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: I quote some poetry in this chapter, the first is called Cloths of Heaven and the second is Lake Isle of Innisfree both are by W.B. Yeats.
A/N #2: Really happy to get some feedback for the last chapter so I'll get straight to my thank yous for it! TORONTOSUN (Great that you liked the fact that Castle and Beckett like to share with their kids!), MichelleBell16 (I was happy to see you enjoyed the fact that the whole family plus the Fosters went to see the lights together. Very nice to see you're eager to read about their party and of course their Christmas as well. And don't worry, I figure summer's busy for a lot of people so I thought I might get less reviews and readers. It is nice to see though, I can't help but worry every once in a while if I should keep posting so the reviews definitely keep me going here on the site like yours does. Anyways I'm so happy that you still love it, I hope you'll continue to! Oh, great you can't wait to read the next one, now you don't need to do so anymore!), vetgirlmx (Nice to see first off you thought the last chapter was pretty good. And I'm not surprised you're eager to see what the girls think about their gift as you're right, dogs usually are a hit with kids, lol, but the other gifts might be as well. I'm glad I could make you laugh at Beckett being just a bit late picking up Eliza, I figure it would have to happen that those two would lose track of time sooner or later. And I'm really happy to see that you loved them going to see the lights all together, I thought it should be done since Jim is there. And speaking of him you make a point, I think I went a little overboard in them asking if he's alright but it'll stop since they're getting closer to Christmas of course. But I'm glad you're excited for his first celebration in a long time. Great you can't wait to read more about their holidays and now you don't need to!) and Guest (I was happy to read that you thought it was a cute chapter. And that you love the family time, more so since I love writing that myself, lol). Thanks so much to all of you for the reviews, I greatly appreciate them and the time you all have taken out of your busy lives to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song A Marshmallow World written by Carl Sigman, the version I've taken from is sung by Dean Martin from his album The Dean Martin Christmas Album.
Snow Comes To Cover The Ground
Opening her eyes Julia looked over at her friend and saw that she wasn't next to her anymore. Surprised she sat up and saw that Mari was sitting at the end of the bed, looking at the calendar that was just past it. "What is it?" she asked.
Glancing back over her shoulder at her the little girl smiled and said, "Just seeing how many days until Christmas. Now there's only three."
"Oh good," Julia said as her friend crawled back over to her and slipped under the covers. "Is it still cold?"
"Yeah," Mari replied before they lay down at the same time. She looked around the room and smiled saying, "Are you really gonna paint and change the room?"
"Yep," Julia replied. "Mommy and Daddy said we could."
"What are you gonna do that's different?" Mari asked.
"Get bigger bookcases," Julia said simply. "Since I have a lot of stuff with my books."
"Yeah," Mari said, looking over at the tall bookcase that had stacks of books, trophies and various items from the family's travels on it. She then turned on her side and said, "Did I get up early?"
"I think so, Mommy didn't come to get us," Julia replied, thinking about that. "Or Daddy either."
"Did you ever think about how mommies and daddies sleep in the same bed?" Mari asked.
"Yeah so they can kiss," Julia said. "It's nice I bet 'cause you're warm in winter."
"What about in summer?" Mari asked.
Before she could reply to that Macca was coming inside and Julia called to him quietly before he jumped up onto the bed and started licking her face. "Macca!" she said in complaint. When he'd gone over to Mari and licked at her hand she said, "I guess you don't sleep next to each other that close…"
"My mommy and daddy do," Mari told her. "I saw them holding each other."
"Me too… my mommy and daddy," Julia said, smiling. She then said, "I hope you will like the presents I got for you."
"Me too," Mari said seriously. She bit her lower lip and then said, "I wanted to get you one of those statues you like."
"Lladros?" Julia asked. When her friend nodded she said, "Oh, those cost a lot."
"I know, Mommy showed me and said I could find something else that I could buy myself," Mari replied. "Can you go there on your tablet?"
"That page?" Julia asked. When her friend nodded she turned to where it was on her nightstand and grabbed it before going to the site. "How come you want to see?" she asked.
"Just 'cause," Mari said. When her friend looked at her she giggled and said, "I want to guess what my daddy got for my mommy this year. And then we can guess what your daddy got for yours too… if we can."
"You want to try and guess," Julia said in amusement.
"Yeah… that and Mommy wouldn't let me look at the pages for that long," Mari replied.
At the top of the catalogue Julia read the words there and then said, "There's a lot of different kinds here."
"And you two would be looking through that all morning," Beckett said, smiling at the girls when their heads shot up to look at her. "Ask your parents and I'm sure they'll let you see some of the statues Mari. And we'll look at it another time sweetie."
"Why some?" Mari couldn't help asking as Julia was turning off her tablet and setting it aside.
"Some of them are naked… what's the word they use Mommy?" Julia asked as she slipped off her bed before her friend followed her.
"They call them nudes and you've seen the same thing as those in museums," Beckett replied, glad her husband had gone down to Eliza's room to get her ready.
"But they aren't like real ladies are, are they?" Julia asked.
"Not exactly," Beckett said, not surprised at that question as she'd been expecting it.
"Why can't they make ladies look like they do," Mari said with a frown as Beckett went to the door to close it.
"They don't want kids to see it," Julia answered before her mother could. "They think it's bad."
Beckett couldn't really add or correct her daughter as she'd thought the same herself when she had wondered when she was young why her body wasn't matching the art that she saw. To change the subject then as she wasn't sure how much the two would ask concerning that she then said, "I hope you've been thinking about what to do today."
"We talked about it last night," Julia said, going to the closet with her mother. "But don't we have to wait and see what you say?"
"Are you going to cook for the party?" Mari asked Beckett.
"No we're having someone bringing the food," she said as she set out the set of clothes that Mari had at the house for impromptu sleepovers like the one the night before. "So we can go somewhere but we need to be back by four."
"Could we go skating?" Julia suddenly asked.
Beckett smiled as she could hear Mari gasping at the idea and she handed Julia her shirt saying, "If the pond is frozen completely. What?" She was surprised when her oldest suddenly looked unsure and she had to wonder what had gone through her mind.
"Will Daddy be okay going?" Julia asked her.
"He will," Beckett assured her, not surprised she'd thought of that. "Ask him at breakfast and we'll see what he says." She waited for them to change after she'd grabbed Julia's brush, getting the spare one that was also used by Mari and sat on the bed before they came to her. "Open the door for me?" she said to Julia. "So what would you like?"
"Mommy would say that I should leave my hair down," Mari said a little shyly. "But Julia said I could put a ribbon in my hair."
"Blue like her shirt," Julia said as she brought it over to them.
After she'd brushed the little girl's hair Beckett tired the ribbon around her head and into a bow that was next to her ear. "And you?" she asked Julia when she was sitting on the bed in front of her.
"I- Hi Daddy!" the little girl began to say before her father appeared in the doorway with Eliza.
"Mommy!" the toddler cried out as she ran over to her. "Morning Mommy," she said as she hugged her mother as tightly as she could. "Daddy brushed my hair."
"I can tell," Beckett said. "Are you getting breakfast?" she then directed to her husband.
"I was going right now but she wanted to be left with you," Castle said, going to her and sharing a kiss with her once he'd finished speaking. "My mother, your dad and Alexis are all getting ready but only Alexis is heading out with us."
"Alright," Beckett said easily as she'd expected that. "Did you tell them our lunch plans?"
"They'll meet us," Castle said with a nod.
"Good, go so we can leave to skate now these three know about it," Beckett said. She smiled as she watched Castle kiss Julia and Eliza's cheeks before he left and she turned her attention back to Julia's hair which she swiftly brushed before she stood. "I know you're wondering," she said when she saw all three of them were staring at her. "But lunch is a little bit of a surprise."
"Why so many Mommy?" Eliza asked as she was recalling the night before and their surprise dessert.
"They're fun," Julia quickly told her. "But it's… annoying Mommy."
"Sorry but it's mostly your daddy that wants to do this," Beckett said, a smile on her face as she was about to pick up Eliza.
"He's always loved doing that," Alexis said from the doorway with Martha and Jim. "It makes him happy."
Going over to the doorway as the girls were hugging their grandparents Beckett touched her father's hand before she said, "You don't have to join us for lunch."
"Oh no, it's not guilt," Martha reassured her. "Like we mentioned to you yesterday we want to spend time with them while we're here."
"You don't want them to go?" Julia asked her mother teasingly. She simply smiled at her when Beckett looked at her and took her hand as they headed downstairs.
"We're not going to fit at the kitchen table," Beckett told the others as they neared the kitchen.
"We're going to eat in the dining room?" Julia asked.
"We are, so I need to help you get the plates to the table," Beckett said.
"I can help them," Alexis said as she watched her grandmother and Jim go over to Castle in the kitchen.
"Thank you," Beckett said before they followed the others. She went to her husband as he stood at the stove and she smiled saying, "Pancakes?"
"Egg nog pancakes," Castle replied as he turned to her when he had the chance. "Something special for the girls."
Beckett smiled since she knew he was referring to the sleepover and she then said, "Were you planning on making eggs?"
"I was," Castle said, looking over at them where he'd left them in a bowl next to the stove. "Do you mind?" he asked as she was then taking out another bowl.
Not replying to that Beckett began cracking the eggs and she told him in Irish what she'd talked about with the girls before he'd come to the door. "It doesn't surprise me," she told him finally. "I wondered the same."
"Of course," Castle said, stacking the last pancake and answering her in English since he could see that Julia was coming over to them.
"Is the table ready for the meal?" Beckett asked their oldest with a smile.
"We're ready," Julia said. "Did you see that Grandpapa got the juice ready?"
"We did, we'll join you shortly," Castle replied for his wife.
"Do you know-" Julia began to say.
"I know," Castle said. "Go tell the others okay?" When they were alone he started on their coffee, making his first that time before he began to explain to her why he'd done that before she interrupted him.
"I know," Beckett told him. "You want to make sure that it lasts until we get to the table." She was leaning against the island, watching him as he moved on to her cup, and she couldn't help smiling at him as he seemed to be moving a little frantically. When he turned with the mug in hand to her she looked down into the foam, seeing that he'd created a row of hearts. Looking up at him she saw the seriousness on his face and murmured, "What did you dream about?"
"Just you my love," Castle told her before he leaned over and then brushed his lips to hers. It was more of a test and when her right arm wrapped around his neck he went back to her for another though he wasn't that far in the first place.
Stepping out into the hall Jim paused once there as he spotted his daughter and son in law in the kitchen and he turned around to go back into the dining room to give them some privacy before he saw that his granddaughters were standing there, Mari just behind them. "They'll come right now," he told them, holding out his hands to usher them back.
"No they finished," Julia said as she saw their parents had parted. "What did he make?" she asked when they got near.
Beckett didn't say anything, merely held the mug low enough so they could see into it. She shared a smile with her husband when they both gasped at nearly the same time, Mari after them, and said, "Do you want me to show your gram and sister?" as she saw her father looking at the pattern as well.
"Yeah," Eliza said eagerly. She let her mother and the other two go inside before she looked up at Jim saying, "Is that kay my daddy does that?"
Unable to help smiling at how earnest Eliza was asking Beckett's father picked her up and set her on his hip telling her, "It's great he does."
"Good, I think that too," Eliza said firmly before she smiled widely. "What do you think 'lexis?" she then asked her big sister.
"Really nicely done," Alexis said before she turned to her stepmother. "But how can you drink it?"
"It'll just dissolve anyways," Beckett said, knowing she'd said that for the girls' sake. "And I'd like to drink it with breakfast so let's get started."
Gathering around the table the family began to talk to one another about the party that night, Jim and Martha not aware if Castle and Beckett had made any set plans for it. When they had finished they cleared the table and while Castle was washing the dishes with Jim's help the chime for the gate rang, setting off Macca before Mari ran after him crying that it was one of her parents with her skates and outfit.
"I would assume for the party," Martha said to Beckett as they were walking to the foyer with the girls. When her daughter in law nodded she said, "I thought she might have that here."
Pressing the button for the door next to the gate Beckett said, "This hasn't happened before and it probably won't again. Though maybe we should." She smiled as the girls turned to her at that and said, "Watch out," as she reached to unlock and open the door.
"Hi Daddy!" Mari cried, seeing him nearing them on the porch. "You have to go work?"
"Really fast, I'll be at the party tonight," David said, handing Beckett the bag he was holding. "And so will Rebecca and Dani." He picked up his daughter and said, "Did you sleep alright?"
"And had a nice breakfast," Mari replied, nodding her head firmly. She hugged him and then kissed his cheek saying, "Did Dani miss me?"
"Of course," David replied. "Your skates are there but covered so your clothes will be fine."
"You picked out her outfit?" Castle told his friend.
"Sure, why not," David said with a smile. He shared a kiss with his daughter and swung her down to the ground before he told her, "Have fun skating with them and be good."
"She has been," Beckett assured him. "We'll see you later."
After they'd said goodbye to the man Castle pretended to chase the girls angrily back inside before he told them, "Now that we all have skates we can head out."
"We have to get dressed up warm?" Eliza asked.
"Yes," Beckett said firmly as the toddler was looking at her out of the corner of her eye. "Come here," she said as Eliza gave a mock scream that made Macca bark. When she finally had a hold of her youngest she said to her father as he was standing next to them, "What will you do?"
"I was thinking of going out to take pictures," Jim said. "Very likely just walk down the beach."
"If you see my mommy will you say hi to her?" Mari asked as Martha was helping her with her coat.
"Of course, I might stop in and see your sister," Jim said. "I haven't seen her for a month."
"She's gotten bigger, she's gonna talk more I bet," Mari said eagerly as she went over to him since she was dressed.
"Then I'll look forward to seeing her," Jim said.
"And now I know what I'll be doing," Martha said.
"I was going to ask you Mother," Castle said as he helped Beckett into her coat as the girls were ready by then.
"It's been a month since I caught up with Rebecca," Martha said. "So you'll see Dani for sure Jim."
After they'd said goodbye to one another Castle took the others into the garage before Julia helped Eliza into her car seat in the back. "All right in there?" he asked the three.
"Yeah, we're ready to go!" Julia said. "Tell 'lexis sorry that she has to go in the car by herself."
"It's fine," the young woman herself called over from the other car, the passenger window rolled down. "Let's go and have a race." She smiled when Julia and Mari laughed while Eliza giggled and she waved to them before pulling out first.
"I hope we get a waffle," Mari whispered to Julia then when they were on the way themselves.
"I know," Julia said back.
"We will," Beckett said from the front as she looked back at them. When the two looked at her, slightly startled, she said, "I can hear you the car is small."
"And she's right, we can't go skating without waffles, that's our tradition," Castle said before he waved to Alexis as he pulled up to a red light in the lane next to her.
"That's ours too," Mari said, smiling at him in the rearview mirror.
There wasn't much distance left to the pond and once they had reached it Castle helped Beckett get the girls out while Alexis was grabbing their skates. He took some once he had his hands free and they went to a clear bench. "Looks like everyone had the same idea today," he told Eliza as he was helping her get her skates on.
"Do we have room?" the toddler asked.
"We do but remember you don't need as much room as the others," Castle told her.
"I know," Eliza said eagerly as he was nearly finished tying her skate. When he had she waited for everyone else to get prepared and since her parents were the last she held her arms out to them both to let them decide which one would take her.
"I'll go with her love," Castle said. "Take the girls."
"That would imply all three of them," Beckett said. "And don't forget Alexis is here."
"He's doing that deliberately," the young woman said. "And I see some friends so I need to go." She saw that Julia was going to speak so she quickly told her, "But I'll skate with you later, I promise."
"Come on," Beckett said, holding her hands out to her daughter and Mari. They stepped out onto the ice before they heard Castle's phone ringing with a text alert. "Let me guess," she told him before he could look at the screen. "They're staying for lunch with Rebecca."
"And your sister," Castle told Mari who was watching him too. "I'm not surprised, Dani's a charmer."
"Good, that way Mommy has company," Mari said, smiling at Julia as she nodded in agreement. After that Beckett started to skate and she and her friend were quickly doing so, still holding her hands though they didn't really need it.
Keeping a close watch on Eliza as she was nowhere near the level of skating the rest of them were Castle allowed her to skate next to him for a little before he brought her in front of him. That was how they'd skated the winter before her first time in skates and he said, "Want to try later?"
"Don't I do it like that Daddy?" Eliza asked, looking up at him as she held on tightly to his hands.
"You will," Castle promised before they made a second turn around the rink.
Eventually Julia asked her mother if she and Mari could skate in front of her and when Beckett gave her permission she slipped her arm through her friend's. "There's Peter! Hi!" she called in surprise, seeing her partner there. When he waved she said to Mari, "We're gonna dance together when you start."
"So we're doing trio dances?" Mari said with a smile.
"No," Julia said, laughing. "We're going to take turns with the dances since there isn't another boy yet. But when one comes you'll dance with him."
"Okay, I just hope I don't fall," Mari said doubtfully.
"You'll do fine," Beckett said to her, smiling when the two looked back at her. "It's not like skating, there's less chance of falling."
"A lot less," Castle said. "Alright, everyone use your toe picks, we're going to stop." When they had he said, "She wants to go with Alexis," he said to the others as he waved to his daughter.
"Can I go with you Mommy?" Julia asked after she and Mari had spoken for a moment.
"Then it looks like it's you and me Mari," Castle said. "Unless you want to skate with a friend?"
"I did with Jules," Mari said. When she saw her friend's parents looked surprised at that she said, "She said I can say that nickname."
"But no one else," Julia added firmly. "Come on; let's keep going so we can get a waffle."
"Of course," Beckett said, smiling at her daughter as she then took her hand tightly when they all proceeded to skate around the edge of the pond yet again.
Going for a few times the family switched one more time so the girls could skate with Alexis and Mari went with Beckett while Castle trailed behind them. When they were getting tired they went to the small hut and got their sweet before heading back to the bench so they could sit and eat together though they sat pressed close as the bench was short. But the girls were giggling and soon Julia remembered there had been something she'd really been eager to ask them and she took a moment to recall the question before it came back to her.
"Are we skating again?" Julia asked her mother after a few bites into her waffle.
"A few more times around," Beckett answered. "Then we're heading to the library." When their daughters gasped, as did Mari, she shared a smile with Castle and then said, "It's too early still for lunch."
"But," Mari then said as she had realized something. "I don't have my card."
"You can check some out with our card," Castle said. "And we'll remind you when you need to return them."
"I'll remind you," Julia told her friend firmly. She finished her waffle and when she saw that Mari had at nearly the same time she said, "Can we go?"
"Yes," Beckett said simply, watching them soon go as they were arm in arm again.
"Mommy," Eliza then said, "Can I skate?"
"We're going to take you in between us," Castle said as he took her wrapper from the waffle before he went to where Beckett was waiting with their youngest. Alexis was already catching up to the girls so they started to go over the ice together, watching Eliza skating and slipping at the same time. "Remember to try to move your feet forward," he told her.
Eliza nodded but was concentrating more on going forward instead of falling though she couldn't quite get it before they were stopping after a number of times around the pond. "Mommy-" she started to say in protest when they moved off to the side.
"We need to go," Beckett interrupted as she took off her skates after setting the toddler on the bench. Once she had her boots on she helped Eliza with her shoes and then kissed her before nuzzling her nose against hers as the toddler giggled heavily.
Watching them Julia smiled and then went over to her mother, unable to help feeling a little jealous of her little sister. When Beckett hugged both of them she said, "Are you happy?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Beckett asked. She smiled when Julia shrugged and shared a quick kiss with her before saying, "Is everyone ready?"
"I am," Mari said happily, in her shoes as Castle had helped her. "I haven't gotten books in a long time."
"I think," Castle said as they all started to walk to the car. "You guys should just get one book each."
"I think it's because you might be getting books for Christmas," Alexis said as all three girls made sounds of protest.
"Oh… he's right, I think we will," Julia said.
"My grandpa said I might," Mari said as they were climbing into the back of the car once Eliza was set in her car seat. "Oh, it's so hard to choose."
"I'll write down the titles so you can remember for your next visit," Beckett told them with a smile after she'd gotten into the driver's seat. Letting Alexis leave the parking lot first she was soon following before they'd reached the library. "So David's sure they're going to break ground on the new library next year?" she asked her husband as they were following the girls into the building.
"He is, our extra donation helped spur them to start," Castle said, turning to huge plot of land across the street from the current library. "It's going to be awesome."
"What's the style?" Alexis asked as she'd made the girls stop to wait for them to join them.
"A sort of modern Greek," Beckett answered for her husband. "We saw the sketches at David and Rebecca's and it'll look amazing."
"I just want to see it built," Castle said. "Come on; let's hurry before we have no time for lunch!"
Smiling as the girls giggled at his tone and his widened eyes Beckett followed them inside and went with Julia and Mari while her husband went with Eliza to the kids' books. Since the two were old enough to read and choose on their own she didn't have much she needed to do and walked behind them, enjoying listening to them talking.
"The book was so good, you were right," Mari was whispering to her friend. "I told Mommy and Daddy I want my own copy. And I said please."
"I bet you'll get it for Christmas," Julia said, smiling at her.
"I hope!" Mari said. "But now I'm afraid to read the second one, what if I get it for Christmas."
"You don't need to read them in order girls," Beckett told them. "So you can pick a later one if you'd like."
Nodding Julia reached for one of The Boxcar Children books they were standing in front of that she'd seen and showed it to her mother saying, "This one."
"The Mystery in Washington DC?" Beckett read. When her daughter nodded she smiled and said, "Okay." While they then waited for Mari to choose a book she said softly to Julia, "You're thinking of when we go aren't you?"
"Yeah, is that cheating?" the little girl asked.
"No," Beckett said quickly, shaking her head. "If they visit places then it will tell you about it but not enough for you to know the city that well."
"Have you been?" Julia asked.
"I have a very long time ago," Beckett said, knowing she wasn't referring to when she and Castle had gone with Skye. "You found one?" she then directed to Mari who was coming over to them.
"Yeah this one happens in the city," the little girl replied, showing them the cover.
"The Mystery of the Purple Pool," Julia read. "Cool, can I read it after you?"
"Can I read yours after mine?" Mari asked.
Beckett smiled as the two laughed softly and then walked together to the kids' books where Castle had Eliza on his lap. "We're ready," she told him.
"Let me finish this book," he told her as he handed a picture book that their youngest had chosen to her. "And we'll meet you at the door."
Going over to the checkout machine Beckett saw that her stepdaughter was waiting there and she said to her, "You don't want a book?"
"I didn't see any," Alexis replied. "I gave you the gift for Dad right?"
"You did," Beckett replied as she was checking out the three tomes. "Thank you for transporting it for me," she said with a smile to her stepdaughter.
"It wasn't a problem," Alexis replied. She then smiled at the others as Castle was leading the girls to them and said, "I hope you'll enjoy those books."
"Our daughter is hungry love," Castle said to his wife as the three girls took their books and walked with Alexis out of the building.
"Which one?" Beckett said, looking down as his hand took hers, their fingers entwining at his direction.
"Eliza, that waffle was small for her," Castle replied.
"I get it, you're hungry," Beckett said. She studied her husband for a moment before she called out to his daughter and tossed her the keys before she made him stop walking.
"What?" Castle said, slightly startled at the expression on her face. He was even more so when she leaned into him and began to whisper in Irish. Eventually his body became tense and his mouth dropped open for a moment before he regained control of himself and stared at her. "You're… serious," he said, beginning as a question and ending in a statement as he saw that she was. "Let's go home," he told her firmly, taking her down to the car where their daughters and Mari were waiting and not missing the smirk on her face as they went.
As the clothes were dropped in nearly a straight line the sounds of passion became louder and more intense before Beckett felt the door to the shower behind her.
"Why did you stop?" Castle asked, his voice nearly strangled.
"The handle is digging into my back," Beckett replied. "And you're not naked yet."
Castle didn't say anything to that since she was right on both points and he took off his boxers last before he followed her into the stall. Kissing her deeply after she'd turned on the water, his hands went to the small of her back where he pushed on it to bring her close. "Your hair-" he suddenly said as he recalled they were standing directly underneath the spray.
"It's alright," Beckett said. "Hurry."
With a brief nod Castle leaned down and kissed her deeply before he then took her to the wall to the right of the showerhead once they'd parted. Pressing her against it he kissed her wildly and felt her hold on him becoming a little frantic. He was delighted by the feel of that and kissed her harder before picking her up.
Beckett assisted him in getting him within her body and she cried out hard when he sank into her. They had little time though they didn't need to rush through it and she could feel that Castle was taking advantage of that as much as he possibly could while he began to alternate between speeding up and slowing down. She kissed him hard as they held tightly to one another and as soon as they parted she was crying out, moaning his name repeatedly until he was slowing down again.
Castle kissed over his wife's upper body as much as he could until she pulled him to her lips but he continued drifting down to her breasts. She wasn't very quick in stopping him while he was busy there and he would have smiled if he wasn't so focused on pushing her over the edge.
Though they had to cut things a little shorter than usual Castle and Beckett didn't care when the end result was as pleasurable as it was when they reached their nearly simultaneous orgasms. They were calling out each other's name and groaning until they finally stopped and he needed to work to keep from falling before she stood again.
"I hate that," Castle said fervently as they'd had to part when he let her off his body.
"We have to go," Beckett said, raising his left arm to check the time.
Checking himself he had to admit that she was right and Castle groaned before he looked at her to see that she was standing underneath the water again. "But maybe this won't be too bad…" he said as he stepped up to her.
Beckett glanced at him over her shoulder since she was looking away from him and was going to comment on that before his hands were sliding around her. When he pulled her back hard she gasped and said, "You're going to-"
"I'll be alright," Castle told her soothingly as he then proceeded to stroke her abdomen with both his hands. When he was sure that she wasn't going to fight against him he then ran them over her ribs until he was going down to her mound. One hand reached up to cup her left breast and his right hand went to her clit. He could feel the water running over her, around his fingers as he stroked at her and he paid attention to the way she leaned against him, her heavy breathing and gasps in response to him. As soon as he could he slid his fingers further, loving the way they slipped around her slick with their spent passion still and what he guessed was likely her own arousal.
"You don't… don't need to do this…" Beckett whispered but she wasn't protesting too hard as she was enjoying what he was doing. "Rick," she gasped heavily as he cupped her firmly with his entire hand.
"Do you want me to?" Castle whispered to her, knowing he didn't need to say any more than that.
"Yes!" Beckett cried before she started to reach backwards herself. As he was slipping two of his fingers into her she just managed to grasp his erection and she lost herself in the sensation of them pleasuring each other manually and a little frantically. When she reached the end she nearly collapsed but luckily her husband was holding her up and she rode the rest of her ecstasy with her arms wrapped around his neck tightly until finally she stopped, trembling a little before she turned around to him and kissed him. She had one arm around his neck and with her free hand she wrapped her hand around his length once more, bringing him over the edge as he thrust against her.
Groaning out her name heavily Castle wasn't sure how long he lasted but finally he stopped and he and Beckett cleaned up before rushing out because they were running late.
Dressed for the party and her hair dried some time later Beckett stepped back out into the bedroom saying to her husband, "I wonder if tonight we can hold off."
Looking at her from where he was tying his shoe Castle said, "Sure, we'll probably be tired anyways." He felt her hand on his shoulder and told her, "Don't worry, I really don't mind." Taking that hand he stood up with her and then brushed his lips to hers saying, "Maybe just this."
"We'll see," Beckett replied. "Come on, we need to get those three ready."
Castle followed her down the hall to Julia's room where their daughters and Mari were sitting on the bed and talking together when they stepped inside. "Are you guys ready?" he asked them.
"We don't have our dresses," Eliza said.
"You mean you're not dressed," Beckett said as she was going to the closet. "You're not wearing dresses tonight."
"Do you know what I wear Daddy?" Eliza asked as he was picking her up.
"I do, your mom made sure I did," Castle said as he went over to Beckett. "And this isn't a fancy party remember."
"Oh," Eliza said before her mother was cupping her face with her hands. She smiled at her mother and said, "Did you kiss Daddy?"
"Why do you ask?" Beckett said with a smile.
"I guessed," Eliza said. "You did."
"Yes," Beckett said. She shared a kiss with her daughter before pressing her lips to her temple. "Get dressed so we're all ready when everyone gets here."
"I will," Eliza said. She then turned to her father and said, "We have to go Daddy."
"Okay, we'll meet you downstairs," Castle said to the others as Julia was getting a tunic from her closet.
"Can you close the door Mari?" Beckett asked the little girl as she went to the bed with Julia. She helped her change though she knew that her daughter was able to on her own and once her tunic was on over her black leggings she tugged on it gently to get some folds out. "You're probably going to be cold with this on," she said.
"It'll be warm in the house," Julia insisted. "Or are we gonna go outside?" She giggled as her mother looked at her and then said, "Then I'll be warm."
"Alright, your turn Mari," Beckett said as she turned to the bag she'd set on the bed earlier. She took out a sweater and said, "Your favorite it looks like."
"It's comfortable too," the little girl replied. "My mommy must have thought we were going to play."
"Of course, we always do," Julia said insistently. While her mother was helping her friend she grabbed her brush and when she came out to them she said, "Will you put a French braid in my hair?"
"Of course," Beckett said. "Do you want me to do something for you Mari?"
"No thank you," the little girl said, sitting on the edge of the bed as she watched Beckett brushing out Julia's hair. That reminded her of the ribbon in her hair and she hurriedly pulled it off saying, "I can't wear this anymore, it doesn't match," to Julia. "Thanks for it."
"You're welcome," Julia said before she could feel her mother tying off the braid in her hair. As soon as she'd finished she turned to her mother and hugged her as tightly as she could saying, "Thanks Mommy." She studied her mother and said, "Eliza was right."
"Yes your daddy and I did kiss," Beckett said pretending to be exasperated. She then smiled at the girls as they laughed softly and ushered them to the door once she was with them and told them, "We do that, and so do your parents Mari, we love each other."
"A lot," Castle said as he and Eliza were walking up to them. He smiled simply at his wife when she sighed and he let the toddler go to the other two girls before he took his wife's hand. "Almost four," he said.
"I know and I'm already sure who'll be first," Beckett said.
"Just because they live next door…" Castle said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. He kissed the back of his wife's hand before saying, "I'll check on the drinks."
"Hello girls," Martha said as they walked into the family room where she was waiting with Jim and Alexis. "You look very festive."
"We want to have fun," Eliza said, hurrying over to her and hugging her.
"Did my mommy and daddy say when they were gonna come over?" Mari asked Jim shyly as she walked over to him after Julia.
"No but they'll be here very soon," he said. "They were talking about how Dani would be during it."
Mari then smiled widely and said, "Did she grow up?"
"She did," Jim said with a nod. "And it was great to see her again."
"He was holding her," Martha said. "It was adorable as she seemed to be very fascinated by him."
"She was sitting with your dog when we went," Jim directed to Mari. "And she licked my face and set your sister laughing. So I think that's why she enjoyed me being over there."
Mari giggled and then nodded saying, "Yeah she likes anyone that Lily likes too."
Castle had entered the room while they were talking but just as he'd done so he froze slightly as the chime rang. "I guess we're starting," he said as his wife stood up. As they walked over to the foyer he said, "Want to bet on who this is?"
"No," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she was smiling slightly. She pressed the button for the door and she opened the door to step out on the porch. "You came over quickly," she said with a smile as she watched the Davises walk up to them.
"We wanted to get here as soon as possible," Brad told them.
"The kids wanted to come over," Lily added with a smile as they went into the house. "And also get out of so many layers."
"It's hard to walk," Eve said as she took off her scarf. "Oh hi Mari, did you guys get here first?"
"No you did, I spent the night," Mari explained with a wide smile.
"So you still got here first," Eve said. She smiled as Eliza hugged her and said, "Hi, are you excited for your parents' party?"
"Yeah and to give presents," Eliza told her. "Are you?"
"Go ahead inside," Castle said once everyone in the family had their outer layers off. He tried to take the gift that Brad had been juggling with and said, "Seriously?" when his friend wouldn't let him take it.
"Seriously and the rest of the Fosters are here," Brad said, gesturing to the gate as the chime for it rang.
Beckett pressed the button for it and they all watched the family pull up before they got out, Mari rushing out to them even though it had started to snow. She greeted them before they started to walk up to the house together, Mari obviously telling her parents about her time with her friend.
"So we're all here except the two who had to travel the furthest," David commented when he and his wife were with their daughters inside the house.
"They'll be here in ten minutes," Beckett said as she'd texted Lanie. She then took Dani from her friend once the baby's outer layers were off and smiled as the baby patted her cheek. "So at this point we'll let the kids play," she told everyone else. "Since I'm not sure they're going to sit around and talk."
"Did you guys set up some games?" Brad asked.
"Julia and Eliza did," Castle said. "You can take them now," he directed to his daughters.
"Oh good," Lily said with a smile as Alexis took the kids down the hall. "At least there'll be supervision," she explained when everyone else looked at her.
"She doesn't mind doing that does she?" Rebecca asked.
"No, she's fine with it," Castle replied. "She does love being around kids and she likes to observe… she's not analyzing-" he was quick to say then.
"We got it," Brad said. "Speaking of kids… should we follow or just hang out here in the foyer."
"I think we're a little old to be hanging out anymore," David said, shaking his head. "Plus not all the kids are in the family room."
"I brought some of her toys," Rebecca said, going to the bag she'd had with her. "Blocks and a stuffed toy mainly."
"Come on, we should watch the kids before things descend into chaos," Lily said. "And by that I mean there are five of them and only one adult."
Going over to the doorway of the room Castle said, "Why am I not surprised you decided on this one," to Julia.
"It's an easier one," the little girl replied with a smile. "And everyone can play."
"Except Dani," Jim said as the baby was grabbing his shirt since Beckett was standing next to him.
Handing her over Beckett watched as her father sat down on an armchair with the baby, unable to help smiling at the sight of them before she turned her attention to the game. "Don't push," she said to the kids as they all stood in front of the group of chairs for musical chairs. "No running or tripping or you'll have to sit out the next game." When the kids laughed slightly she said to Alexis, "Not threatening?"
"I think they can see you're not trying to be," the young woman replied. "But good luck."
"Why don't you play 'lexis?" Eliza asked.
"Do you mind if I do?" Alexis asked.
"You can play, it's not like you could win," Julia said as Brad was bringing another chair to add to the four. "Unless you start pushing."
"I wouldn't want to risk not being able to play the next game," Alexis said with a smile. "Now we're ready," she said as the chair was in place, looking over at her father who was holding his phone.
Pressing play Castle looked on with the others as the six went around in a circle, smiling when Eliza waved to Dani each time she passed her. He let the Christmas song go on for around thirty seconds and then pressed pause.
In the rush to get a chair Mari wasn't quite fast enough and was nearly sitting on Eve's lap. She burst out laughing when the other kids told her she was out and she realized she wasn't on a chair. "Sorry," she told the girl.
"It's okay, I do that too sometimes," Eve replied.
After Mari had gone to sit with her mother Castle played the music again and the kids went around. That time Jake was out and he stood next to his dad while the game continued. Eliza was next and lastly Eve which left Julia and Alexis, the former winning when her sister couldn't get around from the back of the chair.
"Great job," Alexis said, hugging her sister tightly from behind.
"I got lucky," Julia said, blushing slightly in embarrassment that she'd won at her party though her parents were hosting it.
"Alright sweetie, you get the first prize," Beckett said, going to her.
Taking it Julia looked at the others and was relieved to see no one looked to be angry that she'd won. She unwrapped the gift and said happily, "Bubbles!"
"Cool, that's a huge bottle too," Jake said. "That'll last you a long time."
"Yeah, thanks," Julia said, directing that to her parents.
"Are they-" Rebecca started to say when the sound of the chime cut her off.
"They'll play a game once we get Lanie and Esposito in here," Beckett said with a smile, knowing what her friend was going to say.
With everyone behind them Castle pressed the button for the gate telling his wife, "I know Javi would love to joke with me, I'm not giving him the chance."
"You're so lucky he's a good friend," Beckett said teasingly before she led the way out onto the porch. It took a little time before their friends were walking up to them and once Lanie had stepped up to her she wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. "It's great to see you again," she said gently.
"You too, you look great," Lanie told her, giving her a look.
"You just got here and already…" Beckett started to say though their tones were teasing. She then turned to Esposito after he'd shaken her husband's hand and hugged him quickly. "Nice to see you, how're Ryan and his family?"
"Great, they feel bad they missed this but you know how it goes with family," Esposito replied as they stepped into the house.
"Auntie Lanie!" the girls cried the second the door was closed, running to her.
"Girls," Lanie said in laughter as she hugged them tightly. "I have missed you two…" she said before she knelt. "Let me look at you both."
"Did we grow up?" Eliza asked.
"You did, you're going to be taller than me soon, just like your mother," Lanie said. "And you are getting taller already," she directed to Julia.
"Thank you so much for coming to the party," the little girl said happily.
"Let your aunt take her things off," Castle said then after he'd hung Esposito's coat.
"And you might want to say hello to me too," Esposito said to the girls. "I might get a little jealous."
Watching Julia and Eliza hug him Beckett turned to see that Lanie was saying hello to everyone else, starting with her father and Castle's mother. "So we were just finishing up the kids' first game," she said, looking at her former partner closely.
"Great, who won?" Esposito asked her.
"I did," Julia said. "And I got bubbles."
Castle tried not to laugh at the way Esposito had Julia give him a high five and he then said, "We're going to let them play but first I should ask if anyone wants a drink?"