Genre: Romance, Family, Humor, Supernatural
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 title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder, from his album Hotter Than July.
Have A World Party
Walking up to the doorway of Julia's bedroom, Beckett smiled at the sight of her daughter and turned to her husband. When he looked at her questioningly she did her best not to laugh and squeezed his arm before she walked inside.
Feeling someone shaking her, Julia groaned in annoyance before she opened her eyes and saw it was her parents. She smiled sleepily and said as she was pushing herself up, "Morning, it's not a school day is it?"
"No, it would be the twentieth," Castle said.
"Oh cool, my birthday party," the twelve-year-old said eagerly as she sat up fully. Julia smiled at her mother and said, "Hi Mom."
"Hey sweetie, ready to get up?" Beckett asked her.
"Yep, can I still go riding with Mari?" Julia asked her.
"As long as David and Rebecca still say it's alright," Beckett replied.
"Perfect," Julia said, jumping off the bed after she'd crawled over the dogs. She hugged her mother tightly and then did the same to her father telling them, "Thanks, I'll come down for breakfast as soon as I'm finished."
"Alright," Castle said. "I'm just making oatmeal though."
"I'm okay with that," Julia replied easily. "You did make me pancakes for my birthday. And I can go out quicker."
"You might need to wait, the stores don't open until ten," Beckett warned her.
"We talked about that," Julia replied. "And we can walk around with our bikes."
"We'll see you downstairs then," Castle told her.
Smiling as she watched them walking out, Julia waited for her father to close the door before she went to grab her clothes for that day. As she was doing that, she saw her height measurements against the door frame and smiled at the tallest mark her mother had put three days prior next to her closet. While she was getting her clothes, she couldn't help recalling that morning and seeing how much she'd grown after her mother had woken her up.
"Sweetie," Beckett was saying to her daughter. She couldn't help laughing at the girl waving her hand towards her and she said, "Sorry but you need to get ready for school Birthday Girl."
Her eyes flying open at that, Julia said, "It's the seventeenth?"
"It is," Castle commented.
"Wow… I'm finally twelve," Julia breathed in amazement. She looked at her parents and said, "Sorry."
"It's alright, we knew this was going to happen," Castle said. "Nothing we could do to stop it."
Julia laughed and then climbed out of bed and said to her mother, "Do I look older?"
"A little bit," Beckett said. "Want to see how tall you are?" She wasn't surprised when her daughter nodded, and she motioned her over to where they'd been marking her height on the door frame ever since she'd outgrown the measuring chart she'd had. She took the measuring tape her husband gave her and drew it out before Castle as holding the bottom in place for her.
"What is it?" Julia asked while her mother marked and her father took the tape away.
"Sixty-one inches," Beckett replied. "Which means you're…"
Thinking over that number for a moment Julia guessed, "Five feet and an inch?"
"Right, you're tall for your age sweetie," Beckett said, writing down the number and the date.
"Good, so I do look older," Julia commented.
"From a height standpoint, yes," Castle said, smiling when she went over to him and hugged him. He embraced her tightly back before he said, "Hopefully that's the only way you grow up."
"That doesn't make sense Dad," Julia teased him.
"No but I stand by what I said," Castle replied. He smiled when the girl laughed, and he embraced her while she was doing the same to him before he kissed her forehead.
"Thanks Mom, Dad," Julia said. "I wonder what'll it be next year."
"Let's wait for next March before we start thinking about that again," Beckett said. When her daughter walked over to her, she hugged her tightly and said, "I love you Julia. Happy Birthday."
"And I love you too sweetheart, Happy Birthday," Castle was quick to tell her.
Julia smiled at them and shared a kiss with them both before she said, "Thanks, I can't wait for Saturday."
"And until then get ready for school," Beckett told her gently.
"I will," Julia said, watching them leaving for her sisters' rooms before she went to the tall mirror she had in her room. She studied herself for a moment and then hurried to get dressed in her school uniform, knowing her family would want to see her to wish her a happy birthday as well.
Shaking herself from her memory, Julia went to her door and locked it, hesitating for a moment before gathering her courage. She took off her pajamas and then went to her mirror, looking at her body to see if she could tell if there were any changes there, studying her chest from the side for a moment. She wasn't surprised to find nothing there, and she was quick to pull on her Beatles t-shirt she wanted to wear that morning until she would change into her costume for the party. "I guess it's a good thing I don't look like a grown-up lady," she said to Macca and JoJo who were still on her bed. "Come on boys," she told them so she could make her bed when she was dressed.
Walking up to the room, Beckett knocked on the door and said, "Sweetie, I'm making breakfast so if you want me to-"
"I'm ready," Julia said opening it for her. "Could I put it back in a ponytail?"
"Sure," Beckett replied, knowing her daughter would take care of that herself. But since she still liked her brushing her hair, she went to the bed to sit there while she did it. "Why did you lock the door?" she asked as she was running Julia's brush through her locks.
"I was wondering if I was starting to change at all," Julia admitted, a little embarrassed.
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said. She smiled when her daughter turned to look at her and she said, "I wondered the same." When she finished, she watched her daughter pulling her hair up and when the ponytail was finished, she was about to speak when her daughter was doing so first.
"I'll help you out with breakfast Mom," Julia said to her.
"You don't need to," Beckett replied.
"It's not my actual birthday," Julia said simply. "Just the day of my party." She saw the way her mother was studying her, and asked, "What?"
"You just want to go out with Mari," Beckett commented. When her daughter nodded her head rapidly, she laughed and said, "If you're okay with that then come on."
Julia was relieved and she walked with her mother down the stairs and to the kitchen where she stopped to let all six of the dogs outside into the backyard. She stood in the doorway for a while before her mother called to her and she went back in saying, "I was just seeing how cold it was."
"It's supposed to be a little warmer today," Beckett said, setting the pot with oatmeal in it on the stove. "But not that much warmer."
"We couldn't do something outside?" Julia asked, going to the island.
"Maybe, we'll see what happens with your party," Beckett told her. Hearing the others coming downstairs she then said, "At least you can go on your bike."
"Oh I know, I can't wait for that," Julia said, smiling at her mother before she turned to her little sister when she ran down the hall to her. "Oof, good morning to you too," she said laughingly.
"Happy Birthday!" Eliza said happily. "Again!"
Julia laughed with the others at how exuberant her little sister was before she said, "Thanks, I hope you have fun at my party too."
Shrugging Eliza said, "Dani's gonna be there, and Josa can play with Sophie too."
At the mention of their baby sister, Julia hurried to Castle who was holding her, and she took her hands telling her, "Happy Birthday too Josa, even though it's not the seventeenth anymore I'm gonna say it anyways. Remember how old you are?" smiling when Josie smiled at her, she said, "You're eleven months old. And then in a month you're gonna be a year old. A whole year!"
Laughing as the baby was squealing, Beckett stirred the oatmeal and said, "I think she's excited for that too."
"A month is too long," Eliza said as she went to the kitchen.
"Not long enough," Castle muttered under his breath as he was stepping up to where his wife was.
"Rick," Beckett said simply, smiling at him. She then turned her attention to Josie and kissed the baby, not surprised when she was reaching out to her. "I'll hold you afterwards sweetie," she promised her. After exchanging a quick kiss with her husband, she turned back to the breakfast before she realized Julia had come over to her.
"What can I do Mom?" the girl asked.
"Grab the oranges," Beckett said.
"I can handle that," Castle said. When his wife looked at him, he said, "Josie's with Mother."
"I… know she's okay," Beckett said with a smile. "What I'm wondering is why you're making the juice."
"She can make the sausages while we're busy with the other two," Castle commented.
"Could I?" Julia asked.
"Grab your apron," Beckett said, unable to say no as her daughter looked interested at the idea. She turned back to the oatmeal and let her husband help their second oldest before her father was walking to her.
"Be very, very careful with the splashing," Castle said. "And your mom will help you with telling if they're done."
"Thanks Dad," Julia said, putting the pan her father had given her on the stove. She'd cooked sausage a couple times before but that morning she wanted to attempt judging if they were done on her own. She didn't say anything to her mother until she turned off the burner and turned to her, jumping slightly when she saw she was looking at her.
"I had a feeling you were going to try to finish on your own," Beckett explained with a smile. "And they look perfect, let's eat."
"No eggs?" Julia asked.
Studying her Beckett said, "You might regret taking on more food."
Shaking her head Julia said to her mother's smile, "You won't mind and when I go to the city for Julliard?"
Beckett laughed and said, "Let's just make some scrambled eggs; I'll help you so we'll eat sooner."
"Great," Julia said with a smile on her face.
After Beckett and Julia had taken care of the eggs the family was gathering around the table so they could eat. Alexis and Louis were there as well, having spent the night so they could help with the party. As they were eating, they shared a smile with one another before they turned back to the others and waited until the meal was winding down.
"Are you okay 'lexis?" Julia asked, having watched her big sister through the meal.
"We had some news we wanted to share with you guys," Alexis said, smiling at her sister's question.
"About the wedding?" Eliza asked eagerly.
Nodding Alexis reached over to her fiancé and said, "We talked about it and we decided on the date."
"When?" Eliza said, bouncing on her chair before her father stopped her.
"September fourth," Louis said, squeezing his fiancée's arm. "And we know where we'd like to have the ceremony as well."
"Where?" Castle couldn't help asking.
"At Lake Placid," Alexis said.
"That would be a beautiful wedding," Martha said. "On the lake-"
"No, not there," Alexis said quickly. "Do you remember the stream we were swimming at?"
"There?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"Along the shore and under one of the trees… while they're just starting to change," Alexis said, staring at her fiancé.
"Should we start looking into if it's possible to hold the ceremony there?" Castle asked.
"Would you?" Alexis asked. When her father nodded, she got up and went to him, hugging him tightly before they all started to get up so they could begin clearing the table.
"Can I go?" Julia asked her mother once they were finished.
"Yes, go ahead and get your stuff," Beckett replied with a smile before she watched her hurry down the hall towards the stairs.
"What are we gonna do while she's gone?" Eliza asked her parents when they heard her big sister was upstairs.
"Start getting things ready," Castle told her.
"When can we put on our costumes?" Eliza asked.
Smiling, as she had guessed that was why the little girl had started asking, Beckett said, "Just before the party starts at three."
Sighing, Eliza then turned with the others as they saw Julia was coming back down the stairs. "That was fast," she couldn't help saying.
"I knew where everything I needed was," Julia replied, smiling at her family.
"Did you grab your wallet?" Castle asked the girl.
Kissing Josie; still in her highchair; on the cheek Julia said, "Yeah, I have it and all my money."
"Here," Castle said, handing her a twenty. "For lunch."
"Th-" Julia started to say.
"And for your birthday," Jim said, slipping a ten into her hand.
Smiling at him Julia asked, "For a book?"
"Of course," Jim replied, smiling when she laughed briefly.
"Thanks Grandpapa," Julia said, hugging him. She went to her father and hugged him tightly before saying, "Thank you too Dad."
"You're very welcome," Castle replied.
Julia went to the front door; her family all following her; and she put on her jacket saying, "I'll text when we're at the library first Mom."
"Don't get too many books," Beckett told her teasingly.
Julia smiled and then went to her grandmother, hugging her before she did the same with her big sister before Louis shook her hand. "I was going to give you a hug too," she told him with a wide smile.
"Oh aye, have to remember you'll be my sister," Louis said as they gave each other a side hug. "Hope you'll have fun for your second birthday celebration."
Giggling briefly Julia nodded and said, "Thanks," before she went to her mother and hugged her as tightly as she could. "Thanks for letting me help… and letting me go."
"You're welcome, I couldn't really keep you here," Beckett told her teasingly. She hugged her daughter when she did the same to her again and then said, "We'll see you at two."
"We'll be back," Julia said, going outside after she'd said goodbye to her family. She'd placed her bike under the cover by the garage and since she had left her helmet hanging from the handlebars, she only needed to put it on before riding to the door in the wall. Out on the sidewalk she spotted her best friend in front of her house looking towards her own home before she started riding her bike to her.
"Happy Birthday!" Mari said, hugging her friend once she'd walked over to her. "Again."
Laughing Julia said, "Thanks, are you ready to go?"
"Good morning Julia," Rebecca said, walking up the path from the front door with her daughter's bike and helmet.
"Morning," Julia said. "You guys are still coming to the party too, right?"
"Of course," Rebecca said, watching her daughter put on her helmet. "Enjoy your time out and don't forget to text me at every stop you make."
"I won't," Mari replied. "Bye Mom."
"Bye you two, have fun," Rebecca told them, watching them go with a smile.
"Wanna race?" Julia asked her friend.
"No," Mari replied, shaking her head. When they had reached the first street, they got off their bikes and checked for cars before crossing. "What're you going to get at the library?" she asked once they were getting back on their bikes on the other side.
"I think some Agatha Christie books," Julia said after thinking for a moment.
"Oh yeah, I forgot your mom and dad said you can read those now," Mari replied.
"I can't wait," Julia said eagerly.
After they'd crossed another street Mari asked, "Is that it?"
"Yeah, I figure I'm going to get other books at the party," Julia replied. "So I should just get a couple by her. What about you?"
"I don't know yet," Mari replied. "I'd get Agatha Christie too, but Mom and Dad won't really be too happy."
Julia nodded before they crossed the last street and they were at the library. Once they had their bikes securely locked, as well as texted their mothers, they hurried up the steps together and went inside.
"Good morning girls," the librarian at the front desk said. "Would you like to leave your helmets?"
"Thanks," the two said at the same time before signing them in. They went to the juvenile books before they were looking together.
"I wanted to get this one," Mari whispered to her friend, showing her a Baby-Sitter's Club book eventually.
"You didn't read that one?" Julia asked in a whisper as she saw the title, Mary-Anne and the Little Princess, and recalled she'd already read it herself.
"Not yet, is it good?" Mari whispered back.
"Yeah, I liked it," Julia replied.
Nodding, Mari picked out that book and the one after it numerically before she walked with her friend over to the mystery section. "How're you going to pick?" she asked when she saw all the Agatha Christie books.
"I don't know," Julia said truthfully, though she'd known the library had so many of the author's books. "I guess just pick them randomly; there isn't any kind of order. Well… there are the Poirot books and Mrs. Marple ones so I think I won't get those yet; those I'll read in order."
"Cool," Mari said. She smiled when her friend nudged her and then watched as she was looking over the tomes.
Picking up two, Julia walked over to the machine so they could check out the books themselves and once they'd gotten everything set they got their helmets back. Stepping outside they went down to their bikes and she asked her friend, "You want to see what I got, don't you?"
"Of course! It's been driving me crazy," Mari said before they started to laugh.
"Okay," Julia said when they'd finally been able to calm down. "I got The Moving Finger," she read as she showed her the cover. "And then this one called Death Comes as the End," she said as she gave her the second one.
"Egypt?" Mari asked.
"Yeah, it's Ancient Egypt, I read the back," Julia replied with a smile.
"Cool, both of them," Mari said before she took the time to read both summaries. "Okay, one day I'm gonna read them too."
"It won't take that long," Julia said. She put her books in the basket on her bike and then asked, "Where do you want to go first?"
"Well… what about the toy store?" Mari asked. "Wait," she then said as she realized something. "Today's your birthday so you should pick."
Though she wanted to point out that it wasn't her birthday, Julia then said, "We can go to the toy store, I don't mind."
"Cool," Mari said with a smile before they were getting on their bikes. They rode together the last few blocks to the downtown area, talking together happily about their Spring Break and summer vacation. When they had reached the store, they locked their bikes at one of the racks the town had on the sidewalk and they did the same with their helmets.
Walking into the store, Julia and Mari greeted the worker behind the register before they started walking around the aisles. As they were looking at the play sets, she said, "I don't really want anything, but Lizzy was talking about getting a game and I wanted to get her a present for her birthday."
"When will you give it to her?" Mari asked as they walked to the games.
"I don't know since we can't really take anything to Mexico," Julia replied. "I guess I'll have to just ask Mom and Dad," she said, smiling at her friend. Looking together with Mari, she wasn't sure exactly what to get for her little sister before her eyes spotted a game.
"I found one," Mari told her.
"Which one? I found one too," Julia replied. When she saw the box, her friend pointed to she smiled and then said, "That's the one I saw too."
"It looks cool, you don't have it already right?" Mari asked her.
Shaking her head Julia said, "Nope, it looks almost like a hidden object game. Lizzy likes those too. Plus, it's Disney themed so she'll really like that."
"Will you get it?" Mari asked. When her friend's response was to grab the box, she smiled and started walking down the aisle when she felt her hand being grabbed. "What?" she asked in surprise.
"You don't want anything?" Julia asked her.
Shaking her head Mari said, "I was hoping to get some books at the bookstore."
"Okay, then we can go," Julia replied, smiling at her before they left and then went outside to walk down to the bookstore. She spotted someone coming out of the cooking supply store and frowned for a moment before Mari was speaking.
"Is that Lily and Eve?" the girl asked her friend.
"It looks… it is," Julia started to say before the shorter of the pair waved at them. "Hi," she said when they walked over to the two.
"Hey, Happy Birthday Julia," Lily said first. "Though it was three days ago. Are you ready for the party?"
"Almost, we're just going to go around here and then go to lunch," Julia said first. "Are you getting something for your restaurant?"
"No, for the house," Eve answered. "We need a new juicer, so we bought one. "What'd you get?"
"A game for Lizzy; for her birthday," Julia answered, lifting her tote bag slightly.
"Are you letting your moms know where you are?" Lily asked.
"Yep, we're texting them every time we go somewhere," Mari answered. "We're about to go to the bookstore."
"We're heading home, Brad is getting off of his shift so we're going to relax before we go to your party," Lily explained to them with a smile.
"We can't wait to see your costumes," Julia said, knowing the two did want to go.
"And yours," Eve told them.
After saying goodbye to the pair, Julia watched them leave before she said, "I guess she's not too sad she broke up with the boy she was dating."
"Did she really like him?" Mari asked her. "Because if she's not that sad, I don't think she did."
"Probably not," Julia replied, shaking her head. "But I wonder why she keeps going on dates."
"She doesn't go on that many," Mari told her, rolling her eyes.
"I guess it seems like it since we're not dating yet," Julia admitted.
"What about Jake?" Mari asked her as they walked down to the bookstore.
"I don't know, I guess he isn't ready, he's not that old," Julia replied.
"He's only a year older than you; Eve's two years older," Mari said. "Oh… do you mean because he's a boy?"
"Sorta, I mean my dad said he liked someone in eighth grade himself but she was mean to him, so they didn't do anything," Julia replied, shrugging. "And I just hope no one starts asking me about dating now I'm getting older. Once I turn thirteen I mean."
Nodding Mari said, "Me too… once I turn thirteen." She and her friend looked at each other and they started to laugh at the same time before they did their best to calm down and head into the store.
Since she was getting books in the Young Adult section, Julia stayed with her friend and they looked at the books before Mari had what she wanted.
"What about you?" the girl said.
"I don't really want anything… I'll wait to see how I like the Agatha Christie books before I start buying any new ones," Julia said. "And the new ones I'll probably get today." She smiled when her friend did and they headed to the front of the store so she could buy her books. She was looking out the windows while Mari was busy doing that and watched the people walking around, not surprised to see there were more than usual since the weather was nice that day. When her friend came up to her, she looked at her and was about to speak before Mari was while she was pulling her from the store.
"Where else do you want to go?" the girl was asking while they went to their bikes.
"Um… I don't think I want to go anywhere else," Julia said after she'd looked down the street. She turned back to her friend and asked, "Do you want to go to the art store?"
Shaking her head Mari took her hand and tugged her down the sidewalk until they had reached the florist's shop. She couldn't help giggling at Julia's confused expression and they went inside before she pulled her to the front.
"Hello Mari," the worker behind the counter said.
"Hi," the girl replied a little shyly. "Is my order ready?"
"It is," the man said with a quick nod. He turned to the case behind him and picked out a bouquet, handing it to her.
Paying for it, Mari thanked him, smiling when Julia seemed to say the same a little dazedly before they were leaving. "Yellow does mean friendship, right?" she asked a little nervously giving her friend the five yellow roses.
"It does," Julia said, shaking herself when she realized her friend's tone. "Thank you so much," she told her happily as she hugged her. After they parted she then said, "I really hope Mom will let me put these in my room, they're so pretty."
"You're welcome, I wanted to do that since you said flowers can mean something," Mari said. "And I liked the color."
"Me too," Julia said nodding.
"Just 'cause there's no blue ones?" Mari asked her. She laughed when her friend wrinkled her nose and her and said, "Lunch?"
"Yeah," Julia said before they were going to their bikes again. Once back on them they rode towards their homes before they reached the French café. After they'd texted their moms they were getting a table outside before they were ordering their food and starting to talk.
"Has your birthday been good so far?" Mari asked her friend.
Nodding her head, Julia said, "Even just doing this was fun." She then hesitated and when her friend asked what was wrong, she said, "Would you be mad if I said I'm really excited about my party?"
"No, it's going to be fun," Mari replied firmly. "And I'm excited too."
"You won't tell me what you're going to wear?" Julia asked her.
"Nope," Mari said easily before they started to laugh together. Once they'd calmed down their croque monsieur were being served and they started to eat, talking about school and their friends there.
Julia, once they'd finished and paid, said to her friend, "Want to walk our bikes?"
"Yeah," Mari replied since it wasn't that far of a walk to their homes. Once they started she said, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Julia said quickly. "We don't have that far," she reminded her.
"You don't want to hurry home to see how everything's decorated?" Mari asked her.
Shaking her head Julia said, "It's not going to be anything fancy. They're going to decorate like it was in the 20s."
"I guess they wouldn't have anything fancy," Mari said.
"I don't care," Julia said, shrugging her shoulders. "What do you think about the games we're going to play?"
"You only told me a couple things," Mari said, shooting her a look.
"Hey, croquet and bocce ball are fun," Julia said. "I just hope my parents will let us play… or all our parents I should say."
"Yeah," Mari said before they were crossing the street onto their block.
"I just hope the others will like what we'll do," Julia commented.
"I'm sure they will," Mari replied. "I wonder if the boys will mind their costumes."
"Nah," Julia said before they were laughing. They walked to the Fosters' house and she waited for Mari to take her bike before she went in. Her attention turned to the flowers in her basket and she smiled at the bright yellow blooms before she realized the sun was starting to peek out.
"I'm ready," Mari said, coming up the path. "And it's sunny, so we should be able to play outside!"
"Yeah, I just wish it would have been sunny when we came back," Julia said as they walked back to her house.
"It wasn't too bad," Mari said. "And it made those roses stand out more."
Julia couldn't help laughing heavily and tried to calm herself so she could put the code for the door in the wall. "I can't wait to show my mom them… and Dad too, since they know about what flowers mean," she told her friend as they walked into the front yard of her house. She heard the front door opening and seeing it was her father called, "I thought you'd be in your costume already."
"It's not three yet," Castle said in mock exasperation. He smiled when the two girls laughed and told them, "But we're finished decorating if you want to take a look at the downstairs."
"Did you do the whole downstairs?" Julia asked in surprise as she went into the garage to put her bike back.
"Basically, since everyone's going to be on the first floor," Castle replied before they went back to the front door.
Julia wasn't surprised to see there were balloons tied here and there to the railing of the entry staircase, and she smiled seeing a banner above the doorway to the rest of the house reading, Happy Birthday Julia! She walked with Mari to the first room, the living room, and she couldn't help smiling even wider at the sight of the old-fashioned crepe paper streamers in blues, greens and white around the tops of the windows. The paper was also around the pendant light in the room with balloons tied here and there as well. "It's perfect," she told her father.
"Good, we were worried you wouldn't realize how plain the decorations were," Castle said while they left the room. "Especially after your last birthday."
Julia nodded and said, "It's a different theme." They reached the family room and she smiled seeing her mother, running in and saying, "Mom! The house is beautiful and look at what Mari got for me!"
Turning from where she was tying balloons to the end of the fireplace mantle, Beckett smiled seeing the yellow roses. "They're perfect," she told the girl who was blushing.
"They are, could I put them in my room?" Julia asked her mother.
"Go ahead," Beckett replied, watching her go.
"Is everything ready now Mommy?" Eliza asked, coming into the room after greeting her sister and Mari.
"Yes, why is Carlow on your shoulder?" Beckett asked her, not surprised when Josie, on Jim's lap on the couch, squealed at the sight of the bearded dragon.
"I wanted him to see the decorations," Eliza replied. She reached up and lightly ran her nail over his cheek before telling her, "I'll put him back before the party starts," as someone else walked into the room behind her.
"I hope so," Martha said firmly.
"I will Gram," Eliza said, smiling at her grandmother. "He likes to be out of his cage too." She went over to her mother and asked, "Are there more decorations?"
"No, these were the last of them," Beckett replied.
"Oh good," Eliza said with a wide smile. "Now what?"
"Now we'll wait until after two to change," Beckett said.
"Could I go outside?" Eliza asked.
"You should probably keep Carlow inside," Castle said, coming in the room. "I don't know if he'll like it being so chilly."
"Why don't you take him back sweetie," Beckett suggested.
"Okay," Eliza said with a sigh. She grabbed her bearded dragon off her shoulder and carried him up to her room before slipping him back into his terrarium. "Sorry you couldn't stay out for that long, but everyone's coming, and I don't know if they all like lizards. I'll take you out again tomorrow." She smiled and made sure he had water before she closed and locked the glass door and went to wash her hands.
When she had finished, Eliza left her room and walked to her big sister's before knocking on the door frame. "Jules?" she asked.
"Come in," Julia called. Smiling at her little sister, she said, "You put Carlow back?"
"Yeah, I think Gram was really uncomfortable," Eliza answered, moving to sit up on the side of her sister's bed. "But I can't wait for the party!"
"Me neither," Mari said.
"Is Dani excited?" Eliza asked her.
"Yep, I think she loves costumes," Mari replied. "Me too," she added.
"Where's yours?" Eliza said.
"She put it away already, in the closet so it won't get wrinkled," Julia answered before her friend could.
"Did you see it?" Eliza asked her sister.
"No," Julia said in a huff before she was smiling and the three of them were starting to laugh shortly after. When they calmed down, she drew her sister's attention to the roses and they decided to play a game on her computer, hoping that would make the time go much faster until they needed to start getting ready for the party.
Looking at herself in the mirror again, Julia was surprised at how she looked in her dress. "I should stop calling it a costume," she called to her bathroom where her friend was changing.
"What?" Mari asked.
"I…" Julia said before her friend was stepping back out into the bedroom. She smiled and said, "You look like you're coming right from the twenties," as she walked up to her.
"You too," Mari said. She looked at herself in her green and lavender gingham dress before saying, "I'm glad we don't have to wear these now. Especially the stockings."
"Yeah, I don't like those either," Julia said, looking down at her legs. She then smoothed the front of her dress, pleased that it had come out so authentic. It was a peacock blue with white piping and a sash tied around her on her left hip. She had also tied some blue fabric her grandmother had left over from the dress around her head and into a big bow which she looked at in the mirror.
"Oh no," Mari said, watching her.
"What?" Julia said in surprise, turning to her.
"Don't tell me you're thinking of bobbing your hair," Mari replied.
"No," Julia said with a laugh. "I was just thinking, in my past life, Mom never bobbed my hair though I was a kid in the twenties."
"Wasn't her hair longer back then?" Mari asked.
"Yep, actually she said when she was a teenager it went down to her waist," Julia said. She smiled when her friend's eyes widened and she told her, "That's what the style was then. But she kept it long for the twenties too."
"You want to see your mom's costume don't you?" Mari asked her with a smile.
"Yeah, badly," Julia said. "Since she wore this in our actual past life. Let's go."
Mari was still smiling as she took her friend's hand and they walked out together to the hallway down to the master bedroom.
"Mom, Dad," Julia said after she'd knocked on the door. "Are you ready?"
"Come inside," Castle said once he'd opened the door for them. "Your mom is just finishing up, so we'll all get to see her." He'd stepped inside the bedroom, expecting the two to follow him, but when he didn't hear their footsteps he turned back and saw them standing just barely past the doorway. "Hey Eliza, you look great, all three of you do," he said, smiling at the little girl. He then became serious and said, "Why don't you come inside."
"You should see Mom on your own," Julia replied. "Come on," she said to her little sister and friend. "Let's go see if Grandpapa finished getting Josa ready."
Castle was going to tell them they could stay before the three were walking away quickly. He sighed and then closed the door to the room before he went to the door of the bathroom telling his wife what had happened. When he finished, he heard the doorknob turning and stepped back before the door was opening. "Kate…" he breathed, a smile on his face as he took her in.
"Rick," Beckett said simply, smiling at him.
Stepping back so he could let her walk out, Castle said, "You look amazing."
"So do you," Beckett told him with a smile as she was wearing a white pleated skirt, white blazer and shirt with a dark blue and white striped tie. She reached up and cupped his cheek before telling him, "Let's go though, the party."
Nodding Castle didn't move, instead he took his wife's hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing the back before doing the same to the inside of her wrist. "We…" he started to say before he hesitated.
"Don't worry," Beckett told him with a smile. "We'll figure that out later."
"Love," Castle said, kissing her wrist again. "Let's go see Josie though," he said, more for himself than them both, not surprised she was squeezing his hand as they left their room.
Before they could reach Julia's room the girls and Mari were coming out of Josie's and Beckett said, "Are you ready?"
"Mom," Julia said, hurrying down the hall to her. "It looks just like I remember it," she told her as she touched her mother's jacket.
"I know," Beckett replied, squeezing her hand. "And you look beautiful."
Blushing Julia said, "Thanks, you too."
"Like my dress Mommy?" Eliza asked, going over to her.
"I do," Beckett said as the girl's dress was white on top with a light blue skirt just below her waist. "You look great too Dad."
"Sorry you have to wear such fancy clothes Grandpapa," Julia said as they went down the stairs together.
"Don't worry," Jim told her. "I don't mind and at least I'm not wearing a full suit."
"Yeah," Castle said, "I'm good without the jacket and tie."
"Did you wear a vest in that memory?" Alexis asked as she and Louis were standing in the doorway to the family room.
"Yes, and you guys also look really nice," Castle replied. He turned and then said, "We all do," as his mother was coming down the stairs. He smiled at his wife; in her skirt and blazer combination from the night they'd stayed at a hotel in their past life; before she tugged his vest gently to fix it for him. It was the same as he'd been wearing that same night in their past life, a dark blue too though he'd removed his tie and blazer for comfort.
"You really did a great job Gram," Alexis said with a smile. She was wearing a pale green dress with polka dots and said, "Though I'm glad we don't have to wear this style all the time."
"You never had to wear them before," Louis commented, smiling when his fiancée nudged his side. He was wearing a suit as well, grey but only a dress shirt as he hadn't wanted to wear a vest or blazer.
"No but still," Alexis said.
"Well," Martha said, going to the mirror on the wall and making sure her hair was set. "I'm very pleased everyone loves their costumes. So it's a success." She smiled as Eliza came over to her, hugging her tightly. Her own outfit was black with long sleeves and a pleated skirt as she'd made a separate top, a thin ribbon that was a light yellow tied at her neck for a pop of color. "I do wonder what the others will have," she commented.
"I don't think they'll be as cute as Josa," Julia said, smiling at her baby sister.
"Probably not," Jim said as he gently got the end of his dress shirt sleeve out of his youngest granddaughter's hand. He was dressed as Castle was, but his trousers and vest were a dark grey instead of blue.
"She is," Beckett agreed, making sure the baby was okay in her dress. It was a sky blue she had chosen at Martha's insistence, having picked the color as it brought out Josie's blue eyes more. It went down to just above her knees and the baby had bloomers underneath the same color as the sleeveless overdress which was white. She kissed Josie before they heard the doorbell ringing and they all went to the door to begin allowing the guests in and getting the party started.
After everyone was there, Julia was allowed to take the kids outside to the backyard where they had a croquet set ready to play with since her father had put up the wickets while she'd been out. They started to play, the adults talking together near the stairs as they watched the game.
"You guys really didn't need to dress up," Beckett was saying to Genevieve and Isaac. "It was just supposed to be the kids."
"And you two?" Genevieve asked quickly.
Smiling Beckett said, "We decided to wear our Halloween costumes early. The others couldn't help getting involved."
"I'm surprised," Castle told Brad.
"Me too," the chief of police said, wearing a full suit. Brad looked at the other men and then said, "But not so much that we look alike."
"At least we all have different colors," David said.
"And the styles are a little different," Isaac added. He looked over at his son and said, "Clive, your socks."
Muttering under his breath, Clive knelt and then pulled his socks up to where his knickerbocker pants ended. "Really glad this is just for the party," he said, standing up.
"You know you didn't have to dress up," Julia said carefully.
"No, it's okay," Clive said quickly. "I don't really mind it's just annoying since my socks keep falling."
"What is it?" Peter asked his dance partner.
"What?" Julia said in surprise.
"You want to ask us about our parents," Peter said.
"Sorry, I just wonder since it's been a month since we knew they were dating," Julia said contritely.
"I don't blame you, you're curious," Peter replied. He then smirked and said, "Your dad is too."
Giving him a glare, though she soon smiled, Julia said, "He is, but are they happy?"
"It seems like it," Peter replied. "I mean, yeah they are. But…" He trailed off, looking towards the adults, before he turned back and said, "It seems like they're afraid."
"That would happen," Julia said slowly.
"Yeah but I'm scared she's going to be too scared," Peter told her.
Nodding in understanding Julia then said, "At least they're still dating. What happens when they go out?"
"They don't do that too much," Clive said as he'd been listening to the conversation. "Mostly we have dinner at our house or over at Peter's."
"How's that?" Natalie asked.
"Nice, we eat and talk before we play or watch a movie," Peter said.
"Mostly play games," Clive added. "We've done that almost every Friday. It's been fun."
Smiling when Peter nodded as well, Julia said, "I hope you get to keep doing that," before she went to take her turn.
When the game was over, Castle helped David in getting the kids to go inside and he said, "We can go ahead and serve the appetizers now."
"Don't look at me," Lily said in amusement as the others looked at her. "I had nothing to do with this."
"We took care of it," Beckett said. "And we looked online at old menus and cookbooks from the twenties."
"Then what's for an appetizer?" Brad asked them.
"Here," Beckett told them as they led them to the kitchen. "We just have deviled eggs and pigs in a blanket and we'll let the kids play with the bowling set they have before dinner."
"Wooden bowling set?" Isaac asked. When Castle and Beckett nodded, he smiled and said, "Everything looks great."
"He's right Mom," Julia said, going over to her parents. "We would eat this too, but before Thanksgivings and Christmas dinners."
"We remembered," Beckett said with a smile. "Don't take too much."
"I won't," Julia said, shaking her head.
Beckett watched her daughter helping Eliza getting some of the appetizers before she turned at her husband touching her arm.
"Do you want to take off your things?" Castle asked her in a murmur.
"I'll be right back," Beckett said with a smile before she walked over to their office. She removed her blazer and tie, left in her dress shirt, before she walked out to the kitchen. "Thank you," she said as she took the plate he'd given her. "Where are they?"
"The family room, since the tables are there," Castle replied.
Beckett nodded and they walked together over to the room where she saw he was right though the kids were standing next to the table as they ate. She wasn't surprised when the kids were shortly after finishing and were talking about playing. "Play out here in the hall, but please be careful," she said as Julia was walking to her.
"Thanks Mom," the girl said gratefully. Hurrying out to the hall Julia went to the kitchen where the box with the wooden bowling set was so they could play until dinner.