"Hey Peter."

Turning at the top of the slide, the boy asked his dance partner, "What?"

"Are you going to make an inside pool when you redo your house?" Julia asked with a smile.

"Guys," Louis called to the pair. He waved to them when they were peering over the side and said, "We're going to have dinner soon, either come down the slide or go-"

"You're taking too long," Alexis said, coming up next to her husband. "Mom said to go to the elevator."

Groaning with her partner, Julia said to him once they'd stopped, "We will come back after we eat."

"And we have cake and you open your presents," Peter pointed out to her before they were walking along the side of the room and heading to the elevator by the upstairs eating area.

"I'm not complaining," Julia said.

"Of course you're not," Peter said jokingly. They were in the elevator car when he answered her question and told her, "I suggested it to Mom."

"What did she and your dad say?" Julia asked.

Smiling at his friend including his dad, Peter said, "He was all for it, but Mom wasn't sure."

"Really?" Julia asked.

Before he could answer, the elevator stopped and Peter let Julia walk off it first before he said, "Mom was thinking of yours, but Dad talked to her about doing something simple and just one story… a little bigger in space so we can have a table to eat at but one story."

"That would be cool," Julia said.

"Yeah, she made him stop once he started talking about exercise and everything since she decided already," Peter added. "But we have to design it still."

"Take a picture with your phone," Julia urged him while she got her towel and hurried to dry off though she mostly was already. "I want to see it."

"I will but it'll be a while," Peter warned her.

"That's fine," Julia said simply before they were laughing together, and they went into the bathrooms to change back into their outfits. Stepping outside she saw her partner talking with her mother before she sent him to the house and she was quick to say, "Sorry Mom."

"It's okay," Beckett replied, reaching for her and wrapping her arm around her. "I thought you might want another turn at the slide."

"Yeah," Julia replied with a smile. "But I do want to eat."

"Me too," Beckett said with a laugh before they headed into the house. She saw everyone was waiting, and watching them, which made her look at her husband questioningly before he spoke with a smile.

"They wanted Julia to tell them what's for dinner tonight," Castle explained.

"Oh, sure," the girl herself said before she hurried over to the island. "There's deviled eggs, meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, scalloped potatoes, homemade pickles, biscuits and turnips and greens."

"What about the round thing?" Tristan asked.

Smiling, Julia said, "It's salad in lime Jell-O." She wasn't surprised seeing that the other kids looked uncertain and said, "I know, but we had this when it was the thirties and I wanted to try it."

"But… what's in it," Clive asked hesitantly.

"Vegetables," Beckett said. "Corn, broccoli and peas."

"Try it," Julia said. "Just a little."

"I will," Mari said.

"You're brave," Tristan said before they were all laughing.

Moving to get the food, the adults had the older kids get theirs first before the younger kids were helped.

"Dad, I don't know," Julia said.

"It's fine," Castle told her.

"But… we always sit at the kitchen table," Julia replied.

"Do you want to sit there?" Castle asked, pausing in the hallway. At his daughter's nod he said, "Okay," before he turned her to her laughter, and they walked back. "They're sitting here," he said in amusement to his wife when she looked at him questioningly.

"I had a feeling," Beckett said, nodding to the table.

"Dad," Julia said, realizing the leaf for it had been put in at some point though she'd hadn't been able to see it.

"Have fun," Castle said as he set her plate at the end of the table. He was about to get his plate when he was stopped by Julia throwing her arms around him. "Having fun?" he asked while he embraced her back.

"A lot, I can't wait to try everything though," Julia said. She saw the way her father was looking down at her plate and she said in amusement, "And the Jell-O."

"If you don't like it," Beckett said, walking over to them and giving her husband a plate. "You don't need to finish it."

"Could I eat the Jell-O?" Julia asked.

"Yes," Beckett said, looking pointedly at her husband.

"It's why it's lime flavored," Castle said.

"Go get your food Rick," Beckett told him in amusement before he walked to the kitchen. "Do you want your jacket?" she then asked her daughter.

"Actually… can I leave it off, that I want to keep wearing," Julia said after looking at the food on her plate.

"Of course," Beckett replied. She couldn't help herself and kissed the top of her daughter's head before saying, "Enjoy."

"I hope," Julia teased her.

Beckett squeezed her daughter's shoulder before she walked to the kitchen and said to her husband, "You were supposed to get-" before his lips pressed gently to hers. She was relieved he was quick, the older kids behind them, but told him when he pulled away, "You're going to be punished."

"Looking forward to it," Castle said, relieved they had Irish for that. He then shook himself and walked with her to the island before she was teasing him.

"You know we're going to end up making everyone wait for us," Beckett told him.

"It's okay," Castle replied before he was getting some deviled eggs for them both. "But why don't we eat like this more often?"

"We should," Julia said from the table. "But other decades too."

Smiling back at their second oldest, Beckett turned to her husband and told him, "We could, but not this much food."

"True," Castle commented before he turned his attention to the food and got a little of everything for them both. "What do you think?" he asked his wife when they were at the Jell-O salad.

"A little slice for me," Beckett said, knowing her husband wouldn't let her get it herself. She watched him cut it before she told him, "I'll be in the dining room."

"When could we start eating?" Peter asked Castle when he walked over to them.

"Go ahead, just don't go crazy with the food," he replied. "Oh and if you want to get seconds you can, but I would ask your parents first."

"Was that just for Julia?" Jacob asked in amusement.

"It was, and then I remembered the rest of you," Castle said in amusement before he headed down the hall to the dining room.

"Dawn?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah?" the girl asked after she had eaten a bite of meatloaf. "This is really good," Dawn said with a smile. "Your mom?" she said to Eve and Jacob.

"It was, what did you want to ask her?" Eve asked.

"Did you think Julia's dad was cute once?" Tristan said.

"Years ago!" Dawn said in mock annoyance.

"So not anymore?" Julia said with a smile.

"No," Dawn commented firmly. She then said, "So what're you going to do after this?"

Trying not to laugh at her friend changing the subject so obviously, Julia said, "Cake and then presents."

"Are you liking the food?" Mari asked her friend when they were quiet for a while.

Nodding Julia said, "Yeah, I wasn't sure about the turnips but…"

"And what about the Jell-O, you didn't eat that yet either," Peter said jokingly.

Laughing Julia said, "I'm almost afraid to." She glanced around the table and said, "You guys too!" They were all laughing together before she said, "We should try it at the same time."

"So we can spit it out at the same time?" Jacob asked.

"No," Julia said, rolling her eyes though she was smiling widely. "Ready?" she asked.

"You didn't ask if we agreed with you," Peter said in feigned annoyance.

"We do," Clive said as he was getting some on his fork.

"One… two, three…" Julia then said when the others were ready. She put it in her mouth while the others were and chewed, wrinkling her forehead before she smiled and swallowed. She was about to ask the others what they thought when her mother was coming in and talking to all of them.

"How're you guys doing?" Beckett asked. She smiled as they spoke at once before she said, "I'm glad to hear that," since they'd said in some way that they were liking the food.

"And what did we think of the Jell-O salad?" Castle asked when he walked up behind his wife.

"It was okay," Eve said first.

"It's… interesting," Tristan said.

"Don't worry, we just made it to give it a shot," Castle commented. "But at least you guys tried it."

"Are you getting seconds already?" Julia asked in surprise.

"No, checking on you guys," Castle told them. "Good?"

Beckett smiled when the kids were all talking and then said, "Keep eating, that way you'll have more time to swim."

Julia cut into her slice of meatloaf while her parents went back to the dining room before she was responding to something Natalie was saying. The rest of the meal seemed to pass very quickly which she appreciated though they took a while before she was led to the dining room table after everything from dinner was cleaned.

"Please don't protest," Castle was saying. "You should be here."

Laughing softly Julia said, "Don't worry, I'll sit."

"Oh now you will," Castle said in mock annoyance. He smiled when his middle daughters giggled before he squeezed Julia's shoulder and went to get the cake.

"Ready?" Beckett asked, standing in the doorway and waiting for her husband to come back with it. When everyone in the room answered her she laughed and said, "I'm glad to hear that, but I was talking to Rick. They're ready love," directing the last down the hall.

"I am too," Castle said before he saw his wife was turning off the light in the room right when he stepped in. He followed her when she was singing Happy Birthday, the others joining until he'd set the cake in front of Julia.

Smiling while everyone was applauding at the end of the song, Julia closed her eyes tightly as she made a wish. The second she was finished she blew out the candles and then blinked a little at the light her mother had turned back on. "Wow," she breathed once she could see the cake. "It's beautiful," she told her mother as she walked up to stand next to her.

"We're glad to hear that," Beckett said with a smile, taking the candles out. "Since you just told us art deco and blue."

Julia couldn't help laughing softly before she said, "It wasn't that hard was it?"

"We have to thank the cake designer for that," Castle said, handing his wife the cake cutter. "But first…" he added.

As her husband had her phone, Beckett took it quickly before she took a few pictures of the two tiered cake they'd ordered for Julia. It was a sky blue hue, the top layer having a quatrefoil pattern pushed into it and the bottom with dark blue and silver motifs layered in a fan shape. She took one last picture of the girl next to it before she got the cake cutter back and got the first slice before her daughter was speaking quickly.

"How big a piece can I have?" Julia asked.

"This big," Beckett said.

"That's good for Clive and Peter," Genevieve said.

"Way smaller for Maddy and Keo," Darnley added.

Beckett laughed and said, "I feel like I should just let you guys cut the slices yourselves. It'd be easier."

"Once you get the slices for your family," Nkosi said.

Watching her mother setting the slice of chocolate cake with raspberry frosting on a plate, Julia took it eagerly though she refrained from eating it to wait for everyone else to get theirs. As soon as they had she took a bite eagerly and was talking to Mari about her flavor choice before Ava was asking about a flavor she had talked about at school.

"You didn't want to get the banana chocolate one?" the girl asked.

"Not really," Julia replied. "I wanted the cake to be chocolate, but my mom and dad told me chocolate would have to be the buttercream. So I decided to get this one."

"I'm glad you did," Peter said.

"Me too," Tristan added. "It's awesome," he said before he was laughing with the other kids.

After they'd finished the slices of cake, Julia watched her parents and some of the other adults moving to help them. She looked at Genevieve, who had stayed with her grandparents, before she turned to her friends and said, "How's the party been so far?"

"Really good," Mari said firmly.

"She's right, the pool has been great," Tristan said.

"You just say that because you wanted to not have to wear the pants anymore," Natalie told him.

"Okay, so that's half the reason. Knickerbockers are annoying," Tristan said before they were laughing again. "But the pool is really cool, especially since you have a slide."

"I agree," Julia said with a nod before she looked at the doorway since her mother was walking in. "Now?" she asked.

"Yes, I thought you'd come and ask," Beckett told her with a smile as she was setting down some gifts. "Your dad suggested you should start," she added before her daughter was laughing and speaking quickly.

"Of course he did," Julia said, watching in surprise as some of her friends were getting up from the table.

"I have to get the rest of your gifts," Beckett told her daughter when she had turned to her.

"Okay," Julia said, still frowning.

"What's wrong?" Mari asked, reaching over and touching her hand.

"I'm just surprised she's talking about more gifts," Julia replied. "But I guess I shouldn't complain."

"No way," Clive said before they were laughing.

"Got everything?" Darnley asked, standing in the doorway of the office.

"Yes, luckily she'll have one thing to open in Hawaii," Beckett said.

"One…" Darnley asked in surprise.

"Rick wanted her to have one present when it's his and Eliza's birthday," Beckett replied.

"I tried to get her to have one for Josie too, but she didn't agree," Castle said, walking over to them from the kitchen.

"I'll go see if my kids are behaving," Darnley said quickly before he went down the hall.

"Come on," Beckett told her husband firmly before she pulled him after her. Walking to the dining room, she was startled when she saw Julia was in the doorway of the family room and she called, "Are we moving down there?"

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind," Julia told her parents with a smile while she watched them walk up to her. "There's more room for everyone."

"Come on," Castle told her, reaching out and wrapping his arm around her shoulder so they walked in together behind Beckett.

"You got a ton of gifts," Tristan said to Julia once she sat down at the coffee table with him and the other kids.

"Yeah," Julia said, looking at the literal pile of presents she had. She turned to her parents and asked, "Where do I start?"

"With the gifts from our guests," Beckett said. She smiled when Julia nodded and turned hurriedly to the pile and took one out.

Opening the gifts from her friends and the families that were there, Julia was overjoyed to see the books, shirts and records she was getting. "Awesome!" she said, when she was opening the one from the Foster family eventually. "I'm trying to get all of Queen's albums… and George's too but I have most of his," she told her other friends. "Thanks so much," she said, talking to Mari and the rest of her friend's family.

"That's from them," Mari said, blushing a little. "That one is from me."

Taking the gift, Julia was unwrapping it swiftly when she saw it was from her friend herself. She was surprised to see there was something wrapped inside and then a smaller wrapped box before she was picking up the larger gift first. Crying out when she revealed the album underneath she said, "It's Jazz! I finally got it!" showing everyone the vinyl record of the Queen album. "Thanks Mari," she told her friend earnestly while she hugged the album to her.

"Open the other gift," the girl said, smiling since she was happy to see her friend so pleased. Watching her unwrapping it, Mari said, "I hope you'll like this."

Opening the tiny jewelry box, Julia smiled widely at her friend and said, "Of course I do!"

"What is it?" Dawn asked interestedly.

"Earrings," Julia said. "A set of them," she corrected herself hurriedly. "And small ones since they're easier for me to wear during competitions or recitals."

"Oh good," Peter said. "That way I don't worry about hooking my fingers on them."

"Or me getting my ear caught on your outfit," Julia said before they were laughing. "I love the set," she told Mari, looking to her after studying the stud earrings that were different faux gemstones. She realized her best friend was leaning over to her and she looked up at her with a smile before her friend was speaking softly so she would be the only one to hear that for the moment.

"They're real," Mari said. She smiled when Julia looked at her in surprise and said, "I didn't want to get you something fake."

Glancing at his wife as their second oldest was embracing Mari tight, Castle leaned over to her and murmured, "Want to ask her?"

"Later," Beckett said since Julia was going back to the gifts and taking the one from her grandfather.

Watching his granddaughter taking off the lid of the box once she had the paper off, Jim smiled and said, "I found it in a shop and since it worked I thought you might like it."

"It works?" Julia asked in amazement. When her grandfather nodded she got up and hurried to him, hugging him as tightly as she could saying, "I love it!" since it was an old Westinghouse radio from the thirties. It would fit on her desk and was simple in design but what there was she thought was pretty. "Thanks," she told him once she loosened her arms around him.

"You're welcome," Jim replied with a smile. "And I hope you'll try it out soon."

"I will," Julia said with a nod before she gave him a quick hug and went back to the table. "Don't break it," she teased her little sister since Eliza was twisting one of the knobs.

"I won't, but this is cool," the little girl was saying. Turning her attention to her sister fully she asked, "Who're you gonna open next?"

Trying not to laugh, Julia asked, "Do you mean whose am I going to open next?" At her little sister's rapid nod she was laughing outright before she told her, "Gram's." That box was a little bigger, and she had a feeling of what it basically was already though she wasn't sure what it would look like exactly. Unwrapping the paper she thanked her friends when they were getting it out of the way before she lifted the lid and parted the paper over what was inside. "Oh… Gram," she breathed.

"That's for summer," Martha said with a smile, very pleased at her granddaughter's reaction to the first of two sundresses she'd made.

"I can't wait to wear it," Julia said with a wide smile, taking it out to show everyone. It was a sky blue color with cap sleeves, though they didn't poof out, and a higher waist and she knew it would reach just past her knees as she preferred. There was no sash on it, and she couldn't help thinking she would look very grownup with that on. She turned her attention to the second one, a forest green hue that had a similar waist to the second one, but it had a white sash around it with deep green thread in a floral pattern around it.

"I hope you won't mind I bought the sash," Martha said with a smile when her granddaughter hugged her.

"No, I'm glad you did," Julia said. "That would hurt your hands like crazy," she said, smiling when her grandmother laughed. "But I can't wait to wear them! Thank you sooo much."

"You're very welcome kiddo," Martha said before she kissed her cheek and let the teenager go.

"Are you opening ours next?" Louis asked his sister-in-law when she was back at the coffee table. At her nod he pretended to bite at his nails, not surprised she laughed before the teen was tearing off the wrapping paper.

Alexis felt her husband taking her hand and she smiled at him before she was turning quickly back to her little sister when she was exclaiming happily at their gift to her.

"This is so cool," Julia was saying. "I love the pattern on the bag."

"Good, I thought you'd like it for spending the night at Mari's," Alexis said since she and Louis had found a traveling bag with squares of the pictures from the A Hard Day's Night album cover on it. "Or quick trips like you took to Boston."

"I do," Julia said with a nod before she took out a silver canister. She had to work a little to open it but when she did she said, "Aw, it's so cute!"
"What is it?" Eve asked.

"Stitch," Julia replied with a smile, showing everyone the USB flash drive. "This is great too."

"Thank Louis for thinking of it in the first place," Alexis said. "He thought of you needing those for your writing."

"I have one, but it's just a plain stick," Julia replied. "I'll use that for pictures, this one for my writing. Thanks so much," going over to her sister and brother-in-law, hugging them tightly.

"Now us!" Eliza said eagerly.

Taking the gift that had her younger sisters' names on the tag, Julia unwrapped it before she said, "Oh, this is perfect," revealing books. She started taking them out, smiling to see there were some Agatha Christie books, and once she had them all piled on the table she said, "Thanks so much you two."

"Happy Jules," Josie said, going to her and wrapping her arms around her.

Hugging her back Julia laughed when Eliza went over to them, hugging her too, before she said, "I am, it's the perfect gift."

"I said so," Eliza told her. "And I bought this book with my own money."

Julia was surprised at that before her sister was giving her a shorter book that she soon spotted was of poems by American women poets from the 1800s. "I'll read some to you," she said after taking the book before she looked at their parents.

"You can," Beckett replied.

"Keep going," Mari urged her friend.

"Not that one," Castle said when Julia had turned to the gift on the floor next to the table. "That one's last," he said, laughing briefly when the teen pouted.

Though she was curious, Julia turned to one of the two still on the table and unwrapped it rapidly before she had the lid of the box off. "Wow," she breathed, pulling out a set of diaries. She realized she'd seen something else and reached in before laughing at the next set. The first one she'd taken out had the Beatles albums for their covers and the second were Paul's album covers. "I can't wait to write in them," she told her parents, though she was soon looking at the rest of her family because their names had all been on the tag.

"And you have a lot to last forever," Eliza told her.

Laughing, Julia hugged her before she said, "Let me finish unwrapping and I'll hug all of you."

"Go ahead," Castle said first.

"That way we can go back to the party," Beckett commented.

Turning her attention to the second to last gift, Julia's eyes widened when she pulled it towards her because it was heavier than she had expected. It took her a moment to get it to her, but once she had she was unwrapping it and smiling at the light blue box underneath. She was racing to open it when her father was walking over to her surprise before he was explaining why he was doing that.

"I don't think you'd be able to take this out all on your own, so I hope you don't mind if I help you," Castle told her.

Shaking her head, Julia watched while her father pulled the Lladro out and gasped when she discerned what the figurine was exactly. "That's mine?" she breathed in joy.

"It is," Beckett replied since it was a galloping herd of horses in a line. They had the same Lladro in white in the parlor, Julia's in black, and she said, "We're hoping you don't mind it's the same one we already have but I know how much you love the one in the other room."

"I do, and I love this one too," Julia said. And though she had said she was going to wait to hug them, she couldn't help rushing around to her family members, embracing them tightly and ending with her parents before she went to her last gift.

March 19th, 2022

Hello Evangeline. It's late and I have a lot of guests here, so I need to hurry!

In the morning when I got up Mom measured me and I'm now five foot three… well, almost that but I am getting taller. I know you're going to ask but no, no chance I'm getting to womanhood yet though I'm not surprised. After that I dressed in my outfit and it fit so nicely, really comfortable and I loved it, before I had breakfast with everyone else.

I left after we ate and once I stepped outside found everyone but Mari already there waiting for me. We went to get her at her house, and we rode straight to the library. We all got books, I got three, and then we went downtown (remember I need to hurry). I got two books at the bookstore and a sewing kit though we went to the art supply store (Mari got some new oil paints and pencils) and the boutique for teens (Eve got a blouse for spring and Clive got a shirt for when they have fancy dinners).

We had lunch together at the Studebaker and while we were waiting for our food a reporter came over and asked if she could talk to Peter and me about the competition and my newest books. We said yes (she called our parents and they let us decide but they gave us permission) and talked to her after lunch, which was delicious. They were just basic questions about the competition and then what my new book was going to be about. It luckily didn't take too long since we had to come to my house.

When we got here we had to hurry and change into our party outfits since the guests were arriving. My dress and jacket were amazing! It felt like the outfit I'd had back then, but like I told you before Evangeline it isn't the same color as back then. Mari came upstairs to change with me, and her dress was really cute too, it isn't one she had in her past life, just one she saw the design of and liked. Everyone else was really cool looking in their outfits; loved Mom's dress and jacket since they were beautiful on her.

First was time for swimming! And no, no one had a thirties bathing suit or trunks, just our modern swim stuff. But we did that until dinner and that was the menu I wrote to you about before and it was great! My cake was after that and it was so pretty, it was two levels the top one was a cylinder and then had what Dad said was a quatrefoil pattern pressed on it, so it was just the lines. The bottom one was square, and it had sort of fans… well, it's hard to describe but it was an art deco thing that looked like a fan and was beautiful in blue and silver. Oh the top one was a light blue color, the bottom one the same shade and the blue in the decoration was dark blue. And the chocolate raspberry was the perfect choice, delicious!

Next of course are the gifts and I would love to list them here, but I can't since this is taking too long of course! But I got the usual clothing and books, this time I got a ton of records which was so awesome! The best one I got was Jazz since I was trying to find that one for ages of course, Mari gave that one to me. But the ones that stand out the most are the Westinghouse radio that Grandpapa got me. It's a real one from the thirties, Grandpapa said it's from between 1937 to 1939, and it works, I've tried it already and I get the radio! I don't care it's radio from now, I still want to listen to it!

Next was from Gram, two beautiful dresses for the summer that I'm so excited to wear since I know they fit already. Lizzy and Josa gave me books, Lizzy bought one herself and it's a book of poems by women in the 1800s, well, women here in the US, which is really sweet of her. 'lexis and Louis' gifts were a really pretty overnight bag that has pictures of The Beatles from A Hard Day's Night and the cutest USB stick that's Stitch shaped, the holder, not the stick itself. Mom and Dad's gifts were amazing. The last gift I opened from them (because it was so big) was a set of Beatles luggage, and I can't wait to use it for Hawaii, so I got it just in time! But the prettiest thing was the Lladro they gave me, a line of four horses that's supposed to be a herd. We have the same one in the parlor, but that one's white while mine is black. It's gorgeous and I have it on my desk already since my desk is white of course.

After the gifts were the games, an egg relay race and then pin the tail on the donkey, really old games that we played in the thirties. We had prizes, bags with candies and stuff like that though we all got one in the end. Then we had a little time for swimming until everyone went home but Mari, Dawn, Ava and Natalie. And that's why I need to stop now 'cause it's sleepover time! I'll write to you tomorrow if I'm not too tired, night Evangeline!

"Did you finish?" Mari asked, standing next to her friend.

"Yeah, did I take too long?" Julia asked her friends.

"Not really, but how can you write so fast?" Natalie asked.

"Practice," Julia said, finishing putting everything away. Once it was set, she got up and went to the bed, she and Mari joining the others before she said, "It's how I first started writing my books," not surprised Ava was asking about her newest one.

"Did you really talk to a reporter about your book?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, it'll be in the article about me and Peter," Julia replied. She then smiled and said, "Probably not that much, I didn't say much about it."

"Of course you didn't," Mari said. "You can't have that many spoilers."

"Just what you told us about it?" Dawn asked with a smile.

"Basically," Julia said with a quick nod. She smiled and then said, "So what did you guys think of today?"

"The dressing up?" Dawn asked. When her friend nodded she said, "I'm just glad I didn't have to wear a dress."

"Are you going to stop?" Natalie asked.

"I want to," Dawn replied. She snorted and said, "But my mom doesn't want me to so… I'll talk to her or something."

Laughing with her friends, Julia said when they stopped, "Something?"

"Just change at the last minute or something," Dawn said with a shrug. "But how fun was it to swim."

"A lot," Natalie said in agreement.

"You just say that since you got to see Tristan without his shirt on," Ava teased her.

Smiling as Natalie made a short sound of protest and playfully threw her pillow at the girl Julia said, "Looks like Dawn's had an influence on you."

"A little," Ava replied, tossing the pillow back to Natalie. "But I'm not wrong am I?"

Mari couldn't help giggling when Natalie pretended to grumble and she then said, "Does he like you?" wrapping her arms around her knees.

"He does," Julia said. She smiled at her friend when she looked at her with wide eyes and explained, "You can tell when he smiles at you."

"You should ask him out," Dawn said.

"I…" Natalie said. "I don't know, maybe when I get a little more courage."

"You don't need that much," Dawn commented.

"I'll see," Natalie replied before she turned to Julia. "What about you?"

"Me?" she asked simply.

"Yeah, why don't you ask someone out? Do you want to?" Natalie said.

"Maybe you should have asked the second question first?" Ava asked.

Nodding in agreement, Julia when said, "I don't want to, so no for both questions."

"What about your crush?" Natalie asked.

Blushing deeply, Julia said, "Not… I don't think so," not surprised Mari was squeezing her arm comfortingly before Dawn was speaking.

"That is why they're a crush, who knows if you'll ever get that close," the girl said. Something seemed to come to Dawn, and she asked, "Were they here today?"

"What? No!" Julia said in surprise before she responded. She then said, "And even if they were I wouldn't have told you. Please don't say it's Peter because he's not." She made a groaning noise and said, "That's all I need; for Eve to hear that again and think I want her boyfriend."

Laughing with the other girls while Julia was making a face, Mari said, "Don't worry, we believe you when you say he isn't your crush. Don't we?"

As the youngest was looking at the three sternly, Dawn, Ava and Natalie were agreeing with her rapidly before they looked at Julia when she began laughing.

"She just totally intimidated you guys," the girl said in response to her friends' stares. "But thanks for agreeing and again; not Peter. He's my brother."

"He is," Mari said before she was smiling. "What else can we talk about?" she asked before she was squealing and laughing as her friend was throwing her arms around her for a hug.

When she and Mari fell to the bed, Julia began laughing before their other friends were starting to playfully hit them with pillows. She and Mari began to fight back before they were stopping and talking about what they were hoping to do for their upcoming Spring Breaks. As they were talking she couldn't help being extremely joyful at how great her birthday celebration had gone and she was beaming at her friends though she knew her mother would come soon to get them to sleep, enjoying the time she had left until her new bedtime.

Looking at the door as it was being closed, Castle smiled and asked his wife, "They were talking?"

"Of course they were," Beckett said. "But I stayed in the hallway and now they're asleep," she added, not surprised when her husband was responding immediately.

"You can't blame her, the first time we let her stay up so late here at home with her friends," Castle said.

"I can't, I had sleepovers the same," Beckett replied, taking off her robe.

"Memories?" Castle asked with a smile.

"Of course," Beckett replied, smiling herself while he held up the covers for her. After she was sitting next to him she said, "But she was still tired."

"It's a big birthday," Castle said. "I told you about Alexis' thirteenth."

With a brief nod Beckett said, "I'm not expecting her to suddenly rebel against the two of us. I just can't believe we've gone through nine years."

"Neither can I," Castle commented. "But she's doing well and… happy."

"Especially after today," Beckett said, smiling. She leaned against her husband when he wrapped his arm around her waist and said, "But we've reached the teenage years."

"That's a hint to me that I need to respond isn't it?" Castle asked. When he felt his wife nodding her head, he couldn't help laughing and said, "I have to admit I'm not that afraid of these years," smiling when she began speaking shortly after.

"Because we're seeing her being like Alexis?" Beckett asked him.

"That and luckily you're with me," Castle commented. "I was alone through Alexis' early teenage years and when I wasn't… well I was still alone. I guess I should have asked my ex for help, but it just didn't work." He glanced at his wife and said, "You realize why that is right?"

"I do, don't try to force me to say it's because I was her mother before," Beckett said in amusement.

"They're good right?" Castle suddenly asked, speaking seriously.

"Yes," Beckett said before she glanced up at him.

"Sorry, it was their sixth month anniversary, so I wanted to make sure," Castle said. "Since you're better noticing things than I am."

"Yes, but you know our oldest a little better," Beckett said firmly, sitting up and kissing his cheek. "But to reassure you they're very happy."

"Good," Castle said simply before he pulled her onto his lap.

Beckett was surprised for a moment at that movement, but when he just held her tight against him she realized why he had. She embraced him back and kissed the side of his head before telling him, "You're a wonderful father love."

"Thank you," Castle said seriously before he pulled back a little to look into her eyes. "And you're a fantastic mother, I wish she was ours love."

Gently brushing her lips to her husband's Beckett said, "I know but she is now." She kissed him tenderly before asking him, "What do you want to do now Rick?"

Breathing out roughly, Castle leaned over and kissed his wife a little rougher than she'd done to him. When he pulled away he told her, "We have to talk about it now don't we?" At her nod he said, "You want to stop now," before she bit at her lower lip for a moment and then spoke carefully.

"We talked about not doing that," Beckett said. "But…"

"It was amazing when we started again," Castle finished for her. He wasn't surprised when she nodded and he leaned into her, kissing her temple. "We should," he said.

"You're not just saying that because I want to," Beckett told him with a smile.

"No," Castle assured her. He kissed her lightly on the lips and then said, "But you're right, it was amazing and though it is every time, starving ourselves of each other gives it a little push. I just ask that we don't make a habit of it… like before we go to Mill Valley again?"

"No," Beckett replied, smiling again. She shared a kiss with him before she said, "But let's do it before this summer," laughing softly when he was nodding rapidly before she was kissing him.

"Please don't say you want it to be that long," Castle told her once they'd parted.

"No," Beckett said before she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I think a week might be enough." Moving so she could glance at her husband; Beckett she was startled to see he was looking at her in surprise. "Too long?" she asked.

"I'm surprised you're not asking for longer," Castle said. He paused before he could say anything else and then told her, "That sounds really dirty."

"To you," Beckett commented. She smiled when her husband nodded again and hugged him tightly saying, "Two weeks is too much?"

"I was waiting for that," Castle said. "And no, but please tell me we'll do something for those two weeks," he added before he was startled when she was leaning over to whisper into his ear.

"We didn't last time," Beckett told him. "And it seems like we were fine in Vegas."

"We nearly broke the bed if I remember," Castle said.

"Pervert, we didn't," Beckett said, brushing her lips to his. "But I can see why you think that."

Sighing when his wife moved to get off his lap Castle said, "We won't need to wake up that early."

"Eliza and Josie?" Beckett asked him in amusement.

"Okay, so partially wake up early," Castle said. He laughed when she pushed him to the side though it wasn't that hard and he said, "I realize we are, but what exactly are we doing tomorrow?"

"I thought I told you, Julia needs to decide," Beckett said, fixing the covers on top of her. She smiled at him then and said, "But I think I know already what she'll pick."

"Swimming," Castle said. He smiled when his wife laughed in response and he leaned over to her, kissing her gently before he said, "I wouldn't mind that. Why didn't you wear an authentic bathing suit?"

"Why didn't you?" Beckett shot back immediately.

"Did you want me to?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he said, "And I can't call you…"

"No, because you just said you wanted me in an authentic one," Beckett replied simply.

"They evened each other out?" Castle replied. When his wife nodded he couldn't help himself and he hugged her tightly before kissing her tenderly on the lips. When he'd pulled away he said, "Someday I'm going to get you to let me call you that."

"But you don't really want to," Beckett said. She couldn't help laughing when he shook his head and said, "I'm glad to hear it."

"I don't mind you calling me that," Castle said. "Since it's very true."

Beckett shared another kiss with him for that before she told him, "I love you Rick."

"I love you too," Castle said before they were kissing each other deeply. When they parted he gently ran his fingers through her hair saying, "I'm going to hate it until Hawaii."

"So will I," Beckett reassured him. "But until then…"

"Really?" Castle asked in surprise. He was pleased when his wife inclined her head once and he reached for her. While they began to kiss he held her close, knowing she desired it in her hold on him. He had a brief thought of them getting some sleep but let his wife decide, aware they'd be involved with each other for some time however chastely in their anticipation for their vacation and a grateful return to their intimacy.