'Ah-shay, cay-fo! A 'tove way hot! No wan; you goin' oushie! It way hot!'

'That's right Jojo, it is. Stand back honey.'

'I no' honey, I bumba-bee!'

But Jojo complied and stepped back from the stove where RJ was standing on his stepping-stool to stir the pot of spaghetti sauce his father had put him in charge of. He dipped in his little tasting spoon, tried a mouthful and nodded. 'Needs more oregano,' he decided, cutely mispronouncing it oh-re-GAH-no instead of oh-REG-ah-no.

'Ah-Shay, what that?' Jojo pointed to his tin of ground oregano.

'It's oregano, Jojo. Here have a sniff.'

Jojo snuffled at it and grinned. 'It 'mell like pizza, Ah-Shay.'

'It's what makes pizza sauce taste good and Italian-y,' he replied, and looked at Castle who stood beside him at the stove, browning ground beef. 'Right Dad?'

'Exactly right. Jojo, why don't you go tell Mumum we're going to be ready to set the table soon?'

'O-kay! I do tha'!'

Jojo toddled into the living room where her mumum was lying on her back on the couch, her eyes closed and her earphones in to listen to some music. It was rare that Beckett did this unless she was really tired from trying to find the bad guys so Jojo moved like a little auburn-haired ghost, and tugged out one earbud, planted a kiss on her mother's forehead.

'Mumum,' she said softly, and was met with a little groan so she tried again. 'Mumum, a'mon, it time fo' suppah. Alessis an' Shane be here soon.'

'Five more minutes, okay?' Beckett groaned and little Jojo decided to prove she was her mother's daughter and rolled up her pint-sized sleeves - she tapped her fingertips against Beckett's cheek, then squished her face until Beckett's lips pursed up like a goldfish.

'No, no mo' mins Mumum. You gonna miss 'ghetti an' mea' sauce. An' sheesy buh-read too. Big meanie Ah-Shay gonna eaddit all, Daddy an' Shane too.'

Beckett squinted her eye open, saw a small version of herself in Jojo standing in front of her. She had on her 'I'm in charge of this show' face, one Beckett had caught in the reflection of the one-way glass when she was in Interview. No wonder the criminals shook in their boots, as Jojo was fond of saying. 'Well, we can't let that happen, can we?'

'No way, Mumum. 'Mon, Daddy say we settin-a tay-bill.'

'Hold that thought,' Beckett told her as there was a knock on the door; she answered it to find Alexis and Shane on the other side, Shane with a bottle of wine in his hands and Alexis with a baker's box from Love on a Bun. 'Hey guys, come on in.'

'We figured since you invited us last minute for dinner, we could all use some of this.' Alexis lifted the lid and Beckett caught the tantalizing smell of freshly-made tiramisu. She let out a long, breathy sigh and shuddered.

'Oh yeah, Lex, that is definitely the stuff.'

'So what's up with the impromptu party?' Shane asked, hoping to God his communicator didn't go off since he was only on call until six. Less than an hour to go.

'Mumum nee' fam-ah-lee a'nigh', ah-cause she sad fo' the tee-sher,' Jojo said, coming up beside her mother and wrapping her hand around two of Beckett's fingers. 'Some-one mean-a him an' he in heaven now. You helpin' Mumum, Shane?'

'Yeah, I'm helping your mumum on this one, bumblebee,' Shane told her gently, and he began to fit the pieces together. 'RJ's school is a good school and Calliope Thrace is known as much for is problems as it is anything else.

'I know, but when you and Alexis have babies, you'll understand a little better,' Beckett replied, then looked at Jojo. 'We need to get our guests something to drink.'

'They no' guess, they Alessis an' Shane!' Jojo scoffed, but lead the way to the kitchen. 'You ter-see, Alessis an' Shane? You wanna juicy or guh-rown up tuff?'

'Juice is fine for right now, Jojo,' Alexis laughed, 'and we'll save the grown-up stuff for dessert.'

'We gonna have icy cuh-ream?'

'And tiramisu.'

'What tee-mee-soo?'

As Alexis tried to explain the dessert to her little sister, Castle wandered over to his wife and handed her a little glass of wine he'd already poured for her. 'Time to let it go for the day, Detective,' he murmured in her ear.

'I know. I'm getting there.'

'Good.'

Several blocks south-west in Waverly Place, an equally cozy and much more x-rated dinner was taking place - Adam and Lindsay were getting themselves prepared for spending a portion of their honeymoon on a nude beach by having naked dinner in their living room, picnic style. It was also a little celebration too - Lindsay was officially off for a month to finish getting ready for the wedding, so she'd picked up some of their favourite foods from Green Traders. They dined like royalty on chilled shrimp with Korean barbecue sauce, smoked crab salad, crispy chickpeas, bacon-wrapped scallops and endive filled with a cheesy-garlic savoury mousse. For dessert there would be fresh exotic fruit and whipped cream, a treat they knew would probably be waiting awhile to be eaten.

'So, what do you think?' Lindsay said. 'Is naked picnic going to feel this much fun when we're at Eagle Bay?'

'Oh yeah.' Adam scooped up another fork full of crab salad and wondered if Lindsay would laugh at him if he put a napkin over his junk to avoid any nasty spills. He eyed up her body, loving how she was completely comfortable with him like this. 'You know, I was thinking...'

'Oh, shocker.'

'Funny. I was thinking, you'd look really sexy with a little belly jewel or dangle or something.'

'Like a piercing?'

The idea of it had a naughty little thrill rippling through Lindsay's core. When she'd been growing up, the belly-button piercing fad had become all the rage and all the cool girls, even the good girls who wanted a little edge to their sugar, had gotten them done. Lindsay had never understood the appeal and she'd been called a churchy prude for it. Oh, they could see her now, she thought with an amused little grin, and they probably did if they bought Vanity Fair.

'Not like a piercing, Linds,' Adam told her with a wink. 'A belly ring, like Kate and Jenny and Andrea have.'

'Sloan had one too, but she had to take it out when she was pregnant with Nate and she never got it done again. You think so?'

'Yeah. I'll hold your hand too, if you want,' he added, knowing her slight phobia of needles being done on her body.

'Tell you what. You get this-' she combed her fingers through his hair '-done in cornrows with beads while we're in the Caribbean and I will get my belly pierced.'

'That seems slightly lopsided.'

'Not really. The pictures alone will be worth it.' Lindsay grinned. 'Besides, if I don't like the belly ring, I can take it out. Not like it's a tattoo and it's with you for life.'

'No ink,' Adam said firmly. 'We made a pact on that one.'

'Yes, I know we did.' Lindsay bit into her endive leaf, savouring the taste of the garlic-cheese mousse and frowned a little. 'You don't think I'm too heavy for it, do you?'

'Not at all. You and Andrea are about the same size and she rocks that look. It's not about size, it's about confidence and comfort.'

Put like that, Lindsay had to agree with him. She had been wanting to shake up her look and had been thinking of a hair-cut or colour, maybe even a nose stud or belly piercing herself. Her almost-husband giving her the added boost to her ego made her feel good all over. 'You promise you'll hold my hand?'

'The whole time.'

'And if I cry?'

'I'll be there with tissues.'

'That's my man.' Lindsay slowly licked her fingers. 'What's for dessert?'

'For me, you. For you, me. Who gets to go first?' Adam asked her with a grin, then groaned when he heard his phone go off. 'Hold that thought, baby.'

He picked up his cell, answered it as brusquely as possible. 'Brennan.'

'Detective Brennan, it's Ashley Archer. I need to talk to you and Detective Beckett right away.'