Genre: Family, Crime, Drama, Romance, Humor

Rating: M for violence, language and 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: I have some Mandarin here, used a translator so if I got anything wrong please let me know and I will correct it as soon as possible!

A/N #2: Loved seeing all the reviews that I got for the last chapter, especially because of the content of the chapter, so gotta say thanks for them all! pcol22 (Of course, first off loved that you enjoyed the chapter, always nice to see that. And yeah, really great that Price came along of course. And you'll see how things'll go now of course, with Julia and the family too. But really glad that you want to keep reading and see what'll happen next!), vetgirlmx (Lol, had to laugh at how you opened your review, but that's true, lol, there's my usual bodies, so they were there. And very glad that you caught on to how crazy the two were, was definitely trying to convey that, lol, you're right as well though, Neville was crazy enough to be able to fool them. I wasn't surprised to see you'd thought Markowitz would be the one to show up and save them, so was glad I was able to surprise you there and also with the murder-suicide. Had to laugh too at your comment about their life insurance fees, though you do make a point of course with that, does keep happening to them. And you'll get the answer to the question you ended your review with now!), sammysgirl78 (Not surprised that you're glad the case is over, lol, I was expecting readers to feel that way, you especially. And yeah, if things had worked out that way, would have definitely had Beckett beating up Neville for all of that, but the way the story was going to leave room for it, but not surprised you'd thought of that. As I said before, glad that you too got how messed up Neville and the killer were; what I was aiming for of course. Also happy to see you caught Beckett prepared to take that bullet for Castle, wanted that to show the depth of their relationship. Had to laugh at you mentioning their life saving tally, 'cause that's pretty true of course. And also glad to see you want to keep reading and see what's next!), 41319always41319 (Your first line is very true, they definitely can't stay out of trouble, but had a laugh reading that one. And glad that you were worried as to how things were going to end up with them, always great that I can make a reader think that. I did like seeing how you reacted to Beckett's line about not wanting Julia and Alexis to lose their dad, and I can understand why you had those two emotions with that. Again, not a surprise that you like that the case is done now, lol, or that you found the motives shocking; that I was glad to hear you thought! Yeah, I can't imagine going back to Alcatraz after going through that kind of experience! You'll find out about the situation with the vacation, but not surprised there that you want them to get back to it) and TORONTOSUN (I don't think I could have really had Castle saying that, wouldn't really have worked after the seriousness of what they went through. And San Francisco Bay is supposed to be very cold, so yeah, it definitely had to be!). So thank you so much all of you for taking the time to let me know what you thought, I of course appreciate it. And as I said before, really enjoyed reading everything you all had to say!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Appreciate by Paul McCartney, from his album New.

Appreciate The Day

The water was swirling with darkness, long tendrils snaking around her arm and fingers. The diamonds on the silver band becoming glittering oil as she reached out for help. Her eyes were wide and she was sinking further though her hands were not bound. A kick of the leg merely disturbing the pattern of the black and blue bay waters as more darkness slithered up her limb, pulling her, jerking her down. Her hair was becoming inundated with black, the brown strands losing their luster in the inky color the water was becoming. The brown of her eyes disappearing quickly as she was looking up, the last reflection of the sun slowly fading as she sank further, out of reach.

Her mouth opened, and she mouthed a single name before there was a solitary whisper. Impossible in that darkness that had taken over every inch of her body, leaving nothing.

"Castle…"

"Castle…"

"Castle,wake up."

Opening his eyes as he realized that was not part of his dream, Castle looked up to see his fiancée was sitting next to him, looking at him in concern. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice a little thick with sleep.
"You, you were groaning my name," Beckett said. "Was it a-"

"Not that kind of dream," Castle said, rubbing his eyes. "I dreamt of you drowning, but… it was not like it was in the bay. You were being taken over by… black, it was bizarre and a little frustrating because I couldn't move, so I guess I was drowning too."

"Well, that was about five hours ago," Beckett said slowly. "And at least you did sleep."

"That's true, and you?" Castle asked, seeing she had one of the extra blankets the room had wrapped around her.

"I slept," Beckett said simply.

"But you're still cold," Castle said quickly. "Here," he told her, pulling the end of the blanket so she would let go of it. He took the blanket and wrapped it around himself before she slid into his hold and he closed the white fabric around her. "Better?"

"I will be, give me a minute," Beckett said, leaning against him. "You got a text from Alexis; they're coming back from City Hall."

"Great, so, are we telling them what happened?" Castle asked her.

"Not Julia, but your mom and Alexis yes because they might notice us like this," Beckett said.

"They don't have a key," Castle said simply. "But are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said, knowing already what he was referencing. "You really didn't have much choice I know."

"Yeah, but you didn't have any nightmares at least," Castle pointed out.

"I think surviving that shook anything I might have dreamed about," Beckett said. "But it didn't seem to work for you."

"I'll be okay, but if I have that same dream again I'm going to have a problem," Castle said. "Warmer?"

"Yes, now, you mentioned our vacation and since we're back here in the city I'd like to turn our attention back-" Beckett started to say when there was a flurry of knocking on the door.

Castle couldn't help but smile as he and Beckett quickly got out of the blanket and rushed over since they knew that was Julia. He let his fiancée open the door first, watching as she scooped her daughter up and hugged her tightly.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so glad to see you," Beckett was unable to stop herself from saying; since it was true. She kissed her daughter's temple, hoping she wouldn't ask why she'd said that.

"Mommy, you should have come to see the museum," Julia said, her words bursting out of her in her eagerness. "Are you kay?" she then asked, noticing the scrape on her mother's face.

"I'm fine and I'm sorry we didn't go," Beckett said, turning to let Alexis and Martha into the suite. "But we're finished with the case we were helping with, and we'll be able to go tomorrow to the zoo," she finished looking at Castle's daughter, who was hugging her father; and who nodded and smiled at Beckett's unasked question. "But tell us all about it okay."

"Kay, we went to see the art, and it was all from countries from Asia," Julia began as her mother set her down. Before she said anything else, she ran to Castle who picked her up as she hugged him tightly around the neck before he hugged her back. "And there were lots of things, like statues, and swords and wood that was carved very pretty. There were jewelries too, but your necklace is prettier Mommy."

"Thank you sweetie, did you take pictures?" Beckett asked, sitting down on the couch before Castle sat next to her.

"A lot of them, I believe she took a picture of everything we saw," Martha commented as she and Alexis sat at the table.

"Like the flowers on Alcatraz," Alexis commented. She was a little surprised when her dad and Beckett seemed to visibly tense for a moment, and she looked at him questioningly.

Shaking his head quickly, Castle said, "Does she have the cable to connect her camera to a TV?"

"She does, it's in their suite actually," Beckett said. She then leaned over to him and whispered as softly as she could into his ear, "You should tell them now." She stood up then and said, "Come on Julia, let's go get the cord, and you can show us your pictures. We'll be right back."

Once the two were gone Martha turned to her son and said, "So something happened I take it, Beckett looks a little… shocked almost; along with that scrape."

Taking a deep breath, Castle then proceeded to explain to the two what had happened at Fisherman's Wharf, leading up to Alcatraz. "So we're finished with the case, and in the end we owe our lives to Grady Price," he ended with.

"I can't believe her own friend would want to kill her," Martha said in disbelief.

"But Beckett's okay right?" Alexis asked. "And you don't have hypothermia do you?"

"I had it slightly, mostly from the wind on the island once we were out of the water, wet coats do not keep you warm. But Kate got it a little worse as she was handcuffed for a long time under the water and had limited mobility. We had an EMT check us out at Pier 33 though and we're good, but she's still a little cold," Castle said. He shuddered almost imperceptibly as he remembered his nightmare then and said, to his mother and daughter's questioning expressions, "I wasn't sure I'd be able to reach her before she drowned. And I had an unsettling dream about that before you guys came back." He jumped up when there was a knock at the door, and hurried to open it. "So you found it," he said as Beckett and Julia walked back in. When his fiancée passed him he grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently before letting her go.

Smiling slightly as she had a feeling he'd remembered the dream he'd had, Beckett said, "We did, and I don't know if you want to stay for the slide show…"

"Actually, there's been a slight change of plans for tomorrow," Martha said. "I got a phone call from friends of mine that moved out here about four years ago. Dan and Violet Darcy. They've invited me out to Napa for the next three days to stay at a functioning winery."

"That should be nice, and you'll be back by Saturday," Beckett said. When Castle's mother gave her a quick nod she smiled and said, "Have you accepted?"

"I told them I would like to discuss it with the rest of you first, three days is a long time," Martha said.

"I don't know, if they're old friends; that you trust," Castle said, the last bit under his breath. "Then maybe you should go, when are you going to get a chance to have a trip like this again?"

"Is that alright with you girls?" Martha directed to Alexis and Julia.

"I told you, you should go Gram, this winery is really nice. We looked at the website on my phone after Mrs. Darcy called," Alexis said to Castle and Beckett. "And I'll be back home pretty quick too, so you'll see me then."

"We will miss you," Julia piped up. "But you should go with your friends to play."

As the others laughed slightly at that Martha took Julia into her arms for a hug and said, "We won't exactly play, but it will be fun."

"She's right though, we'll still miss you," Beckett said, sensing the slight hesitation that Martha was having. "But if they're good friends you haven't seen in a while then I would take the chance."

"Especially since they're insisting on picking up the tab for this trip," Martha commented. "Alright, you've convinced me. But Saturday we'll do something together, the five of us. Our last day in San Francisco."

"We'll go out, do the tourist stuff, and then that night have dinner somewhere nice for our last time in the city," Castle said, not missing the looks his fiancée and daughter exchanged. "When do you leave?"

"At eight tomorrow morning, if you can believe that, but it should be worth it," Martha said.

"Great, so should we look at the pictures before dinner?" Beckett asked.

"That reminds me, Julia, tell them where you want to go to dinner," Alexis said.

"So she decided?" Castle said, looking from the TV where he was hooking up the camera.

"I don't wanna," Julia whispered, running to Alexis and wrapping her arms around her.

"Just say, I'm sure they won't mind," the young woman urged her.

"Where we ate upstairs," Julia finally said, turning to her mother and Castle.

"That sounds fine to me," Beckett said. "The good thing about that place is that their menu's pretty big so we don't have to get exactly the same as we got yesterday."

"She's right," Castle said, turning on the TV. "And Chinese sounds great to me. Okay, we're all set up, Julia, since you are our photographer, show your work."

Getting the other chairs from the table in front of the TV, Beckett and Castle sat with Julia on her mother's lap. They all watched the slideshow of pictures, listening to the little girl's eager explanation of each item they saw, Alexis and Martha commenting as well.

"Up these stairs again," Castle commented to Beckett as they were last to go up to the second floor of the restaurant in Chinatown later that evening. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, the extra layers help. And I don't feel as cold as I did before," Beckett assured him. "There's something we forgot though."

"What?" Castle asked.

"When we sit," Beckett said simply as they got to the top and saw they were already being seated. At their table and seated with their menus, she said to Alexis and Julia, "What are you two going to do tomorrow night?"

"I forgot our reservation," Castle said with a slight groan.

"I can cancel," Martha said quickly.

"You don't have to," Alexis said quickly. "I can watch Julia. But would you mind if I took her down to the mall?"

"I don't know, is it that safe?" Beckett asked.

"Well, we can go early, have a very early lunch tomorrow, that way we eat an early dinner tomorrow," Alexis said. "And that'll give us more time to shop until about… five, while it's still light out."

"Doing that will be okay, but, carry her to and from the hotel," Castle said, nodding to Julia who was sitting on Beckett's other side.

"Of course," Alexis said.

"We get to go back there?" Julia asked then.

"Do you want to?" Alexis asked in reply.

"Yeah, can I get more stickers?" Julia said. "I want to get the horsie ones for Celia and get some for my friends too."

"Sure," Beckett said. "Take her back to that store you bought her the dress at… did we thank you for that?"

"You did," Alexis reminded her. "After we got back to the hotel and looked at it again. You both did. Do you want me to get her another dress?"

"Another shirt, she saw two she wanted and I wasn't sure about one of her choices," Beckett said slowly.

"I can get the one that's plaid?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Yes," Beckett said. "Castle and I discussed that one, and we decided you can get it, but you can't wear it with your plaid skirts okay."

"Kay, thank you Mommy," Julia said happily as she leaned over to hug her mother.

"I'll pay you back for the shirt Alexis," Castle said quickly before a woman with a cart of the Dim Sum items came over. As he had the first time they'd been there he took charge of the food, speaking with the women pushing the carts until they had enough food. "Anything you want from the menu?" he asked everyone as they were starting to eat.

"Can I learn to eat like that?" Julia asked, pointing to the chopsticks her mother and Castle were using.

"It's pretty hard," Alexis warned as her dad talked with a waitress.

"You won't be able to try though, they don't have the kid chopsticks," Castle said. "Sorry about that."

"When we go home I'll get you a pair so you can learn," Beckett promised Julia.

"So can I ask about tomorrow's plans?" Castle asked after they ate for a little longer in silence.

"The zoo," Alexis said simply.

"I remember, but you said that it was pretty small," Castle said. "I'm wondering if we should have something else in place just in case we finish too soon."

"You don't remember how long it took us to go through the zoo in Central Park?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"I do, but the way you've been talking Alexis, it seems like it's only two animals and that's it," Castle said. When he saw everyone was looking at him in confusion, he said, "I'm kidding, and I take it it's not that small."

"It's not Dad," Alexis said, shaking her head. "If you're worried about what to do if we have a lot of time between the zoo and then your dinner, I think we can head down to the Presidio, maybe Fort Point."

"Vertigo?" Beckett said to Castle as he looked a little perplexed. "It's the fort under the bridge where Madeline jumps into the water."

"Oh, there, that would be cool actually," Castle mused. "But no jumping into the Bay," he said, leaning over to look at Julia.

"I don't want to," Julia said, looking at Martha and Alexis in surprise as they sucked in breaths of air at almost the same time. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Beckett said quickly, knowing they were thinking about them nearly drowning at Alcatraz. She turned to him and whispered into his ear before he spoke quietly with her and she shrugged.

"Okay, sorry, we were just settling something," Castle said simply. "We're fine now."

"What's wrong Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Eat your food sweetie," Beckett said. "And when you finish taking a bite," she said, getting half a bao onto Julia's fork. "Tell us what animals you want to see tomorrow at the zoo."

"You know there's a carousel there," Alexis said to the little girl. "I'll ride on it tomorrow with you."

With that distraction, the rest of the meal went smoothly until they were finishing up the tea that was left in the two pots on the table.

"Can I go see the fishies Mommy?" Julia finally asked, having been fidgeting as the adults had been talking.

"Go, but don't go past the fish okay? I want us to be able to see you," Beckett said.

"I'll be good," Julia promised before she jumped off her chair. She was going to hurry over to the tank at the entrance to the dining room, when she felt Castle take her hand. "I can't go?" she asked.

"Come here," Castle said, kissing her cheek before she hugged him around the neck.

"I promise to be careful," Julia said, kissing his cheek and then hurrying over to the tank.

"Any reason?" Beckett asked as they watched Julia go.

"Not really," Castle said with a shrug. "Do you ever need one?"

"No," Beckett said simply as Castle took the bill to pay it; her eyes on her daughter.

Watching the thin, silver fish swimming together in the tank, Julia saw something dark on the other side of the glass and peered around it, seeing it was a girl. She smiled shyly as the girl did the same and waved saying, "Hi." She was a little startled when the little girl said something in another language and she said, "My name is Julia." The girl spoke again, and she looked back, waving at the table where she could see everyone had gotten up and were heading towards her.

"Dad, I think Julia needs you," Alexis said, seeing the little girl.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked once he was at the tank, kneeling next to Julia.

"I don't know what she says," Julia said, looking at the girl who was still at the fish tank.

Speaking in Mandarin carefully, when the girl responded in the same language Castle spoke a little quicker before turning to Julia. "She said nǐ hǎo, hello in her language, and then she said her name is Jin," he explained to her.

"Nǐ hǎo," Julia said, waving to the little girl.

"We better go sweetie," Beckett said, having been listening to the conversation. "I think Jin and her family need to go sit and eat."

"How do you say bye?" Julia asked Castle.

"Zàijiàn," he quickly said.

Julia repeated it, smiling as the girl did as well, and then she cried out as Castle picked her up. "Thank you, it's nice to speak like other people do," she told him.

"Her coat," Beckett said when they were at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are we shopping again?" Martha asked while they waited for Beckett to get Julia's coat buttoned up.

"If you guys want to I think we should," Castle said. "Especially you Mother. You won't have another chance; unless we come back on Saturday."

"Now is fine," Martha said. "I would like to head back to the store you bought Julia's bag at Kate, and see if they might have a purse of that quality."

"I want to buy a bag like that for Diana, a kind of thanks for letting me stay at her parents' this semester," Alexis said.

"Then we should walk back down," Beckett said, standing up as Julia took her hand. "I'm sure she won't mind looking around again."

"I don't, can we go now Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Come on, we'll lead the way," Alexis said, reaching out so Julia could walk with her as well.

Watching the three ahead of them, Castle said, "It should be an interesting rest of the trip."

"You know, in a way I'm glad I'm leaving you four on your own," Martha said.

"Why?" Castle asked, a little surprised at that.

"Because you need to get used to being a family," Martha said. "Though Alexis thinks you are already."

A little surprised that his daughter had said that, Castle had a sudden thought and asked, "She's not… jealous of-"

"She means the four of you," Martha said simply, cutting him off. "And no she's not jealous. She says that Kate never excludes her, and Julia is always making sure she's part of what Alexis calls your family moments."

"I know what she means," Castle said in understanding. "We've had more of those since the day after Christmas."

"More especially now," Martha said. "And there's no possible way still for you two to be married now?"

"It's still a little too soon, but we actually discussed that shortly after we were on Flight 139," Castle began slowly. "But unless we were secretly married we wouldn't be able to work together."

"You don't think the mayor might pull… I'd forgotten his term is nearly up," Martha said, trailing off suddenly. "Well, if his friend is elected, you might give it a chance."

"We will, that's what we agreed on," Castle said. "Everything depends on the election, but… we're getting impatient. We'd like to be married a little sooner than that."

"I can imagine," Martha said as they watched the three ahead of them duck into a store after letting her and her son know. "She's impatient or you?"

"No, she is too," Castle said. "Going between her place and mine, we're a little worried about how that's affecting Julia. Though she hasn't had any problems, yet. What?" he asked when his mother smiled slightly.

"And you've been acting as her father more and more," Martha pointed out to him.

Castle smiled at that himself and said, "I know, I was worried Alexis might think I was trying to replace her with Julia. You know I always talk about going through her childhood again. But I asked her about it one night when I called her, and she said she never thought that."

"Of course not, since we know now for sure she sees Julia as her sister," Martha said. "Now, let us rejoin our family, and see if we can't find anything else to take home."

Following his mother inside the store, Castle looked for his fiancée, but didn't see her. "Where's-" he started to ask Julia and Alexis.

"Downstairs," his daughter answered quickly. "I'm going to head down there myself after we look at these lamps."

"For your room back home?" Castle asked, seeing the stars made of patterned material.

"And Julia's too," Alexis said.

"Mommy said I can get one for my room," Julia said. "Can I?"

"You can," Castle said, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. His talk with his mother had hit him then, and he knew she was right. He was enjoying being the little girl's father and was suddenly glad to have survived that morning to be there to do so. "And stay with them, I'll go down and see what your mom's looking at." He turned then and headed down into the basement, seeing Beckett was there, looking at a chest with some drawers. "Pretty substantial," he said, getting her attention.

"I know, I debated on getting that one for my room, but I'm happy with what I have," Beckett said, nodding to an armoire in the corner of the basement.

"That one's not too bad though," Castle said, seeing the design on it was a single phoenix in the middle of the doors. "You're sure my comment about jumping in the water-"

"It's fine," Beckett said, smiling since she'd assured him she knew he hadn't meant to say that so easily. "You forgot about it didn't you?"

"Not forgot about it," Castle said quickly, looking at her seriously. "But just thinking about the movie, I couldn't help reference the scene. I am sorry."

"Which you've said already, and like I told you before, I accept the apology. It's not necessary, but it is sweet," Beckett assured him. She walked over to some robes that were against the wall on mannequins, and she stopped in front of one, holding out the sleeve before she felt his hand slide over her side.

"Sweet enough to let me buy this for you?" Castle whispered into her ear.

"I don't know, you already have the same idea I had for it, would it really be that much of a surprise?" Beckett asked, trying not to react as his lips were brushing against her ear through her hair. "And what do I get out of it if I wear this for you."

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Castle let her go, but didn't move away saying, "Whatever you want, but we can't really tonight because…" He trailed off kissing her then, as he didn't want to remind her about her almost drowning. But when she pulled away a short time later he could see from her expression that she had realized what he'd been thinking.

"I almost forgot about that," Beckett said, touching her pendant. "But why don't we take this," she said, taking the robe off the mannequin. "And I'll buy it and we'll see another night how things might go."

"I leave it up to you," Castle said quickly.

"Which I intended in the first place," Beckett said simply.

"Are you okay though?" Castle asked her.

"Are you hurt Mommy?" Julia asked then, starling the two as they watched her coming down the steps.

"No sweetie, just a little tired," Beckett said quickly. "But I'll be fine for tomorrow I promise," she told her daughter as she picked her up off the last stair.

"That's a pretty robe Mommy, are you gonna get it?" Julia asked, touching one of the phoenixes on the fabric.

"I am," Beckett said, seeing Castle had turned away from them. She pushed at his shoulder and then headed up the stairs, hearing him scramble a little to follow them.

Leaving that store with the robe and two star lanterns, they went down to the next store; which would end up being their last in Chinatown; and headed inside, Julia going with Martha while Alexis went further back in the store on her own.

"I seriously would have bought the robe for you," Castle commented.

"I seriously told you no," Beckett said. "We're not having that argument. You haven't gotten anything though, in all the stores we've gone here. I'm sure you could send a sword home if you really wanted one."

"Well, there is one thing I'd like to get," Castle said, taking her hand and leading her to where there were some statues. "I've always liked these," he said, pointing out the warrior figurines on a side table.

"I'm surprised you don't have one already," Beckett said. "They don't have them back at home?"

"Not this size, not too huge so I'd have to set it on the floor somewhere, or too small that you can't see it," Castle said, picking up one that was holding a weapon in its hands; though like the real statue, there was none there.

"Okay," Beckett said simply, taking the figurine out of his hands. "At least you're getting something from Chinatown."

"You… thanks," Castle said, about to protest at first but then conceding that she would buy it for him. He followed her to the back of the store then where the others were gathered around the incense and he asked, "Planning on making a purchase?"

"You're getting that?" Martha asked Beckett in surprise when she saw the statue.

"For him," Beckett replied simply. "So are we buying incense?"

"I am, Julia?" Alexis commented, showing the small, colorful boxes of incense she'd chosen. "Ask," she urged her.

"Mommy, c-can I have some of this?" Julia asked shyly, holding up one box. "Alexis says it smells like roses. And it's good so you med… medi… meda…" she tried to say before stopping, frowning in frustration with the word.

"Metaphysics?" Castle suggested.

"Medusa?" Alexis quickly said.

"Stop," Beckett said, smiling though. "Meditate sweetie. And she's right, it's supposed to calm you down to meditate. And yes you can get some, but you can only use it if someone's there with you to light it okay?"

"Kay," Julia said happily, holding the box up to Castle.

"Get more," he urged her. "There might be some other scents you like."

"There are two purses Alexis that I found, help me decide on which brocade is more pleasing to the eye," Martha said, taking her granddaughter by the arm. "Kate, you're welcome to help, I may want a second opinion."

"Don't go crazy," Beckett said to Castle before she left them.

"I won't, but you might want to say the same to your daughter," he said jokingly. When she glanced back at him over her shoulder he said, "Okay, just me then." He turned back to Julia and said, "So what else do you want?"

"I don't know what's here," the little girl said.

"Okay, well you like the rose one, why don't I get you this bigger box okay?" Castle asked, switching the boxes. "How about pine? Like a Christmas tree?" He proceeded to read off the scents for her as Julia would nod or shake her head, and they would sometimes try to smell the sticks, trying to see if she would like it. Finally he had a little bundle of the incense boxes, and they walked over to where the others were, by the register.

"Ooh, that's pretty with your hair," Julia said as she saw that Alexis was looking into a mirror holding a comb up to her hair.

"I know, and I will definitely be getting this," Alexis said. "Thank you," she said, hugging the little girl to her. "Want to see if you can get one?"

"She can," Beckett said as she walked over to them. "But not too big. I want her to wear it Saturday to dinner."

"Oh, good idea," Alexis said, glancing over her shoulder at her father. "What color is her dress?'

"White, it has a dark blue sash at the waist though," Beckett said.

"Her necklace?" Alexis asked as she picked up Julia who'd been trying to jump up and see the top of the table where the combs were.

"She'll be wearing it, so I think this one," Beckett said, picking up a comb that had dark blue and green faux gemstones on it. "It helps it's silver."

"It does," Alexis said. She took it and pulled up Julia's hair to hold the comb against the reddish brown strands. "What do you think Dad?" she asked.

"That is perfect," Castle said. "Thank you…" he said slowly as he managed to take the comb from her.

"Thank you," Julia said shyly as he went over to the register with the comb and her incense they'd picked out. "Mommy, do you get something for Castle? Do I?"

"Well, tomorrow at the zoo," Beckett said, looking at Alexis so she knew she was included in the conversation. "I'd like to let them go off on their own for a while."

"Great idea, how does this apply to her questions though?" Alexis asked.

"Because I want you to buy something… wait, are there gift shops all over the zoo or just in one place?" Beckett asked, looking at the young woman.

"Only at the entrance," Alexis said. "But you know, you could get a snack for you and my dad too, while you guys are walking around together."

"I'll take her up on that," Castle said, walking over to them then. "And she's buying that statue for me Julia. Which I do appreciate," he said.

"I think that's my cue to pay," Beckett said, smiling as she walked over to the register. She had to wait for his mother to pay for her purse and a few other things she'd chosen, but she glanced back, watching as Castle and Alexis were talking to her daughter. She couldn't help but feel suddenly grateful that she was there at that moment, unable to help recalling that morning. She shuddered as she also recalled sinking deeper into San Francisco Bay; it turning into a shiver as she suddenly felt the water around her again, like icy knives stabbing into her skin.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked, turning and seeing that Beckett looked a little pale.

"Yes, just… my mind was wandering, excuse me," Beckett said quickly, going up to the register.

"I wouldn't be able to forget what you went through if it were me," Martha said, taking Beckett's arm once she'd finished paying. She led her to the entrance as the other three were following them a little distance away. "But you have to remember you survived, you are here with your daughter and everything is fine now. And you're warm I hope."

"I am, I have a shirt under my sweater for that. At your son's insistence," Beckett said with a smile. "And I actually was thinking first of the fact I am incredibly grateful to have made it back here. It's just hard to forget that water, it was cold, very cold. And, I was thinking of Julia, right before he reached me, I thought-"

"No, no, Kate, there's no reason for you to remember, you're here with her now, and you'll be spending tomorrow with her, Richard and Alexis at the zoo, you'll be having fun," Martha said, cutting her off. "And you'll be in the sun so you'll be warm too."

"You're right," Beckett said, smiling as Julia ran up to them and threw her arms around her. "So what's the plan now?" she asked Castle after she hugged her daughter and kissed her cheek.

"I don't really have anything else planned," he admitted, taking her bag.

"We didn't have dessert," Julia said, her face pressed against her mother's and peering at Castle with one eye.

"Why don't we walk to the mall for that?" Alexis suggested. "We can drop our bags off at the lobby-"
"And me as well, I need to pack and go to bed early since Dan wants to get me at eight remember," Martha commented.

"You're sure you don't want to join us?" Castle asked.

"Very sure," Martha said. "The four of you enjoy the walk and dessert. If you take pictures I will of course want to see. The same goes for pictures you may take while I'm gone, I want to see everything."

"I'll show you," Julia piped up from her mother's arms as they headed down Grant to the gateway to Chinatown.

"Thank you darling, they'll be wonderful pictures," Martha said as Julia had her mother set her down so she could run and take her hand.

"So the mall it is?" Castle asked as Beckett took his hand.

"It is, but something other than Beard Papa," she said.

"They have gelato. Or we could get something at the market," Alexis said.

"What about Ghirardelli?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett and Alexis said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed slightly before Beckett continued saying, "We'll have that at Ghirardelli Square when we head to Fisherman's Wharf the day after tomorrow… right?"

"Right, you know, these plans aren't set in stone," Alexis said. "I just suggested things I thought Julia might like to do in a kind of random order."

"And it's a good plan," Beckett said. "Which we'd like to stick to at the moment."

After walking to the hotel where they sent their bags up to the suite with a bellman and Martha, the others walked down Powell, Alexis and Julia in front of Castle and Beckett.

"I'm glad to see they cleared up things," he commented as they were waiting to cross at the southeast corner of the hotel, looking across the street where the crime scene had been.

"Me too, why don't we head into the square before taking dessert up to the room and let Julia run around?" Beckett asked. "I took her last night, but she wasn't in the mood for it."

"Hard to believe that was a day ago," Castle commented. "But I agree, she's going to be hyper whatever she picks out."

"Mommy, can we see the cable cars?" Julia asked eagerly as they crossed together.

"Yes, but remember we're going to ride in them to go up to Fisherman's Wharf in a couple days so we don't need to stay for too long," Beckett answered.

Waiting until they'd reached the cable cars parked next to the turn table near Market Street, Alexis helped Julia up onto one and said, "I'll take you here to the platform in the back for one trip. And we can watch everything behind us."

"I wanna do that," Julia said eagerly before she ran inside the car and sat down at the front of it were her mother was, Castle on leaning in front of her against a post. "I wanna sit here too," she told them.

"We'll need to see, there will be other people that want to ride too," Beckett told her.

"Alright, we should get going," Castle said, stepping down and waiting for Beckett to get Julia down from the seat.

"Sweetie-" Beckett began when her daughter ran to the back of the car.

"We'll meet her back there," Castle said. "And Alexis is waiting there," he told her as he held his hand out to her as she stepped down to the street.

"Come on Julia, if we don't go now the market's going to close," Alexis was saying as they reached her, standing at the steps up to the platform in the back.

"Let me try," Castle said, going over to her. "She's not kidding, and I really want something sweet."

"No," Julia said, giggling as she held onto the railing for the steps.

"What about some hot chocolate too?" Castle tried tempting her.

"No," Julia said, pretending to pout before she laughed.

"You want to just stay here and never leave?" Castle asked. "Then I guess we can go."

"No, I'll go," Julia said quickly. "I'm gonna jump!" And before the three could protest, she was leaping off the top step; luckily into Castle's arms.

"I think she's spending too much time around you Dad," Alexis said teasingly. "I'm kidding," she said when he gave her a look. "I'll show you guys the entrance down to the food court come on."

Following his daughter, Castle looked around as they went down an escalator and started to say, "This is the BART entrance… oh, I see, I didn't notice this yesterday," before they stepped into the mall. At that he turned to Beckett and said, "Again, only a day ago."

"I know," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "And here's a Starbucks," she pointed out as they entered the mall.

"I'm taking it that's hint," Castle said, looking at her.

"I want to say that too," Julia said, patting his shoulder.

"Okay, when we come back. Alexis," Castle said then. "When you two come tomorrow, don't go this way."

"I wasn't planning on it," Alexis assured them. "We'll go the way we came yesterday." She then made her dad stop, and held her arms out to Julia, "Let's see what we want for dessert first."

Going into Alexis' arms, Julia kicked her legs a little and said, "It's gonna be fun tomorrow, no Mommy or your daddy."

"I know, I can't wait to go shopping with you too," Alexis said. "I'll buy you some stickers and maybe a shirt too."

"I'll buy you something too," Julia said eagerly. She frowned and then said, "I don't know what."

"We'll see. But whatever it is, I know I'll love it," Alexis assured her, not realizing their parents were listening in on their conversation, sharing a smile before Julia kissed her cheek, hugging her around the neck tightly. She laughed slightly as she knew the little girl had done that from exuberance, and she kissed her cheek in return before they entered the market and came to the bakery.

"I see you all got dessert," Martha said as she opened the door to Julia's knock. "And some drinks as well, it looks like it was a nice excursion. And you've been running too darling, your cheeks are red," she said to the little girl as she ran to the table with her drink. "And you both have red cheeks. I take it you went to Union Square?" she said to Castle and Alexis once the others were inside.

"And we volunteered to watch her," Alexis said with a wide smile. "Got a lot of good exercise."

"She's not doing that tomorrow at the zoo," Castle commented, collapsing into a chair at the table with an exaggerated groan. He laughed when Julia jumped up onto his lap, and he helped her the rest of the way. He squeezed Beckett's hand on his shoulder as she passed him and said, "How much time do we have?"

"About two hours, a little less," Beckett said, glancing at her watch. "So eat your dessert sweetie."

"I won't run tomorrow," Julia said as her mother handed her the Easter egg shaped cookie she'd chosen. "That way I can see the animals."

"Smart girl," Castle said, pinching her cheek lightly to her giggle. He leaned down then and kissed her forehead before he helped her take a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Are you all packed Gram?" Alexis asked as they all started on their desserts.

"All set, and excited to go," Martha commented as she tried some of her granddaughter's slice of chocolate cake. "But still slightly guilty that I'm going."

"But you will have fun, everybody says," Julia said.

"I will, but I'll miss you all while I'm gone," Martha said, kissing her cheek. "Do you think I should go?"

"Yeah," Julia said simply.

"That decides it for me," Martha said as the others seemed to be waiting for the little girl to continue.

"I guess so," Castle said, shaking his head. "Is there any place we're going to be going while you're gone that you really want to see?"

"I suppose just Fisherman's Wharf," Martha answered after thinking for a moment.

"We could work that in on Saturday," Beckett said, Alexis nodding at the same time. "We could even have lunch there, so you could try the clam chowder."

"I'm looking forward to that," Martha said, sitting down next to Alexis.

"I just remembered," Castle said suddenly. "I completely forgot this too, but I had gotten you and Alexis tickets to Beach Blanket Babylon two nights from now."

"You did?" Alexis asked in shock. "Oh my g- Diana's been telling me how she's always wanted to see that show but hasn't had the chance now she's old enough to go. Her parents have seen it and they love it. Do you mind-"

"Take her," Martha said with a slight laugh. "And tell her to enjoy my ticket for me; I'm sure you'll have a great time. And what will you three be doing that night?"

"We'll have to see," Castle said simply. He saw Beckett's expression and simply said, "Going to dinner somewhere very nice of course, but other than that is to be seen."

Looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes, Beckett finally sat back in her chair, knowing he wasn't likely going to give up anything except that. She just hoped whatever it was, was going to be something Julia would enjoy. She smiled as her daughter offered Castle a bite of her cookie; and she reached over, squeezing his arm before he took her hand. Their fingers entwining conveying what they were feeling as she knew his mind was going back to that morning again, just as hers was too.

Stepping into the doorway of the bathroom after opening the door, Castle looked out at the bed where Beckett was sitting, leaning back against some pillows and the headboard. She was reading something in the San Francisco travel book they'd kept with them, and as he watched she reached up to her hair, the diamonds on her ring catching the light of the room. He breathed out slightly as he suddenly saw a flash of an image; that ring black with the darkness of the water. When she looked up at him at that he quickly shook himself and hurried over to her, sliding under the covers next to her. "I didn't know we were reading that tonight," he commented so she wouldn't ask if something was wrong.

"I didn't either, I wanted to see what it says about the zoo," Beckett said. "There's not too much about it, but supposedly they have a large amount of primates there."

"Should be fun, but hopefully they have the animals that Julia likes," Castle said, reading the short description that she'd read.

"Please, she loves all animals, except for spiders," Beckett said. "Those not so much."

"I can't blame her for that," Castle said.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," Beckett said then as she watched him set the book on his nightstand. "You don't mind how this trip is going so far do you. And I don't mean the case," she said quickly when he opened his mouth to speak. "Where we've gone so far… they're kind of tourist places."

"Well, that's kind of what we are," Castle said. "Though I think Alexis is less of one than we are after almost four months here. But no, I don't mind. Plus, they're places you'd go with a child. I mean, native San Franciscans have to go to The Exploratorium, and the zoo. And as for me," he said before Beckett could speak then. "I'm enjoying myself; I've never been here, so for our first time out I'm enjoying seeing the more tourist oriented locales. You?"

"It's not my first time here of course," Beckett said. "But, since it's been so many years since I have last seen the city… I'm having fun. And I'm so glad that we're going to be going around the city for sure now," she said.

Studying her then, Castle said, "You're okay."

"I am," Beckett said, knowing it wasn't a question as he was afraid she'd get irritated. She was touched though that he was so concerned, but then realized why he'd looked a little strange as he'd been watching her read. "You're still remembering your dream."

"That was no dream," Castle said, shaking his head. He reached up and grabbed Beckett's hand that cupped his cheek, and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the palm warmly. "But it was just a brief image."

"Maybe I can help you forget it," Beckett said, searching his eyes.

"The EMT actually recommended we not do that," Castle said, unable to help feeling a little excited hearing that.

"Not that," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "Though honestly, was he jealous of you or me?" she asked, recalling the EMT who'd brusquely told to them not to have sex that night to give her a chance to fully recover from her near drowning. They'd had a hard time figuring out his anger though, and wondered who he had directed it to.

"I'm hoping he was jealous of me," Castle said, making a face.

"Okay, me too, but really, we can wait… I would like to wait before we… engage in any kind of sexual activity," Beckett said in exasperation; as the EMT had said it in that way. "But I have something else in mind."

Castle was about to ask what, when she was cupping his face in both her hands, and he moved quickly to meet her lips. He held her tightly as soon as they began to kiss, his nightmare being stamped away into the darkness it had manifested from while she parted her lips to him. Laying her back on the bed then, he could feel the warmth of her body, and ran his hand down her side, wanting to feel the shiver of her form as he did so. He didn't let that kiss last for very long, still concerned about her, and he looked down at her saying, "Very hard to follow those instructions," after watching her breathing a little roughly.

"Yes, it is," Beckett said, clearing her throat. "But you know you can take that as a sort of preview for tomorrow, if we're not exhausted of course."

"Of course," Castle said. He leaned down and kissed her again, but that time very gently and carefully in contrast to before. He pressed his forehead against hers and nuzzled his lips against hers before they slipped into another kiss, that one being somewhere in the middle of the two before it. When they parted from that he forced himself to move, lying down behind her as she pressed back against him. "We have a lot to look forward to," he commented when they were relaxed under the covers.

"Hmm, we do," Beckett agreed, knowing in the back of their minds it wasn't just the trip they were talking about. She looked back at him then and whispered, "I love you Castle."

Holding her a little tighter to him at that, Castle pressed a kiss to her collarbone exposed by her top before he moved up to her ear. "I love you too Kate," he murmured into her ear before kissing the skin just under her lobe. He felt her relax then, and he allowed himself to do the same, falling asleep faster than he thought he would.

Beckett wasn't able to do the same, and she lay still as she listened to his deep breathing. She waited for any sign his nightmare was back, but enough time went by that she smiled slightly; really pleased she'd been able to get it out of his mind. She reached up and touched her lower lip before nodding and saying, "Tomorrow," a kind of promise to herself, before she finally closed her eyes and slept deeply as he held her close.