Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Humor

Rating: M for language, sexual situations and violence

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: The team I mention Stanford having does not exist, it just fit into my story so I'm calling artistic license with that.

A/N #2: Thank you so, so much yet again vetgirlmx for reviewing the last chapter, it's always a lot of fun to read what you think. And I am very glad to see that you liked the action in the chapter, so much so you were on the edge of your seat as you said; very nice to see that happened when you read! And I tried to write that bit of their reaction of realizing he'd hit a girl as you might see on the show, so was very happy to see you really thought I had that pretty well written, means a lot to read it. So again, thanks for taking time to let me know what you thought, I definitely appreciate it!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is the title of a song by George Harrison, from his album Somewhere in England.

All Those Years Ago

"How's your hand?" Castle asked as he held out the reins on Asturias as Beckett walked up to him on the path.

"Fine, I'm lucky I have next week to get this to heal," Beckett said as she took the reins. "I guess we're taking him back."

"Forgot to ask in all the… chaos, your head?" Castle said once they were walking down the path towards the stables.

"It's fine, to be honest I completely forgot about it," Beckett said. "Which is a relief, it means no concussion."

"So was she shot by our killer?" Castle asked, gesturing back with his head to the body of Cathleen de Alba which Lanie was looking at.

"She was, and Paula Gutierrez is our killer," Beckett said. "The gun Gutierrez had matched all the murders, and the wounds on her are tightly grouped exactly as the other victims were."

"You know, I was thinking about that number three while you were talking to Lanie, and something jogged my memory," Castle said.

"Anything you want to share Mr. Castle?" Beckett asked as he was quiet, putting his hands behind his back.

"Yeah," Castle said, smiling as he quickly put his hands in his coat pockets. "Remember how we were looking at the page on the Dos Lagos site in Spain?"

"I do," Beckett said.

"The crest," Castle replied.

"Crest?" Beckett echoed in confusion before she paused in mid-step and then stopped completely, looking at him. "There were three horses on it."

"And more disturbing, three swords," Castle said.

"We need to look into this family," Beckett said. "Though I'm thinking it was a fight between the brothers."

"You're right, but two against one," Ryan said, coming up the path towards them and hearing her. "Patrick and Cathleen's father and Megan's father argued with the Gutierrez twins' father over the stables way back in the sixties in Spain. According to Megan she said our first vic's father and the oldest brother; Peter de Alba; came over here in 1968 with his younger brother Patrick de Alba. But, her grandfather never changed his will to give his stables to the middle brother; one Juan de Alba; that stayed in Spain because he never trusted his own son; which was apparently a family secret."

"It's a messed up story," Esposito said as the three reached where he'd been standing on the path. "When their brother died, Peter and Patrick went back to Spain and told their father to give the stables instead to their cousin from their mother's side Carlos Palma."

"When was this?" Beckett asked absently.

"Mid 90s, Megan de Alba doesn't remember the time exactly," Ryan said.

"What are you thinking?" Castle asked, watching her.

"The grandfather wills his stables; famous stables, the search engine had a lot of mentions of Dos Lagos," Beckett said. "And that sets off Paula and Juan, who still have their de Alba last name. But that's a long space between that and the murders, what were they doing in that time?"

"According to their cousin, they came here to the US," Esposito said. "She said her grandfather actually had a line of people to inherit the stables, should they pass away before him."

"Let me guess, first the Palma cousin, then Patrick, Megan and last the Gutierrez twins?" Castle said.

"Close, just Paula," Ryan said. "But her brother would have lived on the farm, and shared in the profits with her, so it was a sweet deal."

"We can't figure out why Megan wasn't killed sooner though," Esposito said.

"Asturias," Beckett said simply, touching the muzzle of the horse next to her. "Paula wanted him; not just because it was her cousin's horse, but it would have brought a lot more money to the stables in Spain."

"And they needed Patrick de Alba's will to be found, thinking Megan would probably know," Castle said. "All of the theories we had about the stables and people to get them were just idle speculation."

"Then where is the will?" Ryan asked.

"Good question," Beckett said, walking again. "When you looked at his office, did you find anything there that might have been a clue as to where the will was?" she asked Esposito.

"No, and CSU didn't find anything at his apartment," Esposito replied. "There were a lot of papers though."

"Or he hid it, which; if I knew my cousins hated me which I think Patrick did; I would do the same myself," Beckett said.

"Speaking of horses," Esposito said. "The guys told the medics at the stables you rode this out of a burning barn?"

"And through flaming bales of hay?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, why?" Castle asked.

"Dude, since when can you ride a horse, or was it you and Castle was holding on to you for dear life?" Esposito asked Beckett, laughing with Ryan at the end.

"He had to convince me to get on the horse," Beckett said flatly so they'd know she wasn't joking. "And with this wound my control would have been more limited," as she held up her right hand which was sporting a large bandage that covered the cut. "So Castle was holding the reins. I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to do that, because this horse is not an easy one to control."

"You rode that without a saddle?" Ryan asked, motioning to the stallion's back.

"We didn't have time to get a saddle, so yes, we did," Castle said.

"Come on guys, people do ride bareback," Beckett said, crossing the street as she rolled her eyes when her fellow detectives winced at his answer.

"Not many men I bet," Esposito said in an undertone to Ryan.

"Oh thank god you're both alright," Megan said as Castle and Beckett walked up to her. "And they told me you got all the horses out."

"It wasn't a problem," Beckett said, handing the reins to her. "But why did he have a bridle on?"

"Because I was testing out a saddle on him," Megan said with a sigh. "The bank is telling me that unless I have money to buy the stables, they'll put it up for auction, and I was thinking of at least trying to buy Asturias."

"I think your cousin would want you have him," Castle said.

"I know, but without that will…" Megan said. She then grew somber and asked, "Is she dead? Cathleen?"

"Yes, I'm sorry," Beckett said.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for Detective," Megan said firmly. "Everything you've done for my cousin, for Patrick, and you as well Mr. Castle," she said, nodding to him. "I heard you actually rode Asturias into the park?"

"We couldn't get him to leave the barn, and it was the easiest way to get out of there ourselves," Castle said.

"Yes thank you so much for that," Megan said.

"Ms. de Alba," Beckett said as she followed the woman who was walking the stallion to one of the other stables. "Your cousins, Paula and Juan."

"Yeah, I had no idea who the other detectives were talking about when they said the name Gutierrez," Megan said. "After we lost touch with them during the '90s we never had much news about them, we never asked."

"What exactly was the reason for that," Castle asked. When Beckett nudged him in the ribs he said quickly, "Just… wondering," glancing at her.

"No, you'll want to understand why they did that," Megan said. "My abuelito's three sons grew up fairly close. Only the middle one, Juan was different from his brothers. He saw the horses as more property and as a means to earn money instead of as my grandfather, my uncle and father did. There was a kind of rift about the stables right before Tio Juan passed away, Abuelito decided not to leave them to Juan's children, but when my uncle was in that fatal accident… he changed his mind. Only he left it to Paula last, I don't think she and Juanito ever forgave him for that."

"So this was a mix of revenge on all of you, and getting the stables and Asturias," Beckett said with a nod. "That doesn't really surprise me, considering who else she killed." She then shook her head and said, "I hope you'll be able to find the will in time, because I don't really doubt your cousin would leave it to you."

"Thank you," Megan said, shaking her hand before shaking Castle's.

"Castle?" Beckett said when she turned and realized he wasn't following her. "What is it?" she asked as she walked back to him, seeing him staring at the ground.

"Ms. de Alba," Castle said, striding over to the woman to catch up with her as Beckett followed him. "You said your grandfather, was your cousin close to him?"

"Yes, we both were, Cathleen as well," Megan said. "Why?"

"Do you mind if I look at your brother's office?" Castle said. When Megan looked a little confused at first but then nodded he followed her before she handed Asturias' reins to a stable hand before they went into the office that was its own building.

Beckett watched as Castle glanced at the walls, and she followed his gaze before asking Megan, "Did your cousin have a wall safe?"

"He didn't," Castle answered before Megan could. He went to the desk then, and quickly saw what he was looking for, a framed picture of the first victim and an older man; who he assumed was the grandfather. "Do you mind?" he asked the young woman.

"No, go ahead," Megan said. "But why?"

Not answering, Castle opened the back of the picture once he had it in his hands, and smiled before turning it to the two women. "I think you'll find your cousin's will here," as Megan took the yellow post-it note inside that had an address written in thick black ink stuck on the back of the photograph.


"That was an interesting call," Beckett said as she walked out to the main room of her apartment, trying to juggle her phone with some other items.

"Who was it?" Castle asked.

"My father," Beckett said with a sigh. "I had to tell him what happened to me, I think he worried more than Julia will."

"Well, you're okay, I hope you stressed that," Castle said, taking everything out of her hands.

"It's not the first time I had to," Beckett said. "I think he was more worried I sustained a concussion in the accident. But I think I managed to convince him I'm fine. Let's hope this heals enough by Sunday that I don't need an obvious bandage," she commented as she sat on the couch with him and she started to clean her wound when Castle took the alcohol wipe out of her hand and took over for her.

"It should, but once you get to my place I think your dad will forget about this," Castle said, seeing her slightly wince at the sting of alcohol. "I'm planning a little party."

"That's nice of you," Beckett said.

"I got a call from Alexis before we left the Precinct," Castle said. "Apparently she's bringing Max to meet me."

"Really?" Beckett asked in surprise. "Any reason why?"

"He's a soccer fan," Castle said. "And of La Liga."

"Which team?" Beckett asked slowly.

"Madrid," Castle said. "Yeah, I warned Alexis before she told me that, he was going to be surrounded by Madrid fans. Luckily that worked out."

"Speaking of Spain, I'm really glad you thought of that picture," Beckett said as he finally put on the large band-aid after putting some ointment on the wound.

"I figured that since there was such a connection between their grandfather and the fact that he loved horses too, there would be some kind of hint as to where the will was in a picture of him," Castle said. "Wouldn't really be something anyone would think to look at."

"But at least Megan de Alba knows now that she's the owner of the stables, and Asturias too," Beckett said, opening and closing her hand to test how the band-aid moved. "I am glad her cousin gave them to her."

"I think that really was his only choice," Castle said. "Along with this Palma cousin getting the stables in Spain."

"Very true," Beckett said, picking up the things he'd used to dress her wound. "The way she was singing his praises makes me a lot more hopeful about the horses over there."

"And the horses we saw at the Lakes will be okay now," Castle said, guessing she was thinking about them.

"I know, but I plan on making a call to the stables over Totowa to check," Beckett said. "Even though it's far out of my jurisdiction."

"I don't think that would stop you," Castle called before he heard his phone shaking on the coffee table.

"Is that them?" Beckett asked, coming from her room to see him texting.

"It was, I'm playing a game," Castle said. "Quick question, how does my cheek look?"

"Fine, it's just a scrape," Beckett answered. "Why, do you think it'd worry Alexis?"

"No, but I don't want to scare Julia, she'll be worried enough seeing you," Castle said. "I mean, seeing the bandage and… there…" he said quickly, motioning to her forehead.

"Nice recovery," Beckett said sarcastically. "So the case is all wrapped up and we have next week. Going to go back to Hamptons Heat?"

"I probably should shouldn't I?" Castle said as Beckett went to the kitchen. "Maybe Monday and Wednesday, since I really don't need to get much for the meal."

"Remember what I told you about the yams," Beckett told him as she walked over with two glasses of white wine in her hands.

"I know, that doesn't hurt?" Castle said quickly, taking the glass from her right hand.

"A glass is not the same shape as a gun," Beckett said. "Nor was I holding it as tightly as the gun earlier." She sat down next to him on the couch and said, "Did Alexis mention how Julia was when you talked to her?"

"Not really," Castle replied. "She was more interested in talking about Max and Sunday."

"I don't blame her," Beckett said with a slight smile. "All this time and she's finally introducing him to you. Is there another reason besides the fact that we're watching the game that he's going to your place?"

"Well, when I told her what we were going to do when she called," Castle commented. "By the way, she thought it was a good idea to invite Ryan and Esposito to see the game."

"Of course, but why they still wanted to go to a bar I don't understand," Beckett said. "They could easily break their tradition for the Clásico."

"Their loss," Castle said. "But back to Alexis, after I told her it was fine for him to come over; you know, a more the merrier type of thing; I asked why now. And she said it was because it wasn't going to just be the four of us watching the game."

"Because I'm going to be there?" Beckett asked in slight surprise.

"No, well, partially," Castle said. "I think." When she just looked at him in confusion he said, "She mentioned Julia being a kind of… buffer in case I didn't get along with him."

"To keep you from what, getting into a fight with him in front of a child?" Beckett said. When he shrugged she laughed slightly and said, "I think I could stop you."

"That's why I said partially, she knows you wouldn't let me do anything," Castle said. There was a knock on the door then, and he squeezed her arm before getting up to answer it. "Hey Julia," he said with a smile as he opened the door.

"Hi," Julia said eagerly, stepping inside. "Where's my mommy?"

"Right here sweetie," Beckett said, stepping up behind him then. She smiled as Julia ran to her and she picked her up, being careful to use her left hand more to lift her up in her arms. She hugged her daughter tightly, kissing the side of her head as Julia's arms wrapped tightly around her neck and she pressed her face to her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Julia said as she pulled back. Her attention suddenly turned to the butterfly stitches on Beckett's forehead and said, "What's that?"

"I got a small cut today," Beckett said, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could make it as she went over to the couch, Castle and Alexis following her. "I was in a little accident in my car."

"Does it hurt?" Julia asked, still looking up.

"I'm fine," Beckett said soothingly as she could hear the anxiety creeping into her daughter's tone. She gently took her chin in her hand and made her look down into her eyes.

"Did you get another one too?" Julia asked, looking down at her mother's hand, having felt the bandage against her skin.

"I did, but that happened later," Beckett said, wanting to take the easy route and blame the wound on her hand on the accident as well. "But I'm okay."

"She is," Castle said reassuringly, sitting on the other end of the couch as he waited to see how Julia would be.

"You got an ouchie too," Julia said, pointing to his cheek briefly.

"I did, but I'm okay, I completely forgot about it," Castle said, nodding quickly to Alexis who had looked at him questioningly. "So how was school and ballet for you today?"

"Speaking of that, sweetie why are you still in your practice clothes?" Beckett asked. She smiled when Julia giggled and buried her face in her shoulder.

"I really tried to get her changed when I picked her up," Alexis said. "But I was lucky just to get her into her school shoes."

"It's okay, I know how stubborn she can be," Beckett said, setting Julia on the floor before she stood. "Your dad ordered Thai," she said to Alexis. "You're welcome to stay."

"You'll need to, I ordered enough for four," Castle commented.

"What if she has a class?" Beckett said.

"I have a study session the professor of my history class offered, but it's later, at seven," Alexis said quickly. "So I'll stay." She waved at Julia when the little girl waved back at her, and when they were alone she quickly turned to her father. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Castle said. "It's just a scrape."

"Still, that's not from the car accident," Alexis said. "Which Gram told me about."

"Sorry, I was busy with our case," Castle said. "But I wasn't hurt then."

"What exactly happened Dad?" Alexis asked.

"I'll tell you later," Castle said quickly as they both heard Julia giggling from her room. "How's she doing?"

"Fine, and Beckett?" Alexis said.

"She's fine," Castle said quickly, keeping his eyes on the door to the bedrooms in case Julia ran out. "The one on her head from the accident bled a lot at first, but she didn't need stitches."

"And her hand?" Alexis said. But before her father could answer, Julia ran out, dressed in a long sleeved shirt and jeans. She smiled as the little girl jumped up on the couch next to Castle and she told her, "You have to show your mom what you made for her today."

"Oh! I forgot," Julia exclaimed. She climbed down from the couch and ran to where her backpack was in the entry. She was digging around inside of it when there was a knock, and she let out a little squeak before running back into the main room.

"That's just the dinner," Beckett said, coming out from the bedrooms. She started to walk towards the door when Castle reached it before her. "Come on sweetie," she said to her daughter as Castle paid for the meal. "We can set the table."

"I can help Julia with that," Alexis said easily as she was already starting to walk to the kitchen.

"You're not treating me as an invalid are you?" Beckett asked Castle.

"Of course not," he replied as they started to unpack the various containers of food. "But don't be surprised if you get stuck with the dishes after."

"I was actually expecting that, so no, I'm not," Beckett said easily with a smile.

"I'm kidding, I'll pitch in," Castle said. "Should we tell them about riding through Central Park… later, after we eat?" he said in a low voice to her as they watched their daughters setting the table.

"I think I'm going to need to at least," Beckett said. "I'm sure someone from the school or class will find out about it."

"It's times like that I'm glad you're very short and precise with the media," Castle said, remembering the camera crews and journalists who had gathered around the stables after he and Beckett had managed to get the Gutierrez sister in a squad car and sent to the Precinct.

"I'm surprised at that," Beckett said. "I thought you'd want to have that attention."

"Not for that exactly," Castle said slowly. When Beckett leaned against the counter, looking at him for an explanation he thought for a moment and said, "It would be a little insulting to everyone who was… killed," glancing over at Julia. "So out of respect to at least our first vic and Victoria Alvarez, I'm glad we didn't really discuss what happened. But hey, I'm sure we'll still get a mention."

"And there you are," Beckett said, rolling her eyes at his last sentence. "I was wondering when you'd come back. But still, I'm just glad it's over."

"What Mommy?" Julia asked, stepping up to them then without either one of them seeing her.

"Just that work is done, and I have next week off to take you to school," Beckett said.

"Do you stay at school with me?" Julia asked eagerly.

"No, I can't do that," Beckett said. "But I can go watch you practice."

"Will you?" Julia said happily as she watched her mother, Castle and Alexis taking the food containers to the table.

"Definitely," Beckett reassured her. "And we'll go see a movie on Wednesday night. You two are invited, Martha too," she said, directing the last to Castle and Alexis while they sat.

"I have a party," Alexis said with a slight smile. "A Thanksgiving party a girl two doors down is holding at her place. I'll be heading out with Max, and taking Diana too before she flies back to San Francisco for the holidays."

"Who is Max?" Julia asked as her mother served her some food.

"My boyfriend, remember I told you about him, and how he's going to come watch the game with us on Sunday?" Alexis answered, wondering why the little girl suddenly went wide eyed.

"Oh, he doesn't dance?" Julia asked with disappointment in her tone.

"M-A-X, not M-A-K-S," Beckett said, trying to fight her laughter at her daughter's disappointment.

"Too bad, that would be interesting," Alexis said, laughing slightly. "He wants to meet you though."

"Why?" Julia said.

"I've told him a lot about you, all my friends too at my dorm, they want to meet you," Alexis said.

"But I don't do anything," Julia said shyly, twirling her fork in her noodles.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett said, taking her fork and getting some onto the silverware for her. "Eat okay?"

"They want to meet you because they know you're my friend too," Alexis said gently. "Well, besides Diana, since you met her on Halloween, remember?"

"Y-" Julia started to say, her mouth full, before she looked at her mother with wide eyes and then started to nod.

"Do you still want to take her to your dorm?" Castle asked his daughter.

"I would like to," Alexis said. "But that's up to you," she said to Beckett.

Thinking for a moment, Beckett then said, "I think next month would work out, since we're almost into December anyways." Looking at her daughter she asked, "Would you like to go and see where Alexis is living while she's going to school?"

"Can I?" Julia asked eagerly. When her mother nodded she squirmed in her chair and asked, "When?"

"Next month, one Saturday I'll take you and she can introduce you to her friends," Beckett said.

"Great, I know the girls on my floor will think she's adorable," Alexis said. "They already do since they've seen some of the pictures on my phone from last month."

"Will you give her a campus tour?" Castle asked.

"If it's too cold she'll take a rain check," Beckett said quickly. "But if the weather's nice that would be interesting."

"Can I go to school with you?" Julia said, having been listening to their conversation as she'd eaten.

"No, but you can see it, that's almost as good," Alexis said. "But," she said as Julia looked slightly disappointed. "You'll be able to meet my friend Michelle, she's a dancer."

Beckett wasn't too surprised when Julia perked up at that, and immediately started to pepper Alexis with questions about her friend. She had to remind her daughter a few times to finish eating, but she was glad to see that Julia seemed to be alright after what had happened the day before.

When Julia had finally run out of questions, Castle asked Beckett, "What are you planning on doing tomorrow?"

"Sleeping in, unless you wanted to do something?" she replied, knowing he was planning on spending the night with her again. "I was thinking," Beckett then said as she finished her glass of wine. "Of taking Julia to the park, the playground for a little."

"Oh thank you, that reminds me of something," Alexis said before she jumped up and went to where her phone was on the kitchen counter. "I heard from Gram about how you two went to the park today yourselves."

"You did, did you go to the playground?" Julia asked Castle.

"Not really," Castle said, glancing at Beckett.

"They were riding a horse," Alexis said quickly. "Into the park and some people filmed it. Did you know about that?"

"Believe me, Captain Gates didn't let me go unaware of the fact," Castle said.

"She brought us into her office once we were back at the station," Beckett said as Julia came over to her after hopping down from her chair. "And you wouldn't believe how mad she was at your dad for our escape."

"Escape?" Alexis asked.

"It's a long story," Beckett said as she glanced down at her daughter pointedly while she let Julia play with her fingers as a distraction.

"Sure," Alexis said, laughing a little nervously as she smiled at Julia when the little girl looked up at her. "But a friend of mine in my Psych class said there were different videos of you riding into the park."

"Yeah, that's what Gates was so angry about," Castle groaned as he covered his eyes with his hand, remembering the Captain's angry words about his decision to leave the stable on Asturias making the Precinct look foolish.

"I reminded her though there wasn't much choice," Beckett said quickly. "And in the end she let up since we solved our case."

"You rode a horse Mommy?" Julia asked, tugging on Beckett's blouse.

"We did," Beckett replied, hugging her tightly before kissing her forehead.

"Here watch," Alexis said, handing her phone to the little girl.

"I don't think…" Beckett began to say before the clip began on the phone. She half watched it, a little embarrassed to see herself clinging desperately to Castle as she looked behind them.

"I have to say, we look pretty good on that horse," Castle said, standing behind Beckett before she socked his hip. "Ow, what? That's a compliment to you Kate."

"It's a pretty horsie," Julia said. She then turned to her mother and asked eagerly, "Was it fun? Are you going to ride again? Can I go too?" her questions nearly running into each other she was speaking so fast.

"Okay, first sweetie, we needed to ride that horse to save it," Beckett said, calming her down. "The stable where it was, was going to burn down so we had to ride it out of there."

"Is the horsie okay?" Julia asked. "Does it have a name?" she asked before her mother could speak.

"Asturias," Castle said. When Julia looked confused he said, "It's a place in Spain."

"Where they play soccer?" Julia asked.

"Where they're going to play the game on Sunday, yes," Beckett replied.

"Asturias," Julia said slowly, thoughtfully. "It's pretty. Can I ride it?"

"Maybe when you're older," Beckett said. "Right now go ahead and wash your hands, you got sauce all over them."

"So what really happened?" Alexis asked once the little girl was out of sight.

Castle quickly explained what had happened once he and Beckett had arrived at Central Park and why they had ended up on horseback in the park. "So the fact that we got a serial killer saved me from a more… harsher berating than I got from Gates."

"Sounds like it," Alexis said. "But Julia's right, I can understand why people would want that horse," she said as she helped Beckett clear the table. "It's beautiful. But Dad, since when could you ride a horse? Let alone control it… let alone ride bareback."

Before Castle could answer that, Julia rushed back out and ran to her backpack which was on the couch. "She had something for you," he said to Beckett as they all watched the little girl.

"This Mommy," Julia said eagerly, running over to the kitchen.

"Thank you sweetie," Beckett said, picking her up as her daughter showed her the drawing. "Tell me about it while I get everything clean okay?"

While she sat on the counter next to the sink, Julia eagerly explained her drawing before she gave it to Castle to put up on the fridge at Beckett's direction. It was at that point that Alexis started getting ready to leave for her class and the little girl asked her mother to put her down before she ran over to the young woman. "Do you have to go?" she asked, grabbing onto the hem of Alexis' coat.

"I do, I need to be there for this session, we're having a test next week and I need to know what's going to be on it," Alexis said, kneeling down once she had her scarf and gloves on. "But I will see you on Sunday at my home, I promise."

"Kay," Julia said, hugging her around the neck. "Thank you for bringing me home."

"You're welcome," Alexis said. "Don't forget to tell your mom about the new move you learned in ballet class."

"Thanks Alexis," Beckett said. "You'll have next week off from picking her up, but I know Julia will miss you."

"Me too, see you Sunday," Alexis said before Beckett took her daughter's hand and they left the entry. "I'll see you probably Sunday too Dad," she said as she picked up her bag.

"I look forward to meeting Max," Castle said before he hugged her.

"I am too, but please don't do anything crazy," Alexis said.

"I'll make sure he doesn't," Beckett called as she could hear them. "And you told your grandmother as well right?"

"I did," Alexis said, glancing at her father out of the corner of her eye.

"Okay, I'll keep things normal, nothing crazy," Castle said. "You never let me have any fun."

"Dad, you have a bad habit of doing strange things before meeting my boyfriends," Alexis said. "And Julia's going to be there."

"That's the main reason I won't be doing anything creepy," Castle said. When Alexis started to speak he quickly said, "I'm kidding, I don't want to embarrass you, but also, she doesn't need to be scared," both of them looking at Julia who was leaning against her mother's side as they talked to each other quietly.

"Thank you," Alexis said. "I'll come early Sunday, do you need any help?"

"Not really, come whenever you want to," Castle said. "Have fun up until I see you."

"Thanks Dad, bye," Alexis said before she left, waving to Julia who was watching her go.

Castle closed the door after his daughter had left and locked it before he turned to Beckett and Julia. "Any plans now?" he asked.

"Since it's Friday, we can watch a movie," Beckett said, directing her words to her daughter. "But I want to get you ready so you can go to bed as soon as we're done okay?"

"Kay," Julia said. "Does that mean I have to take a bath?" she then asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes," Beckett said firmly. "Just a quick one okay. Go and pick out a movie." She watched Castle go over to the rooms then, knowing he was going to change as he knew what she and Julia did when they were at home Friday nights. She then looked on as Julia went through the small collection of DVDs they had and when she picked out two she said teasingly, "I only said one sweetie."

"I know Mommy, but I can't pick," Julia said, showing them to her mother.

"We watched Ice Age not too long ago, but it's been a while since we saw Yellow Submarine," Beckett said, looking at the choices. "So why don't we watch that?"

Julia nodded eagerly, but then looked thoughtful and said, "Does Castle want to see too?"

"See what?" Castle asked, coming out then.

"I picked Yellow Submarine," Julia said, running to him and holding onto the pocket of his robe. "Do you want to watch?"

"I'd love to, never got to watch that one before," Castle said, leading her back to the couch to sit down next to her mother.

"It's funny, Paul is in it, he's a cartoon!" Julia giggled.

"Why don't we go now sweetie, before you tell Castle about the whole movie and he won't need to see it?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded she made her daughter set the movie down before she stood up and took her hand, leading her to her room.

Looking at the case for the movie, Castle then got his tablet which he'd left there the last time he'd stayed over. He looked up from the screen when Julia ran out to him ten minutes later and jumped up on the couch next to him. "Ready to go?" he asked, letting her climb up onto his lap. "Where are your slippers?" he asked, seeing that her feet were bare under her pajama pants.

"They're here," Beckett said, coming out then. "She ran away before I could get them on." She smiled as Castle chuckled when Julia covered her face with his hand. "I'm going to change because someone was a little too exuberant in the bath," she said once she got the slippers on her daughter's feet.

"Can see that," Castle said, glancing at her wet blouse appreciatively.

"I'll be back," Beckett said, a little sharply to get his attention. She then said, "If you two are going to play a game, let it be at least a little educational."

"What do we play?" Julia asked, having been looking at the screen of the tablet while the two were talking.

"How about this one, Cut the Rope, Alexis showed it to me, and I can't stop playing it," Castle said, tapping an icon to get to his games. He touched another and said, "This game you need to feed the monster."

"It's cute," Julia giggled as she looked at the little monster on a shelf. "What do I do?"

"You need to cut the ropes to get the candy down to him," Castle said, showing her how to do it. "And you have to make sure that he eats it."

Julia clapped lightly when the monster was fed and said readily, "Can I play now?"

"Go ahead," Castle said. "But let me show you how you cut it before you do it by yourself." He held her hand and made sure her finger slid across the screen, and watched as she did it a second time herself before she squealed in joy as the monster on the screen ate the candy.

When she had finished changing, Beckett walked out to the doorway but stopped when she heard her daughter say, "I didn't feed him, now he's hungry," sounding a little sad.

"That's okay," Castle said, unaware they had an audience. "You can try again. Let me help you, I had a hard time the first time I did this level."

"Sounds like an educational game," Beckett said to get their attention as she walked into the room.

"It's fun Mommy!" Julia said eagerly. "I have to feed a little monster candy!"

"Keep playing," Beckett said as she went to the kitchen. "I was going to make some coffee Castle, and popcorn."

"Coffee for her?" Castle joked. "She'll never go to sleep."

"Can I?" Julia asked, distracted from the game at that.

"No, I'm making you hot chocolate," Beckett said as she shot a look at Castle.

"Why can't I have coffee?" Julia asked Castle, looking up at him.

"I don't think your mom wants you to drink it because if you do, you're going to stay this short, even when you're an adult," Castle said, taking over the game for her. He quickly finished the level they were on before he looked at Julia and seeing her doubtful expression he laughed slightly saying, "I'm serious."

"He is," Beckett said, bringing over three mugs. "Now you can start the movie," she told Julia.

"We'll play more tomorrow," Castle said as Julia looked a little torn.

"Thank you!" Julia said eagerly before he helped her get down.

When the movie started to play, Julia was sitting on her mother's lap, Beckett leaning against Castle so they could see the TV. She kissed her daughter's hair as the little girl giggled at the first appearance of Ringo.

"Are you sure this is a good movie for her to watch?" Castle asked in surprise when different objects suddenly flew across a hallway. "It's like watching a trip."

"Better than the end of Magical Mystery Tour," Beckett said in a low voice. "Remember?"

"Can't forget that," Castle said, nodding. "And you make a valid point, but the whole movie itself is pretty…"

"I know," Beckett said with a slight laugh before Julia suddenly jumped up and down on her lap. "Sweetie-" she started to say, trying to get her to stop.

"It's Paul!" Julia said eagerly.

"Took him a while to get here," Castle said as he smiled at Julia's rapt expression.

"She's pretty much out," Beckett said, waving her hand with a smile. "She will be unless you get her attention more directly," she said as he handed her Julia's mug. "Drink," she told the little girl as she put the cup in front of her.

Castle watched with a slight smile on his face as he watched Beckett's daughter watching the rest of the movie, mouthing the songs that played, and giggling at various moments. When he thought the movie was over, he was a little startled when Julia suddenly squealed, but got the answer as to why she had done that, as the four actual Beatles appeared on the screen.

"I think this is her favorite part out of the whole movie," Beckett said in an aside to Castle as the song All Together Now played and Julia sang along.

"I don't blame her," Castle said as Beckett stopped the movie.

"Mommy, can we watch another?" Julia asked eagerly as she turned to look at her mother.

"Tomorrow we can try," Beckett said. "Julia," she said in a slightly warning tone of voice when her daughter started to protest. She smiled when she slumped against her, and stood up, holding the little girl on her hip. "You need to get some sleep."

"But I'm not sleepy," Julia said, even as she started to yawn widely.

"Your mom's right though, you're not going to be able to play tomorrow if you're tired," Castle said, walking behind her.

"Kay," Julia said, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother's neck. When Beckett walked by her aquarium she asked, "Is Kauai okay?"

"He's fine," Castle told her as Beckett stopped. "Goodnight Julia," he said as she turned to face him.

"Night Castle, did you like the movie?" Julia asked before she kissed his cheek noisily.

"I did actually, you'll have to let me watch it again with you," Castle said as he watched Beckett lay her daughter in her bed and started to tuck her in warmly.

"Good I want to watch it too Mommy, again," Julia said, holding her Stitch doll.

"We will," Beckett promised. "For now go to sleep please sweetie," she said as she stroked her hair.

"I will," Julia said before she yawned again. "Night Mommy, I love you," she then said sleepily.

"I love you too Julia, good night," Beckett said. She leaned over and shared a kiss with Julia before kissing her forehead. She went to where Castle was standing in the doorway and watched her daughter as she rolled onto her side before sighing and closing her eyes. She followed him then, closing the door behind her, out to the kitchen where they got another cup of coffee.

"I was wondering," Castle said once they were sitting on the couch. "Are you going to take Megan de Alba up on her offer?"

"To ride there for free?" Beckett asked.

"To ride Asturias," Castle corrected her.

Beckett smiled slightly and said, "I think I know where you're going with this," standing up.

"Where are you going?" Castle asked in surprise. He watched her disappear into her room and hesitated slightly, not sure if she wanted him to follow, before she returned with something in her hand. "A photo album?" he asked when she handed it to him and sat down next to him.

"Open it," Beckett urged him, watching him closely.

When he looked at the first page Castle looked up at her and said, "I knew you rode horses before. How old are you here?"

"Three," Beckett said, looking down at the picture of her sitting in front of her mother on a horse. "She loved horses, she always used to tell me how when she was young that she would ask constantly, not just for Christmas, but whenever she could, for a horse from her parents."

"She never got one though," Castle said.

"No, but when she was in college she had a friend whose family had stables here in the city," Beckett said. "She rode then and I remember when I was little watching her ride in a corral before she would take me through the stables to feed the horses some apples or carrots. She was happy, very happy doing that I remember pretty well. She was comfortable around horses; always; even when she was dealing with one that was a little harder to handle, she had a way with them that I always admired greatly."

"You're the same way. She introduced you to riding?" Castle asked, looking through the next page of pictures that were of Beckett, around eight, riding a pony.

"Sort of," she replied, looking down at the pictures. "I've always loved horses remember, and when I was about seven, a friend of mine in our building was starting to learn how to ride professionally. She would tell me about the different terms and I was fascinated by what she learned and because it dealt with horses. I told my parents I wanted to learn too, and amazingly they agreed, though my dad was a little unsure."

"Why?" Castle asked.

"He knew I loved horses of course and that I was taking after my mom in wanting to ride," Beckett said with a smile. "But he worried about me being injured, but I insisted I would be careful and I wanted to do it badly. So in the end he agreed after my mom talked with him. About how it would help my self-esteem, it was good exercise, that sort of argument."

"How long were you involved in it?" Castle said. "This hasn't come up in conversations we've had about you when you were a teenager."

"Yeah, I only did it until I was about twelve," Beckett said. "I don't remember why I stopped exactly, something about the amount of money it cost… Something like that."

"But you got back into it," Castle said in surprise when she stopped talking and he turned a few more pages in the silence. He had come across a picture of her, around eighteen, riding a horse in what he recognized were equestrian riding boots and casual clothing. "I knew you had those. You don't happen to still own them do you? Or the pants?"

"No," Beckett said simply. "That's when I was in my first semester at Stanford."

"They have an equestrian team don't they?" Castle said.

"I decided, just on a whim really, because I was desperately homesick at first, to try out for it though it had been six years since I'd ridden in any kid of professional capacity," Beckett replied. "I still rode once in a while; my mom and I would go to Central Park or outside the city but less as I got older and especially after I got that Harley. Which I kind of regret now that I'm older and look back."

"I'm sure she understood," Castle said as he saw that remorse in her expression.

"She did, and I never stopped wanting to ride, just things in my life took over," Beckett said. "At Stanford I realized I could take a chance and ride again. Because really, at the end of the day that was what I loved to do."

"You made it on the team," Castle stated.

Beckett gestured to the photo album and she smiled when his eyes widened saying, "That was the first competition I participated in with the team."

"How did you do?" Castle asked, seeing Beckett dressed in a formal dressage uniform in one picture.

"I was best at cross country," Beckett replied as he turned the page. "Which is this picture. Managed to get second place which made my parents pretty proud, I was especially happy I did that well since they had come out to California to watch me."

"Did they ever say anything about your riding?" Castle said as he turned the page.

"No, they were fine with it since they knew I wouldn't let it become a distraction from my classes," Beckett said.

"How long were you riding with the team," Castle said, looking up from the book. "And a follow up question, you know how to do those steps?"

"You mean dressage? That's the outfit with the sort of top hat," Beckett said, flipping the book back to that page. "Always hated wearing that, but it's standard wear. But I do know the different steps. And as for your first question, I rode only the first half of the season."

"Why only that?" Castle said.

"Turn the page again," Beckett said.

"Whoa, is that the coach for the team?" Castle said, seeing the page was one of a row of women, a man standing in the middle of them.

"For the women on the team," Beckett said.

"He's… he's got that smarmy git look on his face," Castle said, waving his hand in front of his face. He looked at Beckett and saw she was looking at him in surprise. "You've never heard the term?"

"No, I have," Beckett said. "I wasn't expecting it to come out of your mouth though. But you notice the other women on the team."

"They're all blonde? Expect for you and the girl on the other side," Castle said before he trailed off. "Really? He didn't even bother to try and put you two somewhere else in the line to make it less obvious?"

"No, and the reason was because those blonde women all slept with him at one point," Beckett said.

"He didn't try to ask you did he?" Castle said, turning to look at her quickly.

"No, but my friend on the team," Beckett said, pointing to the woman on the other side. "May, she and I were worried he'd hit on us. Luckily he didn't, but it was something that concerned us."

"He didn't give them preferential treatment did he?" Castle asked slowly then as he looked down at the picture again before he turned the page.

"He did," Beckett sighed. "There was an Andalusian stallion there at the stables the team used, and I wanted to ride it badly, it was a stunning horse. I even got the courage to ask him if I could but, I never was given it during practices or competitions. Eventually May and I got so tired of that happening over and over for different things, that we left the team. Was poetic justice though, one of the two women who replaced us got pregnant by him and he was finished."

"You couldn't talk to someone about him?" Castle asked.

"Not really, he had a connection everywhere, the Dean was married to his sister," Beckett said. "But I never lost my love of riding horses even with all of that."

"Of course not," Castle said. "Did you ride much after though?"

"Not really, things… didn't work out for me to have the time to do that," Beckett said, sounding a little rueful. "Actually, today was the first time I've been on a horse in years. If we hadn't been running for our lives, it would have been great."

"Sure, but if we do that again next time," Castle said, setting down his empty mug. "Let's do that with a saddle at the very least."

"You're probably going to be very sore tomorrow," Beckett said.

"And not you?" Castle asked.

"I'm used to it," Beckett replied easily. "But the best thing for bowed legs is about an hour in the tub."

"Are you speaking from experience," Castle said.

"Yes, but at eight, I was able to recover pretty quickly," Beckett said. "What?" she asked when he started to look thoughtful.

"Out of the three events there are," Castle began. "Which one did you like the best?"

"Cross country," Beckett said. "But it wasn't so much that I enjoyed equestrian events, I preferred more to just ride. Every chance I could get at Stanford I went out with May to ride." She smiled to herself in remembrance, and then said, looking up at Castle with her chin in her hand, "But we would more often than not split up, and I would take off, always preferred riding as fast as I could. If you've never gone riding, there's something so freeing about that. Especially if you're doing it out in the middle of nowhere, nothing but the wind blowing against you and you and your horse riding towards the horizon but never really reaching that end. I wish I hadn't stopped actually." She shook her head then after a moment and looked at Castle, seeing the small smile on his face. "Anyways-" she started to say, growing somber.

"No, that's how a lot of people have described riding a horse to me," Castle said, interrupting her.

"Why would you be talking to people about that," Beckett asked. "A story line?"

"It was a possible one," Castle said, turning to her. "I was going to have Derek Storm find a coven of drug dealers hiding behind a horse breeding farm for the mob. I tried for a while to learn about the nuances of horse racing, but it never really appealed to me. I did interview some jockeys while I was developing the story at first; they told me a similar thing you did about riding."

"I thought the ponies would come in at some point," Beckett said. "But they were talking about racing, I've never raced."

"Granted, the circumstances were different, but I imagine the feeling is the same," Castle said. "So," he said then, growing serious. "If you had those Windsor boots, and could ride Asturias, would you do so?"

"And had the time? Sure, I'd love to," Beckett said. "But my free time is limited as are my funds, especially for those boots."

"You weren't kidding though when you were talking about them though," Castle pointed out. "And that was a shock actually; it stood out in my mind because they do not have heels."

Beckett shook her head and said, "They're amazing boots, but really, I guess I could just take Julia one day, show her the horses." She looked a little thoughtful and said, "Maybe I can see how young Julia can be to start learning to ride there."

Castle opened his mouth to speak, but then hesitated as he watched her get up and take their mugs. He watched her for a moment before grabbing his phone and started to work on one of the apps he had.

"Text?" Beckett asked as she came back to him, sitting on the couch again.

"Huh? Oh, no, just, checking something out," Castle said. He looked at her for a moment before saying, "How's the head?"

"The head is fine, no headaches which was a relief," Beckett said, watching as Castle pushed aside her hair from the butterfly stitches. "Something I can help you with?" she asked as he leaned in towards her. "Or was that just an excuse?"

"Not really… okay, maybe, but it was for a good cause," Castle said, not surprised she'd seen through his ruse.

"You-" Beckett started to say before he kissed her. She didn't react, as she'd been expecting it, instead she cupped his face before she pulled back slowly. She smiled when he leaned toward her to kiss her again, but she held him in place and barely brushed her lips across his before she quickly stood up.

A little shocked for a moment at her sudden departure; Castle cleared his throat and got up in a hurry, rushing to the door. Disappearing into Beckett's room, she pushed the door closed and locked it behind him as he grabbed her around the waist, kissing her harder than before while his hands slipped under her shirt to touch her bare back.

Pressing against the front of Castle's body as he was leaning against the door, Beckett only did that for a moment before she pulled away. She slid from his grasp, and went to her bed feeling him behind her, his arm sliding firmly around her, his hand grasping her stomach before she turned and they let themselves fall on the bed, lips locked together tightly as they clung to one another before her back ever hit the comforter.