Genre: 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: Really pleased to get the feedback that I did for the prologue of this story so I want to get to my thank yous for that right away! MichelleBell16 (I was very happy to read that you're as excited as you are for their trip. Also that you're looking forward to what they might get up to wherever they go in Europe. And now you don't need to wait to read the start of that and those adventures!), TORONTOSUN (It was great to see you're enjoying the ancestry angle of this story, since I had no idea what readers would think of that part of it. I wasn't surprised to see you liked the boys and Lanie stopped by to see them, that I thought readers might enjoy and was glad to see I was right. So happy that you enjoyed the letters that Beckett was reading to Castle, I wanted that as a kind of intimate moment; her sharing that with him; so glad you mentioned that. And I'm pleased you think her family is exciting to know since I wanted to get readers thinking that!), Guest (I loved reading that you're so excited for this story; didn't know if people would be all too eager for a full family/romance story so nice to know I was wrong, lol. And it was such a compliment to see that you've read my stories and enjoyed all of them, even this far in so I appreciated knowing that you can be sure! Not surprised though that you like the ones that deal with family but glad you do 'cause you'll be getting it here!), vetgirlmx (I had to laugh a bit at your comments about the night before a trip though I do have to agree with you about that. Even short trips you can get like that, but you'll see how things'll go for them concerning if they're tired at all. I wasn't surprised to see that you too were happy to see Lanie and the boys making an appearance in this one or that you wish they could have stayed longer, was expecting that reaction from readers, lol. I was very pleased to read what you thought about them trying to find Beckett's ancestor's and Castle's grandmother. And you got what I was doing with that, making the trip more meaningful and what I was hoping; interesting so I was I was very pleased that you caught it. Happy to see you thought this was a nice start for the story and that you can't wait to see what they'll do next which you don't have to do anymore!) and Coffeelover1980 (It was nice to see that you're loving this so soon in the story, lol, but glad it's got your attention already. And you're very welcome for sharing; I will continue to do so if people keep wanting to read!). Thanks so much to all of you for the great reviews, I appreciate them immensely and am so happy to have gotten them, appreciate the time taken to write them and send them to me!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song La Puerta de Alcalá sung by Ana Belén and Victor Manuel, not certain who wrote it exactly. And in case anyone wonders I believe it means and there it is in English though I'm not 100% on that translation exactly, lol.
Y Ahí Está
"Grandpapa," the voice shook Jim from his sleep, making him jump a little. "Eliza? Honey did you go down the stairs?" he asked, sitting up and helping her onto the couch with him.
"Yeah, can I get Mommy and Daddy?" the toddler asked him.
Looking at the watch he'd set on the couch next to his head Jim checked the time and saw that it was a bit before his daughter and son in law were going to get up. "Not yet, why don't you lay down with me until I can let you go?" he told her, hoping that maybe she would sleep again.
"Kay," Eliza said, sliding against the couch before lying down with him. "I wanna go," she whispered.
"I know," Jim said with a smile before stroking her hair. "And we will, let's just let everyone get some more rest."
Eliza sighed but didn't say anything else as she looked up at the dome which was still dark as sunrise hadn't happened yet. She had no idea how long it took but finally her grandfather's watch alarm began to sound and she gave a short squeal before sitting up with him.
"Okay go ahead," Jim said as he could hear someone's phone alarm going off in Castle and Beckett's room. "But don't scare your dad too much."
"Kay," Eliza said before she slid down to the ground. She took off at a run to the door to the office since it was closer, going through it and the door there to next to her parents' bed on her mother's side.
"Hey sweetie," Beckett said, smiling at her as she had woken up and was turning off the alarm. "How'd you sleep?"
"Who is that?" Castle said sleepily, holding onto his wife from behind.
"Eliza," Beckett replied. She looked at Eliza and they both started to laugh as Castle had begun to groan. "Come on Rick, we really need to get going."
"Yeah Daddy, we want to get going!" a voice said from the doorway.
"Oh man… I thought that was Eliza," Castle said, having shot up at that. When his wife and daughters laughed at him he said, "You are all going to sleep really well on the plane."
"Which we can do once we get on the plane," Beckett said, moving the sheets so she could get up. "Are your grandparents and Alexis awake?" she asked the two.
"Alexis is and Grandpapa," Julia said.
"Gram too," the young woman said, coming up to the doorway then. "Do you want me to help them out?"
"I can dress myself," Julia insisted.
"You can but let Alexis do your hair," Beckett said. When the three had left them she went to close the door and turned to her husband and simply told him, "Let's go."
From that moment on things became a scramble to get ready and also have a little something to eat before they gathered everything they needed to take at the door.
"Oh my… I thought the three of us traveling was a lot," Martha said, seeing all the luggage there.
"And Eliza doesn't even have as much as we do," Alexis told her grandmother. She then smiled and said, "You know what I think when I see this?"
"What?" Martha asked.
"That we have a very big family now," Alexis said.
Martha opened her mouth to speak but they then both heard Julia and Eliza cheering upstairs together and she laughed with her oldest granddaughter. "I think they told them we're leaving," she said.
"You're right," Jim said, checking his passport and ticket a final time.
"Okay checking's been done about twenty times," Castle said. "We've all had a snack, coffee and juice so we're good to go."
"How?" Julia asked, looking at the number of suitcases.
The doorbell rang then and Beckett said, "The concierge."
The man came in and helped Castle load everything onto two carts before he was walking with them down the hall. Outside and on the street there were two taxis they would need to fit all their luggage. They had everything soon packed away and were in the vans heading to the airport.
Since she was sitting with Eliza on her lap Beckett watched the toddler in amusement as she was looking around them though at the beginning she had been around the neighborhood already. "We'll let you do a little bit of that when we get in the air," she told her.
"Yeah?" Eliza said hopefully. When her mother nodded she squealed and then looked back outside until they had reached JFK.
Getting everything checked in took some time so while the others were doing that Alexis took her sisters around the counters for other airlines, naming them for Eliza who couldn't read more than a few letters.
"There are a lot of airlines here," Julia said as they were walking back to their family.
"A lot all over the airport," Alexis said in agreement as she picked up the toddler. "Looks like you did wake up too early," she told her teasingly as she'd been yawning.
"I know," Eliza said with a sigh. She then looked ahead of them and cried, "Daddy!" when she saw that everyone was gathered with their carryon luggage.
"Are you ready to head up to our gate?" Castle asked as he took Eliza.
"Yeah," the toddler replied. "And then Spain?"
"And then Spain," Beckett agreed as they started to walk to the entrance to security.
"Were we okay with the luggage weight?" Alexis asked.
"We just made it," Jim replied, knowing the young woman had been concerned about the weight of her suitcases. "And yours were just at the limit."
"Another blouse and then we would have had to pay the fee," Castle teased his daughter.
Shaking her head as she smiled at him Alexis felt Julia squeeze her hand and looking down at her she said, "We better get your camera put away."
"Oh right," the little girl said as she remembered the metal detectors. She put the camera in her backpack with her sister's help and when they were close to the devices she asked, "Will Eliza go through by herself?"
"She will," Beckett said before she looked at the toddler. "Sweetie?" she said to make sure she had her attention. "You need to walk through those and then go straight to where I'll be waiting remember?"
"No wandering off," Castle said with a slight smile as Eliza was nodding to her mother with a serious expression on her face. "Though I don't think you'd want to since you need to come with us to get on the plane."
"Yeah," Eliza said. When her father set her down, she watched her mother go through the metal detectors before she followed, looking up at the man next to it. She hurried to Beckett after he had smiled down at her and asked her, "Is he police?"
"No sweetie, they just check the people going on planes remember," she answered, kissing her temple gently. Beckett watched everyone else go through, smiling as Julia confidently walked through before grabbing her backpack next to her sister.
"Mommy?" the little girl asked as she went to her mother. "Are we still sitting the same way we said before?"
"Unless anyone wants to change that," Beckett said, looking around at them. When they all shook their heads she smiled before saying, "Then we'll keep to that but are you sure you or you Eliza don't want to sit with me or your daddy?"
"Wanna go with Gram," the toddler said before her sister could answer. She then said softly, "Can I sleep with you?"
"We'll see," Beckett said as she was looking for their gate. "There it is."
"What do you do before you can get on the plane?" Martha was asking Jim as she looked at her watch and saw the time.
"Usually read, rest mainly since I fly around this time," he replied as they got six chairs.
"We're going to walk around and get some pictures with the girls," Beckett said to her father and Castle's mother as the two sat down.
"Text me when our plane gets here," Castle told them as he'd been looking at the gate to see there was no plane parked there yet. "I want us to take a family picture in front of it," he explained to his wife and daughter who were looking at him questioningly.
"Good idea," Julia said hurriedly before her mother could reply to that. "But now let's go look at the planes? Please, pretty please?"
"We're going," Beckett said, unable to help saying that laughingly. She set Eliza down to walk with Alexis and Julia and she stayed with Castle, her camera in hand. When she looked at her husband she saw that he seemed to be thinking of something and she asked him, "What's on your mind?"
"Just the fact that we're going to have a ton of pictures from this trip," Castle told her simply. At her nod he then said, "I think we should make books like we always do, but divide them up by country. Even Scotland and Wales we'll give their own books."
"I think we need to wait to see about that," Beckett told him. "But it's an intriguing idea."
"It is isn't it?" Castle asked her jokingly before they came up to their daughters who were looking at a Qantas plane. "She's pretty but that is one long flight," he said to the girls.
"Alexis said," Julia replied. "But they have kangaroos and koalas there… it would be worth it."
"Plus more than that," Alexis said. "Don't forget there's more than just animals."
Thinking that over, Julia nodded before they walked to the next plane which was a Cathay Pacific plane. She was quiet while they went through all the others that were parked at the moment at each gate, focusing on taking a picture before they got back to Martha and Jim.
"How was it?" the former asked as she took Eliza onto her lap and watched Julia lean against Beckett's father.
"It was fun, there were some we haven't seen before," Julia replied. She looked ahead and said, "It's not here yet?" in surprise at seeing the gate ahead was still empty.
"It should be here soon," Alexis replied, watching her dad and Beckett at the window.
"They're going to have fun then," Beckett was saying to her husband.
"I wanted to make sure they would without us," Castle replied. "I just hope Eliza will be okay… but she'll know we're celebrating our anniversary."
"Julia will be sure the remind her," Beckett said before she glanced over at the girls and saw that the girl was walking over to them. "Anything wrong sweetie?"
"No I'm just wondering where the plane is," Julia replied.
Looking back out Castle smiled and said, "Ask and ye shall receive," as the A340 was pulling up to the gate. "Come on over for the picture," he called to the others.
"The bags," Eliza said as Martha picked her up.
"We'll keep an eye on them," Jim said with a smile as the space between the windows and chairs wasn't at all that big.
Speaking to one of the people that were sitting next to them Castle hurried to stand next to Beckett with Alexis on his other side, the girls in front of them and Martha and Jim at the end. He made sure the plane would be in view in the back and as soon as the pictures were taken; with Beckett's camera and his phone; he shared the picture from his phone with the others as they sat back down. "It came out great," he said, looking at the screen of his phone.
"You're right, it did," Beckett commented with a smile. She then looked at Julia who was coming to them and said, "Oh, I don't know sweetie…" teasingly as the little girl started to get on her lap.
"Eliza has to share," Julia said jokingly in response.
"She does," Beckett answered, holding her close. She kissed her daughter's temple and asked, "Tired?"
"A little," Julia said. "But I can't wait to take pictures on the plane… I can right?"
"You can," Castle answered. "And of the meals too."
When she saw Julia looked startled at that idea, Beckett told her, "There are a couple of sites online that you can go to and see pictures people take of the meals they get."
"Oh… I wanted to do that but to show Mari," Julia said after looking thoughtful for a moment.
"You can," Beckett assured her. She then said, "Why don't we try and talk in Spanish now as much as we can to get ready?"
"I'm afraid I'll be at a disadvantage," Martha said, having heard that. "Are we going to be speaking Irish, Welsh and Scottish?"
"Not really," Castle said. "And French… we've been trying to learn that more but it's been difficult since we didn't have someone around who can speak it a little more fluently than we can. Although Kate is really good at it."
"That was her mother," Jim suddenly said. When everyone looked at him; though his daughter was smiling at that memory; he said, "She took it in high school and college and between her second and third years went with a friend to the city."
"Why not Spain?" Julia asked.
"Because she didn't know Spanish," Jim said. He then smiled himself saying, "You're hoping I would tell you we met there instead?"
"It would be romantic," Julia said. She then giggled softly and said, "But how you met for real is good too."
"It is," Jim said.
The family broke off into conversations then, Julia talking with her parents and Jim and Alexis talking with Martha as Eliza looked fatigued but seemed to be keeping herself awake. Finally as they were all starting to feel tired they were called to board and they joined the line of others in business class.
Looking around the jetway Eliza's eyes were wide before her mother told her they were walking to the plane. Turning her head to the door at the end she then said, "I remember!"
"Yeah this was how we went to California, on a plane too," Julia told her, having thought her sister had forgotten. "And that's the plane."
Nodding, Eliza smiled at the flight attendants that stood just inside and waved a little before they were motioned to the front of the plane. She looked around at the seats until her mother set her down on one next to the window. "Gram-" she said, starting to search for her before Martha sat next to her.
"I'm here darling, let's get you buckled in," she told the toddler, helping her with her seat belt.
At the front of the seats Beckett turned to her husband and said, "You could have the window if you wanted."
"We're going to be sleeping a large part of the time," Castle said simply. "So no thanks."
Beckett was about to speak when he picked up her hand, kissing the back of it and making her smile. "You're excited," she commented after studying him for a moment.
"You can tell I'm trying to distract myself?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he said, "I'm telling myself we're leaving soon so…"
Squeezing his hand Beckett looked behind at Martha and Eliza who had the seats behind them and she waved to the toddler as they waited for the rest of the plane to board.
Looking out the window at the people walking around on the tarmac below Julia was startled when the flight attendants began their safety demonstration and her sister next to her touched her arm. She watched closely and then waited impatiently for the plane to begin to move and when it did she shared a smile with Alexis as they could hear Eliza ahead of them squealing with joy. "She remembers this," she told her.
"I know but I think it's more she's ready to go," the young woman replied. She wasn't surprised when Julia nodded eagerly, squeezing her arm as they soon came to a stop in line behind two other planes.
When they lifted up into the air Martha looked at Eliza to make sure she was fine with the sensation as she hadn't seen what the toddler's reaction had been to it earlier in the month. But her youngest granddaughter was looking towards the window before she turned to her and smiled happily. When they had leveled off she leaned over and kissed the top of her head telling her, "You're just like your father, darling. Loving to travel."
"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head firmly. She then stopped and said, "I'm hungry Gram."
"We'll eat soon," Martha promised her. "Until then why don't we look at this," she said, taking the SkyMall magazine from its place.
When breakfast was served Castle went back quickly to check and see if his mother would be okay with Eliza. "Just in case she wants to come up with us," he said, smiling at the toddler who was sipping at a bottle of milk.
"I think she's doing fine," Martha replied with a smile, watching her. "Go eat yourself."
Nodding Castle stopped to check on Julia and Alexis before he looked back at Jim who was talking to the woman sitting next to him. Sure that everyone was okay and eating he went back to his wife and sat down to their meal of eggs, jamon, toast and fruit. "Everyone's okay, your dad seems to have made a friend with the person next to him," he told Beckett.
"He's done that before," Beckett replied with a smile. "He's met a lot of people from around Spain that way. Remember that's how he met Xavi."
Nodding as he was sipping at his coffee, Castle put the cup down and told her, "You think she'll want to sleep?"
"I don't know, the same for Julia," Beckett replied. She then looked at her chair and said, "I might be able to have Eliza sleep here with me."
"That would work out," Castle said.
"Julia's going to have to just try and sleep," Beckett said simply. When she and Castle heard a mock-indignant, "Hey!" behind them she smiled at him and said, "You'll have to sweetie."
"I hope you'll like the hotel," Castle told his wife after they'd gone back to eating.
"The name is interesting," Beckett said with a smile.
"I was surprised though I did remember the Westin is a chain," Castle replied. "But then I thought the word palace there in the name would be great to take the girls." When his wife raised an eyebrow at him he shrugged and said, "The novelty of it."
Shaking her head though she was smiling Beckett commented, "As long as it's safe I don't care."
"It will be," Castle assured her, knowing she was aware that he was thinking of that too.
When they had finished their meal and the trays had been taken away Beckett watched Castle go back to Eliza to grab her and bring her up to their row. "Hey sweetie how was your breakfast?" she asked the toddler as she took her, not surprised to see her yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"Good I'm tired," Eliza said before she yawned again.
"Come here," Beckett said, taking the blanket that Castle had shaken out for them. She pushed the seat out into a bed and lay on her side as she covered them saying, "Let's get comfortable sweetie."
"Comfy," Eliza said before she smiled. She felt her father kissing her cheek and she looked up at him, pursing her lips. "Night Daddy."
"Goodnight sweetheart," Castle said before he felt a hand on his back and turned to see it was Julia.
"I'm going to sleep, I just wanted to say goodnight too," the little girl explained.
"Come here," Beckett said, pushing herself up. When her oldest was close she leaned over and shared a kiss with Julia before she watched her and Eliza kiss before the little girl went to Castle.
"Night Daddy," Julia told him.
"Goodnight Julia, hope you can sleep," Castle said. He shared a kiss with her and Eliza before he led her back to Alexis, seeing that his oldest had put Julia's seat back. He helped her onto it and then covered her carefully saying, "We'll get up for lunch."
"And after?" Julia asked.
"If you're not too tired then you can go through your books," Castle said. He leaned down and kissed her temple before going back to Beckett and Eliza. When he was at his row he looked on at the two who were whispering together and he couldn't help smile at the way she stroked the toddler's hair to try and put her to sleep.
When she was sure Eliza was out Beckett looked up at her husband and said, "Better lay down," knowing that he had been staring at them.
"Right," Castle said, shaking himself. He got his seat ready and before he got onto the bed he leaned over, kissing Beckett gently and briefly. He then lay down and though he needed to turn slightly and bend his knees to fit completely he reached over to his wife's hand and squeezed it telling her, "Night Kate."
"Night Rick," Beckett murmured back to him and then slipped her hand from his and put it around Eliza before closing her eyes to sleep.
Snapping a picture outside of the window, Julia looked at her tray and said, "Do I have to?"
"You do, it's not too bad," Alexis assured her. "And then you can eat your dessert.
Sighing, Julia got back onto her chair and went back to eating her chicken, leaving her cheese and grapes last after the salad. Once she'd finished she looked hopefully at her big sister who nodded and she dug into her pear tartlet.
A row ahead Beckett was finishing her wine and said, "Not too bad."
"The lunch or dessert?" Castle asked, finishing off the last of his tartlet.
"Dessert," Beckett said with a smile. "I'm looking forward more to dinner tonight."
"I agree," Castle said. He waited to speak again until their trays were taken away and said, "Want to bring them up here?"
"Of course," Beckett said. She stood up with him then and went back to Martha and Eliza's row as he stopped at the row behind them. "Want to come and sit with us for a little sweetie?" she asked the toddler.
Looking at her grandmother; who nodded at her; Eliza turned back to her mother and nodded herself, reaching up to her so she could pick her up. When Beckett was sitting at her chair with her on her lap she said, "Are we gonna play?"
"Yep," Castle said, watching as Julia who had followed him looked at them a little hesitantly. "You can sit on my lap," he let her know.
"I'm not too heavy?" the little girl said. When her father shook his head firmly she sat and said, "What are we going to play?"
Seeing Beckett nodding to him Castle reached down and got the wrapped package that they'd hidden before they'd taken off. "This is a special gift," he said, holding it out so the girls could see. "Very special because it's for our first family summer vacation."
"Thank you," the girls said together at the same time, looking at both their parents.
"Here," Castle said as he gave the present to Julia.
"You can open it," the little girl said, handing it to her sister.
"I can?" Eliza asked, beaming at her.
"What do you say?" Beckett murmured against the side of her head.
"Thank you!" Eliza immediately replied. And with that she began to tear the paper off before she revealed two small boxes and two books. "What is it?" she asked.
"These are for you to sew if you want," Beckett said. She glanced at Julia and wasn't surprised when she saw the startled expression on her face before she explained, "Your grandmama would get these for me during the summer, when I told your daddy that he insisted we should get these in case you two wanted to learn."
"They are different," Eliza pronounced carefully.
"They are because you're a little young to use metal needles," Beckett said. "But you still get to sew like your sister will. And you need to make sure we're with you when you do this."
"I am too little?" Eliza asked with a wide smile.
"A couple of years," Castle said. "We couldn't find anything for younger kids. But we will help you of course."
"Thank you," Eliza said before she giggled a little shyly. "I got a butterfly Jules," she told her sister proudly. "Did you?"
"No I got a fox," Julia said. "It looks cute."
"We couldn't find much in the way of those kits," Castle said. "And believe me we looked as much as we could."
"I still like it," Julia said, studying it. She then looked at the books and said, "Mine's color by number, look Lizzy."
"Horsies!" the toddler cried. "And me?"
"You got the same book," Julia replied with a smile. She giggled when her sister clapped her hands and then said, "Why don't we wait until it's not so shaky?"
"It's turbulence," Castle said as they had come onto some then. "But from that I'm guessing you want to sew?"
"Yep," Julia said, smiling at him.
"Eliza?" Beckett asked her. When the toddler picked up her kit she smiled and said, "Let's get started."
Until they landed an hour later at the Madrid-Barajas airport Castle and Beckett worked on the kits with their daughters eventually having to switch as he couldn't figure out the cross stitch with Julia. But the activity distracted the girls long enough that when they landed it was a surprise and brought back their excitement full force as they neared touchdown in the capital.
"Bienvenidos a Madrid," a man said, nodding to the family as they stepped inside the Westin Palace hotel. "Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett we are pleased to have you here with us, allow me to escort you to check in."
As they followed the man Beckett whispered to her husband, "Your books are here?"
"Yeah ours have to be too," Castle murmured back.
Beckett couldn't respond to that as they'd reached reception and she helped him check into their rooms. She glanced back at the others when they were waiting for the man behind the counter to check on something and smiled when she saw that Julia was taking pictures while Alexis was carrying Eliza who was staring at the murals on the walls in awe.
"Here you are," the man said then, getting Beckett's attention. "Your rooms are ready and three of them are next to each other as you requested. If there is anything else we can do for you please let us know."
"Muchas gracias," Castle said with a nod. He tried not to smile when the man looked surprised at his pronunciation and managed to keep it in until he'd turned around. "Good thing we practiced," he told his wife as they walked to their luggage that was being put on carts by two bellmen. He and Beckett helped the men so they could finish quicker and once their family was with them again they headed to the elevators.
Going down the hall on their floor Beckett wasn't surprised to see the girls looking around as they'd been in the lobby. She squeezed Eliza's hand that she was holding and said, "Okay sweetie?"
"Yeah I wanna sleepover with 'lexis and Jules," Eliza said quickly.
"You knew I was going to ask that?" Beckett asked with a smile.
"Yeah," the toddler replied, beaming up at her mother.
Beckett wanted to comment on that but they had reached the rooms that the others were going to use so she turned her attention ahead of them to the first door they were coming to. "Whose is this?" she asked.
"Your dad's," Castle said, watching the bellman in front unlocking the door and leading Jim inside.
Standing in the doorway with her husband Beckett could see that her father's room was smaller but since it was just him in it she could understand why. "And the girls' room is next to him?" she asked her husband as the bellman was putting her father's luggage down.
"They are, my mother is on the other side of the girls," Castle said.
"And us?" Beckett asked.
"No clue," Castle said honestly. "I requested these three be connected. So you know you have a huge room if you keep those doors open," he said to his mother and father in law.
"Could we?" Julia asked interestedly.
"We will," Alexis said. "But in the mornings."
As Jim was beginning to unpack the others went down the hall to the next door to the girls' room. It was the same in layout as Beckett's father's room but the art on the wall above the bed was different though it still pertained to Spain.
"So I'll help them unpack," Alexis told her dad and stepmother. "Since their things for the next few days are on top."
"We can help," Julia said quickly.
"Yeah me too!" Eliza cried.
"And I'll come and see them as well as…" Martha said before she went over to the door on the wall across from the bed. She opened it and knocked on the one on the other side before she called, "Jim, they're here."
Opening the door shortly after Beckett's father said, "What do you think?"
"I like it," Julia said firmly, not surprised her sister nodded next to her. She then turned to Martha and said, "Go to your room now Gram and we can open the door!"
"I'm going right now," she said in amusement.
"Why are three connected?" Beckett asked.
"This section of the hotel was designed to cater to larger parties señora," one of the bellmen said. "There are some rooms that connect in groups of four. Only on this floor."
"Good idea," Castle said. When the man nodded he and Beckett followed his mother to the next door, watching her and her luggage going inside before she opened the door.
"Hi!" Eliza said, jumping up to her grandmother and hugging her tightly around the legs.
"Hello darling, have you started to unpack yet?" Martha asked. When the toddler shook her head she urged her, "Go and finish up so you can come in and keep me company." She then turned to her daughter in law and son and waved them away saying, "Go to your room, we'll come see it when we're ready."
"Stay with them sweetie," Beckett said with a smile before she and Castle turned to walk back into the hall where their suitcases were the last on one of the carts.
After giving a tip to the other bellman Castle took his wife's hand as they followed the cart down the hall to a door before the man opened it and walked inside first. "I'll let you go ahead," he said. "I've seen this already."
Smiling at him Beckett walked inside first and took in the room which had bright yellow wallpaper and as did the other rooms contained a large bed with Spanish art above it. She went to the bathroom to see that it was marble with a spacious tub while her husband was tipping the last bellman. When she heard the door close she went to the doorway as Castle was walking up to it and said, "I think this will do really well."
"It's… yep, it will," Castle said, looking past her into the bathroom. He wasn't surprised when she smiled at him and he reached out to her, putting his arm around her to bring her against him. "Let me show you something," he said as they were close together.
Beckett let him take her over to the door to the left of the bed and waited for him to open it before they stepped out onto a small balcony, seeing the fountain of Neptune they'd passed coming into the building. "Beautiful," she said, looking past it and seeing a building she guessed was the Prado.
"So we're in Spain love," Castle said, trying to affect a Spanish accent. When he saw her wrinkle her nose he said, "No?"
"Again, sounds like Christopher Walken," Beckett teased him. But before he could say anything she turned to him and kissed him on the lips. They lingered there for a few seconds before parting and she leaned against him as they watched the traffic on the street below. "We should unpack, they're going to come and have to wait," she finally forced herself to say.
"Yeah," Castle said reluctantly. He let her go and followed her inside, leaving the door open for the breeze that was coming in. "So we're still going to the park?" he asked as they got their suitcases on holders and began to get their Madrid clothes on top out.
"We are, I think that's enough," Beckett told him.
"We couldn't go to the gardens we talked about?" Castle asked.
"I was thinking about that," Beckett told him. "And I'm not sure about the Reina Sofía now."
"You mean the same day as the Prado?" Castle asked. At her nod he said, "We can push that back and have the gardens take up the rest of tomorrow."
"It's a better idea," Beckett told him as she put away her last blouse. As soon as she had she wasn't surprised in the slightest to hear a rapid knock and said, "Just in time."
"Of course," Castle said easily as he followed her to the door.
"How's your room?" Julia asked as her little sister squealed and threw herself at their mother.
"Come in and see," Castle said as Beckett picked up Eliza and they went back into the room.
"You have a balcony?" Alexis said as she walked over to it.
"Look at that view," Martha said as they went outside.
"That's the Prado," Jim pointed out.
"The art museum?" Julia asked. At his nod she said, "I wanna see what they have."
"You will," Castle promised. He and Beckett then went back inside with their family where they peeked in at the bathroom before they left after he had closed and locked the balcony door. "Everyone have their cameras?" he asked, seeing his wife, their daughter and Alexis did. "Then let's go," he said, swinging Eliza up onto his shoulders as they went to the elevators.
Outside they walked down to the street and east until they reached the west side of the Calle de Alfonso across from the park and Julia turned to her grandfather, slipping her hand in his as they waited to cross.
"Where's the door?" the little girl asked him.
"Door?" Martha asked in confusion as the light changed but Julia and her grandfather stayed where they were.
"The Puerta de Alcalá," Jim answered quickly as everyone ahead of them paused in going across to the park. "It's north on this street." He studied his granddaughter and asked, "Do you want to go see it?"
"Can we?" Julia said, looking at her parents.
"Is it far?" Alexis asked, glancing at Castle and Beckett and wondering why they weren't answering.
"It says it's a four minute walk," Castle said, looking up from the screen of his phone where he'd mapped the way to the monument. "Does anyone not want to go?"
When no one said anything to that Beckett smiled and said, "Then we'd better go or we won't have any time to spend at the Plaza." As they turned to the north she felt her husband take her hand before he let go prompting her to say, "It's alright."
"Sure?" Castle asked.
"I'm sure," Beckett said. "I can take pictures with one hand," she told him. She then took a shot of their family ahead of them and she smiled when she could hear Julia singing coming back to them.
"Y ahí está, ahí está…" the little girl was beginning before she trailed off. "Grandpapa how does the rest go?"
"Well first they say its name, la Puerta de Alcalá," Jim answered. "And then ahí está, ahí está viendo pasar el tiempo. But that's about all I know of the song besides the ending, you remember that too don't you Eliza?" he directed to the toddler who was being held by Alexis.
"Mi…" Eliza started to say before she frowned.
"Mírala," Julia told her quickly. She then sang the word a number of times until her sister mimicked her and they sang together until Alexis told them laughingly to stop.
"We're here already," the young woman then said as the two looked at her in surprise.
"Oh you're right!" Julia gasped, seeing the monument. She studied it and said, "It looks like those arches that are somewhere else."
"The aqueducts," Castle said. "But I think you're just being reminded of the arches that those have. So do you like it?"
"Yeah I do," Julia said simply before she started to take pictures.
"Your dad knows the song?" Castle asked his wife, turning to her.
"We talked about that already," Beckett said, smiling a little as she finished taking pictures herself. "And you even like the song."
"It's catchy I'll give you that," Castle said.
"I didn't ask for anything," Beckett said, waiting for the others to finish looking at the monument. She was a little startled when her husband leaned over and kissed her and she asked, "I didn't ask for that either."
"Should I take it back?" Castle asked.
"Don't even try," Beckett said firmly before she smirked and took Julia's hand as the little girl came to her so they could cross to the other side of the street.
Shaking his head as he hurried to follow so he wouldn't make them wait Castle watched Eliza let go of her grandmother's hand to take his. "I know we're at the park but let them get some pictures of this from the other side and we'll go," he told her since that corner of the street was the north west corner of the Parque del Retiro.
"So where should we go first Dad?" Beckett asked her father once they'd gotten enough pictures.
"The Estanque," Jim said very rapidly in reply. When he looked at Eliza he wasn't surprised to see she looked confused and he laughed softly saying, "Come on honey, I'll show you first."
"Me?" the toddler asked as he picked her up.
They started walking and as they were, Castle was looking at the map of the city their Spain travel guide had and as he read something he sucked in a breath of air.
"What?" Beckett asked, she and Alexis looking to him.
"It's this little street," Castle said, motioning to the tree lined path they were going on. "It's called the Avenida de Mexico?"
"It is," Jim said, since that was directed at him. "And we're going to come up to the Plaza de Nicaragua," he added as Alexis was taking the book from her father's hands.
"I see what you mean now Paseo de Colombia… Paseo de la Argentina," Alexis replied, showing the map to her stepmother then who was leaning over to see. "And more streets named the same here."
"Is that bad?" Julia asked. "Didn't Spain go there?"
"They did," Castle said, holding his hand out to her.
"Oh… they weren't nice to the…" Julia started to say before she frowned.
"Native people," Beckett suggested for her. "Not always."
"Xavi doesn't like the reminder of that part of his country's history," Jim commented. "Or his wife."
"She's a history professor at one of the colleges right?" Alexis asked.
"Universidad Rey Juan Carlos," Jim answered. "And they live at the Plaza Mayor which was where… things happened."
"What Grandpapa?" Eliza asked, having been listening to the conversation though not understanding it totally.
"Look at the fountain," Alexis said quickly, knowing her step-grandfather had been talking about the auto-de-fe that were held there. Luckily she had seen they'd come up to the Plaza de Nicaragua and used that to distract both her little sisters from asking anything else.
"Look at the fish tails," Julia was saying to her sister, pointing at the middle of the fountain.
"They're sitting on the heads of the fish," Castle said to them both as he knelt with them.
Eliza giggled and then said, "There are froggies."
"Oh there are," Castle said, seeing them below the cherubs and fish. He watched Julia take a picture of them before he stood up and went over to Beckett as she was turned away. "Panoramic view?" he asked as she was taking a few shots one right after the other.
"No just what's catching my eye," Beckett replied, smiling at him. She took his hand then and pulled her towards him before she brushed her lips to his.
"Are you looking at the lake?" Castle asked with a smile.
"I was," Beckett replied. "You've been in a row boat?"
"Yeah they have them?" Castle asked eagerly as he looked towards the water; having seen pictures of it before.
"They do and we can rent one remember," Beckett replied.
"A boat?" a voice said next to them.
Looking down to see that it was Eliza, Castle smiled and picked her up before telling her, "Right but you'll see why in a second."
"We're ready to go," Martha said, going over with Julia, Alexis and Jim.
With Castle and Beckett leading the way they soon came to the artificial lake where Eliza gasped at the monument and statue on the east side of it. She smiled when her family laughed and then pointed saying, "Boats Daddy!"
"I know sweetheart," Castle said. "Don't point okay? Do you want to go on one?" When she nodded he then looked at the others asking, "Who else wants to go?"
"I do," Julia said hurriedly, raising her hand. "You will too right?" she asked Alexis.
"Yeah what about you two?" the young woman asked her grandmother and Jim.
"We'll go around and watch you take a ride," Martha said since she'd been told about the boats on the way to the pond.
Going over to the building that was on the north side Castle tried to get one boat for the five of them before he was told that they would need two. "Well…" he said, looking back at the others.
"I think I can take one Dad," Alexis told him. "Who wants to come with me though?"
Julia grabbed her little sister's hand before pulling her away from their parents and sister slightly. She whispered into her ear and then smiled when Eliza nodded before they ran back to the others. "I'll go with you 'lexis," she said.
"I wanna go with you," Eliza then told her parents.
"Really? You went away to conspire for that?" Castle said though his tone was full of amusement.
"Yeah," the toddler nodded.
Once they had their boats Castle went with Alexis and Julia first and said as they boarded the boat, "Let your sister row a little bit too."
"Are you sure?" Alexis asked teasingly.
"Just a little," Castle said with a smile as Julia was giggling softly at them. "Have fun and we'll see you out there." He then went to the next boat where Beckett had already boarded with Eliza and he slipped down on the seat. "Are you ready sweetheart?" he asked the toddler.
"She's been ready," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of the toddler's head as he started to row them out into the water. She glanced at the shore and said, "I wonder if your grandpapa and gram are going to make it over there before we will." When Eliza's response was to cry out gently as they went more towards the middle of the water she smiled and leaned over, kissing the top of her head before she looked at her husband.
"I'm navigating," Castle said quickly though he knew what the look on her face meant.
"You're not doing too badly," Beckett told him teasingly with a smile. She looked past him and to the steps that came down to the water at the monument and she said, "Looks like they did make it."
"Gram!" Eliza cried.
"Hello darling," Martha said, waving back to her. "How is it?"
"Fun!" the toddler cried eagerly.
"She's right," Julia said from the boat where she and Alexis were near the others. "It's really pretty."
"It looks like it is," Jim said as he waved to Eliza. "Careful," he said as he saw she was standing up, his daughter holding her in place.
"I don't think you want to go swimming Eliza," Castle said as he rowed past the steps and then along the edge. "You're going to be all wet when we go to dinner."
"Tapas?" the toddler asked eagerly.
"Yep," Castle said, smiling as she wriggled a little.
"Sit down," Beckett said, a smile on her face though. She helped their youngest sit down before she was suddenly jumping up again, making her reach out to hold onto her.
"Mommy, look! Horsies, the horsies Daddy!" Eliza nearly screamed.
Looking back over his shoulder, Castle saw two people riding the animals along the edge and he looked at Beckett who was watching them pass by. "Can you tell what they are?" he asked her.
"I can, Arabians," Beckett said simply.
"Don't you ride Mommy?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Not today, when we get to Carbajales we'll try and see if we can," Beckett told her as she managed to get her to sit back down. She held her in place next to her as Castle took them around the pond until they reached the middle and he brought in the oars. "So we're just going to drift?" she asked him teasingly.
"No come here Eliza," Castle said, holding his hand out to her. When she walked over carefully he had her sit on his lap before he helped her take one of the oars.
"I can go Daddy?" the toddler asked him hopefully.
"You can," Castle replied. "Or we'll try the best we can," he added when he saw her hands were a little small.
Eliza nearly started to whimper as the wood began to slip from her hand, but a second later her father's was holding it place, doing the same to the other. When they started to move she squealed and said to her mother, "Mommy look!"
"I see sweetie, you're doing a great job," Beckett replied, taking pictures as she was rowing. When Castle had taken control back but Eliza stayed on his lap she then turned her camera to Julia and Alexis, taking pictures of them. Before they went back to the dock for the boats she took random shots around the pond and then stopped, looking at the view around them before their family regrouped on the shore.