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.
A/N #1: The poetry in this chapter is part of the poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
A/N #2: It was great getting the feedback for the last chapter, so I will go ahead and get to my thank yous for that! Guest (I'm really happy to see that you think this story is so good! And you're welcome for it too),
TORONTOSUN (Nice to see that you thought the last chapter was good writing for the family, I try to do that as often as I can!) and
Mb (It was great that you thought the last chapter was again a sweet and loving update. And I'm really glad that you love how I'm weaving things between them at home and with Julia at camp since I'd been hoping to be able to do that well, lol. I wasn't surprised you thought it would be so good to have Alexis and Louis next door to the beach house since as you said they'd be close but with enough space so there would be privacy of course. And yeah with Louis' trust fund and learning what he has from his da he would be highly sought out for his abilities with horses. And I wasn't surprised you think that Alexis with her intelligence and heart would be highly regarded and move forward with her professional life too. I figure she would be great with kids so that's why I had her study to be a child psychologist. Great to see that you loved Julia helping Peter with riding and the horses. And that you enjoyed the camp counselor seeing her proficiency in riding and the fact that he knows Castle from competing against him in polo matches. And I'll tell you now, just 'cause I don't want you to have to wait to know this, lol, Julia isn't Peter's crush. I'm glad you think they make a sweet couple; that'll help them in their dances; but their relationship is more friends and like brother and sister a bit. So Peter's crush is someone else, but I won't be say who yet, lol. Really nice to see you thought it was a sweet update! It's nice to see that you're still trying to catch up with my past stories and that the flashbacks want you to read those. Really nice you're trying to read with everything going on in your very obviously busy life and reading other stories too, I can imagine that it's difficult! And great you've gotten to Blood On Union Square, you're definitely moving forward. I'm not surprised you saw I was getting more comfortable and confident in my writing as the stories went on, to be honest I started writing this series before I had seen every episode of the show, so I had to be careful, lol, until I'd caught up. But I'm happy you said I've always been a good writer. And great you think that, with added confidence, I was able to add more details for fuller and richer stories with the characters as well as the settings and plots. I'm really glad that you mentioned me writing them their feelings and emotions since the show can only give so much about those. And it's nice to see you thought that makes the stories special since I do try to make them that! You're very welcome for sharing the first half! I'm glad you like Indian food, I've never eaten it as I can't handle and am not a fan of spicy food, but I try to write different cuisines since it's fun to explore that. And great you loved Jim's surprise at Eliza eating the food, but I figure you start kids young they'll like different things. So great you love when they do and that their pallets are expanded at a young age too. I'm not surprised that you're happy Julia's enjoying camp, or that she's still homesick but it's not as bad as the first night she had there. I had wondered what you'd thought of the change from the house next door to the townhouse, but I'm not surprised you mentioned the fact that it was close by, or the fact there wouldn't be as much renovation needed to be done there. Really pleased you loved there were more flashbacks of their previous life. And I'm not surprised that you mention that Beckett definitely believes now. Happy to read you thought it was a fantastic update. And you're welcome for the second half too!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them all and I am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric of the song Poison Arrow by Martin Fry, Mark White, Stephen Singleton, David Palmer and Mark Lickley, from the band ABC's album The Lexicon of Love.
Bow To The Target
"Are you excited?" Ava asked as she was walking with Julia.
"Of course," the girl replied. She glanced at her friend and seeing her studying her she asked, "What?"
"Are you okay?" Ava said.
"I-" Julia started to say.
"Yeah, you were really quiet when we got up," Dawn said as she hurried up to them.
"I'm fine," Julia said. "I just had a good dream and I wanted to keep remembering it."
"A grown up's dream?" Dawn whispered.
Julia shook her head, though she wished she wouldn't blush, and said, "I'm not saying."
"Of course, but that means it was that kind of dream," Dawn said, still whispering.
Glaring at her friend Julia said, "How can I have that kind of dream? I'm not a grown up."
"Then were you kissing someone," Ava said. When the girl looked away from them she glanced at Dawn and then asked, "It wasn't one of us was it?"
"NO!" Julia said so loudly that the kids around them looked back to her. "No," she said in a softer tone. "You're my friends."
"Then was it a boy?" Dawn asked.
Julia didn't say anything and luckily for her they didn't ask anything else as they were reaching where the archery targets were set up and their counselors were calling to them to get into groups of three or four. "I wonder if they said that for us," she told her friends as Peter had come over to them.
"Maybe," Ava said with a smile. She glanced over at some boys that Peter had been talking to on their walk over and said, "You didn't want to play with them."
"That's alright," the boy said. "They're gonna compete even though they have no clue how to shoot arrows."
"Good thing we're apart from everyone," Julia said, glancing at the group. "Okay, let's start?" she asked.
"How?" Peter asked jokingly. "We don't have any bows or arrows yet."
"They're bringing them now," Dawn said with a slight smile as they watched the counselors and their teacher going down the line of groups and handing them out. "What order do we go?"
"Youngest to oldest?" Ava suggested.
"Doesn't that mean that I go first?" Julia asked.
"Someone has to go first," Peter commented. "And someone goes last which is me."
"Are we gonna compete?" Ava asked as that seemed to decide it and Julia was notching her first arrow into her bow. There was no reply from the others as the girl was firing off the weapon and she smiled a little as it had gone to the border of the blue and black rings. "How many times have you done that?" she asked.
"A few times, that was a lucky shot 'cause the wind was in the right direction," Julia said. "Go next," she urged her friend as she was the next oldest after her. She stood with Dawn and Peter as they watched her, and she realized they hadn't been given any lessons, the counselors going to help each group. Since Ava was having trouble notching the arrow she handed her bow to Dawn and stepped up to her. "Like this," she said before she paused and turned back to her friend she had just left in some concern as to what she would say to the expression on her face.
"What? You're the only one who knows how to do that," Dawn replied with a shrug. "Go ahead and show her."
Turning to Ava, Julia smiled slightly and then showed her friend how to notch the arrow before having her hold it up. "Try to hold it steady while you aim but if you can't that's okay."
"Nice," Peter said when she just barely got it onto the outermost white ring. "Better than I can do."
"Wait, he knows how to shoot an arrow," Julia said as Dawn stepped up next. "He did it at my house."
"Yeah, only once though," Peter reminded her.
"Still you remember right?" Julia asked him.
"Sorta," the boy replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Julia?" Dawn asked as she was waiting for her friend to help her.
"I should have asked you guys to come over too," Julia replied, going to her quickly and then helping her notch the arrow and stand to draw the bow back.
"We're not making this a game now right?" Dawn asked when she'd gotten to the same ring Ava had.
"No, I know how to shoot an arrow, but I only just started with a real bow," Julia said. She then glanced down the rows of targets and said, "At least we got to hit the targets."
"Except me," Peter commented as he stepped forward next. "Unless you think I'm going to shoot into the sand behind it."
"Just try," Dawn said with a sigh.
Julia smiled when Peter grinned at them and she watched him get into stance to shoot before she sighed herself and told him, "Stop."
"What?" the boy said, looking at him.
"You don't need to put your arm even with the arrow," Julia said, pushing it down slightly. "I don't where that'll go if you try to shoot it."
Peter, after shooting and getting to the inner white ring, smiled and said, "Looks like your parents helped."
"My dad knows what he's doing," Julia said. "He's the one who knew how to do that really well."
"He didn't teach your mom, did he?" Ava asked as the girl was stepping up to the plate to shoot her next arrow.
"Nah, she knew from camp already," Julia replied. "Plus, she had to know how to shoot a gun."
"But she's not as good as he is, why?" Dawn asked as she'd gotten her second arrow onto the inner blue ring.
"Well… a gun is different shaped so-" Julia began.
"Hey guys," Cookston said, stepping up to them then to check on them. "Why are you talking about guns?"
"We were talking about my parents knowing how to shoot arrows and my mom not being as good at it as my dad," Julia said hurriedly as her friends were looking to her to reply. "My mom knows how to shoot a gun so…" she finished, shrugging her shoulders.
"Alright keep going," Cookston said. "But try to keep the discussion off weapons."
Peter was going to comment that they were holding what could be weapons, but Julia grabbed his hand hard. When their teacher had walked down to the next group he told her, "Good thing you didn't move your hand you would have given me an Indian burn."
"That's not what I wanted to do," Julia said. "And these are a hobby now. Go next Ava," she urged her friend so they could continue before she stepped up to the plate while they all stood and watched her.
When they had finished with their arrows the four were allowed to go back to the main cabin of the camp to pick what they'd want to do next. They looked at each other and Julia would have run back to the stables when Mr. Fuji's class was walking by.
"Hey ghost freak," a boy named Ollie said sarcastically to Julia.
"Don't!" the girl said, holding onto Peter's arm as he'd begun to go after the boy.
"Why not? He-" Peter started to say.
"And then if you fight you'll get in trouble 'cause you started it," Ava said in concern.
"Like he probably wanted Julia to do," Dawn said.
"I know," the girl replied, rolling her eyes. "He's always saying stuff like that to me, so I guess that means he likes me."
Peter, studying his dance partner, said, "I thought you might like him, a lot of the girls do. Not you," saying the last to Dawn and Ava who were about to protest. "Or they think he's cute."
Shrugging Julia said, "He's a bully and no I don't like him. How did he know about me though?"
"Maybe it was the story," Dawn said carefully.
"Maybe he thought that lady was you," Ava added.
"I hope so," Julia said. "Let's do something else though I don't like standing here." She let her friends decide what to do; which turned out to be playing tennis until they were called for lunch; but she didn't really feel that eager to play at first as she was a little uncertain. But when she caught Dawn and Ava linking arms and smiling at each other she did so herself and followed with Peter, joking with her friends about them being in The Wizard of Oz before they disappeared into the courts to begin to play while they could.
Hearing the knock on the door of the darkroom Beckett opened it and said, "I almost thought you were Mari, but I know she's in school," to her husband as she stepped aside to let him walk in. "Josie?"
"Asleep, I have the tablet and monitor and the dogs are all with her by her crib," Castle said. He showed her the screen of the device and said, "Max."
"I can tell," Beckett said in amusement as she could see the head of the Setter by the baby who was asleep. "So it's too quiet in there?" she asked as she turned off the light so she could start developing.
"A little," Castle replied. "When all three are in school…" he began to say.
"I don't think it would matter," Beckett said. "It'll be like when Eliza started school."
Castle nodded, though his wife was busy getting what she needed, and he asked, "Think she's okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Beckett said. She glanced over her shoulder at her husband and smiled when he looked startled at her more nonchalant tone. "No whatever happened was very brief, so I think she's alright."
"What about earlier this morning?" Castle asked.
"What about this morning?" Beckett said in surprise.
"You were smiling as you were getting ready," Castle commented.
"That wasn't Julia," Beckett replied. She had by then turned her attention back to her film when she felt her husband step up against her. "I'm assuming you slept well too?"
"Of course," Castle replied, kissing at her neck through her hair. He then smiled and told her, "But it's difficult."
"I could tell," Beckett said. She then paused in what she was doing for a moment and turned around to him asking, "What did you do?" as she'd gone to Josie's room to take care of the baby.
"Nothing just got changed," Castle said.
"And how careful were you?" Beckett asked with a slight smile on her face.
"Extremely," Castle said with a smile. "Go ahead and finish though, I'm not enjoying the dark."
Beckett smiled fully that time; as she knew he was serious, and she then said, "Neither am I, but it's needed." And with that she began to hurry through the process to get her roll of film fully developed so they could leave. She was just hanging the last picture when her husband asked her something she'd been expecting earlier that morning and she turned to look at him.
"What pictures are these?" Castle said. When she didn't say anything, just nodded her head, he got up from the chair that was in the room. Looking at the developed photographs that were dripping water he nodded and said, "Black and white?"
"My Pentax," Beckett replied easily. "I hadn't used it in a while and saw it on Saturday."
"Good timing," Castle replied a little absently as he was looking at the last pictures by then. They were of the girls during the picnic they'd had before her father had arrived later in the afternoon on Sunday. "This one," he suddenly said.
"This one?" Beckett asked, walking over to him. "The song?"
"No," Castle said in amusement. "But that's a good one… I should ask Skye to sing it."
"When?" Beckett asked in confusion as she could tell he was serious.
"Fourth of July," Castle said. "She said she'd bring her bass guitar and another one… the rest of the band is coming."
"Yes, and it's going to be packed in everyone's homes," Beckett said. "Plus the hotel nearest to us. Now what about the pictures?"
"I would like this one in our room," Castle said, pointing out one where Julia was holding Josie against her chest and Eliza was holding her hand as both girls were looking down at their little sister.
"I'd been thinking of that myself," Beckett replied with a smile. "And we should replace the one with just the two of them."
"Good idea," Castle said with a nod. "So… we can go?"
"We can," Beckett replied, speaking absently as she was checking their baby on the tablet. "She's fine," she told her husband when she looked up at him to see him watching her closely. She led the way out of the darkroom and watched him closing the door before he reached out and grabbed her hand tightly. "Wh-" she began to say before he was pulling her directly against his chest. She wasn't very surprised and allowed him to kiss her, responding the best she could as she couldn't hold onto him with the tablet in her hand. But before they could get very into that she had to break things off as she felt something shaking in her pocket. "My phone," she said, concerned for a moment.
"Who is it?" Castle asked as he watched her check the name on the screen.
"My dad…" Beckett replied, trailing off as she answered. "Dad what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Jim said quickly. "Are you around the beach?"
"Close to it, are you going to sail by?" Beckett asked, smiling at her husband.
"Gary said we could do that," Jim replied.
"Go out there right now?" Beckett asked. When her father told her to she took her husband's hand and said goodbye before hanging up.
"I wondered if Gary was going to do that, I did that with him though no one was home," Castle told his wife as he'd been able to figure out what her father had said.
"At least we're here," Beckett said with a smile. "But keep an ear out for her."
"I will," Castle promised though he knew she was aware of the dogs would start barking, look for them in the house and then come outside when they didn't find them as they'd done before if Josie woke up. They stood on the beach while he held the baby monitor in his hand and the tablet as well, so his wife would be able to wave at her father. He looked at the water with her, though they needed to look in both directions as he wasn't sure which way Gary would be sailing to head out into the Atlantic. It took a few more minutes but finally he spotted the boat, watching his wife to see her reaction as the boat was coming from east to west steadily towards them.
When Beckett could see a figure against the railing on their side of the water she waved at her father as she soon saw he was doing the same. She was tempted to tell him again to have a good trip but knew he was too far away to hear. So she merely waved until he was too far away to be seen. She sighed and said, "He'll enjoy it."
"He will," Castle said. "And he does need to keep busy."
"I've heard from him," Beckett replied with a smile. She was going to say more when she heard crying from the monitor and she and her husband shared a look before they hurried up the back yard so they could make it to the house.
"I'm going to guess she's hungry," Castle commented once they were inside the baby's room and he was handing his wife Josie.
"Not much of a guess," Beckett said wryly as she brought the baby to her right breast to begin nursing her. She watched her husband sit on the bed and told him, "What if I told you I wanted you to check the washing machine?"
"I would say I looked at it and it's alright for another hour," Castle replied, reaching down and cupping the back of Josie's head gently. "You don't want me here?"
"I'm saving you from disappointment," Beckett said. She smiled when he gave her a playful glare before he leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips before pulling away. "I couldn't help say."
"I know but I don't mind being here for this even with your magic bra on," Castle commented. He took her gentle tug to his ear and then leaned over to gently kiss her before they slowly parted and he said with a smile, "I love you."
"I love you too," Beckett replied before they turned their attention to Josie. She took her hand that was resting in a fist against her breast and gently opened it to look at her tiny fingers.
"Kate?" Castle said gently as he was watching her.
Beckett was going to reply when he kissed her temple and she said, "Before you ask me whatever you wanted to, are you going to be okay when we can start again?" speaking in Irish.
"Yes, eager but fine," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when she smiled, and he took a moment to kiss her on the lips before he said, "Do you want to work on the book at all?" saying that in English. "Because I would be very happy staying here with you and her."
Beckett smiled again, as he'd said the second half in Irish, and she told him, "We don't have much time, but I would like to do some yoga before we need to pick Eliza up." She playfully looked at him out of the corner of her eye and said, "If you don't mind holding her then."
"I get to watch you?" Castle asked. When his wife merely looked at him he squeezed her hand, trying not to do so too hard though it was difficult as he was eager. He watched her switch Josie to her other breast but once the baby was set he said, "Do you want me to pick her up or are we walking?"
"We're both going," Beckett replied. She kissed Josie on the head tenderly and then sat back, watching her nurse as she and Castle waited for her to finish. When the baby had she let her husband begin to burp her while she left him with a brief kiss on the lips so she could change into her yoga outfit. She went down to the family room but paused just outside the doorway, listening to her husband talking to their youngest and smiling as she did.
"Now that you're all set," Castle said to Josie. "I should warn you that I'm probably going to be watching your mom while she's exercising. Especially doing yoga. Her body… never mind. But I'm telling you this now because you should know that it's very hard for me to keep my eyes off her. And I don't want to either. So I'll be holding you but my attention's going to be very focused on her." Kissing her side of her head he then moved her so he could look at the baby in the face and he said, "Think you'll mind that?"
Choosing that moment to step inside Beckett commented, "I can tell you right now that she won't."
"You heard that?" Castle asked, looking up at her.
"I did, please don't forget her while you ogle me," Beckett commented, setting down her yoga mat.
"Do you really want me to be here?" Castle asked uncertainly as she was starting the show she recorded for her routine.
"No and besides I could use your help playing the show when I'm ready," Beckett said.
"Sure," Castle replied as he took the remote. When she was on the mat he pressed play and then watched her beginning her routine. He held Josie against his shoulder as she could provide a distraction for him, but it was still difficult as he still wanted Beckett badly. He somehow managed to last through the show and once it was over he asked her, "What do you think Julia's doing now?"
Beckett smiled as she was drying herself off with a towel, as she knew what the question was for him, and told him, "I would imagine… well the kids would probably get bored after a while with the archery, so I would imagine something else. She didn't say what else there was before lunch so maybe when they finished they could do whatever they wanted to." She leaned over to press a kiss to the back of Josie's head before she went to her husband and their lips met only briefly. "Beidh mé a dhéanamh níos fearr ina dhiaidh sin," she murmured when she'd pulled away enough to look into his eyes, promising him she'd do better later.
"Mise freisin," Castle replied, telling her the words me too. He was pleased when they kissed again and he said, "I still miss her."
"Me too," Beckett said, knowing she was talking about Julia. "And she'll be home even sooner." She smiled a little when her husband waved to her and she left the room to hurry and shower before they needed to get Eliza. But as she went up the stairs she hoped their oldest was having fun, whatever it was she was doing at that moment.
"What about if we took one of these right now?" Peter asked.
"We'd be in trouble," Julia said, watching her friend walk up to her. "And why did you come over to me?"
"To check on you," Peter said. "I think Dawn and Ava are worried about you."
"Oh… I'm fine I just wanted to come into the water," Julia said. She saw her friend looking away from her and she asked, "What else?"
"I just wanted to… watch out for you," Peter said.
"Did my dad talk to you?" Julia asked wryly.
"No, brothers would do this for sisters right?" Peter asked her.
"That's true… though sisters will do that for sisters," Julia pointed out to him as she walked up to the ground from the lake where she'd been wading.
"Alexis?" Peter replied.
"Yep," Julia said with a nod as she put her shoes back on. "Is it time for lunch? I'm so hungry I can't stand it anymore."
Peter was just about to answer that before there was the sound of a bell which was the call for meals and he said, "I think it is."
Julia couldn't help laughing and they hurried together to the cafeteria where they would eat with the other sixth grade classes. Since they were first they were able to save a table for Dawn and Ava who were a little after them, waiting to eat until they had joined them and immediately began to talk to each other about their seating in the canoes that afternoon.
"Should we do it differently?" Ava asked the others.
"Do you want to go with Dawn?" Peter asked, keeping his voice low so just the four of them would hear.
"That would be nice," the girl said with a smile at Ava. "If we go canoeing again we can switch again."
"Should we?" Julia asked.
"You don't want to?" Peter said.
"No, I do, it's just what didn't we do here yet? We only have tomorrow," Julia said.
"True," Dawn said. "And there's the talent show thing tomorrow."
Peter, watching his partner across the table, was a little startled at the expression that appeared on her face and he asked, "You don't want to?"
"I don't think we should," Julia said before she explained her reasoning.
"I thought the same thing too," Peter said with a nod. "And you're right; we should just let them compete."
"Too bad, that would have been fun to see," Ava said to them.
"We'll dance during recess one time," Julia promised.
"Better make it soon, school's almost over," Dawn said.
Julia smiled when some of their other classmates around them groaned about that and she suddenly became a little uncertain, wondering if they would remark about the fact that she wasn't going to be joining them in the middle school in September. But she was relieved when no commented about that and they were soon finishing their meal before the classes were dividing up again to work on their next activities. She went with her friends and the others in their class to what looked like a shaded outdoor theater and they met Counselor Renee who had them line up in pairs before she turned to her and Peter and brought them forward to stand with her.
"Now I know you two dance back at your school," Renee told them with a smile. "And we're going to learn a little bit of the Jive, are you two familiar with that?"
Though she wanted to say they definitely were Julia, after sharing a look with Peter, merely nodded with her partner. They watched the counselor then beginning to explain some of the steps and she nearly sighed out loud with boredom as she had been afraid she and Peter were going to only be demonstrators. After they'd done that for their steps they were about to watch the other kids dance too when she saw that Dawn was raising her hand.
"What's wrong?" Renee asked, walking over to the girl and her partner.
"Can we go? I don't think I really want to do dance lessons," Dawn replied.
"Me either," Ava said.
"Or me," the boy who'd been partnered with Dawn whose name was Brice.
"You too?" Cookston asked the boy next to Ava, Tristan. When he nodded she said, "If you want to go over to the taekwondo lessons go ahead."
"Could we do something else?" Julia asked quickly as she and Peter rushed over to their other two friends.
"Like what?" Cookston asked.
"Just walk around the lake," Peter commented.
"The entire lake?" Cookston said.
"Isn't there a class swimming right now?" Dawn pointed out.
"Alright," Cookston replied as she knew there were going to be a few more counselors around the lake as there always were when there were kids swimming. "But tell everyone down there what you're going to do. Do not go into the woods."
"We just want to go to the shore," Julia said, speaking firmly as she didn't really want to go past that. She was relieved when they could go, and she said to the others, "We're not going right?" Spotting Dawn and Ava glancing at each other she groaned and said, "Really, I don't want to go."
"Just to see that hole you dug up," Ava said first.
"We can't touch it again though," Julia said firmly. "They let me get the stone but if I did it again I'd just be a thief."
"Even if you didn't steal anything?" Dawn asked.
Nodding her head Julia explained, "I was invited to disturb the earth for a gift and I thanked them. But this time I'd just be messing things up."
"Then we just want to look," Ava said, a little worried.
"We can do that right?" Dawn said.
"It's fine," Julia said. She looked at Peter and asked, "You don't have anything to say?"
"Not really, I heard the way you told me to stop yesterday so I believe you," the boy answered. "And it would be cool to check out but I'm gonna have to keep watch."
Julia laughed with him as Dawn and Ava thanked him at the same time and they walked a little faster so they could reach the lake as it neared ahead. She remained behind as her friends told the counselors and Mr. Fuji about them walking around before they returned, and they started on their way. She was looking around, not realizing she was doing so that much until Ava patted her shoulder with her finger and making her look at her friend questioningly.
"You don't want your camera?" the girl asked.
"No, I'm alright, I got pictures when we were here on Monday," Julia replied quickly. "Did you think I was taking pictures? Or pretending to?"
"No, just looking at what you could take pictures of," Dawn said. "Like you were memorizing your…"
"Shots," Julia supplied quickly when her friend had trailed off. She then smiled and said, "Do you remember where we were?"
"Nope, what about you? I hope you do or else we're just taking a walk," Peter commented as Julia had been speaking to him.
"How did you know where to go yesterday?" Ava asked.
"I just… did," Julia said. "That's kinda how it works," she explained. "If I'm supposed to sense something it just comes to me and I follow it."
"You aren't worried about negative spirits?" Dawn then said.
"I know," Julia said. When her friends looked at her with wide eyes she paused and then told them with a slightly unsure look on her face, "I can sense that too, so I stay away."
"But that can't be enough," Peter protested. "I've seen Ghost Adventures a lot too and sometimes just staying away doesn't help… well, I guess it's just you don't go into places like that. Or did you?"
"It was in Las Vegas," Julia said with a sigh. "But don't tell anyone because I didn't tell anyone. You know I told you about that figure at the jail? Well past it in what was supposed to be a garden there was something there."
"What?" Ava asked.
"I don't know but it wasn't a good thing," Julia replied. "And it wanted to come over to all of us but mostly my mom."
"Why?" Peter asked as Dawn and Ava gasped.
"Because it thought it could affect her," Julia said with a slight sigh. "Since she doesn't believe it could have attached to her and changed how she was."
"Why didn't it?" Dawn said as Ava was holding onto her arm.
"All of us together didn't let it get close to her," Julia said. "And we were all happy and my mom recovered after that figure in the jail came to me and stopped her."
"What happens if you're alone?" Ava nearly whispered.
"Yeah, or your mom?" Dawn said before she turned to Julia.
"Hopefully we aren't," Julia said, feeling a little bad she hadn't told her friends about the fact that her grandmother helped her with negative spirits. She frowned and glanced around saying, "This is too dark to talk about though, let's keep going but think about something happier."
"Okay, like that?" Peter asked as they continued again. "Oh, I know! We don't have to just be there like dolls dancing for everyone."
Laughing with the other girls Dawn said, "Was it that bad?"
"Not too much but still, we want to dance to dance not to teach… at least not yet," Julia said, smiling at her partner.
"I agree," Peter said before they were laughing as they continued around the shore until Julia stopped them and he and the two girls watched her expectantly until she spoke.
"It's over here," Julia said. "Are you going to stay here?"
"I said I would," Peter said, nodding.
Leading the two girls after her Julia said, "It's a little back from the water but I told you it's likely the lake was bigger."
"There?" Dawn said when she suddenly spotted some disturbed earth ahead of them.
"Yeah, that was where I found it," Julia answered. She then held her arm out in front of them and said, "Stay here."
Looking around them, Ava said, "Did it look like this back then? Or are there different trees?"
"I think it's the same," Julia replied, looking above them as well. She was going to answer with more certainty when she heard a familiar whistle from Peter and they hurried over to him before she squeezed his arm saying thank you.
"Least I could do," Peter replied. "I was looking at the trees… it's like that poem we heard last year."
"That was about the Acadians," Dawn said as she recalled it immediately.
"What poem?" Ava asked.
Julia tried not to laugh when her friends looked at her and she then began to recite the stanza she had memorized for their final in English for the fifth grade, loving that poem as her parents had helped her with every line.
This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic
Stand like harpers roar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest…
Trailing off at the end Julia turned to the wall of trees and breathed out heavily saying, "That could be anywhere, not just in Nova Scotia where the poem was supposed to be." She shuddered and said, "What?" as her friends were all looking at her.
"You…" Peter began before he looked at the two girls.
"Your voice changed," Ava ventured to say though she spoke slowly.
"How?" Julia asked as she then realized what they meant.
"You kinda sounded like you were going to start speaking in French," Peter said. "Something didn't attack you did it?"
"No," Julia said with a smile as she realized what had happened. "That's the girl I saw, last year at the Adirondacks."
"A spirit?" Dawn said. "Wait, you didn't tell anyone about her either did you?"
"I can't, my mom doesn't believe this stuff and I don't want to make her believe just 'cause I do," Julia said in slight exasperation.
"Well… we want to know and we're going to take a while to get back," Peter said.
"It wasn't much, she was on the island in Lake Placid and I saw her when my mom and I were on a canoe," Julia began. "She was just standing there and she disappeared, but I heard her a couple times when we were on the shore of the lake. I guess I just copied her accent."
"She didn't follow you?" Dawn asked.
"No but I just remember her accent 'cause I thought it was pretty," Julia said with a slight smile at the memory.
"No one noticed you seeing a ghost?" Ava then said.
"Nah, and it's spirit," Julia said. "Better to call them spirits. She didn't really do anything, I just heard her and I knew when she was going to speak 'cause there would be a breeze that was a little cold."
"She was Acadian?" Peter guessed.
"Yeah, so she spoke English with a French accent… I think she was brought here," Julia said. She was quiet for a moment as they had to climb over a log before she said, "She maybe tried to get back to Canada but couldn't make it, so her family came here."
"Did she tell you her name?" Dawn said.
When Julia shook her head Peter said, "Too bad."
Stopping abruptly the girl turned to her three friends and asked, "Do you believe me?"
"Yeah." "Of course." "Why would you lie? You don't get a cake or something," Dawn, Ava and then Peter said last, making all of them laugh.
"No, Mari believed me when I told her," Julia said before she froze.
"We're not surprised," Dawn said.
"Nope, you're best friends," Ava added. "Why shouldn't you tell her?"
"It makes sense," Peter said.
Julia nodded, relieved they believed her and then said, "Come on, I want to go in the canoes again really badly." And with that she and her friends continued to make their way back around the lake to where their classmates were starting to gather on the shore.
"Kate?" Castle asked, walking up to her in the kitchen with Josie in his arms and Eliza skipping next to him.
"Yes?" Beckett said, looking up at her husband and smiling when she saw their youngest daughters were with him.
"Someone's thirsty," Castle told her.
"That was all I needed to cut up," Beckett said, putting some cubes of watermelon into their blender. She added the ice and said, "Take her into the family room."
"Can I stay?" Eliza asked.
"Okay but when I say cover your ears," Beckett said as Castle was walking away hurriedly. When she was sure they were far enough away she told Eliza to cover her ears and she then turned on the blender. It was nearly two thirty in the afternoon and she tried not to think of the fact they weren't going to be heading to the school for the third time that week to go to Julia's dance class or just pick her up. She had used the excuse of making a smoothie she'd gotten a recipe for from Skye the night before to distract herself, but it didn't work. But she then had to focus on the mixture that was finished, and she shook the blender before she poured out the slightly pink drink into three cups. "What's wrong?" she asked, looking down at Eliza who had come over to her and was hugging her.
"It's no use Kate," Castle said, walking down the hall with Josie. "We can tell you're wishing Julia was at school right now."
"And you," Beckett said.
Castle nodded firmly and said, "You can't get used to it in a week."
"I know," Beckett said.
"You love Jules a lot," Eliza said then. "And Josa."
"And you, we're not going to forget you," Castle said, ruffling her hair as he'd gone to stand next to his wife. He watched her lean over to kiss Josie on the forehead and he touched her shoulder quickly with his free hand before she tilted her head up to him. He leaned down quickly and then began to kiss her, feeling her place her hand on his chest before he reluctantly pulled away as the baby was cooing a little. "I forgot," he told her as a way of apologizing.
"That's alright, we should drink these anyway," Beckett told him with a smile. When he nodded, but stayed close her, she reached up and gently cupped his cheek before she grabbed Eliza's cup and handed it over to her. "Drink that slowly and wait until we go outside."
"Kay," the little girl said, smiling as she'd been glad to see their kiss before she had watched her baby sister. Eliza then realized what her mother had said and asked, "Outside?"
"You don't want to go out to the beach before dinner?" Castle asked as he went to put Josie in her carrier so she could go down to the beach with them in that. "You don't want the wrap?"
"I'm fine," Beckett replied. "We're going to be sitting anyways."
"Where will this go?" Eliza asked, tapping the carrier gently.
"On the table, we'll move it in front of us a little bit," Castle explained. "She's ready," he then told his wife.
Beckett nodded, and she took the two glasses for herself and her husband as they walked down to the beach with the dogs. Once they were sitting in the Adirondack chairs she handed him his glass before they watched Eliza stand in front of them, looking at the baby on the table in front of them. "Don't drink too fast sweetie," she told her as she watched the little girl get the drink from her crazy straw.
"I can't, it has to go through the loops," Eliza said with a smile as she looked over at her father.
"That's why I bought it for you," Castle said with a smile. "But your mom's right, don't drink too fast or you'll be too full for dinner."
"What are we gonna do?" Eliza couldn't help asking.
"Stay in," Beckett said. "We're going to make some chicken mac and cheese."
"You are?" Eliza asked eagerly.
"We are and don't worry about your sister," Castle commented. "She had mac and cheese last night with her dinner remember?"
"Yep," Eliza said with a smile. "Thank you," she said before she climbed onto her mother's lap with her help. "Does she like the beach?" she asked as she was watching Josie.
"I think so," Beckett replied as she wrapped her free arm around her daughter. She kissed her temple and said, "Do you like your smoothie?"
"Yeah, I like the watermelon," Eliza said. "But you have to make it for Jules too."
"I will," Beckett promised with a smile. "Now though you can go ahead and play with the dogs until we eat."
"Kay, can I throw stuff for them?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Of course," Castle said. "You just need to be careful where you do that."
"I know," Eliza said. She let her father take her glass and though she hadn't finished she left them to grab some of the dogs' toys. She took some tennis balls and a rope toy and told her parents, "I'm gonna play with this first."
"Good idea," Castle commented. "That way you don't throw it near your sister… unless you were planning to."
"I think that's a no Rick," Beckett said with a smile as Eliza wrinkled her nose at him. "Go ahead sweetie," she told the little girl.
"I wanna get a drink," Eliza told them both before she then drank out of the cup that her father held for her. After she had finished she hurried to the dogs right in front of them and gently shook the toy before Molly was jumping up to her to her squeal of delight.
Watching Eliza as she pulled Beckett was pleased to see the Andalusian Hound wasn't tugging too hard and she laughed heavily with her husband as their middle daughter started to go around the grass, pulling Molly with her. "I was worried," she murmured in Irish.
"She knows," Castle began. "That she needs to be the only one able to play. Do you want her to go next door?"
Beckett started to reply but stopped and then sighed a little telling him, "Not really, I'm being selfish."
"Me too," Castle said with a smile. "I was about to protest." When she squeezed his arm he wished he could squeeze back when their daughter was coming back to them and he held out her glass so she could finish her smoothie. He was about to ask her if she was going to start throwing the tennis balls when she interrupted him before he could start to let them know what she'd thought to do next.
"I wanna go in the water," Eliza said firmly.
"Swimming?" Beckett asked.
Eliza was going to answer yes when she paused and then said, "What about Jules."
"We were hoping that you would wait until she's back to swim," Castle said.
"What if I said the pool?" Eliza said.
"That would be fine," Beckett said in amusement as they'd already been in the pool for the first time that summer before Julia's week at camp. "But let's just wade here?"
"Yeah," Eliza said before she let go of the toy and they watched as JoJo and Molly started to fight over it. "Can they go too?"
"Yes, but they might be a little busy right now," Beckett said with a smile. "Rick?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Castle said as he'd set the two glasses he'd been holding on the ground next to him.
Watching her father taking Josie out of her carrier Eliza asked, "You're not gonna go too?"
"Take off your shoes at least," Beckett told her husband.
"Are you sure I should?" Castle asked.
"Just for a little bit," Beckett replied with a smile.
Since he saw that Eliza was looking at them in confusion Castle explained to her, "I was just going to walk around holding her, but I guess we're joining you on the beach. Watch her for now?"
Eliza nodded eagerly and took her sister's hands while their parents were taking off their shoes and socks, holding her in place in the carrier since she was unbuckled. "I'll find you a shell so you can hold it," she was telling the baby.
"You can," Beckett said as her daughter had looked at her then. "But for now…" she said before she moved to help the little girl with her shoes and socks. Once they were off she took Eliza's hand and they went down together to the water, Castle following them with Josie against his shoulder.
"Can I run?" Eliza asked after they had been watching the waves for a while.
"Go ahead," Beckett said, letting go of her hand.
Moving to stand next to his wife while they were watching their middle daughter running around with Macca and Rose, Castle said, "You didn't tell her how deep she can go."
"She knows," Beckett said with a smile. When her husband looked at her full on she said with a slightly raised eyebrow, "She's five now Rick, she remembers."
"Yeah and I remember what I was gonna ask you before," Eliza said, going up to them at that moment. "What about Macca and JoJo?"
"They're staying with us for now," Castle replied, rubbing his hand up and down Josie's back as she moved slightly. "But they do miss your sister, I can tell."
"Yeah," Eliza said. "I'm gonna look for a shell," she then told her parents.
"Go ahead," Beckett said since both the little girl and Castle were looking at her to answer.
"Before you say anything," Castle said quickly as his wife turned her attention to him. "I was fine with it but since we're doing this thing together I wanted you to say what you wanted her to do out loud."
"This thing?" Beckett asked him with an eyebrow raised.
"Raising kids," Castle said.
"I knew," Beckett murmured with a smile. "And second if you don't say anything doesn't that give them the impression you're okay with everything?"
Since he knew his wife was teasing; as he would protest when he wanted to; Castle leaned over slightly to kiss her on the cheek. When he pulled back he paused midway as Josie started to cry and he asked, "Too much?"
"Riachtanais sí liom," Beckett replied which meant she needed her. She took Josie carefully from him and went back up to the chairs while her husband stayed and watched Eliza who was running around the sand and looking all over for what she knew was supposed to be the perfect shell for her sister. The thought made her smile as she nursed the baby and she kept her eye on the little girl in her efforts before she ran up to them and Eliza was talking to her excitedly at the same time.