Genre: 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: Great to get the feedback I got for the last chapter so I'm going straight to my thank yous for that! vetgirlmx (I was very pleased to see you thought it was a very good and very fun chapter since of course I was aiming for them both! And I'm glad to hear their time at the park could make you smile, also that you love roller coasters as there are some big ones at that park. Yeah, I figure with Mary not liking roller coasters that was the best way to make sure no one that did want to go on them missed out on them. Really happy to see you liked the conversation that Alexis and the girls. And not surprised you laughed when Eliza told the secret to Julia and Mari but there I figure it was half her being a toddler and the other half her trusting her other sister and Mari as well, just not telling the parents, lol. Great you're waiting impatiently to read more and now you don't need to wait any longer!) and TORONTOSUN (Great to see you liked how Eliza was enjoying the rides with Castle and Beckett. And great you liked Martha and Jim having fun hearing about what they've been up to on their vacation so far. Also was really happy to see you liked that Alexis had sister time with Julia and Eliza; that was fun to write, lol). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them of course and am so appreciative of 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 Any Road by George Harrison, from his album Brainwashed.
Sun On My Face
Glancing at her husband as she walked up next to him at the glass doors out to the balcony Beckett couldn't help smile at the expression on his face and said, "It's a beautiful view."
"It is," Castle said before he suddenly turned around.
"What?" Beckett asked, moving to look at what he was.
"This bed is… very nice," Castle told her as he then swept his gaze over the entire room.
"It is," Beckett said, smirking at him. "But I'm more interested in the city," she said, nodding back out to their view of Kyoto which they had arrived at shortly before getting to the hotel.
"So am I but is it okay if I just ask you something concerning us?" Castle asked hopefully.
"Go ahead," Beckett told him with a smile.
"Okay," Castle said, taking a breath. "Last night we were talking about-"
"Yes," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her husband looked shocked and she told him seriously, "Yes to the challenge and yes to whatever there is tonight. But is it alright if we don't always have…"
"Marathons?" Castle asked. When she nodded he did so once telling her, "Yeah, we're traveling so making love even once is going to be fine." He then became thoughtful for a moment before he said, "Even manually and orally will be good."
"I thought so too," Beckett replied with a smile. "Let's get our things okay?" she asked him.
"Sure," Castle said. He grabbed his suitcase while she was putting hers on the bed and they got their pajamas as well as their outfits for the next day when they'd be moving on again. When that was set he was putting his suitcase on the floor of the closet, turning to see if his wife was following him. He froze when he saw her taking a familiar pouch of brocade fabric from her suitcase and said, "Why didn't you tell me you had that?"
"To be honest I forgot," Beckett replied. She smiled at him and said, "I threw it in before packing everything else and it got buried. But tonight…"
"Please," Castle said seriously as he then watched her go to the safe in the room. She was placing her empty jewelry pouch with the pouch holding her vibrator; what they did so the pouch would look a little less suspicious; and as soon as the door was shut and it was locked he pulled her to him tightly.
Beckett met her husband's kiss, not surprised in the slightest when he became hungry almost instantly. She responded the best she could, loving the way their tongues stroked at each other before she was running her hand up and down his neck. Before that kiss could go on for much longer though they were interrupted by her text message alert and they parted. "We have to go," she said, smiling at the text from Skye telling them they were heading to the room Alexis was sharing with the girls. She smiled when her husband merely nodded, licking at his slightly swollen lower lip. They grabbed what they needed, exchanging a final kiss, before they left their room to head down the hall.
"Hullo again," Skye said as they were meeting the couple at the door. "How's your room?"
"Good, yours too?" Castle asked.
"Of course," Skye said. "Let's hope they'll get along in theirs," she commented as she knocked on the room that all five of the girls were sharing with Alexis.
"We're ready," Alexis said as she opened the door. She smiled when the four looked behind her and she shrugged saying, "They're ready but they're enjoying their view."
"They saw the trail?" Beckett said with a smile as they walked inside together.
"I didn't tell them about it," Alexis promised.
At that point Julia turned around and saw who was there before she said, "Now we can go."
"Oh good!" Kathleen cried out happily. "We're going to the castle now?"
"We are," Mary said as they were watching Castle pick up Eliza.
"Daddy!" the toddler said in mock surprise. She giggled and then said, "Daddy, I'm ready."
"I hope so because the rest of us definitely are," Castle replied, kissing her temple before his wife did the same.
After making sure the girls had their cameras the group left and headed outside so they could get a couple taxis for them all to head to the castle which was only ten minutes away.
Outside of it Mari said, "This is it?"
"It is," Castle said, smiling at his wife as he could understand why they'd be surprised, since it had a moat around it. "It did need protection."
"That makes sense," Julia said before they then went over to the entrance. "That's beautiful," she breathed as it had gold plates on the gable.
"It is, so it's a good start?" Castle asked jokingly.
"Dad," Alexis said in amusement, shaking her head.
Once the girls had enough pictures they went inside and stood in a courtyard looking at the building ahead of them before they took pictures yet again.
"Here," Skye said, giving Castle and Beckett a map while they waited. "Though I assume we'll just go through what we can."
"I think we should," Beckett replied a little absently as she was reading the map.
"Mommy?" Eliza asked then, going to her.
"Yes sweetie?" Beckett replied, looking down at her before she put her hand on the back of her head.
"Are we gonna go in there?" Eliza asked, motioning ahead to the palace.
"Yep," Castle said before his wife could respond. "That's the Ninomaru Palace."
"Nino… ma… ru," Eliza said slowly as her father picked her up. "Pretty, do the kings live here?"
"Remember there's an emperor here," Julia said quickly. "But they don't live here," she said, looking at her parents questioningly.
"No, this belonged to the shogun," Castle said. "We told you who that was. It's funny this is where the last shogun of the Tokugawa name resigned…"
"Who didn't know that story among us adults?" Mary asked then as they were nearing the entranceway. "Yeah, I had a feeling."
"Skye?" Beckett asked.
"I did relay a bit of history," the investigator said with a slight smile. "You know the name though Julia."
"I remember," the girl said quickly. "Kazunomiya in my book."
"Her name was Princess Kazu," Skye said. She smiled when the girl looked at her in surprise and said, "I know the story as well. They changed her birthday because it was a double bad omen since her father passed away a few months after her birth. So that part of the book is true."
"She was also a poet," Marie said then. "Waka poetry."
"Waka?" Eliza asked. "Did you tell us about that Daddy?"
"I did and that's impressive because I'm not a poet," Castle replied.
Eliza wanted to reply to that but they had reached the entrance and they paused since above it was an ornate carving. She took a picture with the others, letting her father help her to zoom in on the birds, peacocks and flowers that were there. Finally she said to him in a rush, "You could write them Daddy."
"I could but they're structured," Castle said, lowering his voice once they were inside.
"How?" Mari asked interestedly.
"Usually five or seven syllables," Skye told them.
"But isn't it in Japanese?" Kathleen asked.
No one answered that for a time as they were then looking at the paintings in the first rooms they'd come too, too busy admiring the walls and taking pictures. But finally Skye was the first to speak saying, "Tell you what, let's have a poetry write tonight before dinner." She smiled when Beckett looked to her and said, "Not us them."
"So we can do that in English?" Marie asked. At her mother's nod she then said, "What about Eliza?"
"I'll help her," Alexis said. "But what will we do with them?"
"Read them… maybe make illustrations after they're written down in Japanese…" Mary said slowly.
"You know to do the same grá," Skye said in mock annoyance.
"You'd write them in Japanese for us?" Julia asked, looking absolutely thrilled to hear that.
"We would," Skye said, looking then to her parents.
"Oh don't worry I'm all for this," Castle told her quickly. "It would be great if they can do that."
"I agree," Beckett said quickly as Skye, Mary and then her husband looked to her next while the girls were looking at the pictures ahead of them. "Now that I know you're helping Eliza," she directed to Alexis.
"Neither of you want to?" the young woman asked.
"That's alright," Castle said, not surprised that his wife shook her head first. They were moving to the next section and he smiled with the others as the five girls all quietly oohed and ahhed at the painting in that room. "Nice, tigers?" he asked.
"And leopards but you should know that when they painted this they thought the leopards were female tigers," Skye told them with a brief nod.
"I think they're beautiful," Marie said.
"Are you gonna write your waka about that?" Kathleen asked her twin.
"I will," Marie said, looking at the others a little questioningly.
"You can," Mari said, the other three nodding in agreement.
"Then what are you all gonna write about?" Marie asked after she'd taken a picture.
"You'll have to figure it out while we go," Beckett said gently as she put her hands on Julia's and Mari's shoulders. "We should move on or else we won't go to where we're going to shop."
"Where is that?" Eliza asked.
"You'll see," Beckett replied. "Look at this room."
"It's called the chokushi-no-ma which is where the shogun would meet with messengers from court," Skye explained.
"It's really pretty," Kathleen commented.
"It is," Skye said in agreement with her daughter.
"They did a great job with these pictures," Castle said, watching the others take pictures. For some reason something came to mind for him then and he went over to Skye where she was standing, waiting for her to take a picture.
"Can I help you?" the investigator asked, looking to her.
"What form were you going to suggest to them?" Castle asked.
"Katauta," Skye said simply. "Though you're aware of this kind of poetry already aren't you?" When he nodded she smiled and then told him, "It's simpler though since they're writing in English it's even more so."
"They'd be struggling all night if that were the case," Castle said with a smile. "And Julia and Mari have read some waka in the book about the princess."
"So have our girls," Skye replied, nodding to them. As they were walking to the reception chamber next she said, "I've written in Japanese."
"The characters and everything?" Beckett asked, smirking slightly at her husband as he looked at her in surprise. "I knew how you were going to ask."
"Looks like you did," Castle said with a smile.
"In Japanese though I had to teach Mary," Skye replied. "Yes, it was for her." She studied the couple as she then felt her wife wrapping her arms around her and smiled saying, "You guessed already."
"It wasn't hard to do so," Castle said simply before they headed to the next room behind their daughters and Mari.
Eliza, going in first with Alexis, saw the figures inside and cried out before her sister was calming her down. "What are they doing?" she asked once she realized that they weren't real people.
"They're paying respect to the shogun," Beckett said, she and Castle having rushed into the room at their youngest's cry. "He's up there on the dais see?"
"Oh… can I take a picture?" the toddler asked.
"Go ahead," Beckett said with a smile.
"You're not?" Castle then asked his wife as she stood with him for a moment.
"I will," Beckett said, smiling at him slightly as he just watched her at that point.
"Sorry," Castle said as he realized then that she was just waiting for the shot to come to her. He watched her take a few; not just of the scene set before them but also the paintings on the walls. He looked around while she was doing that before his attention went to the girls where he noticed that Julia and Mari were whispering to each other. "What is it?" he asked them as he walked over to them.
"Nothing, just weird there are no women," Julia said, frowning.
"That's how things were done then," Castle said. "Believe me," he told her as she looked up at him. "I don't agree with the idea."
"Would you have gone to jail for that?" Mari asked.
"No but I probably wouldn't have kept my job," Castle replied. "Whatever job that was."
"We're moving on to the next room," Beckett said in amusement as she'd been listening to her husband's conversation.
Castle held Julia's hand when she took his and they walked together through a room where there was a painting of a hawk in a tree on the sliding door. At the next one he said, "You can let go now."
Julia smiled at her father and she did so to quickly take pictures of the cherry trees on the panels of the sliding door. When she had finished she then looked at him and said, "I'm glad we came here now."
"So we could see the actual cherry trees in bloom?" Castle asked. When she nodded he smiled and hugged her to him before they were watching Beckett helping Eliza take another picture. "We're almost finished with this palace."
"And then that's it?" Mari asked, having walked over to stand with them.
"Not yet," Castle said while they were walking over to the next room which was the last.
"This was the shogun's living room and bedroom," Skye explained, not surprised when everyone looked to her. "It's called the Shiro-Shoin."
"Pretty pictures," Eliza said, smiling up at her mother that she was next to.
"It is," Beckett replied with a nod. She then helped her with her picture and took a final one before going to Skye and murmuring, "Palace or gardens?"
"Palace," the investigator said, not surprised when all their daughters turned to them. "Which we should go to now since they're looking to us; likely to see where we're heading now?"
Turning Beckett saw that her friend was right and she smiled before saying, "The garden is right here you know," in Russian.
"Alright, alright," Skye said. "Sorry but Mary and I did that when we came here."
"Left the gardens for last?" Castle asked as he walked up to them, confused.
"We were crazy," Mary said simply and under her breath as she'd come over to them.
"We went back to the hotel quickly," Skye then said in Irish so Castle would understand as well.
"Then I can sympathize," he told the two women. "But since we're definitely not alone here…"
"Where are we going next Mummy, Mommy?" Marie asked as she, the other girls and Alexis were walking up to them.
"The garden for this palace," Skye said. "But," she said hurriedly when the girls all looked at her eagerly. "You can't walk around the entire thing, just along the northern part of it; the part that edges the castle."
"That doesn't matter," Mari said quickly. "At least we can see it."
"She's right," Julia said. "We're going now right?"
"Come on we need to head back out," Castle said, taking Eliza as she went to him and held out her hands. When she was on his hip he walked with Beckett back through the castle so they could go through the courtyard to the entrance of the garden.
"There are lots of rocks," Eliza said in a soft tone of voice as she didn't think she should speak that loudly.
"Do you like them?" Castle asked as Beckett was going a bit ahead of them with Julia and Mari.
Studying the sight of the rocks around the pond for a moment Eliza then nodded and smiled saying, "They look like art."
"Good you caught what they were trying to do," Castle told her. "It's supposed to be art in nature."
Looking at the pond again Eliza smiled and said, "They did a good job."
"Do you want to take pictures?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he then walked with her to the very edge of the path they were on and then helped her set up her first shot.
"It's peaceful here again," Julia was saying to her mother and friend.
"It is," Beckett said with a slight smile. "You know that's what they wanted to have happen. That you would relax and turn your thoughts inward."
"Like those rock gardens?" Mari said.
"The Zen gardens," Julia said.
"Right," Beckett told them. "It's contemplation."
"But we can just look and take pictures right?" Julia said.
"Yes we should keep moving though since we have more to see," Beckett said. She walked with them down the path again and she took a few shots herself, zooming into the rocks around the pond as close as possible as she could feel a number of shots trying to get her attention. As soon as she had them she felt her husband's hand on her back and she smiled at him before they turned to watch their youngest go to Mari and Julia.
"Did you get good pictures?" the toddler asked her sister and her friend.
"Yeah," Julia said. "What about you?"
"I got lots," Eliza said. "Are we going shopping now?" she then asked.
"No," Skye said, going over to them then with a smile. "There's another palace." She smiled a little wider when the girls began to murmur in excitement and looked at Castle and Beckett before she turned to her wife. "Shall we?"
Smiling as the girls all hissed, since they weren't going to cry out in excitement, Castle took Beckett's hand as they then made their way around the garden to the other palace.
"We can't go inside?" Julia asked in surprise when she saw a sign at the door in both Japanese and English.
"It looks like they're working on it," Mary said.
"Renovating?" Castle asked hopefully.
"No," Skye told him firmly. "Upkeep in general. And even if they were renovating it I doubt we'd get anything if we were investigating."
"You think it's haunted?" Kathleen asked Castle.
"It was a thought," he confessed.
"Usually when a place is renovated that can disturb the spirits," Alexis said. "But I don't think that's going to happen here Dad."
Since her big sister was looking at her Julia then turned her attention to palace which had planks of wood as well as white walls. But what she found more interesting was the roof which dominated the building, the tiles a little bright in the sun. Finally she shook her head and said, "Not this one Daddy."
"This one?" Skye said. "So you got the same feeling in the other one?"
"It wasn't that bad," Julia said, feeling a little strange since the woman was speaking to her so understandingly.
"No I get the feeling time enough has passed for whatever it is causing that sensation there," Skye replied before looking at Beckett.
Shaking her head she turned to Eliza who was hugging her around the waist to get her attention. "What is it sweetie?" Beckett asked, more than a little relieved to have that as a distraction from the subject.
"What do we do now?" the toddler asked.
"The garden," Mary said when Beckett and Castle both looked to her and her wife. "This one is different but though it is, no running around."
"We won't," all five girls said at the same time.
Laughing Sky then said, "We were talking to our girls but I guess that works."
"It does," Castle said with a smile. When they had made it to the actual garden he saw then what Mary had meant as the garden was largely fields with trees and small and large stone lanterns. "Nice," he said to his wife.
"I'm surprised, I thought you might have said that it was boring," Beckett said.
"No, I like it," Castle said. He then looked ahead of them and commented, "Did they leave us behind?"
"They're looking for the lanterns," Beckett quickly told him as she could see that Mary and Skye were in fact searching the sides of the path. "It's not a conspiracy Rick."
"Still," Castle said. He was itching to take his wife's hand but since she was taking pictures he held back. As he was looking over at a lantern they were near a few steps later he then felt his wife taking his hand and he smiled at her before they entwined their fingers at the same time. "You're done?" he asked.
"One hand Rick," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when he seemed to pause in mid-step before they continued and followed their family, not letting go of each other the entire time.
From that garden the group went over to the Seiryu-en Garden and there split up as the McDouglases went over to the other side of the area that they were allowed to walk through.
As they had let everyone go ahead of them Beckett said to her daughter, "What did you feel when you were at the other palace?"
At first Julia just shrugged in response to her mother's question before she saw that she was smiling gently at her. With a brief moment of hesitation she then said, "It was as if there was something… sad in the back room. Not heavy but something like it was… over there."
Seeing her daughter motioning over to the side, where a rock was closer to them than any other ones, Beckett said softly, "You've never seen any apparitions have you?"
"No," Julia said. "I wasn't lying when you asked me before Mommy."
"Alright," Beckett said. "If this happens again I want you to tell me."
"I will," Julia promised. She then looked at her and said, "What about you?"
"Me?" Beckett asked in response. She wasn't surprised when her daughter merely looked at her and she sighed saying, "I felt… something, what that was I don't know."
"Maybe it was that sadness but less than Julia and Skye felt," Castle commented, coming up to them.
"Maybe," Beckett echoed him, a little uneasy at the idea. "Are we moving on?" she asked since they'd gone as far as they could go in that garden.
"Now that we're all together I should let you know that we're finished," Skye said.
Looking at his watch Castle said, "That took a while."
"It did," Mary said. "It was mainly the gardens."
"We did take a while in the castle," Alexis said, fighting a smile the best she possibly could.
"Are we just gonna talk about what took the longest?" Julia said, slightly impatiently as she could see her sister, the twins and Mari were all looking the same as she sounded.
"She figured it out," Skye said in amusement. "Where we're going next," she replied. "Is the first part of our shopping and it's somewhere we've already been in fact."
"The trains!" Eliza gasped before the other girls could say anything else.
"Really?" Mari asked in surprise.
"There are stores and we'll eat lunch first if that's alright with you," Skye said. She laughed out loud at the nods from the girls without a second passing after she had finished speaking and said, "I think we're in agreement."
As they were leaving the castle then Eliza said to her parents; in her father's arms at that moment, "Now I can take pictures!"
"We asked Skye if we could go back," Beckett said. She smiled as the toddler leaned over to share a kiss with her before doing that to Castle. "Your sisters and Mari also wanted to do the same."
"Oh… good you said that to her," Julia said seriously.
"We thought the same too," Castle said before the toddler was giggling and then leaning against him. He felt his wife squeezing his arm then and he smiled at her before they turned their attention to the street in front of them to try and catch a cab to the train station.
"I wonder why they don't like it," Mari said softly to Julia as they were looking up at the ceiling of the Kyoto Station and the shapes the metal made on the glass that all together looked kind of like a tunnel.
"Maybe 'cause it's modern? We know what Japanese buildings look like," Julia said.
"I think you mean traditional," Alexis said, walking over to them.
"Did Lizzy calm down?" Julia asked, looking at her sister.
"She did," Alexis said, glancing back towards their sister who had just had a minor tantrum at not getting dessert right after they'd left the ramen restaurant where they'd had lunch.
"So we're not having dessert?" Julia said.
"Not now," Alexis said. "Dad and Kate sent me to tell you two and also to tell you two to stop stepping away."
Giggling Mari said, "We didn't realize we were doing that."
"Is she in trouble?" Julia said while they were walking back over to the others.
"A little, she'll be in timeout with Mary," Alexis answered. "Just for twenty minutes so they will shop with us."
"I'm sorry sweetie," Beckett said with a sigh. "But you know you can't have something every time you ask."
"But…" Eliza started to say before something in her realized that if she said she wanted to go shopping it had something to do with what her mother had just said. She also became aware that it had to do with her time out and she shut up quickly. "I can see you before we go though?" she asked tearfully.
"Of course," Castle said soothingly, rubbing her back gently. "We're only going to take a look at some clothing stores for your mom… and Alexis and everyone so once you get back we'll go to a bookstore."
"Oh," Eliza said softly. She wanted some kind of book but decided not to risk getting her time out lengthened and instead said, "Can I see, please?"
"You can," Beckett said. She kissed the toddler's temple and said, "Stay with Mary and she'll bring you back to us when it's time." She then handed her to Castle and went over to the woman herself saying, "This is alright?"
"Well you can't bloody leave her to her own devices," Skye said before her wife could answer. She smiled slightly when Mary pushed her to the side before she then said, "It is, it teaches her that if she doesn't listen to you then she's not going to get to see what you see."
"That seems to scare her," Mary then said. "A lot. Plus I don't think she likes being away from you."
"Twenty minutes isn't too long?" Beckett asked. "And it's Rick that's asking that, not me so much."
Smiling at the so much Mary said, "Don't worry, if I see her getting to be a little… withdrawn I'll start heading to you."
"Thank you," Beckett said.
"I've been here before," Mary said while Castle reached them. "And have been to the clothing stores. So we'll be just fine."
Waving goodbye to the two the group left and then headed together over to the escalators since they were already in the mall they were going to go through. On the next floor they stopped at the first clothing store; one for children; though as Castle and Beckett were looking with Julia and Mari they couldn't help think of their daughter, hoping she was alright with Mary.
"I can't play games?" Eliza asked. When the woman whose lap she was sitting on shook her head she sighed and said, "I don't know why I do that, I'm a big girl now."
"You're still young and you need to learn how to control yourself," Mary said. "It does take time."
"When I'm four?" Eliza asked hopefully.
Mary laughed softly and shook her head before saying, "A little more time than that."
Eliza then looked out at the people passing them by and said, "Do my mommy and daddy not like me?" her voice growing a little tiny.
"Oh no Eliza," Mary said quickly, rubbing her back quickly. "No, no, believe me they don't like punishing you but it's so you learn."
"They don't?" Eliza asked. When Mary nodded to that she then asked, "Why do they?"
"So you learn," Mary repeated. "My parents did the same for me and so did your grandparents for your parents I'm sure." She nearly started to laugh when Eliza looked thoughtful and she then told her, "But you'll behave now right?"
"Yeah," the toddler replied. She then looked thoughtful and said, "I like dessert a lot."
"I could tell," Mary said, unable to help her voice growing wry. Luckily she saw the toddler didn't seem to realize that and she said, "And I like dessert too but it doesn't help you grow up."
"No?" Eliza gasped, her eyes wide. When Mary nodded she bit at her lower lip a few times and said, "Then I won't have it. I wanna be tall like Mommy."
"It's likely you will," Mary told her with a smile. "Since your mom is tall." Her phone rang with her alarm then and she quickly turned it off before saying, "That's twenty minutes Eliza; let's go."
Relieved the toddler held onto Mary's neck as she carried her up a few stories until she could see her family in front of a store. "Mommy! Daddy! I'm sorry!" she said as soon as she was close to them.
"We know," Beckett said. "Are you ready to look at the books?" When the toddler looked ahead at the tomes on the shelves she smiled when she squealed a little and watched as Mary set her down. She wasn't surprised; Castle taking Eliza ahead of them; when the woman told her what she and Eliza had talked about. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome, she's an interesting girl," Mary said. "Sweet, very sweet."
Nodding Beckett then walked with her over to the others inside the store and they began to walk around with them.
Since there were some books in English Castle and Beckett got one together; about the last shogun; and they picked up a coloring book each for their daughters and Mari.
"I can get it?" Eliza asked in surprise as she nodded carefully to her father's question about wanting the book.
"Yeah this is good, it's the alphabet in Japanese so you'll learn," Castle said.
"Thank you Daddy," Eliza said earnestly, hugging him around the waist.
"You're very welcome and say that to your mom too," Castle told her after he'd hugged her with one arm. He smiled as he watched her go over to Beckett, hugging her too, before he then walked to the register to pay.
"What's next?" Julia asked since they had two bags at that point.
"One more store," Beckett said as they left the bookstore once Castle had finished. She smiled when she saw the surprise on the girls' and Mari's face and told them, "We have a section to go to do more shopping at besides this one."
"Ooh the dolls!" Eliza said excitedly. "But…" she then said, remembering her time out quickly.
"You can't get every doll you see," Castle told her seriously. "But at least one, maybe two we'll see."
"Thank you," Eliza said seriously before she went to her mother to be picked up.
"I don't know if you'll like this store sweetie," Beckett said as they walked after the others. "But we can look around."
"They might have colored pencils or art stuff," Marie said, having been near them and hearing that.
"We'll see," Beckett said as Eliza looked to her hopefully.
Seeing the stationery Julia said in excitement to Mari, "Now we can get Japanese paper to write to Erin on!" since her friend was writing to her cousin too.
"And to us too!" Kathleen said in mock irritation as they were standing with her twin at the paper sets in plastic pouches.
"And you too," Mari and Julia said at the same time before they started laughing together.
"You guys can get two packages each and two pens that are over there each," Skye told her daughters.
"Same for you two," Beckett said to Julia and Mari. "Can you watch them?" she asked her husband.
"Go," Castle replied with a nod.
As she was walking over to the art supplies Beckett smiled when her daughter snuggled close to her and she kissed her temple saying, "Are you tired sweetie?"
"No Mommy," Eliza said softly. "I'm a good girl," she said, looking up at her and hoping she'd think that.
"You are," Beckett said. "Not every second but most of them," she said before smiling at the smile her youngest gave her. "Now look at these," she told her, pointing to the colored pencils in tins. "Pick out one for yourself."
"What about Jules and Mari?" Eliza asked.
"We can buy them," Julia said, coming over then with her friend and Castle. "With our money."
"I'm assuming that's why you have three papers and three pens?" Beckett asked. "And how did you finish so fast?"
"We saw it really fast," Julia said before sharing a look with her friend before they started to laugh and then began to look at the pencils before they then looked around the store with Alexis while Castle and Beckett paid.
"Now we can go to the last place for today," Skye said as the group gathered together just outside the store once they'd finished. "Remember we're going to spend some time-"
"Swimming!" Julia, Eliza and Mari exclaimed with the twins before they laughed together as well.
"Right, so the last bit of shopping," Skye told them. "And then we can go to swim."
With that they left together, looking at the stores they passed but not stopping again until they were outside so they could catch cabs to head to the Higashiyama.
"Nice deal," Skye said to Beckett with a smile as they were leaving the lacquerware shop they'd gone into together as the others in their families were looking at a store with umbrellas.
"I think I have to thank you for that don't I?" Beckett said with a slight smile since the investigator had done the negotiating for her.
"Well it helped me get those chopstick holders we needed," Skye said. "So thank you as well."
"Let's not start exchanging those the rest of the day," Beckett replied. "By the way do you know any stores with-"
"He asked me already," Skye replied, smiling slightly. "In passing and in a whisper, you don't want him to get any?"
"No he's aware I'm okay with it… is it illegal?" Beckett asked though she had a feeling already what would be the answer to that.
"It's not and as soon as we leave here we're shipping your umbrellas and sword… and the other things you'll get besides your bowls and holders too," Skye said.
"Who said I was getting one?" Beckett asked.
"Who'll be buying it?" Skye replied before they reached the store.
"Did it go well?" Castle asked eagerly.
"Yes," Beckett said simply. "They wrapped everything up so I can't show you but I got a set of eight."
"In case Mari's over," Alexis said, having heard them.
"Or her and Dani when she's old enough to come over," Julia added.
"Did you buy already?" Beckett asked in surprise as Mary was coming over with the twins and Mari, holding a box.
"We didn't get one for you, like you asked," Castle told his wife seriously.
"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile. "What about you?"
"What, an umbrella?" Castle asked, smiling at their daughters and Mari who'd started to giggle. When his wife just raised her eyebrow slightly at him he then told her, "I saw it down the street."
Walking down the cobblestone street Beckett took a few quick pictures before she went into the store with her husband, letting the others go with the girls to a store with dolls next to them. "We'll meet you there it won't take us too long," she told Mary, Skye and Alexis. When they nodded she then followed Castle who had made a beeline for the wall of swords on display.
"Kate," Skye suddenly said, coming up from behind the woman. "Sorry, I forgot one of us needed to be here to translate," she said when her friend slightly jumped. She then looked over at Castle and asked, "Are you sure he won't take long?"
"Good question," Beckett said. "He has a katana blade already but these are obviously different." She watched as Skye asked what kind of swords were in front of them and the shop owner spoke rapidly.
"Rick?" Skye then said to him. When he didn't respond she nodded to Beckett who nudged him slightly in the side to get his attention that way.
"Huh?" Castle asked, turning to them.
"These are Guntō replicas," Skye told him. "They're real swords but only replicas so they're a bit less."
"Right… That one," Castle said nodding to the one about eye level with himself.
"You can take it," Skye said after speaking to the owner.
Watching him with the investigator and shop owner Beckett couldn't help smile at the way her husband held the sword in obvious awe. "Even though it's just a replica?" she asked him as he tested the sword to the owner's nod of approval.
Getting the sword back into its scabbard Castle said to Skye, "I'll take it." He then paid for it with paper yen and once it was wrapped up to be shipped later he answered his wife's question saying, "Even though it's a replica. Mainly because I'm aware there's no possible way I'll be able to get my hands on the real deal. And honestly it's just going to serve as decoration."
"Where will that go?" Skye asked them as they were walking together to the doll store next door.
"In our room," Beckett said, smiling at her husband. "Why do you think I told him to get the stand?"
"Thank you," Castle said earnestly, kissing her cheek.
"Just that one and the one I gave you on our honeymoon," Beckett told him before they shared a quick kiss.
"Got it," Castle said with a nod. They walked up to their daughters who were also with Mari and he said to them, "Everyone picked out a doll? Alexis I'm looking at you."
"I am getting one," the young woman said, smiling back at her father. "What do you think?" she asked, holding up the doll on her right hand by its base.
"It's beautiful," Beckett said as it was wearing several layers of kimonos in different colors and holding a fan. "What about the other?" she asked.
"I'm buying this for Erin," Alexis said, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Do you think it's too presumptuous of me to buy this for my boyfriend's sister?"
"I don't think so," Castle said before his wife could answer; since the question had been directed at her. He smiled when the others all looked at him in surprise and said, "If you come to love her brother then you might love Erin like a sister too…"
"I do," Alexis said, glancing at her little sisters.
"She told us that she spent time with Erin at the house," Mari said.
"It was like having us around again," Julia added.
"She'll love it," Beckett said in reassurance as the doll resembled a little girl in an outer green kimono with some white and red on the long sleeves. "And you three now need to make your pick, it's getting later."
"I like this one," Julia said, holding up a doll with a blue kimono that was patterned with cream colored flowers at the bottom.
"Good choice," Castle said, taking it from her. He studied it and said, "Wow, this is… impressively lifelike."
"They're called ichimatsu-ningyo," Alexis said. "According to Mary."
"She said they bought the dolls for Marie and Kathleen when they came here before," Julia said.
"They're getting different dolls," Mari said as she held up her doll which had on a black floral kimono.
"Nice and thank you for getting the smaller versions of the dolls," Beckett told them.
"They're easier to play with, according to them," Alexis said.
"Careful Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said. When her sister whispered to her she then said, "Carefully."
"Thank you for remembering," Beckett said with a smile and slight laugh. "Let me see what you picked out." Taking the doll the toddler held out she said, "You like this color?"
"Yeah it makes me smile," Eliza told her, doing so as she studied the brighter green color of it.
"You might want to let them get these," Alexis then said in a quieter tone of voice to her stepmother.
Looking over at the dolls near them Beckett saw they were made of wood and painted to appear like the ichimatsu dolls. "What are they?" she asked.
"'lexis said they call them kokeshi," Julia told her mother as she and Eliza had gone on either side of her to take her hands.
Castle was standing next to them and he said to his wife, "A set?"
Following his gaze down to their youngest Beckett saw that she was looking at the sets and individual dolls eagerly but wasn't saying anything. "This is it though," she told him.
"Of course," Castle said which made their daughters look to him. "Pick out one set you can have together."
"Oh, Mari…" Beckett said, looking to the little girl who at that moment was taking a set from the shelf.
"I'm gonna get it with my own money," Mari replied, smiling up at her. "For me and Dani to play with when she's older."
"Good idea," Castle said with a nod. He then turned his attention with her, Beckett and Alexis over to Julia and Eliza who were studying the dolls closely.
"This one?" Julia asked her little sister. When she nodded she took it and said, "We like this one."
Seeing that it had a samurai doll as well as dolls in kimonos Beckett said, "I'm assuming you'll be playing with this tonight."
"Yep," Julia said, beaming up at her before she and her sister giggled heavily together.
"You can play with us," Eliza then said to Mari as they were walking over to the register to pay.
"I wanted to," the little girl replied with a smile. "Are we gonna stop shopping now?"
"I think we should," Beckett said, since Castle had taken everything for them.
"But my set!" Mari said in protest and surprise.
"Give the money to Kate," he called back.
"You don't need to," Beckett said when Mari looked at her as she was holding the little girl's money for her; as well as her daughters'.
"Mommy will be mad," Mari replied easily as she watched Beckett take out some notes from the small wallet that held her money.
"I had a feeling," Beckett said, putting the change with the little girl's money and tucking the wallet back into her bag. "She counted what you had?" At Mari's nod she laughed slightly and then waited for Castle to rejoin them with the rest of the McDouglases.
"Are we ready to get everything shipped?" Skye asked them.
"We are," Castle said with a nod. "Dolls are staying with us though."
"The kokeshi," Beckett told them quickly.
"Then let's go and get those on the way to our homes before we head back to swim," Mary said as they were walking down the street.
The adults laughing at the kids cheering that news they walked them down the street so they could find some taxis yet again.