Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance
Rating: M for language, sexual situations and violence
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: Okay, so this Prologue turned out to be long and I had to split it in half as is obvious. This is kind of an update on where things are for Castle and Beckett after the events of Deep Blue Sea. And part of this chapter comes up again in the series later on; this isn't a random piece of writing, I just wanted to say. It was also a way for me to write about Halloween since I couldn't really think of a case to write about that's Halloween related, I leave that for the show, and I wanted to include that holiday in my story. So really, this was just something I wanted to write for fun, and to get it out of my mind since I had the idea a long time before I wrote it. And I hope whoever reads this will enjoy it.
A/N #2: Julia's costume is based on an actual picture of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, the one I used is one found at deviantART, if you want to check it out search for the title Anastasia Romanova. Changed the colors of the dress though to better fit Julia. Not that informative about fashion, but fairly certain the sleeves in the picture are called penguin sleeves, though that might just be a guess.
A/N #3: Just want to mention that I'm a little unsure of how many rooms Castle's place has up the stairs, so as far I know there's only two, and that's what I have in my story, artistic license again.
A/N #4: Have an excerpt from the book Alice in Wonderland, making sure it's known that it's definitely not my work, it belongs to Lewis Carroll.
A/N# 5: I actually wrote the "excerpt" from Castle's book that I have in here; didn't take it from the books obviously. I've read Heat Wave, but that was it 'cause mystery isn't really my genre anymore concerning books. So I couldn't quite write as Castle's supposed to write, but I gave it my best shot!
A/N #6: The title of this story comes from the title of a song with the same name by Paul McCartney, from his remastered album McCartney II. The title of this chapter is from the song Thriller by Michael Jackson, from his album of the same name.
Walk In Their Masquerade
Walking down the hallway to Beckett's apartment, Castle heard the loud music before he saw her door and he paused for a moment before he continued walking. Knocking on the door loudly, he had to lean against it to be able to hear her calling for him to come in.
As the door opened Beckett quickly said, "We're doing yoga Castle, in case you're wondering." She smiled at Julia who was across from her and said, "Okay sweetie, let's finish up and relax so our breathing goes back to normal. Ready?"
"Yeah," Julia said. She quickly followed her mother, getting up from laying on her yoga mat and sitting with her legs crossed. She smiled as they breathed in and out deeply a few times and then they relaxed. "Was that good?" she asked hopefully.
"It was very good," Beckett said, standing and picking up her daughter. She kissed her tenderly on the cheek and then went over to where Castle was leaning against the kitchen counter. "You found a pumpkin I'm assuming," she said after they shared a brief kiss.
"I did, I hid it, so I could surprise you," Castle said to Julia.
Julia wriggled in her mother's hold, and once she was put down she ran to the entry where she saw two things on the chair.
"Mommy and me yoga?" Castle asked, nodding to the yoga mats on the floor.
"No, a yoga class for parents and children," Beckett said. "It doesn't have a name."
"Sounds fun, is she enjoying it?" Castle asked.
"She is, she wanted to do yoga when her ballet teacher told the class it was good for dancers," Beckett said, going over to the entry. "What's that?" she asked, seeing some kind of garment bag on a hanger in the chair with the pumpkin.
"That is apparently your daughter's Halloween costume," Castle said, going over to the chair and picking it up. "Although why you wanted to be a bag I don't know Julia," he said, holding it up to her.
"No," Julia giggled slightly, turning from the pumpkin. "It's inside."
"Oh, so that's why my mother kept telling me as I took this I wasn't supposed to see it until tonight," Castle said. "Can I have a little peek?"
Julia shook her head seriously and said, "Martha said to surprise my mommy, and you and Alexis."
"So everyone," Beckett said with a smile as she took the hanger from Castle. "We'll see it tonight."
"Are you ready to carve this guy?" Castle asked as he picked up the pumpkin and the bag next to it. "I've got all of my tools and I'm set."
"She needs a bath first," Beckett said before Julia could say something. "And while I'm taking a shower you two can go crazy. Just promise me you won't let her handle any power tools you might have in there."
"Scout's… um, sure, I promise," Castle said before he faltered a little at her look.
"Yeah, my memory isn't too bad Castle," Beckett said. "Come on sweetie, sooner we finish the sooner you can carve the pumpkin."
Castle watched the two head over to Beckett's room, and he set the pumpkin on the counter before he took everything out of the bag. Setting some things in the fridge, he finally took a look at the gourd, making sure the black lines he'd made earlier were still there. Looking around since there wasn't much else he could do without Julia, he walked over to the coffee table before he picked up the book that was on it and started to flip through it, quickly becoming interested in the story as he began to read after seeing some of the pictures.
Running into the room, Julia hurried past Castle and went to her mother's computer, climbing up into the chair before she stopped the music that was still playing. She focused on the screen, oblivious to her mother who walked over to Castle.
"Forgot to ask, but you were listening to Ravi Shankar?" he asked as Beckett put a small pair of slippers on the floor.
"The yoga teacher at our class plays his music," Beckett replied. "It works pretty well. And doesn't hurt that he was a friend of George Harrison's. Can you make sure she puts those on?" she asked, indicating the slippers.
"Got it," Castle said. He glanced over at Julia, who was coming down from the chair, the music changing to Paul McCartney. "Which one is this?" he asked as she hurried to him.
Julia didn't say anything, merely ducked under his arm and leaned against his leg as she looked down at the book he was reading. "That's my favorite," she said, pointing to the picture on the right page, a Faberge egg that was a deep blue with a clock on it.
"It's nice," Castle said. "Are you ready to start on the pumpkin?"
"Yeah," Julia said before she slipped her feet into the slippers. She let out a short cry of surprise when Castle picked her up, and she wrapped her arms around him as he took her into the kitchen. "What do I do?" she asked as he set her down on the counter next to the pumpkin.
"First I need to cut it open," Castle said, getting a knife. "And then we'll get the insides out."
Julia giggled at the phrase, and watched as he cut open the top around the stem, and she peered inside as he tugged off the piece he'd cut. "Ew, we have to touch that?"
"It's fun," Castle assured her. "Plus this has to be out before I can start carving it."
Making a face, Julia reached inside the pumpkin and grabbed a handful of the seeds and stringy flesh. "Ewww," she giggled as she pulled it out. "My hand is orange!" she cried as Castle wiped the seeds and strings off of her skin.
"Keep going," Castle said. "I'll help you though, I forgot you've got such little hands," he said before he reached in after rolling up his sleeve. He set aside the insides he'd scooped out before Julia grabbed his hand. "See? Pretty small," he said when she pressed her hand to his and he easily engulfed hers as he squeezed it.
"Can I still help?" Julia asked. When Castle nodded she got up on her knees and reached in, one hand after the other, pulling out the seeds and flesh hurriedly before she let him take out some.
With Julia's eagerness, they had the pumpkin soon hollowed out before Castle went to the sink and washed his hands quickly. "I told you you'd like doing that," he told the little girl as he picked her up and carried her to the sink.
"It's like glue," Julia said, patting his cheeks. She giggled when Castle jerked his head back a little and said, "Sorry," seeing the orange handprints she'd left.
"Not a problem," Castle said before he held her at the sink and helped her clean the last of the pumpkin's flesh from her hands. Once she had finished he took her back to where she'd been sitting, setting her down before getting some goggles. "Should have thought about you being a lot smaller than an adult," he said as he held them up to her and saw they would not stay on.
"What's that for?" Julia asked, taking them and slipping them on before they slid to her neck.
"It's to protect your eyes," Castle said. "When I use the saw. Well, when I tell you to you'll hold them up to your eyes okay?"
"I promise, what do I do now?" Julia said eagerly.
"Let me cut out the shapes," Castle said, showing her the drawing on the pumpkin. "And then you can help me smooth everything before we get the ears stuck on his head alright?" When Julia nodded he grabbed the mechanical saw, and began with the eyes. He glanced at the little girl as she held the goggles against her eyes, watching him intently, and he had to smile. In the two months since they had gone to the Hamptons, Julia seemed to accept him pretty much completely. He knew it was likely because he tried to spend what time he could with her and her mother, and made sure to pay extra attention to Julia herself. He cut the last bit of the mouth out of the Jack-o-lantern, and he stepped back to see his work.
"Can I see?" Julia asked.
"Take a look," Castle said, setting the top on it.
"It looks like Stitch!" Julia giggled, clapping her hands together once.
"We're not done yet though," Castle said. "He needs his ears." He went to the fridge and took out the plastic bag that was inside, and quickly hammered the ears in place on the sides; having carved them out the night before. "There, let's hurry and smooth out the sides so it's finished before your mom joins us." He helped Julia with the scraping tool he had, working on the eyes first when she started to hum. "You remember him singing that?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Julia said, sitting up. "Did you see?" she asked as she held out her shirt.
"I did," Castle said, smiling as he saw her t-shirt was the one he'd bought her earlier in the month when they'd attended Paul McCartney's concert at Citi Field. He had managed to get a ticket for her grandfather, so they'd ended up being a party of six. He'd had a lot of fun, watching Julia when the singer had first come out as Beckett held her so she could see. He couldn't help chuckle as he recalled the way she would sing with each song, seeming to know the lyrics by heart.
"Why did you laugh?" Julia asked, smiling though she looked a little confused.
"I'm remembering the concert," Castle said. "And how you said every song was your favorite."
"Yeah, they are," Julia said, shaking her head yes so eagerly Castle held her in place on the counter. "But the best was when he was singing Hey Jude and we all sang too."
"It's pretty catchy," Castle said. The song that was playing changed then, and he said, "Ah, this one is my favorite."
Walking out from her room, Beckett smiled as she watched Castle and Julia in the kitchen, singing together to Paperback Writer which was playing. "Why doesn't it surprise me you're singing this one?" she told him.
"Mommy! Look, look what Castle did!" Julia said eagerly, turning to look at her.
"Not bad," Beckett said as she came around the counter to look at the pumpkin. "I like the stem."
"Julia pointed that out to me," Castle replied. He then noticed that Beckett was studying his face and he asked, "What?"
"Are you sure the pumpkin agreed to the carving willingly?" Beckett said, a slight smirk turning the corner of her lips for a moment. "It looks like it got pretty messy," she said as she nodded to the bowl of the flesh and seeds. "And you've got some on your cheeks," she said, turning his face to look at them.
"It was in self defense," Castle joked, lifting up the saw that he had been cleaning. He made his eyes go wide, making a panicked sound and hurriedly put it away, making Julia laugh. "It was, wasn't it?" he asked the little girl.
"Yeah," Julia agreed with a nod. "What's self defense mean Mommy?" she then asked, looking perplexed.
"It means to protect yourself," Beckett said as she and Castle laughed slightly. "Did you touch Castle's face while your hands were dirty?"
"It was funny," Julia said, cringing slightly.
"It was," Castle said, wiping off his cheeks with a wet towel. "You like it though?"
"I do, but I think it's more important for Julia to like it," Beckett said, picking her daughter up.
"I love it, it looks just like Stitch! Oh, can I take a picture of him Mommy?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Go ahead and get your camera," Beckett said. When Julia had gone to her room she turned to Castle and said, "You're sure about tonight?"
"I am," Castle said. "If you're wondering why I'm not throwing a party it's because my mother and Alexis already had other plans. Other parties friends were holding… though in my mother's case she's throwing a party for her students at her studio," he said. "She asked if we could stop by. I think she just wants to show off Julia's costume, whatever it is. Do you know?"
"No, they kept it secret," Beckett said. She smiled a little and said, "Your mom's definitely helping her come out of her shell."
"It's not a bad thing is it?" Castle asked.
"No, she's still the same in a lot of ways, but she seems more confident than she was two months ago before Martha started to watch her," Beckett said. "So I'm incredibly thankful to her for that. And we'll stop really quickly at the studio; I want her to trick or treat as much as possible until I need to get her to bed. Since she's never…"
"That's why I invited you to bring her to my building," Castle said. "Well, they have great candy. But I wanted to tag along with you."
"I would have invited you if you hadn't asked us to come here," Beckett said as she glanced over at the doorway to the bedrooms. "We both wanted you to come with us. The ghosts and vampires she learned about scare her."
"Should tell her that you can take care of them for her no problem," Castle said, glancing in the same direction as her. "Is it just me, or is she taking really long. Isn't her camera always on her nightstand?"
Beckett didn't answer that, instead she started to run towards Julia's room, hearing him behind her. "Julia? Are you okay?" she asked as she almost skidded inside, Castle grabbing her before she could trip.
"Don't look!" Julia squeaked as she hurriedly closed the cover on her costume that was on her bed. "I'm sorry Mommy; I wanted to see my costume."
"That's okay, I probably should have asked what you were doing," Beckett said, going over to her. "We'll see this later, why don't you get your camera?"
"We didn't see anything," Castle said as she grabbed the camera from her nightstand. "But just a tiny, little hint, really small?"
"No!" Julia said, pouting. She then giggled as Castle looked surprised before she hugged him around the leg. "Did I scare you?" she asked, looking up at him.
"A little, looks like you're ready to celebrate Halloween," Castle said, picking her up. "Ready to take some pictures?"
"Yeah, let's go now!" Julia said eagerly, kicking her legs.
Beckett smiled, and followed the two back out to the kitchen. She leaned against the counter as Castle helped her daughter set up her shot and take the picture. She found herself then thinking of how much had changed the past two months; unaware that Castle had been thinking the same earlier. But besides thinking about how Julia was acting closer to how a child raised normally would be, she knew she herself had come back around to where she had been before Julia's mother's case. She still had some lingering aftereffects of being kidnapped and nearly assaulted, but they were minimal, and could be suppressed easily, the more problematic one being her still being unable to be in the dark while she and Castle were intimate. She knew she was lucky he didn't have a problem going along with that. She was also slightly over protective of Julia, but that she knew wasn't fully from their kidnapping. She smiled then, watching her daughter rubbing one of the creases on the pumpkin, and stood up saying, "Are you excited for tonight sweetie?" since the expression on the little girl's face was so serious.
Julia nodded and jumped a little when there was a knock on the door. "Who is it Mommy?" she asked, sounding a little worried.
"I don't know," Beckett said. "But I think I have an idea," she told them as she went over to the entry.
"Let's see," Castle said, taking Julia's hand and pulling her over after her mother.
"Thank you so much," Beckett was saying when the two stood behind her. She took the package that the delivery man was holding out and closed the door. "I was right," she said, smiling when she saw Castle and Julia behind her.
"What is it?" Julia asked curiously, following her mother to the couch.
Beckett merely smiled at her daughter as she quickly cut the package open with a knife she'd gotten from the kitchen, and then sat back when the item was uncovered. "It took a while," she said when she saw Castle was then smiling. "But I hope you like it sweetie," she said, looking at Julia.
Her mouth dropping open as she saw her album Memory Almost Full; with Paul McCartney's signature on it; was inside a frame and was flanked by two pictures. The one on the left of the singer signing the album, and the one on the right of him waving to her. "This is for me?" she asked in a whisper, looking up at her mother and Castle who was sitting next to Beckett.
"Of course," Beckett said with a wide smile as she pulled Julia against her.
"Thank you Mommy," Julia said eagerly, throwing her arms around her mother.
"Well, you need to thank Castle for throwing the album and Alexis for the two pictures," Beckett said with a smile. "But you're welcome for getting this ready for your room."
"Can we hang it up?" Julia asked. When Beckett nodded, she tried to pick up the picture when Castle carefully took it from her.
"I'll follow you," he told her seriously when she started to protest.
Beckett stood up then and got some of the tools she had in the entry in case she ever needed them. When she stepped into her daughter's room, she saw that Castle and Julia were standing at her dresser. "There?" she asked them as he was holding the frame above the furniture, the wall bare.
"Yeah, that way I can see it when I feed Kauai," Julia said eagerly.
Beckett was going to get the nail ready, when Castle handed her the frame, and she looked at him in slight surprise before giving him the hammer and nail at the same time. When he held out his hand with the nail ready, she gave the album to him and then picked up Julia so she could see as he hung it in place.
"It's perfect," Julia said in joy, looking over the entire frame.
"I know, it came out really good," Castle said. "That signature just makes it pop."
Giving him a look as she set Julia down, Beckett watched as her daughter ran to Castle and raised her arms up to him.
"What can I help you with Julia?" Castle asked as he picked her up.
"Thank you," Julia said solemnly.
"You're welcome, I'm just really glad I could throw that record to him," Castle replied.
"Yeah, how did you?" Beckett asked.
"Practice," Castle said. "Ask Alexis, she'll tell you we threw some empty album sleeves."
"You did?" Beckett said in surprise. When he nodded she could tell he was serious and she said, "That was… really sweet of you to do."
"I wanted to make sure the album got to Paul," Castle said, looking at Julia who was looking at the autograph. "And I was so lucky I did. Hey," he said to get the little girl's attention. "How about to say thanks you let me see your costume?" he asked, looking at her a little pleadingly.
"Uh-uh," Julia said, shaking her head firmly. She giggled as Castle laughed and said, "You can see it tonight."
"Okay, then how about instead we play Twenty Questions?" Castle asked as he walked out of the room with Beckett following.
"What's that?" Julia asked.
Watching the two as Castle proceeded to question Julia about who she might possibly be dressed up as that night; Beckett smiled at the sight, suddenly looking forward to that night. As it was Julia's first Halloween; being able to actually go out to celebrate it; she only hoped that it would go well, and the break between cases would last through into the next day, wanting to spend the holiday with her daughter and boyfriend and not running down a suspect.
Later that evening, Castle was back at his place, setting a stack of plates on the table when there was a knock. Walking over he checked to see who it was and picked up something he had ready next to the door before opening it.
"Trick or treat!" Julia cried, holding the pillowcase in her hands in front of her face.
"Sweetie, don't cover your face," Beckett whispered, standing behind her daughter.
"Oh, sorry," Julia whispered over her shoulder. "Trick or treat!"
"Oh good, I was wondering who that was," Castle said, putting a candy bar into her pillowcase.
"Thank you," Julia said. "Did you know it was me?" she asked as she grabbed the candy.
"I did, and you're welcome," Castle said. "Come on inside, dinner's here."
"We were a little late," Beckett said, following her daughter.
"Mommy look, it's a big candy bar!" Julia said in awe as she held up the Snickers Peanut Butter bar.
"I see," Beckett said, looking at the bowl of candy that Castle had set on the table next to the door. She saw they were all smaller sized candies, and knew he'd bought that especially for her daughter since it was her favorite candy.
"Wow, I can see I was really asking the wrong questions about your costume back at your house," Castle said, taking Julia's hand as she spun around. "Anastasia?"
"Grand Duchess," Julia said.
"So you were pretty close when you asked if she was a princess," Beckett said.
"I like your costume, you going for a cop/princess kind of thing," Castle said, waving his hand in front of her.
"I only changed because we're going outside your building," Beckett said as she rolled her eyes. "And this is Julia's," she said as she indicated the tiara that she was holding.
"Too bad, I was hoping this year you might humor me," Castle said before they all turned to the stairs as Alexis came down.
"Oooh, you look so pretty!" Julia said, running to the bottom of the staircase.
"So do you! Gram did such a great job on your costume," Alexis said, picking up the little girl and hugging her.
"I like your costume Alexis," Beckett said. "Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorites."
"Why do you have brown hair?" Julia asked, touching the wig the young woman was wearing.
"Audrey Hepburn has this color hair in the movie," Alexis explained. "And she wears the same dress I am too," she said as Julia touched the strap of her black dress and then her pearls. "I tried to get as close as I could, remember the picture I showed you when we were deciding our costumes?" She laughed a little when Julia nodded firmly and kissed her cheek before setting her down. "Let me look at you… you look exactly like Anastasia did in her picture!" she exclaimed as the little girl giggled shyly while she turned around once.
"She's right Julia, you look absolutely darling," Martha said as she came down the stairs.
"Thank you so much," Beckett said to her as Julia ran to Martha and hugged her tightly.
"Yeah, thank you from me too!" Julia exclaimed. "My mommy was surprised. Castle was too."
"You're very welcome," Martha said. "It was a joy to make. Kate, your daughter is the most patient, understanding child I have ever known since Alexis."
"She is," Beckett said. "Except when it comes to putting her to bed. But the costume is amazing."
"It is," Julia said, nodding as she looked down at her dress. She was wearing a gown that went just past her knees, the colors different from the original dress it was based on. The colors had been pink and gold, but she had begged Martha to make it in sky blue and dark green, two of her favorite colors. She spun around then as everyone was watching her, watching the skirt and penguin sleeves bell out as she did so before she suddenly ran into Martha. "I like your costume," she said, peering up at her.
"Can you guess who I am?" Martha asked, holding Julia still by the shoulders.
"Hamlet's mother? G-Gert…" Julia tried to say, pursing her lips.
"Gertrude," Castle whispered to her.
"Gertrude," Julia said, pronouncing the name slowly.
"She's been paying attention," Martha said. "Alright, I believe I shall make my exit and hie to my studio, the party begins shortly. But I have one more thing for you Julia."
Looking a little perplexed, Julia gasped when Alexis opened the little purse she was holding and pulled out a pearl necklace and then a brooch with a sapphire in the middle. "For me to wear?" she whispered in absolute amazement.
"Since you are a Grand Duchess of Imperial Russia, yes," Martha said as she put the necklace on Julia and then pinned the brooch next to the darker blue sash around her shoulder.
"Thank you, I won't lose them I promise," Julia breathed, touching the sapphire reverently.
"Wonderful, will I be seeing you later at the studio? I know my students will be eager to see her," Martha asked Beckett.
"We'll be there, we might be with her friend Celia and her parents," Beckett said.
"The more the merrier," Martha said. She hugged her granddaughter and son before hugging Julia and saying, "I'll see you later kiddo."
"Kay, I hope you have a fun party," Julia said eagerly. "With lots of candy!"
Beckett laughed slightly as Alexis then said goodbye to them. "Will she be going to the studio?" she asked Castle.
"She told me to give her a call when we're going to head out there," Castle replied as he walked into the kitchen. "Kate," he then said as he took the pizza he'd ordered out of the oven. "How's Julia going to eat with those sleeves?"
"She's going to be very careful, and have a towel around her," Beckett replied, walking over to him after she'd set her daughter in a chair. "That was why we were late; my dad stopped by and wanted to see her in her costume. So I changed her into it instead of waiting for after dinner; plus she insisted on wearing it."
"What did he think?" Castle asked.
"He was pretty impressed," Beckett said. "When I told him your mom had made it. And he thought she looked a lot like Anastasia. We looked at the picture in the book he gave me to compare."
"She loves that book I noticed," Castle commented as he handed a glass with juice in it to her.
"Where do you think she got the idea for the costume?" Beckett asked with a smile. "But my dad loved it, took a lot of pictures too."
"Did you take some?" Castle asked as he poured out some wine for them while she took Julia her cup of juice.
"A lot," Julia said, having been listening to them. "Oh, oh! Castle, guess what?" she said excitedly. She didn't wait for him to respond, instead saying, "I showed Grandpapa my pictures of Stitch the pumpkin."
"What did he think?" Castle asked as he and Beckett sat at the table with the pizza in between the three of them.
"He liked it, I told him I helped a little," Julia giggled as her mother pushed her sleeves behind her the best she could. "He said it was really nice."
"He did," Beckett said, serving her daughter before herself. "Where is it?"
"The fridge," Castle said, getting up. "Thanks for reminding me. Almost forgot about setting it out." He opened the door and pulled the pumpkin out saying, "My mother and Alexis really liked it."
"I can see why, it's definitely unique," Beckett said, watching him set the pumpkin on the little table outside the door. "By the way, Celia and her parents should be coming in about an hour," she told him when he sat with them again.
"That's fine," Castle said. "Your daughter might not be able to wait that long, but hopefully she'll wait for her friend."
"I will," Julia said as she wiped her fingers on the napkin on her lap. "Thank you for letting Celia come."
"You're welcome, but I'm the guest in this case," Castle said. "I'm following you… and your mom."
"What if a vampire comes?" Julia asked after they were quiet.
"Well, you know your mom is pretty tough," Castle said before Beckett could speak. "She can handle them."
"Yeah, I think Castle would try to talk with them, ask them what it's like being a vampire," Beckett said, rolling her eyes as Julia nodded. "Sweetie, there's no such things as vampires or werewolves, or ghosts. So don't be scared when we leave for the studio later on okay?"
"Kay," Julia said softly.
"She's right," Castle said as he realized the little girl wasn't really agreeing with her mother. "I thought they were real too, but I've never really seen them with my own eyes."
"Would you really talk to them?" Julia asked.
"I don't think so, I'd run in the other direction," Castle said, smiling when Julia did so a little. "Or if I was with your mom, I'd hide behind her, let her take care of them."
"See, you don't need to worry, now eat before Celia gets here," Beckett urged Julia when she stopped laughing. She kept an eye on her daughter, wanting to make sure she didn't spill anything on her costume. But she needn't have worried, Julia was extremely careful, and when they had finished she pulled the towel and napkin off her seeing the dress was spotless. "Perfect," she said, kneeling so she could kiss her daughter on the cheek to her pleased giggle.
"Mommy, can I put on my tiara?" Julia asked earnestly.
"Not yet," Beckett said. "Let me help Castle clean up and then we'll put it on you okay?" When Julia nodded she went to the kitchen and then helped her boyfriend get everything cleaned before she asked him, "So how's the writing going?"
"Okay, I've been taking a break," Castle said. "I'm having a harder time than I expected getting the beginning set."
"Writer's block?" Beckett asked.
"No, not that, just need to plan the beginning better, I've got an idea, but need to see how it'll work on paper," Castle said, drying his hands.
"Now Mommy?" Julia asked, running over to them with the tiara in her hands.
"Alright," Beckett said, sharing a smile with Castle before she set the tiara on her daughter's head. She wasn't sure how Martha had made it, but it looked almost exactly like the crown on Anastasia's head in the picture. It was made of stiff blue cloth that matched the dress, and had fake pearls all along the edge. "There, let me fix your bow," she said as she then puffed the bow of white satin she'd put in her daughter's hair earlier. "Okay, you're all set."
"Am I?" Julia asked, reaching up to touch the tiara.
"Yeah, I'll have to call you Anastasia," Castle said.
"Do you have a costume?" Julia asked, grabbing his hand.
"I do," Castle said, seeing Beckett raise her head to look at him in confusion. "I'm going as the very famous novelist, Richard Castle."
Julia wrinkled her nose as her mother rolled her eyes and said, "But that's you."
"Great costume huh?" Castle asked. He laughed as Julia shook her head and he picked her up saying, "So did your mom tell you what you do when the door opens?"
"Yeah, I say trick or treat and then I say thank you if they give me candy," Julia said seriously.
"They'll give you a candy sweetie," Beckett said, rubbing her daughter's arm. "And make sure you remember to say thank you."
"I will," Julia said seriously. "Oh, I won't put the pillow in front of my face when the door opens."
"Good idea," Castle said when there was a knock at the door.
"That should be Celia," Beckett said as Julia started to slide down in Castle's arms. "Hold on," she said quickly to her daughter. She opened the door after reaching it first, seeing that it was Julia's friend and her parents. "Anita, George, it's great to see you again," she said.
"Hello, come in please," Castle said, standing behind Beckett and Julia. "It's nice to see you again Anita."
"Great to see you, Happy Halloween, Castle. This is my husband George," Anita said, introducing him.
"I like your costume," Celia said with a smile, touching Julia's sleeve.
"You too," Julia said happily. "You look just like a grown up dancer," she told her friend earnestly since she was dressed in a pink ballet dress with a long skirt and ballet slippers.
"Are you ready to go Celia?" Anita asked her daughter.
"Yeah, can we go?" Celia asked eagerly.
"I want to go too Mommy," Julia said to Beckett.
"I think that's our cue," Beckett said as she grabbed her jacket. She walked with Anita out of the loft, their daughters walking hand in hand in front of them.
"Are you scared?" Celia whispered to her friend as they walked down the hall.
"Yeah, I don't remember I did this before," Julia whispered back. "Do you?"
"I dunno," Celia said, shaking her head.
"Okay Julia," Beckett said as the two girls stopped at the door down the hall and around the corner from Castle's. "Don't be nervous, you only need to say two things and you'll get some candy," she said as she leaned down to kiss her daughter's cheek.
"She's right, that goes for you too Cilla," Anita said to her daughter. She knocked on the door then and stepped back before they could hear footsteps inside and the door opened.
Beckett watched a little expectantly, and then smiled as her daughter and Celia said trick or treat at the same time, their voices sounding incredibly young and a little shaky.
"Did I do a good job?" Julia asked, walking back to her mother after they'd said thank you to the woman passing out candy.
"You did, that wasn't so bad was it?" Beckett asked as they walked down to the next door.
"No, where do we go when we go back to your home?" Julia asked Castle.
"Actually we're going to go through as much of the building as we can until your mom says it's time to go to my mother's party," he replied. "But there are a lot of doors, so you'll be getting a lot of candy tonight."
"Go on sweetie, Celia's waiting for you," Beckett said then as her daughter's friend turned to her. She sighed slightly and said, "I was worried she'd get too nervous."
"I remember taking Alexis trick or treating for the first time. She was actually pretty eager, her first trick or treat that she spoke sounded more like two ts really close together," Castle commented as he stood next to Beckett. "Had to tell her after the fourth time to slow down a little or she was going to confuse people, make them think she was asking for two golf tees."
Beckett laughed softly as the two little girls held open their pillowcases for their candy bars and then skipped down the hall to the next door. "I'm just really glad she's having the chance to do this," she commented.
"Yeah, me too, I can't imagine what past Halloweens were like for her," Castle said, keeping his voice as low as possible. "Her mother probably didn't pass out candy. But Julia had to have seen the kids walking on the street."
"I didn't mention it to you," Beckett said, stopping Castle as the others walked on. "I think her mother told her some story about the 'very bad men' taking kids on Halloween night. She was scared when I first talked to her about trick or treating."
"She didn't think you told her that did she?" Castle asked, grabbing her arm as he looked at her in concern.
"No, she knows I'm not the one who did," Beckett whispered, glancing ahead to see if someone was coming to see where they were as the group had disappeared around the corner. "Her therapist said that it's likely her mind is processing all of that as something she already knows, not something someone taught her. It's trying to make sense of the information it has left after the blow to her head and that's what it's doing."
Castle sighed and said, "Is that where her fear of ghosts and everything is coming from?"
"Pretty much, also some girl in her class talked about those Twilight movies, and the mention of what vampires are suppose to do really didn't help," Beckett said. "She had a nightmare two nights in a row earlier this month and I had to let her sleep with me the third night to try and get it to stop. Luckily it worked."
"Now I'm glad I said I didn't think they existed," Castle said.
"Me too," Beckett said. "But I had to work with her about this, so… please no scaring her or anything like that."
"No, no, I won't. Or you either, that might scare her even more. Also might undo the past two months of me trying to get her to trust and accept me," Castle reassured her. "We should join them though; she might worry about where you are."
"That's right," Beckett said, turning before she began to hurry down the hall. Before they had walked more than a few steps, her daughter came running around the corner.
"Mommy!" Julia said happily. "I got another big candy bar right now!"
"That's great sweetie," Beckett said as Julia reached her and hugged her around the waist. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, but I needed to talk with Castle about something."
"Okay, but do you come with us now?" Julia asked. "And Castle too?"
"I'm right behind you," Castle said, smiling slightly as Julia then tugged her mother's hand.
When they had joined the others, Celia was waiting by the next door, and said to her friend, "Did you tell your mommy?"
"Yeah, she's gonna stay with us now," Julia said eagerly as she knocked on the door. After finishing with the lofts on that floor, she and her friend were a lot more confident, especially as they were passing by other kids who were doing the same thing they were. "Trick or treat!" she said at the same time as Celia as the door opened.
After every candy the two girls got, they ran to their mothers, telling them excitedly what they'd gotten. They did the same thing as they went through five more floors, and finally Beckett noticed the time and had Castle call his mother as she and Anita and George got their daughters to head outside.
Taking two cabs, they arrived at Martha's studio a little after seven, Beckett wanting Julia to spend a little time with the students whom she knew from the few times in the past two months when she'd gone there with Martha. Her daughter had charmed them; as Castle's mother had told her; and they wanted to see the little girl again.
"I'm pretty amazed you're letting your daughter come here," George commented. "Not in a bad way, just that you don't mind her seeing the more dramatic stuff they practice."
"Castle's mother is careful when she needs to take Julia," Beckett said simply. "And really, she knows that it's not real, since she's watching them act. It's actually helping her dancing; Madame Claude said she's doing remarkably well with their little dance they're going to have at the school's production of The Nutcracker in December."
"Celia mentioned that," Anita said. "I'm tempted to have her go so she can open up a little more. Besides dancing though, has Julia gotten over her shyness at all."
"No, but she's changed a lot in the past five months," Beckett said, smiling as she watched her daughter and Celia looking into their pillowcases.
"Alexis is inside already," Castle said as he walked over to them. "Had to send her a text since I couldn't hear her when we talked."
"Come on Julia," Beckett said. "We can go inside now."
"What about Alexis?" Julia asked as the adults ushered her and her friend inside.
"She's in there," Beckett assured her. Inside the building; once they were on the floor where the studio was; she took off the long winter coat she'd had Julia wear over her costume. "Go ahead sweetie, you don't need to wait for us," she told her daughter.
Julia was about to run inside; holding Celia's hand once her mother had taken off her jacket; when Alexis opened the door. "Hi!" she said excitedly, hugging her tightly. "We came to see the party. This is my friend Celia," she said, remembering her suddenly.
"Hi Celia, I remember seeing you at Julia's ballet class," Alexis said, smiling at the two little girls. "That's a great costume."
"Thank you," Celia whispered, hiding a little behind Julia.
"Come on inside, there are some cookies and sweets," Alexis said as she went to her father and hugged him. "And drinks, some for them too since Gram was insistent on something for them if Julia and Celia came."
"Is Martha inside?" Julia asked as Castle held open the door for her and Celia.
"Yeah, she's somewhere inside, waiting to see you two since I told her you arrived," Alexis said. She laughed a little when Julia pulled her friend inside and they took off. "Has she started on her candy?" she asked Beckett as they went in.
"No, but I really am going to have to watch her with the sweets," Beckett replied, shaking her head with a laugh. She looked around the room, and soon saw her daughter throwing her arms around Martha and talking excitedly before Castle's mother shook Celia's hand.
"Wow, I thought she'd come running back to us," Anita commented, watching her daughter as well. "I'm guessing your mother has a way with kids."
"Or else Celia recognizes her from picking Julia up from ballet," Castle commented.
"I think it's both," Beckett said, smiling at him. She nodded to Anita and George as they left to get some drinks when she felt Castle's hand on her arm. "What?" she asked, before she looked in the direction of his gaze. She sucked in a breath of air quickly before she hurried to Julia, Martha and Celia as someone dressed as a ghost approached them.
"Is that Julia?" the man asked Martha.
"Pablo?" Julia asked, squinting a little at him.
"What do you think? I'm Jacob Marley," Pablo said, shaking the chains attached to his arms.
"That's the best costume," Julia giggled. She noticed her mother and Castle approaching and said eagerly. "Look, Pablo's from Christmas Carol."
"I see," Beckett said, relieved that her daughter seemed to be okay. She glanced at Celia, seeing that the man was showing her that his chains were fake.
"I think," Martha said, as she and her son greeted each other. "I would like to make the rounds with Julia, a lot of my students have been asking about her."
"Go ahead," Beckett said with a smile.
"Can Celia come too?" Julia asked. "I want her to meet my friends."
"Okay, but make sure you two hold hands and stay with Martha," Beckett said, trying to find Celia's parents but not seeing them.
"You're Julia's mother?" Pablo asked. At Beckett's nod he smiled and said, "She's a sweet girl, we all love her here. A pretty good actress too for four years old."
"I don't doubt that," Castle said. "My mother wouldn't be so eager to have her come to the class with her if she wasn't."
"If she wasn't adorable, I think we'd be a little jealous," Pablo said with a wide smile. "Excuse me."
Beckett smiled and said, "I have my doubts my daughter would want to be a cop now she's been around so many actors."
"Me too," Castle said. "But since she's in good hands," he said as they looked at Julia who was talking to a woman dressed as Marie Antoinette. "Could I get you a drink Kate?"
"That would be nice," Beckett said, following him to the table where there were pastries and punch. The table next to it had alcoholic drinks, but she stopped Castle before he could walk to it. "I think I'll take some punch for the time being."
"Sure," Castle said, since his mother and Julia were walking over to them. "Get you some drinks ladies?" he asked as he handed Beckett her cup.
"Mommy, everyone likes my costume a lot," Julia said excitedly as she took a cup from Castle. "Thank you," she said quickly.
"They should, it's a beautiful one," Beckett said, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "And Celia?"
"Her mommy and daddy took her," Julia said. She looked past Castle then and said, "Alexis, did you see Pablo and Marinette?"
"I did," Alexis replied. "You should have had a little competition Gram, best costume. I'd vote for Julia's."
"No," Julia giggled, her cheeks flushing. "I think Marinette."
"Yeah, but you look more like Anastasia than she looks like Grace Kelly," Alexis said.
"You look like Audrey Hepburn a lot," Julia said earnestly.
"Alexis! I lost you," a young woman said, approaching them.
"You didn't tell me Diana came with you," Castle said in surprise.
"She wanted to meet Julia," Alexis said quickly. "Sorry, I was talking to some people and when I turned around you left. This is Kate Beckett, the detective my dad works with, and this is her daughter Julia. Julia, this is the girl I told you about, we share a room at my dorm."
"Hi," Diana said, nodding to Beckett before she turned to Julia. "That is the cutest costume I've ever seen! You know Alexis told me a lot about you, do you really love dancing?"
Beckett smiled as Julia, though a little hesitant at first, warmed up to Alexis' roommate, and talked with her eagerly about her ballet and dancing. "It was a good idea to bring her," she commented to Castle and Martha; who had returned to them after talking to some of her students. "I didn't realize how comfortable she'd gotten with everyone."
"They were tickled by my bringing a child here," Martha said, holding up her glass of champagne. "And that first class she was here it was difficult to keep their minds on the scenes we worked on."
"And Julia?" Castle asked, watching the little girl.
"She was frightened at first, especially of the men, but Pablo was able to get her to talk to him. He's a sweet boy," Martha said. "And a very good method actor I must say. But after watching them act, I think she liked them, especially since they do enjoy making her laugh."
"Yeah, I don't blame them there," Castle said as he looked at Beckett.
"Did you tell them about her?" Beckett asked.
"No, no, just said she was a little afraid of people. When they heard her name and that she was your daughter they knew your story," Martha said. "It was very publicized."
"I know," Beckett said. "But thank you so much Martha, I think your class is helping her a lot more than I could."
"I don't know about that, but you're very welcome," Martha said. "I must make my rounds again; I see some stragglers have arrived. If you'll excuse me."
"J- Where did she go?" Beckett said, as she turned to look for her and saw she wasn't at the table anymore.
"Over there with her friend," Castle said, turning her to look.
Beckett smiled when she saw that Julia was dancing with Celia to the music playing, the two girls jumping up and down. She leaned slightly against Castle as they watched and said, "Almost six months."
"I know," Castle said, knowing what she meant by that. "She's like another child."
"Not so much," Beckett said simply. "Not to me. She'll always be my little girl." She smiled when she glanced up at Castle and saw him looking at her, unable to put into words how happy she was with how far she and her daughter had come. And seeing the look in his eyes, she knew he could understand that without a word being spoken between them.