After playing fetch with the dogs Castle and Beckett took Eliza inside where their parents met them and they headed out to the cars to start driving downtown. While they were nearing the restaurant they all noticed Julia and Mari walking down the sidewalk, Castle slowing down and rolling down the windows for both Beckett and Eliza to talk to them.
"Hi," Julia said, smiling at them. "Lunchtime right?"
"Yep, thank you for walking," Beckett called.
"We weren't gonna cheat," Julia said, a wide smile on her face. After she waved to her grandparents in the second car she and Mari got their bikes set to lock up against the post of a street sign. While they were getting it set she said to her friend, "I told you she was gonna say that."
"I told you my mommy would have said the same thing too," Mari replied. They waited together until the group was coming over to them and she said, "Show them my gift!"
Julia immediately held out the book to her mother, watching as she looked inside of it before she told her, "It's nice huh? Even though you knew about it before?"
"We only knew about the art, David and Rebecca helped her with this," Castle answered, looking over his wife's shoulder. He then looked at some people who passed them by and said, "Anyone hungry for a birthday lunch?"
Beckett handed the book back to the girl and then said, "How was it sweetie?"
"So much fun," Julia said seriously, smiling up at her. "How was it with Mommy and Daddy?" she then directed to her little sister.
"Fun, we played bows and with the doggies and Mommy and Daddy kissed," Eliza said, smiling innocently at her parents.
Sighing Castle nodded when Julia looked to him and Beckett questioningly and said, "We did but not too much."
"That's fine, I'm glad you had fun too," Julia said. She laughed when her father tickled her neck before they went to their table and sitting down she then asked her parents what she could get as they looked at the menus until they could order their food and drinks.
Once they had ordered Beckett, sitting with Julia and Mari to her right, noticed the two looking at each other and she asked, "What's going on?"
Glancing at her friend Julia saw her nodding before she then said to her parents, "Tell us about the show again."
"Again?" Castle said in slight surprise. "You heard about it before."
"Mari didn't," Julia protested.
When Castle and Beckett looked at her Mari blushed and said, "I was wondering."
"I don't blame you," Castle said.
"Did your parents let you see the show?" Beckett asked her. When Mari shook her head she smiled and then said, "Alright I guess we can tell you how things went."
"What about before? Start when you met the actor you like too," Julia urged them.
Beckett tried not to laugh at how earnest her oldest was being and was just able to do so before she began with, "We were waiting backstage, watching the host make his opening comments when Jon Stewart knocked on the door," recalling that evening the week before when she and Castle had been on the Late Show as their appearance date had been pulled back to then. She easily could as she related the story since she'd enjoyed that appearance more than she had being on other shows they'd done together.
"How're you feeling love?" Castle asked his wife as they watched the band begin to perform on the screen of the TV that they were watching.
"Good, he's a nice guy," Beckett replied with a smile. She then heard a soft knock on the door and she watched her husband going over to open it.
"Hey, Mr. Stewart," Castle said, surprised to find the other guest of the show on the other side.
"You can call me Jon," he said with a smile, stepping into the room at Castle's urging after shaking his hand.
"Oh, well I'm Rick and this is Kate," Castle said, motioning to his wife who'd stood up.
"It's great to meet you," Beckett couldn't help saying as she shook the man's hand. "We're fans."
"Nice to hear," Jon replied. "Well to tell you the truth I'd heard you were fans of The Daily Show, I wish I could have gotten you on the show before I left."
"We would have gone," Castle said immediately.
"He's right, we would have tried even if you'd asked while I was still pregnant," Beckett said with a smile.
"That would have been an interesting interview," Jon replied.
"We're planning on seeing your movie," Castle said. "And we're both really glad that you directed again."
"You've seen Rosewater?" Jon asked.
"We saw it when it came out," Beckett said. "You did a great job with the story; we'd seen the segment on the Daily Show so it was interesting to see what had happened to him after that. And horrible as well."
Nodding Jon said, "I'm hoping you'll enjoy this one."
"Do you want us to sign your book?" Castle asked when someone called the comedian's name down the hall outside.
"For my wife and I," Jon said handing it to him. "We've both read it and enjoyed it."
Thanking the man for that Castle and Beckett signed their book for him before he left them and they were alone in the dressing room once more.
"Wow, that was… great," Castle said.
Beckett smiled as her husband closed the door and said, "What did you expect, us to squeal like fan girls?"
"No… okay maybe a little," Castle replied to her disbelieving look. He followed her to the chair where she'd been sitting before, leaning over and kissing her shoulder that was exposed by her dress. He wanted to say something to her but was interrupted when on the TV Jon was walking out to the host. They watched together until there was another segment on an item in the news and once it was over he helped her stand up. "Are you ready?"
"I'm fine Rick," Beckett replied. She then leaned into him and gently kissed him before saying, "I'm eager to talk to him, now we've met Jon."
"Good," Castle said, nodding. He smiled before there was a knock on the door and he and his wife walked over to the point where they would step out onto the stage. He held her hand still and squeezed it gently before they heard the host announcing them. He let Beckett walk ahead of him but kept a hold of her hand until they reached Stephen Colbert who was greeting them.
Trying not to look at the audience too much, as that always undid her attempt to control her unease, Beckett thought of the girls watching them the next day and she listened to Colbert as he started to speak.
"Very nice to get to meet the two of you," the host said. "I have to admit that I'm a very big fan of your books and that's why you're here tonight."
"Yeah, our last book is coming out in paperback," Castle said, Beckett nodding in agreement in front of him. "So if you haven't read it you can get a softer copy now."
"I want to ask you Kate," Colbert said; the two telling him he could call them by their first names. "You used to be a detective with the NYPD."
"I was," Beckett said with a nod. "And I really think that's what helps me from questioning constantly why I write. I have a little more insight into the process than if I was just a layman."
"Like your husband," Colbert said.
"Oh no," Beckett said with a smile. "He learned with me what it was to be a detective so I wouldn't call him a full layman."
"You're still investigating even now I've heard," Colbert said.
"Back at home we're officially consultants with the police," Castle said first.
"Does that mean every murder you're expected to look into it?" Colbert asked.
"No it's up to us if we take the case and where we live it's not exactly a day to day occurrence," Beckett replied. "So we have time to write books luckily." She couldn't help smile at the applause of the audience and then said, "We want to still have a chance to give those victims justice if we can."
"We do our best," Castle said with a nod.
"You were recently in DC investigating I'd heard," Colbert then told them.
Castle and Beckett briefly talked about working with Darnley before the host moved the subject to them.
"You've been featured in a few magazines," Colbert began with. "In Cosmo twice and more about you writing together. Does that surprise you?"
Since the host had been speaking to her Beckett smiled briefly before she said, "Not really, I think the idea of a couple working together has always fascinated people."
"Especially if they can do it so successfully," Castle then said. "Look at Paul and Linda McCartney."
"You're fans of them I've heard," Colbert said.
"Our daughters are very big Beatles fans," Castle answered first.
"Especially our oldest," Beckett added.
"Speaking of them, I wonder if I can show them what you gave me earlier," Colbert said. When he got nods from them he reached under his desk and said at the same time to the audience and cameras, "They knew who I was before you came here."
"We showed them the episode of your other show when Paul McCartney was on," Castle said, sharing a smile with his wife.
"That's a good episode," Colbert said, laughing as he sat up straight. "And they saw my opening right?" When the two nodded he pulled out a piece of paper that had a mosaic eagle on it, his last name in the corner.
Not surprised when the audience was awing Beckett said, "They wanted to thank you for having us on."
"Thank them for me for this," Colbert said. "I appreciate the nod to that other guy." He then put the picture away and said, "Speaking of your family, you're going to be celebrating something special this year."
"Yes, our fifth anniversary," Beckett said, unable to help looking slightly embarrassed as the audience applauded them.
"Our daughters asked us to ask him to mention that," Castle said, slightly laughing.
"Does that go again with Paul and Linda?" Colbert asked.
"They like to think we're similar to them," Beckett said, laughing outright then. "We both ride horses and we're both into photography as well but that's about it."
"No music?" Colbert asked.
"We play a few things but nothing so serious," Castle said. "We're writers."
"And investigators," Colbert finished. "Any way you can tell us about what cases you've had?"
"Oh sure," Castle said.
"But then we might lose our jobs," Beckett said. "And inspiration for further books."
"Then how about what's going to come up next for Detectives Moor and Green?" Colbert asked.
"Afraid not, or else no one would buy our books," Castle said. "No reason to."
"So now they do have a reason to buy this book," Colbert said, touching the paperback. He laughed with Castle and Beckett and then said to the camera, "Look out for Hide Behind Shades in paperback next week."
When the band began to play and the cameras after turned off Castle and Beckett spoke with the host, thanking him for the interview before they left for their dressing room. When they were back in their everyday clothes they turned to each other at nearly the same time and began to kiss.
"Hopefully that gets people to leave us the hell alone," Castle told her once they'd parted.
"Hopefully," Beckett echoed before they kissed again. She wasn't surprised when they started to kiss quickly for some time and she smiled at him when they parted before she told him, "Let's go home."
"Right behind you love," Castle said.
Smiling again Beckett took his hand and pulled him out into the hallway before they headed out to leave so they could get to their car parked nearby and could go home to their daughters.
"Are you two ready?" Castle asked as he came to the doorway of Julia's room later that evening.
"Mommy isn't yet?" Julia asked, looking up at her father.
"Not yet," Castle replied. "But she's nearly finished so I decided to come and see how you two were doing."
"Good," Eliza said. "Hungry."
Giggling softly Julia then said, "Thanks for letting Mari stay for dinner."
"And my parents," the little girl told her friend from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"You're welcome and yeah, thank David and Rebecca too," Castle replied. "Doubly since this is a school night."
As her father had said the last in a kind of sing song voice Julia rolled her eyes before telling him, "We know Daddy; we'll have to go straight to bed when you say."
"How come you said it was okay?" Mari then asked.
"Because," Beckett said, walking into the room then in time to hear that. "We decided that we'd be nice and let you have your sleepover tonight."
"Our friends won't get jealous will they?" Mari asked Julia.
Shaking her head the girl replied, "No they know we're right next door to each other and we do this a lot. Plus today's my birthday."
"Eliza," Beckett said then, getting the others' attention. She was slightly laughing as she kept the toddler from untying the blue sash around her waist. "We should go, we're all ready," she then told them.
After heading downstairs Castle grabbed his wife's hand and said, "You look amazing in that again."
"Thank you, I had a feeling you'd like this… again," Beckett replied with a slight smirk on her face. She was wearing the blue lace dress she'd had in DC, picking that one as she didn't have to worry about being cold in it that night and was aware her husband did like it.
"We all look ready," Martha commented as everyone joined her and Jim in the entry. "So we're going?" she asked them.
"Let's get to the cars," Castle said, picking up Eliza who kissed his cheek. They went to the garage and after splitting up he and Beckett were alone in the car with Eliza. As he drove them to The Narrows they spoke with the toddler, not surprised when she told them she'd been talking with her sister and Mari about their upcoming trip.
"We'll talk to Alexis once we get home," Beckett assured Eliza while they were going into the restaurant since the toddler had asked about her big sister. "She does want to wish your sister a happy birthday and as for Japan…"
"We're leaving soon," Castle said once they were with the others.
When they were at their usual table Julia said, "We were trying to guess where we were going to go. What we were gonna see."
"And how did that work out?" Jim asked her.
Shaking her head Julia said, "We just thought we'd see Tokyo… and that's all we could guess."
"Definitely Tokyo," Castle said.
"And that's about it," Beckett said, smiling at them. "What did you two talk about while you were on the beach?"
"Stuff," Julia said, sharing a smile with her friend.
"You went to play," Eliza said then.
"That's right," Jim picked up. "We heard you'd gone."
"Yeah, we just went around on slides," Julia said.
"And a little bit on the swings too," Mari said, her friend nodding. "After that we went to the restaurant for lunch."
Since they needed to order Castle couldn't reply to that but once they were alone again he said, "How has your birthday been so far today?"
"So fun," Julia said, beaming at everyone.
"It's not over yet though darling," Martha said.
"I know, I have to see 'lexis!" Julia exclaimed. She smiled when her family laughed and then said, "What're you gonna do while we're gone?" to her grandparents.
"Oh, I have a number of classes next week," Martha assured her. "A lot to do."
"I have work of course," Jim said. "I might get a case. We'll talk to you every once in a while."
"Why once in a while?" Beckett asked her father in surprise.
"I'm sure there are going to be times you'll be busy, plus it will be a thirteen hour time difference," Jim said.
"In that case he's right," Martha said. "And we'll come to pick you up at the airport."
"What about to go?" Eliza asked.
"It'll be early, so maybe," Castle said. "Alright, we'll text you to see when we can talk… if we can talk."
"Or just exchange text messages," Jim said.
"That we can do too," Beckett said with a nod. She looked with the others at the three girls who were talking then and she looked to her husband saying as quietly as she could, "They're ready?"
"She said they were," Castle replied, knowing she knew he meant his mother. "And according to her they look great."
"I would hope so," Beckett said with a soft laugh before she saw that their food was being served to them.
As they were eating the girls asked about their flight schedule and when they would be seeing their big sister at JFK since she was meeting them their for their roundtrip flight. Castle and Beckett answered that since it didn't have anything to do with the sightseeing they'd be doing in Japan and they made sure that Mari would be okay during the trip.
"I will, I'll miss my mommy and daddy and Dani but I'll come back home," the little girl replied with a smile. "I'm excited to get to go with my best friend."
"Me too," Julia said.
"Me too," Eliza said before the others were laughing briefly at her serious tone of voice.
"Okay," Castle said when they'd calmed down. He got his credit card back and said to the others, "Are we lingering?"
"No, we can go," Julia said, Mari nodding next to her.
As they were getting into the car with Eliza again Beckett noticed her husband pause in putting the toddler into her car seat and she said, "Alexis?"
"I think so," Castle replied. He got Eliza set before he stood up and took a look at his phone. "Yeah she wants to talk now apparently, she and Louis are going out."
"She's off for the term Rick and she won't be going back until the end of next month," Beckett told him as she closed the door.
"I remembered," Castle replied. He opened the passenger door for his wife and said, "I hope they're enjoying London."
"They will," Beckett said, smiling at him and shaking her head.
When they had reached home and were out of the cars Castle told the others about Alexis' text, not surprised when the girls became excited. He led the way over to the family room and was able to quickly get Skype up before his daughter appeared on the screen.
"Hey everyone," Alexis said, smiling as she saw that Mari was with her family.
Waving wildly Eliza cried, "Hi 'lexis!"
"Happy Birthday Jules," Alexis said, turning her attention to Julia. "Had fun today?"
"Yep, you want me to tell you what we did until dinner?" she asked with a smile.
"What you did," Alexis corrected her.
Nodding Julia then proceeded to do so, thanking her sister for the bike as she knew their parents must have told her about it. "And then we just played once Mari could stay," she finished with. "That was it until we left for dinner."
"Sounds like it was a nice birthday," Alexis replied.
"Oh it was," Julia said. "What about you?"
"First I want to hear about Lizzy's day," Alexis said. "What did you get up to today?"
Eliza giggled shyly slightly at first before she then talked about her own day and once she had finished, talking about playing with Julia and Mari she said, "I had fun too. And it's not my birthday."
"It will be soon," Alexis told her. "Okay, so now my day." She talked about how she and Louis took the train from his parents' manor into London before they'd gone shopping at Petticoat Lane and then stopped at Harrods. "It was nice because we'd only walked by Petticoat Lane, remember Dad?"
"I do, we wanted to get a look at it because it is famous," Castle told them. "So did you buy anything?"
"Some clothes, I'll see if I can send you pictures Gram," Alexis said.
"I'll look forward to seeing what you got," Martha said with a nod.
"Okay," Alexis said. "I need to go, Louis' being very patient. Happy Birthday again Jules, I love you and Lizzy and I cannot wait to see you again."
"Thanks 'lexis," Julia said first. "I love you too."
"Love you 'lexis," Eliza said quickly.
After they'd all said goodbye to the young woman; as well as Mari; and she'd hung up the connection telling them goodnight Castle stood up and said as he went to set the TV back to the right input, "We have time to play?"
"We do, they had their bath and showers before we left remember?" Beckett asked her husband with a smile.
"So true," Castle said, looking over at the three girls as they rushed over to the cabinet with their games.
"Richard-" Martha started to say then, trying to get his attention.
"Let them pick their game first," Beckett told her as she knew why she'd done that.
"We want to play Life," Julia said, coming back over with the box.
"Get the game set up," Castle said, motioning to his mother and father in law. "And we'll go ahead and get some drinks for everyone."
"Will you be alright getting those drinks?" Martha asked her son once they were out in the hall.
"Yes, go," Castle told the two.
"We don't have cake for Jules?" Eliza asked her mother as she watched her, Julia and Mari set up the game.
"We had some yesterday," Beckett said simply, not looking at them.
"You didn't help Daddy with the drinks?" Julia asked her grandparents when they came into the room soon after they game was ready.
"He didn't need our help in the end," Jim told her, sitting on the end of the couch while Martha sat on the armchair next to him.
"They didn't," Castle said, coming in with a tray which he set down behind the couch on the credenza there and started passing out the drinks. Back at the tray he then lit a candle that was there and came around the couch to the table. He started singing Happy Birthday before the others joined in, Julia laughing softly in a little embarrassment.
Looking down at the plate that her father put in front of her Julia gasped slightly in shock when she saw they were covered with eight cupcakes. There were four covered with what she guessed were fondant pictures of the Beatles while the other four had a Union Jack, Yellow Submarine, Blue Meanie and a guitar on them. When everyone had finished she closed her eyes and made a quick wish before blowing out the candle. As everyone applauded that she said, "Can I take the Paul cupcake?"
"That's why I put the candle in the flag one," Castle said as Beckett was taking pictures of the cupcakes before Julia took the one she wanted.
"Thanks so much," Julia told them, smiling widely at them. "They're perfect."
"They are," Martha said. "Very adorable."
Taking the one with the Yellow Submarine Eliza said, "What do we do now?"
"I think someone still has some gifts," Beckett said, taking the cupcake with the Hofner Bass on it.
Looking at her grandparents Julia said, "Thank you," as they were handing her a wrapped present each.
"Go ahead and open them," Beckett urged her.
Nodding, and smiling since her sister and friend were looking on closely at her, Julia unwrapped the gift from her grandmother first before she was lifting up the lid of the box underneath the paper. "Oh…" she breathed, seeing it was a bracelet with a single emerald on it.
"I'm sorry it's a bit too big for you still," Martha said, smiling at her granddaughter's reaction. "But this comes from your great-grandmother and I thought this age would be perfect for you to start to earn a complete set with your necklace."
Standing up Julia rushed to her grandmother and hugged her as tightly as she could saying, "Thank you Gram, I love it! And I can't wait to grow up enough to wear it."
"You're welcome darling," Martha said, kissing her cheek after her granddaughter had kissed hers.
Going back to the table after giving her grandmother a final hug Julia went back to the coffee table where Eliza and Mari were looking at the bracelet. She went to her grandfather's gift and after she'd sat back down she unwrapped the gift to uncover a watch. "Is it Grandmama's?" she asked in awe.
"It is," Jim said. "Your gram was telling me the gift that she had decided to give you and I knew which one would go with this. Your grandmama loved jade too and I bought this for her when your mother was just two years old; that Christmas."
"It's beautiful," Julia said as the ring around the watch face was a jade green. "I love it and I will wear this too." She jumped up and rushed to him to hug him as tightly as she'd done to Martha. Kissing his cheek she told him thank you again before she then rushed over to the box to take it to her mother.
"I remember this one," Beckett said. "She loved it and she would usually wear it around Christmas; at work; since it was green."
"Maybe I'll do that too," Julia said thoughtfully. She then hugged her mother before she looked around the room and said, "Thank you, for your gifts everyone. I loved all of them."
"You're very welcome darling," Martha called to her. "You should play though."
"Right, almost time for bed," Julia said, smiling at her sister who wrinkled her nose at her. She then went back to the table where they began to play the game together though Eliza played with their father.
The game went fairly quickly and when it finished the toddler suddenly pulled away from where she'd been leaning against Castle's legs to take off. She ran over to her parents' office, waiting for someone to follow her though she couldn't hear anyone doing so. With a slight frown she went back to the family room and peeked through the doorway, seeing that her mother was standing close to it, watching for her. Crying out she then turned when she was picked up, making her cry turn into a squeal that became a laugh. "Sorry," she told her father who had been the one to catch her.
"I don't blame you for wanting to stay up," Castle said as he went back into the room, handing her to his mother. "It's been an exciting day but you do have school tomorrow."
"Yeah," Eliza said before turning to her grandmother. "Night Gram, love you."
"I love you too darling," Martha said. "Julia, Mari," she called to them. When the two girls; looking a little surprised; went over to her she hugged the latter first and told her, "Goodnight; I'll be heading to my room after we go upstairs; I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."
"Night Martha," Mari said, smiling up at her after giving her a quick hug back.
"Goodnight Gram," Julia then said as she hugged her tightly. "Thanks so much for coming today and my present, I love you."
"I love you too darling," Martha said, embracing her close. "Sweet dreams tonight."
Jim squeezed Mari's shoulder, telling her goodnight before he then hugged both of his granddaughters to him as they rushed into his arms. When he loosened his hold on them he told them, "I love you both so much; I'm really glad that I came today though there was no way I could stay back in the city."
"I love you too Grandpapa," Eliza told him seriously. "I'm glad we did the puzzle."
"I'm glad you came," Julia then told him. She squeezed him tightly before telling him, "I love you Grandpapa, thank you for my watch."
"You're welcome," Jim said. "Sweet dreams you two."
With that the group went up the stairs and at Eliza's room they parted ways, Martha going to her room while Jim headed back down to the library. Castle and Beckett led the three girls into Eliza's room and there Castle helped her change.
"Are we really late tonight Mommy?" Julia asked her mother while her sister was brushing her teeth.
"No but you'll be going to bed a bit later," Beckett told her.
"Really?" Julia asked in surprise. "How late?"
"We'll talk about it later," Beckett replied as she could hear that Eliza was finishing in the bathroom with Castle. As they walked out she smiled at how the toddler was yawning widely and said, "Definitely time for bed. You better say goodnight to your sister and Mari."
With a brief nod; as she knew her mother wasn't going to let her try to delay; Eliza went to her sister's friend and hugged her saying, "Night Mari."
"Goodnight Eliza, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast too," the little girl said with a smile.
"Night Jules, Happy Birthday still," Eliza said, smiling at her. "I love you."
"Love you too Lizzy and remember you're gonna have your birthday with Daddy soon," Julia told her as they hugged.
After their daughters had kissed each other's cheeks Castle picked up Eliza while Beckett followed him over to the bed. Once he'd set her down on it he then hugged her tightly and said, "I love you Eliza, sweet dreams okay?"
"Kay," the toddler said, nodding her head rapidly. She shared a kiss with her father before he squeezed her one last time and she watched her parents switch places with a smile before she climbed onto her mother's lap once she was sitting next to her. "I love you too Mommy, lots," she said as soon as they were embracing.
"I love you Eliza," Beckett told her seriously. She pulled back slightly so she could share a kiss with her and once they'd parted said, "Sweet dreams." At that point she tucked her daughter in and once she and Castle had kissed her forehead she let him take her hand so they could leave the room with Julia and Mari.
As soon as they were in her room Julia turned to her parents and said, "What time do I get to go to bed at now?"
"At nine," Castle said immediately. When his wife looked at him he said, "What? She asked I couldn't just leave her hanging!"
"I'm kidding Rick," Beckett said, squeezing his arm gently. "But he's right sweetie," she then directed to their oldest. "We're bumping up your bedtime by…"
"Fifteen minutes?" Julia guessed. When her parents both nodded she said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome, so we have about a half hour now," Beckett said.
"Call when I can come back," Castle said before he then left.
"Mommy?" Julia asked as she was closing the door.
"Did you want me to leave too?" Beckett said, smiling at her.
"No, you can stay," Julia said as she and Mari were grabbing their clothes. "I was thinking…" she began before she trailed off with a heavy blush and looked at her friend.
Surprised when Mari nearly appeared to be on fire with how red she was Beckett became a little concerned what exactly they were both obviously wondering about. "You can ask me whatever you'd like," she told them both but mostly Julia.
"Do I need to start wearing things here?" she then asked, motioning to her chest.
"No," Beckett said, not surprised she was thinking of that. "You're wondering about bras?" When both girls just barely nodded she sat on the edge of the bed as by then they'd finished changing and explained, "They're mainly for support and to cover. You need to something to cover and you don't have that yet sweetie. Did you want to?"
"Not yet, I don't want to be that grown up," Julia said. She then hugged her mother tightly and said, "Thanks for letting me ask."
"You're welcome and that's what I do," Beckett said. "If you have another question just ask."
Pulling away Julia then said, "Did Daddy talk with stuff like this with 'lexis?"
"He did, did you think I was going to tell him about this?" Beckett asked.
"I did, you can say but… not now," Julia said, looking a little embarrassed again.
"Okay, go brush your teeth you two and I'll get your daddy Julia," Beckett said. She stood and went over to the door, calling to her husband who was leaning against the railing above the hall on the first floor.
"Hey, the dogs are coming back," Castle said, waiting then.
Beckett watched as the dogs then came up to the second floor before Rita rushed down the hall and into Eliza's room. She smiled at her husband as they went together into Julia's room and saw that Macca was lying on the end of the bed there already while the girls were hugging him at the same time.
"So what can we do now?" Mari asked a little shyly.
"There is one thing… well, two," Castle said, leaving the room. He ran down the hall to his and Beckett's room before grabbing two things before he went back to the others.
"But… my bike," Julia said.
"We decided," Beckett said, taking the smaller gift from her husband. "That we're giving you all your gifts now instead of in Japan."
"It's a bit easier," Castle said with a smile.
"I don't care," Julia said. "Now you and Eliza can have a good birthday together."
"Well we'll still celebrate with you," Castle told her, putting his arm around her. "We March birthdays need to stick together."
Giggling at the sight of Beckett rolling her eyes Mari then said, "Open the presents Julia!"
With a smile at her friend since she knew she was feigning her exuberance, Julia nodded and opened the first gift that she saw was from her parents. After getting the cover off the box under the paper she revealed a map of the country and gasped saying, "Now I can put pins where I've been here!"
"We wanted to make sure you could do that for this country," Castle said, watching the girl hug his wife first before going to him. "You're welcome," he said, sharing a smile with his wife before she let go of him.
"When can it go on the wall?" Julia asked her parents once she'd let Castle go.
"Tomorrow we'll get it hung up and you can put up pins," he told her.
"For now come here sweetie," Beckett said, reaching over to her and pulling her to the edge of the bed while Mari and Castle stepped aside. She handed her the small box and watched her press up the lid since she'd decided not to wrap it.
"Oh Mommy, was this Grandmama's?" Julia breathed when she saw the barrettes inside on the black velvet.
"You grandmama gave me these," Beckett said while she watched her daughter pick up one to study the turquoise in what looked to be almost waves. "She wasn't sure about turquoise," she told her. "But she loved the color of it and I did too. She gave these to me on my tenth birthday and she told me 'Katie, you're on your way to becoming a young woman, these are so you know that I will always love you as you grow up to that.'"
Smiling Julia asked, "She was saying she was helping you do that."
"She was," Beckett said. She was pleased when Julia hugged her tightly and said, "I'm sorry they don't match your emeralds-"
"No they're perfect Mommy it doesn't matter what color they are," Julia interrupted. "Thank you so much, they're special now." She became thoughtful for a moment and then said, "If I have a daughter I'll give them to her when she's ten too."
Castle wasn't surprised at the slight emotional expression on his wife's face and he watched Beckett hug their oldest tightly. He watched as Mari went over to her friend to look at the barrettes and then said, "Should we tuck them in?"
Beckett was startled but when she looked at her watch she realized that her husband was right; it was nine. "Sorry sweetie," she said as Julia looked over; the protest she was about to voice all over her face. "We need to get you to bed; both of you."
Mari hugged Castle and then Beckett saying, "Thanks for letting me come over."
"We're glad to," Castle said first before the girls both got on the bed.
"Very," Beckett assured the little girl, waiting for Castle to go to their daughter.
"I love you sweetheart," Castle told her first. "And I hope you had a great birthday."
"It was perfect," Julia said, smiling at him. She shared a kiss with him before telling him, "I love you too Daddy."
Embracing her daughter tightly Beckett told her oldest, "I love you Julia, sweet dreams tonight."
"Thank you Mommy for this morning and the barrettes, I love you so much," Julia said, squeezing her again. After they'd let go of each other and then shared a kiss she got underneath the covers before Beckett began to cover her and Mari.
"Sweet dreams you two," Beckett told them. At that point she left them, knowing she didn't really need to tell them about not talking since they already were aware from past sleepovers. Going with Castle to the doorway they turned off the light and then left the girls to fall asleep, heading over to their room together though they could still hear the two whispering behind them.
"Good day?" Castle asked after he'd closed the door behind them.
"It was," Beckett said with a smile. She went to him and kissed him gently on the lips saying, "I need to take a shower."
"Sure," Castle said, waiting for her to turn around to him. Once he'd unzipped her dress he watched her walk to the bathroom, sighing as he looked around the room to see what he could do to distract himself until she was finished.
"Hey, feeling better?" Beckett asked Castle as he came out to her.
"Definitely," he said, going to the bed after looking to her once he'd run his fingers through his hair. "What about you?"
"I'm good, I'll be fine for Japan," Beckett said with a smile while he climbed under the covers next to her.
"What?" Castle asked, noticing the expression on her face.
"No just something I need to tell you about what Julia and I talked about today," Beckett began. She then paused and said, "It was a few things in fact."
"Bad?" Castle asked, surprised.
"No," Beckett told him quickly. "It was more curiosity."
"She's getting to that age where she'd have it," Castle said. "More of it anyways."
Beckett nodded slightly and then explained to her husband what Julia had asked her on the beach about being beautiful. "I think she's wondering if she'll get those looks too," she told her husband. "Which is why I assured her looks weren't the most important thing and if boys just look at her she doesn't need to pay attention to them."
"You let her know they were second to me right?" Castle asked. "Your personality was more so."
"I told her," Beckett said with a nod, smiling at how serious he was being. "And then we spoke about her apparent sensitivity."
"What did she say exactly?" Castle asked interestedly.
"This was when we were riding, I almost forgot," Beckett said. "Not at the beach." She then told him about the cold air they'd felt and also what they'd spoken of after.
"She's always been like that," Castle said. "You know there is that one Twilight Zone episode with the child raised without being spoken to…"
"That was so that child would be telepathic," Beckett protested. She then sighed and said, "I agree she's got that sensitivity. There are places where I've felt strange in for no apparent reason. But as for her being a medium-"
"No, she's not that," Castle said. "Her abilities would likely start showing around now or have already. I think it's just a case of heightened sensitivity." He looked at his wife closely and said, "How much does that bother you?"
"It doesn't bother me," Beckett protested. "I just can't believe it would go to the point where her grandmother is there."
"She is Kate, the energy we have is powerful," Castle said in the same tone of protestation. "The love your mother had for you was powerful. The love you have for your child is the same and I get the feeling her spirit would be attracted to that." He then started to speak but hesitated slightly before she spoke first.
"You think because my mother lost her life so abruptly it kept her from… what do they call it?" Becket asked him.
"I prefer to say just passing fully instead of crossing over as others say," Castle said. "And I think in a way it could be that or it's just her spirit is going to connect to you because of what I said. And since Julia is the way she is she senses her grandmother."
Beckett sighed softly and then said, "I won't try to tell her she's wrong for feeling what she does… Or to stop either, I know she can't."
"I never thought you would," Castle said simply. "You're a great mother, treating her any differently would be anathema for you and that's another reason why I adore you Kate."
Leaning over to him Beckett kissed him tenderly on the lips before she pulled back from him and said, "You're a wonderful father too Rick."
"Oh no," Castle started to say though he was touched by the compliment. "Don't make this about me… yet."
Beckett smiled and then leaned against him before she recalled she wasn't finished and then sat back up. "I almost forgot, the last thing was earlier while they were changing."
Castle wasn't all that surprised when he heard their oldest was wondering about whether she was growing up that much and told his wife that before he added, "I'm surprised though that she wouldn't realize why women wear them."
"It's a foreign concept," Beckett said. "Protruding breasts when all you've known is a flat chest?"
"Is that how you felt?" Castle asked her.
Smiling Beckett said, "It was a shock to develop breasts but luckily it's a slower development." She then stopped and took a moment before she continued saying, "At least that's how it was for me." Looking to her husband she wasn't surprised when she saw he was looking directly at her breasts and she told him warningly, "Rick."
"Sorry… can't help it," Castle said, straightening up slightly. "So our oldest is growing up."
"Of course but still a girl," Beckett said.
"Not so little anymore," Castle murmured with a slight nod. He sighed and then said, "But I'm proud of her."
"So am I," Beckett said. She then cupped his cheek and said, "I love you Rick."
"I love you too Kate," Castle said, smiling at her before they leaned into each other and then began to very gently kiss one another. He wasn't sure which of them deepened it; or if they'd done it at the same time; and found he didn't care, just enjoying tasting her until they had to breathe. He held her close and said, "In Japan."
Knowing that was more a reminder for himself to not get carried away in that moment Beckett smiled as her husband began to gently stroke her abdomen and she told him, "I'm fine Rick, I took aspirin for that."
"Oh, of course," Castle said, but he didn't stop.
Beckett had no idea how long she and Castle were like that but finally she knew they needed to get some rest for their busy few days before the trip; they were attempting to finish their book before that. She pulled away and they gave each other a tender kiss before sharing a few more until they parted and lay down together under the covers. "In Japan love," she finally told him once he'd turned off the light.
"In Japan," Castle couldn't help repeat, kissing her at the way she smiled in reaction to that. When they parted he held her firmly in his arms, rubbing her arm until slowly they nodded off. He knew she was warm as he was and also like him thinking of their book and trip before their dreams took over their thoughts, which they allowed to occur very willingly and eagerly.
