Genre: Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Got some French in this chapter, just a couple phrases, I tried my best to check and recheck they're correct but if I've made a mistake with them you can point it out and I will definitely fix it! Along those lines I also have a little bit of Russian here, which was harder since I had to get it how it's written in the English alphabet. As with my French phrases, if I've made a mistake with the Russian ones, again, let me know so I can fix it.
A/N #2: Have a section of lyrics from the song Only Our Hearts by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses On the Bottom in the chapter. The ones I put in here may seem a bit sappy to others, but, for me, it just worked out in my head for the moment I write about, and also it's a great, very romantic song.
A/N #3: Just wanted to make a note that one of the plot points of the episode Hunt isn't going to apply to my series of stories, especially since I began writing it before the episode aired.
A/N #4: Definitely have to thank my three reviewers for the last chapter. Slm93 (I did have to laugh a little when I read your review, though to tell the truth I'm not surprised that someone has brought that idea up. However, gotta say I won't be writing a scenario like that 'cause it's not something I could really write. But, it was an interesting point you made, and I did enjoy reading it of course!), castlefringereader (Lol, had a laugh when I read your review too, but definitely in a good way 'cause it lets me know you want to keep reading, and also that you're enjoying it, which is of course what every writer loves to know! So hope you'll enjoy this chapter and reading it and it warrants the same reaction your review for the last chapter had) and Unputdownable (Very glad to hear that you're enjoying how this story is going, and also for letting me know. It's definitely nice to hear that someone else is enjoying how I'm having Julia getting to trust Castle, or as you put it, warming up to him. And I am so grateful that you mentioned Castle and Beckett getting closer themselves, it's something I've tried to write subtly so very glad you caught on to that!). Thank you, all of you, a ton for letting me know what you thought of the last chapter, I greatly, greatly appreciate all you've said!
A/N #5: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Only Our Hearts, the same song that's in the chapter a little bit, so same information about it.
A/N #6: Please don't flame this story, 'cause I know it's not really the best. But I hope that readers might leave a positive review. Thank you in advance if you do!
Don't Want To Ever Be Far
"Watch out Julia," Beckett heard Castle saying as she walked towards the kitchen. "You have to catch the pancakes or else we can't eat. Ready?"
"Yeah," Julia said, standing on a stool next to him, holding a plate.
"Okay, here's the first one," Castle said, flipping the pancake onto the plate. "Oh, good catch," he said. "Here's the next one… another great catch. Your mom's been teaching you hasn't she?"
"Sometimes," Beckett said, startling the two who turned to look at her. She smiled as Julia carefully set the plate on the counter and then ran over to her. "Morning sweetie," she said, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek. "Sleep good?"
"Yeah, but it's late Castle said," Julia giggled as Beckett gently bounced her on her hip.
"It is, we stayed up late last night watching Dancing With the Stars remember," Beckett replied before she set Julia down on the stool so she could help Castle again. "Thank you for waking me up," she told him teasingly before they shared a quick kiss.
"Didn't have the heart to tell you your daughter was knocking on the door," Castle said. "But it let us make you breakfast," he said, gesturing with his spatula at the pancakes, eggs and bacon on the plates in front of Julia.
"Thank you," Beckett said as she hugged Julia tightly, making her gasp in slight surprise. She kissed her daughter's cheek and said, "Thank you too sweetie for helping him."
"Welcome Mommy," Julia said. She turned to her mother and hopped off the stool, taking her hand and leading her to the table. "Sit, I'll bring your pancakes when they are ready."
"Okay," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at how serious Julia was. She turned in her chair to watch her daughter run back to Castle and help him catch two more pancakes, though really he was making it as easy as he could for the little girl. She smiled as he held the plate for Julia as she got down and then her daughter walked carefully to her. "Thanks," she said, hugging her and kissing Julia's cheek gently. "What about you?"
"One more thing Mommy," Julia said before she turned and ran back into the kitchen. "Are you gonna make it?" she asked Castle as he slid the stool over to the coffee machine.
"Right now," he replied before he started to get everything ready and proceeded to prepare coffee for both Beckett and himself. He glanced at Julia from time to time, not surprised when she jumped up and down slightly watching him eagerly. As soon as the first cup was ready, he quickly got a toothpick, and began to run it through the foam on top.
"Is it ready, is it ready?" Julia cried in a whisper.
"Is what ready?" Beckett asked, watching them.
"It's a surprise Mommy," Julia said quickly.
"Okay, now it's ready, do you want to take it to the table and show your mom?" Castle asked as he let her look into the cup. When Julia nodded eagerly he gave her the cup and saucer, putting his hands over hers and walking with her to the table to make sure she wouldn't spill.
Taking the cup quickly, Beckett smiled as she saw that the foam on top of the coffee looked like a pinwheel. She kissed Julia on the cheek and said, "Thank you sweetie, it's pretty."
"I didn't make it, Castle did," Julia said seriously.
"Then thank you," Beckett said to him as he came back to the table with the other two plates. She grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged on it until he was close enough for her to kiss him on the lips.
"You're welcome, I should do that more often if I get that kind of reaction from you," Castle said when they parted as Julia giggled.
"Feel free to," Beckett said with a smile. "Okay, sit down so you can eat, I'm sure you're starving," she told her daughter.
"I am Mommy, it was hard work making breakfast," Julia said sincerely as she let her mother help her onto the chair to her left. "But it was fun."
"I'm glad you still had fun," Beckett said, helping Julia with her pancakes. Once she had finished, she took a sip of her coffee and then asked Castle, "Have your mom and Alexis left?"
"Not yet," he replied. "Alexis promised to call as soon as they did. But they'll get here before night I'm sure."
"Mommy," Julia said after Castle and Beckett talked about their drive two weeks before.
"Yes, do you need something sweetie?" Beckett asked, turning to her.
"No, are Alexis and Martha gonna watch me tonight?" Julia asked after shaking her head.
"They are," Beckett said, glancing at Castle. "Are you worried?"
"Little, are you gonna come back?" Julia whispered, looking down at her plate.
Sighing under her breath, Beckett cupped Julia's chin to tilt her head up to look at her and said gently, "Castle and I are only going out to dinner Julia. After we finish we'll come home okay? I promise you that tomorrow morning when you get up we'll be here."
"Kay," Julia whispered, biting her lower lip.
"Come here," Beckett said, putting her napkin on the table. She slid Julia's plate next to hers and after picking up Julia's glass of apple juice, took her daughter out of her chair. "Sit here with me while you eat?" she said. She smiled when her daughter nodded eagerly and she fed her a piece of bacon before looking at Castle who'd been watching them.
"If it's a problem, we don't have-" Castle started to say.
"No," Beckett cutting him off quickly. "We'll talk about this later," she said when he started to speak again.
"Sure, how's your breakfast?" Castle said, sipping his coffee.
"It's really good; even though it's brunch really. You two make some very good pancakes," Beckett said, kissing Julia's temple which made the little girl giggle.
"What's brunch?" Julia asked.
"It's supposed to be a meal in between breakfast and lunch, that you eat instead," Castle explained. He looked at his watch and said, "Actually I think we're just having a late lunch."
"Yeah, we stayed up way too late," Beckett said, looking at Julia who squirmed on her lap. "But I think it was worth it."
"Yeah! Veronica and Derek won," Julia said.
"You regret staying up that late?" Castle said, not looking at Beckett as he cut a piece of pancake into thirds.
"First, no I don't," Beckett said firmly, reaching over and putting her hand on his wrist to stop him. "And second you cut that pancake anymore you're going to have to snort it." She smiled as Julia giggled an, "Ew," and said herself, "But no, I don't regret what time we went to sleep. Or any of last night, even though Julia managed to wake up before us."
"Right, good," Castle said, glancing down at her hand that was rubbing back and forth on his wrist. He put his free hand on hers to stop her and began, "We-" before his phone rang. "Sorry, probably Alexis," he said, standing up.
"Is she here?" Julia asked putting her fork down with a clatter.
"Not yet," Castle said a few minutes later, coming back in and sitting in his chair again. "They're just leaving now."
"Good, they should get here around three," Beckett said, picking up the last piece of pancake on Julia's plate and feeding it to her daughter. "So until then, why don't we do something with you sweetie? Wait," she said quickly when Julia nearly started to speak while she was eating. "Finish eating and then tell me."
After she had done so, Julia said, "Can I wear my reet?"
"Reet?" Castle said in confusion.
"Wreath," Beckett said. "Do you know where it is?" she asked. When Julia nodded, she set her down and said, "Go ahead and get it, be careful on the stairs though."
"So," Castle said once Julia had left and he started to grab the plates off the table. "What should we do until my mother and Alexis get here?"
"I'm leaving it for her to decide," Beckett said, helping him clear the table. "But we should probably stay around the house in case they're early."
"Mommy," Julia said a minute later, skipping in with her wreath from the fair in her hands. "I can't put it on. Will you help please?"
Beckett took it from her and set it securely on her head before she said, "So what do you want to do now?"
"Can we find shells?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Sure," Castle said, starting to wash the dishes. "You guys go ahead and I'll catch up."
"You sure? I can wash them, you took care of making everything," Beckett said.
"Not a problem. One thing though," Castle said, reaching out and grabbing her wrist as she turned away.
"Your hand is wet," Beckett said with a smile as he pulled her against him.
"Sorry, but you owe me one of those Sunday brunches you say you make Julia," Castle said.
"Really?" Beckett replied. She glanced at Julia who was watching them with wide eyes and she smiled saying, "Sure, but better I do that Saturday morning."
"Whenever," Castle said, shrugging.
"You'll owe me," Becket said once she was leaving the kitchen with Julia.
"Owe you?" Castle called, turning from the sink. "But I made…" he trailed off when she looked at him over her shoulder and took a deep breath in before he returned to the dishes, trying to forget the look in Beckett's eyes as he dipped his hands inside the soapy water.
"So you're sure about dinner tonight?" Castle asked as he and Beckett were sitting on one of the benches in the front of the house, waiting for his mother and daughter to arrive.
"I'm sure," Beckett said, watching Julia running around in front of the garage to their right. "I need her to get used to me being gone for something besides work."
"That's right, you're not always there," Castle said.
"She understands I need to be away because of that, but this is a little different," Beckett replied. "And it's only for dinner."
"You don't want to leave her either," Castle stated, watching her.
"No," Beckett said slowly. "But I do want to go out. So it's a little strange, but I need to get used to doing that myself."
"We won't be going too far down the coast," Castle said. "If that's any consolation."
"It is," Beckett said, smiling. "Though isn't the fact that we're going out together supposed to be the main one."
"I hope so," Castle replied. "Hey, tired yourself out yet?" he asked Julia as the little girl ran over to them then, jumping against her mother.
"Oof, okay, I think that's enough running for now," Beckett said, taking Julia onto her lap.
"Now what? Where are Alexis and Martha?" Julia asked.
"They'll be here soon," Beckett promised her. "Don't worry. I think though you're going to need a nap once they do get here."
"Oh Mommy, please, Alexis doesn't take a nap," Julia whined. "Does she?" she then asked Castle, looking a little confused.
"No," Castle chuckled. "But she did when she was your age. And boy did she complain. You wouldn't believe it."
"I don't," Julia giggled.
"You don't believe me?" Castle asked, tickling her side.
"No!" Julia shrieked in laughter. When he squeezed her arm she then said, "Mommy?"
"Yes?" Beckett asked, kissing her forehead.
"Do you like my shirt, I picked it by myself," Julia said, pulling on her t-shirt so her mother could see.
"I do, I think you made a great choice," Beckett replied. "Did you get dressed by yourself again?"
As Julia nodded Castle commented, "I offered to help, but she said she could do it on her own. But your mom's right, that is a great shirt."
"You like it too?" Julia asked a little shyly. When Castle nodded she giggled and said, "It's my favorite shirt."
"She's not kidding," Beckett said as Julia slid off her lap, handing her her Stitch doll to hold. "I have to convince her some mornings she's got other shirts to wear."
"I'm not surprised," Castle said, watching Julia jumping across to the other side of the driveway. "Julia," he said, glancing down to make sure a car wasn't pulling up. "Come here, I want to see your shirt again."
Julia looked surprised, but she hurried across to him and said, "See? This is Paul, that's George, John and Ringo."
"Right," Castle said. "And they're all holding umbrellas."
"What about the colors sweetie?" Beckett asked. "Name them for me."
"Red, blue, green and yellow," Julia said solemnly, pointing to each color.
"Pretty good," Castle said as Beckett hugged her daughter and kissed her temple.
"I know, she's going to do really well in school Monday," Beckett said as Julia wrapped her arms around her tightly and nuzzled her cheek against her shoulder. "Sure you're not sleepy?" she whispered as she picked the little girl up to place her on her lap.
"No," Julia said. "Are they here yet?"
"They are," Castle said, seeing a car at the end of the driveway. He stood up when there was a flash of white out of the corner of his eye and he reached down quickly, grabbing Julia before she could run down the driveway.
"Julia!" Beckett said, shocked at that. "Sweetie you can't just run in the street when there's a car," she said, taking her from Castle. "Thank you," she said.
"Not a problem," Castle replied.
"But Mommy it wasn't a street," Julia said tearfully.
"I know," Beckett sighed. "But you learned your lesson right? Never run towards a car?"
"I'm sorry Mommy," Julia whispered contritely.
"Okay, don't cry sweetie, I'm sure you want to say hi to Alexis," Beckett said, setting her down on the ground as the passenger door to the car opened and Martha got out.
"Hello Richard, how has your vacation been?" Martha said as she hugged her son.
"Really good, how was the drive?" Castle asked as he turned to Alexis who was coming around to them.
"Good, we listened to a James Joyce book on the way up," Alexis said, hugging her father tightly. "It was… entertaining."
"I suggested to Alexis we should have listen to Shakespeare, one of his comedies to lighten the mood, but she insisted on Dubliners," Martha said.
"I would have agreed with you," Castle whispered to Alexis who laughed slightly. "Better book."
"Hello Kate," Martha was saying as she walked over to where Beckett and Julia were standing at the bench.
"Hello Martha, I'm really glad to see you both got here alright," Beckett said, hugging her briefly. "Julia was waiting pretty eagerly to see you."
"Oh and here she is, the prima ballerina," Martha said exuberantly looking down at the little girl. "Brava my dear, you danced beautifully."
"You saw me dancing?" Julia whispered, her cheeks flushed.
"We did, as soon as we got home the day of your recital we watched your performance," Alexis said as Julia ran over to her and hugged her around the legs. "And Gram's right, you were great."
"Thank you," Julia giggled. "Thank you Martha."
"You're very welcome, now why don't we head inside, I am parched and could use a nice Bordeaux," Martha said. "Richard, would you mind getting my bag?"
"I've got it Mother," Castle said, smiling as she grabbed Beckett's arm and turned her inside. "What's wrong?" he asked Alexis, seeing her frowning slightly.
"Gram got a call from Michel Parveau," Alexis said. "On the way up, and he invited her to a party he's holding at his place tonight."
"Why is that a problem?" Castle asked, handing her her suitcase.
"Aren't you and Beckett going out to dinner?" Alexis asked.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you watched Julia on your own," Castle said, ushering her and Julia; who was listening to them with a serious expression on her face; up to the house. "Unless you've got plans with your friends?"
"No, I'm free to watch her," Alexis said.
"Then just tell her, I'm sure she'll be fine with it," Castle said, closing the screen door once they were inside.
"Tell her what?" Beckett asked, coming into the foyer then, Martha behind her.
"Oh, Alexis is concerned because I was invited to a friend's home for dinner tonight," Martha said, sipping her wine. "And she's not sure if you'll agree to her watching Julia on her own."
"Mommy, please, can Alexis watch me?" Julia asked before her mother could speak, running over to her and grabbing her hand.
"Why wouldn't I be alright with that?" Beckett asked. She looked at Alexis and said, "If we stick with this plan of you and your grandmother watching Julia after school, I'm sure there will come a time when you'll be watching her by yourself. And that's fine with me. So tonight you're welcome to babysit my daughter. You don't have plans you're cancelling for that though are you?"
"No, I don't until Friday," Alexis said. She looked at Castle and said, "Jeannie invited me on her parents' boat for an end of summer party."
"Sounds great, who's driving their boat though?" Castle asked.
"Her dad," Alexis said. "Her mom will be there too, to make sure we don't destroy the boat. You know how much they love it."
"I do, Jerry's protective of that thing," Castle said. "Should be fun for you. So I think we have everything settled here, right?"
"I'll be in my room," Martha said then. "Unpacking and taking a petit somme before the party tonight."
"I think I'll do the same," Alexis said, picking up her suitcase. "Except for a nap."
"Can I go with you?" Julia asked eagerly, jumping over to her and grabbing her hand.
"You can," Beckett said when Julia looked at her. "But you still need to take-" She stopped when Castle put his hand on her arm and she turned to him.
"She might have a hard time sleeping tonight," he explained. "But if she's tired…"
"Good point," Beckett said. "Go ahead sweetie, you can show Alexis your fish too after she unpacks."
"You got a fish?" Alexis asked as she walked up the stairs with Julia.
"Yeah, Castle won it for me," Julia said excitedly.
Smiling at her daughter's rapid speech, Beckett looked at Castle and said, "Should be interesting to see what they do tonight."
"At least she trusts Alexis already, so you don't need to worry about that," he replied before they walked over to the kitchen. "But you're okay with this?"
"I know your daughter Castle," Beckett said. "And I know she's very trustworthy. I just worry about how Julia's going to be. But I get the feeling that Alexis will distract her from me being gone."
"I'm sure she will," Castle said, pouring them a glass of wine each. "I'd like to go up and talk to my daughter," he said, picking up his glass.
"And I'd like to check on mine," Beckett said before she followed him over to the stairs. She could hear her daughter's excited talking, coming from Julia's room instead of Alexis' and she walked ahead of Castle, peering inside once she had reached the doorway.
"So I named him Kauai," Julia was telling Alexis. "And see I put Stitch and Lilo and Nani in there too."
"That's pretty cute," Alexis said, looking into the tank.
"It was fun," Julia giggled. "I tried to get the fishy myself, but I threw it at a man."
"Was pretty amazing," Castle said behind Beckett before they walked inside. "If we'd been at the dunk tank there was she would have nailed the target."
"Good thing it was just a ping-pong ball," Alexis said.
"Did you finish unpacking already?" Beckett then asked.
"No, I wanted to see her fish before I did," Alexis said. "I'll go and do that now."
"Come here sweetie," Beckett said to Julia after Alexis and then Castle had left the room. She sat on the bed and picked up her daughter, setting her on her lap.
"Mommy," Julia said as she took some strands of Beckett's hair and started to twist them together. "Alexis will watch me tonight?"
"She is," Beckett replied. "So someone will be with you."
"Kay," Julia said slowly. "Mommy," she began to say before hesitating. When her mother urged her to speak she whispered, "Can't we go with you and Castle?"
"Julia, I wanted you to spend some time with Alexis while we're here," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. "And you know when you start school and if I'm working she might take care of you."
"I know," Julia said quickly. "But I want to go with you too."
"Ah, so now I think she doesn't want to be left out," Castle said from the doorway. He smiled when the two looked up at him and said, "We're just going to go out tonight Julia. After that we'll be having dinners with you again. Well, not tomorrow night. Are you sure you still want to do that Kate?"
"I told you, you should spend some time with your mom and Alexis," Beckett said. "But he's right sweetie, we're going out to dinner by ourselves tonight and just tonight while we're here," she then directed to her daughter.
"Will you go more without me?" Julia asked softly.
"Yes, but not all the time, don't worry," Beckett assured her. "But you'll be with Alexis, you two can go down to the beach, or get something for dessert if she doesn't mind taking you."
"Can we watching Dancing With the Stars?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Yeah, we can have a marathon," Alexis said, appearing in the doorway suddenly, holding a hanger and a blouse. "Sorry, I could hear you across the hall."
"Did you watch and see Derek win tonight?" Julia asked so fast that the others almost couldn't understand her.
"I think she means last night," Beckett said, trying to hold back her laughter at her daughter's enthusiasm.
"I did, and you're a fan of Derek too?" Alexis asked. When Julia nodded frantically she laughed and said, "Me too, I was so happy he won, he and Veronica were the best."
"That's what Castle said," Julia said. "So we can watch tonight?"
"Sure," Alexis said.
"Of just Derek?" Julia asked, bouncing on her mother's lap.
"Of course," Alexis said. She smiled at her dad when Julia squirmed in joy and said, "Oh, Beckett, would you mind if I took her to this French place a couple blocks away? For dinner?"
"That's fine," Beckett said. "She's partial to most dishes; she'll tell you what she likes. It's not too fancy is it?"
"No, a French chef came here and started a more family oriented café," Castle said. "It's really good, should have taken you there but I didn't realize Julia liked French food."
"It depends on what there is," Beckett said with a smile. "But my dad took us to a place and we both enjoyed it. Didn't we?" she asked Julia who was watching them solemnly.
"Yeah," Julia said, hugging Beckett around the waist. "When do we go?"
"Later, after your mom and my dad leave for their dinner," Alexis said. "I'm going to finish unpacking though, and after will you show me the shells you found Julia?"
"I will," Julia said happily. "They're outside." She slid off her mother's lap with her help and then ran over to Alexis asking, "Can I watch you pack?"
"Unpack, yeah, come on," Alexis said, holding out her hand to the little girl.
"I never thought about how she might feel left out," Beckett said when she and Castle were alone in the room. She stood up and said, "But it makes sense, this is the first time we're going out without her. It must confuse her."
"It sounds like she and Alexis have their own plans now," Castle said as her led her over to the stairs. "Julia will be fine."
Beckett nodded, knowing he was right and she said as they walked down the stairs, "I should get Alexis to baby sit every time we want to go out."
"Yeah, would keep her away from the guys in her dorm," Castle said.
"Or maybe not, if she heard you say that I don't think she'd be too happy," Beckett said, shaking her head as she smiled at his exaggerated solemn tone.
"Was worth a try," Castle said with a shrug as he pulled Beckett outside as she laughed softly, their hands squeezing each other's firmly.
"So what do you think sweetie?" Beckett said, letting Julia see her reflection in the mirror.
"It's pretty, thank you Mommy," Julia said happily as she touched the two French braids on the sides of her hair. "Can I still watch you get ready?"
"I told you yes," Beckett said. "Come on, I need to hurry or else I'll make me and Castle late," she told her daughter, taking her hand and leading her into the bathroom.
"What are you gonna do when you go to the place Mommy?" Julia asked, leaning against the wall next to the door as she watched her mother put on her makeup.
"Well we're going to have dinner, it is a restaurant," Beckett said with a smile, looking down at her. "And after I'm not sure, we'll see what happens."
"It sounds boring, why don't you go to the fair? Castle can win you a goldfish too!" Julia said excitedly.
"I think Kauai is enough," Beckett said, laughing slightly. "But you know you could go with Alexis if you wanted, I think it's still going on."
"No, I wanna watch Derek dancing with her," Julia said. "And I don't wanna go without you Mommy."
"Okay," Beckett said with a smile. She turned to her daughter and ushered her out to the coffee table in front of the fireplace before she hurried to get changed. "Sweetie," she said, going over to Julia. "Want to help me?" she asked.
"Yeah," Julia said, jumping up from the small seat she was sitting on to get on the bed. She pulled up the zipper on her mother's dress and clapped as Beckett turned around. "You look so pretty Mommy!"
"Thank you," Beckett said smiling as she kissed her forehead as she picked her up. "And so do you. We better go, I'm sure you're hungry."
"Yes," Julia said as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck.
"Just in time for me to say goodbye," Martha said, spotting Beckett and Julia coming down into the foyer first. "Julia you look adorable," she said as Beckett set her daughter down.
"Thank you, I like your dress," Julia said shyly. "It's pretty."
"That's so sweet of you to say," Martha replied with a smile. "Your daughter has good taste I see," she said to Beckett.
"Thanks," Beckett said. "Have fun at your party."
"Oh I will, Richard, Alexis, don't wait up for me," Martha said, turning to the open door. "And have fun tonight, all of you."
"You too Gram," Alexis called with a smile as Martha got into a car that had pulled up. She turned to her father and Beckett and said, "So anything I need to know before we go?"
"Not really," Beckett said. "I gave her a bath so you don't need to worry about that. Try if you can to put her to bed at about seven thirty, or eight. And she likes to be read to before bed; I have her book in her room-"
"I want you to read to me Mommy," Julia interrupted, grabbing her mother's arm tightly.
"Oh, alright, well, do you have any books you could read to her?" Beckett asked Castle and Alexis.
"Alice in Wonderland," Alexis said.
"Perfect, go ahead and read that to her," Beckett said as they walked outside. "And I know you know the phone numbers you need, so you're all set."
"Right, I'll take care of Julia, don't worry," Alexis said. "Oh, I was going to take her to an ice cream shop by the café where we're going to eat, is that alright?"
"That's fine. And I know you'll take care of her too," Beckett said with a smile before she leaned down and gathered Julia into her arms. "Hmm, I'll miss you sweetie," she said, kissing her cheek.
"Me too, but Mommy you have to have fun too, with Castle," Julia said seriously, touching the pendant of the necklace her mother was wearing.
"I'll make sure she does," Castle told Julia, who smiled up at him widely. "You watch out for Alexis tonight Julia, okay?"
"And she watches me?" Julia asked. When Castle nodded she nodded back to him and said sincerely, "I promise I will."
"Goodnight sweetie," Beckett said then as Alexis hugged her father. "And I'll come up to see you when we come back."
"Promise?" Julia asked, her voice growing small.
"I will, have fun and I love you so much Julia," Beckett said softly as she could tell her daughter was becoming nervous. She shared a quick kiss with her before she stood and waited for Alexis to take Julia's hand. "Be safe," she couldn't help saying as she looked at the little girl.
"We will, don't worry," Alexis said reassuringly.
"Kate," Castle said, touching her back gently.
Nodding, Beckett got into the car and waved at the two, a little dismayed when Julia started to step towards the car before Alexis stopped her. She quickly blew a kiss to her daughter before Castle drove down the driveway, and she sighed, sitting back in the passenger seat. "I was afraid she might cry," she said after they were on the road.
"No, but I'm sure she'll recover," Castle said. "You know Alexis will definitely keep a close watch on her."
"Right," Beckett said. "So you never really told me much about this place in Southampton Castle, what's the big secret?"
Smiling, Castle looked at her and said, "I'm planning on it being a surprise. Don't worry, it'll be good."
"You're extremely sure of yourself," Beckett said, shaking her head.
"Because I know I'm right," Castle said confidently. He laughed when she hit his arm and said, "You'll see." He glanced at her and saw her rolling her eyes before he said, "You do look beautiful though Kate."
"Thanks," Beckett said, touching the pendant of her necklace. "You look pretty good tonight."
Castle reached over and gently squeezed her hand as a way of saying thank you before he turned his attention back to the road. "I will tell you one thing about the place," he said as Beckett turned on the radio. "It's French."
"Really? Sure it's not the café Alexis and Julia are going to?" Beckett asked jokingly.
"I'm sure, though if you wanted to we could turn back and meet them there," Castle asked.
"Keep driving," Beckett said with a slight smile. "It's tempting though," she said after the car was quiet except for the music playing low.
"Yeah, but we have Saturday dinner remember, with my mother too," Castle said.
"I do," Beckett said, smiling. "It'll be a little depressing, the last full day of vacation."
"I know, it's been fun though," Castle said, smiling at her.
"A lot, thank you," Beckett said, looking serious then.
"For bringing you two here?" Castle asked.
"Yes, but also for doing so much for Julia," Beckett said softly.
"I was happy to do it, I hope I can keep helping her out if she needs it back in the city," Castle said.
"You can," Beckett commented. "And you're welcome to come over to my place more."
"Vice versa," Castle said. "Especially since Julia's going to be at my place a lot."
"That's true," Beckett said with a smile. "And again, thank you for giving your mom the idea to take care of Julia."
"You're welcome," Castle said. He reached over to Beckett's hand again, and squeezed it tightly before holding onto it as he continued to drive along the coast.
"Hi, there's two of us," Alexis said as she and Julia entered the French café near the beach house. "And can I get a child's menu and a booster seat?" she told the hostess as they were led back outside.
"We don't eat inside?" Julia asked, holding onto Alexis' hand tightly.
"Do you want to? I thought you would like to sit out here," Alexis said while she waited for the hostess to set the booster seat on one of the café table chairs.
"No, I want to eat here," Julia said happily as Alexis lifted her up into her seat. She grabbed one of the crayons on the child's menu in front of her and started to color in the picture on it.
"What do you want to drink?" Alexis asked, touching the little girl's arm to get her attention.
"Apple juice please," Julia said shyly. "And can I have to eat crêpes?"
"Sure, what do you want in them though?" Alexis asked. When the little girl asked her what was in them she quickly read the menu before she ordered for them both. "Why don't we try and see if we can go through that maze?" she asked as Julia looked at her blue crayon.
"Alexis," Julia said in a whisper after they had done the maze on the menu and their food had been served.
"Are you okay?" Alexis asked in slight concern as she looked up at the little girl.
"Is Castle gonna stay with my mommy for dinner and before they come home?" Julia asked.
"Oh, of course he is, it's a date, so they're going to be together," Alexis assured her. "Don't worry; nothing's going to happen to your mother."
"Kay," Julia said. She ate some of her crêpe at Alexis' urging before she said, "Alexis, my mommy told me before, but I don't know what is a date."
Alexis wasn't too surprised Julia was still confused, and she thought a moment, thinking about how to explain it better than Beckett had. She finally said, "It's when you go with someone you think you like a lot-"
"You mean you think you love them?" Julia cut in.
"Sometimes, but a lot of times you like the other person a lot and a date lets you go out and see if you might love them by getting to know them better," Alexis said. "And if a couple is in love then a date is for them to be alone."
"Like my mommy and Castle," Julia stated. When Alexis nodded she smiled and said, "That's why I came here with you."
"It is, but I heard you went out a lot with them both before my gram and I got here," Alexis said, glad to see a smile on her face.
"Yeah, it was fun, Castle's funny," Julia said, biting her lower lip as she looked a little nervous.
"He is, I'm glad you like him now," Alexis said. "But eat more Julia; your mom will get mad at me if you're hungry later."
"Do we still get ice cream?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Yeah, but if you eat your crêpe and pomme frites," Alexis said.
"You talk in French?" Julia asked after eating a little.
"I can, and I learned German in school too," Alexis answered.
"My mommy's teaching me Russia," Julia said eagerly.
"Russian? I forgot she knows how to speak that," Alexis said. "What do you know how to say?"
"Privjet, menya zovut Julia," she said proudly, pronouncing the words carefully.
"Wow, that's really good," Alexis said, impressed. "Is that 'hello my name is'?" When Julia nodded, blushing a little at her compliment she said, "You learned very well, I don't know a lot of four year olds who can speak Russian."
"Mommy said that too," Julia said with a giggle. "Does Castle?"
"No, you should say something to him in Russian, I bet he'll be really surprised," Alexis said, smiling as Julia giggled and nodded eagerly. She then urged the little girl to go back to eating and they chatted about what they might do the next day with Castle and Beckett before they had finished and she was paying. "Okay, are you sure you still want ice cream? You're not too full?"
Shaking her head as she skipped next to Alexis as they walked down the sidewalk, Julia said, "No, I wanna get one in a cone and I won't drop it, I promise."
Smiling at how much Julia had changed since she had first met the little girl, Alexis started skipping with her. She laughed when Julia looked up at her with wide eyes and then gave a short shriek of laughter before they skipped the rest of the way to the ice cream shop. "Okay," she said breathlessly when they reached the open door and Julia jumped onto the rug inside. "Let's see what we'll have," she said.
"What's that?" Julia asked, looking at a family sitting at a table.
"That's a sundae, I don't think you can eat all of that though," Alexis said, glancing over and seeing the huge dessert in the middle of the table.
"But what about for my mommy and Castle, and Martha, we can eat it together," Julia said.
"They're not going to get home in time," Alexis said gently. "But why don't we get a small one for us to share back at the house?"
"Oh please, please!" Julia said excitedly.
"Good evening," the worker behind the counter said as Alexis and Julia walked up to the counter. "What can I get for you and your sister?" she asked Alexis.
"We'll have your hot fudge sundae," Alexis said quickly as she felt Julia tense next to her for a moment. "What kind of ice cream do you want in it?" she asked the little girl.
"Fruit ones?" Julia said shyly.
"Okay, do you like pineapple? How about mango and passionfruit?" Alexis said, Julia nodding at each flavor. "We'll have those." After she had paid for the sundae she told the worker, "We'll take that to go."
"Great, I'll call your number when it's ready," the woman said, smiling at Julia.
"Alexis, why did she say we were sisters?" Julia asked softly as she spun at one of the seats at the counter.
"I think it's because our hair is a red color, even though it's not the same," Alexis said. "Did you not like her saying that?"
"I did, but it's a lie isn't it?" Julia said worriedly.
"No, she just doesn't know," Alexis assured her. She saw the little girl was still concerned so she said quickly, "Are you excited to get to see Paul live in October?"
"Yeah! I'm happy, I want to see Paul play, and maybe he will sign my record!" Julia said happily.
Before Alexis could ask what she was talking about, their number was called and she waited until they were walking back to the beach house to ask, "What record Julia?"
"My mommy bought me a record that's Paul's and I want to throw it to him at the show," Julia explained, skipping as she held Alexis' hand. "So he can put his name on it."
"Good idea," Alexis said. "I hope he does sign it for you."
"Are you excited to go?" Julia asked her.
"Oh yeah, a lot, you know my gram loves The Beatles, and my dad likes Paul a lot, so I know their music," Alexis replied with a smile as she had to slow Julia down.
"Do you love his music? I do! Oh, and George, do you like the music George sings? I love his, oh; can we see his video when we get home?" Julia asked, sounding a little hyper.
"Easy," Alexis laughed. "I don't think I've really heard George's music besides what he wrote for The Beatles. And what video are you talking about?" she said.
"I'll show you, before we watch Derek," Julia said eagerly.
Alexis was happy to see that Julia didn't seemed to be thinking about Beckett anymore, and she hurried the rest of the way home with her. As they entered the beach house, she made a mental note to herself to keep her distracted, hoping she could keep Julia happy since she knew Beckett was likely thinking about her daughter. She only hoped it wasn't ruining the date. She shook herself from her thoughts as Julia went to the family room and she said, "Okay, let's get started on the sundae and we can watch that video."
Julia clapped and said, "Yay, I can't wait to watch it with you," she giggled. She settled herself in next to Alexis as they watched the music video starting. She hadn't forgotten Beckett, but she didn't want Alexis to see she was still scared her mother might not return. She shivered at the thought and hurriedly jumped off the couch, dancing in time to the music, wondering what her mother was doing that moment, hoping she was having much fun as she was having herself.
"I don't think I was more embarrassed," Beckett said with a laugh as she shook her head. "Luckily my friends didn't see me, so I didn't get teased about it."
"They wouldn't have done that too badly would they?" Castle asked before taking a sip of his wine.
"Who knows," Beckett said with a shrug. "But it's funny now that I'm looking back on it."
"Yeah, the embarrassing moments tend to be like that," Castle replied. "So what do you think?"
"About here?" Beckett said, looking around. "I'll admit, I'm pleasantly surprised. How's the food?"
"Really good," Castle said. "Meaning the portions aren't microscopic."
"Always a good thing," Beckett said when the host walked over to them. She stood up and walked with Castle after the man outside.
"I'm really glad the weather cooperated," Castle commented as he politely brushed aside the host and helped Beckett into her chair.
"So am I, this is amazing," she said to him as they took their menus.
"This was somewhere else I wanted to take you, the first time you came here," Castle said when they were alone.
"Too bad we didn't manage to make it, but I still enjoyed that trip… although really, I would have loved a normal vacation," Beckett said.
Castle was about to protest that, when she smiled and he said, "I almost fell for that."
"I wondered how long I could keep that up," Beckett replied. They were quiet for a moment and she then said, "But I am really glad that nothing happened this time."
"Me too, I hate to think of how it would be for Julia if we investigated another case," Castle said. At Beckett's look he asked, "What?"
"You would have been investigating on your own," Beckett said simply. "I wouldn't have left my daughter on her own to look into another case for the Hamptons PD."
"I have a hard time believing that," Castle said.
"Who would I have left Julia with?" Beckett asked.
"Rebecca Foster," Castle simply. He smiled when she rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, maybe not, but at least we didn't have to figure that out. Although the vacation isn't over yet."
"Yeah, I don't think I'd investigate even though your mom and Alexis are here," Beckett said. "I'd like to spend as much time with my daughter as possible before she starts school."
Castle wanted to ask her something along that line of conversation, but he held back until they had ordered. "You're not feeling guilty we came here on our own are you?" he said once they were alone again and had their glasses of wine.
"No, I'm just hoping Julia will be alright," Beckett said honestly. "But I don't really want to keep thinking about how she's doing. It'll end up driving me crazy until I see her." She took a deep breath before saying, "Tell me about Alexis' schedule this semester."
Knowing that she needed the distraction, Castle quickly started to speak about his daughter's upcoming classes at Columbia. He was relieved to see that she didn't seem to be thinking about her daughter, and he was able to keep up that line of conversation until their food arrived.
"You know," Beckett said after they had eaten in silence at first. "I remember my first semester at Stanford. How nervous I was, and homesick."
"I wondered about that, you never mentioned what it was like going across the country for college," Castle commented.
"It was tough at first," Beckett said. "But I talked to my parents a lot in the beginning, and once I started school, things got so busy I forgot about missing home. Though missing my mom and dad never stopped. But I knew they were proud of me for getting into the college, and I wanted to make sure they always were. So I got over it eventually."
"But you still missed home," Castle stated. When Beckett nodded he smiled slightly and said, "Yeah, Alexis still does miss home though she's over all the time. Which I'm really happy about; even her quick visits for laundry."
"Doesn't surprise me," Beckett laughed softly. "What would you both have done if she went to Stanford?"
"I don't even want to think about that," Castle said. He laughed with Beckett and said, "No, I would have missed her, but if it was what she wanted…"
"That's how my dad was, but he did want me to go to a good school at the same time," Beckett said. "Being a parent is an emotional roller coaster I've realized."
"Yeah, you'll get that a lot," Castle said. "But Julia's still only four."
"She is," Beckett hesitated. When he looked at her questioningly she said, "With what's happened to her… I still have difficult moments as her mother. It's not smooth sailing."
"But would you want to give her up to not have to deal with that?" Castle asked.
"No," Beckett said firmly, and a little louder than she'd meant to. She looked around them and said a little more quietly, "No, I would never give up Julia. It's just something that's always going through my head. A wish that she was just a normal four year old." She felt the mood was getting a little serious so she quickly said, "So, speaking of my daughter, any ideas what we'll do tomorrow now your daughter and mother are here?"
Castle knew she wanted to change to subject again, so he quickly made a few suggestions of what they could do the next day. They were able to continue that topic through into dessert when he glanced over at the table to his right and saw the man sitting there handing a piece of paper to a waitress.
"What is it?" Beckett asked, sipping her coffee as she watched him.
"Hold on," Castle said before he got up and walked over to the door leading back inside the restaurant.
Glancing up from her plate, Beckett saw Castle coming back to her and she said, "Everything okay?"
"Yes, I was just checking on something," Castle said. "I was a little confused." He waited a second before he heard a new song start to play over the audio system the restaurant had outside and he held out his hand to Beckett. "Dance with me?" he asked.
Smiling, Beckett quickly put her napkin on the table and took his hand, letting him lead the way to a clear area of the patio seating. She turned to him and said, "Is this why you went inside?" as she wrapped her arm around his neck and their other hands stayed clasped together, his left hand on her back.
"Apparently you can request songs, I thought it was someone playing live, but they have a DJ," Castle commented.
"Interesting choice," Beckett said, listening to the lyrics. "Julia would be really happy hearing it."
"I know, but it is a good song," Castle said. "I think if she saw us though, she'd wonder why the hell we're not dancing a Waltz." He saw the look on Beckett's face and said, "Viennese Waltz?"
"I don't know," Beckett said, smiling slightly. "But I wouldn't want to try it."
"I think you'd be a good ballroom dancer," Castle said. "Me on the other hand…"
"You could be," Beckett said. "You ever want to take dancing lessons in the future, give me a call."
"You'd go?" Castle asked in surprise.
"To watch you, yes," Beckett said with a smile.
"I see how it is," Castle said before they shared a laugh. He held her closer then, as a few other couples were dancing by them, and he said, "It's a good song."
"It is," Beckett said absently, listening to the lyrics. Castle's request had been the song Only Our Hearts, by Paul McCartney, a song that she knew very well from Julia. She liked the lyrics but wondered if he'd chosen it for the lyrics or the music.
"I just like the chorus," Castle said suddenly, seeming to guess what she was thinking just before the chorus started to play.
Hoping to be where you are
Of longing to be your lover
Don't want to ever be far
Apart from you my love
But only our hearts will know
If we're going to spend it together
Only gone to the dreams that we share
Only our hearts, know how much love is there
"It's nice," Beckett said with a smile before she let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his hands on her back, and pressed her cheek to his as they continued to sway to the rhythm of the song, together.
"I would have thought you'd want to head back to the house," Castle commented as he walked onto the sand with Beckett.
"Not yet," she replied as she walked over to a log that was on the beach. "Did you want to go back?"
"No, I'm fine," Castle said quickly, taking off his blazer and setting it on the log before he sat down with her. "Any reason why you wanted to stop here?" he asked as they looked at the waves.
"I just felt like walking on the beach," Beckett said, glancing at him. "That was a really nice dinner. It was nice to go back to that."
"It's been a while," Castle said, quickly sensing what she wasn't saying. "But since things changed for us, for you especially, it's understandable."
"Good," Beckett said slowly.
"What is it?" Castle asked, knowing she was holding something back from him.
Beckett hesitated as he took her hand and slid his fingers through hers, watching him as he did so. She glanced up and saw the encouraging look on his face before she braced herself and started to speak. "There's something I've wanted to ask you, since I knew more about you and your… family," she began, stopping in case he figured out what she wanted to say.
"Okay," Castle said, a little confused since he couldn't really read her that well as she seemed to still holding back in her uneasiness.
Seeing that she had no choice but to continue on her own, Beckett glanced down at their hands and finally said, "I've always wondered, does it bother you not knowing who your father is? And please Rick, don't, don't try and brush it off. I want to know whether this is something that bothers you, or you honestly don't care."
For a moment, Castle wasn't sure if he should really answer her, or just avert the question. But looking into Beckett's eyes, he could see she wanted to know, and he knew if there was anyone he'd trust in with an honest answer, it was her. He exhaled as he made a decision, and then said, "It did bother me, because I had no idea if he was the kind of man I wanted to know or not. That was always a problem; he could be a nice guy or a complete jackass. I wanted to know who he was when Alexis was born, because I was really not sure about being a father. But… he wouldn't have known either since he hadn't raised me and things turned out alright with that in the end. I like to think I turned out to be a good father."
"You are," Beckett said, her left hand on his arm, squeezing it reassuringly.
"But as Alexis grew up, I always wished she had her grandfather," Castle said. "But it was a 50-50 thing; I had no idea what kind of man he was. It was a little disturbing to think of the possibility that I might find him or he'd find us, and hurt his granddaughter and my mother. But I always did want to at least know who he was, just so I had a name and maybe could see what he looked like. It's always bothered me Kate, the not knowing and being unsure about him, whoever he was."
"You're using the past tense," Beckett said simply.
"When the first Nikki Heat book was published," Castle said, sighing deeply. "I took some of that money and hired the best PI I could. With FBI and CIA connections because I wanted to cover my bases. And he looked into it for a year before he finally came to me with what he was able to find out."
Beckett squeezed his arm a little tighter that time, knowing it was unlikely to be good as he paused and looked at the breaking waves.
"It was dead end after dead end," Castle said, looking at her. "And he tried everywhere he could. Told me it was pretty likely that he had passed away by now, whoever he was. And he's right, I looked at everything he found, and there's nothing that says definitively who my father is."
"You've never told your mother," Beckett stated.
"I don't know if I can," Castle said with a sigh. "I don't like to think about it myself; I don't want to throw that into her face."
"Does anyone else know about this?" Beckett asked.
"Besides me and the PI, you," Castle said, looking at her.
"I'm so sorry Castle," Beckett said, unsure of what else to say, though she was touched at his trusting her.
"It's okay, I figure; and this is something I told Alexis when she asked me about this too," Castle said. "With whoever my father is, he could have been a great man. I like to think that he was." He was quiet then as Beckett rubbed his arm and he then said, hesitating himself, "What about Julia's father?"
Looking a little uncomfortable for a moment, Beckett said, "What about him?"
"Has she ever asked who he is?" Castle asked.
"No," Beckett said. She was looking down at the water, but she could feel his gaze on her, so she finally sighed and said, "What can I tell her Castle? Honestly? I don't know anything about him, besides his name, a little of his past, and what he looked like."
"What if she asks though?" Castle said as Beckett stood up and walked down to the water's edge. He quickly followed her and said, "You don't know what to do?"
"No, I wasn't kidding about that," Beckett sighed. "And with me not being Julia's birth mother… it worries me that she might figure that out with me not knowing much about her father."
"Did you talk to her psychiatrist about what you can do?" Castle asked.
"Yes, she said I shouldn't bring up the subject," Beckett said simply. "Wait until she asks me herself and tell her the truth. Of course I pointed out that Julia might ask before she gets her memory about her mother back, and the doctor said just tell her the basics."
"Which would be what?" Castle asked.
"That he was a nice man," Beckett said. "Which annoyed me but she's a good doctor, she's helped Julia a lot."
"Do you still have his picture?" Castle asked.
"Yes, I have a copy, it's with the box of albums from her mother that's at my dad's cabin," Beckett said.
"You know," Castle said slowly after they were quiet. "That's part of the reason why I wanted her not to be so terrified of me."
Beckett didn't reply for a moment before she looked up at him and said, "That's why I wanted you to be a part of our lives. To help Julia with her fear of men. And…"
"I wanted that," Castle said quickly, knowing why she had trailed off. "It's why I came with you here instead of going to Atlantic City. I would love to be a father figure to her if you and her want me to be."
"She needs that," Beckett said in obvious relief. "Her doctor's told me that she needs to be around men more, to get over her fear. She…" She paused before she then said, "She suggested me having a boyfriend would help, though to be really careful about who that is."
"And you're sure I'm right for that?" Castle asked. "Because I know I don't always act my age and-"
"Castle," Beckett said, stopping him by grabbing his arms. "You seem to be forgetting Alexis, you're a father already."
"Yeah, but I have my… foibles as a parent, you know me," Castle said.
"You do, but I'm sure I'll have my own quirks as Julia grows up," Beckett said, shrugging. "But I'm sure that I want you to be part of Julia's life too. If I wasn't, I would have broken things off between us after I adopted her."
Castle knew she was right, and he said, "I'll do the best I can to make sure you don't regret that."
"I never have," Beckett said with a smile. "I don't think I ever will, not with how you are with her." She then wrapped her arms around him as he did the same to her and they kissed. When they parted she said, "Let's go home."
Smiling, Castle took her hand and led the way back up the sand to grab his jacket before they headed to his car, holding onto Beckett's hand tightly.
"Hey, how was dinner?"Alexis asked, looking up as Beckett walked up to the kitchen.
"It was nice, how's Julia?" Beckett asked.
"She's asleep," Alexis said.
"How was she while we were gone?" Beckett then said as she took some popcorn from the bowl Alexis held out to her.
"She was fine, she did go to the front door a couple of times to see if you were back," Alexis answered. "And she asked a couple times if you were going to leave Beckett on her own Dad," she said to her father who walked up behind Beckett then.
"You explained what a date was though," Castle said to Beckett.
"I guess my explanation wasn't enough," Beckett said.
"She does now," Alexis said as she walked to the family room, Castle and Beckett following her. "I hope it's okay, she asked me point blank what that was. I told her it was when two people who liked each other spent time together basically."
"That's fine, actually I said pretty much the same thing," Beckett said, nodding as she sat on the couch next to Castle. "But besides that?"
"I think she had a lot of fun," Alexis said with a smile and held her bowl out to her father and Beckett from where she was sitting on an armchair next to the couch. "Your daughter is so adorable. I'd love to take her once to my dorm, my roommate and the others girls I know would love her."
"That would be fun, but later on this year, let her get used to kindergarten first before you take her," Beckett said. "What?" she asked as she looked at Castle who was staring at her.
"No, just, wasn't expecting that," Castle said.
"Oh, something else," Alexis said as Beckett rolled her eyes. "We watched some music videos. She said you were okay with her seeing them, but I wasn't sure."
"Which ones?" Beckett asked.
"Two were George Harrison songs, and another of Paul's," Alexis replied.
"This Song and True Love?" Beckett said. When Alexis nodded she smiled and said, "Those are okay, we've watched them together before."
"I really was unsure when there were those two cross dressing men in the jury," Alexis said. "But I didn't want to stop it; she was enjoying it too much."
"She loves that one… she and her mother watched it before…," Beckett said before trailing off. "True Love too, that one is a lot better."
"It was funny, and Julia sang along with both of them," Alexis said. "She knows all the words."
"When you're stuck inside your home, there's not much you can do but listen to music, and watch TV," Beckett said with a slight sigh. "What was the music video from Paul?"
"Your Loving Flame," Alexis said quickly. "I liked that one actually, the song is really sweet."
"You get that with Paul," Castle said. "And the rest of your night?"
"A Derek Hough marathon," Alexis said, smiling widely. "And she showed me some of the dancing she did at the recital too, in between the dances. She's really good. Oh and something else she's good at; that I wasn't expecting; speaking Russian."
"That came up?" Beckett said.
"You're teaching her Russian?" Castle asked.
"I took her to a Russian market and she heard me speaking to the owners, and she asked to learn," Beckett said. "She's learned faster-" she started to say when she suddenly looked towards the doorway and saw her daughter standing there.
"Mommy!" Julia cried, running out from the doorway and to Beckett.
"Julia, what are you doing up?" Beckett said, picking her up and putting her on her lap.
"I heard you Mommy, I missed you," Julia said, hugging her tightly.
"I missed you too, but you had a good time tonight didn't you?" Beckett asked embracing her daughter, kissing her on the forehead. She felt Julia nod and she smiled before saying, "I'm glad you did, but you should be in bed, it's late."
"Don't wanna," Julia said, holding onto the pendant of Beckett's necklace tightly.
"I'll let you sit with us for a little," Beckett said. "But then you need to sleep or you'll be too tired tomorrow."
"Kay," Julia said, snuggling against her mother as close as she could. "Did you have fun Mommy?"
"I did," Beckett assured her.
"I told Alexis about speaking Russia," Julia said.
"Russian," Beckett gently corrected. "I know, Alexis told me."
"I did," Alexis said quickly. "I wanted to tell your mom she did a good job teaching you so far. You speak really well for your age."
"Spasibo," Julia giggled before she yawned slightly. "Did I say that right Mommy?" she then asked worriedly.
"You did, don't worry," Beckett laughed softly. "Want to go to bed now?" When her daughter shook her head she sighed and said, "Not yet huh?"
"No, oh Mommy, we had ice cream for dessert, was sooo good," Julia said.
"Which flavor did you get?" Beckett said. She was surprised when Julia looked at Alexis, and the two started to laugh. "Any idea what the joke is?" she asked Castle.
"Good question," he replied. "You didn't get something huge for her did you?"
"No," Alexis said with a smile when they stopped laughing. "Just an inside joke."
"Okay," Beckett said, looking at Julia who was rubbing her eyes. "Sweetie-"
"No Mommy, not yet," Julia begged, looking up at her. "What do we do tomorrow?"
"We're not sure," Castle answered for her. "I think that should be up to you Alexis."
"Me? And Gram too right?" Alexis said in surprise. When her father nodded, she smiled and said, "Julia told me how good she's gotten at swimming, we could do that. Oh, and she told me about the Farmer's Market."
"Is that going on during the week?" Beckett asked.
"During the summer months it does, while the tourists are here," Castle said. "So we could go to that and then head to the pool."
"Sounds like a good idea," Beckett said. "And I can't wait for tomorrow Julia."
"Why?" Julia asked sleepily.
"You and I are going to have a girl's night in," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. "We'll order dinner and then watch movies, remember I asked which ones you want to see?"
"Yeah," Julia said, trying to sound enthusiastic but too tired to put much effort into it. "Yellow Submarine and Madagascar and Ice Age 2."
"That's right, and you know what," Beckett said, standing up as she put Julia against her hip. "The sooner you get to sleep the sooner we can get to tomorrow."
"That's good," Julia sighed, resting her chin on her mother's shoulder.
"You don't have to follow," Beckett said, turning to Castle and Alexis who were behind her.
"I'd like to go to bed myself," Alexis said. "It's exhausting sometimes taking care of a kid, I don't know how you do it and with your job too."
"It's not easy, but it's worth it, believe me," Beckett said before she headed up the stairs. Inside Julia's room, she put her daughter on the bed, not surprised she was fast asleep when she'd done so. She quickly covered her and then leaned down, kissing her forehead gently. "Sweetie, go to sleep," she said in dismay when she pulled back and saw Julia's eyes were open.
"It's kind of funny," Alexis was saying as she and her father were standing in the doorway to her room. "At the ice cream shop the worker who helped us thought we were sisters."
"Doesn't surprise me," Castle said. "You've both got red hair; even though not the same shade you could still be sisters. Did Julia hear that?"
"She was worried that the woman was lying," Alexis said. "But I don't think she minded after I told her she wasn't."
"Did she wake up?" Castle said, looking past his daughter and seeing Beckett coming out of Julia's room, closing the door behind her.
"Right as I kissed her goodnight," Beckett said with a sigh as she walked over to them. "Apparently she had to tell me one more thing." She smiled when the two looked at her questioningly and said, "She wants to know the next time you can watch her Alexis."
"She's incredibly sweet," Alexis said, smiling. "And if you want me to watch her again I'll be happy to."
"You might be if Martha can't watch her after school," Beckett said. "Well, during that two week trial period we're having."
"I get the feeling it'll be longer than that Kate," Castle said.
"We'll see," Beckett said simply. "Thank you so much though Alexis, for taking care of her this first time."
"You're welcome, and it was fun, I never thought I'd meet someone who's as big a fan of Derek as I am," Alexis said.
"I'm going to head to bed," Beckett said then. "Goodnight Alexis, see you tomorrow."
"Night Beckett," Alexis called.
Entering the room and closing the door behind her, Beckett sat down on the edge of the bed, thinking until she heard Castle come in.
"You alright?" Castle asked as he walked around the bed to her.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about what we were talking about on the beach," Beckett said, standing up. "Have you really never told anyone what you found out?"
"No," Castle said, taking her hand in his. "I almost didn't tell you. I was tempted, really tempted to either lie or deflect; even though you told me not to."
"Why didn't you?" Beckett asked.
"I thought about it, and realized that I'd be insulting you either way. By lying I'd basically be saying I didn't trust you, which is untrue. And deflecting would be the same thing… sort of," Castle said.
"Thank you for not doing that," Beckett said. "I honestly didn't know if you were going to tell me." She wrapped her arms around him then as he embraced her at the same time and they hugged in silence before she sighed and said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Castle asked in confusion.
"For being so worried about Julia," Beckett said simply. "I really didn't want it to affect me during the date but-"
"No, it didn't affect you," Castle said quickly, interrupting her. "If it had we would have come back a lot sooner. And you've only been a mother for three months, so it's natural you'd be worried about her."
Sighing deeply, Beckett nodded slightly and said, "At least she was okay, I promise next time I won't be as worried, a little, but not as much."
"I'd be shocked if you weren't," Castle said. He rubbed his hands up and down her back then and said, "Well despite everything I think it was a nice dinner." After Beckett murmured her agreement he then kissed her and said, pressing his forehead against hers, "And since we're home and we know your daughter and mine are okay, why don't we relax?"
"And what do you mean exactly by relax?" Beckett said, a slight smile spreading across her face at his tone of voice.
"I'll show you," Castle said, smiling back at her, taking her hand into his again.
"You want to know something?"
"What?" Castle asked, running his hand lazily up and down Beckett's arm.
"I know you said this was supposed to be relaxing, but I honestly don't think the definition of the word would apply to what we just did," Beckett said, looking up at him.
"No, but still, you enjoyed it," Castle said. "Ow," he said with a slight laugh as she nudged him in the ribs hard with her elbow. "What?" he asked as the water in the tub splashed up against the sides as she shifted next to him, wrapping her arms around him.
"You just assumed I liked it," Beckett said.
"You never told me to stop," Castle said defensively. He made a face when she smiled at him and said, "Fell for it again."
"Next time don't put words into my mouth," Beckett said. "I don't care if you're a writer and that's what you do."
"Honestly? It's better to let you talk, I can get some good stuff for Nikki Heat that way," Castle said.
Beckett didn't reply to that, as she could sense, by the way he'd trailed off slightly that he was thinking about something. "A new idea?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.
"Sort of," Castle said. "Although I'm a little hesitant about it."
"Really, since when are you hesitant," Beckett said before she sat up and stepped out of the tub, wrapping herself up in a towel.
"It's something I've suggested before, but you always shoot it down," Castle said, scrambling to hurry out after her.
"Oh, not that again Castle, please," Beckett lightly groaned.
"Come on, it could be fun," Castle said, hurrying after her once he had a towel around his waist. "And when I say fun," he said once he was able to catch up to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I also… mean… amazing," he said as he kissed her shoulders and up to her neck.
Sighing, Beckett turned around and made him stop before he could start kissing her again. "I don't like the idea though; it makes me wonder who you're seeing yourself with, me or Nikki Heat."
"With you Kate," Castle said, pretending to sound insulted. "It would be a little creepy imagining Nikki."
Thinking for a moment, Beckett then said, "And are you going to be directing this the whole time?"
"No, I just want to set it up and we'll go from there," Castle said. "And I promise I will not call you Nikki, I just want to test this out for a chapter I have in mind."
Beckett let out another sigh and let him open the towel around her, not surprised when he slid his hands down her body slowly, from her shoulders to her breasts and then down to her abdomen before sliding them around to her back. "So," she said as he started to kiss her lips in short, quick pecks before going to her neck. "When you… write this… is it going… to be exactly the same?" she asked as he moved back to her lips as she tugged the towel on him off.
"Not exactly," Castle said. "I have a hard time recreating this in my books."
"Thank god," Beckett said before she kissed him as hard as she could, her arms wrapped around him tightly.
"Here," Castle said when they pulled away, both of them gasping slightly. He helped her on the bed, and directed her to get on her knees, leaning over the headboard. "Too much?" he asked.
"No," Beckett said simply. She shivered when he kissed the back of her right shoulder before drifting over to do the same to the other. "I'm fine Castle," she said finally when he didn't do anything else.
Straightening up when he heard the frustration in her voice, Castle quickly reached around her and placed his hands on her abdomen, helping her move slightly to allow him to enter her. He leaned over her and started to move, going slowly at first. But he could tell that it wasn't going to be good enough, and he thrust a little harder after feeling her moving with him. While they were busy moving together, trying to set a pace that satisfied them both, he used his right hand to reach around to her front, sliding his fingertips first over her abdomen.
Gasping out a little at his touch, Beckett pushed herself upright and reached behind to wrap her arms around Castle, clutching at him tightly. His hand was still roaming her skin, and the feel of it sliding over her was enough to raise her flesh in its wake. She tensed up slightly when he carefully fondled her breasts, but relaxed against him quickly as the sensation was making her body almost melt. She tried to keep up with him, but she was a little jerky for a few of her thrusts. She felt him kissing the side of her head, and she quickly turned it, kissing him back as his mouth descended on hers.
Castle's fingers reached up and brushed against Beckett's cheek before he moved down to her stomach, and gently grasped it, pulling her against him. He wasn't surprised when she gasped out and pulled away from him, looking at her intently as she pressed herself back into him harder than she already was. "Kate…" he murmured as he brushed the fingers of his left hand along her jaw before he turned her head so he could kiss her again.
Kissing him back, trying to match his passion, Beckett grabbed his hand on her stomach and kept it there until they parted. She let Castle lean over her, forcing her onto the headboard again, and she tried her best to keep up with him as they started to lose control of themselves. She didn't care that they were, just wanting to feel him taking her as roughly as he was for as long as she could stand. She reached over with her hands to where his were gripping the edge of the headboard, and held them tightly. She could feel his lips all over her shoulders and back, and at one point he was pulling her hair aside carefully; a sharp contrast to the way he was moving; and he pressed his face against the nape of her neck. His rough breathing hit her skin, making it grow moist with the heat of it and she was trembling at the sensation as he kissed her a little wildly before pulling back from her.
Running his hand down Beckett's back, Castle could feel the slight sheen of perspiration on her, and he bent his head down to her shoulder before kissing her. He shuddered once as he could taste the sweat of her skin on his lips, making him groan in pleasure. He moved up to her neck, pressing his face into it as best he could before he put his hand back on the headboard.
It was a sort of pleasurable shock for them both when first Beckett and shortly after Castle lost control and they covered the sounds of their lovemaking with their short gasps and groans until they slumped against the headboard. They were quiet for a few minutes, trying to recover since it had taken a lot out of them.
"It's a good thing," Beckett began before she breathed in deeply and Castle got off of her carefully. "Good thing those candles weren't here."
"Yeah," Castle said simply, not trusting himself to say anything witty yet. He carefully moved away from Beckett, kissing her collarbone as he did so, and then helped her down on the bed before he lay down with her.
"Enough research?" Beckett asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Re- oh, that," Castle said, recovering enough to realize what she was talking about. "I don't know, I think I'd have a hard time writing that."
"Was that just an excuse to try that out?" Beckett asked incredulously, sitting up.
"What? No, it wasn't, I was serious, but I wasn't sure how it would work out," Castle said. "And I realized it's going to be really hard for me to write in good enough detail."
"It better be," Beckett said, sliding down on the bed with an exasperated sigh. "Because you don't have to make up excuses like that."
"I realize that," Castle said, turning onto his side. "But it was nice. You have to admit."
"No saying I liked it already?" Beckett said as he stroked her cheek.
"Oh, I know already you did, I just want to hear you say it," Castle said. He was a little taken aback when she kissed him firmly in response, but quickly responded before they pulled apart. "That's a yes I'm guessing."
"Take that as you want," Beckett said, trying to be serious. But she couldn't help but smile and she cried out as he suddenly got on top of her, his fingers on rubbing her sides. She reached down as she burst out laughing, and was able to stop him from tickling her anymore.
"Forgot you're a lot stronger than I am when I try and do that," Castle said as he watched her catch her breath. He leaned down then and kissed her neck, making her relax slightly.
"Are you going to keep tickling me if I let you go?" Beckett asked, her voice lower in tone. When he shook his head she whispered, "Good," before wrapping her arms around him tightly, kissing him deeply when his lips crushed against hers.
Kissing her passionately, Castle rolled them onto their sides, stroking her hair and back before they pulled away at the same time. "We can do two things at this point," he said as he carefully pushed her hair out of the way on her shoulders. "We can relax like I said we would do." There he paused and kissed her lips gently before sliding his lips down to the hollow of her throat. "Or…" he began.
Beckett didn't bother to continue the line of conversation; she lay on her back, drawing Castle with her though he quickly followed. She cupped his cheeks in her hands, kissing him hard as they moved at the same time, and they were quickly coupled again. She pulled away with a sigh as he started to thrust, going a lot slower than they had so far that night. She moved with him rapidly, to let him know she was very much alright with that, and slid her hands back around his head, gently raking her nails over his scalp. She shook slightly as he turned his head and kissed her hard before moving back to press his forehead against hers.
His breath mingling with hers, Castle let his hands switch between resting his weight above her and roaming over her body, whatever he could touch. He didn't really have a sense of time with that, as Beckett was kissing him every so often and he quickly moved to respond to each press of her lips. But he was brought back from the joy it was touching her and making love to her when he felt her tensing up before he lost control of himself. He kissed her hard as they both groaned into each other's mouths, and once they had calmed down enough, he pulled away, brushing his lips against hers before pressing his forehead to hers once again.
Beckett moved with him as Castle turned onto his back, pressing against his side as closely as she could. She laid her cheek against his shoulder, feeling his hand run down her hair before grabbing her shoulder. "I'm going to miss this," she said, her voice sounding loud in the silent room; broken only by the waves outside.
"Yeah, it's been great," Castle said. "But when we get back to the city it'll be different."
"I know," Beckett said, raising her head slightly. "Julia trusts you more, so we don't have to walk on eggshells around her."
"You ever worry she might tell someone about us?" Castle asked, voicing a concern he'd had for a while.
"I've explained to her about us not being able to work together if our relationship is discovered," Beckett said slowly. "And I told her if anyone asked who you were to me and her, to just tell them that you're my friend."
"Just a friend?" Castle asked as he grasped the small of her back.
"A very, very close friend," Beckett said with an almost full smirk on her face as she leaned down to kiss him deeply. She felt Castle soon responding as he pressed her back hard to hold her firmly against him.
They slowly began to caress each other before they worked up to making love again and once they had satisfied each other thoroughly they went to sleep, exhaustion beginning to set in. They held one another tightly, feeling with their talk on the beach their relationship had taken a deeper note with Castle confiding about his father to Beckett, bringing them far closer. They felt they were on more equal footing with that, and it made them wonder, as they were nodding off after a passionate kiss, what the next step would be for them together.