Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: It was great to receive the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me go ahead and get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I'm really happy to read that you thought it was good writing with everyone concerned about Beckett. And of course, I'm pleased you thought it was very good writing for the love scene at the end of the chapter. But I'm really glad that you always like the flashbacks I write too!),
Mb (Thanks for still reviewing the chapter before the last, so I want to reply to it here. I am happy of course to read that you thought that chapter was a great transition once, that was what I wanted to do with it since I wanted to show the girls after what had happened at to school. I'm not surprised that you though it would make sense Mari would be worried about Julia and needing to go over to her house as soon as possible since of course Julia is her best friend as you mentioned, and she wanted to check that she was okay. Interesting to see you see Julia and Mari at the stage in between calling their mother's mommy. But you're right, with them getting closer to 13 they would get to that point where they want to seem more grown up as you said. And that bit about daddy and mommy is interesting too, lol. Great to see that you loved how Eliza stayed with Jim while Julia and Mari were together, to play with him and keep him company. Not surprised you laughed at Julia sneaking to look at her parents' books as well as the last Nikki Heat book. And really, her reading the dedication and wanting to read more was just curiosity since she's getting older. And don't worry, I know people can get busy with both life and work so it's nice to see you replying still though there's the newer chapter. I'm not surprised you mentioned how the second half was focused on Castle and Beckett. And I laughed a bit seeing you mentioning it was them working on the case and doing their thinking when they build theory. Also, no surprise your impression of those agents is still low, and you make a good point it's not good if they're holding back on information because they don't like Castle and Beckett investigating. Great that you love Beckett is having dreams of their past life, and that you could so see them having the same memories. And not surprised you think a book from that time would be so them, I thought the same thing too! With you mentioning the bomber staging scenes for the two it's no surprised you think they're scary intelligent in how they're killing and then covering up the crime, that's what I was aiming for of course. And you're very welcome for sharing both chapters!),
Mb (Great reading that you thought the chapter was a very nice one with them together and getting back to their normal routine for the rest of the day. I was happy that you were glad that Mari was there. And yeah, with everything that happened, what could have happened, and their concern for Julia it would stand to reason that they would forget Mari, so not surprised you thought it was understandable. Nice that you're glad they have the dogs for companionship and protectors for all of them, not just the kids. Interesting to see that you're not sure how you feel about Julia blocking Beckett sensing both the bombing and the nightmare. And not surprised that you think it'll worry Beckett, but there is a reason Julia's doing that. Really pleased reading that you love how I'm able to show them working the case but also their lives too. Lol, to be honest I missed out on seeing their normal lives on the show, so I love writing that out along with the cases, have a nice balance of that. And you're welcome for sharing that first half! Nice reading that you thought the second half was wonderfully written. And great you love the flashbacks since the one in that half filled in how they became a family and how Julia came to stop being afraid of Castle. And I don't really have the idea that Julia would be affected by what her birth mother told her about men because Beckett's been raising her for a lot longer by now. I'm really happy that you thought the scenes with Castle and Beckett being sexy together and making love were beautiful moments. I do try my best with that so to see you enjoyed it that much was great! You're very welcome too for sharing the second half as well!) and
vetgirlmx (Very nice seeing you loved this chapter of course! And great you're loving when Julia tells her stories since you make a good point, interesting to see her side of the story. Really glad you liked that she was sharing it with Mari this time. Not surprised you thought it was a good thing that Mari was there to help Julia with her nightmare. Also, wasn't surprised you mentioned her parents not noticing because she was blocking her mother from sensing that. And yeah, definitely a big development with that you're right though they did know she was doing that. You may also be right about Beckett not being too happy about that. And you also make a good point about Julia being annoyed about everyone trying to protect her though yeah, she can't really blame them after what had happened of course. I'm not surprised at your comment about being glad that it the very stressful day for them was over with them getting a nice family evening. And I wasn't surprised either that you're wondering if they get another day like that tomorrow. With that I'm so happy that you want to see what happens next whatever… might happen, and now you don't need to wait to find out!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them as usual and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Tears of the World by George Harrison, from the original rejected track listing of his album Somewhere in England.
Compounding My Worst Fears
Her breathing still coming out in a heavy pant Beckett murmured to her husband, "We were supposed to pleasure each other, weren't we?"
"I think so," Castle replied before he laughed slightly. He and his wife both groaned together at the sensation of that before he said, "But that was… foirfeacht."
Beckett smiled, and she said, "It was," as he had called it perfection. "But now we really need a shower."
"I agree," Castle said quickly. When she laughed at him he groaned and said, "We can do the pleasuring there."
"I agree, let's go," Beckett said deliberately echoing him. She brushed her lips against his before getting off him though she regretted it immediately. As soon as they'd woken up they had begun making love though it had quickly slid into outright fucking each other as they couldn't resist it. She tried not to think about that too hard as she was focused on getting the water on while her husband came up behind her. "I was waiting for that," she told him in amusement as he was cupping her ass.
"I can't resist, one of these times you're going to have to let me turn on the water so you can do that to me," Castle replied.
Going into the shower Beckett told him, "Next time." When he rushed in with her she met him with her arms wrapping around him and they kissed as they stood together underneath the water. When the kiss ended she tilted her head back and allowed him access to her neck, moaning softly as he was going straight to her pulse that he nuzzled gently with his lips. "We don't have time," she said regretfully.
"What can we do?" Castle asked though he was trying to work out the words he wanted to say as he was trying to deal with his arousal.
"Since I led things before I think it's your turn to say," Beckett told him before they kissed. When he leaned down then and whispered into her ear she smiled slightly and then said, "Sounds great to me."
Castle did his best not to shudder and he said, "Then we should start."
"We should," Beckett replied taking his kiss as he leaned down to her to kiss her deeply. She held onto him as tightly as she could before they parted, and she then moved to begin running her fingers over his erection. She was very careful but wasn't surprised when her husband was groaning in joy, making her tilt her head up to press her lips against his jaw. While she was busy with that she nearly jumped when his fingers slipped in between her legs. She gasped as he rubbed against her clit and she said, "You-"
"I started a little… little too soon but… I'm not regretting it," Castle groaned heavily.
"Neither am I," Beckett gasped before she needed to hold onto her husband a little harder with her other arm as his fingers were slipping among her folds. "Do you want to…?" she asked him.
"No, like this is enough," Castle replied. He then sucked in a deep breath of air; difficult because of the pleasure she was giving him; but he finally asked, "Is feidir liom a chur orthu taobh istigh?"
"Oh god… yes," Beckett said. She parted her legs a bit more before he slipped his fingers inside of her; having asked if he could do that; and she gasped in her delight as he was quick to move them and bring his thumb up to her clit to work around it as well. She didn't know how she did it exactly, but she was able to continue to pleasure him with her hand, doing that repeatedly until she realized it was becoming too much for her.
"Let me-" Castle began as he was feeling the same as her. When she kissed him, he picked her up and leaned her against the wall to slam into her body before he thrust as hard as he could; being careful at the same time because of her abdomen. There was no surprise when that set off their orgasms nearly at the same time and they moved together though he knew she couldn't do so that much. When they'd finally stopped he was relieved he wasn't shaking as he put his wife down and then said, "We can't linger?"
"I'm afraid not," Beckett said with a slight smile. She leaned into him and brushed her lips to his before she pulled him over to the water so they could finish. She wasn't surprised when they couldn't seem to stop touching each other and intimately and she said when she turned off the water, "I get the feeling we're not going to stop."
"You or me," Castle told her in amusement.
"Probably me," Beckett said simply.
"I don't know," Castle said as he stepped out and then grabbed her towel. "I think we're even in this."
Smiling Beckett said while she watched him, "I guess so but let's see how things go."
Watching her become serious Castle said, "I was thinking the same. But we'll wait for Brad's call."
"Don't tell him we were talking about him while we were coming out of the shower," Beckett said in amusement as she held the towel closed over her since it wouldn't stay that way.
"I know but let's finish up getting ready and get to the girls," Castle said as he was finishing drying himself off and closing his towel around his waist. When she looked at him he explained, "I figured you'd want to check on Julia."
Beckett nodded and then walked with him over to their closet where they got dressed quickly. She smiled; after making sure her sweater was straight over her abdomen; when the baby kicked and said to her husband, "She's awake."
"I can tell," Castle said as he'd quickly placed his hand on her stomach before he moved it. He smiled at the taps there and he leaned over, kissing her deeply before they slowly parted and went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
When she finished after her husband Beckett walked out to him and said, "Should we take the dogs for a walk?"
"I don't know, why don't we wait and see how we're feeling about that when we come back?" Castle asked.
"Alright, but I do need to walk," Beckett told him, putting her hand on the doorknob. "And if we're out working on the case I don't think I'll get much chance."
"Good point," Castle replied, leaning down and gently kissing her on the lips.
Beckett responded to him quickly before they parted, and she smiled before she opened the door, going out into the hall before they could become lost in each other and lose track of time. She went over to Julia's room, watching Castle going over to their Eliza's, before she ducked inside to find the two girls still fast asleep. She didn't want to but she continued, needing to wake them up before Julia was suddenly opening her eyes and looking over at her.
"Morning Mommy," the girl said, sitting up.
Seeing her daughter still looked tired, and sounded tired, Beckett asked, "Did you have a nightmare sweetie?"
Julia was about to answer when Mari next to her sat up and she quickly told her mother, "Yeah but just one. Morning."
"Morning," Mari said with a heavy yawn. "She did but she was okay after that."
"Did you talk to her?" Beckett asked, watching Julia move the covers before the dogs jumped off and then went out of the room.
"Yeah, and then I told her a story so we could go back to sleep," Julia answered before her friend could. She shared a smile with her before they got up and she said, "We'll be okay Mommy."
"I know but you'd like me to brush your hair I'm guessing," Beckett told her.
"Oh… okay," Julia said with a smile. "Then we should get dressed," she told Mari.
Beckett sat down on the bed as she waited for the girls to get dressed in their uniforms for school that day. She recalled that Julia wanted to wrap her arms again but didn't mention it, wanting to wait a little longer before that. When they had finished they brought their brushes to her and she started with Mari since she was the guest.
"You can leave my hair alone," the little girl said. "I don't want any decorations."
"Alright," Beckett replied. She glanced at her daughter when she leaned against the bed next to her and said, "I'd like to ask you some-"
"I was thinking about the gate in the front," Julia said quickly. "Before I went to sleep the first time." When her mother sighed she quickly said, "I couldn't let you have a nightmare Mommy! What if the baby… what if the baby got hurt or something 'cause you were scared?"
Beckett stopped her internal thoughts of how she could tell her daughter not to do that; though she still had to wonder if just thinking of that would really work. Instead she said, "Then I should thank you sweetie, but I don't know if you should do that."
"I would still have a nightmare," Julia said quickly. "So when the baby is born I'll stop doing that," she added as she sat in front of her mother.
"Alright," Beckett said with a sigh. "Now we should focus on getting you three ready for school."
"Can you just braid my hair?" Julia asked her mother as by then she'd finished brushing her hair out. When she had started she asked, "How come Lizzy didn't come here?"
"I think she headed down with your daddy already," Beckett told her. Once she had finished with her daughter's hair she said, "I have bandages do you want me to wrap your arms still?"
"Yeah, I said yesterday I don't want people looking at them," Julia replied, looking at her arms. She then turned around to her mother and held out her right arm, watching her beginning to clean them. "I'll be okay Mommy," she told her.
With a slight smile on her face Beckett said, "I know, but I still don't like what happened to you of course."
"I'll be careful at school today," Julia told her.
"I don't think you need to worry but thank you for doing that," Beckett replied. "Your daddy will be happy to hear that too," she added. She then began to wrap Julia's arms before she paused when she heard a knock on the door. "Mari-"
"I can get it!" the little girl cried, rushing over to it and opening it.
"Good morning Mari," Jim told the little girl. He looked over at his daughter and saw that she was finishing with Julia's arms. "Good morning to you both," he said, going to them and kissing the top of the girl's head. "How're you?" he asked.
With a smile; since that had been directed to her; Beckett nodded and told him, "Good, we're almost ready. Have you seen Rick?"
"He and Eliza went downstairs," Jim said. "He said something about oatmeal."
"Good," Beckett said as she handed Julia her brush to take back to the bathroom. She stood up and told her father, "Any plans?"
"If there wasn't snow I would have gone to play golf," Jim began before they walked together with Julia and Mari ahead of them out of the room. "But Barry invited me over to his home for billiards."
"And lunch?" Beckett asked.
"That I wanted to talk about with you and your husband," Jim replied as they were coming to the bottom of the stairs.
"Okay," Beckett said with a slight smile before she turned her attention to Eliza as the little girl was racing down the hall to her with some of the dogs behind her.
"Morning Mommy!" the little girl cried happily. "Daddy let me help."
"Oh, he did," Beckett replied with a smile, squeezing her back with her hand. "With the oatmeal?"
"She helped me measure out," Castle said as he watched his wife walk over to them. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he turned his attention to Julia who was coming up to him to hug him. "How'd you sleep?" he couldn't help asking her as he didn't want to wait until he and Beckett had a moment alone to do so.
"Oh, I had a nightmare, but Mari helped me," Julia said a little flippantly. She smiled at her friend and added, "And I kept Mommy from having a nightmare."
"Thank you," Castle replied. He was tempted to tell her he'd had a nightmare as well but decided he didn't really want to explain what the dream was about or the circumstances when he'd first had it. "Set the table and then you can take your sister and Mari to finish the episode."
"Lizzy can watch it too?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Yes, but you might want to catch her up with the story," Castle said. When Julia rushed off to do that he said to his wife, "Might as well show her at some point."
"Then I'll go with them," Beckett said. "But you don't want to be there too?"
"I'm almost finished so I'll keep the oatmeal warm before I head over to see the rest," Castle replied.
Beckett nodded before she hesitated and said, "It's not a lot to cook?"
"Oh no, just some sausages and fresh juice," Castle told her not surprised she'd realized he was going to make more.
With a nod Beckett then went over to wait for Julia and Mari to finish setting the table. Before she could take them though she went to her father and murmured to him before she left and walked over to the family room with the girls and the dogs. "How was it with Molly on your bed?" she asked Eliza as she got the TV on.
"Good, they came under the covers with me," the little girl said. "And my bed was all furry."
"I guess it would be," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "Girls," she directed to Julia and Mari. "Tell Eliza about the movie up until now."
Julia nodded eagerly at the suggestion and she launched into an explanation of the show and then the movie before she said, "It's really good but we can't see all the movies so you're really lucky."
"You are, we're going to wait until you're a little bit older to watch these," Beckett replied to Eliza's questioning look. "You might not get the jokes."
"I wanna see it still Mommy," the little girl said quickly.
"Alright," Beckett replied laughingly before she sat down on the couch and pressed play. She sat back as the girls watched the rest of the movie, smiling when Eliza laughed loudly with the two at the little girl in the movie getting a life-sized doll that one of the 'robots' said wasn't a doll but a sister. After the ending segment with Mike and the bots going outside to play in the snow; though they were supposed to be in space; she said, "I think she liked it."
"Oh, I know," Castle said as he and Jim were behind her. "Though still we might want to wait for her to get a little older for the jokes."
"But there are some we can show you sweetie," Beckett told the little girl who was pouting.
"Kay," Eliza said. "Do we get to eat now?"
"Yes, or else breakfast is going to get all cold and gross," Castle said. He smiled when the three giggled and walked with his wife after them and his father in law before they reached the kitchen table where everything was set out for them to begin their breakfast.
"Oh Mari," Julia said after they'd been eating for a while. "Lizzy, we forgot to do the dance."
"Dance?" Castle asked.
"Yeah, we made up a whole dance for you to see," Julia replied. "'Cause of yesterday."
"Well I think we can see a little bit of it before we go," Beckett said. "Try and remember that dance and do it when we're all together though okay?"
"We are now," Eliza said in confusion.
Beckett smiled and then said, "When Mari's family is with us too."
"That's a good idea, I want my parents to see it too," the little girl said quickly.
"When will we?" Eliza asked.
"We'll probably have a dinner with them… soon," Castle said as he looked at his wife.
"Maybe," Beckett replied. "After the case?"
"That would work best," Castle said with a nod.
"Mommy?" Julia then said.
"Yes?" Beckett asked with a smile as the girl was so hesitant as she spoke.
"Do you miss having coffee?" Julia asked.
"To be honest," Beckett replied, since her husband father were drinking it with their meal. "I do but not so much I'm going crazy."
"Like Jack did when he got addicted to it and tried to stop?" Castle asked his wife.
Shaking her head, and smiling at the same time, Beckett said to the three girls as they looked confused, "It's from the show Will and Grace."
"Can I watch that?" Julia asked immediately. She knew about the show; as she'd come downstairs one night to find her parents watching it; but they'd told her she needed to be older to do so.
"Not yet," Beckett said first. "But you'll be old enough soon." She wasn't surprised when her daughter didn't look too satisfied at that answer and she said, "Maybe when you're thirteen."
Sighing Julia said, "That's not for another two years."
"I'm wondering love," Castle said. "If we showed her the pilot?"
Beckett took a moment to recall the episode before she said, "We can give it a shot, but you'll need to be older to keep on watching the show sweetie."
"Thank you," Julia said happily.
"I wish I could see the show," Mari said. She then looked confused and asked her friend in a whisper, "What's it about."
"It's about two friends, Will and Grace," Julia said. "And Will is gay." She smiled over at her mother and said, "Mommy likes it 'cause it reminds her of her and Patrick."
"If we'd kept living together in the city," Beckett said in amusement as her daughter was right. "Though he and I did watch it together. He loves the show and was ecstatic it came back."
"How far did you watch it?" Castle asked his wife.
"We stopped around the second half of the second season; when he went back," Beckett replied. "We've talked about it though now that we've reunited."
"You should watch from where you ended with him," Castle commented. When his wife just smiled and shook her head he leaned over and kissed her cheek before he got up as by then he'd finished eating.
While the adults were cleaning up Julia took her friend and sister over to the foyer and she asked them once they were there, "Is it okay here?"
"Yeah, there's a lot of room," Mari said, looking around.
"What are we gonna do?" Eliza asked then.
Walking up to the three; after her father and husband had almost literally chased her away from the kitchen; Beckett wasn't surprised when they were huddled together. She had to wonder; as she and Castle had several times before; whether Dani would join the three once she was old enough to do so. And before she reached them she placed her hand on her abdomen, wondering if the baby would too. Shaking herself of her thoughts quickly she said, "Are you going to show us?"
"We are," Julia said quickly. "Just a little. But we don't have a lot of time, do we?"
"Not too, too much," Beckett said, leaning against the wall to give them more room.
"Does your back hurt Mommy?" Eliza asked, hurrying to her and putting her hand on her abdomen.
"No, I thought this would be the best place," Beckett replied. "To be out of the way of you."
"We're here," Castle said while he and Jim were entering the foyer. "Go ahead and get started we really want to see what you have for us."
"Okay, let's start," Julia said, smiling at her sister and friend. "It's just one thing 'cause that's all we can do huh?"
"Yes," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at the way Castle and her father had looked to her.
"Ready?" Julia asked the two. When they nodded she and Mari stood on either side of Eliza and as she held out her arms to them she took the right, Mari grabbed the other and together they helped her flip around onto her feet. "There," she said.
"And where would you use that?" Jim said.
"Wait, wait," Castle said quickly. "That's all we get? Come on I want to see more, not just a lift."
"It was a flip Daddy," Julia said before she nodded to the other two. She counted; for Eliza's sake; and they did a few kicks and flicks from the Jive before they stopped with their arms around each other and looked at the three adults who were standing together.
"That was great," Castle said as he, Beckett and Jim all applauded them. "You've gotten really good at the Jive sweetheart," he told Eliza.
"Thank you, Daddy," the little girl said a bit shyly, going to him and hugging him tightly.
"You've done a great job," Beckett said as Julia came over to her. She gently cupped the back of her oldest's head and said, "You've never danced three like that have you?"
"No," Julia replied, shaking her head. "But we do that when we learn new steps."
"Your practice paid off," Jim replied.
"Mommy," Eliza said, going over to them and gently touching her hand. "Do Gram and 'lexis know about our doggies?"
"We contacted them both," Castle said, that reminding him about what he'd gotten while cleaning up. "And they contacted us. They can't talk now because Alexis is working on that profiling project for her one class and Mother is getting ready for rehearsals though how she's going to handle four different plays… I don't know."
"Will we talk to them?" Julia asked.
"We will, your gram wants to talk to us with Alexis so we'll have half screens again," Castle replied. "But that's later as soon as we get home."
"Did you tell them about me?" Julia then inquired of her mother as she was helping her with her scarf.
"We did, and they really want to see you and they're very sorry they're so busy," Beckett said as she and her husband had texted the two the evening before but had only heard from them once they'd gotten into their bedroom late that night.
Shrugging Julia said, "That's okay I know they have a lot of stuff to do. Especially 'lexis now her school year…"
"Term," Castle supplied.
"That," Julia said with a nod. "She has finals, doesn't she?"
"She will but yes she is busy," Castle agreed.
"Okay, we're ready," Beckett told them as she saw her father had finished with Eliza and Mari was ready as well. They waited for the girls to say goodbye to the dogs before they stepped out of the house and made their way over to the sidewalk. She wasn't surprised to see that Rebecca and David were in front of their house on it and she watched Mari hurry carefully to them.
"Thank you for letting her come over," Castle said first once they had reached the reunited family.
"He's right, she needed that," Beckett agreed as she smiled when Dani waved to them.
"We were glad to let Mari go but we didn't have much choice," David said.
"What he means is that we couldn't keep her home," Rebecca said while they started down the sidewalk behind the three girls. "She likely would have snuck out, so we thought it best to let her go."
"She's alright?" David asked.
"She is, she might get tired of us asking that," Beckett commented.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Rebecca said. She squeezed her friend's arm and asked her, "How're you?"
"Okay," Beckett said, not minding that since the woman he been pregnant twice herself. "Better after yesterday but we're still not done the case."
"Listen," Rebecca said quickly. "Have you talked to Brad or Lily lately?" keeping her voice down.
Shaking her head Beckett related in a whisper what she had spoken with Brad about before finishing with, "I would talk to Lily, but she can be even more stubborn than I am. If she doesn't want to talk, she won't."
"I would suggest myself," Rebecca said in a rush as they'd made it to the school by then. "But of course, if she won't talk to you…"
"They'll have to work it out themselves," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her friend nodded, and they followed their families into the elementary school building.
"We're going to take her up," David told the others when they were at Eliza's classroom. "So we'll say goodbye now. Rick, Kate you should be called in today."
"You spoke to Brad?" Castle asked.
"I did, the FBI is still reluctant, but I said they could attempt to try without you," David replied. "So they'll call you, but I get the feeling they'll drag their heels on that."
"We expected it," Beckett said before they watched their daughters hugging. When the Fosters had left; going up the stairs; she turned to Eliza and said, "Who do you want to go with you?"
"You Mommy," Eliza replied.
"Alright," Beckett said, nodding so the little girl would hug the others goodbye.
"Have a great day at school honey," Jim told the little girl. "And I'll pick you up for lunch and we'll go out okay?"
"Kay…" Eliza said before she trailed off and then nodded over to her parents.
"You can go," Beckett said in amusement. "But you need to get through your class first."
Eliza nodded rapidly before she shared a kiss with Jim and then went to her big sister telling her, "I can't wait for recess, let's talk to Alfred okay?"
"Okay," Julia said, not surprised that her sister had whispered that last bit. "But we have to be careful."
With a last nod Eliza stepped over to her father and hugged him tightly saying, "If you go to work take care of Mommy."
"I will," Castle said in amusement. He leaned down and kissed her saying, "Pay attention and have fun; we'll see you as soon as we can."
"Kay, you too Daddy," Eliza said before she paused.
"We'll do our jobs," Castle said. When the little girl nodded he smiled at his wife who was shaking her head; smiling at the same time; and then stood up to watch the two go into the classroom.
Beckett helped Eliza with her coat before it was in her cubbyhole with her backpack and then hugged her tightly saying, "Your daddy said it of course and you know already to pay attention. So I'll just say I hope you have fun here and with your grandpapa too."
Eliza giggled softly and then said, "I will, thank you Mommy. And be careful."
"I will," Beckett said, bending over the best she could and sharing a kiss with her. She let her go over to one of the tables with the other kids before she went back outside to where they were waiting for her. "Okay, we can go." As they went to the stairs she felt Julia slipping her hand into her own and she said softly, "Will you be able to do that?"
"Maybe," the girl said, knowing her mother was talking about what her sister had said before. "Lizzy said she can do it so… I guess."
"I'm just wondering," Beckett said, not surprised at her daughter's questioning glance at her.
When they reached her classroom, Julia hugged her grandfather tightly, smiling at his promise to be there with Eliza in time for the dance class. "Thanks Grandpapa," she told him. "Have fun playing pool."
"I will," Jim said with a smile himself as she'd said the last earnestly.
Hugging her father as tightly as she could Julia told him, "I'll be careful and we're not gonna go to the library."
"We know you will be and you don't need to worry about the library," Castle told her. "But we'll still be happy when we see you once we come home."
"We always are," Beckett added.
Julia smiled widely and then said, "Thanks, bye Daddy." She went to her mother, embracing her as tightly as she could and carefully as well. "Be careful Mommy," she told her, looking up at her.
"I will be," Beckett assured her. "Now I get the chance to tell you, pay attention and have fun."
Julia laughed softly and then squeezed her mother one more time before she said, "I will, bye!"
When she had disappeared into the room Castle took his wife's arm so he could put it through his own and they walked with Jim down the stairs and then back to the house. "Since it's still early," he said when they could hear the bell for school in the distance. "I'm assuming you're not going over yet."
"No," Beckett's father replied as that was directed to him. "I may head down the beach for a walk though. And you?"
"We better stay close to the house love," Beckett told her husband. "Brad could call us at any time you know."
"Good point," Castle replied. "We'll likely… I don't know."
"You wouldn't write?" Jim asked.
"Not the best… wait a minute," Castle said, looking over at his wife.
Sighing Beckett said, as they went into the door in the fence, "We had the idea of using the dream he had of the twenties in a series."
"She did," Castle said in a rush as they made their way up to the porch. "And I told her she should write it herself."
"How could she though?" Jim asked once they were in the entry and the two were taking off their coats and outer layers.
"I've been having dreams Dad," Beckett said, saying it quickly as she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid it. "About that time period so…"
"You wouldn't write together though?" Jim asked. "It would seem very odd if you two weren't."
"Please Rick," Beckett told him immediately, not caring that she was outright begging him. "I cannot do this alone."
"I've done it alone, it's not that hard," Castle replied.
"And yet if Brad was ever going to ask me if I would work a case alone I'd tell him he was crazy and kick him on the shin," Beckett said firmly.
"Why the shin?" Castle asked in confusion.
"Best part I can reach at the moment," Beckett said.
Breathing out Castle said, "Alright but let's wait until after the case to get started on this. Also, we should figure out how we're going to work on two different series."
"We'll work something out," Beckett said. She then said to her father; who'd been watching them with a slight smile on his face; "I guess we'll have to think of something else to do."
"One thing before we do that," Castle said quickly. "How about we agree on one thing for those books should they ever be published." When his wife looked at him quizzically he said, "Your name goes first." He saw that she was about to protest so he quickly said, "It was your idea and it's alphabetical."
"All nice and neat," Beckett said with a sigh as she didn't think their publisher or agent would agree to that. "No, you were the writing before me, so we keep to the order we have now."
When they finally left the entry with the dogs Jim said, "I'll go ahead out now, let me know when you're finished. And about lunch, if we can meet you…"
"That would be awesome," Castle said to his wife as they made their way over to the door to the yard.
"He's right it would be," Beckett said with a smile. "And we'll contact you; you just need to be ready."
"We will be," Jim said. He embraced his daughter tightly and said, "They're all saying it but it's because we love you and the baby; be careful Katie."
"Thank you, Dad. I will," Beckett replied. She let him go and watched him walk out before she reached over to her husband to take his hand before he was suddenly pulling her over to the family room. "What?" she asked with a smile.
"No remember what we were talking about last night before we went back to sleep?" Castle asked her.
"Do you want me to tell you about what we saw?" Beckett asked in amusement. "You do know that you were there right?"
"Oh fine, then why don't we read the paper?" Castle said.
"Go grab it," Beckett said a smile on her face again.
Before he could go to where it was in the kitchen Castle leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips before something pushed them to deepen it at almost the same time. He held her tightly as she was doing the same to him and they tilted their heads back and forth repeatedly until finally he tore himself away from her. "Couldn't resist," he told her.
"I know, go before we go any further and Brad calls us while we're en dishabille in our room," Beckett said. She watched him go and then made herself sit on the couch, not surprised when the dogs gathered around her the best they could though Macca jumped up next to her. "Thank you for leaving a spot for Rick boy," she told the Wolfhound. She scratched behind his ears and then leaned back remembering what she and her husband had talked about the night before. Since he'd brought it up she couldn't help doing that and she was smiling as the day had ended up being a complete joy all the way into that night.
"I love it," Castle was saying to Julia.
"But I just made a line," the little girl replied, looking at him.
"Still, fascinating," Castle replied, exaggerating his voice and placing his chin on his hand that was in a fist.
Julia giggled and said, "Are you gonna paint?"
"I believe I will, but I want to wait for your mother to come out here," Castle said. He was startled when Julia just stared at him for a while and finally he asked, "What's wrong?" before he was jumping slightly as she ran her paintbrush over his chin. "Julia-" he said, slightly stunned.
"Mommy!" Julia cried before she set the brush down and ran over to where she was in her room.
"Sweetie what's wrong?" Beckett asked in surprise, looking over at her.
"Come see," Julia before she heard footsteps coming over to them. She gasped when she saw it was Castle and then hid behind her mother.
"Your daughter," he said to his girlfriend as he saw her noticing the blue line on his chin quickly. "Decided I needed a goatee."
"Julia why did you do that?" Beckett asked her though not too sternly. "It wasn't very nice."
The little girl looked between them and was about to speak when she suddenly burst into tears and ran out of the room.
"Hold on," Beckett told her boyfriend, holding her hand out to him to stop him. "Clean that off and I'll talk to her. By the way-"
"I know, she didn't do that with malicious intent," Castle replied quickly. "But I just wonder why because it's not just joking around; not when she ran to get you almost as soon as she did it."
Beckett nodded before she walked out and down to her daughter's room where Julia was curled up on her bed. "I don't know sweetie," she told her daughter. "I don't think Castle really wants any facial hair like you gave him." She'd used that to distract her daughter as she sat on the side of the bed before she placed her on her lap. "Why'd you do that?" she asked more gently.
Sniffing slightly Julia said, "I… do you still love Castle?" speaking shyly when she asked her question.
"Of course… is that why you did that? To see if I would still?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded rapidly she smiled and said, "He's asked me like that too, but he was worried about his hair."
"If I lost my hair," Castle commented as he was standing in the doorway. When the two looked at him he came inside, pulling the chair there was so he could sit in front of them. "And I still never got an answer on that Kate."
Sighing, though she was struggling not to smile, Beckett said, "I think you know the answer already and that is a yes."
"Thank you," Castle said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it firmly. "Thank you," he said to Julia.
"Why?" the little girl asked with a smile as he didn't sound like he was mad.
"Because you got your mom to finally answer that," Castle replied. He then smiled and said, "Should we go back to our art? You're ready to join us, right?"
"I am, come on sweetie I want to see what you make," Becket said before she and Castle stood. They went together to the family room where she sat with them at the coffee table and they began to paint together before her daughter began to giggle and speak to them both.
"I wanna paint the sea," Julia said.
"Looks like she still has Hamptons on the brain," Castle commented, looking across the table at his girlfriend who was next to her daughter.
"Of course she does," Beckett said with a slight smile.
"How long do you think it'll take her to forget?" Castle asked.
Beckett smiled a little wider and told him, "We'll start decorating for Halloween next week so then probably."
"Halloween?" Julia asked interestedly.
"Yes, but not yet sweetie," Beckett replied. "I don't blame you for being excited though."
"I get to go outside to trick or treat," Julia told Castle seriously.
"In the buildings," Beckett told her boyfriend as he looked at her questioningly.
"Yeah," Julia said happily before she handed her brush to her mother.
"You're coming over right?" Castle asked. "She'll get the best candy in my building and Mother wants us to go to her party at her studio, even if for just a few minutes."
"She called me yesterday before you came over," Beckett said, watching her daughter. "And we'll go."
"Great, we'll have some pizza and then go," Castle said.
Glancing at Julia; whose head had snapped up at that; Beckett told him, "I guess we'll need to get some tonight."
"Can we Mommy?" Julia asked hopefully.
"Yes," Beckett replied easily. "But for now, finish up your picture."
"What're you making?" Castle asked, leaning over.
"You'll see soon enough," Beckett replied easily, waving him off. "What about you?" she asked with a smile as she watched him lean back.
"You'll see," Castle said simply, slightly echoing her. He went back to his painting but had stopped, seeing that Julia was dipping her fingertips into the black paint jar that was open.
Holding up her hand when she saw her boyfriend had opened his mouth to speak Beckett said, "Are those supposed to be animals?"
"Fishies," Julia replied, nodding her head though she was still working on her painting. When she had finished she smiled widely and said, "I have to put more."
"First-" Castle said as he reached out to her. He stopped himself from continuing as she had reached over to press her four finger tips against his. "Now we're twins," he said in amusement, wriggling his fingers and making the little girl giggle heavily. "I was going to say you should wash your hands."
"He's right, that way you won't get your brushes dirty," Beckett said. When her daughter nodded she stood up and was about to take her hand when Julia did so and then pressed her paint covered fingers to her own.
"You too Mommy," the little girl said, smiling at her.
"Thank you but now none of us can paint again," Beckett replied. She allowed her daughter to pull her over to the kitchen where Castle was reaching the sink and washed her hands with him and Julia. When they were back at the table she said, "Are you almost finished?"
"Yeah, I have to make sky," Julia replied before she picked up her brush with some more blue. She finished her painting before she gave her brush to her mother saying to both her and Castle, "My ocean."
"Very nice," he said first. "It looks like there are a lot of fish there."
"Yep," Julia giggled before she looked at her mother.
"It's very pretty," Beckett assured her before she kissed her on the cheek. "And that will look very nice on the fridge once it dries."
"Thank you, Mommy," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her neck. "What did you make?"
"Here," Beckett said, carefully picking up her paper.
"What is it?" Castle asked her as she showed him after Julia had seen.
"Have you ever heard of the Alhambra?" Beckett replied.
"Of course," Castle said with a nod. "One of the patterns there?" he asked as she'd made diamonds from reds, blues and greens.
"My attempt at that, my father has been a few times," Beckett explained with a slight smile.
"I think you did a nice job," Castle commented.
"What about you?" Julia asked him shyly.
"Oh, just some… snails that got drunk," Castle replied, picking up his painting and showing them the swirls around on them.
"And into paint," Beckett added as her daughter was giggling.
"Can they all go on the 'ridge?" Julia asked once she'd calmed down.
"Of course," Beckett replied, leaning over and pressing her lips to her temple. "But they need to dry."
"Kay," Julia said quickly. She smiled and then asked, "What do we do now Mommy?"
"Wash our hands to get the paint off again and then you can pick," Beckett replied.
"We took a while," Castle commented as he waited for his girlfriend to help her daughter wash her hands.
"It's not time for lunch yet," Beckett said simply as she cleaned her own hands.
"No but I have a suggestion," Castle said as he stood at the sink next.
"Dim sum," Beckett said at the same time as him. When he looked at her in surprise she smiled and said, "I had the same idea."
When he'd dried his hands, Castle leaned over and brushed his lips to hers before she stopped him. "What?" he asked.
"Julia?" Beckett asked him. She was startled when he shook his head and then pulled her even closer to him, kissing her hard on the lips. She clung to him tightly, responding to him with all the passion she could muster. She forgot momentarily about her daughter, not realizing that the little girl had decided what she wanted to do and had turned to them.
Smiling Julia covered her face with her Stitch doll, but she soon found that uncomfortable and she moved it away carefully, seeing they were still kissing. The smile was soon back on her face and she made Stitch 'dance' on her lap as she continued to wait. When she heard heavier breathing she looked up at her mother and Castle and saw they were pressing their foreheads together. She did the same with her doll but couldn't really see why they were obviously enjoying doing that before her mother began to speak.
"She saw us," Beckett murmured to her boyfriend.
"I know," Castle replied easily. "But she didn't call to us, so I think we're good."
Beckett tried not to roll her eyes, but she couldn't resist leaning over and brushing her lips against his. She made a slight sound of protest when he caught her lips rapidly but couldn't stop him yet again. Luckily that kiss was shorter before they pulled apart and she said, "Remember what I told you earlier?"
"Surely you don't mind this break for just a second?" Castle asked. When she sighed he smiled and then leaned over, kissing her yet again before he slowly pulled away and let her go before they turned their attention to Julia who he was startled to see was watching them calmly.
"Are you okay?" Beckett asked her daughter.
"Yeah can we play again now?" Julia said, speaking with a wide smile on her face as she didn't want her mother to think she was mad they were doing that.
"Of course," Castle said when his girlfriend had looked over at him. "What did you want to do?" he then asked once they were closer to her.
"This," Julia said, pointing to what she'd grabbed.
"Oh man I haven't played with Play-Doh in… forever," Castle said, clapping his hands together. "Alexis got really tired of it… well, she got older."
"And you?" Beckett said to her boyfriend teasingly.
Julia watched Castle lean over to her mother, whispering in her ear, and was startled when Beckett's cheeks grew pink. "What did he say Mommy?" she asked.
"If he can play with us," Beckett said before she heard a snort of laughter from him.
Castle looked away when his girlfriend literally shot daggers at him at the noise, as he'd promised her he'd be the adult that night before adding rapidly he'd also be a man too. He'd held himself back from commenting on the playing word before he then said, "Can I?"
"Yeah, we have to make food," Julia said quickly.
Studying the set on the table Castle said, "I guess we're baking."
"We are and so you know we haven't played with this yet so we're all going to learn to use it together," Beckett commented.
"What colors do we have?" Castle asked. "By the way, thank you Julia for letting me play."
With a slight blush on her cheeks Julia jumped up and then hurried over to where some of her toys were kept. She grabbed the box in there and then went over to them saying, "We have these."
"I played with Play-Doh when I was little too," Beckett replied with a smile at her boyfriend's surprise. "And I only had three colors; it drove me crazy."
"I had the same amount and me too," Castle said before they turned their attention to Julia who was taking out the numerous; and different colored; cans of Play-Doh. "Can we get the set all ready for you?" he asked the little girl.
Beckett smiled as Julia merely nodded and she and Castle got the bakery set out from its box and then set up before they were finished.
"What are these?" Castle asked as he held up one can that was purple instead of the normal yellow.
"Softer Play-Doh," Beckett answered. "It's the frosting."
"Nice," Castle said with a nod. "Okay Chef Julia, what are we making today?"
Giggling a little at the title the little girl said, "You can make cookies. And Mommy can you make them into sandwiches?"
"Of course," Beckett replied with a smile. "What are you going to do?"
"I think the cupcake," Castle said out of the corner of his mouth as the little girl was reaching for the holder that was with the set.
"Do you need any help sweetie?" Beckett asked her.
"Yes Mommy," Julia replied as she wasn't sure how exactly she could make the cupcake itself.
With a nod Beckett helped her form the base of the cupcake before she helped her put the softer Play-Doh into the tube that would allow her to squeeze it out as frosting. "Okay, let's see how you can do," she told her daughter with a smile.