Chapter 32

It took Beckett a few bars of Castle's not-wholly tuneful humming to recognise the song, at which point she joined in. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four? Except you're sixty-five, babe."

"I know, but will you still need me at a hundred and sixty-five?" Castle added with a slightly twisted grin. Before Beckett could reassure him that of course she would, his phone rang. "Alexis!" he said happily, and then, "Thanks – you do? Yes, sure I can meet you to collect it, or you can come round. Okay, see you in an hour or so." He looked up, eyes glistening, as he closed the call. "She's got me a present," he said. "I think…I think we're okay. She's coming here."

"Let's clear this up," Beckett said, "and I'll fix some lunch when she's nearly here." She hugged her husband, and then stroked through his hair. She'd thought – and Castle had said, though clearly he hadn't totally believed it after the first rapture - that everything had been mended already, but it seemed that Castle had still been deeply nervous about the damage to his relationship with his oldest child. "Do you want me to go out so you can talk to her?"

"No."

"Okay." Castle was still clinging to her. "What's wrong, babe?"

"Silly," mumbled its way into her cleavage. While normally mumbles into her cleavage were desirable, being followed by expressions of considerable appreciation, not all of which were spoken; this wasn't a happy mumble.

"What's silly?" she asked fondly, and petted. Suddenly she found that she had twenty pounds of Maine Coon in her arms, which she hadn't been expecting and almost dropped. The cat miaowed unhappily as she grabbed for it, then she rapidly sat on the couch where there was plenty of room for his tail to stretch out, and stroked his fur until the tension in his spine dissolved and he began to emit the growly purr of restored contentment. His black head butted into her neck as he stood on her lap and snuggled into her shoulder – her trick, that: Castle very rarely wanted to be his cat, preferring to be the massive panther, who could, would and did stalk Beckett in both Onyx and panther form, most enjoyably. She kept petting, and finally Castle-cat turned back into Castle-man.

"Better?" she asked.

Castle shrugged, and hoisted her into his lap. She turned into pettable Onyx, and stretched up against his shoulder just as he had done some time earlier, rubbing her head into his cheek. He petted until she purred and sprawled against him, but she could tell he was still nervous and unsettled. She changed back, slid off his lap, and firmly turned his face to hers.

"C'mon. If Alexis was upset or hated you she wouldn't be coming and she wouldn't have gotten you a birthday present, would she?"

"Guess not," Castle mumbled.

"She certainly wouldn't have phoned to make sure you were in."

"Guess not."

"And she sure wouldn't stay for coffee and lunch."

"Guess not."

"No guessing needed," Beckett snapped. "Now c'mon. Nothing's going to go wrong. She might even bring your grandchildren, since you haven't seen them in weeks."

Castle cheered up. He loved his pre-school grandchildren. So did Beckett, especially when she could give them back at the first hint of screaming. If only she could have done that with the twins.

"In fact, why don't you ask her to bring them, then you can play with them."

Castle cheered further. "Great idea." He dialled, had a quick conversation, and swiped off smiling widely. "They'll come too."

"Okay. Mac 'n' cheese for lunch, and ice cream."

"And sprinkles, and chocolate sauce, and" –

"You hand them back hyped up on sugar, and I'll help Alexis bury your body," Beckett teased. Castle pouted, and she kissed the pout. Castle didn't hesitate for an instant before diving into her mouth and proving most satisfactorily that sixty five years had merely enhanced his osculatory skills. Beckett willingly gave herself up to the strength in his arms and the passion in his kiss; which rapidly resulted in her shirt and pants giving up their limited arguments to stay on her body. Castle scooped her up and whisked her through to the bedroom, where he set about proving, once again, that age had nothing to do with energy levels, though it surely developed skill. Castle's skills were extremely highly developed, and all of them were fully focused on Beckett, who was now unable to focus on anything except the sensations he was producing.

Some time later, thoroughly relaxed, they emerged from the bedroom just in time to tidy up before Alexis arrived.

"Grandad! Grandad!"

"Gra'd!" the smaller child squeaked.

"Happy birthday, Dad," Alexis said, and hugged him. "Hi, Kate."

Three hours later, the doting grandfather collapsed on to the couch, exhausted.

"Told you so," Beckett said smugly, and then had a truly evil thought. "Just wait till it's the twins kids – and they change."

"Beckett!" Castle wailed. "No giving me nightmares! I won't fall asleep."

"Sure you will. Alexis's kids have already worn you out." She snickered. "You might not be ageing but you can still be exhausted – and you can't simply wave your tail at your grandkids and let them exhaust themselves chasing it like you did with ours."

"Urrrgh," Castle managed, flopping.

"And that is why we are never, ever having any more, no matter how long we live," she added. Even now, Castle occasionally became sentimental about the twins as kittens, cubs and/or babies. Beckett did not. Beckett remembered, through a fog of exhaustion of her own, the unpleasantness of pregnancy, the painfulness of birth and the extreme lack of sleep. Besides which, a little research of her own had shown her that two kittens had been an unusually small litter, and she couldn't imagine how awful four (or more) Petra-alikes could be. Or David-alikes. And the food bill would be terrifying.

Castle groaned again, and flopped some more, resembling an unconscious octopus. "Is it bed time yet?"

"No, and I made a reservation at Le Cirque for six-thirty, so…"

"What time izzit?"

"Three."

"Can I go sleep?"

Beckett grinned. "You're not that good of an actor, Castle. You just want to get me into bed."

Castle's eyes opened, and crinkled delightfully at her. "Yep."

"You think that trick'll work?"

"Nope, but you're thinking about it now." She was. "You've got those little golden flecks in your eyes, and you're nibbling your lip." She was doing that too. "So I think you might be thinking naughty thoughts."

"Like you are?"

"Sure I am. You always make me think naughty thoughts. You always have. Right from the very beginning when you should have come out to dinner and been debriefed."

"Debriefed usually means talk about the case, not take off your panties."

Castle smiled lazily. "We could have done both. Well. I'd have had to have taken off my boxers, since I don't wear panties…but taking off yours – seems like a really, really good idea right now."

"Does it?" Beckett breathed. "You're not…spent?"

"No," Castle murmured. "Not at all."

Castle clearly intended to enjoy Beckett for his birthday. That didn't seem like a problem. Pre-twins, they'd quite frequently spent one or other birthday entirely in bed.

"We'd better set an alarm so we get to Le Cirque on time. The twins are meeting us there."

Castle tapped rapidly at his phone, and then resumed his lazily seductive smile. "Now, where were we? I think we were, hm, debriefing."

Some time later, they were thoroughly debriefed.

"How did your session with Matilda go?" Beckett asked over aperitifs.

"Once she stopped muttering about Rafe and the lawyer, you mean?" Petra said smugly, backed up by a shit-eating grin from David.

"Yeah." Beckett smiled back, nastily.

"Good, I think." Petra flicked a glance at David.

"Yeah, definitely. Lots of happy noises from the photographer."

"She wants us back next weekend for another one."

"What was it?"

"Clothes," Petra said unenthusiastically. "And clothes next time. Bo-o-oring."

"I liked the clothes," David said.

"Peacock."

"No squabbling. Did you accept your schools?"

"Yes. There's stuff you need to sign, but that's a tomorrow problem," David said happily.

"Same." Petra agreed. "We won't get stuff like housing requests for ages, though." She briefly looked nervous. "I really hope I can get a single room."

Beckett smiled. "A cat can always find a small, hidden corner," she noted, and her smile turned sly. "Nobody ever found me in the bullpen, and they're trained investigators."

Castle humphed. He'd never found where Onyx hid – and he'd had every incentive to do so.

The twins stared. "You can?"

"Petra, you managed it all the way through six months' travelling. Surely you could manage it in the residence hall?"

"Ye-es, but – it would just be a lot easier to have a scratching post and a lockable door so I could sleep as a cat on my bed and be safe, not be constantly stressing about someone finding me. And there are a lot more hiding places in busy airports than in dorms." Her tone said – you should know that.

Beckett raised eyebrows at the tone, but didn't pull Petra up on it, mostly because the appetisers had arrived and she was hungry. Enthusiastic exercise including multiple orgasms had that effect on her.

The food was excellent, conversation was surprisingly adult, and nobody stropped, sulked, argued or snapped. For a Castle family dinner, that was utterly unheard of. Beckett put it down to the effects of it being Castle's birthday, and enjoyed the novel experience. She could stand a lot more of that sort of sociable dinner. Cynically, but probably correctly, she thought that they were unlikely to have many of them. She'd better enjoy this one to the full.

Family harmony prevailed all the rest of the evening, though Castle and Beckett declined the opportunity to go prowling through Central Park after dinner, and left the terrorist twins to chase squirrels, rabbits and lowlifes to their hearts' content.

"Good birthday?" Beckett asked as they settled down in the loft.

"Yeah," Castle said, snuggling her in. "Next year, we could go away, if you liked? Or for yours. Or both?"

"We could?"

"Sure we could, if you book some time. After all, the twins will be at college and" –

Beckett snuffled.

"Don't cry," Castle soothed.

"Not crying," Beckett snuffled soggily.

"My shirt is damp. You're crying, again. You never cry."

"I know," Beckett dripped. "It's dumb."

"Maybe you've found a maternal instinct," Castle suggested. "I mean, it's a bit late when they're nearly eighteen, but better late than never – ow! That hurt! You're not allowed to tweak my nose on my birthday."

"I have plenty of maternal instincts. I just don't let them override common sense and a requirement for good behaviour."

"Threatening the twins with handcuffs and cells are not maternal instincts."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point," Castle said, which he knew wasn't a good comeback.

"Anyway," Beckett said crossly, "I have plenty of maternal instincts. I didn't sell them, did I? Or put them in the Zoo. Or leave them up at the cabin without us." All of which had briefly crossed her mind, at various moments of high emotion.

"I don't think that's a very high bar," Castle said provocatively. Beckett growled at him. "No growling," he chided. "It's not nice. You should be nice to me."

"I've been very nice to you all day," Beckett husked, "in lots of ways."

Castle plopped a kiss on her head, and petted her shoulder. Her hand rested easily on his thigh. "It's been a great day," he agreed. "Nightcap?"

"Scotch, please," Beckett said. She rarely drank Scotch, except when the twins were particularly troublesome, but on special occasions such as Castle's birthday, it made him happy if she joined him.

Castle poured two, and raised his glass. "To the next stage," he toasted.

"Cheers," Beckett said, and sipped. The Scotch was smooth, and rounded off the day perfectly. She wiggled a little to be perfectly aligned, laid her head on his broad shoulder, and luxuriated in Castle-ness. There was nothing quite like Castle's arm around her and his scent in her nostrils to relax her. She knew that he felt the same: that having her close and cuddlable soothed his soul.

"Travel would be good," she murmured. "I always wanted to travel more."

"We were too busy catching killers, saving New York, and stopping the twins becoming terrorist tyrants."

"Yeah. Maybe it's time for a bit more us."

"As long as we still get to catch killers and save New York once a year or so."

Beckett snickered. "Don't forget stopping the twins."

"Miracles take a little longer," Castle grinned. "And if we're travelling, we don't have to worry about Petra running the country. We can just stay somewhere else."

"Yeah. I don't think I'm your parent would work on the President."

"No." He smirked. "But it would be fun to try."

Beckett laughed, and then sipped at the last of her Scotch. "Let's go to Thailand," she suddenly said. "Once the twins are settled, we could go."

"Okay," Castle said happily. "We'll do a long trip. You can request extended leave, and we'll do everything."

"Sounds good," Beckett said. "Sounds really good."

"Something to look forward to."

"Yeah."

"Freedom!" Castle sang, and Beckett joined in.

Time passed. David and Petra completed their modelling shoots, and regarded their financial affairs with considerable pride. They had both, after discussion with their parents, declined the scholarships on the grounds that others needed them more. Housing assignments were granted, and both of them had achieved single rooms. David took up woodcarving, and designed himself a decorative post. Strangely, it was exactly the height needed for a full-size panther to scratch down. Petra, on seeing it, demanded he carve her a similar one. After some squabbling, a deal was agreed. Lists of what they would need were prepared. Endless questionnaires and forms were filled in.

"Mom, Dad?" David said slightly hesitantly over dinner, a couple of weeks before graduation.

"Mm?"

"Uh…"

"Mm?" Beckett said, rather more worriedly.

"I'm valedictorian," he confessed.

"You are?" said three people at once. "Congratulations!"

"Me last year, you this year. We own that high school," Petra said smugly.

"We'll all be there. I'll arrange for the front row," Castle said. His turn this year. "Well done, Davy-boy. Taking after your mom."

"Taking after both of us," Beckett said. "Just like Petra."

Petra closed her mouth on what would undoubtedly have been a complaint, and considered. "This should be fun. Can I dress up?"

"In your graduation dress?" Beckett asked. "I don't see why not." She grinned. "This time, if anyone gets handsy, you can take them down. I'll arrest them for you." They exchanged vicious smiles.

"Not likely," David said. "The stories about what you did to them are still going around. Nobody's that stupid."

"Not twice," said Castle in wholehearted agreement.

"Besides," David said casually, "they hit the floor a few times near the gridiron. Just couldn't stop tripping up, I guess."

Beckett examined her son's totally innocent expression. "Really?" she asked.

"Really really, Mom. I never touched them."

"And your friends?"

"That's up to them."

Beckett's expression was not totally innocent. Beckett's expression was totally cynical. "I expect that they heard about how upset Petra and I were?"

"Who?"

"Your friends."

"I don't know," David said. "But everybody heard about how they got dumped in a cell overnight, so maybe that was it."

Becket regarded her son's bland face with total suspicion, but somewhere along the way – she suspected Castle – he'd learned to not-lie with total aplomb.

Two weeks later, the combined Beckett-Castle clan sat at the front of the hall, and waited for David's valedictorian speech. Despite interrogations, he hadn't said a word about it. His parents knew that he was nervous, which spilled over on to Petra, who was snappish –

Right up till David ambled on to the stage and…switched on. To Beckett, open-mouthed, it was the image of the way Castle switched on in front of his adoring public: David blazed.

Petra had done it with sheer force of command personality, and been cheered and admired. David was loved. She looked at Castle, and saw his incandescent pride; took the emotional temperature of the room and hoped that they'd all be able to leave with David's hair and clothes intact. The way some of the girls were looking at him…

His speech was as good as Petra's, but totally different. She couldn't have been prouder. Both her children, successful in their own individual ways. Suddenly, she understood that they were ready to move on to the next stage: to start a new phase – to leave home. A pang pierced her, and she sniffed and grabbed for Castle's hand.

Fortunately, before Petra could notice her ridiculous moment of emotional overload, Beckett pulled herself together. The hall was cheering David to the echo. He bounded off stage, and was mobbed by the football squad.

Approximately an hour later, David's proud family managed to catch sight of him again. Half an hour after that, he fought his way back to them, grinning like a loon and clearly utterly high on adulation. Petra hugged him. "Good job, little brother."

David grinned down at her, picked her up and swung her around. "They'll never forget us, sis."

"Damn straight," Petra said.

Fortunately, the twins' start dates were a week apart. Their parents didn't quite know what they would have done if they'd been closer, but this way they could dispose of David before they disposed of Petra.

It was truly embarrassing. Beckett made it through unloading all of David's stuff, making his single room homelike, setting up the scratching post…she was so proud of her self-control – and then it was time to go and she totally lost her composure.

"Hey, love," Castle murmured as he tucked her against his shoulder. "No crying, or I'll start crying and then David's nice room will be ruined."

"Silly," she snuffled into his shirt. "I'm happy for them."

"I hope you're not going to do this at Harvard, Mom," Petra said. "It's totally unjustified. You've got a phone and our numbers. It's not like we've gone to Mars." But despite her sharp, unimpressed tones, she turned and hugged her brother like she'd never see him again. "Thanksgiving," she said.

"Thanksgiving," David said. "We already booked our flights home," he added to his astonished parents. Beckett's eyes spilled over again, and even Castle gulped, eyes glistening.

"You David Castle?" said a deep voice from outside the room.

"Yeah."

A head poked in, attached to a large frame. "Hey. I'm Callum. Offensive lineman. I hear you're a quarterback?"

"Sure am." They smiled at each other.

"Wanna come play some ball?"

"Lemme say goodbye first," David said. "Uh, these are my mom and dad and this is my twin, Petra."

Callum regarded them all. "Wow. You look just like your dad, and your sis like your mom. You coming here too?" he asked Petra, admiration on his face.

"Nope."

He deflated. "Shame. I'm in room 415. Come along when you're done and we'll go throw some ball."

David bounced happily.

"Time we went," Beckett said. "Call home occasionally, huh? Once a week would be nice. Remember you're three hours behind and try not to call at midnight." She hugged him hard, as if he were still her tiny kitten-cub, and stepped back. Castle took her place, and hugged him equally hard. "Love you," both parents said.

"I'll be fine," David said. "Look out, world. Castles coming through." He grinned widely.

"Give us a minute," Petra said, and flapped at her parents to leave, shutting the door in their faces. When she emerged, her eyes were damp. Neither parent commented, though they thought many things, largely consisting of now you know how it feels. "Let's go," she said.

"Okay."

They drove back to San Jose, where they were staying before flying home the next day, and solaced themselves with a good dinner and very little conversation. Beckett held Castle's hand almost the whole time, which he reciprocated. Petra's lips pinched and she scowled furiously, though her parents were dead sure that she was preventing a tear escaping through sheer will. During coffee, though, her eyes went far away, and then she smiled. "He's having a great time. It's okay."

A week later, in Cambridge, Mass., Petra's room was furnished and they were almost ready to leave. Well aware of Petra's views, Beckett controlled her emotions.

Castle didn't. His eyes welled up, and he hugged Petra in a way she normally never permitted. Eventually, Beckett removed him, gently, before Petra removed him ungently and possibly without a finger or two. She hugged her prickly daughter. "Love you. Call home occasionally. Try not to run the university till you've been here at least two weeks."

"Love you," Castle wobbled.

"I'll be fine," Petra said. "Look out, world. Castles coming through." She smiled.

"Well?" Castle said to Beckett, safely home in New York again.

She managed a wobbly smile in return for his wobbly smile.

"I guess…the world is very cool for us cats?"

Fin.

Thank you to all readers and reviewers. All of you are very much appreciated.

That is the end for the Caskett Cats, I think, though one should never say "never".

My fourth original novel will be published sometime near the end of May: Death in Frenzy. All my books are on Amazon under SR Garrae. If you haven't tried them, please do!

Next up will be a Caskett story dealing with the summer after the s2 finale, starting one moment after Castle left with Gina. I don't know when it'll be ready, because I have to finish writing it.