Genre: Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them. And for this story the same goes for Dancing With the Stars.
A/N #1: It was great getting the feedback for the last chapter and the one before it as well so I'll go to my thanks for that. MsNYC (It was great to read that you were able to picture the whole scene and I was happy you thought it was beautiful too!),
Mb (Great you thought the chapter before the newest one was a fantastic update. And yeah, the Queen Mary has had a lot going on with it and I've been there and it definitely deserves being extremely haunted. The room where I had Skye and Beckett having their experience has something wrong with it when you go in there, I had to leave it when I first went so yeah, there is something going on there. I wasn't surprised you mentioned the eppy would be special since there were so many sensitives. I also wasn't surprised that you were glad about Johanna being there to protect and guide Julia, it helps to have one if you're a medium. And that you saw Beckett seeing that she and her kids have that gift though of course she's still skeptical about it. And I wasn't surprised either to see that you were wondering about Julia's birth mother's spirit coming to her. Or that you're expecting a confrontation to occur like Tyson reappearing, lol, that I expected readers to expect. I was wondering what readers would think of Julia sneaking to the lockdown and I'm not surprised that you mentioned it as Julia trying to sneak past her mother. And I really couldn't see Beckett not letting Julia participate a little in the lockdown as well. And don't worry about when you reviewed, I things can get very busy so it was great that you did come back and review this chapter. I also figured you were reading too so I had an idea! Great you thought the first half was a fantastic update and you're welcome for sharing it! And I'm glad you thought it was a good thing Julia was there with them during the lockdown. You make an interesting point about the more negative spirits going after Beckett and Skye since they're investigators or really authority figures, it might well be since those kinds of spirits don't like to be dominated they like having the power over people. And yeah, I though Johanna would really watch out for Skye too since she was her daughter in their past life. I'm glad you liked Julia sensing that her mother would have a nightmare after the lockdown and letting Castle know and telling him what to do for her, I figured that would really help. So happy reading you loved the flashback that was at the end! Great you thought the second half was a fantastic update and you're welcome for sharing the second half too!),
TORONTOSUN (Really nice to read that you like how everyone is for comfortable with each other! And happy to see you thought it was good writing as well!),
Emma (I was pleased to see first off in your review that you're enjoying the story. And I'm glad you like the dancing as well as the kids and nice to see you liked the spooky part too in the other chapter. Also very pleased that you enjoy the intimacy between both Castle and Beckett and Mary and Skye too! You're very welcome!) and
Mb (You're welcome for the spoiler alert, I needed to do that since I don't want to reveal anything too soon of course. Great to read that you thought the last chapter was a fantastic update. And I'm glad that you enjoyed seeing them at home with everyone. I wasn't surprised that you liked how Castle and Beckett make sure that Josie gets attention from them the same as her big sisters; it was hard no to see them doing that, lol. I was pleased to read you're happy that the kids'll have a segment on the show since I've been hoping readers would like them getting more involved on the show too. So happy that you could picture the Rumba in the chapter in your mind, lol, that's been my biggest worry to translate the dances I'm making up in my mind since I'm not a dancer, lol, so I'm glad it's working! And it was a great surprise to see that you thought what Skye and Mary said in their intro were beautiful words since it was about how they met and how Skye was having difficulties emotionally back then. It was nice to read that you loved how excited the kids were with their dance and that you loved the story Derek has for the dance too. It's fun to make up stories for dances so I enjoy doing that myself! Glad you thought the first half was a great update and you're welcome for it too! I was pleased to see of course that you thought the second half was a great update. I had to laugh at you saying you were waiting for Julia to get caught writing in her diary when she should have been in bed, lol. But I'm glad you say that she was able to highlight her time in LA so far, lol, I thought it should be fit in somehow. Really pleased you thought the love scene between Skye and Mary and that you can feel their passion and love for each other. It was also nice seeing that you feel their love is like Castle and Beckett's in the fact that it's always growing and getting stronger as you said. So happy you enjoyed the first part of the love scene between Castle and Beckett and that you thought it was hot and sensual. I wasn't surprised your mentioning Castle's knee giving out. But it was great that you mentioned how loving they were after that, I wanted to show both the intimacy and the loving sides of their relationship since I think they would have that. I had to laugh a bit at your wording of Castle and Beckett putting their minds together, but you're right that's what they did to be able to still make love. So I'm very happy that you thought they were still sensual and intimate as well as loving together. You're very welcome for sharing the second half too!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and appreciate greatly the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song I Love You, California by Francis Beatty Silverwood.
Skies Of Azure Blue
"Look at all the trees!" Julia said eagerly as she stepped out of the car.
"They don't look like they do at home," Eliza said with a frown as she was looking around as well. "It's all green."
"Welcome to California," Skye said, getting out of the car next to them. "Luckily it's slightly cooler up here."
"Slightly," Castle said. "I like it," he said to his wife. "Though I know Alexis wouldn't."
"She prefers fall colors?" Mary asked, picking up Iris.
"She does," Martha said as they were all gathering together after taking separate cars. "What are we doing first?"
"Lunch," Skye said first. "We eat and then walk through everything."
"This looks like the place that we go to," Eliza said as her father picked her up.
"Except it's not in the mountains… hills?" Julia said to her mother.
"I think so," Beckett said, looking over at the kids to make sure they were all there before she saw Clive seemed to be having a problem. "What's wrong?" she asked, going to the boy as they were walking to the restaurant above some shops.
"My ear hurts," he replied, looking up at her.
"Stop," Beckett said, touching his shoulder. "Your ear didn't pop." When he shook his head she then told him, "Try yawning, as wide as you can and that might help."
"What's wrong?" Skye asked, having walked back to them.
"Oh, it popped," Clive said suddenly.
"Having trouble getting that set?" Skye asked. She smiled when the boy nodded and then said thanks to Beckett before he raced over to the restaurant.
"He has a crush on you I think," Beckett told her friend as they looked at one another.
"I believe so, but it's innocent," Skye said. She walked with her friend to the restaurant and said, "It's a bit country in décor," before they reached the door, waiting for her reaction.
"And you didn't think it was back in Apple Canyon?" Beckett asked with a smile. "But really, Law's?"
"I know, it's a hell of a coincidence," Skye said before they were going inside and speaking in Russian. "But it's good."
"I didn't doubt it," Beckett said before they went inside. "You're still here?" she said to her husband as they found their group crowding the entrance.
"They need to push a few tables together," Castle explained.
Beckett nodded and looked down the seating area before she saw the larger room with chairs. "She warned me about the items here," she then said in Irish.
"It's like at home," Castle said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I told her," Beckett said with a smile before the hostess was leading them further into the restaurant. "Though I didn't tell her- Skye, there's an orchard next to the restaurant we went to."
"It's needed," the investigator said before they were sitting at the tables.
"Are we going to be able to practice here?" Julia asked Derek as they were looking at the menus.
"I'm sure there's going to be a flat surface somewhere," the pro replied. "There is right?" he directed to his partner.
"Right outside," Skye said.
"But we're eating right now," Mari said.
"True, we'll wait a bit on that," Skye replied before they were laughing.
"There aren't any kids menus?" Beckett asked then.
"Our girls have gotten sandwiches and split them," Mary said. "But we're uneven grá," she told her wife.
"What're you thinking?" Skye asked her with a smile.
"I'll get one and share with Fleur; and a salad," Mary said.
"Okay," Skye said.
"I'll do the same with Eliza," Martha said.
"Can we split them?" Julia asked her mother.
Knowing her daughter was referencing the four of them Beckett said, "Go ahead, but agree with what you pick out."
"Are we all getting hot cider?" Skye asked, seeing that the waitress was coming.
"Cold," most of the kids said.
"Okay, raise your hand for cold cider," Skye said quickly. After she had seen the hands she told their waitress their orders for drinks and once they were alone again she said, "What're you getting?"
"Get whatever you'd like," Derek said with a smile as he knew the woman was watching what she ate during the show.
"No," Skye said before she then started to laugh. "I wanted to see if there was anything you liked."
"The meatloaf sandwich," Derek replied.
"That's what I'll get," Castle said.
"So will I," Jim said.
Beckett smiled at her husband and said, "I'm not surprised."
"We need something hearty for the mountains," Castle commented. He smiled when his wife put her hand on her face and then said, "Hopefully we're ready," as their waitress was coming with another and their drinks in cups or mugs.
"Is this fresh?" Peter asked the older McDouglas twins in a whisper while the adults were ordering their sandwiches for them.
"Yeah, why do you think there are apples out there?" Kathleen asked with a smile.
"Do they have fresh apple pie?" Eliza then asked.
"Yep, the best," Marie said.
"The one where we go is better," Eliza said immediately.
"Wait," Julia said hurriedly before the twins could say anything. "Lizzy we didn't eat the pie here yet, it might be better or as good as it is back home." She watched her little sister, waiting to see if she should wouldn't let go of the point, but when Eliza nodded she was relieved and turned her attention to her friends as they were talking together.
"I'll remind you," Skye was saying to Castle, Beckett and their parents. "There isn't that much."
"But you said there's a zoo," Castle commented.
Smiling Mary said, "There is and that does take up a lot of time. But we're going to the lower bit, right?" she asked her wife.
"We'll see," Skye replied. "There are things there, but we just go to a store for the apples. We might be alright getting that here; it depends on how the kids are."
"They might be a while showing the others the animals," Mary said.
"Is there a petting zoo?" Jim asked.
"There is," Skye replied. "How's the baby?"
"She's fine," Beckett said, looking down at Josie who was in between both her and her father.
"Mom, you're not going to feed her?" Julia asked.
"For dinner," Beckett said, not surprised at the question as the girls were eager to feed their sister since they'd started giving her baby food the day before. When Julia turned back to her friends she saw their food arriving and told her husband, "What do you want?"
Castle didn't say anything at first, laughing at her guessing before he said, "Did you want to go around to take pictures?"
"I did," Beckett admitted quickly after they'd gotten their food. "But if it doesn't work out then I'll just take pictures while we're walking."
"You know you could do that," Skye said. "Like I said it won't take long to do everything."
"And the zoo?" Beckett asked. She shook her head and said, "We need to eat and then go."
"Why are you in a hurry?" Peter asked. "We're not… still having lessons, are we?"
"No, we'll probably get home too late," Castle said. "But that doesn't mean we're not going to be doing that tomorrow."
"Around practice?" Julia asked with a smile.
"Yes," Beckett answered before her husband did. She expected more questions from the kids but when they merely went back to their food she shared a glance with her husband. After they had eaten, they had their slices of apple pie and she said to Skye, "Are you going to get caramel apples?"
"As always," the investigator replied. "But we're not eating that until we have dinner later tonight." Skye paused and then looked at her partner saying, "It's tradition."
"Go ahead," Derek said. When she looked surprised he then said, "Your daughters."
Looking at them, Skye saw that hers and Mary's two oldest were tense and she said, "I don't know if I should thank you or tell you we shouldn't have so many sweets."
"Thank us," Marie quipped.
Laughing Skye shook her head and said, "Sure but we're not having sweets for a bit. Just fruits."
"Like now?" Fleur asked.
"Without being baked," Mary suggested.
"What do you think?" Kathleen then asked Eliza.
"It's good," the little girl said shyly. She giggled when her sister ruffled her hair and said, "Is it 'cause of the apples."
"Probably," Julia said before she finished the crust of her slice. She then got up with the others and whispered to as many of the other kids as she could reach.
"Hey, don't run…" Castle started to say watching the oldest kids walking fast.
"Hopefully…" Beckett started to say before it came to her what they were doing. She walked quickly after them and stepped out of the restaurant to find the four dancers were pairing up. "Guys," she said with a smile.
"Don't say we can't dance!" Mari said in protest.
"You just ate," Beckett said gently, not surprised when the kids looked at each other and sighed. "Wait until we've walked around okay?" At their obvious disappointment she smiled and said, "You're doing great with Derek's dance."
"You are," the pro said as he and Skye had exited the restaurant by then. "I'm really happy with your progress. Oh, and the costumes will be ready for you to try on tomorrow."
"Are we going to wear them to dance?" Clive asked.
"I think you'll be alright," Derek said. "But if you want to try some steps wearing them then I don't see why you shouldn't."
"Until then," Skye said, hearing the door open behind them and turning to find it was her wife and Castle.
"Is she alright?" Beckett said, going to her mother in law as Josie had started whimpering. She took her out of the carrier and then said, "I'll get her to sleep."
"Would you like us to wait for you somewhere?" Martha asked.
"While we're in the zoo," Beckett said as they were walking on the asphalt of the parking lot and going up a slight incline.
"Is this where you get your apples?" Castle asked Skye and Mary as they were going by a stall that had bags of the fruit in the front.
The investigator shook her head quickly and waited until they were past to say, "Usually we go to the second area, but we might grab them here or the stall."
"How's the selection at the stall?" Castle said.
"Good, we get our cider there," Skye replied before they were walking past a motel and then going through a gate. "The zoo is just up past these stores," she told the others. "And we'll get the tickets for us," she said to Castle and Beckett, waiting for their protests which were forthcoming.
"It's not that expensive," Mary commented after the two had stopped talking.
"Which means we can pay for our share," Castle pointed out.
"Our treat; you'll be getting your apples and everything else," Skye said. When the couple looked at each other she smiled and then said, "Thank you."
"Don't be so sure," Beckett said though she had already resigned herself.
"Is she asleep?" Castle asked his wife.
"Yeah, she is," Beckett said, going over to her father as he'd been pushing the stroller. She set Josie inside before they had reached the first of the stores and she let her father take the stroller over to a bench that was outside. "I'm assuming we won't really like everything here?" she asked Skye in Irish.
"Not really, the kids enjoy looking," the investigator explained as their kids had gone into a store of Native American themed items. "And we'll be back, we'll pick up the tickets now."
"What do you think?" Castle asked Derek when he realized the dancer was with them.
"It's interesting," the pro replied, looking around. "And you have great views here."
Beckett, who'd been taking a picture of the mountain they could see in the distance said, "I'll agree. Though it's a shame this doesn't have the same foliage as at home."
"Hey, I wasn't thinking that," Castle said defensively though he was soon smiling at her briefly. "And while Alexis loves the Adirondacks, she wouldn't mind this."
Seeing that Derek was looking at them Beckett said, "We went last autumn, and she loved the colors there." She glanced quickly at her husband and when he nodded at her she then said, "It's special also to her and her boyfriend, they said their first I love yous there."
"That would do it," Derek said before he saw Skye and Mary were coming over to them.
"Are you going to the zoo?" Castle asked him.
"Yeah, their oldest two seem to be really eager," Derek commented.
"Which is surprising," Mary said as she and her wife had been close enough to hear that. "They've been here since they were little."
"Kids never get tired of animals," Martha said, coming out of the store with the children. "And speaking of that…"
"We're ready," Skye said in amusement as she could see; looking at her daughters; they were.
Walking down the line of shops the group came to an incline that had asphalt over it and they made their way up before Jim and Martha stopped at some stalls that were selling items. They went to a picnic table in the shade of an oak tree and were soon sitting, watching their family and friends going up to the turnstile above where they were.
"You can feed some of the animals outside of the petting zoo part," Kathleen was telling the kids as they were making their way through the tall turnstile while their parents were buying feed corn to use.
"But there are a lot of squirrels too," Marie reminded her little sister. "So watch out for them even though they can be sneaky."
"And it's kinda dumb," Peter said. When the others looked at him he said, "There's acorns all over the place here."
"Yeah, but it's easier," Kathleen said.
"Keep going kids," Mary said to them.
"We're blocking the way," Julia whispered loudly to make everyone start laughing which they did before they came to coops for birds.
"Like at home?" Skye asked, seeing Beckett looking back at her.
"A lot like at home…" she said before she trailed off. "I guess that it makes sense, this is for kids."
"Mommy," Eliza said eagerly and trying not to be too loud. "There's a peacock here!"
Castle watched his wife step forward before he followed her, pausing when he heard Skye asking, "Should we now?"
"On this… sidewalk?" Derek said since the question had been directed to him.
"Just checking," Skye replied with a smile, as the asphalt covering the path wasn't all that even though they weren't walking on an incline.
"Man, I gotta tell my mom about Apple Canyon if it's like this there," Peter was saying to Julia.
"Yeah, not close but it's still nice," the girl said before she thought of something. "Are there horses here?"
"No, sorry about that," Skye said. "I should have told you about this before we started."
"I still want to see everything," Julia said quickly.
"To warn you," Skye said before they were walking past the rest of the birds in the coops before they came to the petting zoo. "Okay, no paper or anything the goats can get," she told the kids.
"Are you going in?" Peter asked Derek.
"I'll stay out here with the bags," the dancer said as he took the purse that Mary was holding.
"You should wear it over your shoulder," Clive commented.
"What do you think?" Derek asked jokingly as he'd done that.
"Clashes with your outfit a bit," Skye said with a smile, taking Ivy and Iris' hands. "Let's go."
Once they were through the gate and stepping down Beckett watched her husband; who was with Eliza; and took pictures of the little girl feeding goats before she did the same with Julia and the other three kids. She also managed to get a shot of Derek, trying to feed a goat with some of the corn that had ended up on the ground.
"Oh… can't we get more Daddy?" Eliza asked when her father ran out of food.
"No, we need to keep going," Castle said easily. "There's more to see. Let's get out of here and go clean our hands. That means you guys too," he directed to the boys.
Once the kids had their hands cleaned with sanitizer they continued down past other animals behind chain link fences. There were llamas, sheep and they eventually came to a paddock with miniature horses.
"You forgot about these Mum," Marie said.
"They didn't have these last year," Skye pointed out. "So great that they had them this time. They knew you were coming," she said jokingly to Julia and Eliza.
Beckett wasn't surprised when the girls weren't really reacting, trying to pet the horses through the fence. She was relieved when they were careful doing that and she got a couple pictures before they were continuing down to some large pigs and cows. She glanced at her husband when she felt him turn and saw he was looking above them. "What is it?" she asked him.
"Not sure… something red," Castle replied. "Is there a barn up there?" he asked Skye and Mary.
"We'll see it now," the latter said, reaching for their daughters.
It took a little time for the children to be convinced to leave the animals, but they were soon going up an incline before they came to a mill with water running over the wheel. The kids from the Hamptons were gasping at the sight of it, along with Fleur before the oldest McDouglas twins were pulling them over to see it closer when their parents were calling to them to their surprise as they turned back to them.
"I'm taking a group picture," Beckett explained to the kids. "Stand together."
"And stay still," Skye added as Iris and Fleur were hopping back and forth on their feet. She waited to see if she needed to say that again, but Beckett was able to take two pictures before she walked with the others to the mill.
Starting to walk after them, Beckett paused and she realized that her husband wasn't with her and she turned to see him looking around. "Are you okay?" she asked him as she went back to him.
"I- yeah," Castle said before he realized that she was asking about his knee. "It's fine."
"Even here?" Beckett asked, nodding to the incline they'd just walked up.
"Even here," Castle said reassuringly. "Let's keep going."
Taking his hand, Beckett walked with him after the others as Skye and Mary had urged the kids on and they were walking up another incline. She noticed something to their right and called to the investigator saying, "Is that a fishing pond?"
"Yeah, I told you Apple Canyon sounded really similar," Skye said.
"You can fish here?" Clive asked Julia.
"Yeah," Marie answered instead. "But we've never done that, people catch them and take them home."
"Oh… good thing no one's doing that now," Mari said.
"Yeah," Julia said as they made their way down to the pond. She sat on the edge and smiled up at her father who walked to her saying, "Did you want to fish?"
"Not really," Castle said. "We have dinner already set at home."
"Yeah," Julia said with a smile as Skye and Mary were going to be making a paella outside that night. "It's weird it's a lot like back at home Dad," she suddenly said.
"Remember, mountains," Castle said, holding up his index finger. When his daughter rolled her eyes, he laughed and then hugged her before saying, "Let's keep-" he started to say before Fleur was letting out a squeal and pointing at something down by the steps they'd taken up to the pond.
"There's a river!" the little girl exclaimed.
"A stream," Kathleen corrected her. She then paused and asked their mothers, "Right?"
"Perhaps a brook, I don't know if it's natural," Skye said.
"It's pretty," Eliza said happily.
"Don't touch the water," Beckett said quickly.
"Let's go," Skye said as she glanced at the two boys.
"She's right let's keep going," Beckett said as she looked over at them and saw the expressions on their faces as well. She went to her husband as they made their way back to the main path and she looked ahead, seeing that they were walking toward another turnstile. "That's it?"
"Yeah, it's not a standard zoo," Skye said.
"Oh… Mom, Mum," Marie suddenly said. "They took out the pond here."
"It's alright," Mary said, looking at the empty pond that was being dug up. "They might have something else here next year."
"Is that all?" Peter said, looking back from where they were.
"It is," Skye replied. "Disappointed?"
"No," Clive said slowly. "But could we go back to the petting zoo?"
Laughing Castle said, "We need to keep going, but I don't blame you for wanting to go back."
"And we're going to get caramel apples now," Kathleen said.
"We will," Mary said. "Eventually."
"Why eventually?" Julia couldn't help asking.
"Up at the top of this hill," Skye said as they stepped out of the zoo. "There's a store but they also have a place where you can pan for gold."
"Oh cool!" Peter said. He then said, "Could we do that?"
"You all will," Beckett assured him before they focused their attention on getting to the top of the incline. Once there she could see the merchandise in the store and could quickly see why Skye hadn't mentioned that since it was more country themed items. They needed to pay for pans for the kids inside though and after they'd gotten them she took Eliza to help her.
"This is fun Mommy," the little girl eventually said as they were swirling the water around the pan they'd been given.
"I know," Beckett said with a smile. "Look at what you have," she told her.
"Oh… I got gold!" Eliza said eagerly.
"So did I, small pieces," Ivy commented.
Hearing the children saying the same Castle said, "You guys are a lot luckier than a lot of the miners in 1849."
"They didn't even find this much?" Clive asked.
"Usually they didn't, he's right," Skye said.
"Yeah, we learned about that too," Marie said. She then turned to her little sisters and said, "You'll get to learn about the Gold Rush soon."
"Neat," Ivy said before they were letting the employee who was there with them bottle their gold in small vials with water. When they were finished she hurried to her mother and took her hand tightly before she was telling them all where they were going next.
"We only have one more shop here to go to," Skye said. "And yes, it's where the caramel apples are. We're just getting those as there are a lot of other candies there."
"What'd she say?" Peter asked Marie and Kathleen as the investigator had spoken to Castle and Beckett.
Shaking her head, the older twin said, "I think that's Irish so we don't know."
"Not fair," Kathleen mumbled.
"Oh no, it's fair," Skye said in amusement before they walked together to where Martha and Jim were.
"How-" Jim started to say.
"I found gold!" Eliza said eagerly, showing him her vial of gold.
"At the zoo?" Martha asked in surprise as she was feeding Josie with a bottle.
"The store up there has a place to pan for gold outside," Castle explained, checking on the baby with his wife. "How's she been?"
"She woke up just now," Martha replied. "And is very hungry."
"I can see that," Beckett said in amusement. "We have just one more place here before we grab apples and cider," she told the two. She looked at the kids and seeing that they were talking or running around where they were together said, "But we can wait for her to finish."
"Which is a surprise," Castle said, watching the kids as well. "They forgot about the caramel apples."
"Don't remind them," Beckett said in amusement. She looked over at Josie and resisted the urge to take the baby to burp her, allowing her mother in law to do that since she didn't really have the chance to do that too often. "I hope you didn't mind staying here," she said to the two.
"No, it's nice," Martha said. "Though not very cold."
"I think it's still the Mediterranean climate even here," Jim said.
"It is," Skye said. "Don't expect it to cool down for winter here until next month."
"I don't think that's a problem, since you won't be having snow," Castle commented.
"I didn't think it would be," Skye said.
Seeing that Martha was standing with Josie, Mary turned to the kids and called, "Are you ready to go?"
"They didn't forget," Beckett said slightly wryly to her husband as the children were hurrying over to them. "Take it easy," she told them quickly. "We're going right now."
"What kinds of apples will they have?" Clive asked Julia once they were walking, heading to the walkway in front of a restaurant.
"I don't know, I've never been here before," the girl said, shrugging her shoulders.
"They're really good ones," Kathleen said.
"Stay together you guys," Skye told the kids as they were walking single file by the front of the restaurant. "Here we are," she said when they passed a green door and came to a second one. "It's a tight squeeze in here and stay together."
"If it's small won't we do that anyway?" Julia said.
"Go in smart aleck," Beckett told her teasingly. She followed in after and saw what Skye had meant as the store was long but didn't go back that far to the displays. She looked for Eliza and soon spotted the girl with her father, so she relaxed before she felt her husband touching her elbow behind her.
"I'm going to watch Josie so my mother can come in," Castle murmured to her. When his wife turned to him he said, "I'll come back, she just wants the chance to look around."
Smiling, as she knew her mother in law enjoyed chocolate chip fudge, Beckett nodded and then went over to her second oldest who was looking at some hot chocolate mixes for sale with Mari. "What do you think?" she asked the two girls.
"There aren't too many different flavors," Mari commented.
"I don't think it's too bad," Julia said, smiling at her.
"Yeah… are you going to buy any?" Mari asked.
"No, come and pick out your apples," Beckett said with a smile as the girl had directed that to Julia. She saw her daughter was about to speak when she quickly told her, "I'm sure Skye and Mary have hot chocolate at their home."
"Yeah," Julia said with a sigh. She then smiled at her mother before she then went over to the other end of the store to look at the apples.
"What're you gonna get?" Mari eventually asked.
"I think the one with sprinkles," Julia said. "What about you."
"I want to try that one too," Mari said with a nod before they both looked at Beckett.
"You're sure?" she asked them. When they nodded Beckett went to where her husband was standing with Eliza and Jim near the door. "Are you ready?" she asked them all.
"They are, I know what they want," Castle replied before they walked together to the register, standing behind Skye and Mary as the two women were ordering their apples. "Let me guess, sprinkles?" he asked.
"Wait, the boys-" Beckett said, looking around the store.
"I know what they want," Castle assured her quickly. "Clive wants the chocolate chip covered one and Peter the M&Ms one."
Beckett nodded and said, "You need to help me."
"It's why I'm here," Castle replied easily, squeezing her hand before they turned their attention to the employee as the couple ahead of them had finished. They ordered their apples; and the chocolate chip fudge for his mother; and after getting the bags with their items he said, "I'll get the boys," as the two were at the opposite end of the shop.
"Think we could take one?" Clive was murmuring to Peter.
"Yeah, I'm hungry again," the boy replied.
The two looked at each other before they were yelling as hands came down on their shoulders. They turned quickly and seeing it was Castle they calmed down before Peter was speaking first.
"Think we can take a sample?" he asked.
"I think we're about to have some apples now," Castle told them, looking at the different cheeses and crackers the two had spotted. "I'm sure Kate would want you to have that for a snack." He ushered them to the door and once they were outside let them go with their friends before they were leaving the shops. They headed to the stall they'd passed, and he was going to ask his wife what she wanted when she was going to Skye.
"How many should we get?" Beckett asked her friend.
"There are a lot of kids," Skye said first. "I suppose three or four bags at least… perhaps five."
"What if you have leftovers?" Iris asked.
"We make dried apples," Marie said.
"You do?" Ivy asked, her eyes wide.
"Of course, in the sun," Mary replied.
"We have to watch them 'cause of the flies and everything, but sometimes we cover them with another sheet," Kathleen added.
"We put them between two sheets," Skye corrected. "Do you mind if I pick?"
"Go ahead," Beckett said.
"You do know the varieties here," Castle said.
Beckett looked on while Skye was asking the stall owner which bags were the best and they soon had their apples. She was surprised when the man washed some, enough for them to split them and eat a few slices. "Nice," she said, smiling at her friend as she knew the two women were wondering what they thought. She looked at the kids and seeing they were nearly finished with the slices she said, "Well?"
"Well what?" Skye asked in surprise as Beckett was looking at her.
"We have some flat space," Castle said, knowing what his wife was thinking.
"We should wait until we head home," Skye said. "There's not a lot of space and there are more people waiting now."
"You're lucky," Beckett said teasingly.
"Let's head down to the stall and grab the cider so we can get back," Skye said.
"Why the need to head back?" Castle asked.
Beckett wasn't surprised when her friend merely smiled, and they walked down past the restaurant. When they'd reached the structure down the road a bit she stepped in and had to take a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness inside. When she saw the items on display she said to her husband, "Let them get anything for their home."
"Sure," Castle replied. When his wife looked at him he smiled and said, "Really, what would we do with anything from here?"
"And I think the girls are helping them pick out everything," Beckett said as she'd noticed their daughters doing that. She then stepped out so she could see where their parents were and found them by one of the stores they'd passed, sitting on a bench in the shade. She felt a hand taking hers and looked at Eliza asking, "What is it sweetie?"
"Daddy says we can get little pumpkins for our rooms," the little girl said. "But he says you have to say if it's kay too."
"It is," Beckett replied, turning to go back in with her. "Just pick one though," she told the kids who were looking at her. Watching them turning to the mini-pumpkins, she said to her husband, "Thank you for telling her to ask me for permission."
"It needed to be done," Castle said with a shrug. He saw the way his wife was looking at him and told her, "It was better to do that."
Beckett laughed softly before she was turning to the kids to find they were finished and looking at their pumpkins. "Are you ready?" she asked them to make sure.
"Yeah," Julia said first before she, her sister and friends all gave the pumpkins to her father. She then went over to Derek who was holding an ear of dried corn and said, "Are you going to get one? You could make some popcorn with it."
Laughing briefly, Derek set it down and said, "I don't really think it's one of those kinds… but if it was I'd grab one. I do love popcorn."
"Me too," Julia replied.
"Was there something you wanted to ask me?" Derek asked her.
"Can we practice at home?" Julia said.
"Of course," Derek said. "But are you the only one who wants to?"
"No," Julia told him quickly as she looked to see that Skye and Mary had bought their items and her parents were nearly finished as well.
"Let's go everyone," Skye said when she and the other parents were standing at the entrance. "We have a lot of practicing to do."
With that the kids hurried out and they gathered at the cars and put away their purchases before they split up and drove down the mountain to head west and return to the McDouglas home.
"Is there any reason why this pan is so big?" Derek inquired, walking up to where the two couples were.
"There are a lot of us here," Mary said simply.
"It still seems to be really big," Castle said, making sure the burner was correctly hooked up.
"We're having extra guests over," Skye said finally. When the three looked at her and her wife she merely smiled and said, "You'll see soon enough."
"It's Zak," Julia said, walking over to them with Mari suddenly. She wasn't surprised when the adults looked at her; mostly in surprise though the investigator was smiling again at her; and told them, "Who else would really come over?" She then thought of something and asked Skye, "Is it the others too?"
"All four of them," the investigator replied. "I extended the invitation to the rest of the crew, but Zak let me know they're on their way back to Vegas already."
"They did their lockdown?" Castle asked.
Nodding Skye said, "Monday night."
"That means they missed the show," Mari commented.
"They don't really watch it," Skye said laughingly. "But they've checked out my dances on YouTube," she said before she looked at the burner. "Alright, this is ready to begin so go ahead and have fun before we need to eat."
"Mind if we watch?" Castle asked.
"Not at all," Skye replied. She paused and said, "You're going to Spain you said next summer?"
"We are," Beckett said, smiling at her father as he was walking by with Josie. "Sorry we didn't tell you before Dad."
"The full summer?" Jim asked. When his daughter nodded he smiled and said, "I'll have to contact Xavi."
"Do that, we'll start out in Madrid and if we could we'd love to go back to Carbajales," Beckett told him.
"I'll let them know, but I'm sure they'll offer the house again," Jim replied before he continued to the kids, leaving the five behind him to talk again.
"Have you ever been?" Skye asked her partner.
"I have," Derek replied. "But not for a number of years. Where's that place you mentioned?" he then asked Castle and Beckett.
Since she knew he wasn't talking about Madrid, Beckett said, "It's in the northeastern section of the country." She paused and said, "I think my father said it's close to the border of Portugal."
"Ever think of going there?" Skye asked.
"Thinking about your dance?" Castle responded with quickly.
"Wrong country," Skye said jokingly. "But if you ever went there I could help out with translations."
"We'll keep that in mind," Beckett said with a smile.
"Don't look at me," Mary replied as the three turned to her. "She's teaching me though, but it takes time to learn a language."
"I speak just Portuguese to her sometimes," Skye replied. "But things have been a bit busy lately."
"Should we go to a churrascaria?" Derek asked.
Skye laughed and said, "I was going to suggest it, but that's alright. If we'd gone to Universal this week instead of last week I would have said the one at Citywalk."
"Do they know we're going?" Derek asked Castle and Beckett as Skye and Mary had excused themselves to head into the kitchen to get the ingredients.
"They do, we told them because we had to check on all their robes well… except for Peter and Clive," Castle said.
"They need new ones?" Derek guessed.
"Clive needs them for the first time," Beckett explained. "He did the sorting test after we told them, and he got put into Slytherin. Which is good because Mary's on her own there." She started to speak but paused before she told the dancer, "They might ask you to get one."
"Would they be alright with my getting a scarf?" Derek asked.
"They would," Beckett said with a laugh. "Gryffindor?"
"Yeah," Derek said before he turned with them to watch the two women coming with covered bowls and other items in their arms. He and Castle were quickly jumping over to them to help, taking a few items while the women thanked them.
"I feel bad you lot just standing here," Skye said.
"We wanted to see how you cooked this," Beckett said, though she couldn't help the urge she felt in wanting to play with her daughters as they were playing with the different bubble items they had.
"Go Kate," Castle said. "I'll watch and write down the recipe."
"I'll give you a copy, it has the instructions," Mary said.
"I'll stay," Castle said.
Squeezing her husband's shoulder, Beckett went over to their parents, wanting to check on Josie before she joined in with the bubbles. She kissed the top of the baby's head, since her father was holding Josie on his lap, and was about to take her when her mother in law was speaking with a slight frown on her face.
"Are you sure you should take her over there?" Martha asked.
"I'll watch her," Beckett assured her, not surprised she was concerned about that. She took Josie from her father and then carried her over to the other kids saying, "Are you guys having fun."
"Hi Mom," Julia said with a smile, waving to her little sister. "Are you gonna blow bubbles too?"
"Maybe later," Beckett replied.
"Mommy look!" Eliza said eagerly, dipping her wand into the vial of solution. She spun around, letting out bubbles before she looked over at her mother expectantly.
"That was very pretty sweetie," Beckett said with a smile. She heard a brief laugh from Josie and said, "Your sister agrees."
"Think she can see them?" Julia asked, blowing her bubbles through a shorter wand.
"I'm not sure," Beckett replied.
"How old is she going to be this month?" Ivy asked, coming over to them.
"Six months," Beckett said before she started to laugh as the baby was kicking her legs. "Easy Josie," she told her soothingly. "You'll be able to play with them soon enough."
"Yeah, we'll play with you all the time Josa," Eliza said eagerly.
Beckett wondered if she should correct her daughter by using the word sometimes instead, but she let it go as Fleur was soon chasing the little girl and she turned her attention to her second oldest. "You don't want to run around?" she asked her.
"I already did," Julia replied. "I'm having fun doing this," she said, blowing out more bubbles before they watched as Josie was kicking her legs again.
"She is too," Castle said as he walked up to them. When he saw the way his wife was looking at him he shrugged and said, "Skye told me to go."
"You were watching us?" Beckett said in amusement.
"I think you mean you Mom," Julia said, watching as her mother handed Josie to her father.
"Smart aleck," Beckett said wryly as she looked down at her. She shook her head when Julia smiled widely and then heard a car.
"It's them," the girl said eagerly, hurrying over to it before it parked behind the other cars in the driveway.
"Hello again Julia," Zak said as he got out of the driver's side first. "They told you we were going to be here for dinner?"
"I guess," Julia admitted. That was all she could say to the investigator as they were soon being surrounded by the other kids.
"Guys," Beckett said, walking over to them finally. "Let them walk into the backyard at least."
"This is a nice house," Zak said, going to the patio and to Skye. He embraced her briefly with one arm asking her, "When was this built."
"Before I was born, by my father," Skye said. "I told you there's no activity though, so no lockdown if you please."
Zak nodded and said, "It smells nice."
"Thank you," Mary said, smiling at him since she had taken over with the paella. "If you want a tour around we can show you in a bit."
"That's alright," Zak said.
"The girls want you to see," Skye replied before she saw him looking over at the backyard. She was about to urge him and the other men to walk around when her daughters were coming over to them.
"Come and see everything outside," Marie said to Zak.
"Let them take you around," Skye said with a smile when the investigator looked at her. "They know their way around." She watched them leaving and then said to her wife, "They have their evidence."
"I got that," Mary replied. "Are you worried?" she asked her wife after studying her for a moment. She wasn't surprised when the investigator shrugged, and she squeezed her shoulder saying, "We'll see what there is."
Nodding Skye smiled and said, "I love you grá."
"I love you too," Mary replied, squeezing her hand before she went back to stirring the paella that was slowly coming together.
"That is a nice pool," Aaron was saying as they were looking in on it.
"The slide is the best part," Fleur said, nodding her head.
"That would be," Aaron said. "Is anyone staying at the guest house?"
"We are," Beckett said. "We've been here before and we prefer being out here." They walked out together, and she hung back a little to go with her husband before she said, "How's she doing?"
"Good," Castle replied as he was studying the baby while she was yawning.
"What're you looking at?" Beckett asked.
"Any teeth," Castle commented. He realized what she might think before he told her, "At this point they should be coming in so I-"
"It's alright," Beckett told him reassuringly and with a smile. "I know you were just wondering. They might be a little later coming in you know."
"I remember," Castle said, as they'd both looked into premature baby development though Josie hadn't been too early. "But maybe not that much."
"Most likely," Beckett said. She thought of something and asked, "When did yours first come in?"
"At six months exactly," Martha said, as she and Jim weren't too far ahead of them. "My son was very prompt," she told Jim.
"Katie nearly was, only six months and two days," he said. Jim looked back at his daughter and said with a smile, "Remember we kept track of everything."
"I remember Dad," Beckett replied. "So it should be soon once we reach the seventeenth," she told her husband.
"Definitely," Castle said, having her stop walking.
Beckett glanced at him for that and told him, "You know-" before he was kissing her. She had expected that, so she was able to recover quickly, which she was relieved she could do since they were soon parting. "Thank you," she said.
"It needed to be done," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes; as she smiled; and he leaned down to kiss her cheek before she was placing her hand on his chest.
"Make sure you don't do that again until we're in our room," Beckett told him.
"I'll be careful not to," Castle replied, speaking quickly as the others were returning to them.
"I think dinner's ready," Beckett said quickly as she'd looked back at the patio and saw the women were waving to them.
"How'd you get everything out onto the patio?" Zak asked.
"We helped them," Castle said. "The kids tried to, but the table was too much."
"It looks like it, both of them," Aaron said.
"The plates are there on the table," Mary told them once they were nearing them. "Grab them and you can get what you'd like."
Since there were so many of them the kids; served and seated at the tables first; were jokingly complaining about starving before the adults were with them. After they'd taken the first bites; and had complimented Skye and Mary; Julia was clearing her throat.
"What is it?" Beckett said, looking at her daughter.
"Where did you go for your other lockdown?" Julia asked a little shyly.
"I'm afraid we're not saying," Zak replied. "The family that invited us to their home; I can tell you that much; was insistent that we keep the location secret. All we'll have on the episode is that it's in Southern California. But that does bring me to something I wanted to ask you."
"Okay," Castle said, seeing the uncertainty in his wife's eyes as he knew she was guessing too that it meant another lockdown.
"Not just you," Zak said, looking over at Skye and Mary.
"I expected that," the investigator said with a smile. "What is it you'd like us to investigate?"
"You do well with child spirits," Zak said to Julia. "And you speak Spanish."
"And I know where this is going," Skye commented. "Or where we're going."
"Where?" Castle asked.
"If they give their permission," Zak said to the investigator and her wife. "I'd like us to head down to Mexico City."
Julia didn't care that everyone was looking at her for her gasp, instead she said, "The Island of the Dolls?"
"Yeah, I'd like us to go back and see how things are there," Zak said.
"Which was a major surprise when he told us about this," Aaron said wryly.
"Oh yeah, how are you going to go?" Kathleen asked.
"I'll be fine," Zak said quickly, not surprised the kids knew about his fear of dolls. "But I would like Julia to come with me," he then directed to Castle and Beckett. "I'd want you guys to come too of course, but I'd like to see what she could find there."
"When?" Beckett asked, not surprised her daughter was looking at her eagerly.
"I figured her Spring Break would be easier," Zak said. "That way she won't miss school."
Castle didn't say anything when his wife looked at him, letting her decide for them as he gave her a slight smile.
Sighing a little, Beckett turned to the lead investigator and said, "Alright, we'll go but this island was in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah, she'd have to be there the whole time, but we'll have a boat and it'll be big enough so she could sleep there," Zak said.
"I wouldn't," Julia said in a rush. "It'd be too exciting."
"You would," Beckett said firmly. "And we will go." She then looked at her husband and said, "What do you think about going there for the week?" wondering if he would be alright with not going to Hawaii as they'd talked about.
"That would be interesting," Castle said.
"We'll be with there for the Spanish," Skye said.
"That's not the only reason we'd want you to be there," Beckett said wryly. "You've been before, we need to know places to go."
"That I can help you with," Skye said with a smile.
"Why were you in Mexico City?" Jay asked.
"An investigation," Skye replied. "But it is a very nice city, a bit packed but it's a city of course. And quite a lot of history."
"How cool," Peter said to his friend. "You get to be in another lockdown."
"Yeah, and this time you don't need to sneak over there," Mari said before they started laughing. "But that's going to be cool, seeing Mexico City."
"Yeah," Julia said briefly.
Watching her daughter, Beckett could tell she had something on her mind and she was about to ask her what was wrong when the girl spoke to her friend rapidly.
"You need to come with us," Julia said.
"I do?" Mari said in surprise as her friend had looked at her.
"Yeah… I don't know why but you need to go too," Julia said earnestly. "I just hope your parents will let you go."
"Me too," Mari said.
"Have you seen the episode with the place we're talking about before?" Billy asked the girl.
"I did," Mari said. "And it's scary with all those dolls but you'll all be there right?"
"Yes, although I wonder if your parents would let you go to the lockdown," Zak said.
"Would I be investigating?" Mari said, her eyes wide.
Skye glanced at Zak, who was studying the girl and she commented, "It might be necessary," to him.
Looking at her, Zak then said to the girls, "You two are close."
"Best friends," Julia and Mari said at the same time, looking at each other and laughing slightly.
"You can come with us," Zak said. "It'd probably be better if you come in the day too, so you can see it before we go at night. But whether or not you'll go to try and get evidence… we'll wait and see how things go."
"Okay," Mari said, nodding her head.
"Now that we have that all settled," Mary said. "Would anyone like seconds?"
With some laughter a few of the adults got up to head back to the pan where they could get their food before they went to the table, the kids getting up to play again while they looked on.