Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
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've been to many of the places I write about during their vacation but where they're staying I haven't. So I had to rely heavily on the virtual tour of the accommodations that the site for their hotel provided, so if anyone wants to see it then you can check it out there.
A/N #2: The lyric in this song is from the song Little Lamb Dragonfly by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album Red Rose Speedway.
A/N #3: It was great getting the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me get to my thank yous for that! Guest (Really glad to see you thought the last chapter was a fantastic update and that you still think it's a fantastic series! You're very welcome for updating again!),
MsNYC (I was glad to read that you thought the Beaches' parents were horrible as parents and people as that's what I wanted people to think about them in the end. And I wasn't surprised to see you were glad that Rudy has Kate for support too! And thank you also for saying it was great writing as usual, I do the best I can!),
TORONTOSUN (Great that you like the family moments in the story! And I'm so, so happy that you think Vegas is the perfect vacation for the family, lol, I've wanted to write them going for some time so hope you'll enjoy reading that!),
Guest (I was surprised to see your reaction to what Julia went through. And I figured with her not having more responses or nightmares it's more her growing up now, I thought that might happen as she gets older but she is still young, you're right so again not surprised you thought that. Very pleased to see you liked the family moments in the last chapters since I do love writing those. And I'm so happy that you can't wait for your Vegas trip and now you don't need to anymore!) and
vetgirlmx (Great to see you thought it was a very nice chapter first off. And I'm glad that you mentioned the schoolyard gossip since that'll happen, lol. Also wasn't surprised you talked too about Julia needing to do that if she follows her parents' steps as she did. I figured with the parents going to jail the former Radcliffs were doing fine since as you said they didn't lose much in the end. Not surprised you were glad they were staying together in the city as well as staying in touch with Castle and Beckett. After everything they do need friends, you're right. I wasn't surprised that you were glad that Julia had the nightmare since you were right; it means she's not getting used to her parents being in dangerous situations as you put it. And with her being okay after it I figured that would be her growing up as I mentioned before. So pleased you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't have to anymore!).
Thanks so much to all of you for the reviews for the last chapter, I loved reading them of course and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Viva Las Vegas written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie of the same name.
Bright Light City
"Are we there yet?" Julia asked her father, sitting next to him.
"Just about," Castle said, looking past her to see the view outside the window. "What do you think?" he asked her.
"Interesting but I don't know if I like the desert that much," Julia replied.
Before Castle could say anything the pilot then announced that they were landing and he said, "Well you will be in a city so at least there's that."
Smiling Julia nodded before she let him help her with her seatbelt and she glanced ahead at the seats in front of them where her sister and mother were, Eliza crying out in excitement for a moment.
"Calm down sweetie," Beckett told her youngest with a smile. "We're almost there."
"I'm excited Mommy," Eliza told her happily. She could feel the plane descending and she giggled as she looked at her mother before she felt them landing. "We're here!" she said before she felt the brakes pushing her back into the seat.
"Hold on," Castle said as Julia was trying to unbuckle her seatbelt after the plane had stopped. "You can get that open but remember we can't leave."
Sighing Julia waited as patiently as she could, trying to look out the window to see what she could of Las Vegas. But she knew that all she was seeing was the airport so as soon as she could get up and follow her family off their plane they'd flown on early from JFK she was doing so. "What do we do now?" she asked as they made their way to the luggage carousel in the McCarran International Airport she had learned the name from from her parents.
"There's going to be a limo from the hotel to pick us up," Castle answered.
"You got that special?" Julia asked interestedly.
"No it comes with where we're staying," Beckett said with a smile. She then looked down at Eliza; who was holding Castle's hand; and she said, "What are you looking at sweetie?"
"What are they doing?" Eliza asked, nodding to some people at slot machines as her parents tried to teach her not to point.
"They're gambling, remember that's what adults do here in Vegas," Martha said. "But," she said when Eliza looked unsure suddenly. "Remember that there are children here, it's not all casinos."
"Good," Eliza said with a wide smile on her face. She then sighed and said, "I wanna go."
"We can now, our suitcases are almost here," Castle said, spotting the ones in blues coming towards them, blue string on the luggage tags so they'd spot them faster. He and Jim grabbed them and after everyone had their suitcase; Beckett taking Eliza with one hand and Julia going with her grandmother, he walked over to the people waiting holding up signs.
"There's our name," Julia said quickly, spotting it on one sign.
"Mr. Castle?" the man asked when the family had reached him. After getting an affirmative he led them outside and loaded the trunk with the cases while they went into the back of the limo. "Welcome to Las Vegas," he told them before closing the door behind them.
"Can we look outside Mommy?" Eliza asked her mother as the car started.
"Yes but please don't hang out of it," Beckett said, rolling down the window she was next to.
"We're going to be going via the freeway," Castle told the girls as they looked together out of the window. "So at that point you're going to need to close it."
The girls nodded but they didn't stop looking out until they reached the freeway and allowed Beckett to close it again.
"Look there it is, the Strip," Martha said, pointing to the first hotel they came to.
"What does it say?" Eliza asked.
"That's the Mandalay Bay, we're going there our last full day," Castle said. "And that's all I'm telling you," he added as the girls turned to him.
Beckett smiled as the girls mockingly glared at him but they were soon looking back outside at what they were passing next.
"Look!" Julia cried. "They have the Statue of Liberty here, and the Eiffel Tower!" she exclaimed, seeing the top of it.
"Here's our exit," Castle said, smiling at his wife. "There's the Flamingo," he said to the girls as they were waiting to turn north onto the Strip. "That's the third hotel/casino built on the strip and it's still here."
"Come on this side," Jim said, having caught what was ahead of them as they were turning.
"What's this one?" Julia asked, looking out the open window again at the large, white buildings of the hotel on the corner.
"Caesars Palace," Beckett told them. "It's really big isn't it?"
"We're having dinner there tonight," Castle commented. "At a buffet."
Julia was going to gasp; as one of her friends in her dance class had told her about all the buffets there were; but she suddenly noticed the next hotel and gave a little scream. "Is that it?" she cried, pointing to the building where the top floors were covered by a picture of the Beatles in a row.
"That's The Mirage," Castle said, smiling at her reaction. "And where we're going to stay." He wasn't surprised when Julia was looking out the window for as long as she could until the limo pulled into the back and they stopped.
While their parents were busy with checking in the girls held hands tightly as they looked around excitedly, not realizing their grandparents were watching them. Finally they were allowed to go and the girls watched as they came to a building and they looked at each other before they were let inside. As soon as they were in the foyer their mouths dropped open and they looked around in awe.
"Okay," Castle said to them after he'd tipped the two bellmen that had brought their luggage into the room, sharing a smile with his wife at the way their daughters were looking. "This is our villa, do you want to go to your rooms first or take a tour?"
"Let's go to our rooms first," Julia said, as Eliza looked at her to answer. "And then we can look around."
"Good, we were hoping you'd say that," Castle said. "Over to our left you two," he told them. As they were walking ahead of them he said to his wife, "Sorry about the décor."
"Don't worry, it's a hotel not our house," Beckett replied since there was a lot marble in the entry. She heard two gasps then and commented as they approached the doorway to the first bedroom, "I think we're going to be hearing that a lot."
"I think so," Castle said in amusement as they looked inside. "What do you think?"
"It's so pretty!" Julia exclaimed as she looked at the painting of what looked like a castle with a maze next to it. "All of it is."
"It is," Beckett agreed. "What do you think Martha?"
"I'll be very comfortable here with the girls," Castle's mother replied. She then looked at the bedstead; which was made of mirrors leading all the way up some on the ceiling; and said, "Interesting."
"Is my bed the same?" Jim asked then as he was standing with his granddaughters at the door leading outside.
"Hey, no peeking at the rest of the place," Castle told them teasingly. "Come on and see your grandpapa's room."
Taking their hands Jim said to Martha, "My bed will be big enough if you just want to share with one of them."
"That's alright," Castle's mother replied. "But really they should decide."
"Can I share with you Grandpapa?" Eliza asked shyly before they stepped into the bedroom.
"I think we can," Jim said, glancing back at his daughter and son in law.
"You'll have enough room," Beckett said with a smile, looking at the bed which was the same as Martha and Julia's room.
"Now the big room," Julia said, turning to her parents. She hurried to her mother and took her hand before they made their way back to the entrance and across it to the other side of the villa. "It's the same size," she said in surprise.
"Look at the bathroom," Castle said, nodding to the doors opened across from the bed which was much the same as the other two.
Rushing over to it with her big sister Eliza cried out in pleasure at how large it was and said, "There's a bath!"
"There's one in your bathroom Dad," Beckett told her father.
"Great I'll have to give you a bath one night," Jim said.
"Tonight is good," Eliza said seriously as she went over to her family in the doorways.
"Alright," Beckett said. "Ready to see the outside?" She wasn't surprised when the girls cried out that they were and she took their hands as they came to her, leading them out to the dining room and living room before she said, "There's a TV in there," pointing to the room to their left.
"I don't think we're going to have much time for that though," Castle commented.
"Oh look!" Julia said as they stepped out to a fountain. "How pretty… I can take pictures right?"
"Of course," Castle said before his wife could answer. "Look there's a putting green; you can practice with your grandpapa."
"We should all practice," Eliza said, smiling at her grandfather.
"If we have time," Jim said with a returning smile to them.
"Lizzy look!" Julia exclaimed. "There's a pool!"
"Hold on you two," Beckett said, holding the girls back from running to it. "Treat this like the pool at home okay?" When they nodded she let go of their hands and said to their startled expressions, "Go ahead but don't run and stay back from the edge so you don't fall in."
Going with her big sister Eliza looked down at the pool and said, "It's small."
"There's not enough room for our size pool at home," Castle said.
"But it still looks very inviting," Martha commented as it was warm outside though they were lucky to be in some mild weather and it was in the higher seventies.
"We'll swim but probably later tonight," Castle said.
"When we're finished with our dinner, we'll need to work it off," Beckett added.
"Can we go in the 'cuzzi?" Eliza asked, pointing to the spa behind the pool.
"After that," Castle promised. "Now you've got the whole tour what do you think?"
"It's beautiful," Eliza said. "I like it and I wanna swim in the pool."
"Which we will," Castle said. "So we should unpack what we need to and then get going."
"What's first?" Julia asked as they started to walk back inside.
"A surprise," Castle replied.
"But remember, your gram is going to wait to join us tomorrow," Beckett said.
"That's good," Eliza said, nodding her head.
"So you can rest," Julia added. She then shared a smile with her sister and asked, "We can show you our pictures right?"
"Of course," Martha said firmly, not sure why the two were alright as much as they were with her staying behind that day. "Especially since your sister is going to start out her new camera."
"We'll have to look at all their pictures when we get back home," Jim told them.
"Luckily we have the day after we get back," Castle said. "Girls-"
"We're going to help them, get your things taken care of," Martha told her son.
They split up then and Castle and Beckett unpacked their suitcases before they went to get their daughters and Jim. After they said goodbye to Martha before they left, promising her they'd come to change for the buffet and to get her.
"So the first place we're going to is called the Secret Garden," Castle told them as they walked out to the hotel's pool but then went over to the right of it.
"Flowers?" Eliza guessed.
"You'll see," Beckett said before they came to a person waiting to take their tickets.
"Is this the only place we're gonna go?" Julia asked then.
"No," Castle replied. "But don't ask about where the other one is because we're not going to say."
Sighing Julia then looked ahead of them, since they were entering the place, and she spied something moving through the water. "It's a dolphin!" she gasped, grabbing her sister's arm since they were walking next to each other.
"Is it aminals?" Eliza asked eagerly. When their parents nodded she squealed and with her sister went back to them to take their hands and she beamed up at her father.
"Hopefully this is alright Dad," Beckett told him as they came to the side of the pool where some dolphins were swimming.
"It is," Jim said. "And now I see why you suggested a hat." He looked over at the girls who were both taking pictures and he said, "What about you?"
"Rick rarely gets the chance to do this," Beckett said, smiling at her husband who was helping Eliza.
"Mommy," the little girl said quietly, hurrying over to her. "Look I got the fin!"
"That's a perfect shot," Beckett told her, kissing the top of her head. "Want to keep going?"
"Yeah, let's go," Julia said.
"Let me see what you got sweetie," Beckett told her then.
Julia smiled and said, "I got almost the same shot that Lizzy did."
"And it's as nice," Beckett assured her. "Show your grandfather and we'll look and see what's next."
The family walked downstairs then to a downstairs viewing area and they stayed at the window there for a while before they decided to move on as there were no dolphins where they were looking.
"Looks like there are more," Castle commented as they came to a second pool with dolphins. He smiled as the girls started to take pictures immediately and he let Beckett help their youngest that time before he stepped up to join them.
"What's he doing?" Eliza asked as a dolphin suddenly launched itself onto the shelf in the pool and slid across until it was back inside the water.
"They do that in the wild," Jim said. "Remember the show we saw where they were trying to get fish?"
"Cool," Eliza said.
"I hope they're okay with not getting food," Julia said.
"They feed them, don't worry," Castle assured her. "Now we can go to the secret garden part of this."
Though they had to pull the girls over to the next section Castle and Beckett had them by the hands as they came first to some lions, only parted from them by a fence. They weren't surprised at their gasps in the slightest and they shared a smile as the girls began to take pictures of the two that were sleeping near them.
"Are there more?" Julia asked before she realized her mother was looking behind them. She turned and saw there was a wooden structure with five gods in it and she asked, "Who are they?"
"I'm not sure but it's pretty isn't it?" Beckett said in response. "And to answer your first question you'll see very soon."
Julia smiled at that and grabbed her mother's hand as they continued to walk down by the lion's habitat before she saw the next animal, sleeping on a rock above. "A panther?" she asked.
"It is, do you like its fur?" Castle answered.
"Yeah, it's shiny," Eliza told him after taking a picture of it. She looked over at her grandfather and went over to him, taking his hand. "Do you like it Grandpapa?" she asked him.
"I do, I've never been this close to them before," Jim assured her. "I hope we get to see more of these kinds of wild cats."
"Kitties," Eliza said before giggling and hugging him with one arm.
Beckett led with Julia then over to the other half of the section and they looked at the cats there, though the girls were drawn by the white tigers that were in one habitat. She let her father stand as close as they could with them and she squeezed her husband's arm saying, "We're off to a great start."
"So far," Castle said in amusement. "Hopefully they won't be hungry before we get to the buffet."
"Hopefully," Beckett said. When she saw that the girls were coming back to them she said, "Your grandpapa?"
"He's coming," Julia said when she turned back to look at him. "What next?"
"The gift shop, we're going to let you get one thing only," Castle said.
"I want a tiger," Eliza said, pointing to the white ones behind them.
"I'd like a shirt," Julia said.
"Then let's go and pick those out so we can move on to the next place," Castle told them.
Since the shop was so small it took very little time before the family was leaving and heading into the casino part of the hotel. The girls soon saw what their parents were leading them to and they got their cameras ready once more to take pictures of the atrium underneath a dome.
"Look Jules," Eliza said, pointing to the top of the hotel they could see through the dome.
"Cool," Julia said, backing up to get a picture of the Beatles there. Once she had it she said, "Was this it?"
"You're too smart for me," Castle told her teasingly since she'd directed that at him.
"Where we're going now is away from the Strip," Beckett said. "So we need to catch a cab. If you two are ready of course."
"We're ready," the girls said together.
"Excuse me," a middle aged woman said suddenly. "Are you Richard Castle?"
"Yes I am," Castle said, glancing at his wife who merely smiled at him.
Beckett wasn't surprised when the woman started to gush to her husband, talking about how she was a big fan of his and had always wanted his autograph. When they were alone again she said, "You don't see that much anymore."
"I'm glad I don't," Castle said as the woman hadn't acknowledged his wife when he'd mentioned her while talking about their last book. He looked down at the girls who appeared to be concerned and he said, "Don't worry we're leaving now if you're ready?"
"We told Mommy," Julia told him.
"Alright let's go," Castle said, picking up Eliza. They walked over to the exit and he told Julia, "That's the restaurant where we're going to eat tomorrow."
"I don't know where we'll go yet," Jim told his granddaughter when she looked over her father's shoulder at him. He smiled and said, "Since your gram has been here before shouldn't we let her suggest."
"Actually," Castle said, turning to his father in law as they went back to where the taxi cabs were parked. "We're going to visit the area where the High Roller is, it has some restaurants and you can take a look at those."
"Sure," Jim said.
"Oh," Castle said. "And Caesars Palace has a food court if those are too much."
"We'll see," Jim told Eliza as she looked at him again.
Since they were getting into a taxi then the little girl couldn't respond and she looked at her father as Beckett told the driver where they wanted to go. "What did she say?" she asked him.
"You'll see," Beckett replied before they pulled away from the curb. She and Castle pointed out the different casinos they were passing before they got to the freeway and as they went around the Strip on it she asked her husband, "Did you ever go this far out?"
"No if it was just me I stayed around the Strip, so this'll be great. We can explore together," Castle said, smiling at both girls who were watching their conversation.
When they were on the street again Beckett saw they were coming up to somewhere they would be visiting the next day and she smiled at her husband before the cab was stopping.
"What's it say? What's it say?" Eliza asked her sister, tugging her hand wildly.
"Las Vegas," Julia began, pointing at the words. "Natural History Museum." She smiled and then turned to the adults asking, "Is it like it is at home?"
"It's smaller," Castle warned them, having paid for the ride. "But I think it should be interesting still."
"I do too, let's go," Eliza said firmly, taking her father's hand and starting to walk.
"You got the number for him right?" Beckett asked her husband as she walked with them, Jim and Julia behind them.
"I did and he said if he has a passenger he'll send someone else," Castle said with a nod. "Sure we shouldn't get a car."
Beckett shook her head then and when her husband looked at her in surprise she nodded back to Julia who was obviously listening to them.
"Okay, here we go," Castle said hurriedly as they went inside the building.
Eliza looked around as her mother was paying, seeing a stuffed giraffe and then a wildebeest with a lion leaping on its back down the hall. "More aminals?" she asked her mother.
"There will be," Beckett said with a smile. "So here's the map, which we'll hold," she said as Eliza held her hand out to it. "You'll have to trust us."
Feeling her sister taking her hand Eliza looked at her and sighed before she said with a smile at the same time as her, "We do."
"Then first is the International Wildlife Gallery," Castle said as he'd taken the map from his wife.
"Come with us Grandpapa," Julia said, going to Jim as Castle and Beckett were leading the way.
"Alright," Jim said, smiling when she took his hand. "But I think your sister wanted to see what there is first."
Julia laughed softly before they came to a small room and she gasped as there were a number of stuffed birds there. Her eye was drawn to an ostrich that was first and she scrambled to grab her camera to get pictures while they were there.
"Look at the peacock," Eliza was saying as she moved with her parents to the end of the room. "It's pretty."
"I know," Beckett agreed, having taken a picture of the bird as well. "Did you see the others?" she asked her teasingly.
"Yep," Eliza replied with a wide smile. She then looked over at the next room and said seriously, "There are more aminals."
"I see but let's wait for your sister and grandpapa," Beckett told her. "Rick?"
"Yes," Castle said as he turned around to her.
"Are you ready?" Beckett asked as he'd been looking at two penguins that were under the peacock.
"Yeah I'm just admiring their work," Castle said, turning to Jim and Julia. They were coming over to them so he pulled Eliza into the next room where there were animals from all around the world and he spent their time walking through it telling her what animals were which that he knew. Beckett and Jim helped him with that and the girls knew some on their own.
"This was cool," Julia said as they were looking at some monkeys on a log hanging on the wall at the end of the room.
"I'm glad you like it, hopefully you'll keep enjoying it," Beckett said, checking her camera. They went out into the main hall and she said, "Look at these masks."
"Are they from Africa?" Julia asked as they came up to the display case.
"They are," Castle replied, watching as his wife, their daughters and his father in law took pictures. "These here are from West Africa… like the feathers on top of that?" he asked the girls as he pointed to one up towards the top.
"Yeah, and that one," Eliza said, pointing to one that had what looked like hay hanging from it.
"Lizzy come see, this one has sea shells," Julia said, by then with Beckett further down the display.
"Oh yeah," Eliza said as she saw them. "They're pretty," she said firmly with a slight nod of her head. "Now what?"
"This room over here," Castle said. "Love?" he asked as he was holding their hands.
"Go ahead," Beckett said. She stayed behind with her father as he was taking a few more pictures and said, "Enjoying this?"
"It is small," Jim said. "But I recall we're in Nevada and not the city."
Beckett smiled and said, "Even with that the collection is nice." When he nodded in agreement she looped her arm through her father's and they walked after Castle and the girls. In the next room she smiled as she saw that her husband and daughters were looking at an aquarium and she told her father, "It's their Marine Life Gallery."
"This might take some time," Jim replied. He wasn't surprised when his daughter nodded in agreement and they walked together to see what the three were looking at to their left so interestedly.
"Mommy see? Those are lionfish," Julia said as soon as they were with them. "I learned they're really poisonous."
"They are?" Eliza asked in dismay. When her sister nodded she let out a huff and said, "I wanted to pet it."
"I think she saw the tank over there," Castle said, nodding to his right.
"She probably did," Beckett said before she took Eliza's hand. "Did you finish taking pictures?" When she got a nod in response she led her over to the large tank saying, "We might not be able to touch these…"
"I'll take her," Castle said as he had joined the two with the others. He picked Eliza up after letting her take some pictures and he said, "Just touch the top of it," as a horseshoe crab was coming over to them.
"I remember Daddy," Eliza replied before she managed to run her fingertips over the top.
"Ooh that's so weird," Julia said with a laugh to her grandfather. "You think it would be softer."
"Alright," Beckett said after they'd pet some rays as well. "We should keep going, there's a lot more to see."
"I wanna be a fishie," Eliza sighed as she let her father carry her over to a sink to wash her hands.
"Are you sure?" Julia asked. "You'd miss Mommy and Daddy wouldn't you?"
"Yeah," Eliza said in a gasp, nodding her head. She kissed her father's cheek after he'd dried her hands and she rushed to her grandfather as they went to the next room.
Once they'd gone by a number of different kinds of fish they were back out of the hall, going down to a large room where Julia saw a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex. "Look, dinosaurs!" she said to her little sister, looking back at her.
"This is the Prehistoric Life gallery," Castle read off the map. "And this guy is 35 feet long…" At that moment it started to move and he looked over with the others, seeing a little girl had pressed a red button, a triceratops it was 'fighting' with moving as well. "Nice," he commented.
"Come on, you can press the button once we get there," Beckett told Eliza. She let her father take both girls over to the first display and she went back to her husband.
"This is nice," Castle said as they stayed back as the girls and Jim continued on. "Are you thinking the same?"
"I am," Beckett replied. When she took his hand she wasn't surprised when he looked at her in surprise and said, "I'll let them take the pictures here."
Nodding Castle led the way back to the three ahead of them, entwining his fingers through his wife's and holding her as they watched Beckett's father helping the girls with their shots.
"Look at how little that dinosaur is," Julia said, pointing to a figure of one.
"What is that… a dragonfly?" Eliza asked.
"Dragonfly fly by my window, you and I still have a way to go," Julia then sang softly as they stopped in front of the next dinosaur. She looked at her parents and grandfather and smiled at them saying, "That's a good song."
"I'll agree," Jim commented. "Paul didn't sing about dinosaurs did he?"
"No," Julia said with a laugh, hugging him with one arm as she knew that he was aware of that already.
"What's this?" Eliza asked when they'd finished the room and went over to the next that had a carousel fish tank in it.
"Oh!" Julia said eagerly as she went over to it. "This was the one from Tanked, it's still here!"
"Sea horsies!" Eliza squealed as she suddenly remembered it herself. She started to take pictures when her mother suddenly placed her hand on her shoulder. "What?" she asked in concern, realizing she'd done something wrong.
"Don't take pictures so quickly," Beckett told her. She knelt a little behind her and showed her how to get the seahorses that were moving in the picture.
"Come on this side," Julia said, going over to her. "There's one that's holding onto the pole with its tail."
"You ever think about getting one for our home?" Castle asked his wife.
"No," Beckett told him firmly. "Remember we talked about this before."
"True," Castle said before they watched their youngest go with her little sister to a tank with a bubble underneath it. He wasn't surprised when his wife immediately began to take pictures of them when they appeared in the bubble and he let her go, watching the girls waving to him through the water as he did so to them.
After they'd stopped waving Eliza looked at her sister and said, "You think Mommy and Daddy are gonna play those games we saw?"
"Probably but Mommy told me we can't be with them when they do," Julia answered as they were looking around at the fish. She smiled and said, "Did you want to?"
"Yeah," Eliza said with a slight giggle.
"Me too," Julia said. "But you have to be a grown up to do that… Maybe we're coming back when we're grownups."
"Yeah, with our sister," Eliza said.
"Lizzy," Julia said in slight exasperation. "Mommy and Daddy didn't say they're gonna have another baby." She then paused and looking at her sister said, "Unless you meant 'lexis."
Eliza couldn't help it and laughed before her sister suddenly growled at her playfully. She let out a mock scream and ducked under the bubble, going to her mother saying, "The dinosaur is gonna get me!"
"I'm supposed to be a tiger, like the one we saw over in the other room," Julia said, smiling at them.
"Want to go see what's downstairs?" Castle asked them. He wasn't surprised when they both said yes eagerly and he reached out to Julia, taking her hand so they could go back through the dinosaur room and to a flight of stairs down to the lower level.
"Mommy," Eliza whimpered as she looked down the slightly steep staircase.
"It's alright," Beckett reassured her. "Hold onto the railing and my hand."
"Kay," Eliza said softly as she held on tightly to her and started down. "Ooh," she gasped when they came to the first room. "Africa!"
"It is," Castle replied. "But don't run ahead," he told her as he saw she'd spotted one stuffed animal. "We'll see it soon."
Eliza had been about to take off before she nodded and then went over to where her sister was standing in front of the rhinoceros, taking pictures with her.
As they worked their way around the room Beckett took a few pictures before she watched Eliza remaining in front of the fennec fox as her father, Castle and Julia continued on. "Sweetie," she began with a smile as she wrapped her arm around the little girl.
"It's so cute," Eliza told her as she'd been about to ask if they could get one as a pet.
"I agree but I think it's just too cold at home for it," Beckett told her gently.
"Yeah," Eliza said softly. She turned her attention to the next display and walked with her sister through it until they came to a room that was dark and she held onto Julia's hand a little tightly. "What is it?" she asked.
"This is the African rainforest," Jim read, reading from a plaque.
Eliza studied the display of it and nodded saying, "It's dark."
"I think it might be night," Castle commented.
"Oh…" Eliza said slowly. "Now what?"
"This way," Castle said, taking her hand. He led them over to a display and said "These are what man looked like a very, very long time ago."
"They have hair," Eliza told him.
"We came from monkeys," Julia said with a smile. "And they are hairy too."
"Oh yeah," Eliza said in remembrance.
"Is there more?" Julia asked the others.
"We're going to head back upstairs and see the rooms on the other side of the hall," Beckett told them.
The girls went with their parents and grandfather easily though they glanced back at the figures one more time before they were out of sight.
"How come we're not going in there?" Julia asked as they passed an exhibit with what looked like two sarcophagi in front of it.
"We'll save it for last," Castle commented. He wasn't surprised when the girls were glancing back again and he said, "Seriously, I'm itching to see it too." He was glad when they laughed and then went down to the last room near the front of the hall.
"Rocks!" Eliza exclaimed when they saw what was in there.
"It's their geology room," Castle said. "You can go ahead of us."
Looking at him in surprise as her sister did Julia then smiled and said, "Let's go," taking her hand and hurrying to the next room.
"These are bones," Eliza said. She then looked back and said, "Are Mommy and Daddy gonna kiss?" whispering to her sister.
"No," Julia said with a slight laugh. "Grandpapa is there."
"Oh yeah," Eliza said in surprise that she had forgotten. She then smiled and said, "What are the bones."
Studying the display Julia said, "They're how animals used to look and then what they look like now. See, here's a prehistoric elephant and that's what they look like now."
Studying the skulls Eliza nodded and then said, "What's those?" pointing to the skull and the full skeleton in front of it.
"Those are rhinoceroses," Julia told her. "The skull is what they look like now."
"Wow," Eliza breathed before she then smiled. "They get different." She then frowned and said, "That's not right."
"No, I think you mean they evolve," Castle said, coming with Beckett up to their daughters. "We did the same too."
"How?" Julia asked.
"We're taller for one thing… sometimes," Beckett said, having to trail off as Eliza was showing her the pictures she'd taken.
"Grandpapa didn't-" Julia started to ask before she cut herself off as he was coming inside.
As his granddaughters told him eagerly about the skeletons they saw Jim listened attentively and nodded to them until they stopped. "Now can I show you all the rocks I saw?" he asked them. He smiled when they nodded eagerly and he led them through the small room where all the rocks were, not surprised they were fascinated by the display that had rocks that glowed colors under black light.
"Now what?" Eliza asked eagerly as they stepped out into the hall and went to the next room. She wasn't surprised when her parents didn't reply to that and she looked inside the next room. "More aminals!" she said eagerly.
"Desert animals," Julia added as she quickly noticed the plants in the displays.
"It's the Wild Nevada gallery," Castle read from the map. "So you're right."
"Jules come see," Eliza said eagerly.
Smiling at her father Julia hurried over to what her sister was standing in front of and she smiled as they looked at the small butterfly on one of the bushes there were. She took pictures of nearly every animal until they were stepping out of the room. "Now we can see the Egypt stuff?" she asked her parents.
"Now we can," Castle said, nodding his head. After the others took pictures of the two statues at the doors to the exhibit he led them inside where they saw a few displays of wildlife in Egypt before they reached some displays of a village in the country.
"Look at all the stuff," Julia said as they were looking at a display of a market.
"Look at the camel!" Eliza said then, looking to their right and seeing the huge animal. While the others were studying it she turned around and saw the dark room ahead of her. "Mommy, Daddy," she said uncertainly.
"Oh this is going to be awesome," Castle said after his wife had looked at him. "Come on, we're going to be archeologists."
"Like Indiana Jones," Julia told her little sister, knowing what her father was doing. "You don't have hats for us?"
"Oh wait… let me see…" Castle started to say, pretending to search his pockets as the girls laughed at him.
"You don't have to Daddy, we can use our imagination," Julia told him. She took his hand that he held out and when they went into the room she saw a window with light coming out of it. She and Eliza crowded together to look out of it and she said, "Where does this go?"
"It's what it looked like from the tomb of King Tut when the entrance was open," Castle said.
"Ooh, fun," Eliza said. "I wanna see the tomb," she told her father, tugging on his hand.
"Okay let's go but keep quiet," Castle said, lowering his voice in a whisper and walking hunched over slightly as he took their hands again once they'd taken pictures of the stairs through the opening. "And walk slow, this tomb hasn't been open in thousands of years and you don't want to-"
"Rick stand up straight!" Beckett told her husband in exasperation as their daughters were mimicking his walk. "You're going to hurt your back," she told him though she was trying to hold back a smile as the girls jumped with him. "And look, another opening."
"Okay this is it, the tomb," Castle said, still whispering. He knew that his wife was rolling her eyes but didn't look back at her instead saying to the girls, "Now we need to figure out who gets to look at it for the very first time."
"Lizzy does," Julia told him. "And stop whispering."
"You're too much like your mom," Castle said, trying to say it annoyingly but instead speaking laughingly. "Go ahead sweetheart," he told the little girl who was watching them and hopping from foot to foot.
Peering into the opening Eliza gasped and said seriously, "There's lots of stuff."
"Oh yeah I think there's supposed to be," Julia said, taking a look next. "It looks nice."
"You're letting me look before you?" Beckett asked her husband teasingly when he motioned for her to do so. When her husband raised and lowered his eyebrows she couldn't stop herself from laughing and she leaned over, kissing his cheek before she peered inside. "Very nice," she said, moving so he and her father could look. "But now we're going to be looking at displays, not the tomb."
"I thought so," Julia said while her little sister nodded in agreement. "But that was fun to play while we did. Thanks Daddy."
"Thanks," Eliza added.
"You're welcome," Castle said. "But your mom's right, let's see what King Tut had in his tomb." He followed them into the next room where they began to look at different displays of different items. When they came to another room he saw the girls turning back to them and he said, "What is it?"
"It looks like tomb robbers, that's what you call them right?" Julia asked.
"It is," Jim said first. "And a shame that happens because so much has probably been lost."
"But there's lots of stuff now," Eliza said in slight protest.
"There is and luckily we can see it now," Jim said as he took their hands they held out to him.
Walking with Castle then Beckett took a few more pictures until they came to a chair with a picture of the pharaoh and his wife on it. "That's a familiar one," she said.
"It is," Castle said, before he noticed that Julia was coming back to them.
"How come their heads are kinda weird shaped?" the girl asked her parents.
"Well there was a lot of inbreeding in the royal family," Castle said. "Remember we told you about the European royalty?" When she nodded he said, "They wanted to keep the bloodline pure too so that might be the reason… also because I think their skulls were that shaped in art."
"What was she to her husband besides his wife?" Julia asked when her father didn't say anything else.
"His half sister and cousin, because her grandfather was his grandmother's cousin," Castle said.
"Ew," Julia replied. "But come on, we found something else really good," she told her parents as she took their hands then.
Looking at the room that was behind the glass Castle said, "Interesting. What do you think?" directing the question to Eliza who was nearly plastered to the glass. When she didn't answer he then turned to Jim who'd been with her and asked, "Has she taken any pictures?"
"Before she just stared at it," Jim answered, nodding. "I don't think she was expecting it."
"Probably not," Beckett said with a smile. She'd taken a picture of the large outer sarcophagus so she then reached over to her youngest and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Sweetie," she said, kissing the side of her head. "There's a little bit more to see so we should go."
Sighing Eliza said, "I know but it's so cool."
"Was he short?" Julia asked then. "Or was it he was young?"
"Most likely both," Castle commented. "Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading the way over to the next display in that room.
"Mommy?" Julia asked as she went over to her mother after they'd gotten ahead of her at one case. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Beckett said, looking at the two sarcophagi that held the stillborn remains of King Tut's two children. "It's hard to see that," she said with a sigh.
"Did you ever…" Julia started to say before she stopped.
Shaking her head Beckett cupped her daughter's cheek and said, "No but as a mother it's hard to see and think about."
"Hey love," Castle said as he walked over to the two. He watched then as Julia went over to Jim and her sister and then turned his attention to his wife again. "Okay?" he asked her, taking her hand.
Smiling Beckett said, "I'm fine, I wasn't expecting that," nodding over to the display. "But considering how inbred they were…" she said.
"I'd heard that the queen was young too," Castle said. "So that would happen. Come on, we're almost finished."
"Can we go swimming now?" Eliza asked, having gone over to them.
"You've had enough?" Castle asked, picking her up.
"We saw everything," Eliza told him in a matter of fact tone.
"Okay," Castle said with a smile, looking at his wife.
"Yes we can go," Beckett said as Julia and Jim were joining them.
With that the family looked into the gift shop and after Castle had made a donation they left the museum and waited for the taxi they'd taken to it to pick them up. They made their way back to the hotel, the girls talking eagerly together about what they would tell their grandmother about the museum when they saw her again.
Beckett was a little surprised to see the two quiet down as they started to walk to the villa and she asked, "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah we're just tired of walking," Julia replied.
"Come here Eliza," Castle said to the little girl, picking her up. "We're almost there Julia."
"I know," the girl said though she was a little frustrated she couldn't be carried too. She then smiled at her grandfather when he wrapped his arm around her and she said, "Are you gonna go swimming?"
"Of course," Jim replied. "But I'm a little confused, your parents wanted to leave early for the buffet."
"We do," Beckett said, having looked at her watch as her father was speaking. "Rick I think your battery is getting slow."
"No," Castle said, looking at his watch as they paused. "I'll have to get to it back at the villa," he told them. "And fix it then. We're going to leave very soon but tonight we'll swim since it'll be warm then too."
"Good," Eliza said. "I'm hungry."
The others laughed though Julia confessed that she was too and they went into their villa to find Martha leaving the room where the TV was.
"Well, well," she commented as she saw the smiles on her granddaughters' faces. "It looks like you had a wonderful time."
Beckett watched as the girls were trying to tell their grandmother at the same time about what they'd seen. "Girls," she finally told them. "Why don't we wait until we show her the pictures before we tell her about it?"
"Oh yeah," Eliza said, turning to Martha then. "We're gonna go eat!"
"They seem eager for that," Castle's mother said.
"I think we're all ready for it," Castle said with a smile on his face. "Come on and let's get you changed."
With that Castle and Beckett got their daughters ready for dinner before the two stayed in the living room until their grandparents could watch them. They went to the master bedroom themselves and changed quickly, stepping out to find their family at the entry.
