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: I just want to note that the park doesn't have the elevator I mention being recently built, I just always thought that it needed it.
A/N #2: I was pleased to get the feedback for the last chapter, so I'll go ahead and get to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Really happy to see that you like when I bring in other characters since I enjoy doing that I lot myself in my stories!) and
Mb (I'm glad to read that you thought the last chapter was nicely done. And I'm really happy you think it's good seeing the kids being included in the dancing. I figured at the very least Skye would be grateful for them, but I suppose I slipped in Derek since it's not all on him with teaching her the steps, lol, at least the basic ones. And I figured since Derek is still in charge the other stars and dancers wouldn't mind plus it's fun having kids around like that, lol, so it was nice to see you were happy about that too! It was great that you loved Castle and Beckett with the kids, along with you being able to feel how much love and passion they have for each other. I wasn't surprised that you loved the fact that the other kids' parents were able to go see their kids on the show. And I definitely had to have them happy and proud for their kids too! Really pleased that you thought the dances the kids and Skye and Derek had sounded fun as well as colorful and happy as I wanted them to be this time around! Happy to read you thought the first half was nicely done. And you're welcome for sharing this first half too! It was great that you thought the second half was wonderfully done. I wasn't surprised you thought it was good that Derek and Skye were safe that week, also that you felt the same about the kids being on the rest of the shows. I'm really happy that you think that Skye and Mary are beautiful together since I love writing them together. And I was really happy that I captured their connection which is full of passion and love as you put it. It was great to see your reaction to Castle and Beckett's love scenes and that you thought they're hot and sensual together and that they can go from hot and hard to sensual and loving as you said. Really pleased that you could feel their total and complete love in their hearts and souls. Definitely Caskett always. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!).
Thanks for the reviews, loved reading them and I appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from a song sung by the Sorting Hat in the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which belongs to JK Rowling.
Those Of Sharpest Mind
"This is smaller than we saw before," Eliza commented.
"Do you want to go on my shoulders?" Castle asked her with a smile as he was holding her hand.
Shaking her head Eliza said, "I have to put on my robes Daddy."
"I know but that's not until we get over to the gates," Castle told her. He saw her thinking that over seriously and he picked her up to her cry, placing her on his shoulders.
Beckett smiled at the two before she was turning her attention to Julia and Mari who she was walking with. "You two are so lucky," she told them.
"No school?" Julia asked then.
"And that you get to do this for a third time," Beckett replied. She was smiling again when they looked at each other eagerly, and then said, "Have you told the boys about the wands?"
"Yeah, their mom and dad said they could get one," Julia replied. She thought about what she'd said and then corrected herself saying, "One each."
"Of course," Beckett replied.
"Is it okay if I go with my family?" Mari then said to Julia.
"Yeah, go!" the girl said urgently. She smiled as her friend rushed to her parents and little sister and said, "I'm glad they stayed longer."
"So am I," Beckett replied, squeezing her daughter's hand. She glanced at the other parents, the Fosters, Genevieve and Isaac had managed to arrange to stay longer that week, so they could go with their children to the theme park that day. Thinking of the date, the fourteenth, she let Julia go over to the Fosters while she went to her father who was pushing Josie's stroller. "I'll take it Dad," she told him. "You'll have to push it around the park today."
Nodding, Jim then watched his daughter reach down into the baby's carrier with one hand before she was tickling Josie's neck. He smiled as the baby was smiling back at her mother and he then said, "It feels a little like we've done this before."
"Very close," Skye commented as she stopped at the end of the Citywalk they'd been going through to reach the front gate of the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. "Alright, everyone get your robes on."
"What about everyone else?" Clive asked.
"There," Marie said, pointing to the Universal Studios gift shop that was at the end of the promenade.
"Oh, they got robes!" Julia exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah… he said he was just going to grab a scarf," Skye said.
"Oh, don't give me that look," Derek said jokingly as he reached his partner and they hugged for a moment. "It's a nice day and-"
"I'll take the blame for this," Eddie said, with Derek and his own partner. "I was taken in by these robes."
"You're a Slytherin?" Mary asked with a smile.
"Oh sure… quite cunning I suppose," Eddie replied with a smile before they turned to look at the fourth person that had been with the three of them that cleared his throat.
"I hope you won't mind me joining you," Sasha said.
"Not at all," Skye said first. She was going to speak but had to stop as the others were agreeing with her. She then asked with a smile, "Where's Daisy?"
"Just buying her robes," Derek commented, looking back at the store.
"Hold on," the photojournalist said as she was coming out to them, putting on a Gryffindor robe. "I told you we'd come with."
"Have you all been here before?" Castle couldn't help asking.
"I think I'm the only one who hasn't," Daisy said.
"Where do you live?" Peter couldn't help asking.
"In San Francisco," Daisy replied.
"Mom, we couldn't go there while we're here?" Julia asked suddenly.
"I don't think we'll have the chance," Beckett said gently. "I wish we could go, but we have a lot here right now."
"Speaking of that, we need to get in or we'll lose our hour," Mary told everyone.
Walking together to the security before the entrance, the group went through the metal detectors and once they were all checked out they were making their way to the large gates.
"Is this weird for you?" Julia was asking Emma shyly. "This Harry Potter stuff in America?"
"I'd never really thought about it before," the dancer said with a smile. "But you have a lot of space to put things like this and a lot of people too." Emma then looked down at the girl and asked, "You've been to the one in Florida, haven't you?"
"We went this summer," Mari said as she was walking with them.
"You don't mind going to the same park again?" Eddie asked. When the two girls smiled at each other he said to his partner and Sasha, "I suppose not."
"No, we love the Harry Potter stuff," Mari said first.
"Are you guys going to get wands?" Julia then asked.
"I don't think so," Daisy said. "I probably won't be down here too often."
"You can use our wands if you want," Marie said from in front of them.
"All our wands," Clive commented. He then shared a look with Peter and said, "Once we get ours."
They had reached the entrance and were going through the turnstiles, stopping to take a group picture at the statue past the gates. Once they could go Skye and Mary stopped the other adults, about to ask them how they wanted to go through the park when Beckett was speaking first.
"This is your turn to direct us," she said, smiling when Skye sighed.
"I have to agree," David commented, smiling himself. "This is your park."
Pretending to sputter, Skye then said, "Not our park, but I suppose since we've been here long enough…"
"We should go," Isaac said, looking down at his son.
"Okay, Hogsmeade first," Skye said, looking at the kids herself and noticing they appeared to be growing antsy. She led the way with her wife through the buildings and shops of the Upper Lot section until they came to the plaza and continued to the right of it.
"There it is," Julia said eagerly when she saw the familiar entrance to Hogsmeade. She looked over at Peter and Clive and then remembered the three youngest McDouglases and how they hadn't been there yet. Glancing over towards them she soon saw the older twins were talking to their little sisters, smiling when the three youngest soon responded.
"It's a lot smaller than we saw in Orlando," Marie was saying.
"But it's still really cool," Kathleen added.
"And there are spells," Marie said.
"But not as many as over there," Kathleen added.
"The rides are fun and there are a lot you can go on too," Marie said.
"But we have to go up and down," Kathleen said before she realized they'd stopped walking and it was quiet. "What?" she and her twin said at the same time.
"We know all of that already," Ivy said first.
"You told us that while we went in Orlando," Fleur added.
"But we do want to go on everything," Iris said eagerly.
"I think we should get going now," Mary said, sharing a smile with her wife.
"We have something special first," Skye said, smiling at the two boys.
"Oh! I know what that is!" Eliza said eagerly, squeezing her mother's hand tightly.
"So do I," Beckett replied, gently tugging her with them as they were walking again. She then said to Eddie, who'd ended up next to them, "Are you going to stick with us for the day?"
"I'd like to," the actor replied. "Never really been here before. And it's always fun with the children."
"I'm just here for pictures," Daisy said in amusement when Skye looked at her. "And rides."
"I was waiting for that last bit," the investigator said, smiling. "What do you think?" she said, directing that to everyone who hadn't been in Orlando with her family, the Fosters and the Castles that summer.
"There's snow," Peter said.
"Weird snow," Clive said, trying to fix the hood of his Slytherin robes and then letting his father help him. "But still, it's cool. Is that a candy store?"
Before the kids could start lingering, the parents got them to head over to Ollivander's store where nearly all of them got into a line on the side. The boys; who were the only two who hadn't been to that section of the park before; asked the other kids about what they'd be seeing, but they were soon heading into a room, looking around as an employee started to speak. They then went into another room where there were boxes of wands and their group stood at the front before a man came through a door and began to speak.
Beckett looked at her husband as the man soon called Peter and Clive up to the counter, telling the former to try a wand that was Holly. She smiled when the boy jumped as he waved it and some boxes fell above them into an open space.
"No, no, definitely not the right wand," the worker said, waving his wand and 'fixing' the damage. "Try this, elder with a unicorn hair core."
Peter waved it again and then jumped as he broke something in a shelf above, quickly handing the wand back to the man.
"Not to worry," the worker said, turning behind him again. "Try this, alder wood and with a phoenix feather core," he then said to Clive, handing him the wand. When there was more damage on another shelf, he said, "I wonder…" before he switched the wands the boys were holding
Julia smiled at Kathleen; as the alder one was the same wand that she had; and then watched Peter take the wand before the light shown down on both boys. When the show was over, and they were let out into the wand shop itself, she tried to go to the two to ask them if they liked their wands before she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder.
"They needed to talk to the worker about buying those wands," Beckett told her.
"Oh," Julia said, looking over at Kathleen.
"I don't care," the girl said, shrugging her shoulders. "They said they didn't want someone else's wand from the books."
"I think mine is cool," Clive said as he and Peter had come out to the shop with their parents. He was looking at his own wand which had a skull at the handle and glanced at his friend's which had a snake at the end.
"Even though that was the evil one?" Marie asked him.
"Dumbledore had it," Clive pointed out to her.
After their parents had urged them out of the store Julia said, "We're doing the spells first?"
"We are, and then we'll start out on the rides," Skye said. "Girls?" she said to hers and Mary's older twins.
"We remember," Kathleen said before she and her sister led the way over to the beginning of the spells.
"Are we going in?" Clive asked hopefully as they'd come to Honeydukes and he saw the large Chocolate Frog box in the window display.
"Not yet," Mary said after the two boys' parents were looking at her and her wife. "Your first spell is here."
Standing on the marker on the ground, Marie waved her wand in an R shape saying, "Revelio," making the lid of the large box rise and reveal the chocolate frog inside. She smiled and then stepped aside so her sister could take a turn, watching Julia usher the two boys to go after Kathleen.
"But Eliza-" Peter started to say.
"I did this already," the little girl said with a smile.
Though he wasn't sure, Clive stepped forward and raised his wand, looking at Julia.
"Make the same shape but not that big," the girl said. "You saw how Marie and Kath did it."
Nodding, the boy turned to the window and waved his wand, grinning widely as the lid of the box raised and he looked to his right to find his father was taking pictures with his phone. "Dad," he groaned.
"I couldn't help it," Isaac replied, putting his hand on his son's shoulder and leading him out of the way of Peter and Genevieve.
"This is cool," the boy said after he had taken his turn.
"There's more," Marie said with a smile.
"I know, I looked at the map that came with my wand," Peter said.
"Me too," Clive added as they were standing together. He looked over at the other kids who were going before he recalled something. "Dad, you didn't get a robe."
"I don't think I really need it," Isaac said slowly.
"No, you should," Peter said. "My mom said she'd get one too."
"You know your house?" Beckett asked the woman.
"I did the quiz last night with him," Genevieve said, nodding to her son. "Ravenclaw."
"I told her she was going to get that," Peter said with a wide smile. "Has your dad ever done that?"
"I have," Isaac said. "And I got…"
"Gryffindor, Dad," Clive said, rolling his eyes as he knew his father was teasing him.
"We can go to Gladrags over there," Skye told the two parents.
"After we get near it," Genevieve said.
"What's the next spell?" Eliza asked eagerly.
"Here, at where we're gonna get lunch," Marie said.
"Girls," Mary said.
"What?" the two said at the same time. "We always eat here for lunch," Marie said.
"And I don't think the kids would let us get away with not going there this time," Rebecca said wryly.
"Here," Kathleen said. "The next spell. Incendio."
"Go in order of age," Beckett said quickly. "And fast we have a lot of other spells."
"Wait," Julia said suddenly. "You guys didn't get to cast spells yet," she said to their guests.
"Go ahead," Eliza said, going to Emma and holding out her wand.
"Which one is this?" the dancer said with a smile.
"Holly, like Harry Potter had," Eliza replied.
"The shape of the spell is on the ground here," Julia then told the pro. She watched with her sister as the woman cast the triangle shape and they smiled at each other when the lights in the window display turned on.
"Thank you," Emma said with a laugh as the kids were applauding. "Do you want to try?" she asked her husband.
"Not that one," Eliza said before Sasha could take her wand. "Jules."
With a smile, as some of the adults were laughing softly at her sister, Julia handed her want to Sasha saying, "This one's Vine, like Hermione's." She watched with the others as he waved it and she smiled saying, "It's pretty cool."
"It is," Sasha replied. "You four are dancing next week we heard," he commented before he watched the girl blush before she answered.
"Yeah, we're hoping we do well," Julia said.
"Did you want them to practice right now?" Derek asked in amusement as they went over to the next spell.
"No, I'll see them while we're all practicing," Sasha replied. "And this?"
"Herbivicus," Julia said. She saw the two dancers were looking at her and she took her wand back from Sasha saying, "They have this in Orlando, but it's not the same."
Beckett, having been listening to their conversation, watched as her daughter went over to the window with the other kids. She felt her husband's hand on her back and smiled at him for a moment before she said, "What?"
"We have our wands," Castle reminded her.
"I know, but we should let them have their turns," Beckett said.
"There are a lot of them," Castle said, nodding his head. He watched the purple flower open as Peter was waving his wand at that moment, and he then said, "Think we'll split up?"
"Maybe," Beckett replied. "But we'll have to see how things go."
"You mean how the park is?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he couldn't help it, leaning over and kissing her cheek before he pulled away as they went to Madam Puddifoot's.
Stopping in front of the shop Beckett smiled when the kids made the plates in the window there move before making them stop, looking around them and hearing the cries of a ride in the distance. "Do you think it's the same roller coaster in Japan and Orlando?" she asked her husband when she saw he was looking in the same direction.
"I hope so," Castle replied. "That way Eliza can go on it too."
Nodding Beckett stayed with her husband, though she was soon getting the stroller so Josie was with them as they went through the different spells until they'd finished with the last one across from The Three Broomsticks. "Rides?" she asked Skye and Mary as the kids were looking at their parents.
"Yes, come on," the former said before she led them to the back of the area where there was the roller coaster and Hogwarts Castle across from it.
"I went on this one," Eliza was telling Fleur eagerly.
"In Japan," Skye told her daughter. "So that means you can go on it as well." She smiled when the little girl took her hand before they were getting into line after making sure Martha was alright with Josie and Dani at a bench near the shops.
Since he was sitting with Marie during the ride, Castle asked at the end of it, "Do you feel weird?"
"Kinda dizzy?" the girl asked. When he nodded she smiled and said, "Mum said it's all pressed together so it's a tight squeeze."
"That would explain it," Castle said with a nod. "Luckily the other ride is a good one."
"Yeah," Marie said with a smile before they were getting off the train.
Castle went to his wife once they were walking across the path to the ride in Hogwarts Castle and said, "Sit with me?"
"Of course," Beckett said with a smile before they were waiting for her father to take the three youngest McDouglas children and Eliza to Martha and the two youngest. She leaned against him while they waited, watching their daughter practicing their Waltz with her friends before they made their way inside to the ride.
"Luckily we're early enough," Skye commented as she sat down at the table she and her family were sharing.
"Very early," Mary said with a smile.
"How crowded does it get?" Derek asked the two women.
"Very," Skye said. "There's a reason the line inside is fairly long and winding."
"The food is good though," Kathleen was saying.
"Dessert is too," Marie quipped with a smile.
"Ah, don't be thinking about that sweetling," Skye told her, playfully pinching her cheek. "We have to eat first."
"Here it comes," Beckett said, spotting the others coming over to them with the food they'd ordered. She glanced at the girls and said, "Stop drinking your pumpkin juice, you need to save it for your food."
Though she didn't want to, Julia set aside her cup and waited until she had her plate of bangers and mash to take another sip of the juice. She started cutting her first sausage and ate it with the mashed potatoes before saying to Mari who she was sitting next to, "This has been so cool."
"I know, it's fun," the girl was saying, looking across the table at the older McDouglas twins. "It doesn't matter how many spells you can do," Mari added.
"You went to Florida," Kathleen said. "We were hoping you'd still like here."
"Yeah," Mari added. "And we haven't gone to everything yet."
"We only went on two rides," Peter commented as the older kids had been allowed to sit together at a table. "There is more right?"
"There are," Marie said with a nod. "And we can go around now to walk."
"Cool," Clive said.
"There are things to see," Kathleen said before she recalled something. "Mum, Mom, what about the shows?"
"Hmm, we need to ask everyone else," Skye said, thinking that over. "There are just three, but they take time of course."
"What are they?" Isaac asked.
"The WaterWorld one," Mary said. "Girls," she told them as the twins were wrinkling their noses.
"They don't like it all that much," Skye commented. "And we're a bit tired of it, we've seen it so often of course. Then there's the animal actor one-"
"We like that one," Kathleen interrupted.
"And a special effects one," Mary finished, glancing at the twins.
"I think the animal actors show would be better," Genevieve said. "Since I think we all like animals."
"I don't mind. Pictures," Daisy said.
"I'd like to see it," Sasha said.
Seeing the dancer's wife nodding, Skye smiled and said, "Alright, we'll go there after lunch and then go to the main attraction of this park. The reason the park is here."
Castle bit at the side of his mouth as the kids; except for the older McDouglas twins; clamored with questions about what that reason was. Finally he told them, "Guys, they're not going to let us know until we go to it. So let's wait until we finish and see the show before we get to that point."
Beckett squeezed her husband's hand as the kids finally went back to their food and returned to her own meal. She had an idea of what Skye was talking about, but didn't say anything, wanting hers and Castle's daughters to be surprised as she finished the last of her pumpkin juice.
"Can we teach our doggies to do that stuff?" Eliza asked her mother.
"I don't think so sweetie," Beckett said, squeezing her hand while they were walking away from the outdoor theater for the animal actors show. "They're a little too big for some of those tricks."
"Yeah," Eliza said after she had thought that over. "What are we gonna do now?"
"That!" Fleur said, pointing ahead of them.
"The Studio Tour?" Peter asked, reading the sign for it.
"This is what the park started out with," Skye said with a smile.
"Do they still film stuff here?" Mari asked.
"They do, but the shows are for NBC," Derek commented. When the kids looked at him he said, "In case you were wondering why we weren't being filmed for the show."
"Can you be here?" Clive asked.
Laughing briefly Sasha said, "Of course, but again, we're not being filmed."
"I don't know if you'll want the baby to go on this," Skye said to Castle and Beckett. "There are thematic things and noises… fire."
"Who would stay though?" Castle asked though he was looking at his wife.
"No, she's right we can't take a five-month-old for that," Beckett said.
"There isn't a height limit Mom," Julia said.
Shaking her head Beckett was about to say that she could remain with the baby when her father was speaking first to her surprise.
"I'll stay," Jim was saying.
"But Grandpapa, you should get to see it too!" Julia said, her little sister agreeing with her.
"Dad?" Skye said when she suddenly noticed him in the distance, walking from the entrance. "You made it!"
"I did," the man said, having been planning to join them though later as he'd had a meeting with a pilot's association from Britain in the city that morning. "And you're about to head on the tour?"
"We are, are you coming?" Marie asked with a slight frown.
"Is anyone watching the baby?" Liam asked.
"I will, you can go with your granddaughters," Jim said with a smile, though Eliza was holding his hand tightly.
"I won't," Liam replied. "I've never enjoyed this tour and I promised the girls I'd join them on any other ride."
"The minions," Fleur said with a giggle.
"Thank you," Jim told the man.
"You're very welcome, I hope you'll enjoy it," Liam said. "Girls?" he said to his granddaughters. "The rest of the park."
Smiling as all the kids were laughing at the man's exaggerated voice and widened eyes, Beckett took Julia's hand before they made their way over to the sign for the tour. They reached a railing and she wasn't surprised to hear the exclamation from the kids that hadn't been there before Skye was speaking quickly.
"We're on a hill, if you couldn't guess," the investigator was saying with a smile. "And we need to go down."
"It's cool, but…" Kathleen started to say before she looked at her mothers.
"We'll show them," Mary said reassuringly. When they headed over to some escalators she said, "Liam will be pushing Josie around."
"We knew," Beckett said with a smile. "He's done that at the Promenade."
"And it's fine," Castle said, speaking absently as he was looking down at his robes to make sure they were alright while they were on the escalator.
"Are we gonna be in the movies Mummy?" Iris was asking Skye as they headed to their line for the ride since they had passes for the front of the line.
"No, but we'll see things from the movies," the investigator said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head. After she straightened up she was taking one of the 3D glasses on a tray they were passing by, urging the others to do the same. "Like I said, we'll be seeing things," Skye said jokingly.
They were let onto the tram that was parked at the loading station, having to divide as the tram seated six across. But Castle and Beckett were able to sit with their daughters and parents, trying their best to keep the former two from putting on their 3D glasses.
"We'll use them soon I'm sure," Beckett said reassuringly to the two as they were starting to move. She looked at the TV screen in the tram but then looked out at the view, taking a picture of her daughters looking at it before she took a picture of the view itself.
"It's pretty," Julia said. She grunted as the tram bounced yet again; though it had just started; and said, "Is it going to do that the whole time?"
Beckett put her hand on her daughter's shoulder; since she was sitting next to the girls; and shook her head as they were starting to go down and going past movie posters. She wasn't surprised when Eliza turned to her; knowing the little girl was going to ask what was special about the movies; when the tour guide asked them to name a movie before the clip showed on the TV in front of them.
"Don't say anything," Castle said out of the side of his mouth to his mother; who was to his left. He jumped when she lightly slapped his arm and he looked at her in confusion before he realized he hadn't needed to ask. He glanced at the girls, seeing they were distracted by the fire station they were passing on the right. The scene stopped, and the tour guide was explaining the scene had been filmed on a soundstage. He wondered for a second why they'd bothered to show that when he realized they were approaching soundstages that were used.
"Look," Julia said eagerly when the tour guide mentioned some movies that had been filmed inside one soundstage. She and her sister watched the clips of movies like Frankenstein, Dracula, Scarface, Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. Though she wasn't aware of the first three she did know most of the last ones and she smiled at her parents as they'd finally let her watch the Back to the Future movies. She then was surprised when they were passing a parking lot, listening to the tour guide talking about the reality of making movies and TV shows. She looked at her little sister, wondering what she thought of everything they were passing and surprised that she was looking around interestedly before her mother wrapped her arm around her shoulder.
"She's interested still," Beckett told her softly. "This is all new to her."
Julia nodded, before she looked ahead and gasped before whispering into her little sister's ear, "It's the minions."
Jim, leaning over at hearing Eliza's squealing, saw the display for the company that had made the movies with the characters. He smiled as Eliza was staring at the two minions and Julia was taking a picture before the tram stopped for a moment. He was about to tell his daughter to take a quickly posed picture of the girls when she was telling them already. "She read my mind," he said to Castle's mother.
Nodding Martha said, "I'll want a copy of that."
"Me too," Jim said as they were passing different trailers for some filming on a soundstage.
After passing some offices and then a large mural of NYC on the side of a building, Beckett saw Skye; with her daughters in front of them though Marie was behind them with the Fosters; turn around. "I knew," she said.
"How?" the investigator asked with a smile.
"I watched Hairspray; we all did," Beckett said, turning to look behind her at Derek.
"Hey there," the dancer said, waving, making some of the kids laugh since he'd been in that production.
"Good thing no one's recognizing you guys," Julia whispered, looking back as well.
"That's what hats are for," Emma commented since she, her husband and Derek were all wearing them and had been before they'd gone on the escalators.
"Face forward sweetie," Beckett told her daughter, making her turn around before they looked at the different streets that looked like NYC. She looked back at the TV screen in surprise when the tour guide began talking about Hairspray and she grabbed Julia before she could look back at Derek, knowing it might alert the people not with their group in the back of the tram car.
Julia smiled over her shoulder at the dancer when he squeezed her shoulder while some clips from that TV movie played briefly and then looked at Courthouse Square they were passing on the left. She frowned, as it looked familiar, and when the tour guide said it was used in the movie Back to the Future she looked at her mother who leaned down to her ear.
"There was a fire about twelve years ago," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when Julia nodded, and they watched the quick clip about that movie before they were moving again and they were passing through the NYC style streets, learning more about their construction.
When they were going up a hill, Eliza looked over and could see a foreboding structure, grabbing her mother's hand as the tram turned. She couldn't help whimpering at the sight of a tram car like theirs, destroyed, before her mother held her to her. "What happened Mommy?" she whispered.
"It's King Kong," Castle said. "And we need to put on our glasses soon." He was a bit dismayed when the little girl cuddled against her mother a little more at that and he looked at Beckett questioningly.
"We'll see," she said simply before they were entering the building. Beckett was dismayed that it was so dark, but luckily the footage on the TV was distracting Eliza enough before they were instructed to put on their 3D glasses and Julia was talking to her sister excitedly.
"This is going to be really cool," the girl said. Julia couldn't see her sister, so she reached for her hand and just managed to find it before squeezing it tightly as the screens went dark and a movie started to play on the walls on either side of them and they went through jungle before they were suddenly driving. She cried out with her sister, as the tram wasn't moving, but it felt like they were since the movie on the screens was.
Castle leaned over to look at Eliza as the tram was moving, but she was laughing before a t-rex came up on each side. He had his arm around his wife, watching as King Kong came up and tossed the dinosaur aside before it 'climbed' over the tram to fight with the other on the left. The tram was moving around, and the dinosaur seemed to pull a car from the back of the tram off it before it fell, and they were falling too. He was worried about both girls for a moment, as the sensation of falling was very real, but they were laughing together and seeing their arms were up he knew Julia had helped Eliza with that.
At the end of the experience, and as soon as they were out in the sunlight, Beckett was quick to check on Eliza, helping her with her glasses. "Are you okay?" she asked the little girl.
"Yeah, that was fun," Eliza said, looking outside the tram. "Are we gonna go again?" she asked since it appeared they were heading back to the front of the building.
Julia was about to say they wouldn't when the tour guide was talking about cars which they were passing on the left. She was reading the boards behind each car but didn't recognize the first two until she saw the third. "Back to the Future!" she said eagerly when she spotted the cars they were passing.
After they had gone by the row, Eliza looked up at the screen as it was showing a clip from Jurassic Park. She looked at all the cars and items they were passing, from the movie she guessed, and asked, "Can I watch that?"
"Not just yet," Beckett said with a smile, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. She looked up as the tour guide was talking about it being quiet before a dinosaur popped up and squirted water towards them. She laughed as she heard Genevieve cry out two rows back and looked ahead as they continued driving until they stopped in front of what looked like a Mexican town from the past. She was startled when it suddenly began raining in front of them, seeing the girls looking to the left where the rain was in awe before the tour guide was telling them how the rain was being made by the overhead sprinklers. She wondered for a moment if that was all they would see; though she was suspicious of the incline far back; when water started to rush down towards them from the hill and from a building as well.
"We're gonna get wet!" Iris cried out before the water stopped on the bridge the tram was on, though she was hit by spray as were some of the others on the left side of the tram.
"That was cool," Julia said when they were driving again. "What's next?" she asked her mother.
"I'm not sure," Beckett replied, feeling her husband squeeze her hand while they were going through Wild West sets. After they went through outdoor sets that were explained as being used for a TV show and monster movies. She took some pictures of what she recognized from the classic monster movies until they were coming up to another soundstage and Eliza was tugging her robe sleeve.
"What's next?" the little girl asked.
"We'll find out right now," Beckett assured her quietly as the tour guide was talking about a set designed to look like a subway station. At first, she thought it was supposed to be the subway in NYC, but when the tram started to shake she looked at her husband.
"San Francisco," Castle said before the lights started to flicker and then the ceiling came down, revealing a street with a liquid gas truck on it.
Beckett turned her attention to the girls then, as she heard them both crying out along with some of the other kids. She held onto Eliza when the truck hit some of the posts in the station, and there was some fire near them close enough to feel the heat of it. More of the ceiling collapsed, and a second later a telephone pole fell as well making the little girl in her arms cry out again when it swung down towards them.
Julia jumped when some fire appeared on the right, near her, making her suddenly hot before the sound of metal screeching got her attention back to the left. She looked over in time so see a subway train; that looked a lot like the BART trains in San Francisco; come in on the other track and veer towards toward them before one of the posts made the front car and second one separate. She breathed out as the tour guide said the worst was over when she heard water and turned in time to see it gushing down a staircase to the right. She couldn't help laughing as her little sister squealed since there was so much of it, but they were only getting some spray and then continuing. "That was scary," she said to her parents. "Mom?" she asked, startled to see the expression on her face.
"Daddy?" Eliza said, grabbing his hand when she saw he looked the same.
"Rick, Kate," Martha said calmly.
"Sorry," Beckett said, shaking her head first, glancing at the Wild West sets they were passing. "I was remembering the earthquake in San Francisco," she told the girls, smiling so they wouldn't keep looking worried.
"It's hard to forget that," Castle said, smiling as well. "Look at the billboard."
"It's Jaws, Dad," Julia said with a smile before they were stopping in front of a pond of water where there was a set of a fishing village on the other side. "Look!" she gasped when she saw the shark fin cutting through the water.
Eliza gasped and covered her eyes as a scuba diver; after the shark fin had disappeared; went up and down in the water before disappearing under before there was red in it. "Is he kay?" she whispered to her parents.
"He will be," Castle said before the tram was moving again. He was a little surprised when they stopped again, and a pier moved slightly in the water. He jumped when flames shot out of a red barrel, glad that it was facing away from them as he could still feel the heat. As more flames shot through the floor on the pier he soon saw something was coming out of the water and he heard the girls noticing the shark.
"It's him!" Julia said eagerly as it rose out of the water. She cried out and tried to pull away when there were splashes of water, but they were driving away and she sighed, looking at her little sister.
"Did he stop?" Eliza asked, her face buried in her mother's arm.
"He did," Beckett said gently. She was relieved when the little girl sat up before they came to a street of houses. She focused mostly on her daughters, wanting to make sure they were both alright. But Eliza was focusing mostly on the homes, so she relaxed until they were passing an old black car that made her look at her husband saying, "1970 Charger."
Castle nodded, knowing there was a reason why the car was there as the tour guide was calling security. But they drove past it and a second later the security called back, showing who the car belonged to before he laughed as it was Vin Diesel. "I know what's next."
"Me too," Beckett said with a smile.
"Oh, that's not next," Julia said when she saw what they were approaching.
"Whoville!" Eliza squealed as they passed the set from the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Beckett smiled at how happy the little girl was, but when they went around the set she couldn't help groaning as the music from the movie Psycho played and a second later they could see the Bates Motel with the Bates home above it. She wrapped her arms around Eliza as someone came out of a room at the end of the hotel, carrying what she knew was supposed to be a body to the trunk of a car before the man turned to the tram.
"What's he gonna do?" Eliza asked before she gasped as the man that the tour guide was calling Norman pulled a knife from his jacket and ran towards the tram as it was moving. She breathed out in relief when they were past him and said to her mother, "That was close."
"I know… can I see that movie?" Julia asked.
"Not yet," Castle said as they were driving past the Bates house before they were coming around it to another set. He shared a look with his wife, not surprised when she leaned over and touched Skye's shoulder.
"It's alright, I've told her," the investigator replied with a slight smile behind her at her friend. They were driving through a set for the movie War of the Worlds and it featured a real 747 that had been torn up for wreckage for that part of the movie. She had Fleur against her side; intentionally sitting next to her as she'd known they would be going to the set. She felt Mary's hand on her shoulder before she smiled at her wife as they were passing the cockpit and part of the fuselage with the roof torn off and the other piece of it split slightly away from it. She expected Fleur to be trembling but the little girl was looking up at her and she asked, "Are you alright mon petite?"
The little girl nodded and asked, "Ce n'est pas vrai?"
Smiling, as she'd asked it wasn't real, Skye nodded herself and told her, "La maige des films."
"The magic of films?" Julia asked her mother, as they'd been listening.
"Movies," Beckett said with a nod.
"That was creepy," Castle said, squeezing his wife's shoulder as they could still hear one of the plane's engines rotating.
Beckett nodded, having thought the same as she'd been recalling their incident at JFK, but shook that from her mind before they were leaving. She looked at the large pool of water with a blue wall behind it, not surprised it was used for ocean scenes in movies. She recognized the house in front of that water from the movie The Great Outdoors, looking at her husband as he liked that movie. They were pausing past the water and house, coming to what appeared to be a dilapidated warehouse, and she was about to say what they were going into next when hers and Castle's second oldest spoke first.
"Is that the Fast and Furious ride?" Julia whispered, just remembering to so the people who hadn't been on it at all before wouldn't hear her. She sighed when her parents nodded, as she'd liked the King Kong experience more. But as they were in the building and going through it eventually, she laughed as she could hear her little sister crying out in excitement. They came to the loading station after that and when they were going up she asked, "What's next?"
"I'm quite thirsty," Skye commented as she'd heard her since she and her family were ahead of theirs. "I could do with some Butterbeer."
"Cold?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Or frozen. And then we can look over at a special part of the park," Mary said.
"What?" Ivy asked, taking her mother's hand once they were off the escalator going up.
"You'll see," Skye said simply before they met up with Liam and Josie.
Beckett, holding Eliza's hand while Castle held the little girl's right hand, squeezed it gently. "We'll find out soon enough," she told the little girl.
"I know," Eliza said with a sigh before she smiled seeing the gate to Hogsmeade again.
The group got their drinks before they were sitting on a wall and drinking them, watching the people passing by until they were finishing. Just as they were standing and about to leave for the next part of the park Josie began to cry, making her parents immediately freeze.
"Does she need to eat?" Julia asked.
"No," Beckett said. She quickly checked the baby's diaper and said with a smile, "I think she wanted out of her carrier," as she set her on her hip. "Let's go," she told the others before they walked out of Hogsmeade.
"Maman!" Fleur exclaimed when they walked across the park, past the theater where they'd seen the animal show, and were walking by buildings that looked like they were from Paris.
"I know mon petite," Skye said with a smile. "They're showing how good their sets are for movies. But we're about to see here."
Looking ahead, Castle laughed when the youngest kids squealed in pleasure as they saw a purple gate with a plaque on it reading Super Silly Fun Land, the area next to the Despicable Me ride. He could feel Eliza kicking at his chest, and then put his hands on her legs to stop her saying, "Is it time to go down?"
"Yeah," Eliza said happily before her father took her off his shoulders. She raced to Fleur and they hurried together to the minion dressed as Napoleon's soldier on the right side of the gate, standing on either side of it before they looked expectantly at their mothers.
"I guess it's time to take pictures," Beckett said to Skye in amusement as she brought her camera up to take one.
"I suppose it is," the investigator said with a smile, glancing at her wife who was taking a picture. "There's a ride we can go on now."
"The Despicable Me one?" Derek asked.
"Not yet," Skye said. "That one."
"I think we'll pass," Emma said as they looked at the ride. "It looks more like it's for the younger kids."
"It basically is," Mary said. "But this'll give them the chance to digest a bit."
"Plus, the games," Skye said before she turned to the other kids. "Everyone go join them, we'll have a big picture of all the children."
After the parents had had enough pictures of their kids, they allowed them to lead the way inside that section. The kids saw the games first, but the adults turned their attention to the ride that was going at that moment to distract them.
"What is it called?" Eliza asked, holding onto her grandmother's hand tightly.
"Silly Swirly," Julia, with Mari just ahead of them, said.
Giggling, Eliza looked up at Martha and asked, "Will you go with me Gram?"
Looking up at the ride for a moment, Castle's mother looked back at her son and daughter in law before she smiled and said, "Okay, but don't move us around too fast kiddo."
"I won't," Eliza said.
"Are you gonna go on Mom, Dad?" Julia asked the two.
"We'll stay with Josie," Beckett told her. "Have fun."
"It's funny how Derek got roped into going on the ride," Castle commented.
"Well… there are three shorter kids and only two mothers," Beckett said with a smile as they sat and watched their family and friends getting on the cars of the aerial carousel. "But Sasha and Emma got a break," she said, glancing back towards the section that looked like Paris where the couple had gone. She heard Josie whimpering and turned in time to see Castle pulling her out of the carrier which made her sigh playfully. "We can't carry you around every second Josie," taking her as she wasn't stopping. She set her on her lap and gently bounced her, not surprised when she started to laugh. She couldn't help it and leaned over, kissing the side of her head before she heard someone calling to the baby.
"Your sisters are up there," Castle said, pointing to try and get Josie's attention there. He wasn't surprised when she baby tried putting her fist into her mouth and he laughed, pulling it away gently before he kissed the top of her head. "Well… at least the older kids are having fun," he said, watching the ride then.
"Did you really think they wouldn't on this kind of ride?" Beckett said. When her husband shrugged she said simply, "Rick."
Turning to her, Castle leaned over as she quickly gestured to him and they kissed one another firmly. They weren't together for too long and he said, "It's a little annoying," speaking in Irish.
Smiling, as she knew he was referencing the length of that kiss, Beckett handed him their baby and said, "We'll have more time tomorrow." She couldn't help laughing softly when he nodded before she kissed his cheek and they played with Josie until they would be going through the park again.