"Oh!" Mari exclaimed as she slipped. She laughed when her father grabbed her and she straightened up and said, "Thanks Dad."
"You're welcome, don't run though," David told her jokingly.
"I wasn't," Mari said, sticking her tongue out at him. She cried out as he was reaching for her and hurried to Julia to hide behind her.
"Are you girls done practicing?" Rebecca asked the two.
"Yeah," Mari said, looking at her friend questioningly.
"I don't think we can do any more," Julia replied before she followed her friend over to the island in the kitchen.
"I know it's almost time for your dad to come get you," Rebecca said. "But I made these brownies yesterday."
"We can have a piece?" Mari asked eagerly.
"A little piece," Rebecca said, getting a pan from the counter by the fridge.
"And some milk," David told them as he was pouring some into two smaller glasses. "Make sure you drink the milk so your parents know you had something healthy."
Julia couldn't help laughing softly and then said, "I will, can't really have a brownie without it." When she had the napkin with her piece on it and her glass, she walked with Mari to the family room and said, "It looks really good."
"I helped Mom with it," the girl replied with a nod. Mari then smiled and said, "It tastes really good."
Nodding, as she'd already taken a bite, Julia said when she finished, "Oh, you're right."
"I told you," Mari said, smiling when her friend nudged her. Her parents were sitting with them by then and she asked them, "Could we watch TV?"
"It depends on what you want to watch," David said slowly.
"Sports bloopers again Dad!" Mari said eagerly.
"Sports bloopers?" Julia echoed in confusion.
"They found videos on YouTube of them, and they can be very funny," Rebecca said.
"You should tell your dad about this channel," David told her. "He'll love it."
Julia smiled and then said, "Probably," before she turned to look at the TV and watched the first video. She laughed at the baseball bloopers before she said, "I wonder if my mom and grandpapa will like them."
"Maybe," Mari said.
Watching a few other videos with them, Julia finished her milk just as there was a knock at the sliding door. She went with David to it as Rebecca and Mari were quieting the dogs and saw it was her father. "Hi Dad," she said after the mayor had opened the door. "It's time?"
"It is," Castle said. "Don't forget your coat." When his daughter went back into the house, he asked David, "How was she?"
"Good," the mayor replied. "She and Mari had fun."
"Did she mention having Mari over for a sleepover?" Castle asked.
"Of course," Rebecca said. "And we're fine with it."
"I'll talk to Kate but I'm sure we'll have her over," Castle replied. When Julia was walking back to them, he said, "We'll see you in the morning," to her friend.
"Okay, thanks for coming over," Mari said, hugging Julia.
"I was glad to, night," she replied before she was saying that to David and Rebecca. After they were leaving the patio, Julia reached for her father's hand and said, "How was it for dinner?"
"Good," Castle replied. "But your mom thinks something's going on with you."
"Shoot," Julia said with a sigh.
"Something is going on?" Castle asked in concern.
Shaking her head Julia said, "I have to tell you, but can it wait until after I write in my diary?"
"Alright, but you better be okay," Castle said.
"I am," Julia promised, smiling at her father. She then said, "I missed being home a little bit."
"We missed you a little, but we won't stop you from spending time with Mari," Castle said.
"Good," Julia said.
Castle laughed before they were walking up to the house and he said, "Your mom is tucking in Eliza… Oh, I stand corrected."
Looking at him in confusion, Julia then looked up to the house and saw her mother's silhouette through the glass in the door. She smiled before she remembered what he'd said before and said to her father, "She's not still worried is she?"
"Not exactly," Castle said. He quickly related what Eliza had told them and said, "But you better tell us."
"I will," Julia said, unable to help smiling at her father's tone of voice. She turned her attention to her mother as Beckett opened the door and she rushed into her arms. After they parted, she said, "Hi."
"Hello sweetie," Beckett said slightly laughingly. She leaned down and kissed her forehead telling her, "Come inside, you need to get ready for bed."
"I can write in my diary, right?" Julia asked.
"Yes," Beckett said simply as Castle was taking their second oldest's coat.
Julia thanked her before she hurried upstairs where she knocked softly on her grandmother's door. "Hey Gram," she said when Martha opened it. "I wanted to say goodnight."
"Hello kiddo," Castle's mother said, sharing a hug with her. "Have fun?"
"Yep," Julia replied.
"Good," Martha said. "Goodnight and I love you Julia."
"Love you too Gram," she replied. She then went down the hall as quietly as she could until she had reached her grandfather's room, knocking on it once.
"Come in Julia," Jim told her.
"I just came to say goodnight," she told him.
"I know, but I wanted to make sure you were okay," Jim replied.
"Oh… yeah I'm fine," Julia said, wondering for a moment what he'd been talking about. "Everything's fine. I had the best time at Mari's, but I missed you guys too."
"We missed you," Jim said, smiling at her. He pulled her into a hug and told her, "But I'm glad you had fun."
Nodding rapidly, Julia told him, "I love you Grandpapa."
"I love you too Julia," Jim answered. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Julia said, sharing another hug before he kissed the top of her head. She left then and returned to her room, hurrying to get Macca and JoJo on her bed before she was changing into her pajamas. Brushing her teeth, she tried to go quickly but not miss anything in cleaning before she was going to her desk and getting her diary out. She filled her pen with ink before she started to write, trying not to go too quickly though she had a few things that day to write.
March 27th, 2021
Hello again Evangeline! I have things to write about to you, so I have to get started because I definitely want to talk to my mom and dad tonight.
Today school was normal, all of it was normal but luckily Mari and I had Study Hall last so we could finish up our homework before dance class. That was fun today and we practiced our tap dancing that way we could still learn stuff for the concert, me and Peter anyway. It was cute though, at the end of the class Josa ran out to me and then held onto me, saying my name a couple times before Ms. Grey ended the class. Mari came back with us to the house, and we waited for Mom and Dad to come back. They had to work longer today, but they got back a little bit after we did, and I could say goodbye to them before we were going over to Mari's house.
When we got there, we started a puzzle together Mari had gotten; it was of the cover to the Sgt. Pepper's album and was so cool to see! We did that for a little bit before David came home and Mari went to see her Dad. It was then the guy who was trying to see me at home came and I talked to him. He told me his first name, Adam, but not the last name but I knew he was the victim in the case that Mom and Dad have right now. And he had blood on the shirt he was wearing so that was how I could really tell. He told me he wanted to talk to Mom, so I'm planning on talking to Mom and Dad once I finish this. Also, once they come into the room since they're getting ready for bed.
"Hey," Julia said, smiling at her parents when they walked inside.
"Hey, keep writing," Castle said. "We didn't want to interrupt you," he said, not surprised when Julia was smiling a little wider and responding to him.
"No, I was wondering if you were getting ready for bed," she told both her parents.
"We did," Beckett said. She sat on the edge of the bed with Castle and said, "How much more do you have to write?"
"Um," Julia said before she looked at her diary. "I don't think I have too much." She smiled when her parents motioned for her to continue and then turned her attention to her book.
After that Mari and I were working on the puzzle again and kept doing that until dinner. Oh, actually we stopped before that because we had to put the toppings on the personal pizzas her parents were making for dinner. After that we worked on the puzzle and stopped at dinner. Mari told me she's only going to do it with me, but I said it's her puzzle. But she can be stubborn, so I guess I'll have to go over there more. Not that I mind!
Dinner was good, and it was interesting talking with Mari's family though it was kind of the same as if I'd been at home. Mari talked about her day at school and so did Dani though it wasn't for that long. And then Rebecca and David asked me to tell them about my school. I felt kind of weird, but I think they were interested in hearing, probably because Mari's going to be in that grade next year. So I told them, and Mari and I told David about our dance class since he couldn't go.
After we ate there was still a little time until Dani needed to go to bed, so we taught her to dance a little. She doesn't really get it like Lizzy was already at her age, but she has fun and it tired her out to go to bed. While Rebecca and David were putting her little sister to bed, Mari asked me about what I was going to do meeting the singers at the concert. I thought it was a weird question and I just said I was going to greet them and talk with them if they wanted to talk to me at all. And then she said was I going to act all crazy. I know she was teasing me then because she knows I wouldn't be acting like that. When her parents came back we practiced ourselves a little and to show David what we'd done in dance class and before I went back home I got to have a piece of brownie Mari and her mom made, it was super good and I'm glad they let me have some. Dad came and I had to say goodbye, but Mari's going to hopefully spend the night Saturday (I have to ask Mom if she can!) and Dad and I walked back here.
That's all I have because once I came here, I changed and brushed my teeth so I could write in you. Mom and Dad are here waiting for me so I'll go ahead and stop, but I'll write when I can tomorrow! Night Evangeline!
Putting everything away, Julia did her best not to go so fast that she spilled any ink, and she was going over to her parents once she had finished. "I'm okay Mom," she said.
"I can tell," Beckett said, not surprised her daughter had said that. "But something happened."
Breathing out, Julia explained the young man that had appeared to her, and she finished by saying, "He wanted to talk to you Mom, but said he wasn't able to."
Sighing, Beckett said, "What did he want to say?"
Julia turned slightly, as Adam had appeared with her grandmother next to her and she said, 'Now's the time to talk.'
You have to tell her exactly, the spirit told her.
'I will,' Julia promised.
Watching their daughter, Castle looked at his wife and saw she was looking in the direction Julia was and was going to ask if she could see as well before their daughter was speaking first.
"He says there's a brother and you need to look at him," Julia said.
"What brother?" Beckett asked.
"It's not his brother," Julia replied. "But a brother of… home? I don't know what he's trying to say. He's having some trouble."
"Is your grandmama with him?" Castle asked.
"Yes, but she's not sure what he's trying to say either," Julia said.
"Julia?" Beckett asked then.
"That's it, he'll go now," Julia said. 'Sorry, she's not that used to it yet.'
Don't worry, Johanna told her granddaughter. We're leaving now, but you need to tell your mother the rest.
'I will,' Julia said, nodding her head. She turned back to her parents and was about to tell them both were gone when her mother was speaking first.
"I can tell," Beckett told her daughter.
"Yeah, they're gone," Julia said, looking at her father. "But that isn't it Mom. He said he has a sister, a half-sister like I do."
"He does," Castle said. "We talked to her today, Tamara."
"He's really worried about her now, if his family finds out about her?" Julia asked. She wasn't surprised when her mother closed her eyes and she hurried to add, "He told me his father had a baby with another woman, but he doesn't know. They don't want his parents to find out about her."
"We're going to try and protect her as much as possible," Castle said reassuringly.
"Brad will," Beckett added to that.
"One more thing Mommy," Julia whispered. She wasn't surprised her mother was surprised at her calling her mommy, but it had felt like what she needed to say. She shook herself and then said, "He wanted to ask if he could go with you to see his sister so he could say goodbye once you find his killer."
"He needs to go with me?" Beckett asked after hesitating for a moment.
"Yes, I asked Gram if he couldn't just go with me and she said it was better if you did since you had the connection," Julia said. "I think it means since you met her already."
"I'll… see," Beckett said as her husband was looking at her.
"Mom?" Julia then aside. When her mother turned to her in surprise she said in a rush, "He told me something and I'm a little confused. Adam said she needs to be protected because his sister wasn't always his sister?"
"She's transgender," Beckett said.
"She was born a boy?" Julia asked.
Castle nodded at the same time his wife was and then said, "It's another reason why she doesn't want her father to know about her."
Nodding Julia said, "There's something else I'm kind of baffled about. When I saw Adam, he was wearing a shirt with a logo on the side of it."
"Logo?" Castle and Beckett said together, growing serious after smiling a little at their daughter's use of the word baffled.
"It… maybe I should draw it," Julia said, turning to her desk. She grabbed a piece of paper from her printer and got a pen before she began to draw, hesitating a few times before she stopped and studied it. "Okay, that's the best I could draw it so I hope it's close," she told her parents as she turned back to them. She watched them looking at it and she asked, "Have you seen it before?"
Shaking her head, Beckett said, "We'll have to take this in tomorrow."
"Should I text Brad?" Castle asked her.
"No," Beckett said, shaking her head firmly.
"Sure," Castle said, putting his phone back in his robe pocket.
"I hope it helps you," Julia said, watching her mother give the paper to her father which he folded up and put in his pocket.
"Now," Beckett said, turning her full attention to her daughter. "Tell us how school went for you."
Julia smiled, not surprised her parents wanted to know and she did so, saying once she had finished, "I told Rebecca and David about it during dinner."
"They probably wanted to include you," Castle said.
"Yeah," Julia said with a nod. "So it was a nice day."
"How was it at Mari's?" Beckett asked.
"Fun," Julia said before she went into more detail about that. When she had finished, she said, "The brownie was really good," wondering if her mother was going to say anything to that.
"I'm not mad you had that," Beckett told her in amusement. "But no sweets tomorrow."
"I think you'll have to tell our parents that," Castle said. "And Alexis and Louis."
"Why… oh, you're still gonna go?" Julia asked.
Smiling at the hopeful tone to her daughter's voice, Beckett nodded and said, "That's the plan, so don't worry."
"I wasn't, I thought you would still," Julia said. "I hope you have fun."
"We will," Beckett reassured her.
"Do I need to go to bed?" Julia asked then.
Shaking his head while he was looking at his watch, Castle told her, "You're good for another half hour."
"Really?" Julia asked.
"Really," Beckett said as she'd seen the time herself.
"Could I ask about something?" Julia asked.
"Yes," Castle said first.
"You're still going to Tahiti, right?" Julia asked.
"Of course we are," Castle said. "We have to." He noticed the slight frown on her face and asked Julia, "What's wrong?"
"I wish you guys could go to Mill Valley," Julia confessed.
Shaking her head Beckett said firmly, "Remember we're going there for Christmas."
"But on your own," Julia said.
"We'll have other chances to do that," Beckett said.
"Okay, I guess it's not bad since you'll be able to go see the concert," Julia told her after thinking that over.
"And work there," Beckett commented.
"Are you nervous?" Julia asked in concern.
"No, I'm just saying," Beckett told her with a smile. "But you I'm more concerned about."
Nodding, since she knew she didn't really need to comment on that, Julia said, "Would you tell me something Mom?"
"Okay," Beckett said.
"Something from when I was little," Julia replied.
"Okay," Beckett said, thinking that over. She knew her husband was looking at her, wondering what she was going to say, and she then told them both, "It was one night before we came here for the first time."
"Julia," Beckett called to her daughter for a week. "You're not going to get to try any of the cookies we made if you don't come here to wash your hands now."
Giggling, Julia stood up from behind the couch and said, "I get to try some cookies Mommy."
"If you wash up and eat dinner," Beckett reminded her, not surprised her daughter had said that.
"Kay," Julia said, rushing around and going to her mother to hug her tightly. She squealed when her mother picked her up and held her above her before she said, "I love you Mommy."
"I love you too sweetie," Beckett told her, putting her on and hip and sharing a brief kiss with her. "Are you hungry?" she asked as she was walking to the kitchen sink.
"Yeah, the food smells good Mommy," Julia told her.
"I know, I had a great helper today," Beckett said with a smile before her daughter was asking for another kiss.
"I kinda remember that night," Julia said when her mother paused. "We made those thumbprint cookies, right?"
"We did," Beckett said, nodding her head. "And for dinner you helped me make chicken quesadillas."
"And we had nachos too," Julia said, though it was more in a questioning tone while she was looking at her mother before she was responding quickly.
"We did, it was easy to make," Beckett said. "For you. But when I finally got you to wash your hands," she told her daughter in a mock stern tone of voice as she wrapped her arm around her to hold her close. "We sat down to eat. And after we were done you were very helpful with clearing the table."
"See Mommy?" Julia asked as she brought her plate over. "I can carry my plate."
"I see that, great job sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile. "And thank you," she said as she took it from her.
"When can I wash the plates?" Julia asked.
"When you're taller," Beckett replied. She washed the fork her daughter had used and dried off her hands before telling her, "You can go get your coloring book and crayons."
"Are we gonna color?" Julia said eagerly. She squealed in joy at her mother's nod and rushed to her room.
Shaking her head and smiling while she watched her daughter, Beckett turned her attention to her phone which she had left on the kitchen counter for the meal. She saw her boyfriend had texted her and read the message before Julia was coming back.
"Are you gonna do that with me too Mommy?" Julia asked, going to the coffee table.
"Yes," Beckett said as she answered the text swiftly.
"What did you say to Mom?" Julia said to her father.
"If I could call her later," Castle replied, having remembered that night. He had spoken with his then girlfriend once Julia had been in bed about meeting them in Central Park for brunch at Tavern on the Green. He recalled Beckett had decided the restaurant was too much for her only four-year-old daughter, so he'd brought a picnic for them to have in the park instead. He shook himself and said, "And we did talk."
"We saw you the next day, didn't we?" Julia asked.
"You remember?" Beckett said, responding with a question instead of answering.
"A little, I remember a picnic in Central Park since you took me to the carousel after," Julia said.
Beckett nodded, not speaking as she didn't want to accidentally mention it had been her first time going on the carousel and the park. Instead she focused her attention on the night they were talking about, and she told her, "I left my phone on the counter and went to join you at the coffee table."
"What are we coloring today sweetie?" Beckett asked her daughter once she was set.
"Um…" Julia started to say before she cried out. "This one!"
"I had a feeling you'd want to do that, one," Beckett said as her daughter had pulled out a Disney World themed coloring book. Castle had found it for her, and she watched while Julia was looking through the pages before she was stopping at one.
"I want to color this one," Julia told her mother firmly.
Ripping the paper out carefully, Beckett saw that it was of Lilo and Stitch on the Jungle Cruise. "It looks nice," she told her with a smile.
"Yeah, and you color this one please?" Julia asked her mother. She watched her tear out the page of Mickey and Donald Duck at Tomorrowland and was going to ask if she liked it; anxious to know; before her mother was responding with a smile.
"I'll do my best with this," Beckett said.
"You will," Julia said with a large amount of certainty in her tone.
Beckett did her best not to laugh at how her daughter had said that, and turned to her page, grabbing a black crayon as Julia was starting to color next to her. After she had colored in Mickey Mouse she said to her daughter, "How is it going?"
"Look," Julia replied, showing her her page.
"Very nice," Beckett assured her. She wasn't surprised Julia wasn't able to color inside the lines but didn't care, since she already was aware that her daughter would be learning to color inside around five. She pushed away her thoughts of Julia another year older already and moved to hug her tightly before she kissed her temple while her daughter was laughing. She didn't want to let her go but knew Julia would be wondering why she was doing that, so she let them get back to their coloring.
"Did I ever learn to color inside the lines?" Julia asked, remembering the picture she'd colored easily as her mother had saved it.
"You did, by the time you were five," Beckett answered.
"When I was supposed to?" Julia guessed.
"Yeah, Alexis was an early developer," Castle commented. "She managed to get it three months before her fifth birthday."
Smiling at him pointing that out, since her big sister would always become embarrassed when her father talked about it, Julia then said, "It was a fun night."
"It was," Beckett said, gently smoothing her hair back. "And it was nights like that where I loved being a mother."
"Because I wasn't making a mess? And I listened to you?" Julia asked.
"Basically," Beckett said before she and Julia laughed together for a little.
When she had calmed down, Julia looked at her father and couldn't help feeling a little bad he couldn't share that with them and hugged him around the neck.
"It's okay," Castle said quickly as he already had an idea of what she was thinking. "I wasn't there yet."
Julia laughed softly at her father stressing on the word yet and she kissed his cheek saying, "I'm so glad we came here."
"Me too," Castle said. "And you left something hanging."
"What?" Beckett asked, not surprised when their second oldest looked confused as well.
"Did you have a cookie or not?" Castle said exaggeratedly, shaking his hands in the air.
Covering her mouth with her hand, Julia couldn't help giggling before she calmed down and then said, "Yeah, we did. Not too long after we started to color."
Beckett nodded and then said, "They were the cookies I had with us at the picnic the next day."
"Could we talk about that now?" Julia asked hopefully.
"I don't think so sweetie," Beckett replied.
"It's time already?" Julia asked in shock.
"Unfortunately for you," Castle said as Beckett rolled her eyes.
Julia pursed her lips for a moment before she went to him and hugged him saying, "That was the best thing about you when I was little."
"The fact I never really grew up?" Castle asked.
"No," Julia said slowly. She looked at her mother and said, "That's your fault."
"Oh really?" Beckett asked, narrowing her eyes at her daughter playfully.
"Yep," Julia said before she smiled. "And you did grow up Dad. But you were playful enough. I mean look at Zak, he's serious but he jokes too."
"Why Zak?" Castle asked.
"Did you see Skye's e-mail?" Beckett said before their daughter could reply to that.
"I did," Julia said, smiling. "And I'm glad she invited them if they're fans of Queen."
"And you'll get to see them again," Castle commented.
"That's the best part, though I hope they won't mind the dancing and everything," Julia said.
"They won't," Beckett said gently. "Now come on sweetie, you're going to be late getting to bed."
"She's right," Castle said. He shared a quick kiss with his daughter and told her, "I love you sweetheart."
"I love you too Dad," Julia told him. She hugged him tightly and said, "You're the best dad, you know right? And that's not just me that thinks it. There's four of us that do."
"Five if you'll let me say the same," Beckett commented.
Julia nodded and watched her father squeeze her mother's hand before he turned back to her. "Goodnight?" she asked.
"Yes," Castle said slightly laughingly. "Goodnight and sweet dreams Julia."
Beckett waited for them to hug again before she reached for her daughter and pulled her into a tight embrace before Julia was whispering into her ear.
"I still think you're the best mom," the girl was saying.
"Thank you, sweetie," Beckett said, gently making her pull away enough so she could look into her eyes. "I love you Julia," she told her seriously.
"I love you too," she said in the same tone of voice. Julia smiled a little and said, "What will you tell Brad?"
"The truth, but he won't put that down in a report," Beckett said.
Nodding, since she knew already what the chief would do and had wanted to make sure about, Julia then said, "Okay, I really hope it helps you."
"It will," Castle said. When his wife and their daughter looked at him, he shrugged and said, "I can feel it in my gut."
Smiling as Julia giggled, Beckett turned back to their daughter, and she shared a quick kiss with her before she and Castle were standing up. She waited for Julia to climb under the covers and once she was set, she was tucking her in gently. "Night sweetie," she told her.
"Night Mom, Dad," Julia said, smiling up at them.
Going to the doorway, Castle turned the lights off and made sure Julia was remaining in bed before she closed her eyes. He went down the hall with Beckett, checking on Josie and Eliza before they went across the house to their room. "You know there's something she forgot," he said as he closed the door.
"About the case?" Beckett asked in surprise.
Shaking his head no, Castle said, "She wanted to know if Mari could spend the night on Saturday."
"She didn't really need to ask us both," Beckett said.
"We'll have to tell her that in the morning," Castle commented before he pulled the paper out of his pocket.
"I know," Beckett said. "We'll have to text Brad as soon as we can in the morning."
"What about going straight to the station?" Castle asked her.
Breathing out a little hard, Beckett confessed to him, "I'd like to spend the morning with Josie."
"Then we're e-mailing it to him?" Castle asked.
"Take a picture and then set up a text to reach him at six," Beckett replied as she knew what time the chief would wake up.
"We might lose that time with the girls," Castle reminded her.
Hesitating for just a moment, since she knew they were leaving after the girls' dance class at least, Beckett said, "We have to."
Castle gave his wife a quick nod and went over to their bed with her before he took a picture of the drawing and set up the text before he said, "I'm sending it now."
"Go ahead," Beckett said, hoping in the back of her mind that Brad wasn't involved with his wife at that moment. While her husband was doing that, she turned her attention to taking off her robe and getting into bed, watching him go around to his side.
"He has it," Castle said while setting his phone aside and the paper at the edge of his nightstand. "And if he's asleep he'll see it in the morning." He took off his robe and climbed under the covers with his wife before he heard his text alert sound.
Watching him grabbing his phone, Beckett wanted to ask what it was, but she waited to let him read the message before he was looking up at her and explaining what the chief had said.
"He thanked me for the clue and told us to tell him how we got it tomorrow," Castle began with. "He'll call us as usual."
"Think he's mad?" Beckett asked him.
"No," Castle said slowly as he was reading the text again. "Well, I guess I should say I can't be that sure just reading this," he told her. He responded quickly to the text, saying goodnight at the end, before he put his phone on the nightstand and turned to his wife.
"I'm fine," Beckett said immediately.
"Do you know what I was going to ask about?" Castle asked her.
"I have an idea, that night we were talking about," Beckett said simply. "Oh, don't look so impressed," she said jokingly. "I had an idea you'd think I wouldn't want to talk about her speaking with Dalton." She squeezed his hand and said, "I don't mind."
"Well… what do you think?" Castle asked.
"Of course, the skeptic part of me is going to say she didn't, but she knew about Tamara," Beckett said. "How else would she know?"
Nodding Castle said, "I had a feeling you'd look at that. We should have asked her to describe him," a little startled when she shook her head vehemently.
"I don't want her thinking of him, shot and bleeding-" Beckett started to say before she threw the covers off her and got off the bed.
"Kate," Castle called in surprise before he was scrambling after her. He hurried down the hall before she was stopping in the doorway to Julia's room and walked quickly up to her. "She's fine," he murmured into her ear as he saw their second youngest was asleep by then. He wasn't surprised when his wife didn't move, and he gently did so before they walked together back to their room.
"I was worried," Beckett said as her husband was closing the door behind them again.
"I know," Castle said. "But her grandmother and yours would have kept him from her."
"And that makes me wonder now why didn't they?" Beckett said with a frown.
Seeing his wife was wrapping her arms around herself, Castle led her to the bed and once they were back on it, he said, "That you're going to have to ask her."
"Do you think I should be able to ask my mother myself?" Beckett asked. She wasn't surprised when her husband hesitated and then said, "I should."
"Look-" Castle said uncomfortably before she was taking his hand and entwining their fingers.
"I don't know if I'll get to that point," Beckett said. "I can give you accepting this and that's it for now."
"Alright, but you'll help Dalton, right?" Castle asked. He and his wife shared a look and they said at the same time, "We'll take Julia." He hesitated for a moment and then started telling her, "When though? If we solve the case tomorrow, we have to leave for the B&B and if it's while we're there…"
"We'll check her out early if we have to," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her husband looked at her with wide eyes and said, "I know, but this is a special circumstance."
"And she can ask Peter or her other friends about homework," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded and he then told her, "Should we call Skye at all?"
Beckett hesitated for a moment before she said, "I'll call her, before we take Julia."
Nodding his head, Castle was quiet for a moment before he said, "That next day."
"Yes," Beckett responded, knowing he was talking about their day they'd spent at Central Park.
"I'm glad she had fun even with me there," Castle said.
"She just needed a little time still," Beckett said, since her daughter had been wary of her then boyfriend. She then smiled and said, "She seemed to forget that when we got to the carousel."
"Of course she did," Castle replied. "She is a McCollough."
Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling, Beckett said, "I don't know if that was the McCollough part or just the idea of a carousel."
"Well…" Castle started to say, smiling when his wife playfully smacked his chest with the back of her hand. "I was glad we did that."
"You shouldn't have bribed her," Beckett said.
"I don't think she really saw it as that," Castle replied quickly. "Not when she was more eager for the carousel." He frowned briefly and then said, "And it didn't really help her get used to me."
"It didn't, that was coming here," Beckett reminded him. "No horses."
"The beach?" Castle asked in mock uncertainty.
"Not the beach Rick," Beckett said wryly. "It was us being here for more than a few hours and without other people around us."
"I know," Castle said. He breathed out a little and said, "Sorry just… remembering."
"I was doing the same," Beckett replied. She was a little surprised when she felt her husband's hand squeezing hers and she looked at him questioningly before it hit her. "You can ask me, it's been a while," she told him with a smile before he was bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss at it briefly and then began to speak.
"Any regrets?" Castle asked.
"No," Beckett said quickly and as firmly as she could. "I don't mind you asking," she then told him hurriedly as she saw he was about to speak. "But I'm glad that's easing off."
"With you that eager to go off on vacations with me…" Castle said. He laughed when his wife playfully pinched his arm through his shirt and took her hand before he said, "I forgot to ask Julia something else."
"Something else?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"Yes," Castle said with a quick nod. "Does she know why he appeared in those clothes?"
"Are you thinking that's what he wanted her to see?" Beckett said.
"Or it was what he was wearing when he was shot," Castle replied.
"Ask her in the morning," Beckett said.
"Yeah," Castle said absently.
Beckett watched her husband reach for the piece of paper and open it so they could see the logo. "It looks like a business logo," she told her husband.
"It does," Castle said. "But… does either symbol look like a letter of an alphabet?" Something came to him as soon as he'd said that, and he looked at his wife to see that there was a look of realization on her face as well. "Do you think he would?" he asked her.
"I think so, he was part of a fraternity," Beckett said with a nod.
Grabbing his phone, Castle looked around for a pen and grabbed one in the drawer before he said, "They're merged but…"
"Can you figure it out?" Beckett asked him, watching him studying the paper.
"I think," Castle said slowly. "I can." He made a mark before he hesitated and then drew the Greek letter delta. "I'm going to guess he used that for his last name of course, and then the second one is a little iffy."
"What are you thinking?" Beckett asked him.
"It's either mu or zeta," Castle said. "The thing is it goes down into the bottom of delta so it's throwing me off."
"Why don't we leave that for tomorrow?" Beckett replied.
Castle hesitated for a moment before he sighed and said, "We should. But it's going to bother me for a while."
"Here," Beckett said, taking his phone, pen and paper.
Watching her moving to set the three on her nightstand, Castle said, once she was sitting up again, "We're going to bed."
"Not yet," Beckett said. She moved then and sat on his lap carefully, wrapping her arms around him. "We could do something right now."
Smiling, Castle shook his head and told her, "It's not that long until we'll be at the B&B."
Beckett couldn't help laughing softly as her husband looked uncertain about his wording and she kissed the side of his head before she said, "No, but if you wanted to…"
Shaking his head again Castle said, "I'd like to save it for once we're alone." He then said, "But Kate… Tahiti is coming up soon."
"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said simply, leaning against him a little more than she was.
"It's okay?" Castle asked. "We didn't talk about what we might do at the B&B besides that costume party and dinners. Lunches?"
"Remember they have sandwiches for that meal," Beckett said.
"Yes, but…" Castle said, looking into her eyes as she had raised her head. "You really want to."
"If I didn't there wouldn't be Adare or Tahiti," Beckett said firmly. "Why do you worry about me love?"
"Yeah, it's me not wanting to hurt you or anything," Castle said after pausing for a moment. He pressed his forehead to hers and said, "I'm looking forward to it greatly though let's be clear."
"Okay," Beckett said, trying to hide her amusement at her husband's tone.
"Shirley?" Castle asked.
"No," Beckett said simply.
"Walking around the property," Castle then said.
"No," Beckett told him.
"Spending time with Patrick and Trevor?" Castle finally asked.
"They're planning on doing the same," Beckett replied.
"And Patrick told you that," Castle said rhetorically. He then said, "So we'll see them for the party and that's it?"
"Dinners," Beckett said. She smiled and then brushed her lips to his telling him, "Don't worry Rick, we have more to do in Tahiti and this is just a little trip."
"Very true," Castle said. "Snorkeling?"
Laughing outright then, Beckett shook her head when she calmed down and told him teasingly, "You want to plan everything we do for that trip now." She was a little surprised when he nodded and was about to tell him they had time when he was speaking rapidly to explain himself.
"But there's one thing I want to plan on doing now," Castle said.
"Okay," Beckett said when he stopped there, knowing he wanted her to let him know if he could continue.
"We spend one day just picking positions from our books," Castle told her. He waited for her response and was more than a little surprised when she smiled and then leaned over to him to brush her lips against his. He stopped her before she could pull away and took her lips with his, kissing her a little more intently than she had. He kept that brief and when they were looking at each other he couldn't stop himself, leaning over again to kiss her harder. He plunged his tongue into her mouth shortly after they had started, and he was holding her by her back before they he was pulling away and kissing around her neck.
Beckett, gripping her husband tightly, was fighting with herself, wanting their celibacy for their trip but wanting him with the way he held her and kissed her. She was dueling between both for a while before her husband was suddenly throwing himself back from her and apologizing as he went. "Rick-" she started to say in concern as he got off the bed.
"I'm okay," Castle said reassuringly. "Just… I'll be right back," he told her.
Beckett slid to the side of the bed and got up, watching as her husband was walking around in the bedroom. She reached for her husband's robe and pulled it on before she was following him inside. "Rick," she said.
Stopping and turning to her, Castle said, "What're you doing?"
"Seeing if you're okay," Beckett replied simply.
"Come on," Castle said, going over to her and leading her back to the bed.
"I'm more worried about you," Beckett said.
"I'm not cold," Castle reassured her.
"No, but will you be okay?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah, I just needed a second. What about you?" Castle said.
"I'm fine," Beckett replied with a nod. She then smiled at her husband as he took his robe from her and she got onto the bed before saying, "It's not noticeable but I was enjoying that myself." She got underneath the covers before telling him, "But we should start getting ready to go to bed."
"I noticed the time," Castle said in agreement. "But that wasn't too bad."
"No," Beckett said with a smile. Once her husband was set next to her, she leaned over and kissed him lightly before asking him, "Are you happy love?"
"Yes," Castle said so earnestly that he had to wait to continue to speak since his wife was laughing softly. "So you can tell I'm not kidding."
"I might be able to detect…" Beckett started to say teasingly. She took her husband's kiss before they parted and she told him, "I'm not surprised, I would have been able to notice any dissatisfaction if you weren't."
"Lay down with me," Castle told her. When she began to move, he hurried to follow her and once they were set, he had his arm wrapped around her tightly, holding her to him. He thought they might end up falling asleep like that, but eventually his wife was pressing closer against him as she began to speak.
"When we get there," Beckett said. "We'll walk around outside."
"Don't we need to unpack?" Castle asked. He was startled for a moment when his wife just looked up at him and he said, "I… really?"
"Really, what are we honestly going to need?" Beckett said. "Besides outfits for dinner and our costumes?"
"A just in case outfit?" Castle suggested.
Beckett couldn't help laughing before she kissed her husband's jaw and said, "I was debating that, I might just do that."
"Great," Castle replied. They were quiet for a little before he asked her, "Should we pack pajamas?"
"I think so," Beckett said. "But I think that's it."
"And the books," Castle said. He was startled when his wife was looking up at him and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"What about just using one," Beckett suggested.
"Which?" Castle asked.
"We're there for how many days?" Beckett asked him.
"I… okay, so we have time for a lot but what about the Kama Sutra and our 365 book?" Castle asked her.
"Alright," Beckett said. She laughed when her husband suddenly hugged her and she said, "I didn't know you'd be that glad."
"Neither did I," Castle responded.
"Pervert," Beckett told him just before he kissed her.
"Goddess," Castle told his wife when he pulled away shortly after. He smiled at her as they gazed at one another before he said, "That's why I didn't go ahead with anything tonight."
"And I'm grateful for that," Beckett said. "Though I nearly let you start earlier."
"Before I threw you off my lap?" Castle asked her.
Smiling Beckett said, "You didn't, but I could understand your urgency." She was surprised when her husband winced and she told him, "I didn't mind feeling."
"That's why I call you a vixen," Castle told her with a slight groan.
"Rick," Beckett said firmly.
"Yeah, I'll calm down," Castle said quickly.
"Not that," Beckett said, softening her tone a little. "We should sleep, but we left the lights on."
"Oh," Castle said, moving to get off the bed so he could close the ones they couldn't reach from the bed.
Beckett was sitting up by the time her husband came back and she told him, "Your glasses."
Taking them off, Castle rubbed the bridge of his nose before a moment and then climbed onto the mattress with her. He wrapped his arm around her waist before she could turn to her nightstand, and he kissed her lovingly. Though he knew he probably shouldn't, he couldn't keep himself from lingering for as long as he could before they were parting for air. "I love you Kate," he said to her as they pressed their foreheads together.
"I love you too Rick," Beckett replied. They shared another kiss, though it was far shorter, and once they were looking at each other she said, "Goodnight love."
"Night," Castle said before they hurried to turn off the lights on their nightstands. He laid down first so he could take her back against his side where he pressed his lips to her hair. The scent of rose made him reach down to her and tilt her head up so he could kiss her deeply. He couldn't stop himself from dipping his tongue into her mouth before they were parting and he said, "It's going to be a very long time to Thursday morning."
"It is, but we'll have enough to fill that time," Beckett assured him. "And don't worry about Tahiti, it is my birthday."
"It is," Castle said, looking down at her.
"So we're set," Beckett said.
Smiling, as his wife had spoken pointedly, Castle leaned down and shared a gentle kiss with her before pulling back. "We are, and I can't wait for that either."
"Neither can I," Beckett said, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. She smiled as she felt him embracing her tightly before they murmured goodnight to each other. When she finally fell asleep, she found she was dreaming of her husband and herself being intimate in Tahiti. Though they had a case still to solve, she let herself enjoy her dreams while she knew her husband was as the hours crept through into Wednesday around them.