"It's a text from…" Beckett started to say. She read and then said with a smile, "Skye and Mary."
"Did they find out?" Castle asked.
"They did," Beckett said in surprise. "And they have custody of them; they'll be able to adopt them fully in about six months in California."
"Are they gonna come here?" Eliza asked.
"They are, they're going to stay at the Ritz too," Beckett said, glancing at her husband.
Shaking his head Castle said, "I didn't know when they'd come here so they went there on their own."
"They did know we were staying there," Louis pointed out.
"Well they're leaving very soon so Skye will be going with us to the spa," Beckett said, hurriedly texting her congratulations to her friend.
"Why not Mary?" Julia asked as they were starting to walk again.
"She wants to spend time with the girls on her own," Beckett said. "Now that they have Ivy and Iris."
"What about Skye?" Martha asked.
"She'll be doing that back at their home," Beckett replied. "They may go back home after the reception… they might go with Lanie and Dylan to JFK for all I know."
"Cool," Julia said. "But what will she do with them?"
"Skye mentioned that Mary will take them swimming at the hotel tomorrow," Becket answered. "And likely Skye will do that back at their home. Don't worry, she'll spend time with her daughters. What's next?"
"We're going in here," Castle said, pointing out the building they were going up to. "But we're going to take a detour."
Julia shared a look with her sister before they went to walk with their father and went inside the building. She looked at the animals they were already passing but they didn't stop until they were outside again. "Why are we going here first?" she asked him.
"That way we can come back and then leave," Castle explained. "Hopefully you guys like this area." He waited for one of the girls to spot the first animal and when it was Eliza; squealing over the sight of a goat; he started walking after her when he felt his wife take his hand. He turned to her when she squeezed gently and stopped him from saying anything so she could speak right away, making him wonder briefly what she needed to say as she began to talk.
"Tá muid ag glacadh leo go díreach chuig ma capaill?" Beckett said, asking him if they were taking them straight to the horses.
"Beidh siad deireanach," Castle replied, meaning they would be last.
"Tá tú ag tortú orthu," Beckett said, telling him teasingly he was torturing them.
"Tú nó túse?" Castle said jokingly which meant them or you.
Beckett's response wasn't verbal, she merely narrowed her eyes at her husband though she hadn't let go of his hand in that time. She pulled him after her, going to the girls who they could see were watching for them at some candy machines that were filled with grain. "Tá tú-" she began with, saying the words yes and you before she realized she was still speaking Irish. She stopped herself when she saw the way Julia and Eliza were smiling at each other. "Sorry, yes you guys can feed them but your sister's still asleep so leave her be."
"But she doesn't get to feed them," Eliza pointed out though she was looking at her father who was getting some of the grain into a handkerchief.
"Good, she's too little still," Jim said. "Also try not to touch your sister after feeding the animals."
"Oh, we weren't gonna do that," Julia reassured him after taking some grain from Castle. "That's gross."
"Be careful," Beckett said as the girls went into the petting zoo with Louis and Alexis. She half expected her husband to go in after them but when he went to wash his hands she smiled and said, "We'll be right back," to her father and mother in law before Castle was coming over to her and taking her hand.
As they walked around the petting zoo, Castle glanced at his wife next to him and asked, "No questions as to why or telling me to stop?"
"No," Beckett said simply. She smiled again when he looked at her with a slight frown and she told him, "I figured we'd be doing this."
"You're not worried the girls are going to protest?" Castle then asked.
"No," Beckett repeated. She squeezed his hand and told him, "They're right behind us." She couldn't help laughing outright when he froze and then looked back to find the others were with the girls at the sinks. "It's alright," she told him as she saw the dismay on his face. "Ask them if they want to go back."
Glancing at his wife, Castle then looked ahead of them and saw the girls walking quickly to them which made him smile. "We should go back, you didn't get to-" he began to say once they were close enough.
"No!" Julia and Eliza said together. The former looked at her little sister when their father pretended to jump in surprise and Julia said with a smile, "It's okay Dad, we know you're gonna go to the horses."
"We really wanna see them," Eliza added earnestly. She then held up her hands and said, "My hands are clean, Jules' too."
"Then let's go," Castle said. He took Julia's hand when she went to him and when Eliza was with Beckett he started to walk to lead them to where they had the horses.
"Oh," Eliza breathed when she spotted them.
"They're Clydesdales," Beckett said quickly as she saw Julia was looking at her.
"They're really tall," the girl said in amazement.
"They're draft horses, which means they can pull heavy loads," Jim explained. He glanced at his daughter and said, "Would you be able to pet them?"
"Hold on," Beckett said with a smile, going over quickly to an employee that she'd seen. She knew her daughters were watching so she hoped they have the chance to interact with the animals as she neared the woman to ask her.
"I think you guys will be able to pet them," Castle said, having been watching his wife and seeing the smile on her face as she walked back to them.
"They said it's alright, but Harriet is going to stay with us while we do this," Beckett explained to everyone once she was with them. "And I start." She couldn't help smiling at the way the girls nodded firmly, and she then went over to the horses who were looking over the railing at them. Holding out her hand she waited for them both to sniff at her palm before the one on the right pressed down into it. She couldn't help laughing as she reached up and carefully ran her hand over its forehead. When the worker said the horse liked around its ears being scratched she quickly did so and felt Julia and Eliza walking up to her to stand next to her. "Are you two ready?" she asked the girls.
"I am," Julia said eagerly.
Since her oldest was tall enough to reach Beckett merely watched as Julia let the horses smell her hands and then pet it as she had done, though the girl couldn't reach the ears.
"How do I do that?" Eliza asked, trying not to sound too impatient.
"Here," Castle said, picking her up. He stuck his hand out with her and they let the horses smell them before they pet the one on the left together. "So that's it right, we can go?" he asked jokingly. He laughed when both Julia and Eliza glared at him and said, "Okay, but there's more to see."
"We can take our time," Beckett commented, sharing a smile with her husband before they turned their attention to their daughters and the horses as Alexis and Louis joined them.
"Easy sweetie," Beckett was saying to the baby as she was moving her legs and making the water go over the edge of her tub. She leaned over and gently pressed her lips to her forehead before straightened up and looked at her husband as he walked up to her.
"She doesn't look very tired," Castle commented.
Shaking her head Beckett was about to tell him that she would sleep when she paused and looked at him more closely. "What's on your mind?" she asked him as she turned her attention back to the baby so she could rinse her off.
"You're still planning on taking a shower," Castle asked her.
"I would like to," Beckett said. "Why?"
"I wanted to spend some time with her," Castle replied.
"Well… I don't think she'll be asleep yet," Beckett said. "And I was going to take a shower right after this," she added.
"Great," Castle said, looking at their youngest. He smiled, since the baby was, and then shook himself saying, "I almost forgot, I can take care of her after you're finished here."
Beckett merely nodded, as she knew her husband really wanted to do that, and she focused on Josie until she was rinsed off completely. Once she was sure she was finished she picked her up and handed the baby to Castle since he had a towel ready for that. She dried off her hands, watching her husband drying their daughter off, before she set aside her towel and went up to him saying, "I'm going to take my shower, have fun," before she shared a kiss with him.
"Thanks," Castle called, watching her go over to the bedroom. When she was out of sight he looked at Josie and said, "Well, it's you and me now sweetheart." He moved quickly to take her into the bedroom, hearing his wife walking around in the bathroom, before he set Josie on the bed where her pajamas and new diaper was. He finished drying her and then dressed her swiftly before he picked her up. "There you go," he told her, kissing her cheek. "How do you feel?"
Castle smiled at the way the baby vocalized a little and he kissed her cheek gently before he told her, "I'm sure your sisters miss you too but don't worry, you'll see them tomorrow." He then got onto the bed; since he'd already changed into his pajamas; and sat up against the headboard holding Josie in front of him securely. "I have to tell you now all about Coney Island since it's going to be a while before you can go on rides and play the games with us. So, once you left with both your gram and grandpapa I went with your mom and sisters. But just Julia and Eliza since your big sister and Louis decided to head back to their hotel to swim. So, it was the four of us and the first thing we did were the rides."
Crying out heavily in joy as her father went around a curve Eliza watched her father turn before he started to slow down as they were coming to the end of the ride. "Aww, it's over?" she asked in disappointment.
"It is, but you had fun, right?" Castle asked.
"Yeah," Eliza said with a giggle. She looked behind their car as her father was stopping and she asked, "How come Jules didn't drive by herself?"
"I don't think she's ready to yet," Castle said with a smile as they stopped and they got up out of the car together. He smiled at her and then said, "What would you like to do now?"
"No more rides?" Eliza asked.
"Hold on," Castle said, waiting for his wife and Julia to catch up to them.
"What is it?" Beckett asked once she was close to her husband.
"What about going back on the rides?" Castle asked her.
Shaking her head Beckett said, "We went on almost every one you two could go on. So now we need to go to the games or you won't have any time to play them," telling the last to the girls.
Exchanging a smile with his wife as their daughters started to cry out, "Let's go play!" Castle said, "You made a great choice." He then picked up Eliza and put her onto his shoulders before he carried her over to the games, following Beckett and Julia.
"This one?" the former asked when her oldest had pulled her over to one of the stalls. When Julia nodded Beckett looked at her husband and said, "You have the card?"
"Oh, yeah," Castle said, recalling that he had it. He set Eliza down hurriedly before he got it out of his pocket and handed it to his wife.
"Are we both gonna get to play?" Eliza asked.
"You are, but let your sister go first," Beckett told her. She wasn't surprised when the little girl looked at her with an angry look on her face and she said easily, "You'll go first the next game."
Eliza relaxed then and watched as her sister reached out to one of the ducks that were floating in the pool they were in front of. "What is it?" she asked eagerly.
"A three," Julia said. She then watched the ducks again before reaching out to a blue one and saw it was a one. "Four?" she asked the worker.
"You can pick out a medium prize," the man said.
"That one," Julia replied, pointing to a stuffed Minion that was dressed as Napoleon's soldier. She held it and said, "Can I keep this one?"
"Of course," Beckett said as Castle was buying the two turns for Eliza next. "Why did you think you'd have to give it to someone?"
"To Josa," Julia replied.
"Oh, no you didn't have to give it to her," Beckett was quick to say before they watched the little girl being picked up by Castle.
"Careful," he said when Eliza leaned over to pick up one of the ducks.
"I got a… three too," the little girl said excitedly as she turned over her duck.
"Now you need to pick out your next one," Castle said, watching her staring at the ducks again.
After taking a moment Eliza reached for a green one and she giggled when she turned it over saying, "Two!"
"You can pick the same sized prize," Castle told her.
Pointing to another Minion that was dressed in a hula outfit, Eliza held it tightly before she was turned to her mother by her father. "See?" she asked.
"I do, you did a great job sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile. "What would you like to play now?"
"Um…" Eliza said, looking around. "That one," she said, pointing to a stall with a large, cross-eyed fish in the middle of a round tub of water. "Will you all play?" she asked her father as they walked over to it.
"We have to hold the prizes," Castle told her.
"Then you should pick the next place we play," Julia said.
"Are you telling him?" Beckett asked with a smile. When the girls both nodded she then said, "Then I can tell you exactly where he's going to want to go; the arcade."
"That's fine," Julia said.
"Yeah, I like that," Eliza added.
"Is it agreed?" Castle asked his wife.
"It is," Beckett said, not delaying at all in responding though she'd wanted to. "But for now, you two need to fish."
After Castle had gotten a net for them to play with he gave it to Eliza and said, "if you need my help let me know."
The little girl nodded before Eliza turned her attention to the fish in the water and she soon after put her net in to grab her first. After the employee took it she grabbed her second and finally her third after some deliberation. She waited anxiously for the employee to weigh them all together and see what size prize she could get which the woman was telling her shortly after she had the three fish on the scale with a smile on her face.
"You got sixteen pounds worth of fish," the woman said.
"Is that a small one?" Eliza asked. When the worker nodded she studied the smaller prizes before she pointed to one of Woodstock and she hugged it to her tightly. "This is my favorite," she told her parents.
"I know," Beckett said, picking her up as she'd come over to her while Julia was starting to take her turn.
Waving her stuffed bird back and forth in front of her, Eliza forgot her big sister was going next before she heard Julia saying thank you and she looked at her to see she was holding a stuffed lion. "That's cute," she told her.
"It's for Josa," Julia said with a smile.
"You don't-" Castle started to say.
"I know," Julia interrupted him. "But I want to give this to her 'cause I have a lot of animals already." She studied the lion and said, "Will she like it?"
"I think so," Castle said with a nod. "Ready for the arcade?" He smiled when the two nodded eagerly and he and Beckett took their daughters by their hands, making their way over to the building where all the indoor games were. He glanced down at Eliza who was with him, listening to her talking excitedly about playing for tickets and what prizes they could get when they finished. He squeezed her hand, getting excited himself as Julia joined in on the conversation. He glanced at his wife and seeing that she was obviously too he squeezed her arm before they finally reached the building and walked inside.
"And here is the lion," Castle said, picking it up from the bed next to him though Julia had already given it to the baby. He made it rock back and forth, smiling at the way Josie gurgled, "Ahh-eee."
"You know I agree, he dances really well," Castle said, nodding seriously. He then leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead before he said, "He told me he wanted a kiss too," as he brushed the lion to her arm. At the baby's smile, he set the lion aside and pulled Josie into a hug. "I love you ceann beag," he murmured against her temple. Feeling her tiny fist just barely hit his cheek he smiled and then pulled her away again so he could look at her face.
At that moment Beckett had finished getting ready for bed and she went to the doorway of the bathroom where she could stand watching her husband without being seen. She'd heard him telling the baby about their time at the arcade and she'd smiled before watching him show Josie the stuffed lion and then kiss her. She bit her lower lip as she heard him call the baby the endearment he hadn't used once Josie had been born, hoping he wouldn't see her as she wanted to give them as much privacy as possible.
"I know I said I wouldn't call you once you were born but I couldn't help it," Castle said. "But you know what… I might call you that when we're on our own and then say the same to your sisters when I'm on my own with them. Just two of us at a time though. What do you think?" When the baby merely cooed he nodded and said, "Great, I'll have to tell them that later." He was going to get the lion again when Josie started to whimper, and he said, "Uh-oh, K-" as he knew that meant the baby was going to start crying.
"Easy," Beckett said, walking out then as she'd heard the whimper herself. She was unbuttoning her pajama top on the way and sat down as fast as she could next to her husband, taking Josie just when she started to cry. It took a moment to get her situated but their youngest was soon nursing and she looked at her husband as he moved to sit closer to her.
"Could you hear me at all in there?" Castle asked her after watching Josie for a while. When she raised her head from where she'd rested it on his shoulder he smiled and said, "I'm guessing, I couldn't tell."
"I could," Beckett said. "It was a good bedtime story."
"Even though I couldn't finish it?" Castle replied.
Beckett smiled and said, "It's enough."
"Think she'll sleep after this?" Castle asked her.
"I hope so," Beckett said, reaching down and gently taking the baby's hand that was pressed against her breast. "But I can't wait until she can join us."
"Me too," Castle said, knowing his wife meant the baby playing with them, not just being there. "But hey she'll be with us at least for the trip."
"I know, I can't wait," Beckett said. "I hope Harry Potter's still a big thing as she grows up because her sisters are going to keep going with that for a long time."
"Most likely," Castle said before he got up as she was switching Josie to her other breast since she had finished. He grabbed a towel and threw it over his shoulder before sitting back down with his wife. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Going to the spa isn't really going to be an issue," Beckett said wryly as she watched him. She was surprised when he started to caress her hair and she said, "If you don't want me to talk about you; or us; while I'm there I-" before he was interrupting her.
"I don't care," Castle said quickly. "I know you have to Lanie already-"
"But not to her friend," Beckett interrupted him.
"Oh… well if it comes up I'm sure you won't go into detail; you already did that with Lanie," Castle said after pausing for a moment.
"And I don't want to terrify Skye," Beckett reminded him.
"You make a good point," Castle said with a smile. "But you'll have fun, right?"
"I will," Beckett said. "And you'll be fine with the girls? Alexis is going to be with Louis."
Nodding his head Castle said, "Don't worry, Julia will help me out I know. What about your dad?"
"I told you, he'll be with some other friends," Beckett said. "But remember, lunch is just sandwiches and we have dinner with Lanie and Dylan."
"Any reason why it's just the two of us?" Castle asked.
"I don't think it'd be comfortable with Espo and Ryan and Jenny have their kids, though I did offer the loft for them to stay the night," Beckett said. "But Lanie's very determined that it's the two of us."
"Okay," Castle said with a nod. "And then it's really just us back here." When he saw his wife was looking at him he said, "You had to have expected it of me."
"Which is why you didn't hear me call you pervert," Beckett said simply before they smiled at each other. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling him again caressing her hair. "Will you be able to wait until then?" she asked him in amusement.
"I think so," Castle said absently. After a moment, he realized she was giving him a look and he said, "What?"
"That's a yes or no question Rick," Beckett said.
"Oh, sorry. Yeah I'll be fine, it was still hot out there today. Draining," Castle told her.
Beckett smiled and then kissed her husband's cheek before she felt Josie pulling away. She handed the baby to her husband, watching him set her against his shoulder to start to burp her. She got up and quickly got herself cleaned and her top buttoned before she was back on the bed. She placed her hands on his knee, leaning over to him saying, "It was a great day though."
"It was," Castle replied. "I'm just glad we could fit it all in."
"So am I," Beckett said with a soft laugh. She ran her hand over the back of Josie's head and told her husband, "You can get her to sleep."
"Are you sure?" Castle asked. At her nod, he reached over to her and cupped her cheek before he said, "I'll do better after."
"I look forward to that," Beckett said seriously. When the baby was finished she sat back and watched her husband walking around in front of the bed, rubbing Josie's back until she soon fell asleep. She got up swiftly, waiting for Castle to kiss the side of the baby's head before she took her. Kissing Josie's head as well, she murmured she loved her before she leaned over and set the baby inside the bassinet they had for their visits to the city. She covered her with a very thin blanket and standing up straight she let her husband take her to the bed though Josie's bed was essentially next to theirs. When they were sitting up on it she leaned over, starting to kiss her husband when he stopped her to her surprise before he explained why he'd done that softly so he wouldn't wake up the baby.
"Sorry but I just want to make sure you want to do this," Castle told her.
"We have before," Beckett said simply before she leaned into him. She kissed him as hard as she could, throwing her arms around him at the same time before she felt him responding shortly after. As he held her close she slid her tongue into his mouth before they began to dance around one another until she slowly pulled away when she needed to breathe. When she opened her eyes, she said with a smile, "Okay?"
"Yeah," Castle said absently before he pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, reaching up with one hand to again caress her hair. "I'll remind you I'm addicted to you," he told her firmly.
Beckett laughed softly and then brushed her lips to his saying, "I know, I don't mind you doing that by the way. You never asked me that."
"No but I figured," Castle said simply. He kissed her that time but wasn't as intense as he'd been before as he wanted to move to her neck and kiss at that next.
"Easy," Beckett said gently and slightly breathlessly as he was making her body react rapidly.
"I'm not sorry," Castle said, feeling a thrill go through him as she laughed again. He raised his head to look at her and said, "Should we stop?"
"That would probably be best," Beckett said with a smile. They kissed again and lingered a little before they parted and as she got off him she checked on Josie.
"Is she okay?" Castle asked.
"She is," Beckett said with a nod before they got under the sheet. When her husband was ready she pressed against his side, her cheek to his shoulder before she murmured, "I love you Rick."
"I love you too Kate," Castle replied, bending his head so he could kiss her. They did that for a while before they slowly parted, and he pressed his forehead to hers before they laid down fully again. He held his wife close, unable to help recalling earlier when they were with their two oldest daughters still at Coney Island. He knew Beckett was too and he fell asleep thinking of the memory, eager for the next day and getting to spend time with their daughters again.
"Try to throw that a little harder," Beckett said, handing Eliza another of the skeeball balls.
"I'm too little," the little girl said with a smile. She handed it to her mother and said, "You throw, you throw the best for this Mommy."
"Alright," Beckett said with a playful sigh as Julia had done the same with her on her turn. She started to roll the skeeball up the ramp, managing to get a forty before she got a fifty and then two more forties.
"Yay!" Eliza cried as she took the tickets her father ripped off from the machine.
"Why don't we play something else now?" Beckett said.
"You pick," Julia told her mother. When she looked like she was going to protest she quickly said, "We picked this, it's your turn."
Beckett smiled and took her oldest's hand, pulling her over to the car racing games together. She wasn't surprised when Eliza briefly squealed at the sight of them and she asked, "Who're you going to race with?"
"You Daddy," Eliza said, smiling at him. She went with him to one of the consoles and waited for him to get up on the seat before she let him pick her up. "Are we gonna win?"
"Well, since we don't need to get tickets let's just drive for fun," Castle told her after he'd slid his card and handed it to Beckett next to him. He saw the way his wife was looking at him and said, "What? You don't want them to compete that much."
"I didn't say anything," she replied in amusement. Beckett slid the card on her console before she did the same with Julia's next to her. "Are you ready?"
"Yep," the girl replied. Julia grabbed the steering wheel in front of her to choose her car, quickly picking the blue one before anyone else could and she smiled at her parents and sister. She let her little sister choose the course before she prepared for the start of the race. She stared at the screen in front of her and kept her eyes on it, not wanting to break her concentration so she could do well as the game soon began.
"Good job," Beckett said once the race was over.
Looking at the screen in surprise Julia saw that she had come in fourth and she smiled at her mother as she tended to be towards the end of the race. "Wow… I guess that's why you have to watch when you drive," she said as she got up.
"You do," Beckett replied, reaching for her to put her arm around her. "And now it's your turn to pick love."
Castle; since his wife had been talking to him; looked around them for a minute and gasped in mock eagerness saying, "Zombies!"
"There's a zombie game?" Julia asked her mother in surprise.
"I guess so," Beckett said before they were following Castle over to a game that had a lot of neon green on it. "Really?" she asked him once they were with him and Eliza.
"Just once," he replied, watching the little girl who was looking around the game.
"What do you do?" Eliza asked.
"We need to knock that over to get the number of tickets it says," Castle explained to her.
"You're gonna do it right Daddy?" Eliza asked him.
"I will," Castle assured her.
"Don't look at me, go ahead," Beckett said since her husband had glanced at her.
Castle laughed briefly before he turned his attention to the game and swiped the card, leaning down to see when he could try for the pod with 50 tickets on the top. He tried his best to time but he missed that pod and instead hit the one with 20. A little startled when the girls started to cheer he smiled at them and said, "I was trying to get the other one."
"That's still a lot," Beckett pointed out to him. She watched their daughters hugging him and said with a smile, "They seem to agree."
"I know," Castle said with a laugh. "So now," he told them after getting the tickets. "You can pick again Eliza."
"Wait," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "You wanted to get them a snack, right?"
"I did," Castle replied, looking at his own watch. "I guess we need to hold on for a second."
"What can we get?" Julia asked eagerly.
"I had something in mind," Castle said, taking them out to a stall.
"Ice cream?" Eliza asked. "Dots ice cream?"
"Exactly," Castle said.
"They're going to be small," Beckett said. "But for now, look at the flavors to pick out what you want." She watched with her husband as Julia was reading the flavors for her sister and she wasn't surprised when shortly after she finished the two turned right around to them. She was about to tell her husband; jokingly; what flavors they wanted when Julia interrupted her to her surprise.
"We want the banana split," the girl said.
"Me too," Castle said.
"I'll get the same," Beckett said in amusement. She watched Castle ordering before she took her cup and went with her family over to some tables nearby. She wasn't surprised when; once they were sitting; Eliza came over to her and she pulled her onto her lap before she ate her ice cream.
"Will we still get to play afterwards?" Julia asked eventually.
"We do have some more time," Castle replied, looking at his wife.
"We can," Beckett said with a nod. "But we don't have that much left."
"Should we just try to get tickets?" Julia asked her little sister.
"I think so," Eliza said with a firm nod. "So, the slide games?"
"I think so," Castle said since both girls were looking at him and Beckett.
"Speaking of tickets are we ready to go?" she asked since she saw the girls had finished their ice cream.
"Yeah," Julia said. When they were all standing up she asked, "Will you guys help us?"
"Of course," Beckett said, picking up Eliza when the little girl started to tug on her hand. Settling her on her hip she said, "We can take turns with the two of you until we run out of credits."
"Great," Julia said, taking her father's hand before they walked inside of the arcade again. When they reached the casino themed coin slider game she watched with Castle as Beckett slid the card and he got the coins for her at the section the two had picked as the best for her and her sister to play on. She smiled as Eliza took the first coin very seriously before their mother told her to drop it. She clapped when a couple slid off the side and then waited to see what her sister would get with the rest of the coins.
"Did I get a lot?" Eliza asked her mother when she had finished.
"You did," Beckett said, setting her down so she could see.
"Look Jules," Eliza said eagerly, holding them up.
"I know, you did good," Julia said with a smile at her sister before her father was giving her the coins for her turn. She started to play then, letting her father tell her when to drop the coins before she finished with many tickets herself.
"We better move," Castle told the two. "This one is out I think."
"Which one?" Eliza asked, grabbing his hand as he started to walk around so she could go with him.
"I think this one," Castle said, finding the next best section.
"You and Mom can do it on your own now," Julia said quickly.
"Are you sure?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah," Eliza said. "We have to take turns."
When his wife looked at him Castle said, "We teach them to take turns too."
Beckett laughed and shook her head before she took the coins that her husband had gotten while they were talking. She started to play, knowing the girls were watching her though they tried to keep away from her to not pressure her. She wasn't surprised when they cheered for her and she hugged them before saying, "Hopefully you guys can get some good prizes."
"Yeah," Julia said. "But we don't have to get big ones."
"We're going to try and help you get good ones though," Castle said as he was standing with his coins. He started to drop them, doing his best to get to where there were coins ready to be pushed over the side. When he'd stopped he'd gotten many coins as well before he said, "Okay, we don't have too much left though. I think we can play about three more games on the skeeball."
"About?" Beckett asked her husband in amusement.
"Three," Castle said, looking at her with his eyes playfully narrowed. "So, should we play that?"
"What is it?" Beckett asked when Julia and Eliza looked at each other.
"You should do it Mom," the former said. "You're a much better thrower."
"And we don't care, we want you to get good scores," Eliza added.
"Okay," Beckett said. "But only if you guys are sure," she told them. Once they nodded rapidly she took Julia's hand and with Castle taking Eliza they went together to the skeeball games again. She let her husband swipe the card and waited until the game was prepared before she reached down for the first ball. She knew her daughters were watching her but didn't think about that as she wanted to focus to get the best score she could for them, soon after tossing it. When she got to the left 100 she laughed as the girls were cheering outright for her and she turned to her husband when he preceded her telling him to go next verbally before she could utter a word.
"I think it's better you keep playing," Castle said. "But before I forget, there's something I wanted to do outside before we leave."
"What?" Julia asked, watching him.
"You'll see," Castle replied, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Keep going though love."
Beckett shook her head at him before she turned back to the game and rolled the next skeeball she had. When she had finished that game and the last two she said, "I think you got a lot of tickets," as they were watching Castle tear off the ones she'd gotten.
"We can go look now right?" Eliza asked.
"Come on," Beckett said, putting her hands on the girls' backs to lead them to the prize counter. She watched them watching eagerly as the employee behind the counter was weighing their tickets, and she was relieved when it was a high number. She thought the two might look at the counter below them to decide but watched the girls look up instead until she squeezed Julia's shoulder gently to get her attention before she turned rapidly to her.
"Do we have enough to get lava lamps?" the girl asked in a rush.
"One each?" Castle replied. When both girls nodded he smiled and said, "You do, with a little left over too."
"I want the blue and purple one," Eliza said as she knew her parents wouldn't want her to point with all the people around them.
"Blue and green for me," Julia said, smiling as she and her sister had only talked about getting lava lamps and not the colors. Something came to her then and she asked, "What about Josa?"
"Better wait until she's older so she can decide if she wants one herself," Beckett told her. "Plus, I don't think you have enough tickets."
"They don't for that, but you do for something else," Castle said.
"What about those?" Eliza asked, pointing to the paddle balls.
"I want one too," Julia said in a rush.
Castle told the worker what the girls wanted and since they had only two tickets left over he took the bag and left with his wife and their daughters to head back outside. "Over here," he told them, leading his family to the balloon popping game. He handed the bag to Beckett and got three darts before he said, "Don't stop me," in Irish.
"I don't think I can," she replied in the same language. "But you don't-" Beckett started to say.
Reaching over to her, Castle squeezed her arm gently to get her to stop before he turned his attention to the board of balloons, noticing which ones he needed for the bigger prizes. He threw the first and missed, tossed the second and got one balloon for the higher value prizes and the third managed to pop as well to his relief. "Go ahead and pick love," he told her.
After she had told the worker which of the glass artworks she wanted, Beckett turned to her husband to thank him when Eliza was grabbing her hand to talk to her.
"Do you like it Mommy?" the little girl asked.
"I do," Beckett said, looking over at her husband.
"I saw you looking at the prizes when we passed by," Castle explained.
"It is pretty," Julia commented, her mother's sculpture a small one of two lines of glass in blue and clear colors entwining.
"It is, thank you love," Beckett said, going over to him and kissing his cheek.
"You're welcome," Castle replied. He then smiled at her and said, "One more?"
"Alright," Beckett said in slight confusion before he got the girls and pulled them with him over to the water game they'd seen before. "Who'll play with Eliza?"
"I can play by myself," the little girl said firmly. When her mother looked at her she smiled widely and said, "I can Mommy, I'm a big girl remember?"
"Okay," Beckett said. "You know what to do right?" When Eliza nodded she leaned down and kissed the top of her head while Castle was getting enough credits on their card so they could play.
"So, if only one of us wins, what about the prize?" Julia asked.
"Since there are four of us it's going to be a big prize," Beckett replied. "I hope you'll let your sister have it."
"But it's bigger than she is!" Eliza exclaimed. She paused and then asked, "Can we put it in her crib?"
"We'll see," Beckett said with a soft laugh at her change in reaction. "Your daddy's coming back," she said to them. "Let's get ready to play." After Castle was with them she and the girls joined him at the game, sitting at four spots before their credits were taken off the card. She was tempted to watch Eliza as the worker was speaking into the headset that he wore to announce their game, but the loud bell was ringing so she had to start trying for the target in front of her.
Hearing Eliza squealing next to him Castle hoped she wasn't having a difficult time before he suddenly heard the bell, looking up to see that Beckett had won. He smiled and then said, "Your turn to pick love."
After asking for one of the large stuffed giraffes Beckett let her husband take it and said, "It'll remind her of her daddy."
Narrowing his eyes playfully at her Castle said, "Good idea. Do we need to go?"
"We do," Beckett said. She looked at their daughters with him as the two were groaning in disappointment. "We'll come back. But for now, you'll be going to your grandpapa's and swimming there."
"I forgot," Julia admitted as her little sister gasped at the reminder.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Eliza squealed in joy, jumping up and down.
"We are right now," Castle assured them. He picked up the little girl and set her on his hip before they walked to Surf Avenue to catch a cab back to Manhattan. He felt his wife's hand slip into his and he squeezed it quickly, sharing a smile with her as their daughters were talking eagerly about showing Josie her new toys. He knew she was reluctant to leave as well, having had fun with the girls at the park, but he reminded himself they would have the next day to spend with their daughters all over again. And as Beckett whispered a reminder of that to him while he was trying to call to a cab he knew she was feeling as eager as he was for the next day already.