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: Okay just wanted to note that I've been to the two places mentioned at the start of this chapter and both are very cool. And I took many pictures as I knew I was going to write about these places so if anyone wonders at my details that's why, lol. And also speaking of being at the places I have seen the show Love at least 5 or 6 times so I've tried to remember it as much as I could though it's hard to get it down in writing, lol, so much going on and it's incredibly good. But the last time I saw it they'd changed it slightly for the 10th anniversary so what I wrote was the way the show was for those first 10 years as I'm more used to that one.

A/N #2: I was anxious to see the feedback I would get for the last chapter so great to read what I did in the end so will get to my thank yous for them right now! MichelleBell16 (I'm really happy that you're looking forward to more about their time in Vegas. And I'm so glad you enjoy when they travel as a family since that'll happen again, lol. And great you can't wait to read about how Julia will react and how she'll be experiencing the show which you don't need to do anymore!),
Guest (Great you still love this story as well as the series as well. And glad that you think I show Castle and Beckett as devoted parents as well as partners since I try my best to show them as both. I do try to write them loving their family and family as well as each other so great you caught it. Also pleased to see you think they love each other with all they are, it's what I try to write too. And I liked seeing you saying that theirs is a devotion and love that's never ending since it's what I aim to write and I think should have been more on the show, lol, just a bit. You're very welcome for posting again!),
MsNYC (It was nice to read right off the bat that you thought the chapter was great. And I'm glad you're looking forward to what Castle and Beckett have planned for the girls to do while in Vegas, hope you'll enjoy reading about that. It was also a nice compliment for you to say it was great writing as usual, thank you for that!),
TORONTOSUN (I'm pleased to see that you like how both girls are excited about going to Vegas. And glad you noticed that Castle and Beckett were having their moments too as you said. Great compliment to see that you think it's very good writing to a good story!) and
vetgirlmx (Very happy to see you thought it was a very good chapter! Was glad to see you enjoyed them going to the museum since you're right, it's been a while. And I was also pleased that my descriptions of it triggered vivid images, that's definitely what I wanted to happen! And yeah, when you're in Vegas for a short amount of time you gotta go fast; their next day actually mirrors one of my days in Vegas last year, lol; but it is fun and I'm glad you think they will have fun! I'd wondered if anyone would mention Castle spending time with Jim as you're right they don't spend a lot of time alone too often, I never found a good place to write that in. But I was happy to see you loved it and thought they were comfortable together too. After being father in law and son in law for so long I figured they would be lol. So happy you can't wait to see what the rest of their trip is like after the start of it and now you don't need to anymore!).
Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them of course and I appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Because by John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, from The Beatles album Abbey Road.

It Blows My Mind

Looking at her grandfather as he stepped into the doorway from their bedroom Eliza smiled and said, "I didn't go to the pool."

"I can tell," Jim said, motioning her to him from the back. "You wouldn't risk not being able to go today," he said as they went into their room and he closed the door behind them.

"Oh no," Eliza said, shaking her head firmly. "I wanna go and see what we see."

"And we will as soon as we're finished," Jim said.

"Did you?" Eliza asked him.

"Of course, let's go wait for everyone else by the door," Jim told her. He made sure she had her camera and they stepped out into the short hall, walking past Martha and Julia's door where they could just barely hear the two talking.

"What do you think kiddo," Martha said, turning to her granddaughter. "I thought this may be very Audrey Hepburn."

Julia studied her grandmother's large white hat where she sat on their bed and tilting her head to the side said, "Then doesn't that mean that you're going to a horse race?" She looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "I don't think we are though."

"You're right, I suppose I should save this for when we're out at the pool," Martha said with a smile. "How is this?" she asked, showing her granddaughter her other hat which was white and made out of straw.

"Better, it's a lot smaller," Julia said with a nod.

"Good we're both ready, let's go and see if anyone else is," Martha told her, holding her hand out to her.

"I think Grandpapa and Lizzy walked by," Julia said, grabbing her bag in passing as they went over to the door. "I hope Mommy and Daddy are ready," she commented as they stepped out to find she'd been right.

"I hope so too," Martha replied, looking down to the other end of the villa to see the door was still closed.

"Rick?" Beckett asked in her and her husband's room.

"Yes," Castle said, going to the doorway of the bathroom where she was finishing putting on some makeup.

"I thought you'd left," Beckett said, smiling over at him as she began to swiftly plait her ponytail. She looked at the mirror then and put a ponytail holder on the end of her braid before her husband appeared behind her. Her smile reappeared on her face as he kissed at the side of her neck once she'd put her arms down and she sighed before telling him, "You clearly didn't get enough last night," teasingly though slightly truthfully since he hadn't really kept his hands and lips off her since kissing her neck to wake her up an hour before.

"I don't think you did either," Castle murmured against her skin since she'd been the same. But he finally pulled away and said with a sigh, "We need to go don't we?"

"We do," Beckett replied, turning to him. She wasn't surprised at his startled expression when she gestured him with her finger and they were soon kissing deeply before they moved apart at the same time. "Tonight we'll do better."

"I hope so," Castle said before he brought her hand up to his lips so he could kiss the back of it. He brushed his lips against hers quickly before they went together out of the room. "We're late again love," he said jokingly as he saw everyone was there waiting for them.

"We weren't here for too long," Julia said quickly before she and her sister went to their parents to hug them.

"Then you're ready to go," Beckett said then.

"We still can't know?" Eliza asked her as she reached for her.

"No but you'll see soon we promise," Castle said, watching his wife pick her up. He grabbed her bag then from the table next to the door and together they left their villa before he handed it to her.

Going out to where the taxis were again after they grabbed something to eat on the way the family found the same van cab from the day before and Castle told the man where they wanted to go before they were leaving the hotel. Since only Castle and Beckett were aware of where they were going they watched the others looking to see they were on the same route as they'd been the day before; though Martha hadn't seen it. When they stopped at a building that looked like it was a shell the girls looked at their parents questioningly.

"Wait until we get out," Beckett told them with a smile before they got out and stood together on the sidewalk. "You want to say love? You're the one who thought of this place."

With a nod Castle said; looking particularly at Julia; "This is the Neon Museum."

"The one from the show?" the girl gasped as she quickly recognized the name. "Can we see the sign?"

"If it's here we will," Castle replied. He smiled at the others and said, "They talked about one of the casinos on Mysteries at the Museum and they used the sign of it that's in here. I don't know if you all really want to go through this but it is a guided tour so we'll hear stories."

"I think it sounds fascinating," Martha said a little absently as she looked at Eliza who was holding her hand. "Eliza?" she asked the little girl.

"Look at the shoe," she replied, pointing to one that was across the street from them on a tall pole.

"Is that for this museum?" Julia asked.

"I think so," Castle replied.

"We should head inside before our tour leaves," Beckett said with a smile though she didn't try to push them to move until the girls had taken pictures.

Inside the lobby Castle showed their tickets to the woman behind the desk and they went over to the right side of the room where others were standing and waiting for the tour. The guide soon came over to them and led the group out, starting the tour talking about an arch with light bulbs in it above them. When they stepped onto a path the guide then brought them to a huge sign that the girls began to take pictures of.

Studying the sign that read Moulin Rouge Beckett glanced at her husband, seeing him leaning closer into it. "Rick," she told him, grabbing him as the guide continued down to the next sign.

"I'm not going to touch it," Castle assured her as they walked after the others. "I don't really want to risk it," he added as they'd been told some of the signs contained lead and other dangerous chemicals.

"What's it say?" Eliza whispered to her grandfather, standing next to him as they stopped walking.

"It's from the Fitzgerald," Jim said quickly before he fell silent as the guide was talking about that sign and the one above it that read Lady Luck.

After they turned to look at the signs on the other side of the path Castle and Beckett rejoined their family in time to hear about the sign the Sassy Sally, notable since it had dollar signs for the second and third esses. They looked at their daughters, seeing that Julia was taking a picture but Eliza was studying the sign very closely.

"Right there sweetheart," Castle told her, picking her up and pointing.

"Ooh I see," Eliza whispered softly.

Walking past a few more signs Beckett heard her youngest gasp out and she smiled at her, pausing in taking a picture of the sign. She squeezed her arm as the guide was telling them what the yucca shaped sign; that read yucca underneath it; was for and as they turned around she said, "You liked that one?"

"Yeah," Eliza said quickly. "It looks like a plant!"

"It's pretty," Julia said quickly before they looked at a sign with roses on it the guide was talking about. They went slightly down the path before stopping in front of something that she thought she recognized.

Seeing the expression on her face Castle leaned down and murmured to her, "Look at the sign."

Julia quickly did so and a smile appeared on her face as she spotted the name of the hotel, the Tam O' Shanter. She took a picture of the largely faded 'hat' that was in front of the sign. They came around the slight curve in the path and she saw there was a horse chess piece that was tall and orange red in color. The guide told them they could go around the signs on their own and she looked up at her parents.

"Did you not want to go around?" Castle asked jokingly.

"No just wondering did you want to," Julia said though by then they were walking down the path that went around the chess piece and a tall person holding a pool cue. She smiled at a sign they saw for a dry cleaning place with a shirt in lights though frowned when someone said to the guide's suggestion that it was smoking. "Why?" she whispered after they learned next about a wedding chapel sign.

"That's what they did back then," Jim explained. He wasn't surprised when his granddaughters both looked at him and he quickly said, "I didn't and I wasn't lying when I told you that before."

Listening to the guide talking about the tall pool player being a sign for a pool hall Eliza leaned her head on her father's shoulder before they continued on. "I'm not tired Daddy," she told him with a smile.

"I know I'm more worried that you're getting bored," Castle replied. He was pleased when she shook her head no furiously, her eyes wide, and he kissed her cheek as they went back to the main path they'd been on.

Listening attentively as the guide told them the story about the first sign that had been in Las Vegas Beckett took a picture of it before she realized she hadn't seen if Martha was all that interested in the tour so far. Since the woman was at the end of the line their family made she had to lean over a little to check on her, seeing her mother in law was listening as alertly as the others were. She smiled in relief; as when her husband had told her about the tour she'd asked him about his mother; and then looked at him when he squeezed her arm gently. "You were right," she said as they continued on.

"To tell you the honest truth it was just a guess," Castle said softly as he saw they were coming up to a skull that was lying down. "Looks familiar," he said out of the corner of his mouth to her.

Beckett; when the guide said it was from Treasure Island; looked at her husband and smiled as he was nodding, trying not to laugh too loudly. When they continued to walk she looked at Eliza, seeing that the little girl was looking around eagerly and closely at each sign they were passing as they continued.

After going by more signs from casinos and other businesses they came to the very long Stardust sign and the guide also pointed out the stars from the same hotel behind it. They paused there and somehow Castle was able to take a picture of the whole family in front of the first s. He texted it to Alexis as quickly as he could before they were continuing on.

When they reached the Desert Inn sign, that she recalled from the show, Julia took a few pictures of it before she realized one of the signs behind it read Silver Slipper. She wasn't surprised when the guide mentioned the slipper across the street and she smiled as Eliza oohed at that information. From there they stepped out into a wider area and she didn't stop taking pictures, loving the Sahara sign, the four leaf clover and horseshoe before she spotted something that looked like it would belong to Caesars Palace and she smiled when the guide confirmed her thought. "I knew," she whispered. When her mother glanced at her with one eyebrow raised she then said, "I guessed." She let her mother take her hand and they went to the last sign in the area.

"Duck!" Eliza cried out when she saw the duckling made out of the lights.

"That's right," the guide said with a smile to her as she hid her face in her father's shoulder. He then proceeded to tell them about the sign; from a used car lot; and then pointed across the street outside to a small park where there was a sign for the museum. "Each of the letters and the star comes from one of the signs that you saw here today," he told the group. "Can anyone guess where the first n is from?"

"The Golden Nugget," Castle called out.

"Good job," the guide replied. "And the e?"

"Caesars Palace," Castle, Beckett and Jim said at the same time before they looked at each other. When the guide asked about the o the latter two looked to Castle who then smiled before he said, "Binions."

"Alright, the last r?" the guide said, nodding to him.

"The Desert Inn!" Julia exclaimed before she giggled and blushed as the others looked at her. "The star is from the Stardust."

With that the guide congratulated her before he wrapped up the tour and Jim led his granddaughters and daughter; including Martha and Castle; to a sign from the Tropicana and another from the Riviera. With that done he looked to them and asked, "What now?"

"Did you guys want anything in the lobby?" Castle asked as there had been a gift shop there. When no one responded that they did he said, "Then let's move on to our next place."

"Really?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Really, where else did you want to go sweetie?" Beckett asked her with a smile. When the little girl just shrugged she couldn't help laughing and picked her up before they went out to the sidewalk in front of the lobby where their taxi was waiting for them.

Castle told the driver where to go next and he sat back, looking down at Eliza who was between him and Beckett saying, "We're leaving the city now."

"We are?" both girls said at the same time.

"Yes now who's hungry?" Beckett asked. She shared a smile with her husband when their daughters called out that they were and she wasn't surprised when he gave her a surreptitious thumbs up at her distraction. She handed out slices of cheese to everyone and then gave out the rest of the cheese with apple slices in their own bags. "I'll have to thank Pierre when we see him again," she commented with a smile as she watched Eliza eating a slice of apple happily since the butler for their villa had given them the bags. She ran her hand over the little girl's hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before sitting up.

"Eat love," Castle said as he watched her looking at her camera.

"You're not hungry Mommy?" Julia asked from behind them.

"I am," Beckett said, taking the last bag of apples and cheese. She ate as they continued outside of Las Vegas, going around the city and then south to Henderson. She looked at her husband when Julia asked where they were but the cabbie answered before either of them could say anything.

"We are coming into Henderson," the man said. "But we're not too far from Las Vegas."
"Look at the plane!" Eliza cried then as she looked at the one she could see outside. "Did we come this way?"

"We did," Beckett answered. "So that was us yesterday." She looked ahead as they got off the freeway and she had to wonder where the place was they were going next since it seemed like they were in the middle of nowhere.

Castle wasn't surprised to see his wife's uncertainty before they came around to a street and he saw the sign for where they were going. He opened his mouth to speak but Julia was doing so from the back before he could.

"That's where we're going? The Clark County Museum?" Julia asked before she froze. "It was on the show too!" she exclaimed.

"Twice," Castle said, looking back at her with a smile.

"Oh yeah," Julia said before becoming excited as she spoke to her grandparents. "The first time we saw there were parts of a plane from a plane crash here and then burnt poker chips the second."

"Really?" Martha asked her. When her granddaughter nodded eagerly she put her hand to her chest and said, "Richard should you be allowing her to watch this show? It sounds a little morbid."

"It's okay Gram," Julia said. "It's history and it's important."

Martha joined the others in laughing at the girl's matter of fact tone and she said, "Well I suppose you're right and if your parents allow you to watch it…"

"Like she said," Castle replied as the driver was going up to the entrance in the parking lot. "It's history and she loves it."

"I wanna see too," Eliza begged as her mother was taking off her seatbelt while the car was stopping.

"We'll see when we go home," Beckett told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she helped her out.

Walking to the main building that was next to the parking lot Castle told the others, "There's a lot to see here so I hope you'll all stick with us."

"I will," Eliza said before he was picking her up to her cry of joy.

Inside Beckett paid for their admission, which was very inexpensive even with the six of them, and she watched her husband let Eliza make a donation of twenty dollars before the woman behind the desk thanked them all profusely and told the girls to have fun. "That was sweet of you," she murmured to her husband as they stepped out to find their oldest looking at a display case towards the back of the room they were in.

"Two dollars, one dollar? I had to after we saw what they have," Castle said to her before he set Eliza down at her insistence. "I think they found something," he said then as their daughters were then rushing over to the display. "Girls, no running," he told them.

"What?" Eliza asked, turning and looking at him in confusion.

"He said not to run," Julia said. She smiled when her father looked startled while her mother just smiled as well and she said, "I guessed."

"Ah, smart girl just like your parents," Castle commented. They had all reached the display and he said, "This is it."

Looking down at the display which had pieces of the plane that had carried the actress Carole Lombard and had crashed into Mount Potosi Jim said, "What a tragedy."

"She didn't have to go," Julia said sadly, looking at the picture of the actress. "Her mother didn't like planes, she didn't want to go."

"They flipped a coin," Beckett said, squeezing her oldest's shoulder. "And unfortunately went on the plane."

"Did Skye tell you about this crash at all?" Martha asked her.

"She did, I asked her what she knew about it," Beckett said.

"It was a CFIT," Julia piped up. "Mommy told me."

"It was at night," Castle then said. "The pilot didn't see the mountain and he wasn't using radio navigation and they weren't using the right course to Burbank either."

"Mommy?" Eliza asked then, taking her mother's hand. "Can we go?"

"Yes we should," Beckett said. When Julia looked to her as if to protest she then held up the map they'd gotten. "This place is big."

Though she wanted to ask if they could stay still Julia knew her mother was right; she could see the area though not any details; and she took a picture of the wreckage before they were going into a room where she saw a display. She then noticed her little sister looking at her and she said, "You try to read it."

When she saw her family was all looking at her Eliza began to blush deeply before she then said, "Oc-Ose-Ocean," beginning to read before she recognized the word. "To… Des… desert?"

"Good job," Castle said, picking her up to her squeal.

Eliza suddenly froze and she said, "There was ocean here?"

Martha then read the plaque that was underneath the title of the display and she put a little flair into it, smiling as her granddaughters laughed softly. When she finished she said, "So it's right, this was an ocean long, long ago."

"And did you see?" Jim then said. "You can touch the stuff here."

"I'm already glad you gave them twenty dollars," Beckett said to her husband after he'd set Eliza down and she took pictures of the girls touching the rocks and fossils in awe with their grandparents reading the signs for Eliza.

"Me too," Castle said before they continued, Eliza catching their attention by crying out at the sight of a stuffed wolf above them. "Don't worry, they don't exist here anymore."

"Oh… good," the little girl said slowly. She then turned to look behind them as the wolf was still scaring her before she saw a mural there. "Camels?" she asked, not sure if the animals there were them as it looked very different than the ones she'd seen.

"I think so," Julia said slowly as she wasn't sure either.

"Girls," Jim told them then. "They have a skull from one of those," he said as he was looking at a display case next to the display with the wolf.

"Camelops," Julia read. "They were here too."

"And sloths," Beckett said, pointing out the skull. "And even the American lion."

"There were lions?" Eliza asked, her eyes wide.

"A long time ago; very long," Castle replied before they moved on again. There was a display of pictographs and then underneath them were some stone mortars and pestles. "You can touch them but it says not to use them," he told the girls.

"Wow…" Eliza breathed. "Jules do you feel?"

"I know they really used these to make their food?" Julia asked the adults. When they got nods from all four of them she said, "How cool and you still use them today Daddy."

"Not of the same material but the same idea," Castle said, smiling at her.

As the girls led the way to the next section Beckett saw that it was about the native peoples there and she wasn't surprised when the girls looked interestedly at the different items in the displays before they came to a diorama. She watched them pointing to the structure that was there and then the baby wrapped up against a board in front of the figure of a woman. "That's how they carried them in those days," she told them with a smile.

"Did you carry us like that?" Julia asked her softly with a small smile.

"Oh no, I'd never wrap you up like that," Beckett said.

"We wouldn't," Castle said as they looked at a small mock up of a mine.

"We wouldn't," Beckett said, smiling at him.

"Mommy!" Eliza gasped as they looked to the next section and she saw a display with a woman on a rocking chair.

"She's not alive sweetie," Beckett told her as the little girl ran to her. "It's just showing what it was like for the pioneers here."

"Oh… kay," Eliza said as her mother took her up to the display and she then took a picture of it.

Moving through the next sections, including the mining parts of the state's history, Julia stopped at a display for the fifties. "Look, Elvis," she said, pointing to a doll.

"It was close to that," Beckett said before her husband could reply to their oldest's questioning look. "But not quite." When he looked at her, stunned, she watched the others move ahead and cupped his cheek with her hand before she kissed him on the lips.

"You told her," Castle stated instead of answering as he knew the answer already.

"I told them both," Beckett said. She smirked when her husband let out a slight groan and then murmured, "I didn't tell them what I thought when I saw you."

His wife leaned against him and began to whisper into his ear and Castle tensed up completely at her words.

"I wanted that stupid costume off you but… we had a case to solve. That didn't stop me from dreaming of tearing it away while you were doing the same to my clothes," Beckett told him. She pulled away and looked into his eyes with a smile saying, "I guess I didn't get enough last night; you're right."

"Then can we-" Castle started to say, breathing out the words before he was cut off.

"Yes," Beckett breathed out herself, smiling at him. She saw his desire to kiss her but he then glanced to the side where they could see their family and he grabbed her hand, tenderly kissing the back of it and letting her feel that desire in his lips. "Come on," she told him gently.

"I know," Castle quickly told her. "Tonight is for Julia until she goes to bed. I can wait."

"Good," Beckett said before they then walked together after their family, looking at the display of a dress shop before they reached them at some old slot machines.

"I still feel so terrible Kate," Martha said as they were walking past the machines. "Your dress was-"

"It's alright Martha," Beckett reassured her. "You did need a new machine," she said; what had been made of her costume's bodice nearly completely destroyed when her mother in law's old sewing machine broke as she was sewing the skirt to it. "And there was still cloth at the store."

"That's true," Martha said before she looked behind her daughter in law. "You might want to see why your husband isn't coming with us."

Turning around Beckett saw that he was looking at something on the wall and she looked at it, seeing there were cards and chips. "What…" she began before she trailed off and saw what had caught his eye.

"Can you see what it says?" Castle murmured to her, looking past her at their family to make sure the girls couldn't hear them.

"Fifty cents… in trade," Beckett began. "Whisky, tobacco or one screw… oh god," she said, covering her mouth with her hand as she began to laugh at what was labeled as a 'prostitution token'. "Don't," she said when she had recovered, holding her other hand over her husband's mouth.

"I'm not looking for a screw," Castle told her simply as he pulled her hand away.

"Thank you," Beckett replied. "Come on, whatever they're looking at really has their attention."

Castle saw that she was right and he followed her, seeing there were pictures of hotels and casinos before he realized that they were of old ones as well as current ones.

"We're reading the list," Julia told her. "And they're of the casinos."

"We saw the signs of them before!" Eliza said. "At the other museum."

"And it also says what hotels are there now," Julia said in a rush, nearly tripping over her words. "Our hotel used to be the Castaways."

"Wow, I have never heard of that one," Castle said before the girls laughed.

"And it says here that GA was right, the Sands was where the Venetian is," Julia added. "This is sooo cool."

"Come on, we should keep going," Beckett said, not surprised at her fascination with the list of hotels. They walked past a display of different gambling items as well as some things relating to wedding chapels in the city before they watched a video of some of the old hotels being imploded.

"Maybe that's why there's ghosts," Eliza said after watching the Sands collapsing. "They didn't like that happening."

"Maybe," Castle said, giving a look to his wife.

Sighing Beckett said, "Just my luck our daughters are believers."

"Sorry Mommy," the girls said at the same time.

"It's alright," Beckett said quickly, smiling at them. "I don't care if you do or not, want to see what's next?"

"Yeah," Eliza said quickly. She looked at the bathing costumes they came up to then with wide eyes and said, "How do you swim."

"It was what you would have to wear," Jim said. When the little girl and Julia looked at him he said, "My mother had bathing suits like those," nodding to two of them.

"And that looks like that's it," Castle said. "What did you think?" he asked both girls.

"It was short," Julia commented.

"We're not finished yet I believe," Martha commented.

"She's right, we're not," Castle told them. "Come on, outside we go."

After they'd stepped out Julia said, "Look at the train! It's real."

Beckett laughed with the others and said, "Of course it is, we can walk around it and then we need to see what's next."

Standing back with his wife Castle smiled as Jim walked the girls around; his mother following them; and he said, "I am so glad we remembered it here."

"You did," Beckett reminded him with a smile. She kissed his cheek gently and added, "You don't want to go over with them?"

"Your dad is having fun," Castle explained as Jim was beaming as the girls were peppering him with questions and pointing out different parts on the train engine. "Okay," he said, holding Beckett close to him as they came back to where they were standing. "Are we ready for what's next?" He laughed when the girls jumped up and down in front of them and said, "Okay, here we go."

Beckett let her husband take her hand in passing as they then led the way over to a stage. They walked past it and then to a path on their left, coming up to some huts made from brush. "Stand in front of it girls," she told them. "But don't touch it."

Nodding Julia did so with her little sister and held her hand as they smiled for their mother's pictures. She then said, "Grandpapa, take a picture of us with Mommy and Daddy."

"Go ahead," Jim said, taking his daughter's camera.

Smiling Beckett joined her husband in walking over to their daughters and they knelt slightly on either side of them for her father to take pictures with both his camera and her own.

"Can we go to those now?" Julia asked, pointing to some old buildings they could see.

"That's exactly where we're headed next," Castle told them before he took Julia's hand and Beckett took Eliza's.

"I like this Mommy," the little girl said firmly. "We are pioneers."

"She's right, it's almost like we are," Castle commented, smiling back at his wife.

"And we've arrived at our settlement, already built for us," Martha said jokingly.

"Oh yeah, we did," Julia said before they all laughed. They then came up to a metal cage and she said, "Is this a jail?"

"Yes and so you know, this is a ghost town," Castle told them. They walked around the building and he saw there was a door open so he started to walk through it before Julia's hand slipped out of his own. He didn't think about it as he figured she was taking pictures and he then took Eliza who ran up to him. He let his mother and father in law step up inside it first before he looked back to see if his wife and Julia were still taking pictures. He paused when he saw the two weren't moving, looking at the building in unease. "Kate," he said, seeing that she appeared to be rigid.

"I… I can't go in there," Beckett breathed out.

"Mommy, please it's okay," Julia said, shaking her fear of the doorway to try and comfort her mother. "Daddy," she said in a scared tone of voice.

"Go with your grandparents," Castle said.

"No," Beckett then said, stepping backwards away from the jail. "I'll stay out, just go through it and meet me on the other side."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked, looking at her closely.

Tearing her gaze away from the building Beckett nodded and then watched as her husband took the girls by their hands and went up to it. Left alone she felt the wind blowing and she shivered though it wasn't a cold day. The breeze was cold though and she reached up to her pendant, touching it before she heard Eliza giggling. She opened her eyes that had been closed as the cold that had come over her broke and she saw her daughters were looking over at her, waving from the building next to the jail before her husband was stepping out and he searched for her instantly.

"Hey," Castle said when he met Beckett halfway. "Okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah I just…" Beckett started to say. She trailed off when her husband took her over to the jail doorway and she gasped immediately, "No!"

"Easy," Castle said. "I wasn't going to take you further than this," he told her reassuringly.

"W-why did you bring me here?" Beckett asked, trying not to sound angry though she was a little.

"Can you sense anything?" Castle asked. When she looked at him he ignored that she was giving him one of her looks and he told her, "Just humor me"

Though Beckett wanted to walk away and tell her husband he was being silly she couldn't do it and she looked through the doorway before she said, "I don't know, please I want to leave."

Castle wasn't surprised and he led her over to the general store where everyone was waiting for them, holding onto her still.

When they'd passed the doorway Beckett felt the last of her unease leave her and she turned around. She opened her mouth to speak but Julia quickly did so, making her and Castle turn to her.

"It's the first jail cell," the girl said to her parents. "I think there was someone there a long time ago that hated the police… the sheriff?"

"Likely that," Castle said, looking at the side of the jail. "It's from eighteen eighty," he told his wife.

Nodding Beckett said, "Let's keep going."

"This is a new place," Eliza said, relieved when her mother smiled at her. She stood at the edge of the porch of the building and said, "See the sign."

"I see but it works if this is supposed to be a ghost town," Beckett said. "Let's see what's next." She started to walk after the others when she realized her husband was still holding her. "What-" she started to say as they walked down the path after the others.

"You still look pale," Castle said. "Let me have your bag."

Beckett gave it to him and watched him grab the bottle of water she'd packed in it and took it after he'd opened it. Sipping the still cool water she felt a little stronger and said, "Thanks."

Since they were stopped as their family was looking at a replica building of a blacksmith Castle brought her close to him and he kissed her temple. "You're okay?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Beckett said, smiling at him. "Whatever you think is in there wasn't going to let me get anything further than- ow!" she said in surprise when her husband squeezed her arm.

"Daddy I know about ghosts and so does Lizzy," Julia said in annoyance.

"We don't have to talk about this," Beckett said as her father was coming back to them with Martha and Eliza.

"But I didn't tell you," Julia said in protest. "I see him."

"See who," Castle asked in surprise before the girl pointed over to the jail.

"The man who was there, who didn't want Mommy to go in," Julia said after hesitating for a moment but finally blurting it out.

"You see…" Jim began to say before he stopped and looked at his daughter.

"Can you see his face?" Castle asked quickly.

"No, he's just a shadow," Julia replied, looking back over at the building. "But he can't talk, he was hanged."

"How do you know that?" Beckett asked.

"I just know," Julia said shrugging though she appeared to be a little uncomfortable.

"We should keep going," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"Good idea, there's more to see," Castle replied. He watched as his mother and father in law went ahead of them with Eliza down the path and he turned to Julia. "How long have you been able to do that?"

Shaking her head Julia then told him, "I just did today, that's the first time I saw anybody." She then became thoughtful and said, "When we were at the Casa de Es…"

"Estudillo," Beckett finished for her, feeling stunned and yet not surprised to hear that.

"There I thought I saw someone in one of the rooms with the beds but it could have been a shadow," Julia replied.

"What happened when you walked in there?" Castle asked, nodding to the jail.

"He stayed back inside the cell," Julia told him simply. "Since Mommy didn't come in."

Passing a toll cabin Beckett said, "You weren't going to tell us about this were you?"

"I didn't know if I should," Julia confessed. "I was scared of what you were gonna say Mommy."

Stopping Beckett held her arms out to her daughter and embraced her tightly saying, "If this happens again just tell us okay?"

"You want to know?" Julia asked, watching her.

"I do," Beckett replied. "And I think your daddy does too."

"I would but it's up to you," Castle said reassuringly.

With a nod to that Julia then hurried ahead of them to her grandmother, taking her hand before smiling up at her.

Walking past wagons and then mining equipment they walked past a building that Castle told them was a scale house he held his wife back a bit from the others. "Kate-" he started to say.

"I didn't see what she was pointing at," Beckett told him, shaking her head.

"No not that," Castle said quickly. "Do you care that she can apparently see… the dead?"

"You don't know that," Beckett said quickly. "She just saw what she thinks was a spirit, likely…" She trailed off then as she noticed her husband was just staring at her and she finally sighed saying, "I don't know what she saw Rick."

"If it turns out she can see the dead what are you going to do?" Castle asked.

Beckett shot him a look and said, "You're talking to me as if I'm going to hurt her Rick. There's no way I would do that."

"But you'd end up denying it," Castle said. "That she can I mean."

Sighing Beckett said, "I just can't believe she could."

"Then let's wait and see what'll happen," Castle said. "In the meantime we should follow them, they're calling us over."

"I wondered if they'd be excited for this," Beckett said with a smile.

"I'm excited for it," Castle said.

Beckett looked at her husband in surprise as he did sound that way but before she could say anything he was grabbing her hand and pulling her over to the baggage car the rest of the family was waiting at. She smiled at his distraction from what had happened at the jail and she went with their daughters through the car until they came back outside. "I think so far we've had a lot of fun," she told the two as they were holding her hands.

"Yes we did," Eliza said firmly, trying to sound grown up before she giggled heavily. She then gasped and said, "It's a cactus!" pointing to the tall plant in front of them.

"It is," Beckett said, letting go of her hand and joining the girls in taking a picture.

"It looks like it has arms," Martha commented as she, Jim and Castle joined the three. "Welcoming us to the car."

"But we're not going on a trip Gram," Julia told her with a smile. "But it's nice."

"What's that?" Eliza asked, pointing to the yellow and green building they were coming up to.

"It is a depot," Castle said as he was looking at the map. He watched the girls rush up the ramp ahead of them and said, "Okay, I guess they want to see it."

"You can't blame them," Beckett said, taking her husband's hand. "We were talking about history earlier?"

Castle smiled and he put his hand on her cheek to bring her over to her for a quick kiss before his mother calling back to them made them jump apart.

"Richard, Kate there'll be time enough later," Martha said from the top of the ramp. "Your daughters are looking for you."

Sighing Castle said, "Should we tell them their grandparents can take them around?"

"I think we both know that would never work," Beckett said as she smiled at him. She took his hand and together they went up to look and see what was in the depot building.

Looking through it they went over to the box car and caboose that were next to it after, watching the girls taking pictures of everything they could until they were outside.

"Now we can go see the neighborhood right?" Julia asked, pointing to the houses that they could see across the street.

"Yes but that's not it for this," Castle told them as Eliza was looking at him as well.

"Really?" Julia asked.

"We told you this place was big," Castle said.

"Who lives here?" Eliza then asked when she could as they reached the first house.

"This is the Beckley House," Castle managed to read on the map. "And no one lives here now; they have it so you can see how a house used to look here in the area a long time ago."

Walking up to the house Julia asked, "We can go inside?"

"They want you to see it," Jim said. "So you can see how people used to live."

When the family stepped into the living room they all jumped together as the sound of a recording started to suddenly play.

"I guess we get a tour guide… sort of," Castle commented as he looked down and saw the speaker where the voice was coming from. "Look at the piano," he then said before he studied a flyer for the house on it. "In the music room."

"But this is all one room," Julia protested after taking a picture. She turned around and screamed shortly before she realized the people around a table in the next room weren't actually people, instead mannequins. "Sorry," she told the others as they were staring at her. "I thought they were real…"

"Yeah I don't blame you for screaming," Castle said, looking at them then. "They're a little creepy."

"And you're still taking a picture sweetie?" Beckett asked her in amusement.

"Yep," Julia said. "I want Mari to see this… at least she won't scream like I did."

"I hope not," Beckett said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "Come on; let's see if we can go the other way." They followed the rest of the family into a bedroom from the living room and she watched as the girls studied the bed there before they looked at a small closet that was covered with an acrylic sheet to see inside of it.

"Cool," Julia said. "And here?" she asked as they came into the next room after the bathroom.

"The brochure said that it was a screen porch but they're using it for an exhibit," Jim answered. He took a picture of the girls both looking at the display case with some clothing in it and another with items that had belonged to the family that had owned the house.

After looking at the kitchen the family walked back out the way they'd come and went to the green and yellow house next door where a car was underneath a carport.

"More people," Castle said in mock annoyance as they came to a living room with people in it.

"When is this supposed to be?" Julia asked, looking at what the people were wearing.

"The fifties," Martha said, looking at a brochure for the house. "Oh, this is a very large house."

"Not like ours," Eliza said in protest.

"No but for the time it was built I think it was," Beckett told her as they went together down the house to see what other rooms they could. After they had seen most of the house she said to Julia, "Are you sensing anything here? Or the other house?"

The girl sighed and said, "If you didn't then no."
Beckett was surprised at how irritated her oldest sounded but she guessed that she thought she'd been asking sarcastically. "Sweetie," she said to her once they were outside. "I believe you when you said you saw…"

"I don't know his name," Julia told her quickly. "But the shadow." She studied her mother and said, "You don't think I'm being crazy or making it up?"

"If you weren't my daughter and I didn't know you then yes," Beckett said. "But I know you very well, so I know you wouldn't lie."

"Mommy," Eliza said as she went back to the doorway of the house. "Jules, come see."

Smiling at her daughter Beckett wrapped her arm around her shoulders and together they went inside after the others to see the home that was made up to look like an antique shop. She went over to her husband as they were leaving and taking his hand said, "What do you think about going to the chapel first?"

"Before the next house?" Castle asked her before he wrapped his arm around her tightly. When she just smiled at him he leaned over and kissed her before they then went over to the white building as their daughters had heard them. Stepping inside he groaned seeing all the figurines that were in the main room of the chapel before he said to Julia, "Luckily I remembered from the show that they were here."

"Me too," the girl said with a smile. She took a picture before they walked around the little space there was and she said, "So people got married here."

"They did and some of them had actual weddings, they weren't those quick ones you hear about," Castle said. He looked around the room and said, "Not that great to do…"

"Come on we have a lot more to see," Beckett told them as they remained behind.

There were a few more buildings the family went into, one of them being a print shop that had a silver ceiling that the girls couldn't stop looking at. There was also a small display that was called Mobile America on the map that included a mobile court cabin, trailer from the late forties and some cars. When they'd stepped off the street the girls protested leaving but soon stopped as their parents reminded them they weren't finished.

As they stepped into the desert garden more towards the parking lot Jim and Martha took their granddaughters by the hand and left Castle and Beckett behind before the two paused and looked at each other. Since at that moment they were alone they took the chance they had, kissing one another as deeply as they could though they didn't chance to linger.

"I'm still trying to figure out why I'm still going crazy," Castle commented, kissing her forehead lovingly before he pressed his own to it.

"We just are," Beckett said. "But you notice the shorter moments we have we're more intense?" she asked as she pulled away from him slightly to be able to look at him.

Thinking about that for a moment Castle nodded and said, "That would stand to reason, we're taking advantage of the time we have."

"We are. And now that we've done so back to the girls," Beckett replied as he nodded in agreement. She shared a brief kiss with him before she pulled him down the path their family had gone on. She felt his fingers entwine with hers and smiled over her shoulder at him before they rejoined their daughters and parents; the former looking at a Joshua tree in awe.