells great in here," so they would let go of each other.
"Castle made dinner," Julia said. "And I helped make dessert!"
"That sounds very nice," Beckett told her. "Can I see what you made?"
"It's a surprise," Julia said before she looked at Castle.
"It is," he said smiling at her. "It's ready so you're here in time for that," Castle told his girlfriend.
"Yeah, I had some… issues," Beckett said, rolling her eyes before she sat down at her daughter's direction. "Mainly some evidence the new guy in the room misplaced and we had to all search to find."
"But you found it," Castle said as he walked to the table once he'd opened a bottle of wine for her.
"We did," Beckett said, waving her hand to stop him from pouring too much. She took a sip before she wrapped her arm around her daughter and told her, "Did you get to play with Castle or did you just bake and cook?"
"We played… can I show her?" Julia asked her mother's boyfriend. When he nodded she rushed over to the office to grab it, not aware the two were watching her.
"It was fun," Castle murmured to her.
Smiling Beckett said, "So I can count on you to watch her if need be?"
"Any time," Castle said, squeezing her hand.
Turning her attention to her daughter Beckett smiled and said, "That's the game?"
"Yeah, you catch butterflies and they fly," Julia said, letting her mother hold the box that she'd brought over.
"It looks great," Beckett told her. "Can I play with you after?"
"And Castle too!" Julia said excitedly.
"Okay," Beckett said with a laugh. "We'll all play." She shared a kiss with her daughter and then got up to help her wash her hands before they sat with Castle around the table. She felt better as they ate, calmer, and by the time dinner was finished she was fully relaxed.
"So that wine was good, right?" Castle asked her as they were clearing the table.
"It's not the wine," Beckett quickly replied. "More not having to stress about papers or evidence."
Castle smiled over at her while he began washing the dishes and he told her, "Glad we could help."
"You both did," Beckett said with a smile. She reached over to him, squeezing his arm gently before she went over to Julia who was looking at the box with her new game in it closely.
Watching Castle as surreptitiously as she could Julia said the second he had finished washing the dishes, "Can we have dessert?"
"We can," Castle replied as he was getting the tart out of the fridge.
"You helped make that too?" Beckett asked after she had seen the dessert.
"Yeah, I put the fruits with Castle," Julia said eagerly. "Do you like it?"
"Very pretty," Beckett assured her, kissing her temple as her daughter had sat on her lap. "I like the different colors you had."
"I felt like fruit," Castle said, shrugging his shoulders as she'd directed that to him. "I took a picture with my phone when we finished so I'll go ahead and cut this up."
"Will you share this slice with me?" Beckett asked her daughter as her boyfriend had cut her a larger slice than she would have wanted for herself.
"Kay," Julia said with a smile before she took the fork that Castle handed to her. She let her mother cut the first piece for her and she chewed it eagerly as the grapes exploded on her tongue making her hum at the taste.
"It is good," Beckett said in amusement as she looked over at her boyfriend since they'd been watching her daughter.
"Yeah, I had a great sous baker," Castle commented, smiling when Julia snuggled closer to her mother. He reached over to take his girlfriend's hand and they squeezed each other's tightly before they turned their attention back to Julia.
When the three were finished Julia raced over to the game, watching her mother and Castle following her. She bounced up and down as the two set it up and once it was ready she handed the blue net to her mother and said, "You can use this one Mommy."
"Thank you, sweetie, but I think it goes better with you," Beckett said.
"Can she use the green one?" Julia asked Castle shyly. She smiled when; after he had given her mother the net; Beckett kissed him gently on the lips before she looked at the elephant. She then waited for the butterflies to be ready and as soon as they were standing with her the butterflies were shooting up in the air, making them start to try to grab them.
Beckett was soon laughing at the way her daughter was catching before they needed to stop, and she said, "I can see why you liked that sweetie that was fun."
"Yeah, how many did you get?" Julia asked her mother.
"Four," Beckett replied. "I was laughing too hard. What about you?"
"I got four too," Julia said with a soft giggle.
"I got five," Castle said, shrugging nonchalantly. He laughed when Julia grabbed his arm and he picked her up before throwing her up above him slightly. "I think I got six now," he told his girlfriend.
"I think so," Beckett said as she smiled at Julia's heavy laughter. "Alright, let's get the game ready so we can play again." She wasn't surprised when her daughter squealed in joy and she followed her and Castle in getting the butterflies back into the elephant so they could try the game once more.