Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: I was very pleased to receive the feedback I did for the last chapter, so I'll go ahead and get started on my thank you for that! Mb (It was nice to see that you thought the first half was an interesting chapter. I wasn't surprised to see you mentioned Matthias jumping Julia because of his worry for his cousin, or Julia unable to control him doing that. Glad you saw Peter as a true friend helping Julia since that's what I wanted to portray. And I wasn't surprised either that you mentioned Skye getting Matthias to her and getting him to leave once he heard that his cousin and her mom had been cleared. I figured the meditation would be needed since Julia would have to learn to control her abilities. Not surprised that you mentioned it would be hard for Castle and Beckett with their three youngest daughters all having that talent. And I had to laugh at you commenting that they're back now to multiple questions and suspects. You're welcome for sharing the first half of the chapter! It was great reading you thought the second half was nicely done. And I wasn't surprised you could relate to Julia's mind wandering to other things while she was trying to meditate, that's happened to me too when I've tried doing that. I figured Matthias would be a help, so I'm not surprised you mentioned him helping after they reassured him. And with your question about the killings being separate or a continuation of Matthias' I was really glad to see that since it's what I was aiming for. And I was really pleased that you're stumped too, lol, also my aim. You're welcome for sharing the second half of the chapter too!).
Thanks for the review, I loved reading it and I appreciated the time taken to write it out and send it to me!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Pisces Fish written by George Harrison, from his album Brainwashed.
Skimming Through The Water
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Julia said.
"I'm just checking on you," Mari replied. She wasn't surprised when her friend sighed and hurried to put her dress on before she went over to her. Hugging her tightly she said, "Please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad," Julia said, hugging her before they let go of each other. "But hurry, we didn't get that much time swimming yesterday."
"I just need my dress," Mari said, throwing on her sundress for cover. Once she was done, she said, "Okay, now I'm ready." She smiled at her friend and said, "Are you taking that dress to Hawaii?"
Looking at herself, Julia shook her head and said, "It's almost done."
"Done?" Mari asked in slight confusion. She was startled when her friend pulled her shirt out at her chest and told her, "It's getting tighter." "Your breasts are growing?" she asked.
"I think I'm just growing," Julia replied with a shrug. "But yeah, Mom said this summer this dress is going."
"Eliza?" Mari asked.
Shaking her head Julia said, "No, Mom's going to donate it after she washes it. Lizzy doesn't like this pattern."
"Why not? I think it's pretty," Mari asked. She then saw the way her friend was looking at her and asked, "What?"
"Do you want it?" Julia asked with a wide smile on her face.
"No," Mari said. "I meant it's pretty on you," she added. She laughed when her friend playfully pushed at her before they heard a knock on the door.
Rushing to it, Julia opened it and smiled seeing her big sister was on the other side. Hugging her tightly she said, "You don't have to ask, I'm fine and feeling way better."
"I'm glad you knew what I was going to say already," Alexis said. "But you're sure?"
"Very," Julia said, nodding her head. She then let her go and asked, "Louis' here?"
"He is," Alexis said before they looked across the hall at her room where her husband was stepping out. "Okay, we can go," she said to the girls.
"Did everyone else go already?" Julia asked in surprise.
"They did, but they're waiting in the kitchen," Alexis said.
"They… for me?" Mari asked in surprise.
"Yeah, they're going to surprise you like we did yesterday," Louis commented.
"Cool," Mari said, sharing a smile with Julia.
"Oh good," Castle said as the four were walking down the hall on the first floor. "We've been eager to show Mari."
"Now! Show her now!" Eliza said eagerly.
"We're going," Beckett said laughingly at the girl's tone. She motioned to Julia, telling her when she was close, "Go ahead first sweetie."
"I can show her?" Julia asked. At her parents' nods she hugged them tightly before rushing with Mari to the door since she'd taken her by the hand. She heard the others laughing before they were at the door, and they looked back as Skye was calling to her jokingly.
"See what running did? Now you need to wait for us," the investigator said.
"At least you don't walk too slow," Julia replied.
"Cheeky," Skye said teasingly.
"Open the door Julia," Beckett said, smiling since she was relieved to see her daughter acting normal. She had become stronger as time had gone by and she watched her opening the door with an eager look for Mari.
"Want to close your eyes?" Julia was asking her friend with a smile.
"No," Mari said. "You said you didn't."
"I didn't, come on," Julia told her.
As they were about to walk after the two girls into the pool room, Castle's phone started to ring, and he got it from his shirt pocket. "It's Brad," he told his wife. "We have to take it," he said to the others. "But go in, we'll stay here and be able to hear your reaction Mari."
Nodding, though she was disappointed, Julia turned back to her friend, and they walked into the room before she said, "Ta-da."
Laughing, Mari said, "You didn't have to do that, this room is beautiful."
"I know," Julia said. She watched Mari looking around for a little and asked, "What do you think?"
"It's perfect," Mari replied. She turned to Julia and said, "Now I know why you wanted me to see it."
"Come on, let's walk around," Julia said, glancing back at her parents. When they both waved at her, she turned back to Mari and led her to the smaller pool.
"Brad? Hey, sorry I didn't pick up, we were walking into the pool room," Castle said while he, Beckett and Skye went into the kitchen in time for the chief's response to not be overheard.
"I just spoke with Thayer," Brad replied. "And he's a little more certain that Manaudou committed suicide."
"Did you find a note?" Beckett asked, sharing a look with her husband and Skye.
"No, but he had a laptop," Brad replied. "It's locked so I've had to send it into tech, and they said he knew what he was doing. Encryption."
"It's going to take them time?" Skye asked.
"Into tomorrow," Brad said. "I would hope there's something for our case but it's a long shot. The connection between him and Weller is weak."
"It's worth a shot," Castle said.
"It's why I didn't disregard the laptop," Brad replied. "And since at this point everyone's been checked out, we're waiting for that."
"Do you still want us in at nine?" Beckett asked. "If you don't get anything by then?"
"Yeah, I might look at names again," Brad started to say. "But that's just to make sure I didn't miss anything. And that I can easily do on my own now. What about Julia? She hasn't discovered anything has she?"
"No," Beckett said, not surprised her husband and friend were looking at her. "And I'm not about to ask her."
"Mari's there?" Brad guessed.
"She is," Castle replied. "And they're waiting for us to go swimming, so I think Kate's trying to let you know our involvement stops for the night."
"I'm fine with that," Brad said immediately. "Get some rest and enjoy your night. I'll see you tomorrow."
Saying goodbye to the chief, Castle said to his wife, "What if something comes to her."
"I told her to let us know," Beckett said. "But only if it's something from Matthias, she doesn't need to theorize or discuss it with Mari while they're going to swim." She wasn't surprised when her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she said, "I just want her to be a kid."
"She will be," Skye said reassuringly. "I was with the same abilities. We should head in to go see the pool again."
"I'm fine," Beckett told her husband after the investigator had left them.
"I realize, I do want to touch you," Castle commented, smiling when his wife started to laugh. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before he said, "Pervert?"
"Not even close," Beckett said with a smile before he leaned into her. They kissed tenderly before they parted and she let him move to take her hand, walking together with him inside the pool room. "What do you think Mari?" she asked with a smile.
"It is really nice," the girl replied. "And the slide looks so fun."
"It is," Eliza said.
"She already said that," Julia commented wryly. "Three times already."
"I don't blame you," Castle said while Eliza and her sister were sticking their tongues out at each other playfully.
"Should we start to swim?" Beckett asked.
"We should, dinner and all that," Skye commented. She smiled when the kids laughed and then said, "Plus there's more than just looking at this."
"Come here sweetie," Beckett said to Eliza. She led the little girl to one of the lounge chairs and helped her with her sundress before doing the same with her own. She laid them out side by side and turned to her father who had been carrying Josie.
"Mama, I go," the baby said, running from her grandfather to her mother.
"No running sweetie," Beckett said, picking her up. "But yes, we'll take you to the water now." She turned her attention to her husband and asked, "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Castle said with a smile as the baby was doing so to him. He leaned over, kissing her on the lips before he did the same with his wife. To shake himself, he looked at their middle daughters and Mari and asked, "We're going to the small pool, right?"
"Julia warned me," Mari said quickly.
"And I said I was going to swim with Josa for a little," Julia replied. She held her arms out to her baby sister and was surprised when Josie leaned over for her to take her. Kissing her cheek she said, "Ready to swim?"
"Eh," Josie said, giggling when her sisters and Mari started to laugh. She looked at the pool as they started to walk over towards it and said, "I wanna wa-wa!"
"Say I wanna swim," Julia told her. She smiled when Josie shook her head and said it again before the baby was replying with a stern tone of voice.
"Wanna go," Josie said.
Laughing, Becket said, "Take her before she throws a tantrum."
Julia couldn't help kissing her baby sister's cheek before she turned her attention to the small pool and set her into the water. "It's not bad to start out here," she told her friend. "And at least if there are any babies they can swim too."
Nodding Mari sat in the pool with her friend and told her, "It's nice too since you could rest before you swim again."
"Yeah," Eliza said, standing next to them.
"Lizzy," Julia said. When her sister looked back at her she smiled and said, "Come and swim."
Pursing her lips for a moment, Eliza glanced at their parents and seeing Castle and Beckett were standing in the water at the entry to the pool she said, "Okay," sitting down with them before she went to Josie. "Hi," she told the baby.
Giggling Josie wrapped her wet arms around Eliza and said, "Hi."
"You want to go in the big pool huh?" the little girl asked when she pulled away to look into her baby's sister's face.
"Eliza," the adults said at the same time.
Laughing with the others, Eliza soon looked up at her family and said, "Even you?"
"Well!" Louis said exaggeratedly. "I would imagine you'd allow me to say that at least; I am your brother, aren't I?"
"Not fair," Eliza said, pretending to pout before she giggled.
"Mama!" Josie said, getting up.
"Can we move to the pool now?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Yes, come on girls," Beckett told them with a smile. "I don't think Josie's going to wait anymore." She reached out for Josie as her sisters walked her to the big pool and she picked her up before kissing her cheek. She was about to ask her if she wanted to go when Julia was taking her free hand gently.
"Mom?" the girl said. When Beckett looked down at her she asked, "What did Brad say?"
"We'll talk about it later sweetie," she told her daughter. She squeezed her hand gently before she told her, "Go swim with Mari."
Though she wanted to protest, Julia nodded since she couldn't sense Matthias around her. She glanced at Skye and seeing the investigator was talking to Martha she turned her attention back to Mari who was watching her. "Sorry," she said softly.
"There was something?" the girl asked.
"Probably," Julia said. "But my parents don't want me to know. I hope it's just for right now."
"I think so," Mari told her reassuringly.
"Thanks," Julia said with a smile.
"Mommy," Eliza said suddenly. "Daddy, can we go swimming now?"
"Go ahead," Castle told her. He kissed the baby and said to his wife, "Want to get going?"
"That would be nice," Beckett said, seeing the baby watching her sisters and Mari. She looked over at the three herself, seeing them swimming around though staying near the shallow end. When they stopped, she said, "You can keep going."
"We don't mind waiting," Julia replied.
"Here we come," Castle said, walking to them as his wife was swimming out since he'd taken Josie. He smiled when she laughed before he kissed her cheek and then lowered himself while Eliza was swimming over and exclaiming to her baby sister.
"Are you gonna swim Josa?" the little girl said with a smile.
"No," Josie said, trying to lean towards her.
"Hold on," Castle said laughingly. He lowered the baby in his arms and then walked her to Eliza.
"You have to kick your legs," the little girl told her with a smile. "And then move your arms," she added as she was demonstrating for her. "Like that."
Castle smiled when Josie started to laugh and looked out at the pool to find his wife was swimming under the water towards the grotto. He turned his attention back to Eliza, smiling at her because she was going around them in circles while Josie was watching.
"Hey Mom," Julia said with a smile as her mother was coming up from under the water. "I wanted to show Mari this before dinner."
"Do you like it?" Beckett asked her.
"A lot," Mari replied, nodding her head rapidly. She smiled and then said, "It's beautiful in here."
"You told her about the light?" Beckett asked her daughter. When Julia nodded, she smiled and told her, "We'll turn it on later, after dinner and you can come back."
"Are you telling us to come back out?" Julia said in surprise.
"You didn't want to show her the slide?" Beckett responded with a question of her own.
"I didn't think it would be okay to go yet," Julia explained.
"Now it is," Beckett replied. She laughed when her daughter threw her arms around her and said, "You're welcome," since she was saying thank you repeatedly. "Let's head out since your sister-" she started to say before Eliza was calling out in the room to her.
"Mommy are we gonna go on the slide?" the little girl was saying.
Laughing, Beckett said, "Hold on sweetie."
"We're coming Mom," Julia assured her before she and Mari stood up. After they'd followed Beckett back out into the pool she said, "Are you ready?"
"Of course," Mari said firmly. She then smiled at her friend and told her, "If Eliza's brave enough to go on it…"
Smiling back at her, Julia led the way to the entry on the deep end of the pool and once they were out, she asked her little sister, "Do you mind if Mari goes down first?"
"No," Eliza said. "I go first after dinner." She glanced at their parents and blanched for a moment before she quickly said, "Please?"
"You can," Mari said before Castle and Beckett could answer. She then said, "But thanks for now."
"You're welcome," Eliza said hurriedly since she knew her parents were expecting her to say that. She then went to her father, taking his hand as they walked around to the staircase to the slide.
Up at the top, Julia asked her parents, "What're we doing for dinner?"
"We'll tell you later," Castle commented.
"But we wanna know now," Eliza said, playfully stamping her foot. She giggled when her mother gestured her over with her finger and she pretended to drag her feet. "Sorry Mommy."
"Thank you, sweetie," Beckett said, hugging her close. She then looked over at Julia and Mari and said, "Go ahead," to the latter.
"See you in the pool," Mari told her friend with a smile.
"Have fun," Julia said, beaming back at her. She wasn't surprised Mari laughed in response and watched her going down with a cry of joy before she splashed into the water and her mother was squeezing her shoulder before she spoke.
"Are you going to let your sister head down next?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah… wait, doesn't someone need to be there for her?" Julia said in surprise.
Shaking her head, Beckett nodded out towards the water and said as her second oldest was looking, "Louis and Alexis will come up after."
Turning her head to watch Eliza head down the slide, Julia then said, "Mari couldn't stay?"
"I texted her mother," Castle said. "After I texted Patrick," he said to his wife. "And they said they would let her as long as you go straight to bed."
"We will," Julia said rapidly. Something came to her, and she said, "Wait… how come?"
Not surprised her husband immediately turned to her to answer, Beckett explained, "I thought you might need her to be here for you."
"I'll tell you if I have a nightmare," Julia assured her. "But I'm glad Mari will be here with me."
"You should go tell her," Castle commented. When Julia nodded and went to the slide he walked after her with his wife and squeezed her hand gently saying, "She will."
"I don't know," Beckett said slowly. She then turned to her husband and said, "I hope you don't mind-"
"Don't worry," Castle said in a rush. "I had a feeling and I'm worried about her too, so it wasn't really on my mind."
Beckett smiled as her husband reached for her hand and brought it up to his lips before kissing the back of it. "Rick?" she said when he brought it back and held it there.
"Do you mind this?" Castle asked.
With a soft laugh, Beckett pulled her husband to her for a kiss before they were parting as Skye was calling up to them.
"There are children here," the investigator said. "And you're hogging the slide!"
"We're coming down right now," Beckett said before she went down. After she resurfaced, she swam back a little and waited for her husband to come after. When he was resurfacing, she was surprised when he lunged at her and let out a laugh mixed in with a short cry before swimming away. She eventually dove under the water before she turned around and saw him with her.
Grabbing his wife, Castle wasn't surprised when she wrapped her arms around him though they headed back up. Once they were above, he was about to speak when Skye was calling out to them from the shallow end again.
"I'm going to remind you there's kids here," the investigator told them when they were nearing.
"What is it?" Beckett asked since she was closer first.
"I was going to order dinner, but I realized one of you should do that," Skye explained. "And I'll grab the money."
"I'll go," Beckett said. She walked out of the pool with her friend and said, "How're you doing?" as they were drying themselves off with towels.
"Good, don't worry," Skye said. "I wanted to suggest something to you though," she then told her while they were heading to the house.
"If it's to let Mari stay the night we're letting her," Beckett said. "And I might need you to open the door to the backyard for Rebecca."
"She's bringing Mari's things?" Skye asked.
"She is," Beckett said with a nod. She got her phone and quickly dialed the number of the pizza parlor they went to before ordering. When she hung up, she said, "They'll be here in about thirty-five minutes."
"Alright," Skye said. She set out some money and said, "That should be enough."
"What's wrong?" Beckett asked, studying her friend.
Sighing Skye said, "The suicide. Are you completely sure about it?"
"Thayer's good," Castle said, walking in. "I thought you might talk about the case," he said to his wife and investigator.
"But had he completed the autopsy?" Skye asked.
Castle and Beckett looked at each other before the former said, "I don't know. I should call him and ask." He reached for his phone before he nearly jumped as it started to ring. "It's him," he said, answering it and putting it on speaker. "The three of us are here," he said in response.
"Good, and you need to call Patrick after this," Brad said. "Thayer finished the procedure right now and he has to correct his original findings."
"It was homicide," Skye said.
"It is," Brad replied. "He said it was the vic's hair at his temple that threw off the angle. So he shaved it and realized the angle was wrong."
"What about stippling?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah, he has the theory the killer held the gun in his hands after he was dead and shot it since there are weird spaces that don't follow holding a gun," Brad said.
"Can we get a height at all? How was the vic found?" Castle said.
"He'd been sitting on a couch," Brad answered. "So Thayer can't quite get a lock on the height, but he thinks from five feet even to five six."
"Not that tall," Castle said in surprise.
"Does that mean we're looking for a woman?" Skye asked.
"I would lean towards that, but we can't assume," Brad answered.
"What about the men and women at the law firm?" Beckett inquired.
"The troupes?" Skye said before the chief could respond.
"No one is those heights," Brad said quickly. "I talked to the founders, and they said they tended towards taller people since… they thought it fit the Victorian theme. Whatever that means. As for the law firms, there are a few women that fit that description, but we've already cleared them." He wasn't surprised when the three were quiet, waiting for one of them to speak and he wasn't startled when it turned out it was the investigator first.
"His ex wasn't that short," Skye said.
"No, neither is Gage," Brad said. "But like I told you, everyone we looked into has an alibi. I'm going to look into them again," he added quickly. "But it's frustrating."
"I definitely agree," Castle commented.
"What about you going home?" Beckett said then.
"That's going to be soon," Brad replied. "Since I have to wait for the laptop. Have you told Julia anything?"
"No," Beckett said firmly when her husband was looking at her. "We might tell her later, but they've been swimming, so we want her to have that at least."
"I don't blame you," Brad replied. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Thanks for updating us," Castle said before they said goodnight to the chief and hung up. "I think we might be going in at nine."
"More than likely," Skye said. "Mind if I head back to the room?"
"Go ahead, we'll wait for the pizza," Castle said. He turned to his wife when they were alone and said, "You don't want your dress?" since she had her towel around herself.
"I'll be back," Beckett told him before heading back into the pool room.
Looking around the kitchen, Castle waited for his wife to come back before he said, "I would have gotten it for you."
"It wasn't that difficult to get," Beckett said wryly before she put her dress over her head. She felt her husband helping her as she pulled it down and said, "Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight?"
"I will," Castle said seriously, watching her tying her dress closed. He looked on as she was pulling her hair out, unable to help himself and reaching for her.
Turning to her husband while he was cupping the back of her neck, Beckett murmured to him, "Rick…" as they leaned into each other. They were kissing deeply, though she knew anyone in the pool room could walk in on them. But the temptation of her husband's tongue stroking at hers led her to continue until they'd exchanged a few of them and were parting as they panted. By then they were holding onto each other tightly and she could feel her husband's hands rubbing around her back before he murmured against her lips.
"Is this out of the question?" Castle asked.
"Didn't we already do it for a while?" Beckett replied with her own question, smiling slightly.
"Great, that means we can continue," Castle commented, smiling while his wife laughed lightly.
"I think we're risking it enough as it is," Beckett replied before her husband was giving her a brief kiss on the lips. She pulled him back to another before they parted and she said, "Are you ready for the ball?"
"I have my tuxedo as usual," Castle said. When his wife gave him a look he smiled and said, "I could tell what you were doing."
"I think I had to; the door's open," Beckett said. She laughed again when her husband leaned over to see down the hall and said, "They're going to get a little suspicious."
"And Skye will comment," Castle said to her. When his wife nodded, smiling, he couldn't help himself and wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her close to him. Kissing the side of her head he said, "But we can't seem to stop."
"We don't want to," Beckett said. She let out a short gasp when her husband was pulling her even tighter against his body in an embrace before he was speaking rapidly.
"I'm so glad you said we," Castle told her.
Kissing at his ear lobe quickly, Beckett told him, "After almost eight years you think I wouldn't?"
Since he was aware his wife was joking, Castle brushed his lips to hers before he told her, "I adore you, Kate."
Beckett smiled as her husband lightly kissed her shoulder that was bare and murmured his name before he moved and kissed her again. She could have easily spent a long time there with him but the chime for the door in the gate sounded and they parted rapidly.
"I'll get it," Castle told Beckett before he hurriedly grabbed the money and went to the front door. He wasn't aware his wife had followed him until he turned with the boxes of pizza in his hands.
"You needed some help," Beckett told him with a smile.
"A little," Castle replied as he let her take the top two boxes. When they walked back to the kitchen, he wasn't surprised Eliza was hurrying out and said, "Dinner is here but we're taking it up to the second floor."
"Oh good, Jules asked me to ask you if we could go eat there," the little girl replied with a smile. "Can I help?" she asked.
"Yes, get napkins for us," Beckett answered.
Frowning for a moment, Eliza then looked behind her to see Julia and Mari were there and nodded before she headed to where the napkins were kept. She was grabbing them before she soon heard her sister asking their parents about the plates.
"We just need plates?" Julia asked.
"That's it," Beckett replied with a smile. "Go with your sister in the elevator." She didn't hear the girls moving as she was getting glasses from the cupboard and turned to Julia telling her, "I know you want to try the spiral staircase with Mari, but it's safer right now if you just go in the elevator."
"We can try that too!" Eliza said, walking away from them.
"I did want to try that," Mari said.
"I figured we'd have to go on that," Julia said. She and her friend got the plates they needed, and she led her over to the dumbwaiter.
"How cool," Mari said while her friend was showing her. "And smart too."
"I know, we didn't get to send this up yesterday. We just brought it down," Julia said.
"Why didn't Daddy do that with the food?" Eliza asked after her sister had sent the plates up to the second floor.
"I don't know, I guess because it wasn't that heavy for him," Julia replied with a shrug as they went to the elevator.
"This is nice too," Mari said while they were heading up. "And short."
Julia smiled with her friend as Eliza was giggling and then said, "Here's the second floor."
"Wow, this is really nice too," Mari told her. She wanted to look around but remembered the plates and went with Julia to get them.
Setting out the napkins around the table, Eliza finished before her sister and Mari were doing so and asked, "Are you gonna walk around?"
"A little," Julia said. "But you better go down to Mom and Dad."
"I wanna go too," Eliza said firmly.
"Lizzy," Julia said with a sigh.
"I'm not a baby," Eliza told her angrily.
Though she was slightly amused at her little sister putting her hands on her hips, Julia had wanted to walk around with her friend on their own. Trying to think of how to get her sister to head downstairs, she turned to the spiral staircase as their father was calling out to them while he walked up.
"Are you all set girls?" Castle said, coming up the last few steps and going to the dumbwaiter.
"Yeah, the table is set Daddy," Eliza said, hurrying to him.
"Easy, I've got a tray," Castle told her hurriedly as she neared him. "Can you help me set out the glasses?"
"I will," Eliza replied, nodding her head.
Julia mouthed the words thank you to her father before she walked with Mari to the path around the building and she said, "Nice huh?"
"It is," Mary said, nodding rapidly. "But I understand why your parents told you not to jump from here."
"Yeah, it's a little scary," Julia said with a nod. They made their way around to the slide and after they'd passed it, she said, "I forgot to tell you something."
"Is it about Matthias?" Mari asked immediately.
"No," Julia said with a smile. "My parents texted yours and they said that you could spend the night."
"Really?" Mari said with a wide smile. When her friend nodded, she said, "I'm so glad."
"You are?" Julia asked. At Mari's brief nod she then said, "You're that worried."
"Of course! Peter told me at lunch exactly what happened to you when Matthias was you," Mari said with a frown. "That's so scary, I'm glad I wasn't there. I might have started to cry or panic."
"Maybe both," Julia said softly, looking down at the pool. She felt Mari's arm wrap around her, and she said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Mari replied. "And I'm glad I'll be here in case you have a nightmare." Noticing the expression on her friend's face she said, "You don't think so?" before Julia was replying.
"Not really, but I could be wrong," the girl said. She shrugged and said, "How would I know really what'll happen."
"Mari," Beckett called up to them. She smiled when both girls immediately looked down at her and said, "Your dad is here with your things."
"Oh, I only saw him a little this morning," Mari told Julia when they were continuing to walk rapidly to the stairs. "He had an emergency and had to see the council."
"Good thing he finished it," Julia commented.
"I know, or else it would have been just Mom and Dani at home," Mari said before she went down behind her friend. "Where is he?" she asked Beckett once they were at the bottom and her father wasn't there.
"Inside, we're having a party Friday, so they'll wait for then to see the pool," she replied. She was surprised when Julia didn't go after her friend and said, "Giving them some time to say goodnight?"
Nodding Julia told her, "She said she only saw him for a little bit this morning."
"Nice of you to wait," Beckett said. She was startled when her daughter was suddenly hugging her tightly and said, "You're welcome."
"I'm really happy," Julia said. "Oh… what about this Saturday."
"That depends on her parents," Castle said, coming down the stairs with Eliza. He and Beckett were heading into the city with the other parents that morning for the ball that was going to be in the evening, the kids staying at their home that time with Nkosi's parents, Alexis and Louis watching them along with his and his wife's parents.
"Can Maddy stay the night Friday?" the little girl asked.
"We'll ask Patrick and Trevor," Castle said. "But since she's spending the night on Saturday, they might not want her to."
"My dad said goodnight," Mari said, appearing then in the doorway. "It's time for dinner," she said, holding her overnight bag and wondering if she should take it up to Julia's room before her friend's mother was going over to her and speaking quickly.
"You can set the bag down in the kitchen," Beckett told her. "And wash your hands to eat dinner."
"Sure," Mari said. She went to the kitchen and set the bag down on one of the table chairs before saying, "Why'd you follow me?"
"It'd be weird if you were walking around by yourself," Julia said with a smile.
"That's true, you haven't done that at my house," Mari said, turning on the water at the kitchen sink. She quickly washed her hands before she dried them and told her friend, "I hope they didn't start taking the pizza yet."
"I don't think so," Julia said. "We're all starving," she added. She wasn't surprised when her friend was giggling, and they hurried back to the pool room. They went up the spiral staircase and seeing everyone standing around the table she called out, "We're ready!"
"Good, we're starving," Castle commented, smiling when the girls laughed. Once they were all sitting, they started to get slices of pizza and he made sure Josie; sitting in between himself and Beckett; was okay with her slice. He then said to the girls, "Are you going to tell us how your day at school went?"
"Yeah!" Eliza said eagerly. When the others were looking at her, she said, "Am I first?"
"I think you are," Jim said. "But don't worry, we want to hear how it went for you."
Eliza nodded before she talked about her day eagerly at first, around the middle she realized her sister wasn't going to have that much to talk about. When she finished, she said softly, "I forgot."
"It's okay, you didn't know what was going on," Julia said hurriedly.
"How didn't you?" Martha asked Eliza.
"Grandmama and Mamó," the little girl said. "I could tell they were with me."
"Why didn't they go to you to help you?" Mari asked her friend.
"I don't think they knew," Julia said slowly.
"I would assume they didn't," Skye said since the girl was looking at her. "But I'd have to talk to them myself. By the time Matthias had a hold of you I think it was too late for them to help." She and Julia then looked at Beckett at the same time, not surprised the writer seemed to expect that as she was responding to them swiftly.
"You realize I'm not going to argue that," she told them.
"She won't," Julia said to Skye.
"I can tell," the investigator replied.
"How was your day?" Julia asked Mari.
"Fine," the girl said.
"It's okay, you can tell me," Julia said quickly. "I don't have much to say about my day and I told my family already."
"Not me," Eliza commented.
"It wasn't that much," Julia said. "Just classes," she added, not surprised when her sister nodded. She smiled at Mari when she started to talk about her day of school before she had finished. "I'm glad you played at lunch," she told her.
"I didn't really want to," Mari confessed. "But Peter talked me into it. He was worried about you though; everyone was. Especially Chloe."
Setting down her slice of pizza Julia was about to ask if she had been told what had happened to her exactly before her friend was talking to Skye and her parents.
"Did you really have to talk to her? Ask her if she would have hurt her cousin?" Mari said.
"It wasn't that," Castle said first.
"We were asking Chloe about her relationship to her cousin," Beckett continued. "And Brad and Patrick said she was upset they were doing that. But it's necessary, we have to clear everyone."
"I told her that," Mari said, nodding her head. "Julia told me."
"Hopefully she's feeling better," Beckett said.
"What's wrong?" Julia asked her mother.
"I feel like there's something we're missing," Beckett replied. "But I didn't want to talk about the case right now. Did Julia tell you about our dinner?"
"Yeah, I bet Dad can't wait to see this room," Mari said, smiling widely. "And Dani will love it."
"Can she go on the slide?" Eliza asked Mari. She was surprised when instead of her sister's best friend answering it was Skye and looked to her swiftly.
"I think you might have to wait for her parents to say," Skye said. "Oh, you know what I just realized?" she directed to Castle and Beckett.
"We're getting Josie used to the pool," the latter replied. "And we'll let her go on the kid's slide after dinner."
"Really?" Jim asked.
"Just once," Beckett said. "And as soon as we go back in," she added.
"Who's gonna catch her?" Julia asked with a smile at her baby sister while Castle was wiping the pizza sauce off her chin.
"I will," Beckett said, smiling at her husband when he glanced at her.
"And I'll help her heading down," Castle said. He laughed when Josie squealed suddenly, and he kissed the baby's cheek before he set his napkin down. Returning to his pizza he soon finished, and he had Julia take Josie before they were cleaning up and taking everything down.
"What're you gonna do now?" Mari asked her friend.
"Sit together," Julia replied. "Pick a lounge chair," she told her.
Looking around the room at the ones there were, Mari went to one that was close to the windows and sat with Julia and Josie. "Where'd Eliza go?" she asked, noticing the little girl wasn't with them.
"To the kitchen," Julia replied. "Josie," she said to her sister as she was squirming. "Where are you going?"
"To Mama," the baby replied.
"She's busy, why don't you play with us?" Julia asked before her friend was touching her arm and questioning her about that.
"What're you going to play? And what's she going to be able to say?" Mari said in obvious confusion.
"Pat Jules," Josie said, squeezing her big sister's hand.
"See?" Julia asked with a smile. She turned her attention to Josie and though the baby couldn't really play the game she said the rhyme and started tickling her at the end.
Smiling watching Julia hug her baby sister, Mari couldn't help saying, "You'll be a great mom I think."
"She's my sister," Julia said.
"Still, I can tell," Mari said firmly. She wasn't surprised when her friend shrugged before she was turning her attention to her sister.
"Want to watch me and Mari play the game?" Julia asked. When her sister laughed and hugged her, she kissed her cheek before turning her attention to her friend. They played the handclapping game before they were soon stopping and turning to Josie who was laughing and clapping her hands.
"Again!" Josie cried.
"Oh no sweetie," Beckett said, walking into the pool room then. "Your sister and Mari are going to get tired."
Putting her hand on her friend's arm, since she knew what her mother had meant by that, Julia leaned into Mari and murmured, "She's saying that to keep Josa relaxed."
Nodding, and remembering the slide off the kids' pool, Mari turned her attention to Josie as the baby was cuddling against her mother before she asked, "How long before we can go into the pool?"
"I think ten minutes will be long enough," Beckett said. "But we have to let Josie swim since she'll need to take a bath and go to bed." She turned to her father when he was clearing his throat, not surprised Eliza was talking before he could begin to her amusement.
"Are you gonna give her a bath?" Eliza asked with a smile.
"I was going to ask if I could," Jim replied, smiling himself.
"You can," Beckett said. "I was going to ask if you would."
"How come Mommy?" Eliza asked her.
"Because we wanted to swim a little more too," Beckett replied, picking Eliza up since the little girl had come over to her. She set her on her lap and kissed her cheek before saying, "And with you."
"I can swim by myself," Eliza replied with a giggle.
"You don't want to go into the grotto with us, jump from it?" Castle asked.
Smiling Eliza said, "Yeah!"
"Is it time to go back?" Julia asked as her father was looking at his watch.
"It is, but stick with us?" Castle asked.
"Of course, we want to see Josa going down the slide too," Julia said.
"You can go on it too," Beckett said.
"Me too?" Mari asked.
"Yeah, we could too," Castle said, not surprised when the girls were all laughing together and setting off Josie.
"I'd like to see that," Alexis told her father.
Smiling Castle said, "So would I. But I don't think I should."
"You would break it?" Eliza asked. She was surprised when the others laughed before she said, "No?"
"I don't think so kiddo," Martha said, her laughter still in her voice. "But your father is a little too tall."
Seeing Eliza beaming at Castle, Beckett said, "And now we really need to go to the pool," not surprised when the little girl was squealing and kicking her legs before she cried out happily.
"I want to go swimming!" Eliza said.
"Here," Beckett said, setting her down. She took her sundress off and said, "You can take Josie to her pool."
"Come on Josa!" Eliza said eagerly to the baby. After she was set down, she took Josie's hand before their father stopped them. "Hold on," she said to her sister when she was saying no repeatedly. "You can't go swimming in your dress!"
"I swim Lizzy," Josie said.
"Yeah, right now," Eliza said since the baby was ready. She took her hand and they walked to the pool as the others were starting to get ready as well. "Do you like your pool?" she asked while they were stepping into the water.
"Eh," Josie said, smiling up at her sister. She laughed as Eliza stomped on the water and she mimicked her before Julia was calling out to them.
"You're going to take all the water out of the pool," the girl said.
"No we won't," Eliza replied with a beaming smile. "Is Josa gonna go now?"
"She can," Castle said, stepping into the pool himself, Josie soon walking to him and squealing before she spoke.
"Dada go swim!" the baby was saying.
Picking her up, Castle kissed her cheek and said, "How would you like to go down the slide."
"Down to Mommy," Eliza told her.
"Come here sweetie," Beckett said, standing in the shallow end.
Picking Josie up, Castle set her on the top of the slide and said, "Ready?"
"Dada!" Josie cried, sounding scared.
"Don't worry," Castle said, kissing the side of her head. "You'll go down to your mom."
"He's right, I'm here sweetie," Beckett told her. "I'll catch you."
"Catch?" Josie said.
"Yeah," Beckett said before she looked at her husband. "Lead her down," she told him, not surprised when he nodded and responded quickly.
"What do you think?" Castle said to their youngest. "I'll lead you right down to your mom." When the baby looked up at him, he smiled and kissed the side of her head before he slid her down and let go once his wife had her.
"See?" Beckett asked with a smile. "That wasn't so bad." She kissed Josie and then laughed as the baby had begun splashing at the top of the water. "Want to go under."
"Yes Mama," Josie told her.
"She's serious," Castle said, walking up to his wife after he'd gone around to her.
"I know," Beckett said. She counted to three, smiling at Josie before she ducked under the water with the baby.
"More!" Josie cried when they were back up.
"One more," Castle said, gently wiping away the water from the baby's face.
"One more?" Beckett echoed with a smile.
"Yes, I didn't get the chance to join in," Castle said.
"Hurry, they're waiting for us," Beckett said with a smile while her husband gently brushed away water on her cheek.
Surprised, Castle looked up and saw the girls were looking down at them and he said, "Then we'll wait for them."
"We can go?" Eliza asked eagerly as they were moving out of the way.
"Go ahead," Beckett said before she watched the little girl going down the short slide. After Mari and Julia had taken their turns she said, "I'm guessing you guys want to go on the bigger slide."
"What about going underwater? Josa wanted to," Julia reminded her parents.
"Good memory," Castle said, unable to help chuckling. "Ready?" When the three girls nodded, he and Beckett let Eliza count before they were ducking underneath. As soon as they were standing again, he went to Josie and got the water off her face before he kissed the baby gently. "Now you need to have your bath," he said when she was looking up at him and laughing.
"No Dada," Josie said.
"Is she serious this time?" Mari asked Julia jokingly.
Snorting in her attempt to stop her laughter, Julia nodded and told her friend, "We can go to the slide now," before her mother was calling to her.
"Come and say goodnight to Josie," Beckett said.
"I'll be back," Julia replied. But as she went over to the shallow end, she wasn't surprised to hear the water moving behind her. She smiled but was soon reaching Josie and she hugged her baby sister before kissing her cheek. "Night Josa, love you."
"Love you," Josie said seriously. When her sister tickled her neck, she laughed and then reached out to her.
Squeezing her hand gently, Julia let her go and watched her parents as they were leaving the room since she'd been last to say goodnight to her. "You're not giving her a bath?" she asked.
"Your parents wanted to do it," Jim said since she'd been talking to him. He then smiled at her and said, "Are you surprised?"
"Not really," Julia replied. "Can we go on the slide?"
"Go ahead, no running," Jim replied, watching the girls going under the water. "I should have known," he commented to Martha.
"Well, you never know," she said with a smile. "But I would have said they'd go this way."
"Now don't run," Louis said teasingly to Julia and Mari as they got out of the pool.
Playfully sticking her tongue out at her brother-in-law, Julia turned her attention to the stairs up to the slide and said, "Want to go to the grotto after this?"
"Yeah," Mari replied. At the top of the stairs she said, "What about this though?"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely want to come back on this again," Julia said. She smiled when her friend nodded and they turned their attention to the slide before she watched Mari going first, waving to her while she was crying out. Turning her attention to getting onto the slide she reminded herself to write about it in her diary before she pushed herself to go down.
