Genre: Crime, Drama, Family, Romance, Humor

Rating: M for violence, language and sexual situations

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I just wanted to point out I wrote this chapter way back in… well, I sent it to my mail/e-mail pen pal once I'd finished it on the 23rd of March, so before the eppy The Greater Good aired, so I didn't steal anything from the show!

A/N #2: Also wanted to note that the bit with the sketch artist is not something I made up, that actually happened in a murder investigation and I had to work it into a story somewhere since it was so bizarre.

A/N #3: Great to get feedback for such a short chapter and so quickly, so have to say thank you for that! vetgirlmx (I am so happy to see that you like the shorter chapters as much as you said in your review. I actually wasn't sure if my readers did at all since they were so short, I think it's because of my very first chapter like it, but thanks for letting me know how much you enjoy them! Glad that I can get enough info and suspense in such a short space, definitely is my goal of course, lol. As for the murder, was great to see your reaction to it, as I try to write them in such a way that my readers will react, so seeing you had, loved it! Oh, sorry about the date part of that but… just came to my mind that way when I was planning this story. And the timeline's actually jumped ahead to June, so nothing happened to their weekend so you know! But so happy to see already that you want to read more!), pcol22 (Well, can't answer your questions, 'cause you know, lol, can't give out spoilers for this story, but glad to see that you're already speculating! And of course, happy seeing you want to read some more too!) and sammysgirl78 (I really loved seeing you mention the chapter title, always try to select those and make them fit the chapter, so yay that worked, lol. And glad that you like these short chapters too, and that they're suspenseful and they drag you in as you say; exactly what I was aiming for! Also a good thing it's drawn you in, since it makes you want to read more, good for me to hear I should say, lol. And as I mentioned before, the murder takes place in June, so their weekend went perfectly well. And now you don't need to wait any longer to read more!). Thanks so much to you who took the time to review, more so since it was so short as I keep saying, lol, I definitely appreciate it and loved reading each one!

In School Again

"Finish your milk sweetheart, we need to go," Castle was saying to Julia as they sat at the café table. "Or else you'll be late."

"It's not fair," the little girl said stubbornly as she put down the bottle of milk her mother and Castle had bought for her to have with their breakfast. "You don't have to work so why do I have to go to school?"

"We told you already," Beckett said, having been approaching the table behind Julia and hearing her. "This is your last week of school, so I want you to finish kindergarten."

"Are you gonna come when I graduate?" Julia asked before her mother wiped her mouth clean of crumbs.

"We are, and so will my mom," Castle said. "I just wish Alexis could come," he sighed.

"She's got her last final that day you two," Beckett said to both her fiancé and their daughter. "But I promise you she'll be back. This is home remember."

"Yeah, with us," Julia said, patting Castle's arm.

"Okay," he said with a laugh before he stood and picked up the little girl to her short cry. "I'm just hoping," he said as he and Beckett left the café they'd chosen to have breakfast at since it was down the street from Julia's school. "That she'll be here for Father's Day, it's six days away you know," he said to Julia who was watching him seriously as he carried her. "But we've never not celebrated it together, so I'm crossing my fingers she'll be here." He got no response still from his fiancée and he finally said, "Anything? Or are you just ignoring me Kate?"

"No, I just don't have anything to say," Beckett said, shaking her head as he'd jogged ahead of her and stood in front of her. She looked past him and said, "Put her down."

"Are we there already?" Julia asked in dismay, recognizing the park they were across the street from.

"We are, but remember we're going to your dance class," Castle said as he hugged her tightly. "And we'll get to watch you for a little."

"I can't wait," Julia said with a wide smile on her face. She then frowned and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"We need to see sweetie," Beckett answered, not surprised their daughter was wondering what she was going to do on the day she'd taken off from work.

"Will you tell me?" Julia asked.

"Definitely," Castle said, though glancing at his fiancée he had the idea there would be an activity or two they wouldn't really be able to share. At least he was hoping for that as he and Julia shared a kiss and he set her down. "Love you Julia, have a great day," he told the little girl, who smiled and nodded in return. "I'll see you," he told Beckett.

Nodding, she took their daughter's hand and they headed down the street saying, "Friday I promise he can take you, it's been a while since he's come with us."

"For my last day of kindergarten?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she smiled and said, "I'm glad I don't have to go to first grade right away."

"Are you scared?" Beckett asked as they approached the gates to her school.

"Little bit, but I want to learn more," Julia said. "Do they teach about the stars in first grade?"

"I don't think so, but we can learn about astronomy with Castle during the summer once you're off," Beckett said, not surprised the little girl had taken to it as quickly as she had.

"But do you have time? The wedding?" Julia asked, whispering the last two words as softly as she could.

"We'll make sure there is time," Beckett assured her.

"Kay, I wish you didn't have to work Mommy. In the summer," Julia said.

"I know, but I'll take some days off when I can," Beckett replied. "For now let's get you to class." Inside the elementary school building she led the way to Julia's room and once inside went directly to the teacher.

"Ms. Beckett good morning, and the same to you Julia," Mrs. Clayton said to them with a smile. "Anything I can help you with?"

"I know it's her turn to bring the book for the week," Beckett said, helping Julia take off her backpack. "And she wanted to bring this, but I wasn't sure you could really read a travel guide," she said as her daughter held up the travel guide to Spain that Castle had given her the month before.

"It's really good and there are pictures," Julia said pleadingly as her teacher took the book and flipped through the pages.

"I think this will be fine," Mrs. Clayton said, scanning a description of a city. "But only because it's the last week okay?"

"Kay, thank you," Julia said happily.

"I'm wondering now if I can talk to you for a moment," the teacher said to Beckett.
"Sweetie, Celia is here, go play with her and before I go I'll come and say goodbye," she said before Julia nodded, took her book and hurried to her friend. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, one of the activities today was to make a Father's Day gift," Mrs. Clayton said. "She'll be making a frame for her grandfather, which I'm guessing she told you…" When Beckett nodded she then said, "I'm wondering though if I should have her make something for your fiancé," lowering her voice as there were still parents coming in with their kids. She was already aware of Castle and Beckett's engagement; having guessed at seeing the way the two were together with Julia and eventually asking Beckett about it.

"That would be great actually," Beckett said. "I'm not sure though how you'll explain it."

"I'll think of something," Mrs. Clayton said. "And about that book-"

"There are some things I haven't read to Julia, but I'm just hoping they won't be bored with it," Beckett said.

"The pictures will more than make up for it, excuse me," the teacher said, going over to two boys who were fighting over some crayons.

Walking to the other side of the classroom where Julia was sitting at a low table with Celia, Beckett had to smile when she saw the two were looking through the book together. "Julia," she said, getting her attention.

"Do you have to go?" the little girl asked, jumping up from her seat.

"I do, it's almost time for the bell to ring," Beckett said, picking her up. They hugged each other tightly and she pressed her lips to Julia's temple saying, "Have fun today, and don't mention we're going to Spain with Castle one day okay?"

"I won't," Julia said with a smile. "But I can't wait for you to see my class Mommy."

"I know, neither can I," Beckett said. "I love you sweetie."

"Love you Mommy," Julia said before she was put back down. She waited until her mother had left, and then hurried back to her friend who was pointing to a picture of some horses grazing under a tree.

Outside the school gate, Beckett felt her phone shaking, and pulled it out to see she had a text. Reading it, she frowned but went to the curb, hailing a cab before giving the driver the address that had been the text message. As the taxi was heading down the street, she texted back, typing, Why am I going here? The reply came back and she shook her head when it just said, You'll see once you get here, I'm at 2210, 22nd floor. At the building, she paid the driver and walked up to the doorman, wondering how she was going to get in, when he let her inside. "Thank you," she said in slight confusion.

"Was told to watch for a woman with a dark blue shirt, I'm guessing you answer to Beckett, ma'am?" the man said.

"Yes," she replied before nodding to him as she walked inside. Heading to the elevators she was soon at the twenty-second floor, the top of the building. She didn't really need to search for the apartment; the number was one of only five doors on the floor. Knocking on the one to 2210, she was a little surprised when her fiancé opened the door. "Why are we here?" she asked as he ushered her inside.

"Because I wanted you to see this apartment," Castle said simply as he took her purse.

"It's beautiful, but whose is it?" Beckett said, amazed at how big the living room was.

"Look at the view first," Castle said, putting his hand on her back and leading her to the windows that were the west wall of the room.

"It's amazing," Beckett said, able to see Central Park. "But again Castle, whose apartment is this and why are we here?"

"This belongs to my friends Logan and Gene, they live here with their son, but he's in college now, so it's just them," Castle began, smiling as he loved seeing the mix of curiosity and impatience in her eyes. "So they want to move and settle down in DC; where their son is going to college, and where most of their family is too."

"Okay," Beckett said, realizing from that why they were there. "So we're… house hunters now?"

"Just this place," Castle said. "They plan to move to DC in September, before their son's second year starts. I asked; if you liked it; if we could buy it from them and they said sure."

"It's in a nice area," Beckett said, a little hesitant but knowing she needed to be serious. "And this living room is huge, very bright… Julia could practice piano here if we got one."

"I was thinking that too," Castle said. "And it's got four bedrooms, so my mom and Alexis will have a place to sleep if they visit. Want to walk through it?"

"I'd love to," Beckett said, turning from the windows and taking her fiancé's hand.

"I'm seeing this as Mother's room," Castle said when they reached the first one. He watched Beckett's reaction, smiling at her shocked expression. "I know, the rooms here are really big."

"That makes sense though; there are only five apartments on this floor, so they can be huge. I'm guessing the master is upstairs?" Beckett said as they walked to the next room.

"We'll get to that," Castle said simply. "This would definitely be Alexis'," he said as they looked around; that room having windows to the east that looked at the skyline of the city.

"This one for Julia?" Beckett asked when they got to the last room. She could see it had been the son's room, as there were various baseball and soccer trophies and memorabilia around. "This would be really nice though, for her. We could put a mirror on that wall, put in a longer barre…"

"Would she still use that for Ballroom and Latin?" Castle asked, following her to see the view; the same as the living room since it was facing west as well.

"She would, and the mirror she would too of course," Beckett said, smiling as she glanced at the bathroom. "This is in their son's room?" she asked him in surprise since there was a clawfoot tub.

"They're both designers," Castle explained. "And they love repurposing antiques. Come on, I have to show you the kitchen."

"And the last bedroom?" Beckett asked with a smile as he took her hand again. "Or we'll get to that again." Shaking her head as her smile didn't leave her lips, she followed him past a dining room saying, "We could have the boys and Lanie over here and still have room for all six of us."

"I know, and have a great view at the same time," Castle commented.

"I can see why you're so eager about the kitchen, but you have been here before haven't you?" Beckett asked, taking in the large room with its very much state of the art appliances.

"I have," Castle said. "But it would be fun to cook for Thanksgiving here," he commented as he watched her go to the window above the sink with the same view as the living room.

"And Christmas?" Beckett asked, walking back to him.

"I figured those we can celebrate in the Hamptons," Castle said simply. "If you agree of course."

"I'll agree, but let's not talk about this place as if we're going to buy it," Beckett said as he led her to the staircase that was by the door.

"You're right, but it's very hard not to," Castle said simply as they reached the top of the stairs and stepped inside. He watched his fiancée closely to see her reaction, not surprised to see the shock on her face as she took in the room. It was a bit bigger than the bedrooms downstairs, with floor to ceiling windows along the western wall. "Any words of approval? Disapproval?" he asked as he followed her to look at the bathroom before she paused in the doorway.

"It's great," Beckett said, turning to him with a smile. "But, we need to discuss this seriously Castle. The cost of rent, the distance from Julia's school, the-"

"We have until July," he said, interrupting her. "They need to know by then if we really want the apartment."

"That's only a month away," Beckett sighed.

"A month and a half actually, they were here before you arrived and I asked if we could have that long, they agreed," Castle said.

"Okay, then we'll see how things are at the end of next month," Beckett said. "We'll have an idea by then."

Nodding, as they were both thinking of the election he knew, Castle took her hand and led her down to the door saying, "Why don't we head out to the Farmer's Market on the other side of the park and I'll get us a few things for lunch?"

"Fine with me, I told you I wanted to see what we could do today," Beckett said. "Though you know, coming here made me think of something we really should do back at your place," she said as they left the apartment.

"Is that it?" Castle was asking as he handed a piece of paper to Beckett while they were sitting on the couch in his living room.

"For now, and we managed to get the list to under thirty," she replied, nodding as her eyes went down the names rapidly.

"You really think we should invite Gates?" Castle asked.

"It would be an insult to her if I didn't," Beckett replied. "But I get the feeling she'd just see it as a courtesy invite."

"Well, if she was a little more… understanding of me…" Castle said before he trailed off and shook his head. "I don't why I bother, at this point I know she won't understand unless it's the fact that I realize I'm a writer and come back to my books instead of trailing you and the boys."

"I'll agree with you on that," Beckett said, smiling slightly as she handed him the list. Looking at her watch as he went into the kitchen she said, "So we're set?"

"We are, I don't have any problems with the names you put in," Castle said. "One thing that worries me is how little of our family we're going to have as guests."

"Well, your mom's brother has passed away and he and his wife never had kids," Beckett said, going to sit on the other side of the counter where he was getting out items to make lunch. "But we did invite his wife, your Aunt Rho, so she'll be there. And both my parents were only children, so there's not really anyone else I can invite except for my dad."

"You're sure there's no one you know from Ireland…" Castle began as he started to wash the vegetables he'd taken out of the fridge.

"What?" Beckett asked as he didn't continue.

"Can you go to the bag behind my desk, take the books out of there," Castle said. "One of them is for you," he said when she gave him a look as his tone wasn't really asking her to do that.

"Any reason why you bought me a book?" Beckett asked as she walked over to his office. She pulled out some hardback books, smiling as she saw one from a recent author; a woman she knew her fiancé saw as a rival though she thought he was being paranoid. "Really Castle, Jessie Greaves?"

"I had to check out the competition," Castle said. "And better I buy it than check it out. I'm wondering though, will you read it first?" He didn't get an immediate response, and he looked up from chopping carrots to see she was walking to him. "So you found it," he said, a little anxious and slightly eager at the same time as he watched her closely as she sat at a chair again.

"Is this another promise?" Beckett asked as she flipped open the pages of the book; a travel guide of Ireland.

"More so than Spain, but I was thinking we should combine the two countries," Castle said, relieved when she smiled at him before looking down at the book again.

"Where was it that you stayed when you went?" Beckett asked.

"I started in Dublin, and then went to Donegal," Castle replied, going back to preparing the meal. "There isn't much on the latter."

"I've heard of the Burren," Beckett said suddenly, a picture getting her attention. "My dad's family was from around here… I couldn't tell you where though. I'll have to ask him about any family. And to your question you asked about my family. No, I don't know anyone else around here."

"What about your grandparents? The four of them must have had families who had kids," Castle said.

"If they did, they've moved elsewhere in the country because I never knew of any second cousins or further than that," Beckett said, smiling a little. "It's just my dad and I."

"Julia," Castle reminded her quickly.

"And Julia," Beckett said, looking up from the book. "Sorry, I was looking at this."

"The food, it can be pretty good, but I would advise against blood pudding," Castle said since she was looking at the pages on the cuisine. "Unless you're feeling daring."

"I'll pass," Beckett said. "Julia's going to be ecstatic to find out we'll be going here too."

"And she might want to take that book with her to school tomorrow," Castle pointed out to her as he got a wok onto the stove and began to throw together some chow mein.

"Oh no, the Spain book is heavy enough," Beckett said. She walked around to him then, leaning against the counter and watched him before he spoke.

"Anything else?" Castle asked.

"Not really, I'm just thinking about that apartment," Beckett said honestly.

"I don't blame you," Castle replied. "Are you torn about it too though?"

"Pretty much," Beckett said. "I'm thinking maybe we should make a list of the pros and cons of the place. But don't put too much emphasis on the size of the rooms or the kitchen okay?"

"Fine with me," Castle said, adding some more vegetables before pouring some water into the wok. He felt her hand on his arm then and turned to her before she kissed him deeply. But it was very gentle, and he dropped the metal spoon he'd been using to stir against the side of the wok with a metallic clunk before wrapping his arms around her.

In part a thank you for the book and also just because she wanted to kiss him, Beckett didn't really want to pull away, but she had to before lunch burned because of her. She watched him finish the noodles before he was dishing them out and she commented, "That's a lot of chow mein. I'm assuming the rest is for dinner?"

"Invite your dad, we'll have Chinese," Castle said as he followed her to the table. He grabbed some white wine and poured out glasses for them before they sat down to eat.

"You're going to cook again?" Beckett asked.

"Actually, I should have asked first, sorry," Castle said, saying the apology in a quick tone. "Do you want Chinese?"

"Yes, and I'm guessing you're ordering Dim Sum?" Beckett said.

"As always," Castle said simply. "The list," he said after they'd eaten their first bites.

After he'd gotten a sheet of paper and a pen, the two discussed the pros and cons of the apartment, and carried that conversation through to the point when they'd finished. They stopped talking quickly when they heard the door opening and Castle took the paper to his office.

"Good afternoon you two, I'm guessing you got my granddaughter to school alright?" Martha asked as she stepped inside and saw her son in the doorway.

"She got there fine, not wanting to go, as usual," Beckett said.

"There's chow mein Mother," Castle said, taking his dish and following his fiancée to the sink.

"Oh no, I only came to grab a scarf I had forgotten," Martha said, heading up the stairs. "Kiki and Nora are waiting for me at the Plaza for our lunch."

"Forgot about that," Castle said as Beckett had started to wash the dishes. "Where's your ring?" he asked, realizing he hadn't put it back on once they'd come back.

"In my pocket, when I'm done," she replied simply.

"Alright, I'm off again, I hope you two enjoy Julia's dance class, tell her I will go for sure tomorrow," Martha said, coming back down.

"We will," Beckett said. "And that would help because I'm sure we'll catch a case tomorrow."

After they'd said goodbye to his mother, Castle turned to his fiancée when he saw the look on her face, which made him pause in starting to step to her. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's the list," Beckett said. "Did we have anything else to add or was that it?"

"No, that was it, and it was even," Castle said, taking her hand and leading her over to his office. He got the piece of paper and nodded saying, "Even. So, we're kind of at an impasse."

Breathing out slightly Beckett watched as he quickly took her ring she handed him, slipping it on her finger and said, "We still have time, and once the election is over we'll know."

"Right, I'll keep this here, far out of sight of anyone else…" Castle said absently as he set the list in a folder in a lower drawer. With that done he stood back up, nearly jumping back as he realized his fiancée was there to meet him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He quickly recovered from the surprise and wrapped his tightly around her, holding her close as he responded to her kiss. He pulled back suddenly, and took her with him by the waist into his room. Though they were alone, he still locked the doors since he didn't want to risk it. When he turned back, he went to the bed and knelt in front of his fiancée.

Smiling slightly, Beckett let go of her boots and watched as he pulled them off of her quickly. She drew him back up to her then, and they stood together, becoming frantic as they tugged at each other's clothes. The week before she'd had a case; Castle not working with her as he'd caught a summer cold from Julia, she herself getting it briefly Friday through to Sunday; it was why she'd taken that day off, to recover fully. And she'd also had to testify at a trial for a previous case the week before, leaving her too exhausted to do much more at night besides fall asleep. She'd been growing more and more frustrated but managed to keep it under the surface until that point. She realized that he was feeling the same, as Castle's hands were almost tearing her buttons out of her blouse. "I have to wonder," she whispered as the shirt floated to the floor from her arms. "How you didn't go crazy before this."

"Because I was sick," Castle said simply as they had a little bit of a struggle once she'd gotten his shirt off. But they were finally naked together, and he took her to the bed, where he waited for her to get on top first before he followed. He sat on his knees with her, and wrapped his arms around her before they kissed one another deeply. He was having a hard time controlling himself, straining not to rush into things when they'd had so little time to prepare; he wanted her to be ready for him because he knew they were not going to be gentle with one another.

Beckett was going to move to straddle his lap when he suddenly laid her down and she looked at him a little questioningly, as he'd been kissing her and touching her very roughly. "You-" she started to say.

"I'll go back, I promise," Castle responded, knowing she was a little irked at his move. He nearly shuddered when he realized why she hadn't wanted to be, so he was serious in his promise. But he leaned down then and kissed her deeply, feeling her groan against his lips in response since at the same time his right hand was running down the front of her body. He didn't let himself linger anywhere though, moving his hand away as they parted to breathe. Nuzzling her lips with his, he then slid in a straight line to the hollow of her throat. There he stopped, pressing quick, gentle kisses to it until he felt her nails digging a little into his back. He moved further, and proceeded to move his lips along her breasts, hearing her pleasure easily as she held onto him harder in response.

Looking on, Beckett wasn't too surprised to see that he was descending further, but what did take her aback was the fact that everything he was doing was delaying his own pleasure. She knew that he enjoyed pleasuring her, exploring her body, but it wasn't the same for him doing that before as when they were making love. She tried to stop him as he pressed a few kisses to her abdomen, and breathed out slightly in relief as he pulled away before going any lower.

"I don't know why you don't want me to continue," Castle said as he moved with her so they were on their knees again.

"I have my reasons," Beckett said simply before they were kissing again. As they were doing that, she was able to straddle him that time, and lowered herself before he entered her. She breathed out, breaking off the kiss, as he slid inside of her, and before she could forget, she pushed gently on his chest until he was lying down. She could have smiled at his surprise, but couldn't wait anymore to try and delay things, she needed him that second. Rocking back and forth once, a little slowly, she then set off getting to a much faster pace. Her suspicions about her fiancé's arousal were confirmed as he easily matched her, and she reached down to his hands on her hips as she'd proceeded to quickly bounce up and down on him.

Watching, Castle wasn't too surprised when she took his hands to entwine their fingers together. He lowered them simultaneously and then moved to sit up though he hadn't spent a long period lying down. When she threw her arms around him he realized she didn't mind the change, and he kissed her ardently as she responded in turn very quickly. He held onto the small of her back with one hand as the other spanned the back of her head before sliding down her hair, fingers tangling in her locks. They parted with a hard gasp eventually, and he went a little crazy, kissing around her neck and nipping at it hungrily before she pulled him back up to her. He was a little irritated at that; since he knew she was worried he'd leave a mark; so as a kind of payback and also just because he wanted to; he flipped her around onto her back, taking her right leg and holding it up as he put his legs into an almost lunging position.

Crying out as his first thrust into her was more of a ramming motion, and the fact he was deep at the same time was making Beckett literally dizzy. She wrapped her other leg around his waist, moving with him in a rhythm so similar to his it was almost the same. The position of his body and the angle of his hips were making him strike directly against her clit, and every thrust into her was a kind of explosion that she wasn't sure she'd be able to hold herself away from hurtling over the edge of. She struggled a little with herself, but after a while in that position he was moving them around again.

Lying back down, Castle was watching Beckett as she was trying to move as he had been before. She soon achieved it, and he got a sudden idea as he watched her thighs, the muscles obviously working to keep moving up and down roughly. Sitting up, he grabbed her, holding her close as he whispered into her ear, wondering if she'd agree to what he was requesting.

"Yes," Beckett said simply, in a kind of gasp from her exertions. She saw the momentary surprise flash across Castle's face at that, not too surprised it changed rapidly to excitement. She stopped moving then, and got off him as he helped her lay on her back again. "Any place you got this?" she asked as he picked up both her legs, draping them over his right shoulder so her knees were bent.

"I can't remember," Castle said simply before he entered her. He held his breath without knowing it, and when he let it out he nearly jumped at the heavy groan that escaped with it at the same time. But he knew why that had joined his breathing, with the way she was positioned, she was incredibly tight, and not exactly straight since her legs were tilted to one side. He didn't waste much time in starting to thrust after that, and when she started to move in turn he was surprised he wasn't passing out as everything he was feeling had double the intensity. He was enjoying it, except for one problem; she was too far away from him to do much else besides kiss at what he could reach of her right leg. He tried to stay that way as long as possible, but eventually gave up, and they were very swiftly sitting up on their knees in the middle of the bed, with her riding him firmly, his hands pressing directly on the small of her back as they kissed.

A little lost as Castle's lips were around her entire upper body once they had parted, Beckett ran her hand over the back of his head, making him look into her eyes. She was breathing roughly; as he was since they were being very rough with one another still; and she cupped his cheek, running her thumb along his swollen lower lip. "I-" she started to say before his blue eyes seemed to darken right in front of her and he pulled her to him to close the gap between their lips. Since they had been moving together for so long, their breath was short, as was that kiss, and when they parted, she suddenly slowed down.

"Ah… Kate," Castle hissed immediately in response to her change. He held onto her hips with both hands, more to try and control himself, but he also took the chance to hold her tighter against him as she was going so much slower. "Are you torturing me?"

"No," Beckett said before she brushed her lips gently across his. She wasn't surprised when he made that a deeper kiss, but finally she was able to pull away from him. "I just want… not yet."

"This hasn't been a few… few s-seconds," Castle said, stammering on the s as she'd sped up again. "It's been long enough, I'm going to finish before you," he warned her with a groan. He hissed a second time, as his fiancée had suddenly stopped moving completely. "What-"

Cutting him off with a kiss, Beckett didn't linger so she could tell him, "Then lay me down on this bed and fuck me Rick, until we go together." She wasn't surprised to see the quick flash of desire in his eyes again at her words, and she prepared herself as he did exactly as she'd suggested. He literally threw her onto the bed once he had the chance, and she flung her arms around him as tightly as she could when he was once again slamming inside her body. Wrapping one leg around his waist; as high above it as she could; and the other going around his thighs, she wondered how long it would take them to finally stop. It was only a short amount of time; though she had no idea how long exactly; and she was clinging to him so tightly her nails were digging large welts into his shoulders as she cried out his name, wondering if it was screaming though she couldn't tell. She felt him shaking against her, and slid one hand to the back of his head as his face pressed against her neck, her name being yelled against her skin as his lips brushed along her skin, making her tremble with the added pleasure from it.

Breathing roughly as they finally stopped, Castle was quiet until he felt he had regained his self awareness, nearly knocked out by her. Taking a deep breath, he pulled back to raise his head, seeing she had her eyes closed. "Asleep?" he whispered.

"No, it's only…" Beckett began, looking at his alarm. "Only one fifty-six. So I'm guessing you enjoyed that."

"Pretty much," Castle said, knowing that wasn't a serious question, more her teasing him on the strength of his orgasm though he was well aware they'd matched each other on their climaxes. He pulled away from her, a sigh of disappointment leaving him then, and he lay next to her asking, "You're okay?"

"I'm surprised that wasn't asked until after… or actually I'm not surprised," Beckett said. "No, I'm fine, the cold is gone, I told you."

Nodding, Castle fell silent then, not taken aback when she did the same, but as he glanced over at his fiancée every once in a while he wondered why she seemed to be looking like she was hesitating about something. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing, just…" Beckett said, before she suddenly sat up next to him. She smiled when he was quick to follow, leaning back against the headboard since their pillows had gone off the bed at some point. She then said seriously, "Looking at that apartment made me realize something. We are getting closer to the wedding and since last month I've wanted to change something about it."

"Don't tell me you don't want to have it now," Castle said, reaching over to place his hand on her hip, not realizing he was grabbing at her a little tightly in his concern that was the case.

"Really? We just did that and you think I don't want to make things official between us," Beckett said with a smile. She shook her head and said, "No, I still want to get married to you Castle. I'm just wondering… what if we had the wedding at the Hamptons?"

"Wow, I thought I was going to hold that in until it exploded out of me," Castle said, leaning back against the headboard, a tone of relief in his voice. "I was thinking about that too when we were there for Memorial Day. I'm assuming that's when you got the idea?" When his fiancée nodded he pulled her to him and said, "I thought it would work better than here. I mean, it would have been nice to have the wedding here, a lot of memories. But I thought; the beach house has more room and there's the fact we can get married… down by the water."

As that last comment was more of a question, Beckett was smiling widely before she kissed him tenderly. They lingered for a little before pulling apart and she told him, "I'd like to do that, I've always wanted to."

"Great, I know someone who'll marry us out there, a judge," Castle said. "You've met her before actually."

Remembering who he was talking about, Beckett took a moment to recall the name, and said, "Lydia Carpenter?"

"That's her, she's performed a number of marriages in town, one of them actually for our friends," Castle said.

"Rebecca and David's, is she used to performing them on the beach," Beckett said.

"Most of them are there, but usually the public beach," Castle replied. "I'll call her once we get a better idea of when we'll need her to perform the ceremony. We'll have to tell everyone… well, everyone who knows of course." Just as he was finishing speaking, his phone's alarm began to go off and he sighed, seeing the time.

"Speaking of telling about our change of plans," Beckett said, knowing they needed to get dressed to go get their daughter.

"She'll be ecstatic," Castle said. "She does love the beach."

"I know," Beckett said simply as she got up. She started to go to her clothes, but when she saw the state they were in; mixed with his clothes and in a pile; she went to the closet to get something else to wear. "We'll tell our parents tonight and Alexis is calling right?" she asked as she stepped out into the bedroom to dress.

"Yeah, I'm wondering though if we shouldn't mention our situation though," Castle said, buttoning his shirt.

"It's too soon to say," Beckett said. "Though you're right, Julia knows since we talked about it in front of her."

"She hasn't said a word about it to anyone has she?" Castle commented.

"No, she's good at keeping secrets," Beckett said. She went to him then as she was ready to go, and wrapped her arms around him. "We have until next month, and I want to say let's relax the rest of June, and then start worrying about what exactly our living situation will be. Okay?"

"Okay, but you know the same applies to the wedding," Castle said, holding onto her.

"Believe me, I'm aware," Beckett said, shaking her head before she kissed him gently on the lips. "Now let's go and remember she's getting her practice skirt today, so she'll be hyper."

"For her dance classes? When is she not?" Castle asked rhetorically as he and Beckett left the room behind, closing the door since they hadn't really straightened up from their afternoon spent alone together.