Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for violence, language and sexual situations
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: Well, this is the Epilogue, so of course it means we've come to the end of the story. But, as always, I have another story all ready to go to post for you readers. And it'll be coming up in a few days, so if you want to read it, then be on the lookout for it!
A/N #2: Just want to make a quick note, I have no experience in Ballroom or Latin dances so have no clue on how classes would go for them. So definitely calling artistic license here with how it's written!
A/N #3: Just a quick note, I wrote this Epilogue at the beginning of January, so I didn't still anything from the show!
A/N #4: Am so happy with the feedback that I received for the last chapter, and want to get right to it and say thank you for what I got! vetgirlmx (I wasn't too surprised to see your reaction to what Julia said to Beckett, about not murdering her. Yeah, was sweet, but weird sorta as you said, you're right. But thought it needed to be said really, I figured Julia would want to reassure Beckett she wouldn't be like Amy. And yeah, that was the reason I had her liking Amber so much, so when she found out who the killer was there wouldn't be a big issue with that, 'cause she's been through a lot already. I really loved seeing your reaction to Julia wanting Castle to help with her bath, really am careful about the development of Castle and Julia's relationship, so was happy that you like how it's going between them. Am so happy that you're so eager to read about the first class and also Easter, will hope you enjoy them when you get to them of course. But not surprised what you said about them deserving some family time, lol, you are right about that!), pcol22 (Happy to see again that you liked the last chapter of course. Wasn't surprised to see that you're glad to see that they've wrapped everything up with the case, I knew a lot of readers were ready for them to do that, lol. And I'm happy to see that you liked that Julia's going to be taking ballroom lessons. Am loving that you're eager to see the Easter egg hunt, and how it'll go too, am hoping you'll like how it'll go actually! But great to see you want to read this chapter now, always love to see that in reviews as I've said before!), 41319always41319 (Not surprised that you too were glad to see that the case was solved. And was interesting to see your reaction to what Amy went through too), sammysgirl78 (Had to laugh at how you started your review, but you were right, lol, since almost the beginning you were right about Amy, so not surprised to see that. Thought you might enjoy when they were with Julia, and happy to see that you did of course. And I was definitely relieved that you liked how they were honest with Julia, couldn't really write them not being so. Not surprised either to see that you too were glad to see the case was closed, lol, seems to be a general consensus. I especially loved seeing your comments on how Beckett was able to help him away from his dark thoughts as you worded it. And you got exactly why I write them doing that for each other, to show how close they are and of course, how much they love one another, so am very happy you saw that and pointed it out too! As always, loved seeing that you enjoyed their time together at the end, their hotness as you put it, it's definitely great to get a comment about that from you! And I am surprised but believe me, very happy that you too want to see Julia's dance class as well as how their Easter will go. Had to laugh at what you said about Castle being more excited about the dance gear that Julia, but yeah, she was more, but it was a fairly close thing) and Guest (Hello there, was happy to see you enjoyed the chapter, and not surprised that you as well are glad the case is all set and solved. Happy to see you're eager for the dance class, surprised again, but a good surprise! And actually, Ryan knows about that already 'cause I kept that from season 5, but he's the only one, to answer your question!). So as always, was very happy to get the feedback that I did since I loved reading it, and appreciate so much all of you who took the time to write out those reviews!
A/N #5: Wanted to say thank you to all of you who read this story, reviewed it, favorited it and also followed it as well, you're all awesome! And for those of you in the future who'll read and review this, Epilogue; as well as reading and possibly reviewing the story in general; thank you in advance, I appreciate it!
A/N #6: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Home (When Shadows Fall) by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter van Steeden, but the version I took from was sung by Paul McCartney from his album Kisses On the Bottom.
Skies Of Blue Begin To Grey
"Careful, the best way to fly is definitely straight, you don't want to suddenly dip down."
"Castle, Julia, come on."
"Should we stop?"
"Nah," Castle told the little girl before she giggled in response. "Okay, let's bring her in for a smooth landing." He took over the controls for his helicopter for her, and brought the toy slowly down on the coffee table in front of them. "Perfect job," he said, kissing her cheek.
"But that was you," Julia laughed.
"Are you two set?" Beckett asked, coming up behind them.
"Now yes, what can we help you with?" Castle asked as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"You need to get dressed, both of you," Beckett reminded him; as she had been trying for the last five minutes to stop them flying the helicopter. "Or we'll be late for the hunt."
"Oh, I wanna get dressed," Julia said eagerly as she slipped down to the floor from Castle's lap.
"Want to tell me what you'll be wearing?" he asked, grabbing her and pulling her to him before she could run around the couch to her mother.
"No," Julia said with a wide smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek and said, "Mommy said it's a surprise."
"Then go ahead," Castle said, watching her walk around. He took Beckett's hand on the back of the couch and held it in place so he could kiss the back of it. "No clues?"
"She wants to surprise you," Beckett said, smiling as Julia blushed deeply at that. "And get dressed or we're heading out without you."
"Right now," Castle promised before he watched the two head up the stairs. "Can I help you Mother?" he asked as she was sitting at the island in the kitchen.
"I'm just enjoying the show," Martha commented before turning her attention back to the paper.
"Are you coming with us?" Castle asked as he stood, setting the remote aside.
"I'll go, but I'm already dressed," Martha said. "Go, you'll disappoint Julia if you're not going."
Nodding, Castle headed into his room and then paused; remembering Beckett still needed to get changed. He decided to wait for her there; as he'd been interrupted in his plans to wake his fiancée up by Julia who'd seen the note he'd written, posing as the Easter Bunny. While he changed he smiled to himself, remembering reading the note for her and her excitement at hearing her eggs would be there by the time she got back from the hunt. Once dressed, Castle waited on the edge of the bed, expecting to hear Beckett opening the door at any minute. But when there was a knock on it he looked over at it in surprise. "Kate?"
"Are you ready, we're waiting for you," Beckett said, entering the room when she heard him. She fought back a smile as he stared at her, wide eyed for a moment and said, "Castle."
"Yeah, sorry," he said, jumping up from the bed.
"You said dresses for girls," Beckett said teasingly. "And you're not wearing a bow tie, but I'll let that pass," she told him as she brushed her fingers along his chin as she turned to leave. She wasn't too surprised when he pulled her to him and said, "I'm kidding, I thought since it's spring here finally and sunny for once, I could make a new purchase for today."
"Was Julia with you?" Castle asked, looking down at her sundress that had an abstract pattern of blues and grays, the dress itself white. He glanced down at her chest, since the dress had a v-neckline, but she was tilting his chin so he snapped his head up to look into her eyes.
"No, I picked this one out myself," Beckett explained. "But I'm guessing you like it? She does too."
"Yeah, you have great fashion sense," Castle commented, clearing his throat before he heard Julia suddenly calling to them.
"Let's go," Beckett said, smiling as the first part of her idea was working. Since the other was supposed to happen back inside the room much, much later, she turned her attention to Julia who was peeking her head out from around Martha. "Your surprise, come here sweetie," she said to her daughter.
"Let me see," Castle said, seeing that Julia looked to be a little shy.
"Come on kiddo," Martha encouraged her. "Or else you won't be able to find a single egg."
That seemed to reach Julia, and the little girl came out from around her, going to stand in front of Castle. "Surprise?" she said in a more questioning tone.
"Really surprised, you look very pretty sweetheart," Castle said, kneeling to hug the little girl to him. "Let me see the whole dress," he then said, standing and making her spin.
Julia giggled at his compliment, and looked down at her dress; the one that Alexis had bought her the month before in San Francisco. "It's so pretty, I told Mommy I should wear it today," she said as her mother helped her into a bolero styled knit sweater so they could leave.
"And you were right," Martha said, taking her hand once she was ready. "Spring is very much in the air. Even you've gone with lighter colors Richard."
"I felt like matching the sky," Castle said as Julia hurried over to him while they were leaving the loft. "But I better not jump up, because all you'll see is blue."
"I don't think so," Julia said, wrinkling her nose, though she was smiling.
"I'm not testing out that theory," Castle said. "So you like your mom's dress?" he asked her.
"Yeah, lots, do you?" Julia answered shortly before asking him.
"I do," Castle said. "So, what do you think the Easter bunny will bring?"
"I don't know," Julia said before they stopped at the elevators. "Mommy, what does he bring, I don't know."
"You'll see when we come back sweetie," Beckett promised her. She glanced at Castle, who was looking up at the numbered lights above the left doorway, and she nudged him in the side.
"Your dad will meet us there right?" he said in response to that, since he knew she was still wondering about the things they'd bought together to put into Julia's eggs.
"Same as yesterday," Beckett said, smiling down at her daughter when Julia squealed at the memory and jumped up and down a little. She couldn't help remember either as they stepped into the elevator car, and how much the little girl had enjoyed her first class.
"Hello Julia," Jim Beckett said as he picked up his granddaughter. "You look ready to dance," he told her after kissing her cheek.
"I'm ready Grandpapa," Julia said, kissing his cheek quickly. "Are you going to watch?"
"The whole class," Jim promised before he set her down. "How has she been?" he asked his daughter and Castle as they went inside the studio.
"Barely able to sleep last night," Beckett said. "And this morning she wouldn't eat much."
"So she's nervous and excited," Castle said. "I'm hoping she doesn't do this every class."
"She'll get used to it," Martha commented, who had met them outside the building since her son had spent the night before at Beckett's.
Inside the group saw a few other parents there, and a small group of girls and one boy waiting in the middle of the dance floor. After Julia had kissed her family, she hurried to her friend Celia, talking excitedly with her until two women came out from the back rooms.
"Good morning," Amber Holsten said, her wife Yvette behind her.
"Good morning Miss Amber," the girls and boy said, hurrying to stand in a line; as they'd done for ballet.
"Relax," Amber said with a smile. "This class will not be as strict as your ballet classes; we're here to have fun dancing. Now, I see a lot of you have some of the attire that will help you as we go through the Ballroom and Latin dances. For those of you who don't know, I have a paper for your parents. Since I know all of you already, I'd like to introduce your other teacher, Miss Yvette, who is my wife."
Glancing at the other parents, Beckett was relieved for the teacher's sake when no one took their child and left at that news, and glanced at Julia, wondering what she would think of that.
"She'll be here to help me teach, but also to teach us all Flamenco, which is a Latin dance," Amber said. "I have to admit I have never danced it, but we'll learn together alright?" She smiled when her students smiled and nodded and said, "Then let's begin with what are called extensions."
Watching as the woman turned on the TV that was hanging against the opposite wall, Castle leaned over to his fiancée and whispered, "She'll ace this," before she nudged his side to get him to be quiet.
After showing the students a few clips from Dancing With the Stars and some pictures at dance competitions, Amber started the girls and boy to form the correct extensions. She had them reach out their hands and form them while she and Yvette walked around, correcting them here and there. When she reached Julia, she smiled at the little girl and said, "You and Celia are doing that very well. You've watched dancing before haven't you?"
"And I practiced this," Julia said, her cheeks flushed. "Is that cheating?"
"No, no, it means you really want to be a dancer," Amber said. "Alright, now we can learn our first Ballroom dance, which will be the Viennese Waltz. We'll start with the basic steps first, because you need to learn simple before you can begin choreographing more difficult steps."
"Don't we have to dance with a boy?" a little girl asked, raising her hand.
"If you were dancing for a competition, yes, but since you're learning, we'll have to pair some of you girls together. And Miss Yvette and I will demonstrate the steps together for you too," Amber answered. "Okay, so the first thing you need to know is the beat of the music. Always very important to dance to the music. And that is what helps make a dancer great, if they know the music, if they feel it as they're dancing and let it move them."
"Can you show us?" Celia cried, the others agreeing with her.
"Once we learn the first steps. So the Viennese Waltz goes on three beats, watch my feet, and Miss Yvette too," Amber said. "One… two… three," she counted off slowly so the students could see easily what they were doing.
"Look at Julia," Beckett whispered to Castle.
Glancing over at her, he wasn't too surprised to see that the little girl was moving her feet slightly in response as she watched the two women intently. He surreptitiously squeezed his fiancée's hand and shared a smile with her, knowing that they'd done the right thing bringing her to the class.
"I think you did really wonderful kiddo, you were meant to dance," Martha told Julia as she held the little girl's hand after the class. "You picked up that Waltz quicker than anyone."
"It was fun," Julia said, smiling widely. "I can't wait for next week!"
"For now we need to dye some eggs," Castle said, having come out of the café he'd treated the others to for lunch and picking up the little girl. He swung her legs out to her cry of joy and settled her on his hip. "And you know, it's been a while since I last did that," he told her as they all went to the curb to get two cabs. "So I'll probably have to learn all over again with you."
"You did that with Alexis?" Julia asked.
"I did, so the last time we dyed eggs was…" Castle began to say before he trailed off, pouting his lips. He smiled when Julia gave him a kiss as she giggled before he had to set her down so she could say goodbye to her grandfather who was heading home.
"We'll see you tomorrow at the egg hunt at about eleven," Beckett said as she hugged him after Julia had. "Thanks again for coming today."
"I had to, I didn't want to miss your first day," Jim said, directing the last to Julia who was still hugging him. "I'll see you tomorrow, thank you for lunch."
"Bye," Castle said, since the thanks had been for him. "Okay, let's go, the eggs are calling my name, I can hear them even from here," he said as he picked up Julia and carried her under his arm to her laughter.
"I always wondered if my son would grow up," Martha commented to Beckett as they waited for him to hail a cab.
"He has," Beckett replied, smiling as she knew Martha was joking. "Enough," she then finished to the woman's laughter as they went to join Castle and Julia in the cab that had stopped at the curb.
Back in his loft, Castle hurriedly prepared the pots needed for the dye that was in the box he'd bought with Julia the day before. "Alright, I think we're ready, we just need our eggs…" he told Julia as she was leaning against the island, watching him. "Ready?" he asked once he had the pot of hard boiled eggs.
"Yeah," Julia said as he picked her up and set her on the counter.
"You're sure it's okay she's there?" Beckett asked, coming over to help.
"If I put her in a chair she's not going to be able to help out," Castle said, helping Julia put an egg on the holder. "So whatever color… I guess first is blue," he said to his fiancée as Julia immediately dipped her egg into the pot with blue water. He quickly put his hand over hers to help her lift it up and down before taking it out and placing it on a holder.
"It's pretty," Julia said with a smile. "Now what?"
Beckett looked on as the two proceeded to attempt dying the eggs in more than one color, she had wanted to participate, but was enjoying watching and listening to them more. She would have stayed leaning against the counter across from them for a lot longer, if Castle hadn't stepped up to her. "And you just leave her?" she asked him as he pulled her hands to get her to stand upright.
"She knows not to move," he said simply in response before leaning down and kissing her. He kept it short, since Julia was right behind them, and then pulled Beckett up to the counter. "So our daughter," Castle said, the words coming out of his mouth before he thought about it. "Wants you to dye some eggs."
Having heard the soft gasp her daughter had made, Beckett looked over at her and saw Julia looked a little startled. She smiled reassuringly at her, and then said, "I'm ready to start," to then try to distract her until they could talk about that; since Julia had never heard them refer to her as that so casually. "Tell me what to do sweetie."
"You get an egg," Julia then said quickly as she picked up one of them left in the pot. "And then you pick colors."
"What should I use?" Beckett asked.
"What you want to, I won't tell you," Julia said, smiling.
Relieved that his slip up hadn't been met with too bad of a shock, Castle leaned over and kissed Julia's temple before saying, "These came out pretty good."
"Yeah, will the Easter bunny like hiding them?" Julia asked.
"I think so, I wonder if he's going to hide them really well," Castle then said.
"What if he hides them too hard and I don't find them? He's gonna be mad," Julia said.
"We'll help, but only if you absolutely need it," Beckett commented, taking her finished egg out of the red dye. "What do you think?" she asked, showing them her blue, green and red egg.
"It's perfect," Julia said happily. "I can't wait to look for them tomorrow." She was quiet then as the three of them dyed more eggs before she finally said, "Mommy? Castle?"
"Yeah?" "Yes?" Castle and then Beckett responded at almost the same time.
"Will you look with me tomorrow for eggs?" Julia asked.
"Sure." "Of course," they said at the same time. They looked at each other before Castle made a gesture for his fiancée to go ahead and speak.
"We'll help, but I don't think they'll make it hard to find the eggs," Beckett said simply. "Speaking of which, are we done?" she asked, seeing all the eggs were dyed and drying in the holder.
"We are, someone decided to dye their arms too," he commented as Julia was looked at her multi-colored hands and arms, twisting them back and forth and giggling. He watched as Beckett leaned over to kiss her daughter's forehead before Julia pretended to reach up and touch her cheeks. He had a suddenly flash of inspiration, and grabbed his phone, taking a number of pictures of the two as they laughed together before pocketing it again. "Wash up," he told them then as he felt a sense of relief. "And I'll clean up here."
"Okay, come on sweetie," Beckett said, picking Julia up.
"Wait," the little girl said, reaching over and touching Castle's arm. When he turned to look at her she pursed her lips slightly before he leaned over to share a kiss with her. "Thank you," she said a little shyly, her cheeks reddening.
"You're welcome sweetheart, you did a great job," Castle told her.
Inside the bathroom in Castle's room, Beckett kept an eye on her daughter as she was washing her hands first. "Are you okay?" she asked gently as she could tell the little girl was thinking about something.
"Yeah, but… did Castle mean what he called me? Is it for real?" Julia asked softly. "'Cause you didn't get married."
"Well, it's not legal, so we can't tell everyone that Castle is your dad," Beckett said after thinking for a moment of how to answer. "But, to me and definitely to him, you are our daughter. Do you not like hearing him say that?"
"No, I liked it Mommy," Julia said, hesitating slightly.
"Then what's wrong sweetie?" Beckett asked, telling by the way Julia was biting on her lower lip that she was struggling with something she wanted to say.
"It's taking too long for you and Castle to get married," Julia burst out. She then ducked her head, thinking her mother would be angry she'd said that. "I'm sorry," she said quickly.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Beckett said, unaware that Castle was close enough to hear them, but not enough to be seen by Julia who was facing the door. She then sighed and said, "We haven't been engaged for too long though sweetie, not even four months. But I should tell you a secret; I really wish we could talk about it."
"Why not?" Julia asked as her mother got the last of the dye off her arms and began to dry her off.
"It's a little complicated sweetie, but we do want to get married, and we'll let you know the second we set a date and what we'll do to get ready for it," Beckett said. "I'm guessing you want to be involved right?"
"Yes please," Julia said seriously. But she broke out into a smile when her mother lightly laughed at that, and shared a kiss with her. "Can I be a flower girl?"
"We'll see what we do for the ceremony," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her daughter. "But if we do need a flower girl, I'm sure there's not going to be any other choice but you."
Turning to leave then before his fiancée and Julia could find him there listening in, Castle decided that he and Beckett needed to speak, and badly. As he sat down on the couch to wait for them to join him, he decided he knew when he could do it, and as he could hear his mother behind him exclaiming over the eggs left to dry in the kitchen, he knew how he could do it, smiling at Julia as she ran up to him for a hug.
"Grandpapa!" Julia squealed when she saw Jim standing on the sidewalk outside the park. She ran up to him and once he was holding her, hugged him tightly around the neck. "Happy Easter."
"Happy Easter Julia," Jim said, kissing her cheek. "Are you ready to look for eggs?"
"Yeah, where do I go?" she asked excitedly.
"This way," Castle said, gesturing down the path. He took Julia's hand as her grandfather set her down, and led the way to where other kids were gathered with their parents and families. Once there was a quick speech, the children were allowed to go through the park, and he was quick to step after the little girl when he felt a hand grab his arm. "What?" he asked, turning to his fiancée.
"You might want to calm down, don't run after her," Beckett said simply as she slid her hand into his arm and curled it up around the upper arm.
"That might scare her?" Castle asked as he walked with her after Julia.
"No, you might trip and fall," Beckett said in an offhand tone of voice. "And ruin my plans for tonight," she said under her breath.
"What?" Castle asked.
"Get your phone, I want you to film her when she finds her first egg," Beckett said instead, ignoring his question.
Glancing sidelong at her as he'd heard her easily, Castle decided not to push on that, and instead took his phone from his pocket. He set up the video app and pressed play as he saw Julia had gone to the end of a slide in the playground, picking up the yellow egg there.
"Mommy, look!" Julia cried as she waved it back and forth in her hand.
"We see sweetie, you did a great job," Beckett said.
"Let go," Castle suddenly whispered to her.
Without questioning it, Beckett immediately released his arm, and saw that Julia's dance teacher was walking to them with her wife and father. "Miss-" she started to say.
"Just Amber," the woman said with a smile. "We're not stalking you; we're actually finishing buying an apartment across the street at The Robinson."
"That's a great building. Good lofts," Castle said. "I almost got one there myself."
"For the time being my father is moving in with us…" Amber began, smiling as Julia was running to them.
"Hi Miss Amber," the little girl said, slightly shyly as she hugged her mother, her Easter basket still in hand. "I practiced," she said.
"That's great to hear," Amber said. "You know Miss Yvette, and this is my dad. I told them about you being the hardest working dancer in the ballet class."
Beckett smiled, since she knew it wasn't so much a compliment, but the truth, and said, "What do you say sweetie?" to her daughter gently.
"Thank you," Julia whispered though she was smiling.
"Costa?" a startled Jim said behind the group. Everyone turned to the man; including Amber's father who'd seen the reactions on the others' faces. "It is you, how are you?" he said, talking very slowly as he went to shake the man's hand.
Beckett glanced at Castle, seeing he was surprised too, and then watched as her dad and Costa had a conversation using the pad of paper the man had. "I guess they know each other," she said as she and her fiancé then had to go after Julia who hurried to find more eggs.
"They did, you still wanted to talk?" Castle asked since Amber was behind them.
"How are you doing?" Beckett then asked since he'd turned to follow Julia.
"I'm fine, I just wanted to make sure Julia was okay," Amber said. "She does want to dance doesn't she?"
"She does, but she's a little self conscious, so compliments bring out that reaction in her," Beckett explained. "But she appreciated what you said I know. So you're moving into a new place."
"Yeah, with Maman's inheritance and the income we'll make from the classes we'll be alright. Plus Yvette's been hired by a Flamenco dance troupe," Amber said.
"That's getting pretty popular now," Castle said, coming back to them with Julia. "How goes the renaming process?"
"Last I heard from the school they were going to do it," Amber said with a smile. "So the studio will now be called the Madame Démodé Dance Studio, the least I could do for her."
"She'd be proud," Beckett said before the woman's wife called to her. "Enjoy your Easter."
"Thank you, I hope you do too, and I'll see you tomorrow after school for ballet Julia," Amber said before she left.
"Bye," Julia said. "She doesn't look sad."
"She is inside I'm sure," Beckett told her. "So tell me what you found sweetie."
Walking back to his mother and Beckett's dad who were sitting on a bench by the playground, Castle said, "So you know him."
"Before he went bankrupt, Costa was pretty well known," Jim said, taking Julia on his lap as she ran to him. "Everyone knew that while he couldn't speak he was still the powerhouse behind the firm, so he was well respected. He wants to get back into law though; we were talking about that before they left."
"Is there a place at your firm?" Beckett asked.
"I'm not sure, I gave him the address, and he'll be by tomorrow he said," Jim replied. "We'll have to see. So are you finished looking for eggs?" he asked his granddaughter.
"No, I wanna find some more," Julia said earnestly, shaking one egg.
"Well, I think I need to head back to the apartment. Silly me," Martha said as Julia looked at her. "I forgot I have a very important phone call that's going to come in, so I need to return. I'm sorry kiddo, but I want to see all the eggs you find once you come back."
"Kay," Julia said as she was set down on the ground by her grandfather. "You go too Grandpapa?"
"I'll be at Castle's though, I was in charge of getting dessert and I still need to get it," Jim said before Julia nodded and went back down the path with her mother and Castle. "I think we convinced her," he commented to Martha.
"Thank goodness. Now let's hurry, because Richard was so specific about where to hide all her eggs he actually sent me a folder over the phone with pictures of where they're supposed to go," she replied, rolling her eyes slightly. "But you have to admire his effort."
"He did that with Alexis?" Jim asked as they were leaving the park.
"In a way, but he seems to be trying to prove to… one of them, still, that he'll be a good father," Martha explained.
"Which he's doing pretty well at I think, I can't really complain," Jim said in response before they crossed to the bakery down the street from the loft.
Back in the park, Castle had picked Julia up so she could get another egg in a tree, and he set her down so she could search in the bushes they were near. "A little weird," he commented as he waited with Beckett.
"That we met them here?" she asked. "Who knows, maybe they are stalking us." She smiled when Castle merely looked at her, and she squeezed his arm before walking after Julia who was running down the length of the bushes. "Okay sweetie," she said when the little girl had gotten another egg. "I think that's enough, you got enough to cover the bottom of your basket."
"Kay, can I open them now?" Julia asked, taking the basket off her arm.
"Why don't we wait until we're back at the loft? That way your grandfather and my mom can see what you got," Castle said quickly. When Julia nodded he took her basket so Beckett could carry her, and they walked back to his building.
Inside his loft, Martha was looking at the screen of her phone and nodded saying, "I believe that's all of them, and I will tell my son that next year he and Kate need to be doing this on their own."
"I'll add my agreement to that. But Julia will love this I'm sure," Jim said as Martha nodded in concurrence. Their heads both turned to the door as they could hear Castle putting his key in the lock, and they went to the kitchen where there were glasses of wine and juice for them to have with lunch. "She might read me," he commented. "She's very perceptive."
"Oh she is, but you're lucky Richard planned out that trail of eggs leading up to that note and basket," Martha commented.
"Katie's been worried he might spoil her," Jim was able to comment. "But since she's never celebrated this before we're both in agreement he's acting like a father would…" he couldn't continue, as the door opened then; knowing Castle had delayed to give them time if they'd needed it.
"Hello darling, how was it?" Martha asked, having gone quickly to stand in front of the little girl before she could see the more visible eggs.
"Fun! Lots of eggs and I found a lot," Julia giggled as Castle looked at her with a confused look on his face at the way she'd worded that. "See?"
"I see, well, your grandfather and I came back at the same time, and look what we found," Martha said, stepping aside.
"Any chance to perform," Castle said to Beckett jokingly before she pushed on his arm.
Julia gasped when she saw the eggs, and ran to pick them up before picking up the note. "Do I read it?" she asked as her mother and Castle walked up to her.
"Go ahead," Beckett urged her.
"Julia," the little girl read slowly. "I h-hid the eg-eggs for you, ask your mommy and Castle to h-help. En… en… what's this?" she asked Castle as he was leaning down next to her.
"Enjoy," he said slowly. "Sound it out okay?"
"E-n-joy," Julia said before he nodded to her. "Enjoy your pre-pres-presents and say hi to Alexis. The E-a-Easter, Easter Bunny. Ohh, he knows Alexis," she said, looking up at her mother and Castle with wide eyes. "Can we look now?" she asked excitedly as she set the note back on the table.
"Go ahead," Beckett said, looking at Castle; as he'd written the note.
"Let me empty your basket," he said quickly. "So you have room for the other eggs." When he handed it back to Julia, she took his hand instead of the basket, and led him over to his office where she took an egg that was on his desk. He glanced back at Beckett, seeing that she was fighting a smile. He made a face at her before he watched as Julia looked through the shelves under the TV, finding the eggs he'd had his mother and Beckett's dad set there. There were a mix of the eggs they'd dyed the day before, and plastic ones with items he and Beckett had bought.
"Look, this one is heavy," Julia said, shaking it.
"No cheating," Castle said teasingly as he tickled her sides to her sharp giggle. He held out the basket so she could set the egg inside, and then followed her out to the kitchen. "How did I get to be the one holding this?" he asked Beckett as she came up behind them.
"She wants you to," she replied simply, smiling a little. "Honestly, you need to help her."
"Right," Castle said, seeing she was passing by a cabinet where one was. He steered her back to it and said, "I think we should check each one okay? Who knows how many eggs are around here that he left."
Following them, Beckett helped Julia when she could, but she had left hiding the eggs to Castle, as she wanted him to have that, since he'd celebrated Easter with Alexis sooner than she'd last celebrated it as a kid. When her daughter had found what she thought was the last egg, she looked on as Castle counted hurriedly, and then let Julia go to the couch where her dad and his mother were sitting. "That's all of them?" she asked him in a low tone as he took off his jacket.
"It is," Castle said. "She did pretty well."
"She did. Come on," Beckett said, taking his hand.
"But lunch…" Castle started to say, turning back to the fridge.
"The sandwiches aren't going anywhere," Beckett said simply as she led him over to join the others as Julia was starting to open her plastic eggs.
"That would be creepy if they did," Castle said before his fiancée sat down, giving him a look. He joined her in the armchair next to her quickly, watching Julia as she pulled out a small candy out of an egg from the park.
"Easter dinners were never really like this," Beckett was saying as she watched Castle set the ham in the middle of the table. "For us."
"They weren't really for us either," he told her. "But we'd always have ham, that was a tradition Mother's family would do; she continued it with me and Alexis."
"And we'll do this every year," Beckett stated.
"Every year," Castle said. "Well, not the egg hunts, once she gets older then we should probably stop."
"Probably," Beckett said, shaking her head with a slight smile. She turned to the others who were playing with Julia's game of jacks she'd gotten, and her smile grew a little wider seeing her dad trying to help his granddaughter pick up more than one of the metal shapes. "Are you hungry sweetie?" she asked, walking over to them.
"Yeah, are we having dinner?" Julia asked, looking up.
Holding out her hand, Beckett took Julia into Castle's bathroom and helped her wash her hands saying, "I think you had a fun time today didn't you?"
"Lots and lots," Julia said happily. "But do I have to go to school tomorrow?"
"You do," Beckett said simply. "But remember, after is your first ballet class with Miss Amber."
Julia smiled widely in excitement at that, but then frowned, looking a little troubled as her mother washed her hands.
"What's wrong?" Beckett asked her daughter.
"Is it bad that I'm happy to learn from Miss Amber?" Julia asked.
"I don't think so," a voice said from the doorway. Castle smiled slightly as the two looked at him and he stepped inside, picking the little girl up. "I think," he said as he held his arm out to Beckett so she'd walk with him. "That you should keep learning how to dance, and your dance studio is going to be named after Madame Claude, so you'll be honoring her memory doing that."
"Even dancing Ballroom?" Julia said.
"Even that," Beckett said as they walked out of his bedroom and to the table. She glanced at her fiancé as his hand slid down to the small of her back, and she was quickly reminded of her plans. But they rejoined his mother and her dad, so she pushed that away, concerning herself more with the meal.
"I'll have to spend Thanksgiving and Easters here," Jim said when they were in the middle of dinner.
"I hope you do," Beckett said. "Eat your ham sweetie," she told her daughter, who was focusing more on her mashed Japanese yams since they had marshmallows on them. "Since we'll be here of course."
"Of course," Jim said. He was going to speak again, intending to ask about their wedding; already knowing the two couldn't get married yet; but wanting to know if they had at least thought about it. But he held off, watching his daughter and her fiancé both trying to get Julia to eat her other food. He smiled for a brief moment at that, and then said, "You haven't told me yet, Julia," to get her attention. When she was looking at him; Castle feeding her broccoli from her plate; he chuckled slightly at the look his granddaughter shot Castle at that; and waited for her to finish chewing before he said, "You didn't tell me about school since I picked you up on Wednesday."
Julia's attention was focused on telling her grandfather about her class, so much so that her mother and Castle were able to get her to eat the rest of the food on her plate. They didn't feed her outright, instead picking things up with her fork before handing the utensil to her. When she finished she looked at her mother and asked, "Can we have dessert?"
"Actually," Castle said. "I think for our cake we're going to have, we need some coffee, and I'm craving the café down the street. You too didn't you say?"
Looking at him for a moment, Beckett then let a little smile spread across her face and said, "I did, you want to walk with us Julia?"
"Kay, do we go now?" the little girl asked, eager to get to walk outside.
"I just need to-" Castle started to say as he turned on the faucet.
"Get your coat and then go," Martha said, turning off the water. "Go, you cooked Richard, you get tonight off."
Squeezing his mother's hand in thanks, Castle was about to leave when she stopped him. "What?" he asked, glancing quickly over to Beckett who was getting her coat with Julia.
"Stop staring at your fiancée's legs long enough for you to watch where you're going while you're out walking," Martha said in a low enough tone for only him to hear. At the look her son gave her she replied with, "What? I could see you all day since we left for the egg hunt. Now go."
"You might need this," Jim said, handing his daughter the large umbrella Castle had in the front closet.
"It's raining again?" Beckett asked, glancing to the windows and seeing the rain streaking down it.
"I hope you'll be able to stay dry," Martha said, joining them at the door.
"We will," Castle said, finishing buttoning his coat. He took Julia's hand and followed Beckett out the door. While they were walking down the hall he took his fiancée's hand, unaware that his mother and her dad were watching as Beckett instead slipped her hand into his arm, holding the upper part tightly.