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: The title of this story is a lyric from the song I'm Only Sleeping written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album Revolver. The title of this prologue is a lyric from the song A Certain Softness written by Paul McCartney, from his album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.
Surer Than Anything That's Sure
"Go Mommy!" Eliza cried happily.
"Easy honey," Jim told his granddaughter, trying to calm her down.
"Oops," Eliza said with a smile before she turned her attention back to the polo field below them.
Smiling at her little sister, Julia looked at the field herself shortly after where the final of the charity tournament their parents were playing in was going on. She held back a cheer when Beckett passed the ball to Castle, and he took it down the field before he was scoring a goal and they could finally let out a cheer to celebrate.
"Nice," Beckett told her husband while he trotted up to her.
"I had a nice pass," Castle said. He paused for a moment and asked, "That didn't sound dirty, did it?"
"No," Beckett replied before they were joining up with the Fosters.
"No good luck kiss?" Castle asked.
Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye Beckett then leaned over to him and they were kissing gently. "You're going to keep scoring, aren't you?" she asked him wryly.
"Yes," Castle said simply.
"You two are so lucky we're used to you doing that," Rebecca said in amusement.
"It's a little late to protest now you know," Castle said jokingly.
"Let's just keep going with the game," David said in mock annoyance before they were heading back to start again.
"I hope they can win," Mari murmured to her friend while they were watching the game in front of them.
"Me too," Julia said because her parents had won the games they'd played since the tournament had started the afternoon the day before. She was happy seeing her father scoring twice more before the game was over and she was cheering with the others in their group as the riders from both teams were shaking hands while still on their horses.
"We better get going," David told the three with him. "We have the ceremony."
"Why is there a ceremony if this is supposed to be a charity tournament?" Beckett asked in obvious confusion.
"Make it more… pleasing to the higher caste," Castle said. When he saw his teammates were looking at him, he pretended to jump and said, "Hey, just kidding."
Beckett wanted to comment on that, but they were reaching the handlers and getting down from their ponies. She patted hers on the neck before she stepped up to her husband, just as he was grabbing her and pulling her to him tightly. She nearly gasped into his mouth while he kissed her but managed to hold back and instead responded to him eagerly before they were slowly parting. "Not long," she said teasingly.
"I had to," Castle replied simply before she brushed her lips to his.
"Interesting," Rebecca said when the two had let go of each other. Seeing Beckett's questioning expression she explained, "Your helmets aren't banging together."
Immediately grabbing her husband's arm before the smart ass comment she knew was on his lips could be spoken, Beckett then said, "The tilt of our heads; it's not the first time we've kissed with them on. Are we changing first or going as is?"
Since his wife was giving him a look, David said, "As is, hopefully it'll be quick."
"We're not going to get a trophy or anything are we?" Castle asked, taking his wife's hand once she'd taken off her gloves after they'd started walking.
"No, just medallions and we have to take a picture for the Report," David said.
"I had a feeling we'd have to do that," Beckett said, mimicking an irritated tone. She then said, "Medallions?"
"Small, small box for each of us," David explained.
"One of his friends got that a couple years ago for this same tournament," Rebecca was quick to add.
Nodding Beckett turned her attention to a table before they were shaking hands with the runners of the tournament, accepting their congratulations before one of the women of the group started to speak about the charity. Though she was pleased to hear money had been raised for inner city children to have more experiences with horses and riding, she couldn't help looking around for hers and Castle's children. She soon spotted their family, finding them by Martha's jacket which was a vivid magenta before she smiled and waved as inconspicuously as she could at the girls.
"Easy," Julia said in Josie's ear when the toddler whimpered gently at the sight of their mother.
"You can't let her go?" Eliza asked before she glanced up at their grandmother when Martha squeezed her shoulder.
"Easy girls, the ceremony should be finished soon," Castle's mother said quietly.
"Mama," Josie said before she was being given to Alexis. Before she could speak her sister kissed her temple and soon began murmuring to her gently.
"We'll see her in a second okay," Alexis told her baby sister. She was relieved when the toddler calmed down and then turned her attention back to the speeches while a few others were talking.
Castle was doing his best not to fidget when it seemed like everyone in the charity's group was talking. But finally, they were given their medallions in small boxes, shaking hands with the members running the charity before they were allowed to go to their families. "Hey, easy," he said with a smile when Julia and Eliza rushed to them. He hugged the two when they'd reached him first and said, "I guess you're happy?"
"Yeah, it was a close game," Eliza said first since the other team had scored two goals.
"Those are the best," Castle said jokingly.
"You did a great job," Julia said when she turned to her mother and hugged her. She smiled when they parted and told her, "You had fun right?"
"Of course," Beckett said in amusement before she handed the box with the medallion in it to her. "I know you wanted to see this," she teased her.
"Cool," Julia said after studying it for a moment. "Are you going to keep it out?"
"Your dad wants to put it with his trophies he's gotten from polo in our office," Beckett replied, glancing at him.
"You're sure about that," Castle said, turning from greeting Alexis and Louis.
"I told you I was, unless you get more," Beckett replied with a smile. "Then we'll have to rethink that."
"Yeah," Castle said with a nod. Turning his attention to his mother he was going to hug her when she was quick to stop him.
"This is a new jacket," Martha said. "And you smell very strongly of horse."
"I told you Dad," Julia said with a smile.
"We made a bet about it," Castle said. "Since we knew how much you liked your jacket."
"No we didn't," Julia said rapidly to her grandmother. She then said, "We just said you wouldn't want to hug him after the game; not because of your clothes though."
"The smell, clever girl," Martha said, smiling when Julia giggled, and her son rolled his eyes. "The others headed to the house already."
"They told us they'll congratulate you there," Jim said.
"So you can shower?" Eliza asked.
Laughing with the others briefly, Beckett said, "No, there's a lot of us here we need to greet," before she turned to the Fosters who were walking to them.
"You're leaving too?" Castle asked jokingly.
"To head to the showers," David said firmly. "And then to your house; the girls want to go swimming."
"Of course," Castle said. "But we don't own the beach…"
"Rick," Beckett said, though her voice was tinged with amusement.
"Right, we'll meet you guys back there too," Castle said quickly.
"We can go swimming once we get home right?" Julia asked.
"We'd like it if you guys could wait for us," Beckett said.
"We will, we'll wait," Eliza said hurriedly.
"Thank you, we won't take too long," Rebecca said, though she was speaking to her youngest who'd been tugging at her hand.
"We'll look for shells," Julia said quickly. "Jake was talking about another sand village."
"Go ahead, we'll be out on the beach once we change," Castle replied before they watched their families leaving. "Was Josie okay?" he asked his wife.
"Yeah, Alexis kept her," Beckett replied. "We better go."
"We're taking her?" Castle asked, not surprised when his wife nodded at once. They began walking towards the locker rooms and he said, "You know there are two of us and two separate rooms with showers," not surprised the mayor was responding to that first.
"You know you have a point," David said.
"Stop it," Rebecca told her husband firmly. "We're separating and just showering. The kids are waiting for us."
"Are we in trouble?" David asked his friend when their wives were walking away from them.
"I doubt it," Castle said in amusement when they began walking after them. "Though you don't blame me for trying."
"No, but we're not sharing a shower," David said, not surprised his friend pulled a disgusted look on his face before they were going into the men's side of the building.
"I was going to tell them they needed to not share one," Beckett said once she and Rebecca were inside.
"Me too, but David knows," the lawyer said with a smile.
Beckett was smiling herself before she turned her attention to getting her uniform off and slipping into the shower. She and Rebecca talked idly about the plans for the rest of the day and when she was toweling herself off, she said, "I'm just glad the older kids are doing alright."
"Me too," Rebecca said. "Though I know Mari doesn't have to worry about her next year too much."
"Julia's luckily talked to Jake and Eve about high school," Beckett replied.
"Is she ready for graduation?" Rebecca asked while they stepped out from the shower stalls.
"Yeah, it's straightforward," Beckett replied with a smile. "And she's lucky she can wait outside after she gets her diploma."
"Mari too next year," Rebecca said with a nod.
"She's got time," Beckett said at the look on her friend's face. She wasn't surprised when Rebecca didn't comment on that before they separated to change. As she pulled on her bathing suit and then shirt and Capri pants she smiled at the sight of the blouse, since it had been a gift from all four of her daughters for Mother's Day nearly two weeks before.
"Hey, did you get that for Mother's Day?" Rebecca asked her friend when they met each other by the door.
"I did," Beckett said with a brief nod. "The girls got it for me."
"All four?" Rebecca asked. When her friend nodded, she said, "You mentioned you did something for Alexis."
"That was Louis' idea, at Julia and Eliza's suggestion," Castle said since the two women had stepped out in time for him and David to hear that. "It wasn't anything big since she's a mother-to-be as they were saying."
"But it was sweet," Beckett said quickly before they were walking to the parking lot and their cars. She and Castle related to their friends what they'd done at a breakfast they'd had all together on the patio since the weather had turned out nice that day.
"I hope you don't mind Mom," Julia said when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Why would I? There are three of us here now," Beckett replied with a smile. "What's going to happen when you and your sisters become mothers."
"Way in the future," Castle said jokingly. He laughed when Julia nodded and hurried past him before he turned his attention to his wife. "Happy Mother's Day love," he told her before she was smiling at the same time she spoke.
"Thank you, and before you ask, I didn't mind you not being there with the girls," Beckett replied. She stepped up to him and gently brushed her lips to his before he was grabbing her, pulling her close to kiss her before they heard Josie down the hall.
"Mama eat!" the toddler called.
Laughing Beckett shared a brief kiss with her husband and picked Josie up once she'd reached her down the hall from the bottom of the stairs. "We're heading outside?" she asked the others.
"Everything is ready," Louis said before his mother-in-law turned to him. "Happy Mother's Day Kate."
"Thank you, Louis," Beckett said. She glanced at the kitchen and then asked, "Do we need to take anything?"
"Everything's out there," Castle said before he led the way outside. Down under the cover of the patio he urged his wife to sit at the end of the table before she shook her head and turned to his mother.
"I think you deserve this seat Martha," Beckett told her.
"Thank you, kiddo," she said with a smile. "We're going back to normal tomorrow."
"Of course," Beckett said, glancing back at her husband when he helped her into her chair to his mother's right. Across the table she wasn't surprised to find Louis helping Alexis sit to Martha's left and she said, "Are we doing the same at lunch and dinner?"
"We don't have to at lunch," Julia said swiftly. "Since we're eating at the family fun place."
"Any excuse for the cloches Dad," Alexis then teased her father.
"Tell me you don't like the convenience," Castle shot back jokingly, sitting at the end of the table to Julia's left.
"I do, but what are we supposed to do with…" Alexis began before her husband was taking the cover off her grandmother's plate.
"I volunteered to take care of these," Louis commented.
"I said I would, but Dad said I was a little too short," Julia said.
Shaking her head Beckett said to her husband, "You should have just told her you wanted to put our son in law to work." Smiling at him when he playfully pouted, she said, "But we should eat."
"We should," Castle said, hoping he'd affected a nonchalant tone. When no one commented on that he was relieved and then turned his attention to his food. He wasn't surprised when discussion soon after went to Memorial Day Weekend and he said, "I'm surprised you girls aren't disappointed still."
"We are," Julia said slowly, when her sister was looking at her to respond. "But we understand why they decided to do something different with the video."
"I don't," Eliza mumbled. She noticed everyone was looking at her and she straightened her back before saying, "I wanted to go to Mill Valley," to try and explain what she'd said.
"We all did," Castle commented. "Finish your food," he urged the little girl, noticing shortly after that his wife was watching him. He went back to his food and when they'd finished, he quickly excused himself to go inside, hearing Eliza talking after him.
"You didn't take your plate Daddy," the little girl said.
"I think he's coming back," Julia said.
"And about Memorial Day," Beckett said, getting her daughters' attention. "We'll spend it here at the house and swim," she told them. "And have some barbeques, okay? We'll go to Mill Valley in the summer, but we want to stay here this month."
"Are you sure about that?" Castle asked while he walked back down to the table.
"Now you aren't?" Beckett asked with a smile.
"Are we going to Mill Valley?" Eliza asked with a gasp.
"Actually, I planned something else," Castle said, handing the papers he held to his wife.
"What is it?" Julia asked interestedly.
"St. Croix," Beckett replied, smiling at her husband.
"What's that?" Eliza asked in obvious confusion.
"It's an island," Julia said. "Right?"
"In the Caribbean," Castle said. "Part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Sorry," he said, directing that to his son in law.
"That's alright," Louis replied laughingly. "There's the British Virgin Islands too. And if there'd been an Irish Virgin Islands…" he said to Castle jokingly.
Shaking her head Beckett said, "It looks like we're going on a trip."
"What's there?" Julia asked eagerly.
"Swimming, nice swimming," Alexis said, smiling when her little sisters looked to her though Josie was smiling.
"Water?" the toddler asked.
"Exactly," Castle said. Since he was still standing with his wife, he kissed the top of their youngest's head and said, "We'll stay in a villa at The Buccaneer hotel, and we get our own pool, and we're really close to the beach. Now I don't have anything set outside of that so your mom and I need to see what we can do."
"We couldn't just… stay at the resort?" Martha asked.
"If you want to go ahead," Castle said. "There's a town nearby," he continued, speaking to his wife. "But I need to look into it, we do," he said, quickly correcting himself.
"We will," Beckett said, looking around the table. She then thought of something and asked her husband, "Who's going with us?"
"We all are," Castle answered with a smile, taking a moment to glance around the table at the others to see their reactions.
"Us here at the Hamptons?" Alexis asked.
"And the McDouglases," Castle continued before he glanced at Julia.
Gasping, the teen said, "Paul and Nancy too?"
"And Stella with her family," Castle replied with a nod.
"Are we taking over the resort?" Beckett asked her husband.
"Basically," Castle said, squeezing her hand back when she took his. "And I told them; when I talked to Paul; they don't need to follow us or hang around with us. But he said they'll likely go around the island if we do that."
"I hope you plan the trip soon," Julia said, not surprised he laughed at her tone before he was responding.
"We will, as soon as we can," Castle said.
"I'm guessing tomorrow?" Beckett asked wryly. She wasn't surprised when her husband's response was to lean over and kiss her gently before he was getting the plates.
"Do we need to help?" Eliza asked.
"No," Castle said, pausing when his wife took his hand.
"Thank you, Rick," Beckett said.
"You're welcome," Castle said, smiling at the others when they were echoing her. He pressed a brief kiss to the back of his wife's hand and then said, "But I thought we could use another island trip; closer to home."
"It's a good idea Daddy," Eliza told him.
"It'll be better once we get a few places to go," Castle said laughingly, returning to collecting the plates.
"What about driving around the island?" Julia asked. "Biking, I know Paul likes doing that," she said swiftly.
"That's a possibility," Castle replied. "We'll be back," he told them while he, Louis and Jim took the plates and cloches up to the kitchen.
"I'm so excited," Eliza said.
"What if we had stayed here?" Alexis asked. She couldn't help laughing with the others when the little girl shrugged before she stopped herself and said, "At least you would have been okay with it."
"Yeah, at least we can swim here too," Eliza said with a nod before they were turning at the sound of Louis walking down to them.
"Here you go," the young man said, setting down the vase he had in front of his wife before he motioned to Julia.
Nodding, the teen jumped up and went up to the kitchen as fast as she could before she was inside. "You have something for Mom?" she asked her father.
"This," Castle said.
"Great, what about Gram?" Julia said.
"I'm here," Eliza said before Castle could speak. "Are we taking the vase for Mommy?"
"No, Gram," Julia said swiftly.
"She's not my mother girls," Castle said, though he was looking at Julia while he spoke.
"Still," Julia replied, her sister nodding in agreement.
"Why don't you take the one for your gram," Castle said, giving the vase to Julia. "And you take this to your mom," he added firmly, directing that to Eliza.
"Yeah, I don't think he'll let us leave without them," Julia said when her little sister looked at her questioningly. "Give her flowers this week Dad," she then told him.
"Just go," Castle said in mock annoyance. He wasn't surprised when they giggled and left with Jim before he made sure everything was ready and departed to return to the patio himself.
"Are you going to tell us what these mean Dad?" Alexis asked once her father was sitting again.
"Louis? You got her the flowers," Castle said to his son in law pointedly.
"Right, well…" Louis started to say. When he saw the way his wife was looking at him, he knew he couldn't avoid it and said, "Where I looked it said sunflowers resemble expectant mothers when they grow bigger. They need more care and attention too," holding himself for her response before she was soon after speaking.
"You're so lucky I find that adorable," Alexis told her husband. She laughed softly when he started to nod rapidly and pulled him to her before they were sharing a kiss. After they had parted, she asked her father, "Any meaning to the tulips Mom and Gram have?"
"Not really," Castle said.
"We picked them because we liked the colors," Julia said.
"They're beautiful," Martha said firmly, touching one of the pink and white tulips. "Thank you for them girls."
After the two had both told their grandmother you're welcome, Beckett thanked them for her purple and white tulips and then said, "We need to get ready you know."
"What's left?" Eliza asked in surprised since they were already dressed.
"I think she means getting the table cleared," Julia said.
"She's right," Castle said. "Help us girls," he told the two before they were all standing and taking what was left on the table so they could leave for their day at the family fun center with their friends.
"Mommy, come look!" Eliza said, hurrying to her mother.
"I see," Beckett replied with a smile. "You were yelling about your whelk."
"Yeah, it's pretty isn't it?" Eliza asked.
"Very," Beckett replied. "Go and give it to your grandmother so you can go back into the water."
"Thanks," Eliza replied before she walked quickly up the sand.
"Hey love," Beckett said, turning her attention to her husband who was returning from the water.
"Hey, do you guys want to head out to swim?" Castle asked.
"I go!" Josie said happily.
"I think that answers it," Castle said before he saw the look his wife was giving him.
"What do you have in mind Rick?" Beckett asked him jokingly.
"Nothing," Castle said honestly. "If I did, I would have had you help me grab something from the basement."
"Good point," Beckett said before they turned to watch Eliza hurry past them to the other young kids.
"Wait," Lily called to the three.
"Are you guys going into the water? Lils wanted to take Sophie," Brad told them when they were close.
"Hi," Sophie said to Josie.
"Eh," the toddler replied.
"That doesn't make sense," Castle told her.
"Dada," Josie laughed before she reached out to him.
"We're going right now," Beckett said, turning and walking into the water. After they had gotten far enough for the toddlers to be waist deep, she said, "I think that's as far as I'm taking her."
"Agreed," Lily said though her husband had their youngest.
"You don't want to take her under the waves?" Brad asked her.
"Not really," Lily replied before she kissed the side of Sophie's head.
"Mama I swim," the toddler told her.
"Of course," Lily said before she nodded to her husband.
"Want me to take her?" Castle asked, watching with his wife while the chief was helping Sophie float in the water so she could kick her legs.
"Sure," Beckett said before she went to Lily.
"It's a little weird we aren't doing that," the chef commented.
"What do you want?" Beckett asked in mock annoyance.
"I'm wondering about St. Croix," Lily said. "Did you guys get anything?"
"Brad knows," Beckett told her.
"Hey," the chief said, having heard that.
"Don't get mad at him," Castle then said. "We decided to honestly just stay around the resort and go around the nearby town. There is one trip we're debating, there's a boat that heads out to a place called Buck Island. It might be fun to do that one day."
"Sounds good to me," Darnley said. "I'm guessing we're just going to stay by the beach?"
"That's a problem?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded slowly, pretending to be serious, she playfully splashed him and said, "Liar."
"No, I can't wait for it," Darnley said. "How many people are fitting in that villa you talked about."
"There's a cottage off it," Castle replied. "I figured the McCartneys can go there, and Skye said she and her family will take the new one they built next to it. The rest is six bedrooms…" he said, trailing off before his wife's friend laughed.
"So that means we'll have to double up?" Darnley asked in amusement.
"There are four couples," Beckett said. "That leaves two bedrooms for the kids and there's the main room; the hotel has air mattresses."
"Huh, you figured that out already," Darnley commented.
"Of course we did," Castle said. "We had to."
"Do your kids know?" Darnley asked.
"Yeah, we told them already and they don't mind," Beckett said.
"Julia called it a precursor to summer," Castle said.
"Makes sense," Darnley said, looking at the sand to see Julia was talking to the other kids. The name Christiansted drifted down to him, and he said, "The rest of them know too."
"I think we better go tell them love," Beckett said to her husband with a smile.
"Right," Castle said, picking up Josie to put her on his hip. He called to David and Rebecca who were returning from a swim out into the waves before he said, "Is that all of us?"
"Didn't Louis take Alexis for a walk?" Lily asked.
"They know the plans already," Castle said.
Seeing her husband hesitating Beckett said, "What's wrong?"
"Can we really call it plans?" Castle asked.
"Good grammar, and yes, it is," Beckett told him before she smiled in amusement. She squeezed his hand before they were gathering around where her father and his mother were sitting watching them. She was about to tell them why they'd stopped swimming; besides the fact they should move to the pool room, when Julia was hurrying up to them with the other kids and calling out at the same time.
"Are we going inside?" the teen asked.
"In a second," Castle said, waiting for David and Rebecca to reach them. Once everyone who'd been in the water had their towels, he explained about what he and his wife had found to do while they were on St. Croix. "If anyone wants to do something by themselves you can," he said when he had finished.
"I think it sounds fun," Eve said.
"Very," Jacob said, nodding in agreement with his sister.
"But… what can we do at the hotel besides swimming?" Eliza asked.
"There's kayaking and the site said there were beach toys," Castle replied. "So… we could do that too."
"I hope you guys still want to go," Beckett said teasingly, laughing with the others when they were chorusing yeses. "I'm glad we have that set; do you guys want to head into the pool room now?" she asked them.
Laughing when the kids said yes for a second time, Castle said, "Then help us and we'll go."
While she was getting one of the blankets they used, Beckett watched her husband talking to Eliza about what the beach toys might be before they were all ready. Heading up the yard to the house she was walking with him and said, "I don't know who was more excited for that."
"The toys? I can't help it," Castle replied. "But kayaking sounds fun."
"It does, but let's wait and see what the ocean is like there before we commit to it," Beckett told him. She studied him and then said, "Did you already look into that?"
"It looks calm," Castle said, nodding his head. He stopped her before he brushed his lips to hers and said, "You don't mind."
"Stop asking me that," Beckett replied in mock annoyance since it wasn't the first time he'd inquired. "I know why you want me to go there but you're seeing me in my bikini now aren't you?"
"With lots of blue around you," Castle commented before he watched her rolling her eyes. He was surprised when she wrapped her arm around him before they kissed, and he was about to comment after that she didn't mind when she was speaking swiftly.
"I had a feeling," Beckett replied. She kissed him gently and said, "But until then we better go; someone's going to say something."
"And forget to shower and change," Castle commented before they walked swiftly together to the pool room. "Who opened the windows?" he called when he saw the wall was opened to the backyard.
"We did," Darnley said.
"Us," Brad said.
"Thanks," Castle said. "Now go shower," he told them, not surprised when the men were grumbling though he knew it was feigned. He followed them after squeezing his wife's hand and once they were at the outside showers, he was waiting to take his turn before he was one of the first at the pool.
"Daddy," Eliza said, walking over to him.
"Yeah?" Castle asked her with a smile.
"Are you gonna show everyone the book you made?" Eliza asked.
"No," Beckett said, walking outside in time to hear that. "It's not that interesting."
"I think so," Eliza said.
"Because we took those pictures before you were born," Castle said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "But your mom is right; plus we have a while until dinner so you can go swimming," he added before the little girl was hurrying to her friends.
"I was wondering if she was going to mention that," Beckett said in amusement when her husband turned to her.
"I wasn't surprised," Castle said honestly. "But that one we're keeping to ourselves."
"Why?" Brad asked, walking by them.
"It's just selfies and other pictures," Castle replied. "When Kate and I were dating." He couldn't help chuckling when his friend waved his hand and said, "I'll take her to the pool for you."
"Thanks," Beckett said with a smile, letting him take Josie from her. She turned to Darnley when she heard him walking up to her and asked, "You want to see it?"
"I was just wondering what was in it," the carpenter replied. "But you answered my question. Though which one's your favorite?"
Glancing at her friend for that question, Beckett said in amusement, "It's a selfie Rick insisted we take, and you can see the storm behind us that was about to dump hail on us."
"You got caught in hail?" Darnley asked in surprise, turning to see Lily and Rebecca had stopped by them.
"Big hail," Beckett said. "Half an inch. We were staying at a B&B by a hiking trail outside the Catskills," she explained. "It was in October, before Halloween."
"Two weeks before Halloween," Castle said when the group walked to the edge of the small pool where he was sitting on the edge with the younger kids. "Our second trip together."
"Why hiking?" Darnley said.
"He knew I didn't mind," Beckett replied in amusement. "Though that storm came out of nowhere."
"Still, it was fun," Castle said. "Up to that point," he added swiftly. He watched the parents disperse, going to their kids or to the main pool and he stood up since his wife was staying there. "Though the bruises weren't bad," he commented, not looking at her directly.
"I knew you were going to say that," Beckett said in mock annoyance. She hugged him gently and said, "Stay with her?"
"Until she wants to go on the slide," Castle said with a nod before Josie was suddenly calling to them.
"Dada slide!" the toddler said eagerly.
"You told her," Beckett said in amusement at the look on her husband's face. She kissed his cheek and told him, "Go love, she's not going to want to wait." When he grabbed her and kissed her gently on the lips before he pulled away, she told him in amusement, "I'm serious love."
"Goddess," Castle breathed to her before he turned his attention to the pool.
Watching him go for a moment, Beckett bit at her lower lip since he'd gently squeezed her arm before she went to the water. She tried not to let the memory of their second weekend trip overtake her thoughts, ducking under the water and swimming to the deep end to join Lily and Darnley. But it was difficult as it had been an enjoyable trip without any murder to interrupt their idyl.
"I never really saw you as a hiker," Castle told his girlfriend.
Glancing at him, Beckett said, "Where am I going to hike in the city."
"Good point, but any walking in the city is a hike," Castle commented. He watched her laughing before he said, "You're not too cold?"
"No, I'm fine," Beckett answered. "You're sure it's not going to rain right?"
"My app said it's not supposed to rain until this evening," Castle replied. "Should be romantic at dinner," he added.
"Hmm," Beckett said.
"You don't trust me? Or do you not like the romantic comment?" Castle asked, looking at her. When she merely smiled at him, he nearly growled before he said, "Okay, luckily we're near the waterfall," since he recognized some landmarks he'd seen hiking on the same trail before.
"Let me guess," Beckett said in amusement. "You want to take a selfie."
"Yeah, it's beautiful," Castle said seriously.
"Alright," Beckett replied while she studied him. They walked past some trees, and she paused seeing the waterfall going down the rocks and she said, "You're right."
Nodding, and telling himself not to gloat and ruin the mood of their hike, Castle got his phone from his pocket and asked her, "Now? That way we can enjoy this for a little before we head back."
"Sure," Beckett said, walking with him to the edge of the water. After they were looking away from it, she watched her boyfriend moving the phone around until they could see the waterfall behind them. Pressing her cheek to his with a smile, she was relieved when he worked quickly and immediately turned back around before getting her camera out from her bag and taking pictures.
Sitting on a rock by the water's edge, Castle watched his girlfriend before she was returning to him and put her camera back in her backpack for her. "Glad we came?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her once she had joined him on the rock.
"Yeah," Beckett said simply, smiling at the scenery. "It must be amazing in the spring."
"It is," Castle said with a nod. "A lot of flowers," he told her, kissing her gently when he finished. He pulled back, intending to look around them again, but was soon leaning into her and kissing her deeply. Feeling the way she was reacting to him he would have been pleased to continue for a while, but the sudden boom of thunder forced them apart and he was looking up at the sky with wide eyes before his girlfriend was speaking in concern.
"Will we be okay walking back?" Beckett asked.
"We can try," Castle said, sliding off the rock and taking her hand. They were walking rapidly back to the trail, and he groaned when he felt the rain beginning to fall on his head. "I'm sorry," he told her.
"You're not a meteorologist," Beckett said with a smile.
"No, but the app seemed to be certain about the rain being later," Castle said.
"You-" Beckett started to say before she gave a short cry of pain at something hitting her shoulder.
"It's hail," Castle said, looking up at the sky. He yelled in surprise when one hit him on the cheek, and they were running together.
"Is there anywhere we can go?" Beckett asked her boyfriend.
"Yeah, a cabin," Castle yelled to her. He tried to look around to recognize where the cabin was until he spotted the tree with forked branches, and he pulled his girlfriend after him. He was relieved to see the building was still there and they went inside in a rush before they turned back to look outside. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I think so," Beckett said. "You?" she asked him.
"Yeah," Castle said with a sigh. "I'm a little concerned."
Smiling Beckett told her boyfriend, "It looks like a short storm," since she could see the sky was lighter in the distance.
"But the rain might not let up," Castle told her.
"No, but we did get a nice hike," Beckett reassured him before she kissed his cheek.
Turning to her, Castle was going to kiss her harder when he realized the sound of the hail hitting the roof had eased up. Looking back outside, he said, "Just rain, do you want to try and risk it?"
"We should, I don't know when this will stop," Beckett said since it was pouring.
"There is a tub in our room," Castle commented.
"Of course," Beckett said before he was kissing her briefly on the lips. "Come on," she told him before she took his hand and they headed outside. They were alternating between walking fast and jogging to return to the cabin home their B&B was in. Luckily the owners didn't seem to mind them being soaking wet, only provided them with towels before letting Castle know their dinner would be delivered to their room at six. "I thought we were eating with everyone else?" she asked him while they were left alone to dry off.
"I thought it might be better to be on our own," Castle commented.
Beckett couldn't help laughing softly at how serious her boyfriend was and she squeezed his arm before drying it on her towel. "You're lucky I don't mind," she teased him.
"Yeah, I definitely realize that," Castle said with a nod. He followed her then to their room on the second floor and once they were inside, they went into the bathroom attached to it to remove their clothes. Once they'd finished, he couldn't help himself and he reached for her, pulling her against him tightly.
"Castle-" Beckett started to say before her boyfriend was kissing her. She was startled when he was gentle at first but was soon after responding when he deepened it. Clutching at him tightly while he slid his hands down to her ass, she moaned when he cupped her gently before she moved away carefully. She was about to tease him about being cold when he was speaking rapidly and leading her back out into the bedroom at the same time.
"You're cold," Castle said. "I should have gotten us into the bath."
"I'm fine," Beckett said. "Soaking wet, but I'll be fine," crossing her arms across her breasts when he let her go to start filling the tub. She couldn't help shivering as it was cold and told her boyfriend when he turned to her again, "I'm fine," speaking firmly.
"Let's get in," Castle urged her, sliding into the tub first. Once he was settled, he watched her following and when she was sitting between his legs, leaning back against him, he nuzzled the side of her head and told her, "Despite the storm that was… great."
"It was," Beckett replied, closing her eyes. While Castle was caressing her, she soon felt him jerking against her and she said, "What's wrong," while trying to look back at him.
"Your arms," Castle said in obvious concern.
Glancing down at them, Beckett was startled to discern there were bruises beginning to form and she turned the best she could. Finding he was holding his arms up to her she gently traced one of them and said, "I guess that's what happens when we run through hail."
"We would have gotten the same under the trees," Castle reminded her.
"That's why I ran," Beckett said. "And followed you," she finished with, smiling at him when he was gently kissing where the bruises were. While he looked up at her she drew him to her and they were kissing again, doing so deeply before she realized he was running his hands over her body. Gasping she pulled away but shortly after leaned into him again before she was turning to face him with her boyfriend's help. Straddling him she said, "You filled it."
Castle was about to speak before he hesitated and told her, "I was expecting to go back to the bed."
"I'm warm now," Beckett said.
"Yeah," Castle said swiftly before he let her go to stand up. He tried to hurry out of the tub to get her towel before she could reach it when his hand slipped on the side.
"Are you okay?" Beckett asked as she turned to him.
"I'm fine," Castle said though he was clenching his hand for a moment. "I am," he said quickly when he realized his girlfriend was looking at him.
"What were you trying to do?" Beckett asked after stepping on the rug to the side of the tub.
"Dry you off," Castle explained after a brief hesitation.
"That's sweet," Beckett said while she was toweling off her legs. "But you don't need to. And you need to hurry."
"I will," Castle said before he stood and took his towel from her. He dried off as swiftly as he could before getting a fire in the room's fireplace started, following his girlfriend to the bed.
"What?" Beckett asked, turning to him, and seeing he was looking at her in concern again.
"Your shoulders," Castle said with a frown. "We should have gone earlier."
"After what we were doing?" Beckett asked. When he frowned a little more deeply, she discarded her towel and moved to lay in the middle of the bed. "What we're going to do right now?" she added, looking at him pointedly.
Breathing out hard, Castle was quick to take off his towel and toss it aside. As soon as he was on the bed with her, he lay on top of her body and kissed her gently at first before he proceeded to deepen it. He was pleased when she responded, and he could have spent some time kissing her until Beckett was gently pushing him away before speaking teasingly.
"Why are you hovering over me?" she asked him. Beckett saw his momentary confusion before she told him, "I can't feel your cock."
Shuddering briefly, Castle brushed his lips to his girlfriend's before he moved lower to her breasts. He was brushing his lips there next and felt her enjoyment in it since her nails were sinking into his skin. After he moved lower, he was continuing to kiss her, a little harder since he couldn't resist and flicked his tongue out to her here and there until he was at her sex where he looked up at her.
"Please," Beckett begged in a heavy breath. With her boyfriend very firmly pressing a kiss to her mound, she cried out and settled herself back on the pillows to eagerly await his pleasuring of her.
"You're not going to write in your diary yet?" Mari asked Julia while she was leaving the bathroom.
"Not yet," the teen replied. She went to the doorway and looked out before she told her friend, "I was thinking of doing something; now it's warmer."
"What?" Mari said in surprise.
"Sneaking out later, when everyone is in their rooms," Julia said.
"To… the beach?" Mari asked.
"No, the gazebo," Julia said quickly. "I'd get in so much trouble if I went to the beach."
"You better believe it," Castle said, smiling when both girls jumped visibly. "I know it's fun to do that, but by the time we go to our rooms you'll be asleep."
"How do you know you'll take that long?" Julia asked, though she was relieved he wasn't mad.
"I just know," Castle said in amusement.
"Who're you talking to?" Julia asked.
"Skye and Mary; we need to tell them about St. Croix," Castle explained.
"Then… why did you come up?" Julia said in slight confusion.
"To check on you two; your mom wanted me to," Castle said.
"Grandmama," Julia breathed. She shook her head and said, "Or Mamó, but either way, I'll write now."
"Good," Castle said before they were looking at Mari.
"I didn't bring my diary," the girl said with a smile. "But I can look at a book."
"Which one?" Julia asked.
"We'll come back up when it's time for you to go to bed," Castle said. He left the two talking about what book to get for Mari and headed downstairs where his wife was in the family room.
"Is she set?" Beckett asked when she saw him.
"Yeah, she was talking about going to the gazebo when we were all in our rooms," Castle said, unable to help smiling again.
"I had a feeling," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "Are they still going to?"
"I highly… wait," Castle said before she was laughing. "No, they know we're aware of their plans, so I think they'll stay."
"Hopefully," Beckett replied before they were looking at her phone. She was about to go to the TV to set up the Skype conversation before her husband was speaking quickly.
"She's going to be mad we didn't include her in the conversation," Castle commented.
"She'll understand," Beckett said, moving to the TV. While she began setting it up, she paused for a moment and turned to her husband asking, "Why are we just referencing Skye?"
"It's natural?" Castle guessed, not surprised when his wife laughed before she turned to the TV again. When she was standing with him after the connection was made, he waved and said, "Hello."
"Don't patronize us," Skye said laughingly. "Good evening to you too."
"Night for them grá," Mary said with a smile.
"I'm guessing you have something about St. Croix?" Skye asked.
"Nice greeting," Beckett told her friend teasingly. She couldn't help laughing briefly when Skye playfully bowed before she and Castle were talking about the plans they'd come up with ending with, "They're not exactly plans but…"
"No, the idea is relaxing right?" Skye asked.
"Yeah," Castle said before he looked at his wife.
"You can ask me," Skye said in mock annoyance. "And really we're fine, when there started being a lot more questions about finances, I had a feeling the video wasn't going to work."
"That and their concern about the environment," Mary said, glancing at her wife when she snorted.
"Like we would have destroyed it… but this is why we have such nice parks in the state," Skye said with a smile. "But more back to your plans, great ideas and I'm looking forward to meeting you all at the Rohlsen Airport."
"Have a nice dinner," Beckett said, smiling at the woman's ending of their conversation. When the connection turned off, she turned to her husband who was speaking quickly to her unasked question while she smiled.
"Does it surprise you?" Castle asked.
"That you're not making any specific plans?" Beckett replied with her own question. When her husband inclined his head once she smiled again and told him, "A little, but I'm aware you want to relax before finals."
Looking up at the ceiling briefly Castle said, "Do you think she's alright?"
"I do," Beckett said. "She's been studying already remember."
"And more reason for the trip," Castle said, turning to his wife when he heard her laughing softly.
"I agreed to it love," Beckett told him, squeezing his arm before she made her way to the kitchen to make some coffee.