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: Was happy to get some feedback for the last chapter so of course, getting to my thank yous quickly! vetgirlmx (Great to see you thought the last chapter was really good, both halves of it. And I'm in the same boat as you, lol, I have that song stuck in my head since childhood, lol, being a Spaniard I've heard it since then so it's never gotten out of my head, lol. So had to use it because of that and also because their hotel was that close to the actual monument… well, also because the song sings Madrid to me, literally, lol. And thank you so much for the info on the song writers; I definitely appreciate that since I couldn't find that out! You got exactly what I was doing with Alexis noticing all their luggage for the trip, how big their family has gotten from when it was just the three of them. And also that she's always wanted a big family, I figure she would want that because again it was just the three of them. I wasn't expecting your reaction to Xavi and Beatriz, lol, you'll see how much they'll be with them while they're in Spain as the family continues through. And glad I could surprise you with who it was that woke up early, I'd been tempted to have it be Julia but something pulled me to Eliza, lol, the unexpected. And I'm not surprised you could see that Eliza was really tired after everything, for her age that would happen. Great that you can see they're going to enjoy their time going through the countries already and I'm not surprised you mention Julia since she is old enough to recognize it and everything. So pleased you can't wait to read more and see where they'll go next and now you don't need to do that anymore!), Beckett-Castle4ever (It was nice to read that you liked they were having a really nice time. And it was great to see that you enjoyed the love scenes between Castle and Beckett at the end of the chapter; do like getting those kinds of comments from the readers!) and TORONTOSUN (It was nice to see that you liked the way everyone had something to offer for the trip. And same for you saying you like how everyone is looking out for the girls, had to since this is their first time out of the country and of course they're all close. And with the second half I'm glad you could tell they were having fun already, along with Jim's friends. Really pleased that you enjoyed the love scenes at the end and yeah, lol, that addicted to each other Castle and Beckett are going to want to try more still). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and appreciate the time taken to send them to me as always!

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 and thanks to vetgirlmx I know now who wrote it Bernardo Fuster and Luis Mendo. And the title means, just in case, past and present live together as I translate it, lol.

Convivan Pasado Y Presente

As she ate the raspberry that her sister handed her Eliza said, "What do Mommy and Daddy do?"

"I think the same as we are," Alexis replied. "Having breakfast."

"I wonder if they got the churros," Julia said thoughtfully.

"I think Dad would want those," Alexis said.

"But Mommy wouldn't let him," Julia added.

"More than likely. So who's excited to see art today?" Alexis asked, looking at Eliza then to see her reaction.

"I am," Julia answered first. "And there's a lot of art huh?"

"A ton," Alexis added.

"Why 'lexis?" Eliza asked her big sister since she was still looking at her.

"Are you going to have fun seeing everything?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, I see it at home," Eliza said firmly. "The same picture."

"Art," Julia corrected her sister. "And it's art like at home but they aren't the same ones."

"Oh…" Eliza said before she trailed off. "Does Mommy take pictures?"

"Of course," Alexis replied. She then thought for a moment and got off the bed, going over to the desk where she had their Spain travel book; not sure how she'd managed to hold onto it. But she was able to show her sisters the first two pages on the museum they were going to visit.

"I saw this one," Julia said, point to the painting at the top. "That's… Velázquez, right?" she asked, pronouncing the word carefully.

"It is, we'll see a lot of paintings from him," Alexis said. "And then there's Goya, El Greco."

"Gre… co," Eliza pronounced carefully. "That is his name?"

"A nickname," Alexis said with a smile. "It means the Greek man in Spanish, because he was from Greece and then came here to Spain."

"I know Rubens too, they have his paintings at home," Julia said, having been reading a caption about the painting called The Three Graces.

"They have a lot of artists, look, there's Spanish, Flemish and Dutch, Italian, French, German and British paintings. And sculptures," Alexis told them, pointing out the key to the color coded floor plan.

"Do we see all of it?" Eliza asked, eyes wide. When Alexis nodded she squealed and said, "Can we go? Please?"

"Not yet, we have to finish our breakfast…" the young woman began as she held a spoonful of the oatmeal they'd been sharing to her little sister's lips. "And then get ready and wait for your mom and Dad to go."

"I hope they'll be here soon," Julia said, popping a blueberry into her mouth. "And they pick the right breakfast like we did so we have enough energy."

"I'm sure they will," Alexis replied, taking a strawberry from the bowl before eating it.

Eliza then began to ask about the gardens they were going to that day as well and the three sisters talked eagerly about their plans as they finished up their meal, each of them eager to go by the time they started to get ready.

Breathing roughly as her husband nearly slumped onto her body Beckett raised her head and kissed him hungrily as he soon responded to her. She held him by the back of his neck before they parted slowly and then moved together to lie on their sides still connected. "So no jet lag?" she asked him in amusement when they'd parted and stayed apart.

"I don't think so," Castle said. "We'll see how things go between the museum and garden." At that he then sighed and said, "We need to get up don't we?"

"Julia's going to want to go," Beckett told him.

"Yeah," Castle agreed before he moved with her so they parted. He got up out of bed after her and threw on his pajamas a little haphazardly before he asked, "What do you want?" while she was looking at the room service menu once she was dressed.

"Oatmeal would be good… berries?" Beckett asked, looking at him. "The girls will be having the oatmeal," she commented.

"Yep they will," Castle said with a smile before he picked up the phone.

While her husband was calling in the order Beckett went to the bathroom to wash her face. As she was moving around she could feel her body still throbbing from the way Castle had made love to her that morning. She looked at herself in the mirror above the sinks, biting her lower lip as she recalled his lips across her upper body. She then shook herself and looked over at the doorway when her husband walked in. "It's coming up?" she asked.

"About ten minutes," Castle replied. "I didn't ask but I ordered you some coffee."

"You didn't need to, I could use some," Beckett said, smiling at him as he walked over to her. When he wrapped his arms around her she murmured, "I don't think I needed to ask about jet lag myself."

"No?" Castle asked. He then said, "I know I surprised myself but you're addictive you realize."

"I can say the same of you," Beckett replied, sliding her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. She pressed her forehead against his and said, "I'm looking forward to tonight."

"It'll be nice to go out," Castle told her, knowing she was talking about that and not the possibility of them making love again. "The next time I plan for us to do that though will be when we're in Barcelona, our first night there."

"That's fine," Beckett said simply. She was going to speak when there was a knock on the door and she smiled saying, "I'll let you grab that."

"I think I better," Castle said, glancing down at her breasts for a moment before he went to the door.

Beckett glanced at herself as she walked over to the bed, not surprised to see her nipples straining against the fabric of her shirt. She guessed it was her reminiscing about their activities on the bed earlier that had done it but was soon pushing away those thoughts as her husband came back to her. "He didn't want to come in and set that down?" she asked in amusement as he was holding a tray with their meal on it.

"He might have but I'm feeling slightly possessive of you now Kate," Castle said.

"You always get like this about me when we're in hotels," Beckett teased him. "Well, when we order room service."

"Is that a problem?" Castle asked, watching her as he set the tray on the desk and went over to her with her mug of coffee and the bowl of berries.

"Not really," Beckett told him before she picked a raspberry out and ate it as she leaned back against the bed.

Breathing out a little hard as he watched her and the look in her eye, Castle turned back to the tray and grabbed his own coffee and the bowl of oatmeal. "Think we can check out the news?" he asked her once he was settled on the bed.

"That would be a good idea," Beckett said as she watched him reach for the remote to the TV in front of the bed. She knew he was using that as a distraction and she took the bowl of oatmeal as she handed him the one in her hands. She leaned against him as they ate and watched the news, trying to follow the stories with the Spanish that they knew. But eventually she asked him, "Is there any way to put subtitles?"

"I was just thinking of doing that," Castle replied, looking at the remote before he pressed a button. "They're speaking way too fast for you too?" he asked as they read the English at the bottom of the screen.

"A little," Beckett said with a slight smile. She turned to the TV, seeing the news had moved on to the sports, and she said, "I'm surprised Dad didn't mention taking us to the stadium."

"Would the girls want to go?" Castle said.

"Probably not," Beckett said. "He's been before though."

"That doesn't surprise me," Castle commented. "More than once?"

Laughing softly Beckett shook her head saying, "Not for the tour but he went back a second time in the early nineties for a game."

"That's right," Castle said in remembrance. "They won luckily so that worked out for him."

"It did," Beckett said. She then finished off the last of her coffee and leaned over to him so they could share a kiss. "We need to get ready," she told him.

Castle wanted to pull her back to him for another kiss as she was getting off the bed but he knew she was right and he was feeling excited at the thought of getting to see what they had planned with their family. So he got off the bed and put his mug and the other bowl back on the tray, taking it to put out into the hall before he went to get changed.

When she was ready and needed to wait for her husband to finish Beckett stepped out onto the balcony to check the weather. She watched the traffic on the street before she felt like she was being watched. "Yes?" she asked her husband as she turned around and leaned back against the balcony railing.

"You know we could just stay in tonight for dinner," Castle told her teasingly.

"We could but your description of the restaurant tonight has intrigued me," Beckett responded as he stepped up to her, making her stand straight.

"Okay at least we got to eat in our room this morning," Castle said, leaning over so he could kiss her gently. He lingered a little more than he'd planned; which he wasn't shocked he did; and then carefully pulled away saying, "I was tempted to do that earlier."

"I could tell," Beckett said with a brief smile before they kissed again. That time it was much quicker and without a word she led him into the room as he closed the door behind them. She glanced at him while she grabbed her bag and her camera and said, "Are you going to enjoy today?"

"Don't worry, I will," Castle replied as he went to her once he saw that she was ready and took her hand. He entwined their fingers before they left their room and came out into the hall to discover that down it their family was coming out of the door to the girls' room. "Wow, they are seriously impatient," he commented to his wife.

"I know but that's not really a surprise," Beckett said as he nodded in agreement.

"Morning Mommy, Daddy!" Julia called as they reached the two. "How did you sleep? Are you ready to go?"

"We slept great," Beckett answered first.

"And I think you can tell that we're ready to go," Castle said, indicating the camera in Beckett's hand.

"So we can?" Eliza asked.

"Right now, hurry!" Castle said jokingly, pretending to usher her to the elevator.

"Daddy!" Eliza protested though she was laughing at the same time. When he picked her up she squealed in pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck. "'lexis said there are lots."

"Lots of art?" Castle asked her.

"She was looking at the book with us," Julia said from where she was walking with Beckett behind them. "We had a special breakfast," she added once they were headed down to the lobby.

"You did?" Beckett asked, smiling as she touched the back of the little girl's hair that was parted into two braids. "Your sister did your hair?" she asked before Julia could answer.

"I did," Alexis said. "And we had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast." She was a little surprised when she saw her father and stepmother exchange a look asking, "What?"

"We had the same thing, well, we had berries," Castle said.

"Me too," Eliza told him before kissing his cheek.

"And we ate together 'cause Gram was asleep after we woke up," Julia responded.

"It was well worth it," Martha said slightly insistently. "I feel very refreshed," she said, smiling as her youngest granddaughter giggled at the way she brushed her fingertips over her cheeks.

"Those were very comfortable beds," Jim said as they stepped out into the lobby. "And if you're wondering why I didn't join them for breakfast I was watching the news and decided to let them have their meal alone; something special."

"Were you able to follow what they were saying?" Castle asked his father in law.

"No they speak a little too rapidly for me so I had to put on the subtitles," Jim answered.

"So did we," Castle said with a nod. By then they'd reached the doors outside and once they were out on the sidewalk he swung Eliza up onto his shoulders before he said, "Does she need a hat?"

"It's just across the street," Beckett replied. She held Julia's hand tightly as they walked down to cross the street in front of the northern side of the museum and when they'd made it across she said, "You'll stay with us?"

"I saw how big it is in the book," Julia said, knowing what her mother was talking about. "And yeah I'll stay. I'm gonna be slow you know."

"You'll be taking pictures?" Martha said, walking with them.

"Of course," Julia said in a matter of fact tone before she giggled slightly.

When they'd soon reached the building they bought their tickets and when they had a map Castle handed it to his wife saying, "I think you should do the honors love."

"Really," Beckett said, smirking slightly at him.

"Yes," Castle said simply. He watched her studying the map before she led them to the doorway that they were near. "So what's on the map first?" he asked as he could see that Eliza on his hip was looking around the room eagerly.

"Flemish paintings," Jim said before his daughter could say anything. When she looked at him he showed her the book he had in hand and said, "I don't remember everything from the last time I was here."

"Look," Julia said as they stepped into the large room. "It's pretty."

"There's a lot more to see," Alexis said, taking her hand and pulling her inside since she had stopped in the doorway.

Julia nodded and then went with her big sister to the first painting. As they walked along the wall they soon came to two thin ones that were together and she said, "They paint them a lot."

"Adam and Eve?" Alexis asked, looking at her as she stepped back slightly to take a picture of them both together. "Do you like this one?"

"I don't know," Julia said with a shrug.

Smiling at that, Alexis took her sister's hand and said, "We'll get to the later paintings, don't worry."

Walking through the next few rooms Castle followed his wife with Eliza still in his arms, speaking with her about the artwork they were looking through until they reached a long room with Spanish paintings in it. "Isn't this in the middle of the Flemish paintings?" he asked Beckett.

"It is but that shouldn't really be a concern," she said, glancing to her left as she was taking a picture of the painting in front of them.

"Hey come on love, no cheating and looking ahead," Castle said, not surprised when Eliza giggled next to him.

Beckett didn't reply to that, simply glancing at him momentarily before she went to the painting that had caught her eye.

"Who is it Daddy?" Eliza asked, looking at the painting of a woman sitting on a chair.

"That is Mary Tudor," Castle said, looking down at Julia who had joined them, taking a picture of the painting.

"Who?" Eliza repeated.

"She was the queen of England," Beckett answered. "She was half Spanish and also queen of Spain because she married the king of Spain."

"So they were king and queen of Spain and England," Julia said.

"And Ireland as well but…" Beckett started to say before trailing off.

"That would be a long, drawn out discussion so we should keep going," Castle said, ushering them down through the rest of the room.

As they were finishing that section Beckett looked at the map and said, "We need to go back."

"Why?" Castle asked.

"We missed something?" Martha said.

"There are rooms past the ones here," Beckett told them, motioning back to the room with Italian paintings they'd passed. "So we should head back and look at those before we continue."

"Interesting," Alexis said as they came to the first room. "Spanish paintings?" she asked Beckett.

"They are," she replied. "And in the middle of the rooms are sculptures."

"Can't wait to see," Castle said absently as he was setting Eliza down on the ground at her insistence. He watched her go to his mother and he turned to Beckett, walking with her along the wall and reading the plaques as their family was ahead of them. "There's another floor isn't there?" he asked suddenly when they were in another room after they'd looked through the sculptures.

"Two more," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband affected a groan and told him, "You knew that already, you've been looking at the book as much as I have."

"Okay maybe I did but you have to admit the rooms are small in there," Castle said defensively.

Beckett merely smiled as she was taking a picture before she reached out to him and took his hand. Unless she needed to change the direction of her camera she kept her hand within his and let her father lead the way across to another room in the middle of the building with more sculptures. She looked ahead at their daughters who were looking at one of a goddess and she said, "I find myself wondering why their fascination with the women."

"Logically I would say they're wondering at why some of them are clothed and some aren't," Castle suggested.

Thinking about that for a moment, Beckett shook her head saying, "I don't think so. Julia, sweetie."

Surprised she was calling their daughter over Castle watched the little girl come back to them as they left the room to go through more with Spanish paintings; according to the map Beckett had given him; and he said, "Why do you look at the women more?"

"Rick," Beckett said, looking at him with a slightly annoyed look.

"You mean the statues?" Julia asked. When her father nodded she said, "Because the way their hair and faces look."

"The details?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she smiled and said, "We were just wondering," not surprised when the little girl hurried ahead to Alexis who was walking with Eliza. "She's not telling the whole truth," she commented.

"I didn't get that vibe either," Castle said. When his wife looked to him he said, "For her and Eliza they're looking at that but she's a little more fascinated in the bodies… not sexually though it's too soon for that."

"It's more appealing to her but she doesn't know why," Beckett said softly as her husband took her hand. "That has to be difficult."

"I know but she does look at everything so maybe we're reading too much into this," Castle said.

"It's like we're trying to make her… gay," Beckett said, lowering her voice even further.

"No but we have to keep the idea open," Castle replied. They were entering a room and when he saw a painting ahead of them said, "Well… that's interesting."

"You never did that?" Beckett asked, seeing that Julia was going to the next painting by the artist Sorolla instead of lingering in front of the one of three boys lying down on their stomachs on a beach in the nude.

"Where could I have done that?" Castle asked her as they followed their family to the next paintings.

"At night?" Beckett suggested.

"You want me to do that now?" Castle asked.

Beckett glanced at him as their youngest came back to them and shook her head briefly before turning to Eliza. "Hey sweetie, what can I help you with?" she asked her with a smile.

"Wanna go up Mommy," the toddler replied, reaching up to her.

"Why don't you let me take you," Castle said, picking her up then and setting her on his hip. "Your mom is taking pictures remember."

"I know," Eliza said. She watched her mother taking a shot of a painting of a woman in a pink dress and asked, "Who is it?"

"An actress," Martha said. "Like me," she added hurriedly as her granddaughter opened her mouth to speak and she knew what she was going to say. "Dressed like another painting we'll see soon I'm sure."

"We'll see it eventually," Jim replied. "What do you think?" he asked Julia who had taken a picture of the painting as well.

"It's nice," Julia said. "The colors are nice, very pink."

"They are," Jim said, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walked through the next two rooms. When they came to the paintings a couple rooms down he watched her take pictures of them eagerly saying, "You like the landscapes."

"These because they're different," Julia tried to explain. "They're of places I've never seen."

"You know your pictures are the same," Jim told her.

"He's right," Martha said as she came up to them. "Very poetic of you to say."

"It's true," Jim said, smiling slightly. "My photography teacher in high school liked to say that. That helps you a lot," he added, saying the last to his granddaughter.

"I'm thinking of showing these pictures to my friends when I take them," Julia admitted as they continued through the room. "Especially to Mari."

"That will help," Jim replied with a nod.

Alexis was taking Eliza from her father as they were walking through the rooms with Goya's paintings and she asked him, "Should I let her see the one of Saturn?"

"I would continue," Castle said quickly. "Look at the one next to it quickly before you head to the next and wait there."

"'lexis no, wanna go with Mommy," Eliza protested when her sister suddenly started to walk quickly past a painting.

"She said to come here to wait," Alexis said. When she saw the toddler looked mad she hurriedly told her, "Because she wants to spend time alone with Dad, just for a little bit."

"Oh," Eliza replied, looking over at the two who were in front of another painting behind them. "They are in love," she said firmly.

"They are," Alexis agreed, relieved she'd taken the distraction. "But look at this painting. I love Goya because his colors are very light in some of his paintings, they're happy."

"Go… ya," Eliza pronounced. She then said, "Who is that?" pointing to the other side of the room.

"All of these are by the same man, Goya," Alexis told her. She laughed softly at the surprised expression on her sister's face and leaned over, kissing her cheek before she could hand her back to Castle. "She wanted her mother," she told Beckett.

"I'm right here sweetie," Beckett said soothingly, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "I just-"

"You were with Daddy," Eliza said, pointing at her.

"That's right," Castle said, glancing at Alexis and then realizing what she'd told the toddler about them going ahead of everyone.

"It's true," the young woman said with a slight shrug. "Let's keep going though, a lot more to see."

Beckett smiled as Castle looked at her and said, "You heard your daughter Rick, go."

"Go Daddy!" Eliza said eagerly as she kicked her legs a little before he started to walk after the rest of their family.

The group ended their tour of the first floor before heading upstairs to the second. There they decided together to start from the left end of the museum and work their way to the right; almost as they'd done the floor below. They spread out a little, Castle and Beckett ending up with their girls as Alexis walked with Martha and Jim ahead of them. The girls were fascinated with the French paintings before they moved on to the Italian works of art. They asked their parents about the titles and when Beckett nodded to him to do so, Castle read the plaques that described each one until they made their way over to the Spanish paintings that were in the middle of the building and it was in one room that Alexis made them regroup together in the doorway to the others' surprise.

"Sorry," she said with a smile at their reactions. "But there's a painting I really wanted us all to see together, especially you two."

"It's a big one?" Julia said as Alexis was talking to her and Eliza. "Famous?" she then added in a hurry as she realized that was the word she'd wanted to use.

"It is," Alexis replied before she laughed softly at her sisters hurrying over to her. "Come on," she told them as she led the way around the room. It took a little time to get to that painting since Julia was taking pictures but they finally reached it and she said, "Here it is."

"I've seen this one before," Julia said excitedly. "It's called… Las Meninas?" she pronounced carefully before looking at her grandfather.

When Beckett's father nodded Castle leaned toward his wife and murmured to her, "We're going to get an art history lecture here."

Beckett didn't reply to that, merely nodded her agreement to that as she was taking pictures of the painting, zooming in close where she felt there would be a good shot.

"She is a princess," Eliza said, pointing to the girl in white in the middle.

"She is and those are her parents in the mirror," Alexis said, picking the toddler up. "So they're standing around… here on the other side of the painting."

"If we were in the palace they would be here kiddo," Martha said in amusement as Eliza was looking behind them.

"Is that the painter in the picture?" Julia asked, indicating the man standing at a large canvas to the left of the princess.

"That's Velázquez," Jim answered before Alexis could. "And what he was trying to say doing that was painting was very important."

"I think so too," Julia said with a nod. "Look how big the canvas is he's painting on!"

"It is," Beckett said with a smile. "And you know the meninas are the women on either side of the princess."

"They're… ladies in waiting," Julia said quickly. "And the two on the end were her…"

"Jesters," Castle said hurriedly as he wondered why the description on the plaque used the word buffoons.

"What happened?" Eliza asked. When her family looked at her she pointed to the princess and continued saying, "To her?"

"She got married," Alexis said, looking at her father and Beckett as she spoke.

"As a childhood portrait," Castle said when his daughter had stopped speaking. "I think it's pretty nice. Though what do you think Eliza, would you have liked to have worn dresses like that as wide as they were?"

Wrinkling her nose the toddler shook her head and then looked over to the next painting that her sister carried her to.

"I don't understand," Martha said to her son, daughter in law and Jim. "What happened to the princess?"

"She died in childbirth," Jim answered. "She was only twenty-one."

"Her first child?" Martha asked, understanding then why her son had been quick to distract the girls.

"She had three and a number of miscarriages before her fourth child and…" Beckett said, taking a picture of another Velázquez painting before they moved on to the next room.

"I see," Martha replied. She then walked ahead to Alexis and the girls, taking Eliza as she pointed to a painting she had joined them at.

"Should we have mentioned how she and her husband were related… doubly?" Castle said to his wife as her father walked ahead of them.

"I don't think so," Beckett said. "Little early in the morning to be talking about that kind of thing."

"No just wondering if that hurt her more…" Castle began before trailing off. "Could have contributed to it."

"It may have," Beckett told him. "Now pay attention to what we're looking at Rick or there's no reason for us to stick around here."

"Right," Castle said, turning to look at the painting they'd reached by then. He stayed with her as they walked through the rest of the Spanish paintings before they came to rooms with paintings from different countries. One of them was of the British painters Gainsborough and Reynolds; the lone room of painters from that country; and he looked around for a moment before saying, "The book was not lying."

"I thought the same thing when I came here the first time," Jim said as they had caught up to him. "But you have to remember the history of Spain and England."

"Yeah not easy to forget," Castle said as they watched Beckett take a picture of a portrait by Reynolds, one of the few paintings in the room. "I'm going to take her ahead a little," he told his father in law when she had finished, grabbing her by the hand.

"I'll let them know," Jim said with a smile as he watched Castle take his daughter through the doorway to the next room. He then went over to the girls and Martha, telling them, "We'll meet up with them in the Goya rooms."

"There's more of Goya?" Julia asked eagerly.

"You know you could have just asked if I wanted to come over here," Beckett told her husband with a slightly annoyed tone to her voice.

"I can't really believe that love," Castle told her with a slight smile as he looked back at her. They were in the second to last room of Italian paintings and after they'd finished with the last room of the French collection he was taking her to the Goya rooms that were left on that floor.

"I'm not sure why we needed to go ahead," Beckett commented after they'd made their way to the fourth room. She then spotted two that were hanging side by side and glanced at him with her eyebrow slightly raised.

"Not the reason I wanted us to be by ourselves," Castle said hurriedly. "I know you like these paintings so I just wanted us to be the first to see them."

"We're letting the girls see these," Beckett replied as she took a picture of La Maja Desnuda and La Maja Vestida. "You know why I like these right?" she asked, looking to him.

"You think the first, the nude version, was a sort of revolution against the prudish environment of the time," Castle said. "And the second one a kind of challenge to the controversy to the first painting. Plus you love Goya."

"I do," Beckett said with a smile. "And as for the second one I like it because it's a little bolder than the first one, in the fact that her stare is slightly more challenging."

"We'll see what they think," Castle said as they turned to their family approaching them.

Looking back and forth between the two paintings Julia looked to her parents and asked, "Why are there two?"

Since she knew they couldn't explain the reason why the nude portrait had originally been painted Beckett said, "You know he got in trouble for that one."

"Why? Didn't they paint goddesses like that before?" Julia asked her.

"Not in the same way," Castle said, glancing at Eliza who Jim was taking over to the next painting. "He was challenging the church and court because they were… I guess you want to say afraid of someone being comfortable in their own skin."

Julia looked like she was thinking that over before she said, "But it's just art."

"Which makes you very grown up," Castle teased her. "We should keep going though or else we'll never have enough time for the gardens."

Remaining behind Beckett looked at Alexis who was studying both paintings at the same time and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just thinking about what she said," Alexis replied. "In the end it's just art."

"You could become an art history major if you wanted," Beckett said, looping her arm through her stepdaughter's. "But you're set on psychiatry?"

"Very, you could tell I was trying to discern some hidden meaning behind those two?" Alexis asked as they followed the others.

"I've tried to do that myself but sometimes what you see is what you get," Beckett replied. "When we get to Picasso and everything else at the Reina Sofia, then you'll have more of a chance to try to get a hidden psychological meaning," she told her.

"Most likely," Alexis said, laughing as her stepmother let her go and went to take a picture of another Goya painting.

"'lexis!" Eliza cried, suddenly running back to her sister as they finished the last room a bit later. "Show Mommy and Daddy now!"

"Show us what?" Castle asked, standing with his daughter as she picked the toddler up.

"A painting we passed that she liked," Alexis explained. "And one that I like too." As they went back three rooms she said, "You might have seen it but she wants to show you."

"That's alright," Beckett said, smiling at her daughter who was looking at them as she bit her lower lip.

"She looks a lot more like her mother when she does that," Castle suddenly said to Jim.

"She does," he replied, smiling at his daughter and granddaughter.

Eliza wanted to ask why when she looked at the paintings they were passing and she pointed crying out, "That Mommy, Daddy!"

"I remember you mentioning you want to see this when we talked about Goya," Beckett said to her stepdaughter as they stopped in front of the painting The Parasol. "My mom loved this one too."

"She loved Goya," Jim commented. He shook his head when his daughter looked at him and then felt someone wrapping their arms around him. He smiled down at Julia and said, "Do you like this one too?"

"Yeah the colors are pretty and bright," Julia said, nodding as they studied the woman covered by the mentioned parasol, held by a man behind her. After a while she then asked, "Is there more?"

"One more floor," Castle said before they headed upstairs. He took his wife's hand and squeezed it as they went upstairs to where there were more Goya paintings, watching her photograph them before they headed down to the first floor for their lunch at the café.

"Are you okay?" Beckett asked him as they waited in line for their food.

"Just thinking about Eliza," Castle said.

"She still needs to take a nap," Beckett commented with a smile. "And we'll take her back to the hotel and let her sleep for an hour."

"I'll be doing that," Martha said, standing with them in line. "By the time you make it out there it will be very warm I'm sure so I will rest with my granddaughter and we'll be relaxed and ready to join you again."

"Okay," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"She's right, it'll be hotter," Beckett said. "But not to the point where we should be going in for a siesta too. Unless you want to?" she asked him with a slight smirk.

"I'm fine," Castle said simply, shaking his head. When his mother and Alexis went ahead of them he said, "It's tempting but we wouldn't be able to do anything would we?"

"No," Beckett said with a smile. "I would have had us stay with her, maybe read a little."

Nodding Castle put his hand on her back and squeezed gently before kissing her temple until they needed to move ahead again. Though he wasn't sure what the gardens would be like he found himself looking forward to the visit as he and Beckett continued down the line to order.

Walking through the gate that was the entrance to the Real Jardín Botánico, Julia looked around eagerly and said, "What are we gonna do when Lizzy and Gram come back?"

"We'll walk back this way so they see everything too," Alexis replied.

"And they need to come this way too," Castle said. "So they'll see everything we see, don't worry."

"What's first?" Julia said excitedly.

"Bonsais," Beckett replied as she was reading the map.

"Really?" Julia gasped. When her mother nodded in response she checked to make sure she had enough battery space on her camera before they walked down the path to the small trees. She took pictures of nearly every one before she stopped to watch her parents walking up to her as Jim and Alexis went ahead. She studied her mother for a moment before she hurried over to her, wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked in surprise as they moved to the next thing to see which was an area with flowering trees and a small pond.

"Nothing," Julia said quickly.

Looking at his wife Castle had her stop before he whispered into his wife's ear for a moment. "Seriously," he told her when he pulled back and saw the expression on her face.

"If they don't mind then sure," Beckett replied.

"Mind what?" Julia asked.

"Hold that thought," Castle said before he hurried ahead to where Alexis and Jim were looking at the pond and the bust on a pedestal in the middle of it.

"Mommy-" Julia started to say.

"Hold on," Beckett said, taking her hand as they walked after him.

"Does Jules want to?" Alexis was asking her father.

"What? Do I want to what?" Julia asked in exasperation. "I don't know what you're talking about so how do I know."

"Sorry sweetheart," Castle said quickly. "I was suggesting that we let you and your mom look through the gardens on your own."

"Do you?" Julia asked, having paused in replying to that in her surprise.

"I don't mind," Beckett assured her.

"Then… okay," the little girl said slowly as she looked over at her sister and grandfather to see they were smiling at her. "But just until Eliza comes back," she said firmly and in what she hoped was her most grown up tone of voice. "And then we'll go around all together."

"Sounds great to me," Castle said, leaning over so he could kiss her cheek. He hugged her back when she did so to him and then went to his wife, murmuring to her for a moment.

"Where do you think we're going to first?" Beckett asked him wryly.

"Just a suggestion," Castle said before he grinned slightly at her. He was a little surprised when she whispered into his ear but soon nodded and said, "I'm not really that surprised, take as much time as you need." They shared a kiss then as Julia was hugging her sister and Jim and then he stood with them to watch the two leave for the path that cut through the middle of the garden in front of the pond.

"I wonder why Daddy did that," Julia was telling her mother as they walked hand in hand, swinging them in between them.

"I think I know but I can't be sure," Beckett said, smiling at her daughter as they looked at the plants and trees they were passing, some of them still flowering. "What do you think about it so far though?"

"It's so pretty," Julia said. "I loved the pond and the flowers in the middle of it, those were beautiful."

"They were," Beckett said as they stopped at a path that went perpendicular to the one they were on.

"Wow, so many statues," Julia said. "Are we walking this way?"

"No there's one place I wanted us to see first," Beckett said.

"Oh so that's what you were talking to Daddy about," Julia said as she recalled him whispering into her mother's ear.

"He thought I hadn't seen it on the map," Beckett told her as they went down some steps and then came to the next section. "But I did, this is the Rosaleda."

"Rose… roses," Julia tried to translate before she quickly caught what she was saying first. "How big is it?" she asked in surprise as she recalled something else her father had said.

"Pretty big and I would like to take one picture of each rose in bloom," Beckett said, holding up her camera. "Ready?"

"Ready," Julia said seriously though she couldn't fight the smile on her face as they started down the path together to the first cluster of roses.

Beckett watched her daughter take pictures of some of the blooms they were passing before she would take a picture of it after her. When they had reached a bush with white flowers she said, "Look at this one."

"Wow," Julia breathed in amazement, the edges of the petals looking like they were frayed. She looked at the sign in front of it and read, "Fi… fimb… fimbri… ata, fimbritata. Is that right?"

"I think so," Beckett replied. As they went through the next roses she looked at the names until she stopped at one and said, "I like this one."

"Oh me too," Julia said when she saw what the rose looked like. "What does it say?"

"Frau Dagmar Hartopp," Beckett read for her as she took a shot of the wide petal pink flower.

"That's German isn't it?" Julia said as they continued on.

"It is," Beckett replied.

As they finished the first section Julia looked up at her mother while they walked across the path and said, "Are we really going to see every last rose?"

"In this section," Beckett replied with a smile. "When we come back with everyone else we'll sit down… or you can be their tour guide."

"You can go around with Daddy and be his tour guide," Julia told her with a smile.

Beckett laughed softly and put her arm around her as they stopped and she told her, "You don't need to worry about us sweetie, we are going out to dinner on our own tonight remember?"

"Still," Julia said before she shared a smile with her mother and they started to walk again.

When they'd gone past more roses Beckett drew Julia over to a bench in the middle of some red, pink and white blooms and they sat down together. After she had taken a few pictures; as well as Julia; she put her arm over the little girl's shoulders and said, "Feels nice to take a break doesn't it?"

After nodding in response to that Julia bit her lower lip quickly before she said, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You can," Beckett said, a little surprised that her daughter's tone was so serious. When she saw that Julia was hesitating to speak she grew concerned when a sudden thought crossed her mind. She felt a slightly sickening sensation in her stomach for a moment before she pushed it away and said, "What's wrong?"

"No it's nothing but I wonder… if you like being a mom?" Julia asked shyly.

Trying not to breathe out in her relief Beckett said, "Oh sweetie you've asked me before and I'll give you the same answer; of course I do. Why would you think I don't?"

"I dunno," Julia said, shrugging slightly.

"Trust me Julia," Beckett said firmly. "If I didn't want to be a mother I wouldn't have become one. That was my choice."

"Yeah…" the little girl said, thinking that over. She then smiled and said, "Sorry Mommy I just want you to be happy with all of us."

"Including your daddy?" Beckett asked wryly. When her daughter nodded she laughed and embraced the little girl, holding her tightly against her before they shared a kiss and got back up to keep going.

"I wonder how Eliza is doing with her siesta," Julia commented as they were going back to taking pictures.

Looking at her watch Beckett saw the time and said, "She'll be getting up soon; want to start walking back to the others?"

"Not yet," Julia said after thinking that over for a moment. "I want to look through this a little more."

"Okay," Beckett said with a smile as they came to some climbing pink roses. She followed her daughter as she'd been doing before, watching her setting up her shots before she would do the same. They managed to get to the last section of the rose garden when she suddenly felt a hand on the small of her back, making her gasp for an instant before she stopped herself. She turned and when she saw Castle was alone asked, "They didn't come with you?"

"They're looking at the statues," he replied, leaning over to kiss her briefly. "They wanted to let me get you two so we could head back to the entrance to wait for my mom and Eliza."

"Now we should go sweetie," Beckett said to their oldest.

"I know," Julia replied as she took one last picture. She then hurried to her father and taking his outstretched hand told him, "Mommy said she would walk through here with you later when we come back with Gram and Lizzy."

"Oh she did?" Castle asked, glancing at his wife out of the corner of his eye.

"Not really it was more her decision," Beckett said, smiling at Julia who was giggling behind her free hand. "But if no one minds me doing that I can take you around."

"That would be nice," Castle said.

"Is she up now?" Julia asked her mother.

"Now she is," Beckett said, checking her watch once more. "But she still needs to come over here."

"That'll be an interesting walk," Castle said, not surprised to hear Julia laughing slightly at that as they came up to the path with statues where Jim and Alexis were waiting for them.