Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
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: Really nice reading the feedback I got for the last chapter, so I'll go ahead and get straight to my thank yous for that! vetgirlmx (Great reading that you thought it was a very good chapter. I wasn't surprised you were aware I wouldn't hurt kids too badly, or that you're glad they are okay. And you made a good point about being glad that it was Julia's class. Since she got that warning she was able to get them away enough so there wouldn't be any casualties. I figured the kids would be too relieved about being okay to worry about how exactly Julia knew to get them out of the room, but I'm not surprised you mentioned it. And yeah, her parents wouldn't really mock her or anything like that, but she would want to keep that quiet around people who aren't her friends. I know a lot of people who have that ability that will do that. And I'm not surprised you thought it was creepy about Eliza. Her being able to speak to the spirit I took from a story I saw about a little girl who could speak and see spirits. Now I don't have Eliza talking to spirits all the time, but when she sees him she will, lol, just showing that she can do that. No surprise at all that you think the FBI guys are a little stuck up. But yeah, they did have to suck it up when they called them back, lol. And not surprised that you think they'll see it was a good decision letting them continue to investigate eventually. Again, there's no surprise you're curious to see what they see in the footage. You made an interesting point about if the bomber's face is there it would be deliberate and they're stepping up their game, so definitely dangerous you're right. Not surprised you're hoping they get something so they can get close to arresting the bomber since they're traumatizing dogs and now attacking kids as you put it. So of course you want him gone and soon and now you can read more about that!),
MsNYC (I had to laugh a bit at you saying you were surprised Beckett hadn't gotten feisty towards Scarsi, though if he's pissing you off with his attitude it makes sense. But you're getting what I was doing having her not doing that, not wanting to stress out the baby. And yeah, she had to reel Castle in so not surprised you mentioned that. And interesting you think Castle may be the one to flip at the agents, have to see. So happy seeing that you loved the flashback in this one, though I do know you love those, lol. No surprise you're glad that they've got a lead, though I laugh again at you mentioning them closing the case sooner so the agents can leave. So great you think this is a great lineup; or storyline. And of course, I'm happy you can't wait to find out who's behind the bombings, also their motive too if it involves messing with Brad as you put it. Great to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),
Mb (I'm not surprised that you were anxious at the beginning of the chapter to see how things turned out. Also, not surprised you were happy there were only minor injuries and nothing serious or deaths; but I couldn't have done that really. Interesting to see you wondering if it was planned as a warning or did Julia seeing the spirit help anything more serious from happening; you'll see. I had to have Brad have an open mind, especially in this case since of course he knows Julia and knows she wouldn't lie about what happened. And yeah, had to have him protect her from telling other people about the warning from the spirt since others wouldn't be so understanding. I had to laugh but I wasn't shocked at all you find Scarsi and his partner unimpressive after they kicked Castle and Beckett off the case though Brad vouched for them and wanted them there. And yeah, lol, you put exactly why I had Brad wanting them there since they're an asset along with being their best chance to find the bomber that's avoided them all in Albany. And I wasn't surprised you mentioned when they were talking about Beckett accidentally cutting her wrists during the sniper case with Julia; I figured that was a sort of connection between them though I hadn't planned that, lol. Great you thought the first half was a fantastic update. And of course, you're very welcome for that half too! I'm very pleased to see that you too enjoy the flashbacks. But I can see why since of course they're there to fill in parts of the story I wasn't able to fit in. Not surprised again that you weren't impressed with the agents. But interesting that you think they'll probably take all the credit once the bomber is found. I'm not surprised either that you too were glad they had to ask Castle and Beckett to help with the case again. I also wasn't surprised that you mentioned the teenagers being a distraction to throw them, that can happen with a case of course, but I do agree with the idea of keeping them unbalanced, lol. Interesting to see that you think the suspect might be a local considering the cameras and the skiff too. But it was also interesting that you think they might be or was in law enforcement, have to see how that turns out of course! I wasn't surprised you're wondering if the footage they got was planned by the suspect, figured some people would wonder, lol. Happy to read that you thought it was a fantastic update for the second half. And you're very welcome for that half too!) and
TORONTOSUN (Nice to read that you liked that Julia's sixth sense kicked in before the bomb went off. And so, so happy that you like the new names for the dogs! Not surprised at all that you like how Castle and Beckett are back to solving the case, great reading that too!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them as always and I am so grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Tears of the World by George Harrison, from the rejected track list of his album Somewhere in England.
Hopeless Souls Shout
"Jules?" Eliza said as she went over to her sister. "Are you gonna go outside?"
"Nah, Mommy and Daddy would be really mad at me if I did," Julia said before turning to look at her. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Grandpapa wond… won…" Eliza said because she paused.
"Wondered," Julia pronounced for her quickly. "Where I went?" she then finished for her sister. When Eliza nodded she smiled and said, "I just wanted to look outside."
"They don't hurt?" the little girl then asked shyly.
Julia smiled again at her and she said, "Nope, it's weird I was really worried about my friends and what Mommy and Daddy would think when they found out. I didn't care too much about me."
"Maybe you're a grown up," Eliza suggested.
"I don't think so," Julia said. She was about to speak again when her sister looked past her and she turned, seeing it was her best friend which made her open the door quickly.
"Julia!" Mari cried out as she ran up the steps. As soon as she'd reached her friend she threw her arms around her and burst into tears. "They said what happened in the library and I knew it was your class. You're hurt!"
"I'm okay," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her after recovering from the shock of that.
"No, I can see your arms!" Mari exclaimed.
"They're just little cuts," Julia was quick to say reassuringly. She gently pushed Mari away so they could look at each other and she told her, "I don't feel hurt or anything."
"No?" the little girl asked with a slight sob.
"Nope," Julia said, smiling at her. She wasn't surprised when her friend hugged her tightly and she embraced her back.
"Hello Mari," Jim said, having come over to that hallway in time to see Mari hugging his granddaughter. "And she's not lying; she's been doing her homework and playing with the dogs."
"That's right," Julia said, suddenly remembering. "Come and see them."
"But I've seen your dogs already," Mari replied as she dried her cheeks with one hand and the other was being held by Julia as she pulled her over to the main hallway. She looked at the dogs in front of the family room and said, "Did you get more?"
"Yep, that's Max and that's Molly," Julia told her friend proudly. "Mommy and Daddy got them for us."
"Really? I thought your mom said no more," Mari said, letting the dogs all sniff her hands before they nudged at them and she did her best to pet them.
Julia watched as Jim took her sister over to the kitchen to get them some milk and she then whispered, "I think that they belonged to someone with their case."
"The person who got killed?" Mari asked, keeping her voice low as well.
"I think so," Julia said, nodding her head. "They probably were gonna have to go to the shelter."
"Wow… your mom is the best," Mari said in wonder.
"Just my mom?" Julia asked in slight amusement.
"Well I bet your dad was okay with more dogs, but your mom wasn't until them," Mari replied. "Are they nice?"
"Yeah, they keep looking around though," Julia answered. "I think for my parents."
"Are they gonna be the baby's dogs?" Mari asked. When her friend nodded she said, "Are you gonna have three dogs in your bed?"
"Just until the baby is born," Julia replied with a smile. "Did your mom and dad say you can come over?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't leave my mommy alone," Mari said. "I wanted to know if you were okay."
"Good, maybe you can even stay for dinner," Julia said.
"But your parents aren't here to ask," Mari pointed out to her.
"Grandpapa is, that's good enough," Julia told her seriously.
"I don't know honey," Jim said as he and Eliza were walking over to them. "We should still ask your parents, also we should text them to let them know we'll have one more for dinner." When the three looked at him in surprise he smiled and said, "I should admit that I know already what they'll say. But of course, we should still ask."
"Will you?" Eliza asked. She then smiled over at Mari and said, "We're gonna play Life and I want you to play too."
"Me too," Julia said. She watched as Eliza and her grandfather went into the family room and she hugged her friend tightly. "Oh Mari I'm so glad you weren't in there with us. I was so scared about everyone getting hurt I was happy you were in your class."
"What happened?" Mari asked her.
Julia explained everything, even the spirit warning her, before she finished with, "But I could keep my mommy from knowing anything happened."
"Did you do that before?" Mari said with wide eyes.
"No but I thought of a gate and that worked," Julia said. "I'm gonna try it when I go to bed, so Mommy won't have any nightmares about me."
"Think she would?" Mari asked her.
"Yeah, so I have to make sure she won't," Julia began. "She needs to get sleep for the baby." She then turned her attention to her friend and with a smile said, "Want to start playing now?"
"Yep," Mari replied, taking her hand, looking at her friend's arm. When Julia tugged her after her she was relieved she was okay and then followed her into the family room.
"What are you three going to play?" Jim asked as he looked up at the girls' entrance.
"Well we're gonna play games after," Julia said.
"You can still play," Eliza protested. "Let's play Twister!"
"Okay," Julia said as she looked at Mari.
"We didn't play that for a long time," the little girl told her with a slight giggle.
"Then we should play now," Julia replied. "Will you say where we need to put our feet and hands?"
"I can," Eliza said. When her sister and Mari looked at her she told them, "I can't play."
"Okay," Julia said, looking at her grandfather who simply smiled at her. She took off her slippers and then went with Mari over to the game to get it ready. Once the mat was out she waited for Eliza to spin before she called out what she had gotten.
"Right hand red," the little girl said. As soon as her sister had placed her hand she spun again and then said, "Left foot yellow."
After that Julia and Mari began to place their hands and feet on the mat until they were finally falling together onto it as they were laughing heavily. They smiled at one another widely as they untangled themselves from each other and got up.
"Your-" Mari said worriedly as she noticed her friend's arms.
"They're okay," Julia said. "That was fun, but Grandpapa can we go up to the library?"
"Okay," Jim said. He waited for Eliza to demand she go up with them, but he was startled when she just watched the two leaving with Macca and JoJo. "You don't want to go with them?" he asked her.
"No, Mari is still scared about Jules," Eliza replied. "Mommy would say they have to talk."
"You're very smart," Jim told her, pulling her close to him.
"Thanks," Eliza said. "Can we play the hippo game now?"
"Of course, go ahead get it," Jim said, letting her go to the cabinet. At the same time, he hoped Julia and Mari would be alright, knowing that the dogs would watch over them while they were talking together upstairs.
"Sorry Julia," Mari was saying to her friend once they were walking down the hall.
"No, it's okay I would worry too," Julia assured her. When they reached her room, she tugged her inside and said, "Better we talk here."
"Yeah," Mari replied. They went quickly onto her friend's bed and she sighed saying, "I wish I could spend the night."
"Do you have your phone? Ask your mom and dad," Julia told her eagerly. "Text them."
"Oh… kay," Mari said before she smiled widely.
Julia watched hopefully as her friend texted the question on her phone to her mother, crossing her fingers at the same time before the message was sent. She didn't want to have to sleep with just the dogs; knowing that she was probably going to have a nightmare herself; and waited with Mari for the text to be answered to see if they could spend that night together.
"Oh… she said it was okay," Mari said, beaming up at her friend.
"She did," Julia said in surprise.
"You think she would say no?" Mari said with a smile.
"Well there's school tomorrow," Julia pointed out.
"Yeah but she said she knew I was going to ask," Mari replied. She smiled and showed her message to her friend and said, "My dad is gonna bring my stuff in a little bit."
"Wait, what about my parents?" Julia said.
Mari opened her mouth to speak before she paused and became thoughtful saying, "Maybe you can text them."
"I guess," Julia replied hesitantly.
"You don't want to?" Mari asked her.
"I do but I don't like to do it when they're working," Julia said before she finally got her phone out of her pocket. She quickly texted her mother, hoping when she pressed send that she would be okay with her friend spending the night.
Mari; when Julia had gotten a response back; watched her reading the message and said, "Well?"
"It's okay," the girl replied, smiling widely at her father. "And Mommy's glad you're here." She then became thoughtful and said, "Want to walk to your house?"
"Really fast?" Mari asked.
"Yep," Julia said. When her friend immediately got off the bed she laughed and scrambled to do the same with her before she said, "Let's go ask my grandpapa, maybe we can take the dogs with us." She smiled when Mari nodded rapidly in agreement and they hurried together downstairs to where Jim and Eliza were playing together.
"Are you gonna play?" the little girl asked, looking at the two of them.
"No, Mommy and Daddy," Julia began. "And Mari's mom and dad said that she can stay the night, but she needs her stuff. Can we go get it?"
"Of course," Jim replied. "But you need to bundle up and take your phone."
"What about the dogs?" Julia asked.
Jim glanced outside and said, "I think you better leave them here. Just go yourselves."
"I'll stay with the doggies," Eliza said. "Say hi to Dani?"
"Of course," Julia assured her. "Let's go get your stuff."
"Yeah," Mari replied since she'd been talking to her. They hurried over to the entry and she said when she was wrapping her scarf around her neck, "What will we do when we come back?"
"I dunno… go up to my room again?" Julia began. "Oh! Want to practice some dancing since we didn't have class today?"
"Sure," Mari replied before they went down the hall to where Jim and Eliza were waiting for them.
"Come straight back home," he told the two while they were walking to the door to the backyard.
"We will," Julia and Mari said at the same time. They waved to the two and then made their way outside holding hands.
Squeezing her friend's hand Mari said, "Can I see your arms?"
"Yeah, I think Mommy's going to change the bandages later before I go to bed," Julia said. "Why? I don't think even my mom's gonna kiss them to make them better."
Mari, her cheeks a bright red at the idea, shook her head and told her, "I just want to see and make sure that you're okay."
"Oh, okay," Julia said, smiling at her. She squeezed her hand before they reached the back of her friend's home and she let Mari knock on the sliding door.
"Hey, I was just about to leave," David said with a smile. "Did Rick and Kate say that you could stay the night?"
"I texted them," Julia explained.
"Texted them, so they went back to work?" David asked them.
"Yeah," Julia said. "An hour ago, I think. Did you ask for them to go?"
"I told the FBI agents myself," David replied, handing his daughter her overnight bag. "And I'm so stupid I forgot to ask, how are you Julia?"
"I'm fine," the girl replied with a smile. "Mari made sure."
"I'm not surprised," Rebecca said, coming over to them with Dani walking next to her. "But we were all worried."
"Thanks, everyone in my class is okay too," Julia said, trying not to blush too deeply. "Just some cuts like me."
"Good to hear," David commented. "Alright you two should head back before we all freeze. Mari, I love you and have a great night over there."
"Thanks, I love you too Daddy," Mari told her seriously before she hugged him tightly. She shared a kiss with him and then went to her little sister, hugging her, "Bye Dani, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, bye," Dani replied, waving to her sister.
"Bye Mommy, I love you," Mari said to Rebecca.
"Goodbye honey, we'll see you tomorrow going to school if it's not snowing okay?" she asked her daughter.
"Okay," Mari replied as they hugged.
"I love you, have a nice night and listen to all the adults over there," Rebecca finally said before they shared a kiss.
"I will," Mari said with a laugh. She waved to her family and then hurried with her friend down the yard until they were on the beach walking hand in hand on the sand.
"Did you think of anything yet now?" Julia asked her friend.
"I thought we were gonna dance," Mari replied.
"After that," Julia said.
Laughing softly Mari said, "Let's wait until we finish, what if it's time for dinner?"
"Oh… alright," Julia replied before they reached her house and went inside.
"Welcome back," Jim said as he joined them at the door.
"Hi Grandpapa," Julia told him with a smile. "We're gonna practice dancing in my room."
"With Eliza?" Jim said as he took their coats. He wasn't surprised when his granddaughter looked unsure and he told them, "Ask her first."
Julia tried not to groan as she had a feeling her little sister would want to go with them; wanting to dance and play alone with Mari; but she nodded instead and walked over to the family room where Eliza was. "Whatcha doing?" she asked her sister.
"Getting another game for me and Grandpapa," Eliza said simply. She smiled at her sister and said, "Wanna play?"
"We're gonna practice since we didn't go to our dance class today," Julia replied, shaking her head. "Do you want to go with us?"
"I wanna play with Grandpapa," Eliza replied.
"Okay, later we'll play," Julia said, waving to her before she turned to Mari who was behind her.
Jim watched the two go, smiling slightly as he'd been able to tell that his granddaughter had wanted them to dance alone. He hoped they'd have fun before he turned his attention back to Eliza and the next game she'd picked out for them, seeing it was one of her more active video games.
Upstairs in her room once more Julia watched as Macca, JoJo and Max sat together on the end of it and smiled before she said, "I guess they're all sharing with me."
"I think so," Mari replied with a smile.
"Oh, with us tonight," Julia replied. "Ready?" she asked.
"Yep," Mari said eagerly.
Nodding Julia said, "We were gonna dance the Foxtrot and then the Viennese Waltz. Which one should we start with?"
"I think the Foxtrot, I like that one a lot better," Mari said.
Julia laughed softly and said, "Like having dessert first?"
"Yep," Mari replied.
"Okay, let me get the song that Ms. Grey played for us," Julia said, going to her phone. She soon found it before she then turned to Mari and said, "Music first or second?"
"Second, let's just do the steps now so we can remember them," the little girl said. She giggled when Julia went to her and hugged her laughingly and she then said, "Are you okay dancing the boy's steps?"
"Yeah, let's start now," Julia said. And with that she then began to count off their steps so they could go around their room. At first, she was concentrating on the steps but once they'd stopped she glanced at the bed and started to laugh again.
"What's wrong?" Mari asked, confused as to why she was doing that.
"Look at the dogs," Julia said.
Turning her head Mari saw they were sitting there with their heads on their paws, watching them and she smiled. "Think they were watching us?" she asked her friend.
"Yep," Julia said. "Now we can do those steps to music," she told her. When her friend nodded she got in hold with Mari before they proceeded to dance to the song their teacher used in their class.
"Phew, I love that last sliding step," the little girl said when they'd finished.
"I know," Julia said with a knowing smile. "And you know what I love?"
"The spinning?" Mari asked. When her friend nodded; a wide smile on her face; she laughed softly and then said, "That's why we're doing the Viennese Waltz next."
"Ms. Grey said we were," Julia replied, coming back to her after petting all three dogs. She got in hold with her friend and they began their steps together, mostly spinning though she knew their teacher wasn't going to do that in their lesson. After a while of gliding together around and around they soon stopped, and she studied Mari closely.
"What?" she asked in slight surprise.
Shaking her head quickly Julia said, "You're getting much better." When Mari thanked her, she smiled and then let go of her to say, "Should we dance to the music?"
"Let's wait until we go to class tomorrow," the little girl replied.
"Okay," Julia said before they went over to the bed together.
"Did you finish your book yet?" Mari asked.
"No, it's taking me a while," Julia replied with a soft laugh. "It's a long book."
"Do you like it?" Mari then said.
"Oh yeah, I like her she's a cool girl," Julia said with a nod. "She loves making up stories and she gets into trouble a lot because they're really strict."
"It's in Canada?" Mari asked.
"Yeah," Julia said, getting off the bed and picking up her tablet. She opened it and then pulled up a map from the internet showing Mari saying, "Vancouver Island which is so cool 'cause the pictures are really pretty."
Watching her friend going to another page Mari gasped and said, "Look at all the trees there, they're so pretty! And this one," pointing out another picture with waves breaking.
"I know," Julia said. She looked up at her friend and said, "I think I'll tell my mom and dad that we should go there too."
"They went there didn't they?" Mari asked.
"Yep, a… I don't remember how many years maybe two or three," Julia said after thinking that over for a moment. "They went to a resort and then had to solve a murder."
"They did?" Mari said.
"Yep, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," Julia told her seriously.
"Why?" Mari asked.
"Because I heard them talking about it," Julia replied. "Well… my mom was talking about it with Lily; she didn't know I was listening."
"Where was your dad?" Mari asked.
With a smile; as she wasn't surprised her friend was wondering where her father had been; Julia told her, "He was in the city overnight, something about the comic book that they were making for his Nikki Heat books."
"Oh, that makes sense," Mari said after thinking that over and nodding. She then smiled and told her, "They had fun still right?"
"Of course," Julia replied. "But Mommy said that something happened with Daddy and she thought he was hurt or something so that wasn't."
"I know how she feels," Mari said softly, smiling shyly at her friend.
"Thanks, I would feel the same way about you too," Julia told her seriously before they embraced. She then smiled and asked her, "When we grow up do you want to go around like we do with our families?"
"Just us?" Mari asked her.
"Yeah, it would be a lot of fun," Julia told her.
With a smile Mari said, "Yeah that would be a lot of fun."
"Cool, we have to think of where to go," Julia said with a smile.
"Not yet, we have to go with our families first," Mari protested before they both began to laugh.
When they calmed down Julia then said, "What about your book?"
"Oh, it's sooo good!" Mari said eagerly. "Felicity left her guitar her grandfather gave her in the rain, so I think she's gonna get in trouble."
"That sounds like a great book," Julia said.
"Why didn't you ever read the American Girl books?" Mari said.
"I don't know… I should 'cause they're history just like the Dear America and Canada books," Julia said thoughtfully. "Think I can borrow one to see if I like it? Or am I too old?"
"No, you can read them," Mari said. "Do you want to go in order?"
"Yeah," Julia said.
"I'll give you the first Kaya book," Mari replied. "I hope you like them, that way we can share them too."
"When is Kaya?" Julia then asked.
"1764," Mari answered. "So a long time ago."
"Cool," Julia replied before she and Mari started to laugh together heavily. When they finally calmed down she was going to speak when her friend interrupted her.
"Did you learn it yet?" Mari asked, serious.
"Learn what?" Julia said, wondering why she was so serious.
"Family Life, remember you said your mom told you about it?" Mari replied.
"I can't tell you," Julia said, not surprised she'd asked. "At least nothing else but that."
"Who would know?" Mari asked.
Shaking her head Julia told her, "Our moms would know."
"Oh," Mari said, frowning. "Yeah I forgot about their mommy powers."
Julia watched with a smile as her friend playfully collapsed on her stomach on her pillow and she said, "Want to know something I can tell you though?"
"What?" Mari asked interestedly.
"Remember when my dad was asleep before?" Julia replied. When her friend nodded she said, "He was dreaming then, and he saw us there."
"Saw… well yeah he loves you all," Mari replied, a little confused as to why her friend thought that was interesting.
"Not just us, he saw us in 1926 in San Francisco," Julia said.
"Oh cool, was everyone there?" Mari asked.
"Not everyone, but Skye was my mom's sister and their brother was killed so Daddy investigated with Mommy helping. He was a detective there," Julia replied.
"Wow… is that it?" Mari asked.
Laughing Julia then told her friend what her father had said, and she said with a smile when she'd finished, "I knew that they were gonna be together."
"Of course," Mari replied. "But they had Alexis together?"
"Yep, 'lexis knows," Julia said. "And I think she wishes that were true." When her friend nodded knowingly she then added, "My dad thinks it's a past life."
"I think so too," Mari said with a smile. "It has to be, your mom and dad are so much in love…"
Julia giggled and said, "I think so too." She was about to speak before she paused and then, at Mari's insistence, said, "I had some dreams about that."
"You did?" the little girl said in surprise.
Nodding her head Julia said, "I was with Mommy and we were going to a beach together. No, we were at a beach, and we were wearing clothes from the thirties I think," trying to remember it exactly.
"At San Francisco?" Mari asked her.
"Yep and then Daddy was there with all my sisters," Julia said.
"Could you see your littlest sister?" Mari said.
"No, Daddy says the same thing," Julia replied. "But we were playing together, and we were all happy. Mommy and Daddy too."
"You were the big sister," Mari pointed out.
"I don't mind being the second sister," Julia replied. She thought for a moment and said, "And then we had a picnic and it was fun. Which is really good 'cause it was the Great Depression then too."
"What year was it?" Mari said, startled that Julia looked surprised at what she'd said.
"Um… 1934," Julia replied. I was… twelve then and I think Lizzy was seven, 'lexis was six and our baby sister was four."
"Did you ever see you growing up?" Mari then asked after they were quiet for a while.
"Yeah," Julia said with a slight smile. "I was a woman and I was married to someone, but I don't know who. I just came home and was happy and there was a little girl with us."
"You want to have a baby girl?" Mari said with a little smile herself.
"I don't want to have a baby like my mom is now," Julia said. "But I know people adopt kids; Skye and Mary did."
"Think that's what you did in your dream?" Mari said.
"I think so, but she was very sweet," Julia replied. "I don't know what she looked like."
"Maybe it was a past life," Mari replied. "And you can't see her yet 'cause she's really gonna be your daughter."
"That would be so nice," Julia said. She smiled at the thought and said, "We lived at the house where my aunts were. Oh, and I forgot to say my grandmama was there too."
"Wow… did you see her in your dream?" Mari asked.
"The first one," Julia replied. "Oh, it was so nice…"
Mari was startled when her friend burst into tears and she wrapped her arms around her tightly saying, "It's okay, I know your grandmama would have loved you. She visited you, didn't she?"
"Yeah but it was really quick," Julia said, staring to calm down. She pulled away from her friend and was taken aback when Mari gently thumbed away her tears on her cheeks. She smiled at her and said, "Thanks."
"My mom does that for me, it makes me feel better," the little girl explained, lowering her hands and becoming shy.
Julia looked down at her hands and then back up at Mari before she said, "I think you were there."
"In which dream?" Mari asked.
"I don't know," Julia said. She paused and was going to speak before she smiled a little and said, "Maybe we should go now, we've been here for a while and I do want to spend time with my grandpapa."
"Do we have to?" Mari said with an exaggerated sigh. She then smiled quickly so her friend wouldn't think she was serious and added, "I would like that too, he's fun to play with."
"Yep, come on," Julia said before she climbed down from her bed.
"Tell me one thing about what your mom told you," Mari said. "Was it weird?"
"The Family Life stuff?" Julia said. When the little girl nodded she then said, "A little 'cause she told me about boys too, but I guess we should know that too since there are boys and men around."
"Yeah," Mari said before she grabbed her overnight bag while Julia went to get her pillow she kept there for when she spent the night. "I should unpack first," she told her friend before Julia nodded in agreement.
"So now we can do something else," the girl said to her friend as she watched her unpacking her uniform and pajamas.
"I guess, are you gonna wear your pants tomorrow?" Mari said.
"I think I should," Julia said. "It's still gonna be cold and I don't want to wear a skirt."
Mari giggled as her friend stuck her tongue out playfully and then said; since she was finished with her clothes, "Remember that you said you wanted to go to the library."
"Yep, to see my parents' books," Julia replied.
"You mean books that they said you have to be grown up to read?" Mari asked.
"Yeah, let's go before we go down with Grandpapa and Lizzy," Julia said before she took her hand and they went out and down the hall to the library.
"Which book do you want to look at?" Mari said, looking at some thick and old appearing books in one bookcase.
"Not those, those are in Russian," Julia told her, taking her hand and pulling her over to another bookshelf.
"Your mom reads those?" Mari asked.
"Yeah but she's trying to teach Daddy too," Julia answered before she pointed. "Those," she said.
"But… your parents said you couldn't look at them," Mari said as they were her friends' parents' actual books.
"I did already remember?" Julia reminded her. When her friend frowned she sighed and said, "I just want to look at one book."
Mari shrugged then before she watched her friend going to the shelf, pulling out a book. "Hamptons Heat?" she asked, reading the title.
"Yeah, this was the last one before my dad wrote with my mom," Julia replied. "Did you ever see this?"
"Nope," Mari replied. She leaned over as her friend opened the book to a page and said, "Is that the dedication?" Julia nodded, and she leaned over, reading what Castle had written there for Beckett. "Oh… how come you wanted me to read that?" she asked.
"You didn't like it?" the girl asked.
Shaking her head Mari told her, "I feel like that's just between your parents."
"But everyone reads it," Julia replied.
"Then why did your dad write it?" Mari asked.
"I think it's 'cause he wanted everyone to know that he loved my mommy," Julia said. She was going to go to the start of the book but then paused before she heard running footsteps. "It's Lizzy," she said, closing the book hard and rushing to put it away.
"Hey, how come you're here?" Mari asked to cover for her friend as the little girl entered the room.
"Grandpapa said I can come over," Eliza replied, going to them. She then took a detour past them, going to the window seat and looking out.
"Is it snowing?" Julia asked, going after her and glancing at Mari.
"No but I wonder where Mommy and Daddy are," Eliza replied.
"Probably still working," Julia said before she paused in realization. "Oh, they're not gonna be outside though. It's too cold and Daddy wouldn't let Mommy go outside."
"No?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Nope," Julia said, smiling when her little sister did. She hugged her quickly before she then said, "Grandpapa is all alone."
"The dogs," Mari pointed out to them.
"Still, did you finish playing?" Julia asked her little sister.
"I got tired," Eliza replied. She then said, "What about you?"
"We're done," Julia said, glancing quickly at Mari. "Should we go with you?"
"Yeah, Grandpapa is alone," Eliza told them, stomping her foot before she smiled widely.
With some laughter the three girls left the room and hurried downstairs to where Jim was sitting in the family room, looking at a book before he glanced at them and smiled before beginning to speak.
"Are you done playing?" Jim said to them.
"No," Julia said. She then paused and told him, "Well… playing upstairs."
"Good clarification," Jim replied as she came over to him and hugged him around the neck. He kissed her cheek and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Yep, what can we do now?" Julia asked.
"Whatever you'd like," Jim said. "Within reason."
Laughing softly Julia said, "I knew that already. Well… can we do some art?"
"I wanna play a game," Eliza said.
"You can do that while they're working on art," Jim pointed out quickly as he could tell from her tone of voice that she would become argumentative.
"Oh…" Eliza said.
"We're gonna make bracelets," Julia suddenly said. She glanced at Mari and added, "For our moms?"
"Do you want to do that?" Jim asked, trying not to smile as he knew the girl had just come up with that.
"Yeah," Mari replied quickly with a nod. She then smiled and said, "I didn't do that for a long time."
"Me neither," Julia said. With that she and her friend quickly went to grab the beads she and Eliza had to make stuff and they sat down together at the coffee table. She was startled when her little sister joined her and glanced at her grandfather questioningly.
"I think she wants to join you," Jim said.
"What're you gonna do Grandpapa?" Julia asked.
"I'll think of something," Jim replied. "Let me know if you need any help."
"Okay," Julia said, her sister and friend echoing her. She watched her grandfather grab what she knew was his crossword puzzle book and she smiled, relieved he had something to do before she turned her attention to the beads and her necklace.
"Are Mommy and Daddy working right now?" Eliza asked.
"Of course…" Julia started to say before she paused. "What time is it Grandpapa?"
"It's four, probably a little bit longer before your parents come home girls," Jim said after he'd checked the time on his watch.
"They said they won't be late," Julia told her little sister when she saw she looked dismayed.
"They'll want to be with you and your sister of course," Jim added.
"Yeah, they'll want to see you," Mari told them.
"Especially after what happened today," Julia commented, looking at her arms.
"Are you okay?" Jim asked her.
Julia couldn't help laugh and when she'd managed to stop she quickly said, "Sorry but I'm just remembering everyone asking Mommy if she's okay. But I am."
"How're your bracelets going?" Jim asked.
"Good, Lizzy who're you making your bracelet for?" Julia asked her sister.
"'lexis," Eliza said simply. She studied the string of beads she had so far and said, "Will she like this?"
"Yeah, she likes the color red," Julia reassured her.
"And you don't use just red," Mari pointed out as well. "She'll like the white and black."
"Yeah," Eliza said. They worked together for a little longer and then she said, "How was your dancing?"
"A lot of fun," Julia said first. "But we didn't do anything really special. I bet Ms. Grey is gonna have us do the same thing tomorrow."
"Oh… kay," Eliza replied. She then said, "Let's do something special with Mommy and Daddy."
"Like what?" Julia asked interestedly.
"What if we dance together for them?" Eliza asked.
Jim looked up when Julia and Mari exclaimed, and he was startled when they suddenly got up together and left him. He started to get up to follow them when he heard Julia call back.
"We're gonna practice Grandpapa, we want you to be surprised too," the girl said. "We'll be in the parlor."
"Go after them you guys," Jim told the dogs as he didn't want them to be completely alone. He was startled slightly when four of the dogs ran off, only Rita and JoJo staying with him. "Thank you," he told them before he sat down again on his armchair. As he went back to the puzzle he'd been on he wondered what exactly they'd be seeing of the three dancing. The thought made him smile as he could easily hear them talking but focused on the puzzle to wait to watch them with his daughter and son in law.