Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Loved receiving the feedback for the last chapter that I did so let me get into my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Really nice to read that you liked the dancing moments in the chapter since it was fun to write those!),
MsNYC (Not surprised you thought it was awkward for Alexis and Louis at dinner, lol, that's how it can be being involved with the adult conversation. Really glad that you think it's cool Alexis is going to call Jim Grandpapa. I'm not surprised that in your eyes as you said they're already family without the papers. Really happy you were glad to see Castle and Beckett enjoying one another. And very pleased that you thought it was tastefully written as usual. And happy that you thought it was great writing as usual! Nice to see you back, though I'm not surprised life got a bit busy for you, I definitely understand how that is it's why I'm just posting once a week now, it's easier. But I'm glad you're enjoying it!),
Mb (Great that you thought the photo shoot was nicely done, since I've never been to one before, lol. And I'm happy you liked that Marie and Julia were part of the photo shoot too with their mothers and Stella's clothing for kids. It was nice that you thought it was good to see Paul showing up for his daughter but also for Skye and Beckett and to see his friends as you said. And I wasn't surprised that you thought it was nice them telling everyone about Beckett adopting Alexis, or that you mentioned her sisters being so happy about it too, I thought you might have that reaction. I also wasn't surprised by you mentioning the club time and then their time afterwards, lol. And not surprised you laughed at the others just going straight to their lovemaking, lol. And great I made you laugh out loud at the mothers hoping their kids wouldn't hurt their fathers before they got to them, I figured they would say that. You're welcome for sharing the first half! Glad to see you thought the second half was a fantastic update. And great you loved that I started with Castle and Beckett talking about how the girls wanted to play with Alexis since she's going to be their full sister. I wondered what you think of her calling Jim Grandpapa so I'm happy to see that you thought it was a nice touch. Not surprised that you were laughing at the adults looking at Alexis and Louis and welcoming them to the adult table. I'm glad that you liked the club part with Darnley and Nkosi joining them there. And so pleased you thought the love scenes with Castle and Beckett was hot and sensual and you could feel the heat and lust along with desire and all-encompassing love they have for each other as they put it, that's what I aim for when I write them, lol. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!),
Emma (It's really nice to see that the story continues to make you so happy; I do want my readers to enjoy them so knowing you do is great! I'm so relieved to know that I have a great grasp of Castle and Beckett, I try my best to keep them close to how they were around the beginning of the show but also normal sometimes, lol, if that makes sense. And of course, I loved reading that you think my original characters make you feel like they were on the show and you feel like they should have been on the show, me too! You're very welcome for the last chapter!) and
Guest (It was very nice to see you thought the chapter was really interesting, great you thought the photo shoot was especially. I'm glad you mentioned the bonding; since I enjoyed writing that between them. And I was pleased that you thought Julia getting flustered trying not to stare at Skye while she was changing. You're welcome for the intimacy between Skye and Mary and thank you for the thank you because I always am unsure what readers might think of those though I do enjoy writing those scenes. But I'm not surprised you noticed the tension building before this chapter and great you were glad that was a full scene in the end, it needed to be and not just them going back to their room).
Thanks for the reviews, loved reading all of them and I appreciate 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 Dream Away by George Harrison, from his album Gone Troppo.
History To Be Found
Opening her eyes, Beckett turned her head and saw that her husband was still asleep, laying on his back. She smiled as she moved over to him, leaning over to gently kiss at his shoulder once before she pulled back as she heard a heavy sigh from him. She was watching him as he was blinking rapidly before his eyes focused and then turned to focus on her. "Morning," she said with a smile.
Breathing out heavily, Castle pulled his wife into his arms and ran his hand over her hair saying, "Morning. And thank you for that."
"You're welcome, how hungry are you?" Beckett asked, gently rubbing her index finger over his lower lip.
"Not too much," Castle said, moving to lay her on her back and kiss her deeply. He wasn't surprised when she moaned and then carefully ran her fingers through his hair. When they parted he smiled and said, "But we need to eat something don't we?"
"Yes," Beckett said, smiling as well. She then said with a sigh, "We need to get dressed."
"Not fully," Castle said, trying to stop her from sitting up. She wouldn't let him, and he then told her, "We share the food in here and then… something?"
Beckett laughed and said, "You want me to wear the skirt?"
"No, no," Castle said, reaching up and brushing some of her hair behind her shoulder. He reached down, gently running his hand over her shoulder and then arm before he shook himself as he found himself staring at her breasts. "You can stay in here; I'll close the doors to get the food."
"And if I spill something on myself?" Beckett asked him teasingly as she watched him climbing over her to get off the bed.
"I'll lick it off," Castle replied easily as he grabbed the menu for room service. "Pick something."
"Sit with me," Beckett told him firmly before he was hurrying to do so. She then looked at the front of the menu and the breakfast items before she said, "What about Irish oatmeal and the breakfast parfait?"
"Sounds good," Castle said, leaning over and gently kissing at her neck through her hair.
"Good, call," Beckett said, fighting her arousal at his touch. She watched him going to the nightstand and the phone there before she got up herself. She squeezed his arm in passing and went into the bathroom, needing a distraction as he was very obviously aroused.
After hanging up, Castle glanced at the closed door to where his wife had gone, and he was torn for a moment, wondering if he should go in after her. But reason came to him and he went inside the wardrobe to change into his pajamas before he was stepping out as his wife was.
"I'll wait on the bed," Beckett said with a smile as she saw he was dressed with his robe on as well while he walked up to her.
"Yeah," Castle said before he leaned over and gently kissed her before he watched her get onto the bed. "We have two and a half hours," he commented, looking at his phone briefly.
"More than enough time to eat," Beckett said with a smile. "Though you might want to shave off about forty-five minutes."
"I figured," Castle replied as he knew they needed to get ready and then pick up their family to head out. He was about to lean over to kiss her when she placed her hand on his mouth and she told him, "If you're aroused?" He breathed out as he knew she was right and said, "You might have to watch me while we eat."
"I'm assuming you'll be hungry," Beckett said slightly laughingly as she could hear his stomach growling.
"Probably," Castle said, shaking his head as he heard a knock on the door. He got up in a hurry, closing the bedroom doors behind him before he went to check who was at the main door.
Waiting on the bed, Beckett could hear her husband talking with whoever was bringing the food before she looked at her own phone. She was about to reach over to it to check it when the doors opened in a rush. "That was fast," she said in amusement, watching her husband enter.
"Only two things," Castle replied easily. He brought the bowl of oatmeal over to her and then got the parfait before he shed his robe and pajamas. As he got back on the bed he said, "What?" to her stare.
"Fast," Beckett commented.
"Very," Castle replied shortly as she had. He smiled when she rolled her eyes and he leaned over to kiss her before he said, "I forgot our drink."
Beckett was about to tell him their bottles of water were on the nightstand when she saw him coming back with a glass of what she guessed was pineapple juice. "Thank you," she replied.
"I figured you'd want something citrusy," Castle told her before he was back on the bed. They started to eat and though he didn't want her to, he took the oatmeal she fed him. He was tempted; as they were finishing the parfait which she'd fed to him as well; to comment that she was practicing for Josie but watching her leaning over to set everything on the nightstand he decided it didn't need to be said. He got up hurriedly and grabbed the bowl and cups they'd had before he went back to her, closing the doors behind him.
"I'll remind you we don't have that much time," Beckett said with a smile as she watched him.
"Where are you going?" Castle asked as she was getting up.
"Brush my teeth," Beckett said simply. She was startled when her husband grabbed her, and she said, "Or not."
"Let's try this first," Castle said, kissing her as hard as he could. He felt her quickly after relaxing and responding as they held onto one another before they slowly parted a while later. He looked at her intently for a moment, intending to ask her if she still wanted to brush her teeth before she reached up and brushed her fingers against his lips as she spoke.
"We need to take advantage of the time," Beckett said.
"I know," Castle replied. "You'll fuck me, right?"
"I would but I can't really jackhammer you in," Beckett told him teasingly. When he froze she smirked and then said, "I'm serious, you're fucking me and hard."
"This… this is still making love, right?" Castle asked, getting off the bed so he could have a distraction.
"It is," Beckett said. "I've been watching you though and I can't take it anymore."
Castle nodded and went back to the bed hurriedly before he kissed her as soon as he was close enough to do that. He laid her back; though it didn't take much effort as she was already moving. He kissed her harder after they took a gasp of air, and he reached in between them, fingering her clit for a moment. He paused when he felt how wet her skin was there and he pulled away saying, "You weren't kidding."
"I told you," Beckett said unabashedly. She slid her hands down his back and grasped his ass in her hands firmly before she squeezed. "Sorry," she said with a slight laugh as his breath nearly exploded onto her shoulder. "Again, you do that more than I can," she said as he bit at her shoulder.
"Yes," Castle said simply before he moved away. "Want to fool around more or…" When she forced him down against her hard he grunted and said, "Point taken," before they moved around together before she was squeezing at his shoulders hard.
"Do you remember how I mentioned the word jackhammer?" Beckett told him, rubbing at the back of his neck and gently brushing her fingers against the edge of his hair there.
"Yes," Castle groaned out as her touch was literally intoxicating. He leaned down and kissed her hard but briefly before he carefully pulled away and moved until the tip of his erection was inside of her.
At her husband's pause, Beckett was unsure of what he was going to do as she began thinking she hadn't coached her request in a more demanding tone. But a second later he was thrusting into her so hard she could have sworn their hips were slapping together and she was letting out a heavy cry that was nearly a scream. When she was a little calmer she dug her nails slightly into his shoulders she asked, "Why aren't you…?"
Castle, watching his wife intently, didn't answer verbally and instead started to move, thrusting slowly in his wife. He was a little painstaking in his efforts at first as he could feel how smoothly he was sliding within her. He could easily see the instant she wanted to protest his pace, but it was brief as she was very shortly after turning her head to the side to let out a heavy moan. He then began to move a little faster, going incrementally until he was outright fucking her. Feeling his muscles straining he was groaning out his wife's name and swearing every so often, hoping he was conveying to her with his tone how much he was being pleasured by her.
Going through her own delight, Beckett was trying to hold onto him in any way she could. She was doing her best not to outright paw or scratch him though her nails were raking all over his back. She was dimly aware that she was digging into his skin hard when she climaxed shortly after, but she forgot her need to not make him bleed until she was sated, and he was nearly collapsed on top of her. When that thought came to mind she was then reaching for him a little frantically.
"What is it?" Castle asked in concern as he raised his head to look at her.
"You're not bleeding?" Beckett replied with a question.
"I'm fine," Castle reassured her. "You haven't done that before."
"Are you trying to get me to say you have tough skin?" Beckett asked wryly.
"Well now that you mention it…" Castle began before he felt his wife pinching his side. He laughed slightly before he got off her and then wrapped his arm around her saying, "That was very nice."
"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked, giving a mock suffering sigh.
Castle smiled at her and then leaned over, kissing her temple while he was letting his hand drift over her stomach. "I don't want the same thing, but I'd like something," he told her as he was soon cupping her mound.
"Hmm, the problem is we won't be able to do anything tonight," Beckett replied.
"W-who said?" Castle said, stammering and saying the wrong thing as she was nibbling at his ear lobe. "I mean who decided that?"
Beckett smirked at him and then sat up, reaching up to push her hair behind her shoulders though she didn't really need to. She brushed her hand over his chest before she got off the bed and went into the bathroom, hearing her husband's bare feet on the tile behind her shortly after she was on it. Inside the shower she wasn't surprised when he pushed her gently to the opposite wall and she murmured, "Mo bhéal?"
Trying to keep his body from shaking too hard as he shuddered at her simple question of her mouth, Castle kissed her to distract himself before he carefully ran his fingers through her hair. "We should turn on the water first," he said when they'd stopped. He turned around to do that and once it was set he tensed up fully as she was pressed against his back and reaching around him to take his length in her hands.
"Don't try to stop me," Beckett told him, speaking in between kisses to his back. "I don't get the chance to do this too often."
"No but… could we just… turn so my face isn't covered in water," Castle grunted as she was moving her hands up and down, using both at the same time. He was startled when she let him go but he moved so he was facing the wall he'd pressed her up to, putting his hands on it and waiting for her to start again. But when she didn't come up to him he turned around to look at her questioningly.
"It makes me feel like I'm arresting you," Beckett said slowly. Before her husband could speak she then said, "I know you need to, but that's just how it looks."
"We can play a fantasy," Castle said jokingly. "Except I don't drop the soap."
"Turn back around," Beckett said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. Because she was doing that, she didn't see her husband stepping up to her until his arms were around her. She gasped in surprise for a moment before she was placing her hands on his chest asking, "Did you change your mind?"
"I did, what about you though?" Castle told her, running his hands down her back slowly. When she nodded he leaned down to her and kissed her as hard as he could, slipping his tongue into her mouth. They were dueling together roughly for a while until they slowly parted and he was then lifting her up to lean her back against the wall.
Since they had even less time, Castle and Beckett were very soon after involved in another quickie before they climaxed roughly very close in time to each other. When they were calm again they stood under the water together, kissing and running their hands over each other's bodies where they could.
"So does all that mean tonight we're going straight to bed?" Castle asked as they were getting dressed next to their bed once they were out of the shower.
"I would call you pervert, but I would love to do what I was going to in the shower," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband looked at her in surprise and she explained, "Here on the bed."
"If I can do the same to you," Castle replied. "Not the same way, just pleasure you."
"I'm looking forward to that already," Beckett said. She saw the way he was studying her, and she asked, "What's wrong?"
"No, you couldn't have worn the peasant top from yesterday?" Castle asked.
Shaking her head Beckett replied, "Better I don't. Josie?"
"We should go pick her up," Castle said, knowing they needed to turn their attention to their family and friends again.
"We should," Beckett said, not surprised that he was walking over to her. She wrapped her arms around him as soon as he'd done that to her and they were soon after kissing each other deeply and sensuously. When they slowly parted she pressed her forehead to his and told him, "But we'll be back."
"Of course," Castle said with a smile before he let her go and took her hand. They walked together out of the room and though he regretted having to leave their bed behind he was looking forward to seeing their daughters to spend the day going through a museum again.
"That's it?" Julia asked in awe.
"It is," Beckett replied, wrapping her arm around her daughter.
"It's funny," Julia said. "That fabric that was just hanging there made him write our anthem."
"I know," Beckett said. "But the fact that it was fine after all the bombing that was going on…"
Julia nodded and then tore her gaze away from the huge American flag that had inspired the national anthem to look at her grandfather. "What do you think Grandpapa?" she asked him.
"It's awe inspiring," Jim said, smiling at her.
Hearing Josie cooing in her stroller, followed by Sophie letting out a brief cry, Castle said, "I guess they agree too."
Eliza giggled and said to Maddy, "The babies don't know." She giggled again when the toddler shook her head and she hugged her saying, "I hope we go to lunch soon; I'm hungry."
"Yeah," Maddy replied before she ran off towards her fathers who were with her brother.
Frowning slightly, Eliza was about to look for Dani when she was suddenly squealing as she was being picked up. She giggled at her father and kissed him on the cheek before she started to ask him about lunch when he answered her very quickly as he placed her on his shoulders.
"We're going to eat right now," Castle told her.
"Really Daddy?" Eliza asked, leaning over so she could peer at his face.
"Really," Castle said with a smile.
"Daddy," Eliza then said in surprise. "Your glasses are still on."
"I know," Castle said. "It's okay, I'm going to need them in a little bit for the menu."
"Are you okay walking right now though?" Alexis asked her father.
"Yeah," Castle said simply before he looked ahead of them at the others. "Wait, why are you walking with me?"
Alexis rolled her eyes before she said, "What did you have planned for after this museum? We've gone through a lot of it already."
"We still have the other half of the second floor," Castle pointed out. "But yeah, we've gone through it quickly." He then recalled something as they were going down the stairs to the first floor and said, "Kate told me to tell you that we're having separate family dinners tonight."
"That's fine, where are we going?" Alexis asked.
"We're just heading to the lounge," Castle said. He was a bit startled when he heard a gasp and glanced behind him at Julia and his wife; with the stroller; before he saw the former was smiling widely at him before she began to speak in a sing-song voice.
"I know what we're going to have for dinner," Julia said.
"I'm not surprised," Castle said since he knew she was aware of what the lounge offered.
"We're going to have tea?" Alexis asked.
"We are, though hopefully your grandparents won't mind it too," Castle commented.
"I don't think they will Rick," Beckett told him while they were entering the café they'd be having lunch at. She looked around and saw that though the museum was crowded there were sections of tables open that they would fit at. When they had their food at their table she said, "What do you think?" to hers and Castle's daughters.
"I'm always impressed with the items they have," Alexis said first with a smile. "But I don't think you want to ask me this time."
"It's cool," Julia said. "All the different stuff. You're happy, huh Grandpapa?"
"I am," Jim replied with a smile. "But I'm more interested in what you think," he said to Eliza.
The little girl giggled softly and then said, "I like it, it's pretty and I liked the shopping place."
"Yeah that was cool," Julia said hurriedly after finishing her bite of her shrimp po'boy to speak. "It reminded me of when we went to the museum in Rochester."
"I thought the same," Martha commented. "And good for you two to learn all about that."
"Are we gonna go shopping?" Eliza asked. "Now?"
"She means when you're older," Beckett said before she turned her attention to Josie in the stroller in between herself and Castle. Checking to make sure the baby was alright she glanced to Darnley when he touched her arm, wondering why he looked so serious then.
"Are you swimming after this museum?" Darnley murmured.
"That was our plan; the others are going to head around the city on their own tours," Beckett replied.
"Skye and Mary?" Darnley asked.
Smiling Beckett shook her head and said, "I'm not sure where they're going but they're heading out too. Did you want to join us?"
"Yes," Darnley said slowly.
"Don't worry, I realize my husband added you to our dinner party," Beckett told him, smiling still. She squeezed his arm when he thanked her and then turned her attention to Castle who'd been watching them.
"Are you angry I did?" he said.
"Did you really have to ask that?" Beckett said in amusement.
"I felt like I should," Castle said with a shrug before he laughed as she pushed his shoulder. "But I thought you might want them to join us. I was going to tell you when we finished lunch that maybe you should invite him and his family."
Nodding Beckett said, "I was going to." She glanced across the table at the girls and said, "Are you wondering?"
"Yeah, you can't really wait to tell us after dinner," Julia said teasingly.
"Funny," Castle commented, smiling at her. "And we're going to go swimming at the pool."
"Cool," Julia said, smiling at her little sister when she saw she was doing so herself. "We're just staying at the hotel?"
"Did you want to go anywhere else?" Beckett asked them.
Shaking her head Julia said, "Just checking to make sure. What about tomorrow?"
"That you're going to need to wait until after dinner to hear," Castle said, not surprised she was asking about that. "But we will do something."
Laughing Julia said, "We don't have to, but that would be nice."
"A museum?" Eliza guessed.
"We're not going to say," Beckett said simply. "Keep eating though, we have more to see here remember."
"Wait," Eliza said quickly. "Are Maddy and Keo gonna go too?"
"They will," Beckett assured her. She was expecting the little girl to say something else but when she started to eat again she glanced at her husband who was shrugging before she turned back to her food as well.
Leaving the café Brad said to Castle and Beckett, "Is there really that much?"
"There will be," the former said. "Why, you're finished?"
"No, just looking at the map it doesn't seem all that big," Brad replied.
"There's one thing we're going to first," Castle began as they were heading to the stairs. "That's big. What?" he asked in surprise when he saw his wife and friend were looking at him in confusion.
"That's a weird way to word that love," Beckett told her husband.
"And you're supposed to be a writer," Brad said, making a tsking sound with his tongue and then laughing when his friend pushed him ahead of him as he'd walked by.
"He makes an interesting point," Beckett said with a smile when Castle looked at her.
Though he wanted to comment on that, they were reaching the stairs so he was taking Eliza's hand as she'd run over to them and they started up. When they were at the top Castle led the way over to a room next to where the Star Spangled Banner was saying, "Know what this is?"
"A house," Julia said, looking absolutely baffled.
"Not just that," Castle said, speaking quickly when he saw his wife was frowning at him. "There were five families that lived here over 200 years so there's a lot of history."
"When were they there?" Eliza asked, peering at the house as they were at the entrance of the room and little bit away from it.
"From the 1750s to 1945," Castle replied.
"Too bad it wasn't one family the whole time," Alexis said, smiling at her sisters' reactions as she had already seen that room before. "But it's still really cool."
"Where was this house? Here in DC?" Julia asked.
Shaking her head Alexis said, "Near Boston."
"Oh… cool," Julia said. She thought of something and asked, "Would we go there?"
"The city? We will, I've been before and it's something I want you girls to see," Beckett told her as they started to walk around the room.
"Good, there's a lot that happens there," Julia said. "In history," she said to her little sister. She then thought of something and looked over at the stroller which was with Martha and she hurried over to her asking, "How's Josa?"
"Doing wonderful," Martha said. "Maddy asked the same thing."
Smiling Julia said, "I think she likes babies."
"I imagine she does," Martha replied. As her granddaughter continued to walk with her she asked, "Are you bored?"
"What?" Julia asked in surprise. She realized what her grandmother had asked, and she shook her head saying, "No, I just wanted to be with Josa for a little bit." She was going to keep speaking when she was stopped by her baby sister starting to cry.
"I think she wants to be with your mother now," Martha said with a smile, taking the baby out of her carrier quickly.
"Thank you, Martha," Beckett told her, getting Josie into her arms. "Keep going, I'll be back."
"You as well Richard?" Castle's mother asked her son as he'd been right behind his wife.
"Of course," Castle said. He checked one last time to make sure that the girls were with someone; Julia with Mari and Fleur while Eliza was with Jacob, Lily and Eve. Seeing that he went out of the room, searching for where his wife would go though since Josie was still crying it didn't take him long.
Looking up as she heard footsteps nearing the slightly secluded bench where she was sitting, Beckett saw her husband was approaching. She smiled and was about to tell him that he hadn't needed to follow her when he swung something up and cut her off before he explained why he was there with her.
"You forgot this," Castle told his wife, showing her Josie's bag.
"I would have been alright," Beckett said though she was smiling at the same time.
Sitting next to her Castle pressed his lips to his wife's temple and told her, "That and I just wanted to join you."
"I honestly can't get rid of you, can I?" Beckett asked him wryly.
"Maith… an fáinne seo," Castle said jokingly, saying the word well exaggeratedly first before he added the words this ring as he lightly shook his left hand towards her. When his wife rolled her eyes again he said, "I'll stop."
"I really hope so," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling again.
"What did you think of the house?" Castle asked as he watched Josie nursing after Beckett had switched her to her other breast and he hurried to help her with the blanket she was using.
"It was interesting," she finally said. Beckett smiled and said, "You're thinking of our house in Mill Valley."
Nodding Castle said, "Julia wants us to try to find it. And I would like to too, but I have this fear if we went it'd be gone."
"I've thought of that myself," Beckett said, nodding her head before she hurried to hand Josie to him since the baby had finished. When she was set she smiled at her husband and was about to tell him they should at least try to go to where it had been if it was gone when a familiar voice startled her so much she nearly jumped at the sound.
"Kate?" the man that had walked by them and paused asked.
Seeing Julia and Eliza nearing them, Beckett had to hesitate for a moment before she said, "Hello Josh. How are you?"
Looking away from the baby in Castle's arms the doctor said, "I'm good, just catching up with my wife and our kids."
"I didn't know you were married, congratulations. And for your kids too," Beckett said, hoping that what she was saying made sense at least.
"Mom?" Julia said, going over to them as she pulled her little sister by her hand though Eliza didn't really want to go.
"It's alright, this is Dr. Davidson," Beckett told the girls, smiling at them as Julia rushed the rest of the way to her. She wrapped her arm around them both; since Eliza seemed to be glued to her big sister's side; and she said, "Our… our daughters."
Castle was surprised at her hesitation and he glanced past them to see that Alexis was walking to them, smiling as she came closer.
"I better get back to my family," Josh said, looking behind him and seeing the young woman walking to them.
After saying goodbye to the doctor, Beckett turned to the girls and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, but we're almost finished with the house," Julia said.
"Take them, we're almost finished," Castle said as he wanted to talk to his wife about the meeting; as short as it had been. He watched Alexis take Eliza, expecting Julia to follow, but when the girl remained where she was he gave her a questioning look.
"Is that the man you were dating before Dad?" Julia asked her mother.
"It was," Beckett replied. "Are you mad?"
"No just… that was weird," Julia said. "I don't think he was happy to see you Dad."
"The last time we saw each other…" Castle began to say, moving Josie to cradle the baby in his arms. "It doesn't matter. Go ahead to join your sisters," he told the girl.
"Sure," Julia said, hurrying to the room that was nearby and wondering what her parents were going to talk about since they were almost ready to continue through the museum.
"Did you know he was married?" Castle asked his wife.
Shaking her head Beckett said, "Lanie hasn't heard from him in years since he moved here. And he wasn't going to send me an invitation to his wedding; not after the way we broke up."
Though his wife had never really gone into detail about that Castle didn't ask about it, not really wanting to know about it since it had been nine years since they'd last seen the man. "Now what?" he asked her.
Smiling Beckett said, "Now I check on her, how is she?" looking at Josie in his arms.
"She's fine, likely going to fall asleep," Castle told her before he stood up with her. "Are you going to need to talk to Eliza?"
"I'll check on her," Beckett said simply before they were making their way to the room where everyone else was. As her husband took their baby over to her stroller she went to their middle daughter, putting her hand on her shoulder as she was looking at a tea table. She became startled when the little girl whirled around, hugging her as tightly as she could before she was speaking against her side.
"Do you still love Daddy?" Eliza was saying.
"Yes," Beckett said simply, pulling her back carefully. "I haven't seen Dr. Davidson for a long time."
"Do you want to?" Eliza said softly.
Beckett cupped her cheeks and said firmly, "No. I saw him right now and that was enough. Do you know what I haven't seen?"
"What?" Eliza asked in surprise.
"The rest of the museum," Beckett said. She smiled when the little girl giggled and kept her arm wrapped around her before they started to walk again.
Alexis, as they moved to the next room on that floor, watched her father as they were walking around the exhibits. After they'd gone to the room after that she squeezed Louis' arm before she walked over to her stepmother who was alone for some reason.
"Hey, are you alright?" Beckett asked, looking at the young woman from the display case with a baseball helmet from Carl Yastrzemski and other baseball items.
"I am," Alexis said. "I'm just wondering how dad is?"
"After that?" Beckett asked, nodding towards the entrance to the room. When her stepdaughter nodded she said, "He's fine, it was brief and…" Studying her stepdaughter, she asked, "Would he have had a problem during that encounter?"
Alexis frowned slightly before she said, "Didn't Dad tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Beckett replied quickly, starting to become confused herself.
Surprised, Alexis told her about what had happened after the doctor had left the surgery room where he'd worked on Beckett. "The problem is," she said once she'd told her stepmother about the doctor blaming Castle for her being shot. "Is that Dad really took it to heart." Seeing the expression on the woman's face she said, "You didn't know?"
"He never mentioned it," Beckett said with a sigh. "I guess that's why he was so upset when I broke up with him," she then said absently to herself. "I have to talk to your dad later," she said, shaking her head. She looked over towards the others and seeing that they'd fallen behind said, "We better keep going."
While they were catching up, Alexis asked her, "Did that ever happen back then?"
"What do you mean?" Beckett asked.
"I guess just feeling guilt for something that happened to you," Alexis said after thinking for a moment.
"Is this to help me talk to him later?" Beckett said with a smile.
"More for his sake," Alexis said. "Because I'm assuming if you remember something you were fine."
"There is one thing," Beckett said. She looked ahead of them again and said, "Should I just tell you now?"
"You should, but eventually you'll have to tell the girls," Alexis replied.
"Tomorrow," Beckett said simply before she squeezed her stepdaughter's hand and said, "It happened when you were ten, so 1938."
"Jules was sixteen, Lizzy eleven and Josa eight?" Alexis then said.
"You were," Beckett said with a smile. "And not nearing that age because it was a little before Christmas. We were all decorating the tree and your dad was goofing around, a bit like he is now."
"Rick," Kate said, standing in the doorway leading to the dining room. "What are you doing?"
"Helping the girls decorate our tree," Rick said defensively, smiling at her. "See?" he asked as he playfully tossed the ornament in his hands to Julia.
"We told him to stop Ma," the young woman said. "But he said he's a catcher."
"You'll catch- Rick!" Kate said in annoyance as he dropped one.
"I wasn't going to throw it!" he protested.
Sighing Kate said, "Luckily we have hundreds of those," as it was a silver glass ball ornament.
"Grab the broom for your mother Alexandra," Rick told their third daughter. He was startled when he heard the slight hiss from his wife and he said, "Kate," when he immediately spotted the blood on her hand.
"It's alright," she said quickly as the girls were crying out in dismay.
"Here," Rick said, taking his tie off before he wrapped it around her palm where she had cut herself. He led her to the downstairs bathroom by her mother's room and then held his tie tightly to her palm. "I'm so sorry," he told her earnestly.
"Oh, don't worry," Kate said. "I'll be swell. I'm sure it's not even bleeding now."
Very carefully, Rick took the tie off and saw she was right before he hurried to clean and bandage the cut. When he was finished he took his tie to the lean-to, discarding it with the laundry before he hurried back into the house to find his wife. "So you should help them with the tree," he told her once he was in the living room with them. He was startled when his wife turned to look at him and he saw the look on her face. He opened his mouth to tell her he was concerned about her, but she cut him off before he had the chance to do so.
"I'm fine Rick," Kate said. "I won't be able to cook but Julia's said she will."
"I'll help you," Rick told the young woman.
"You'll stay with Ma, she has everything ready for a stew," Julia said with a smile before she walked over to the kitchen.
"Come on," Alexandra told her big sister and little sister. They turned their attention to the tree, but she was watching their parents as their mother pulled their father over to the door.
"Alexandra," Elizabeth hissed when their parents went out into the porch since it was covered from the rain that was falling. "You shouldn't spy."
"And we have to finish the tree!" Josephine said eagerly. "That way Ma and Da will be awfully happy when they come in."
"She's right," Elizabeth said when Alexandra wrinkled her nose. "Come on."
When they were out on the porch Rick said, "I don't think we should-"
"They're swell on their own," Kate said. "For now." She reached up to him with her uninjured right hand, cupping his cheek before she told him, "You didn't mean for this to happen." She paused as her husband was shaking his head furiously and she said with a smile, "You also cared for me when I was hurt, I can't ask for anything more from you love."
"But I didn't want to hurt you," Rick told her seriously, grabbing her hand and kissing the palm tenderly.
"No but now you know not to roughhouse with our ornaments," Kate told him firmly. When he nodded she laughed, and they kissed one another gently before they parted, and she took his hand as they walked into their home together to return to their daughters and continue their decorating for the holidays.
"Hey," Darnley said, walking over to where Beckett was walking with Josie in her arms. "She's okay?"
"She is," Beckett replied. "You got tired of swimming?"
"A break," Darnley corrected her. "But I'm glad you guys are all enjoying the city so far."
"Does it bother you we're going out of town tomorrow?" Beckett asked. She smiled when her friend shook his head and she was about to speak when she paused.
"What?" Darnley asked, slightly uncertain seeing the look on her face.
Beckett was swift to take Josie over to her carrier where Martha was sitting at the table and she went back to Darnley, taking him by the arm and pulling him over to the windows away with the others. "I forgot we're going to a plantation tomorrow."
Shaking his head Darnley said, "That doesn't matter, I'll be alright."
Studying him Beckett said, "But there's something else to this."
"I saw one of my… former brothers," Darnley said.
"When?" Beckett asked, startled and concerned all at once.
"When I went to the restroom on my own. After I was coming back to meet you guys," Darnley answered. He sighed and said, "It was Sam, he was with his wife and kids… At least I hope that was his wife or girlfriend. Anyways he was walking out of a room and he never saw me."
"You were jumpy the rest of our time there," Beckett said. When her friend nodded she stepped to him and wrapped her arms around him to embrace him though she knew the others would see them. When they parted she said, "Let's go see our husbands," watching him closely to see how he would react.
"You have very good ideas," Darnley told her with a smile. "Thank you," he then said.
"Not a problem," Beckett said, smiling at him before they made their way over to the pool and they slipped into the water together. She watched her friend make his way to Nkosi who was helping their daughter swim. Seeing that he appeared to be much better, she turned her attention to her own husband, going under the water and then past the kids to the other end.
Watching his wife resurface Castle asked, "What was wrong?"
"You saw?" Beckett asked him as she held onto the side of the pool with him.
"I did," Castle replied.
Telling him what Darnley had said to her Beckett then said, "I don't know if he'll mention it to Trevor but…"
"I wouldn't start talking about it around everyone," Castle replied easily. He then asked, "Do you think he'd ever-"
"No," Beckett interrupted him. When her husband looked at her in surprise she said, "I knew what you'd be asking. And I really don't think he'd want anything to do with his family now. His former family."
Sighing Castle said, "I didn't really want to ask but I wondered if there was a chance he'd want to reconnect."
"The way we left things doesn't make that a possibility," Darnley said as he and Nkosi were swimming to them. When the writer said an apology he said, "Don't worry. I can imagine you'd wonder about that. But when they literally threw me out that put a very firm kibosh on that ever happening. Let's talk about some of the rest of the trip."
"Should we really do that with everyone else gone?" Beckett asked though she knew her friend was trying to change the subject. Before Darnley could say anything, she was turning over to the stairs as there was the sound of someone hurrying to get out. "Julia-" she started to say when she saw the girl.
"It's alright!" she replied before she was going to the corner of the room. "Grandmama?" Julia whispered when she was near the figure she'd seen. She looked back at the others and said softly, "Oh… because she's stronger now?"
It's time, Johanna said with a smile. This is my only chance until she grows more into her abilities.
"She'll definitely be like me and Lizzy," Julia said absently. She looked for her little sister and saw that she was walking quickly to them with a towel around her shoulders. "Lizzy-"
"Grandmama?" Eliza asked softly when she was close enough to the figure. When it nodded she breathed out and said, "I wanna hug you."
I wish I could too honey, Johanna said. But I'm so happy to see you.
"You're here to see Josa, huh?" Eliza asked, looking at her big sister.
All of you, Johanna replied.
"You need us to walk you over there?" Julia asked. When the figure nodded, she and her sister took each other's hands, almost marching straight to Josie who was in between Jim and Bethany at the table. Neither of them was surprised when their grandfather spoke, knowing he and everyone else had been watching them.
"What're you girls doing?" Jim asked, watching them with a frown on his face.
Shaking her head Julia said, "Can I take Josa?" She was relieved when her grandfather didn't question them again and instead took out the baby from her carrier, giving Josie to her. She watched with Eliza as their grandmother brushed her fingers near the baby's head before Josie vocalized an ah sound and started to smile.
"She loves you," Eliza whispered.
I love you all, Johanna breathed.
"Wait, 'lexis too?" Julia asked as she could feel the apparition's strength beginning to wane. She wasn't surprised when her grandmother merely breathed out the word all again and she trembled in the chill that was left.
"Here," Darnley said, rushing to Julia when he saw that her arms were beginning to shake. He took Josie and set her in the carrier before he heard Beckett crying out her oldest's name.
"I'll get-" Jim started to say, standing up as Julia nearly fell as she took a step.
"Don't!" Julia said quickly, embracing her mother as she sat at the table. "I feel stronger now. It's okay." She smiled at everyone to assure them as they all looked concerned and told them, "I'm okay, it's just Grandmama needed to use more of my energy so Josa could feel her touch a little bit."
"Kate," Darnley said, not surprised his friend wasn't saying anything. He touched her arm and said, "She wore lavender perfume," as he knew they were all smelling it, wondering what she would say to that.
"She did," Jim commented. When the others looked at him he turned his attention to his granddaughters and he asked, "You saw her?"
Getting off her mother's lap, Julia walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly telling him, "She was here, she wanted to see Josa now before she…"
"You can say sweetie," Beckett said as the girl trailed off and buried her face into her grandfather's neck.
"Are you sure?" Julia asked.
"I know you wouldn't make this up," Beckett said firmly to her.
"Okay, she said that Josa needs to grow up and grow into her abilities," Julia said. "She's going to be like us."
"I'm not surprised," Darnley said. "But what's a surprise is why now?"
"I think because we're alone here… the water," Julia said suddenly, looking at the pool. "We're alone and there was enough water for her to come here at the start."
"Are you okay?" Martha asked Eliza who was standing next to her.
Nodding her head, the little girl asked, "Can I go back swimming?"
"Go ahead," Beckett told her. She watched Darnley and Nkosi take the kids except for Julia and she motioned to her daughter to come over to her. "Are you better now?" she asked her.
"Yeah," the girl replied. She then looked at Alexis and said, "She said she loved all of us and she meant you too. I think she knows you'll be her granddaughter really soon."
"Probably," Alexis said. "That was nice of her to say."
Julia nodded and then went to her mother, hugging her tightly saying, "I wish I could do this with Grandmama," feeling Beckett embracing her back.
"I wish you could too," she said, squeezing her daughter a little harder. She pressed a kiss to the side of her head and told her, "But go with the others to swim."
Julia nodded and kissed her mother's cheek quickly before she hurried carefully over to the pool where she went down the steps, swimming to where her sisters were with Darnley and Nkosi.
"Come on love," Castle said, handing his wife her sundress.
Beckett was a little startled seeing it in his hands, but she took it saying to the others, "We need to get dinner."
"I thought we were eating at the lounge?" Joseph said in surprise as she was putting the dress on.
"It's better we stay here," Castle answered. "We have so many kids."
When the parents nodded, Beckett took her husband's hand and she murmured to him when they were far enough away from everyone, "I'm alright."
"I know but…" Castle started to say. He then stopped as his wife looked at him and he shook his head a little hard telling her, "We can talk about it later."
Though she had wanted to talk to her husband about what she and Alexis had spoken to each other about earlier, Beckett nodded finally, and she said, "Alright." Looking ahead of them she then said, "If you're wondering if I sensed her… I don't know, there was something there but what that was I don't know."
"That doesn't surprise me," Castle replied. He saw they were nearing the lounge, so he asked, "Did you smell the lotion?"
"It… yes," Beckett said with a sigh as she had noticed the scent was both her mother's perfume and her lotion she always had loved her using when dinner was over and she could spend time with her parents as a little girl. She glanced at her husband and said, "I didn't really want to tell everyone about that."
"You don't need to tell me," Castle said, squeezing her hand gently as they stopped at the entrance to the lounge. "But I was able to get the scents."
"I know," Beckett said with a nod, remembering how his sense of smell was. She then said, "But I'm not going to argue with the girls about what they saw. Or everyone else since they could smell the lavender too."
"But you'd like to focus on everything else?" Castle asked.
"On the kids," Beckett corrected him. "We still have to tell them about tomorrow," she reminded him.
"That's true," Castle said. "And they're getting hungry," he added. "We better go on." He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded, and they went together into the restaurant to head to the host so he could speak to them about their orders for dinner.
Beckett wasn't surprised when her husband had the meals heading to the pool quickly and they were following behind them. She smiled when Julia was the first to point out that their meal had arrived, and she got out of the pool first. "Take it easy," she told the girl as she helped her dry off since Castle was drying Eliza. "And you're sharing with Alexis."
"Not Lizzy?" Julia asked in surprise.
"Not this time," the young woman herself said, smiling at her. "And I promise I'll share."
Wrinkling her nose at her big sister, Julia took her towel from her mother and went over to her grandmother, "Hi Gram."
"Hello kiddo," Martha said, smiling at her. She handed her her sundress and said, "Are you having fun?" She was startled when the girl nodded and then hugged her as soon as she had her dress on.
"I love you too Gram," Julia whispered into her ear as her grandmother embraced her back.
"I know you too Julia," Martha said, rubbing her back for a moment before they parted. "And I love you. Now go and eat with your sister alright?"
Julia nodded, though she had wanted to ask her grandmother who she was going to share the tiers of food with. She went over to where Alexis was sitting and got on the chair next to her before she said, "How are we gonna split everything up?"
"I think we need to focus on our tea first," the young woman said, smiling at their parents across the table from them. Since there were four tables along the side of the pool they'd split up and she and Julia were with their parents.
