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: I was glad getting the feedback I did for the last chapter, so I'll go into my thanks yous for that right now! TORONTOSUN (Great that you like the story so far. And that you thought there are always great family moments!) and
Mb (I'm not surprised you thought it was nice seeing them back home but I'm glad you did of course! And I wasn't surprised either you mentioned the take off and landing were the most stressful but it's fun to watch what you pass when you do that, I do agree. I was pleased to see you thought it was nice that the dogs were waiting for them in the house and that Mari's parents were eager to see her back. It was nice you mentioned the first step for the indoor pool with the pantry being done, I wasn't sure if anyone was going to, lol. And glad you thought the first half was nicely done. You're welcome for the first half too! Really nice to read you thought the second half was nicely done. And that you thought it was sweet and loving too. I remember being so excited about Easter when I was a kid, so it wasn't hard to put in that they were too, lol. I was glad that you thought it was a good way and idea as well for them to use Beckett's Farmer's Market pictures in the pantry, I figured it'd be great to decorate the pantry. And with the way they are I couldn't see them not all working together picking out the exact pictures, lol. I wasn't surprised you loved putting out the Easter eggs for to hunt, that would definitely be fun. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them as usual 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 Las Brisas written by Ringo Starr and Nancy Andrews, from Ringo's album Ringo's Rotogravure.
Love To Hold Us Tight
"Jules…"
Hearing the sound, Julia wrinkled her nose and turned away before she heard the voice again. It took her a moment to realize it was her little sister and she turned back to look at her once she'd opened her eyes. "Lizzy… what time is it?" she asked her.
"I think it's seven something," Eliza replied easily.
Sitting up, Julia looked at her alarm clock before she saw the time and said, "Lucky for us it's seven forty-six."
"Is that super early?" Eliza asked.
"Not really, but you're lucky I remembered it was a holiday today," Julia said, pulling the covers off herself.
"Or what would you do?" Eliza asked with a frown, putting her hands on her hips.
Julia couldn't help laughing and shook her head before she told her, "You look like Mom doing that. I wouldn't do anything but turn over and go back to sleep!"
"We have to get Josa," Eliza said as her sister got off her bed.
"How come?" Julia asked suspiciously before she realized the answer to that. "Did you wake her up?"
"No, I looked into her room and saw that she was up," Eliza said. "If we don't get her then Mommy and Daddy are gonna wake up."
"And you want to show her that the Easter Bunny came," Julia said. She laughed softly when her little sister nodded rapidly and then said, "Okay, let's go," once she had her light robe on. She took Eliza's hand and told the dogs to stay at the doorway before they were going down the hall to their baby sister's room. Walking inside she saw Josie was sitting up and she hurried over to get her out of the crib. "Morning Josa," she told her, kissing the baby's cheek.
"See, you get to get up now," Eliza said.
"I thought you said you just looked into the room," Julia said.
"I was whispering," Eliza insisted.
Shaking her head as she was smiling at the same time, Julia turned her attention to Josie saying, "She's like Dad then. Okay, let's see if I have to change your diaper."
Following her big sister and little sister to the bed, Eliza asked, "What if you have to?"
Julia, who had unsnapped the bottom of the onesie, checked the diaper as her parents had taught her to do and said, "I do, but I'm lucky, it's not that bad."
"Can I help?" Eliza asked as they were walking next to the changing table.
"Yeah, hand me the stuff I need," Julia replied.
Eliza nodded rapidly in response to that and she was soon watching her sister taking off the diaper and she handed Julia a wipe. "You're so good at that," she said in wonder.
"That's 'cause I did this with you too," Julia replied with a smile though she was looking at the baby.
"A lot?" Eliza asked.
"Not really, but Mom said I should start learning for when I have babies myself," Julia said before she made a face for a moment. She had expected her sister to respond to that with something but when she was quiet, she turned to look at her and was startled seeing that her sister was looking at her in confusion.
"You don't want to have a baby?" Eliza finally asked her.
"I don't think I want to be pregnant like Mom was," Julia said. "But I would like to have a little girl or boy of my own."
"Do you want to do what Skye and Mary did?" Eliza said as she was handing her sister the new diaper at that point.
"Probably," Julia said with a smile. She then said, "But that's not for a long time so who knows, maybe I will want to have a baby myself. I'll see." She then closed the onesie before she was letting Eliza taking their baby sister and going to wash her hands quickly. When she came back out, she wasn't surprised when her sister was talking to Josie about their Easter baskets and she smiled before her little sister was turning to her.
"We can go show her now right?" Eliza asked. "Or are we going to wake up Mommy and Daddy?"
Julia was about to say they should go, but she paused as she thought of their parents and then said, "We better go wake them up; they're going to want to see Josa seeing her first Easter basket… bag."
"Okay, here we go," Eliza said eagerly before her sister stopped her. "Do I have to?"
"Yeah, it'll be better," Julia replied with a smile. She took Josie from her and they were walking over to their parents' room before she nodded to Eliza to open the door. She was relieved when her sister did so carefully and they walked inside. She was gently bouncing Josie as they went to their mother's side of the bed, watching her sleeping before she jumped along with Eliza as the baby was suddenly squealing.
Jumping Castle looked over to the side of the bed and blinking said, "Girls…"
"Sorry," Eliza whispered. "We were gonna wake you up."
"Without yelling," Julia commented. "Morning Mom, Dad."
"Morning girls," Beckett said, pushing herself up to sit. "Happy Easter," she said, taking Josie from her second oldest. She kissed the top of the baby's head and then motioned to the girls to climb up on the bed. She pulled them to her once they had joined her and Castle and gave them each in turn a hug as they were telling them Happy Easter.
"Happy Easter," Castle then said as Julia and Eliza came over to him. She hugged them at the same time and asked, "Did the Easter Bunny bring you anything?"
"We didn't go to look," Eliza replied.
"We decided to wait for you," Julia told them. "Since I thought you'd want to see Josa's reaction."
"Alright, we'll get up right now," Castle said, pulling the covers off him and then hurrying to the table where his robe was. He walked around to his wife's side finding that she was watching him, and he asked, "What?"
"You're very eager," Beckett replied with a smile.
"Well… I can't help it," Castle said with a shrug, holding out her robe.
Julia got off the bed first so her mother could give Josie to her and she and her sisters watched while she was putting on the robe with their father's help. "What about everyone else," she said.
"They might be awake now," Castle commented after he'd stepped away from his wife. "We should check and see."
"Do we need to wait for them to get up?" Eliza asked as they were walking to the hall.
"I don't think we do; we just can't start the egg hunt without everyone else," Beckett said with a smile. When they had stepped into the hallway, she smiled seeing the others were stepping out of their rooms before she took Josie so Julia and Eliza could greet them.
"You didn't go down yet?" Alexis was asking her sisters with a smile.
"No, we were waiting for you," Eliza said firmly. She laughed when Alexis grabbed her to hug her and she said, "Can we go down now?"
"We should, lunch is at eleven," Castle said before they headed over to the stairs. When they were at the kitchen table he watched with the others as the girls were hurrying to the bags and crying out as they went.
"I got a little chick!" Eliza said happily.
"Look at my coloring book Lizzy," Julia told her sister before showing her a page.
"How cool!" Eliza said as she was looking at it as well.
"I'll give you a page to color," Julia said. She put her coloring book back before she said, "Look Josa, the Easter Bunny gave you a bunny."
"Baba… eee!" Josie said before she was squealing heavily.
"Did she say bunny?" Eliza asked.
"No, but I think she was trying to copy the b sound," Castle said.
As she watched Josie holding on tightly to the stuffed animal Beckett looked at the girls and asked, "Is that it?"
Sharing a look, Julia and Eliza rushed over to their bags again and they were exclaiming over the candy bars they pulled out before the latter noticed the note.
"It's from the Easter Bunny," Eliza said after she had opened the paper.
"What does it say?" Martha asked with a smile as she glanced at her son.
"Dear Eliza, Julia, Alexis and Josie," Eliza started to read. "I hope you'll have fun finding all the eggs that I left for you. And don't forget your littlest sister gets to look for some too. I left something special for your oldest sister and you can find it somewhere in the kitchen."
"Somewhere?" Julia echoed.
"There's a word here but it's all messed up," Eliza said, looking confused.
"Let me see," Julia told her with a slight smile. She then saw it was a scrambled word and said, "I think we need to unscramble it…"
"Do you know what it is?" Eliza asked her as she watched her obviously thinking it over.
"The fridge I think; it's the whole word," Julia said, looking at the adults.
"You should go and check," Jim said in amusement since the two weren't moving.
Eliza took off at that and she rushed over to the fridge, opening it and crying out saying, "'lexis, Louis. Look at what the Easter Bunny left you!"
Going over to the fridge, Alexis saw the small basket and candy bars before she glanced at her father. "It looks great," she said.
"Looks like all our favorites," Louis told his fiancée.
"I know, he's a smart bunny," Alexis said before her two sisters were laughing.
"Of course, he's the Easter Bunny!" Eliza said happily.
Seeing Julia rolling her eyes, Castle went to her and squeezed her shoulder before he said, "Want to help your mom and I with breakfast?"
"Sure, what can I do?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Make the orange juice for us," Beckett said, walking to them as she'd given Josie to her father. "Pancakes love?"
"Of course, would I really do anything else today?" Castle asked.
"Make egg shaped ones Daddy," Eliza said as she hurried over to them.
"I was planning on it," Castle commented.
"Are we going to be able to decorate them at all?" Julia asked as she was waiting for her mom to get the oranges for the juice.
"I was thinking of that," Castle said, looking at his wife.
"I did see we have whipped cream," Beckett replied easily. "And you can but take it easy with that."
"We will," Julia said, smiling as she could see her sister nodding her head rapidly in agreement. She turned to the juicer and began putting the oranges on it before she had the pitcher filled. She had been so focused on what she'd been doing that seeing the scrambled eggs on the table startled her. "Did you finish?" she asked.
"Almost," Castle said since he was still at the stove. He made the last two before he said, "Now we're ready."
"Did you help Mom with the fruit?" Julia asked her sister.
"Yeah, we washed the berries and I took out the bad ones," Eliza replied, nodding her head. She took one of the blueberries off the top of the bowl she and her mother had prepared and then popped it into her mouth as Martha playfully pinched her cheek.
"Okay, we have everything," Castle said, setting down a plate of bacon Alexis had made. "Now we can eat."
"When can we decorate the pancakes?" Eliza asked.
"Once you eat some eggs and bacon," Beckett told her. They started to eat, and she watched Josie to make sure the baby was okay as they'd given her some eggs to eat by hand.
"Is she okay?" Julia asked, looking over at her.
"She is, she's eating," Beckett said, smiling at the baby as she was looking up at her. "Here sweetie," she said as Josie had dropped the eggs in her hand putting them to her mouth.
"Abab… mo," Josie vocalized.
"Does she want pancake now?" Eliza asked.
"Go ahead and decorate yours," Castle said to the girls with a smile.
Sharing an excited look, Julia and Eliza got their spoons and got whipped cream to put on the stack of two egg shaped pancakes they had, and they were spreading it across the pancakes.
"I guess that's a method," Jim said in amusement as they were watching the two putting berries onto them.
"That's it?" Alexis asked Eliza as she was picking up her fork.
"Yeah," the little girl said with a smile.
"Nice pattern," Castle said, taking a picture of the two plates. He watched them starting to eat before he turned his attention to his own food. He got some whipped cream and berries on his stack of pancakes and they started to eat them until they'd finished.
"What do we do now?" Julia asked after they'd cleared the table.
"Can you two go up and change?" Beckett asked them.
"I can," Eliza said immediately.
"We'll go," Julia replied, reaching for her sister's hand before they were walking together to the stairs. When they'd reached their rooms she said, "Okay?"
"Yep, I can do it by myself," Eliza replied.
"Okay but if you have any trouble then come to my room," Julia told her. She smiled when her little sister nodded her head rapidly and then headed to her room before closing the door and getting her tunic dress and leggings she'd planned to wear for the day.
Going upstairs themselves at that moment, Beckett said, "Are you sure we should bring her?"
"Yeah, everyone's going to come upstairs," Castle said with a shrug. "Why not have her with us."
"We have to take turns to change," Beckett told him.
"I don't mind at all," Castle said. "You or me first?"
"I'll go first," Beckett said in amusement before she handed him Josie and then went to the closet.
"So it's Easter," Castle said. "And you and your sisters will wear dresses. But we have leggings for you."
"Ababab," Josie said, grabbing for his chin.
"I know but your mom said she's wearing a sundress," Castle said. When the baby smiled up at him, he laughed and said, "I wish you could tell her how pretty she looks; I know your sisters will say the same thing."
"You know I can hear you Rick," Beckett said, walking into the room, smiling at Josie when she squealed at her.
"That was my intention," Castle replied easily as he handed their baby daughter to her. "Fhéachann tú iontach," he told her, sharing a kiss with her.
Beckett thanked him for telling her she looked amazing before he went to change and she was sitting on the edge of the bed finding that Josie was holding onto the end of her sleeve. "Do you like my dress sweetie? Or do you just want to eat it?" she asked, ending in laughter as the baby was obviously trying to pull the short sleeve of her dress. She got it out of Josie's hand and then kissed her temple before she waited for her husband to walk out into the room. "Féachann tú só bhlasta," she told him as soon as she saw him, not surprised he paused there since she'd told him that he looked delicious.
"That's not fair," Castle said.
"Go brush your hair," Beckett told him. She got off the bed and went into the bathroom with her husband and she and Josie watched him finishing getting ready. "I think," she told him. "You'll have to wait for tonight."
Glancing at her once he'd finished, Castle said, "I will if you promise me one thing."
"Okay," Beckett said slowly.
"Keep wearing this dress?" Castle asked her.
Beckett couldn't help smiling at her husband's question and she nodded before giving him Josie. They shared a quick kiss, as their daughter was cooing at them, and she turned her attention to getting ready. She couldn't help admiring her sundress, the short sleeved and floral-patterned fabric had blue as its base color, but it was so pale she could wear her aquamarine still. When she was finished, she and her husband walked hand in hand together, to the hall so they could go to Josie's room and change her for their holiday celebrations.
After she'd gotten dressed swiftly, Julia brushed her hair herself and pulled it into a ponytail before she went out into the hall in time to see her parents going into Josie's room. She hurried down after them and entered the room saying, "I'm ready."
"You look cute Julia," Castle told her first when he saw her.
"Thanks," she replied as she walked over to the changing table where her mother was changing Josie.
"You did a good job with her diaper sweetie," Beckett said, smiling at her.
"Thanks, I had to, she was going to start crying," Julia said before they looked over at the doorway as Eliza was coming inside.
"Mommy, Daddy," the little girl was saying. "My feet hurt."
"I think you got them on the wrong feet," Castle said, going to her.
"And you were supposed to take those downstairs," Beckett told her with a smile.
"Here," Castle said, taking the sandals off carefully before he set them aside.
"Thanks Daddy," Eliza said before she was crying out as he picked her up. "Do you like what I'm wearing?"
"I do, it's funny you and your sisters are matching a little," Castle said as he walked over to Beckett and Julia.
"Not really, mine is longer and mine is green too!" Eliza said in protest.
Laughing Castle kissed her temple before he said, "True, but you both look great and ready to find eggs."
"What about Josa? When is she gonna look?" Eliza asked as Beckett was giving Josie; in a sundress and leggings; to Julia before she started to comb her hair gently.
"She'll look with you now and later," Beckett said.
"We can go?" Eliza asked eagerly when her parents both nodded, she squealed in joy and then rushed over to her sandals to pick them up.
"I guess she's ready," Julia said, giving Josie to their dad and leaving the room. Going out into the hallway she saw Eliza was heading down the stairs and she went after her before seeing her sister sitting on the floor in front of the staircase. "You could have just sat on the last step," she told her as she walked up to her.
"I can get them on faster this way," Eliza said firmly before she buckled her sandals and stood up. She looked up and saw that the rest of their family was coming down to them and she smiled before hurrying to the door out to the yard. "I have my bag," she said eagerly as the others were approaching her.
"Let me have your sister's," Beckett said, taking it from the little girl.
"Go ahead," Castle said as both Eliza and Julia were looking at them.
Opening the door first, Eliza nearly flew down the steps before she heard Julia crying out behind her in joy.
"I found one!" the girl said.
"Hey!" Eliza said before she turned and hurried over to the bushes by the stairs. "I got one too!" she cried, picking the bright yellow egg from a branch.
"I suppose they're at the age they won't really need us," Martha said.
"I don't know," Castle said, letting Jim take Josie. "Eliza might need help eventually."
"Is that where you're going now?" Alexis asked her father.
"Yeah, you guys can do whatever you'd like," Castle told them.
"What about Josie?" Jim said.
"We'll give her eggs to look for once those two are finished," Beckett answered, smiling at Josie as she was clapping her hands together while her grandfather was bouncing her.
"Daddy!" Eliza called out.
"Oh, she found a tall one," Castle said. He hurried over to the trees that were to the right of the yard and picked the little girl up so she could take a purple colored egg from a lower hanging branch.
"What would have happened if I had found that one Dad?" Julia asked, walking over to them.
"I could have picked you up," Castle said. "Or are you saying your dad is weak?"
Eliza giggled when her father playfully flexed his arm and she went to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You're not Daddy, Mommy would say you weren't," she told him.
"I wouldn't," Beckett said as the three looked at her when she had reached them. "Did you find all the eggs?" she then asked, startled when the girls suddenly ran further into the trees. "Good thing there are some there," she said in amusement to her husband.
"I thought your dad was taking Josie," Castle said as he was reaching out to the baby in her arms.
"I decided she should join in," Beckett replied. She was slightly startled when he leaned down to her but recovered quickly before she was kissing him back once their lips met. She wasn't surprised when he was quick with that and she was about to speak when a voice was calling to them to their side.
"Alright to join you?" Louis said.
"Yeah," Castle said first. "We were just going to go after them."
"Did you guys want to look for eggs where you hadn't put them?" Beckett asked as they were walking after the girls.
"No, the girls should have the chance," Alexis replied.
"After all, we did get those candies from the Easter Bunny," Louis commented before he smiled as his fiancée playfully pushed him.
Beckett was about to speak when she suddenly heard a cry of pain ahead of them and she and Castle ran ahead to see what was wrong when Julia was calling to them frantically.
"Lizzy fell," the girl said when their parents were close. "She was skipping and tripped on a root," Julia added in a rush as she stepped out of the way as her father was picking up Eliza.
"Does your foot hurt at all?" Castle asked.
When Eliza; crying still; shook her head, Beckett turned to Julia and asked, "Did she hit it with her toe first?"
"Yeah, she put her hands out to stop herself," Julia explained, holding them out as she'd managed to catch her sister doing. "Is she okay?" she asked in concern as her mother was looking at her hands.
"She is, a little scraped up but you'll be fine," Beckett told her.
"I'll take her in," Castle said.
"D-do I have to stop?" Eliza said with a sob.
"For now," Beckett said. "We'll wait for you to come back."
"She wasn't skipping that fast," Julia told her mother as they left the trees.
"I know, but it doesn't matter apparently," Beckett replied. "But we're not going to punish her; just warn her."
Julia nodded and then took her mother's hand before they walked down the grass to the chairs where her grandparents were standing. She wasn't surprised to see they looked concerned and was about to tell them what had occurred before her grandmother was speaking first.
"What happened," Martha said.
"Eliza tripped on a root," Julia said first.
"Her hands were a little scraped but not bleeding luckily. She'll be fine," Beckett said.
"Are there more eggs in the trees?" Julia asked as the thought came to her suddenly.
"Yeah, we mostly put them there," Louis said.
"Don't worry," Beckett told the young man as he sounded slightly guilty. "You didn't know it was going to happen." She looked back to the house and seeing her husband was coming out with Eliza walked over to them quickly.
"She's fine," Castle said, seeing his wife and knowing she would be wondering.
"Are you?" Beckett asked, looking at their daughter.
"Yeah, my knees hurt too but Daddy checked and I might just get bruises," Eliza replied.
"Let me see your hands," Beckett told her.
Showing them to her mother, Eliza smiled as Beckett then kissed her palms and she hugged her tightly when she stood back up. "Thank you, Mommy, Daddy did the same thing," she told her.
"Good, he's doing his job," Beckett said, smiling at her husband as she spoke. When he playfully saluted her, she rolled her eyes before saying to their daughter, "Keep looking for eggs sweetie, I'm sure there's more. But don't skip or run around the roots okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be good," Eliza said seriously before she ran across the grass to the others.
"Don't," Castle told his wife as they were watching her.
"I wasn't going to," Beckett said simply. She then took his hand and they walked together back to their parents; her mother in law holding Josie.
"Would you want her back?" Martha asked.
"Keep her with you," Beckett said.
"She's right, she needs to rest before her egg hunt," Castle commented. When he saw his wife was looking at him, he said, "What? We were going to do it after the girls got all their eggs weren't we?"
"We are, but I don't think she needs to rest," Beckett said in amusement. She took his hand and they walked to the tree with Alexis and Louis following them. Standing just past the beginning of the trees, she looked for the girls and soon found them since their tunic dresses were such bright colors. "How's it going girls?" she said as the two came up to them.
"Good, look at my eggs," Julia said, showing her mother the inside of her bag. She tried not to smile as both Beckett and Castle were pretending to look at each egg since she knew they were counting them.
"Nice, you got them all," Castle said as he'd counted Eliza's eggs quickly.
"What about Josa?" the little girl asked.
"We're going to get them for her now," Castle replied as they walked out to the grass. After he had grabbed them from the patio he went back to the chairs before he was dropping them on the grass randomly.
"Okay Josie," Beckett told the baby, holding her. "You can look for your eggs now."
"I have her bag," Julia said.
"I'll go with her if she needs help," Eliza said, getting down on her hands and knees as soon as Josie was on the grass.
"Are you okay?" Alexis asked her little sister when she winced a bit.
"Yeah, it's a little pinchy," Eliza replied.
"Stings a little?" Julia suggested to her, on her knees as well. She smiled when her little sister nodded before they were hurrying after their baby sister since Josie had taken off for the first egg.
"Make sure she doesn't eat them," Beckett said, walking over to them as Josie was sitting up at the first egg and grabbing it.
"Put it here Josa, in the bag," Julia told her shaking it and smiling when her baby sister laughed at the sight.
"Should I help her?" Eliza asked as Josie was just staring at them then.
"Yeah," Julia said with a nod, watching as Eliza made Josie let go of the egg over her bag. "Let's get the next one," she said with a smile.
Watching the two girls leading their sister to every egg, Beckett shared a smile with her husband before they were going back to the chairs and she sat down with the girls and her husband as the two oldest were opening their eggs.
"Ooh! I got some quarters," Eliza said happily. "I can use the money in Spain?"
"It's your money," Castle reminded her. "What do you want to buy?"
"I dunno," Eliza said after thinking for a moment. She then smiled and said, "Something I see there. What'd you get Jules?"
"Money too and some candies," Julia said, smiling at the Jordan almonds in the egg she'd just opened since she loved them.
"Looks like you got a good haul this year," Louis said, he and Alexis coming back from the beach.
"You too, you got all those candy bars from England," Julia told him.
"And those wonderful Snickers with peanut butter; my favorite," Louis said.
"Here?" Eliza asked as Josie was crawling around the circle they made sitting together.
"Of course," Louis said before he glanced at the baby. "Hey ho, what's this?" he said to get everyone's attention.
As they were all watching her, Josie grabbed the arm of the chair and pulled her first leg up before she brought her other up and was standing. She smiled as the others were all exclaiming over her before she let go and fell onto her bottom and looked surprised for a moment before she started to whimper.
"Don't worry," Castle said, reaching for the baby and holding her above him. "You're well on your way to walking now. You just need to practice."
"Don't force her to," Beckett told the girls with a smile as her husband was kissing Josie on the cheek. She took her from him and held her close, pressing her cheek against hers.
"Amam ah!" Josie vocalized.
Laughing Beckett said, "I love you too sweetie."
"When will she talk now?" Eliza asked.
"Did you record that Grandpapa?" Julia suddenly said before anyone could respond to her little sister's question.
"I did, I thought she would keep playing with her eggs," Jim replied.
"She might talk soon," Beckett told Eliza, who looked impatient.
Julia smiled at her little sister's frown but then caught something out of the corner of her eye. "Mari!" she said happily when she spotted her best friend with her family and their dogs.
Getting his phone from his pocket, Castle shook his head and told his wife, "They're not here yet, but we better get started on lunch."
"Wait," David called as he and his wife were walking up to them. "I'll help you."
"Why?" Beckett asked.
"So you won't ruin your dress; or Becca ruins hers if she tries to help you," the mayor replied easily.
"Okay," Beckett said, turning to Rebecca and hugging her with one arm. "How's Dani?"
"Good, Josie?" she asked.
"She just stood up for the first time," Beckett answered with a smile.
"H… oh, the chairs?" Rebecca asked. When her friend nodded, she said, "Great to hear she's doing well. Now I want to see Sophie."
"Me too," Beckett said before she heard some barking from the house and turned to find it was the Davis' King Charles' Spaniel. "And now we will," she said to her friend with a smile before they were walking up the yard as the rest of the Davises were leaving the house.
For a while the families were greeting each other before the Carters arrived; Castle and Beckett deciding to include them as well since their kids could play with the ones in their group. After things had calmed down, they were sitting at the tables set up by the house in the grass, small candles in the middle of a stand for the pots of melted cheese placed on top of them. Platters of meats, cheeses and breads were set out as well before they were starting to eat together.
"It's really nice of you guys to include us," Autumn said with a smile.
"We had to talk to you so many times the last case I think it needed to happen," Brad said in amusement.
"You didn't really owe us anything," Carter replied as he was dipping a cherry tomato into the cheese. "But thank you for the invitation."
"You're welcome, hopefully you won't mind the egg hunt after lunch," Beckett replied.
"They'll want to join in," Autumn said, nodding to their daughter and son who were sitting on either side of herself and her husband.
"There are enough eggs for everyone," Martha said.
Beckett was about to ask if the couple had had an egg hunt for the twins though they were only fourteen months and nearly a week when Lily was asking her husband about the cheese they were dipping in.
"What kinds of cheese did you end up using for this?" the chief's wife was asking.
"Gruyere," Castle replied. "Plus some white cheddar, I figured it'd give it a good taste,"
"It is, you picked a good combination," Lily replied.
Looking over at the kids, Carter glanced at the others and said, "Will they include Hattie and Eddie?"
"They will, don't worry," Castle told him. "Especially if we tell them to let them get some of the eggs."
"It would be great if you would," Autumn said with a smile.
"When we're finished," Beckett said. They ate in silence for a little longer before Lily was getting her attention.
"I've been dying to ask you, how was Mexico City?" she asked Castle and Beckett.
"Really nice," the former said first before looking at his wife.
Smiling Beckett said, "It might take us a while to tell you about it and I don't think we have that kind of time."
"How was the lockdown?" Brad asked.
When his wife looked at him, Castle started to explain about what had happened with the girls before he realized the Carters had no idea about Julia's abilities. "She…" he started to say when he'd finished.
"I wouldn't see her as a liar," Carter said.
"Neither would I," Autumn said. "We'll have to watch the episode once it airs," she said to her husband.
"That should be later in September," Castle said. "The last that they told us."
"We'll watch too," David commented.
"You'll get an early copy," Beckett said with a smile.
"We will?" Rebecca asked in surprise.
"Yeah, Mari was in the episode so they'll send it to you," Beckett replied with a smile.
"Mom," Julia said, getting up from her chair at the other table. "We're finished, do we need to help you clear everything?"
"That would be nice," Beckett said. She saw her husband was motioning to Alexis and she then turned to her as she approached them. "Can you handle it?" she asked in a low voice.
"We can, we're ready," Alexis said with a nod. She watched as the parents were getting the kids to take them up to the house with everything so the tables were cleared. She turned to her grandparents and said, "You're okay with the babies?" smiling at the three as they were looking at each other.
"Dada," Hattie said.
"We're fine," Martha said, taking the baby out of her highchair. She set her on her lap and said, "I hope you enjoy doing that again."
"We will," Louis said, handing his fiancée a basket of eggs.
"Come on," Alexis said before they started to walk around the yard to hide the eggs though she was leaving some around the grass for the three babies.
"I would hold on before you run for the eggs," Jim was saying to Eddie, the baby looking up at him as he was standing on the grass.
"Mama?" Eddie asked him.
Laughing for a moment Jim said, "I know, she'll be out here in a while." He then looked over at Josie as she was vocalizing loudly and had to reach over, grabbing for the baby boy's hand. "Hold on there," he said, picking him up and putting him on his lap. "I know that you want your mother, but she'll be out soon." He glanced over at Martha and said, "I should have used the word soon first."
"I think so," Castle's mother said with a smile. She reached over to Josie and let her hold her hand before she looked at Hattie as she was squealing.
"Dog!" the baby exclaimed since Macca was coming over to them.
"Look, more eggs!" Dani was saying happily as they were going down the steps from the house.
"Hold on," Rebecca said with a smile as she stopped the girl. "You need your basket first and you'll start with everyone else."
"They put them out fast," Eve murmured.
Trying her best not to laugh; as she was with her, Mari and Jacob; Julia nodded and said, "I think we get two eggs each… maybe three."
"How're we going to do that?" Jacob asked.
"Okay kids," Castle was saying to them. "You can go ahead out and look for the eggs once we say go, but only grab three before you head back… or help a younger sibling."
"They're ready," Brad said, looking at all the kids.
"Okay, then go ahead and start," Castle told them.
Watching the older kids hurrying down the grass, Beckett smiled and then said, "Luckily we told them how many they could get."
"I know, the babies?" Castle asked his wife.
"Last," Beckett said, smiling at Carter and Autumn as they were holding their kids.
"Luckily they won't mind doing that," Carter said, smiling himself.
"Or that they're just foam eggs," Castle commented.
"There's one, way up there," Mari was saying to Julia as they were in the trees.
"Want me to get it for you?" the girl asked her friend.
"No, you can get it," Mari told her with a smile.
Though she wanted to tell her to get it, Julia reached up and grabbed the blue egg, setting it into her bag before they were continuing. She already had two by then so when she found a green colored one, she followed her friend until she had found her third one. "Are we the first ones back?" she asked in surprise as she looked around as they walked to her parents.
"You are, but Eve is close behind you," Castle commented. "Oh… Eve and Jacob," he replied.
"What about Lizzy?" Julia asked.
"She wanted to go on her own; remember Alexis and Louis followed them," Beckett reminded her.
Nodding, Julia turned and watched as the others were coming back though they soon spotted Louis carrying Dani while Eliza was hand in hand with Alexis. "I think they let her get one on a tree branch," she said to her friend.
"Probably," Mari said with a smile as she watched her sister being set down before she went to Eliza. "How many did you get?" she asked Dani.
"Three!" the toddler cried out, holding up her hand.
"That many," Eliza said, correcting her friend carefully as she was holding up four fingers. "Can we open them?"
"It's time for the youngest to get their eggs," Castle said, saying that to the other kids. "We should just let them go and grab them."
"We might have to follow them though," Brad said.
"He's right," Lily said. "Two of them can't walk," she added as she was gently bouncing Sophie. She smiled when the nearly ten-month-old laughed and she kissed her forehead before saying, "Should we separate them?"
"Better idea," Autumn said. "I don't want the twins to step on the babies."
"Okay, then let Hattie and Eddie go now," Castle said. He looked at Josie, who his wife was still holding, and smiled as she laughed before he kissed her temple.
"That's three of them Eddie," Autumn was saying to her son at that moment. "And those are yours."
"Mama pay!" the baby cried.
"I see," Autumn said with a smile. "Let's go and let the babies take their turns."
Taking Josie over to the eggs that were left Beckett asked her friend, "How was she this morning?"
"She loved taking the eggs," Lily replied. "Hopefully she'll let them go this time."
Beckett laughed before she was nodding and then setting down Josie on the grass by the eggs. She watched Sophie sitting on the grass once she was placed on it by her mother and she then smiled as the babies' siblings were hurrying to them and starting to talk to them encouragingly.
"Luckily they don't mind crawling," Alexis said as they were laughing as the babies were doing so. Soon after she was applauding as Hattie grabbed the first egg and wasn't surprised her twin brother was doing the same. After Josie and Sophie had gotten them the kids were playing with the foam ones and she shared a look with her fiancé before they were joining them to start playing.
Once the babies and Dani were taken into the house to Josie's room for their naps, the older kids were getting their kites and they began flying them on the sand while the adults watched them.
"I really don't like the looks of the clouds," Castle said, looking up at the sky.
"Does your knee let you know about rain?" Brad asked his friend.
"Sometimes," Castle replied. "But we probably have to get them inside soon."
"Especially since they're flying kites," Louis said.
"Maybe we should get them to play something else," Beckett said them. She and the other mothers were calling to their kids and though they protested they were soon putting their kites away under the cover of the patio.
"So… what are we going to do now?" Jacob asked slowly as they could just barely hear distant thunder.
Looking up at the skies, Beckett frowned before she said, "Why don't we go inside? That storm might be moving fast."
"Board games?" Mari asked.
"No, we have some outdoor games we can play in the hallway," Castle said. "Safely."
"We took everything out that was breakable Dad," Julia told him firmly as they were walking back up to the house then.
"You mean not needing to since there's nothing there that is?" Alexis asked. She laughed where her sister and their father nodded and then said, "Should we show them?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Castle told her before he turned to the others and asked, "Does anyone want a drink for now?"
"I'm good," Carter said first. "By outdoor games do you mean bar games?"
"Not cornhole," David said quickly. "We had a set and let the kids play with it, but they didn't really take to it."
"There's a better game we have," Castle said, looking over at the hallway they were just standing in and seeing that Julia was carrying their bouncing skeeball game.
"Yeah, this one," the girl said with a wide smile. Julia looked at the adults as they laughed before Eliza was walking swiftly past her and then set down the bouncing stand they needed. "I guess we're playing there," she said
"Can Dani play this?" Eliza asked, watching her big sister putting the board for the game down in front of the bouncing stand.
"If we play it when she's up," Julia said. "Do we need to go in order of age?" she asked her parents as they were getting chairs for the adults to sit on.
"That would be nice," Beckett replied.
Smiling widely as she took the three red foam balls for the game, Eliza went up to the bouncing stand and threw the first one down before she groaned as it rolled off the board and didn't make it to one of the scored holes.
"Keep trying kiddo," Martha said with a smile.
Giggling, Eliza turned back and tried bouncing again before she cried out as she reached the lowest hole and got a ten. Bouncing the next one she was jumping up and down as she got a ten again. "I got twenty!" she said excitedly.
"I saw," Beckett said in amusement since the little girl had come over to her. "It's Mari's turn now."
Julia clapped for her friend as she got a twenty, ten and another twenty on her turn and hugged her when she walked over to her. "Great job," she said.
"I'm getting better at getting twenties," Mari said in amusement as she'd played that game several times when she'd been at the house.
"I know, I want to see if I can get thirties," Julia replied before she grabbed the balls for her turn. She bounced the three of them and cheered when she saw her second was a thirty while she got a ten and twenty for the first and third. "I'm getting better," she said to Jacob, stepping aside so he could take his turn.
"Crap," the boy said in annoyance when his first bounce rolled onto the bounce stand. "Oh shoot!" Jacob said with a laugh as the ball rolled back and managed to get into the ten hole. He threw his next two and cheered when he got a twenty twice saying, "Not bad," to his big sister as she was stepping up to him.
"You're lucky," Eve said jokingly to him before she turned to the game. She smiled when she got a thirty and some of the other kids exclaimed over that, before throwing two tens. "Okay, so I was lucky," she told her brother with a laugh as he was mock frowning at her.
"Go next 'lexis," Eliza said as she wasn't going to the game to take her next turn.
"Are you sure?" Alexis asked her with a smile.
"Yeah," Eliza said with a nod, waving her arms so her sister would step up to the game.
After his fiancée had gone, Louis stepped up and then started his turn before he smiled as the other kids were exclaiming over him getting the highest score, a forty. He managed to get a second one before getting thirty last before he said with a laugh, "Remember I do play cricket."
"But you don't really bounce like that," Jacob told him.
Shrugging Louis said, "It might have helped me out a bit."
"Now you can go Lizzy," Julia told her sister, watching her rushing over to the game. She smiled and then went to her parents asking, "How much longer will they take a nap?
"Until they start waking up," Beckett replied with a smile. "Why?"
"I know Lizzy's going to ask; so Dani can play too," Julia replied. "Also I think Mari wants her sister to get to play."
Nodding her head Beckett said, "You're probably right, but we do have the chance to play again after dinner."
Seeing her wrinkling her nose, Castle asked, "You don't want to?"
"I kind of wanted to play board games," Julia replied.
"We'll see what everyone else wants to do before we decide for sure," Beckett said. "After dinner."
"Julia," Mari called to her friend. "Your turn."
Beckett watched as Julia nodded before the girl was suddenly turning to her and hugging her around the neck. She embraced her back quickly and then watched her starting to play with the others before she took her husband's hand.
Glancing at his wife, Castle smiled at her before he was entwining their fingers, rubbing his thumb along the back of her hand as they watched the kids continuing to play.