Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Castle
A/N: Thanks to kw15915 for reading this over – you are the best!
Took her bowlin' in the Arcade
we went strollin', drank lemonade
We made out under the dock
we stayed out until ten o'clock
Summer fling don't mean a thing
but uh-oh those summer nights
-Grease, Summer Days
*~* Wednesday, July 8th *~*
It was still blisteringly hot and painfully humid. They had done nothing that morning but lay in the shade, trying to catch the scant breeze off the ocean.
Now, Castle was getting restless and he flipped the pages of Kate's book without reading them. He sighed and looked from side to side at his three oldest children. He stood up and, shielding his eyes with his hand, shouted, "Land ho!"
They looked up at him, startled.
Alexis was first to play along, "Captain, sir. The ship is in dire need of repairs. How long might we be staying?"
"We'll stay the day. Gather what you need and make the necessary repairs. I'll take my two best adventurers and go exploring."
Grace and Frobisher scrambled up. "Ready sir."
Castle plopped their hats on their heads, grabbed a bucket and they all scurried across the hot sand to the shallow water. It was bathwater warm in the shallows and not as refreshing as it should be but it was still cooler than the burning sand.
"Watch where you are going carefully now, Bora Bora is a dangerous place."
"It is?" Grace studied the water.
"Sure, there are shrieking eels and quicksand."
"Like in that movie?"
"Yes, but these ones are from Bora Bora so they are much worse."
"Right."
"Hey, look what I found!" Frobisher picked a piece of bright green seaweed from among the dark, muted colours.
Grace started clicking away with an imaginary camera.
"They didn't have cameras in the olden days." He put his hands on his hips, still clutching his seaweed.
"Yeah they did."
"Guys, guys. It depends on what olden days we are at. Why don't you draw it Grace."
"I guess so." So she 'drew' the seaweed and Castle put it in the bucket full of water.
Crisis averted, they continued exploring with Grace and Frobisher somehow finding the energy to jump over the waves.
Kate and Claire joined Alexis a couple hours later, slowly picking their way down the path."Hey Kate. I'm going to go get ready for my date if that is ok with you. I'll pass my reigns on the ship to you."
"Ship?"
"The captain and his adventurers are exploring."
"Oh," as if it was an everyday occurrence.
It probably was.
They splashed along, picking up shells, snails and different seaweeds to add to the bucket. When the explorers were all tuckered out and the bucket full of 'specimens', they trudged back down the beach making footprints in the wet sand.
"Mummy!"
"Mum, look at all we collected."
"Where is the ships carpenter?"
"She's getting ready for her date." Kate picked through the bucket with Grace and Frobisher and Claire popping in every so often.
"Well mateys, I say it's time to pull up the anchor and head for open sea."
Beep. Beep.
"That would be Jamie." She kissed her siblings in turn, "Night guys, I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Aren't you coming home?"
Alexis coloured prettily, glanced over at her father, "Sure, but you guys will be asleep." She grabbed her purse and hurried down the hall, "Don't wait up!"
She climbed up into the jeep as gracefully as she could, "Hey."
"Hey. You look beautiful."
She'd gone for a white blouse and full green skirt.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." That was an understatement. His hair was still mussed, dark and wavy, but his light blue shirt and beige slacks were impeccable pressed. He must have been wearing contacts because his glasses were missing and she could see the dark chocolate eyes shining in the pale evening light.
"So, where are we going?"
"You'll just have to wait and find out." They smiled at each other, taking in the new and fun sensations that were them.
He heard the crunch of gravel and car doors slamming shut, followed by silence. He then studiously buried his face in his book until he heard the front door open and his daughter pad down the hall. Castle looked up when he saw her, "Hey pumpkin, did you have a good night?"
She smiled secretively and in her eyes Castle saw his fifteen year old daughter coming back from prom with Owen. He would never forget the blissful, happy look on her face, his daughter's first steps, growing up.
"Yeah, I did. I'll see him again tomorrow."
"That's moving fast."
"We're just having fun, or at least I am. Night Dad."
Kate was sprawled on the bed trying to get the most air from the fan when Castle slipped into bed beside her. He moved to pull her close but she pushed him away, "It's too hot Castle." She leaned in to give him a kiss anyways. "Did she have a good night?"
"Yeah, my baby girl is all grown up."
"Again?"
That brought a smile to his face, "Yeah."
A/N: This one was slow going, my apologies. Thanks for reading and enjoy the finale tomorrow!
