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: Very happy getting the feedback I did for the last chapter, so want to get to the thank yous right away as they need to be said! Beckett-Castle4ever (Glad of course seeing that you liked the chapter. Not surprised to see your mention of the beginning and the expecting couple, thought that might get a reaction, lol. And you're right, I thought readers would want to see the talk between Lanie and Beckett, so no surprised there!), lilchristy32 (Very glad to see your reaction to the multiple personalities, I was hoping to get that from readers. Had to laugh at what you said about the cliffhanger being cruel, lol, 'cause that I was expecting, lol, but I'm glad though it was, you still liked it! And it was such a great compliment seeing how much you enjoy my series of stories, loved reading that. And very happy seeing you want to read more of this story, see how it'll go!), dhurley (So happy you want to read the next chapter already, and now actually you can. And really liked seeing you mentioning how much you've enjoyed the story. Hoping you'll enjoy it all the way through to the end! Oh, and thanks too for the great writing comment, loved reading that of course!), vetgirlmx (Lol, not really a surprise to me that you had the reaction to where I ended the chapter, lol, that I was expecting. Sorry about that! So great seeing that you liked the multiple personalities too, and definitely that you liked that so much you might read the story again! Not surprised you thought Beckett going into the apartment was risky, but I don't see her not doing it in my mind. Oh, and not too unexpected that you don't want her doing that again. Really happy that you mentioned Castle picking up Julia; glad for some confirmation that being liked, lol, not surprised either you want to read about that too. Also not a surprise, that you want to read about the graduation and Father's Day, I know a lot of readers are looking forward to that!), pcol22 (First, wanted to say thanks for the reviews of the other chapters that you caught up with, loved reading them and seeing what you thought of how the story was going in them! And with the last chapter, was glad to see that you liked it of course, lol. Not surprised at your reaction to the beginning and Castle wanting to talk to Beckett, and who knows, maybe next time, you never know. Also not surprised either that you're wondering what Lanie and Beckett will say to each other, I had expected that, lol. And really great that you want to read more, now you can!), wendykw (Really glad to see you enjoyed the ending of the case, and liked seeing it made you pay close attention to what was going on!), life's a mystery (I was really happy to see you too liked the multiple personalities, and also that you didn't see that coming, nice I was able to do that, lol. And had to laugh at what you said about the talk with Lanie, not surprised you're wondering about that as well of course) and sammysgirl78 (Not surprised to see you're glad the case is closed. Really glad that you too were surprised by the multiple personality disorder angle, and again, had to pay close attention with that; nice compliment reading that! And not surprised either that you too were taken aback by Beckett going into that situation, but I can see her doing that, lol. I wasn't taken aback either that you mentioned Esposito not guessing something with the way Castle ran to the apartment, lol, was waiting for someone to mention that. And I had expected that you would like the surprise of Castle picking up Julia, so was nice to see confirmation of that in your review. Also, thought you too would want to see the talk between Lanie and Beckett, since a lot of readers do, lol. Oh, and not a surprise to see as well you're waiting for the graduation and Father's Day too, really happy to see that by the way. So, so happy that you want to read more and now you can!). So thanks to all of you who sent me a review, I loved reading them and seeing the feedback, and of course I appreciate the time taken to write them!
In The Home
Walking into the dance studio at Mt. Surrey, Castle was a little surprised to see that Julia was the only child left in the class. He was about to speak when the little girl looked up at him and smiled widely before her teacher turned to see who she was looking at. "Her mother's still working," he explained to Miss Amber while Julia was going to get her backpack and bag.
"That's fine, we were just talking about the class once we meet again for summer," the teacher explained, going to help Julia with her bag.
"She's gonna teach both dances," the little girl said seriously. "Ballet and Ballroom, and Latin too. We're gonna learn the Jive!"
"That's great," Castle said, knowing that she wanted to learn that one especially. "Are you ready to go now though?"
"Yeah. Bye Miss Amber, thank you for signing my book," Julia said, hugging her teacher quickly.
"You're welcome, I'll be at the graduation tomorrow, so I'll see you there," Miss Amber said before the two left the studio.
"Oh! Bye Miss Yvette!" Julia exclaimed when they met the teacher's wife at the door.
"Goodbye Julia, see you tomorrow at your graduation," Miss Yvette said.
"So Mommy's still working?" Julia asked when she and Castle had left the building and were walking to the gate to the street. "Did you finish working, everything?"
"We finished the case," Castle said with a nod, letting go of Julia for a moment so he could flag down a cab. "But she might be a little late because she has to do-"
"Homework?" Julia interrupted.
Chuckling a little; since that was what she called paperwork; Castle said, "Yeah, so I was thinking, since she might be late, we should get something special for her."
"Good, what do we get? Flowers?" Julia asked.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Castle said before he waved at a cab approaching. Then he quickly said, "But you pick them out okay?"
"Kay, I'll pick the prettiest flowers Mommy sees," Julia said in excitement as she went into the taxi that had stopped in front of them first.
Walking into his place an hour later, Castle said, "I'm really glad you don't have homework," laughing as Julia carried the bouquet they'd gotten for her mother to the kitchen, waiting for him to get a vase. He set down her bag and backpack next to the stairs before he joined her, and got one ready before saying, "So you got a yearbook today?"
"Yeah, it's just for kindergarten," Julia said. "And Mrs. Clayton, Miss Amber and Miss Yvette signed it for me. But I don't know what they put in it."
"Well if you want me to, I can read it for you," Castle said, setting the vase onto the counter where Beckett would be able to see it when she came home. He picked Julia up as she was shaking her head no and said, "Really? How come?"
"I want Mommy to see it too, at the same time," Julia said quickly. "Now what do we do?" she asked as he was walking to the couch.
"That depends on what you want to do," Castle commented. "We could go out to a playground, play a board game or play something else."
"Something else what?" Julia asked him.
"Hide and seek, you never really let me play with you. Your mom says you're pretty good at it," Castle said. "But that's up to you."
"Kay," Julia said with a wide smile. "You be it first and you find me."
"Okay, I'll count to ten and you be ready; home will be the couch here," Castle told her, sitting down. He covered his eyes; to her giggle; and then started to count to ten slowly, hearing her run away from him. When he reached the last number, he opened his eyes and looked around; starting to go to the kitchen though he already had an idea of where she'd gone from where her footsteps had gone. He pretended to search for her there until he headed over to his office, and opening the door leading to his room, he heard Julia squeal and turned to run after her.
Nearly making it to the couch, she cried out heavily in joy as Castle picked her up and she laughed saying, "No fair, I don't have long legs like you do!"
"I know, but I couldn't help it," he said to her, kissing her cheek before she gave him a kiss in return. "So now you're it okay?"
"Kay, but you have to hide, Mommy hides from me still," Julia said seriously as Castle set her down in front of the couch.
"Right, so who's counting, you right?" Castle asked. "I don't think I could again."
"I can count," Julia said with a nod. She covered her eyes with her hands after closing them, and counted as slowly as he had. When she opened her eyes at ten, she glanced around, and ran to Castle's office, looking around to make sure he hadn't chosen the place she'd picked out. She then ran to his room, and looked around before going to her mother's side of the bed, trying to look underneath when she heard the closet door open and she whirled around, seeing Castle starting to run out. She took off after him, squealing in her effort to catch up to him, but when he reached the rug under the couch, he tripped on a piece of it that was sticking up, falling hard to the floor. "Castle!" she cried out as she rushed to him as he turned over.
"That's what I get for trying to cheat," Castle joked, turning over with a slight grunt. "I'm okay sweetheart," he said quickly, surprised when she threw her arms around him, snuggling close to him as she pressed her cheek against his. He picked her up then and carried her to the couch, sitting with her on his lap. "I should have watched where I was going," he said, kissing her forehead.
"I don't wanna play that anymore," Julia said, peering up at him with tears in her eyes. "I thought you were hurt. Did you get hurt?"
"I don't think so," Castle said, showing her his arms and then moving his legs, making her bounce as she giggled softly, sniffing loudly. He hugged her tightly and said, "Well, you'll have a funny story to tell your mom when she gets home. Should we play some games now?"
"It wasn't funny," Julia said seriously. She sighed and hugged him again before climbing down to the floor with his help before they went to his office. "Not that one," she told him as they were looking through the games. "I wanna play that one with Mommy," she said as she pushed aside Perfection. "This one," she said happily, taking out the Clue Jr. game he and her mother had bought for her.
"That doesn't surprise me," Castle said, smiling at her choice. Though the game entailed finding toys hidden by pets in a doghouse, he knew his and Beckett's daughter thought it made her like them since it was still investigating a crime. He kissed her temple and stood up, taking her hand as they walked to the couch so they could play at the coffee table.
Watching as he set the game up, Julia said, "I wish Mommy could play with us."
"We can leave this out until she gets home," Castle said simply. "And she'll try and get back home as soon as she can."
"But she has to go to our home first before she comes home here," Julia reminded him.
"She does, but now that we got your clothes for her, she'll be able to go a lot faster," Castle commented. "So for now, let's play."
Julia picked out her piece she played with, the blue one, and watched as he chose the green piece before she said, "Do we have to see who goes first?"
"I think so," Castle said. "It's what the rules say." He handed her the dice and watched as she rolled before starting to move. Since they'd played the game several times after buying it, he didn't really have to help Julia too much. He wasn't too surprised when she was able to guess the right solution, and he ruffled her hair as she showed him the cards of that solution they'd put to the side.
"Can we play again?" Julia asked, before he could get the pieces of the game back in order.
About to answer, Castle wasn't too surprised when Julia yawned widely suddenly and he smiled saying, "I don't know sweetheart, it looks like you didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe you should take a nap."
"I don't like taking naps," Julia said with a groan.
"Come here," Castle said, helping her up and making her go around the table so he could pick her up. "It'll be a cat nap okay?"
"What's that? I have to sleep like a kitty?" Julia asked as he set her on his lap.
"No, it means you take a very short nap," Castle said, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled against his chest. "So ten minutes, and I'll wake you up and we can see what to do about dinner."
"Kay," Julia said, yawning again. She sighed as Castle began to stroke her hair, and the motion was so soothing that she couldn't fight her eyes as they kept drooping closed. Finally she fell asleep, not really realizing that she had as she relaxed against him.
Watching Julia, Castle pressed his cheek to the top of her head once he was sure she was sleeping, and he took a breath. He was a little tired himself from his time spent with Beckett the night before, so he was asleep shortly after her, not realizing it either as he held her to him securely with one hand; forgetting to set his alarm to wake them up in ten minutes.
Walking down the hall nearly forty-five minutes later, Beckett was at the door to Castle's and was a little surprised to hear it was absolutely silent inside. She opened the door with her key, and paused when she saw her fiancé and their daughter sleeping on the couch. Biting her lower lip, she was careful to close and lock the door behind her as quietly as she could. She set her bag next to the closet door, and then started to walk behind the couch, pausing again when she saw the bouquet of tulips on the kitchen counter.
Walking around the other end of the couch, Beckett sat down next to Castle, seeing his head was tilted back, and Julia was leaning against his chest. Taking out her phone, she quickly took a picture before slipping it back into her pocket. She then reached over, and carefully pushed some strands of his hair off his forehead, wanting to wake him up but not scare him and scare their daughter. "Good morning," she said as he opened his eyes and moved his head to look at her, looking confused.
"Hey, how long were we sleeping?" Castle said before he groaned slightly as he remembered the alarm he was supposed to have set then.
"I have no idea, but what had you t… never mind," Beckett said, answering her own question before she had finished it.
"You, it's raining?" Castle asked, hearing the sound suddenly.
"It started while I was at my place," Beckett said, watching him adjust Julia slightly. "So she was tired."
"Yeah, I bet she was too nervous to sleep last night," Castle replied, watching Beckett stroke their daughter's reddish brown hair.
"She did look tired when we talked to her this morning," she commented with a smile before she felt the little girl moving. "Hey sweetie, good morning," she said gently as Julia's green eyes opened and looked at her. "It looks like you had a nice nap," she said, smiling wider as Julia blinked a few times, looking confused as Castle had.
"You slept too?" the little girl asked, looking up at him questioningly, her voice still a little thick with sleep.
"I did, I was tired too I guess; you wore me out playing hide and seek," Castle said, helping her go to her mother.
"You played that?" Beckett asked as she hugged their daughter to her tightly, kissing the top of her head.
"Yeah, oh, Castle fell when he was going home," Julia said worriedly, looking at him.
"Was hoping she'd forget that," Castle said, making a face. With his fiancée looking at him questioningly, he sighed and said, "Yeah, I was running back here to the couch which we said was home, but there was a part of the rug sticking up, and of course I go straight to that and I fell. But I'm okay, well, except for right here."
"You hurt your lips," Beckett said, shooting him a look.
"Pretty badly too, ouch," Castle said, touching his lower lip and pretending to wince.
Julia watched with a little smile on her face, since she knew what he was trying to do, and she glanced up at her mother when she didn't do or say anything. Frowning, she was going to move, thinking it was because she was there that her mother wasn't kissing him, but before she could do that, Beckett was grabbing onto Castle's collar, and pulled him to her lips for a brief kiss. Blushing she looked down at her hands before wrapping her arms around her mother, waiting.
"You realize you don't need to make something up for that right?" Beckett commented when they'd parted.
"My lips feel so much better," Castle said. "And now I'm ready to get dinner set, so-" He paused when he felt Julia tugging on his hand and looked down at her asking, "What is it?"
"My lips are hurt too," Julia said shyly, glancing up at her mother as she said that.
Leaning down, Beckett shared a kiss with her before she watched Castle give their daughter a kiss. "Okay, so now that we've gotten that done, what are we doing for dinner, I'm starving," she said.
"I was thinking Greek tonight," Castle commented. "A little tired to cook."
"That sounds fine to me, sweetie?" Beckett asked, not surprised when Julia nodded eagerly. "The usual?" when Julia nodded a second time she continued with, "While Castle orders, we can play your game."
Standing up first, Castle waited for Beckett to do so and he said, "Two things you forgot sweetheart."
"What?" Julia asked in surprise.
"How did it go reciting the alphabet?" Beckett asked, remembering that suddenly.
"Oh! Lemme show, Mommy, we can play my game after dinner, or another day, I wanna show this," Julia said as she hurried to where her backpack was.
While they were waiting for her, Castle turned to Beckett and whispered to her, "You worked out again."
"A bath will help," was all she said in return, giving him a look so he wouldn't doubt that she was expecting him to join her. She wasn't too surprised when he wrapped his arm around her waist, but had to still his hand as Julia was coming back to them.
"Look, Mrs. Clayton gave me this for saying the alphabet," the little girl said, holding up a piece of paper.
"For reciting her alphabet, Julia Beckett. June 12th, 2014," Castle read. "See, we told you you'd do a great job."
"We're very proud of you," Beckett said, picking her up then and hugging her tightly. "And did closing your eyes help?"
"Yeah, after I asked everyone did that," Julia said with a smile. "We all were scared."
"Well, now you're ready for the first grade," Castle said, taking her from his fiancée and kissing her cheek. "And the other thing," he said quickly, before Julia could show her mother her yearbook. When the little girl looked at him in confusion, he nodded to the kitchen and she gasped before saying, "I got you these Mommy, me and Castle got these," taking her hand and pulling her to the counter once she was set down.
"Thank you Julia," Beckett said, touching the red and white tulips. "Any reason why?" she directed to Castle who was on the other side, opening a drawer to look for the menu to the Greek place they ordered from.
"No reason, just because," he replied, not looking at her. He knew she'd be able to guess that for him, it was a kind of relief that he could give her flowers after the risk she'd run earlier that day. Turning back to them, he saw that Julia was pulling her back to the couch, and breathed out, knowing they'd have a chance to talk that night once their daughter was in bed.
Sitting on the couch with Julia on her lap, Beckett looked on as her daughter opened the book, showing her the pictures from her class. "There you are," she said, pointing out her daughter's class picture towards the beginning. She smiled and kissed Julia's temple when the little girl giggled shyly and squirmed on her lap. "Show me your friends' pictures okay?"
"Kay, there's Johnny," Julia said quickly, pointing out the little boy, whose last name was Barrow so his picture was before hers. "There's Celia," pointing to Celia a little down the rows of pictures since her last name was Gower. She pointed to the rest of her friends from class, then the ones in her dance classes in the other kindergarten classrooms as Castle joined them after ordering dinner. They looked through the rest of the pictures in the yearbook before they got to the last pages which had the little messages her teachers had written for her. "Can you read what they say Mommy?" she asked.
"This one says, It was great having you in my class this year, you are a wonderful student. Have a fun summer, Mrs. Clayton," Beckett read, pleased to see both the kindergarten teacher and dance teacher had signed the second page for autographs. "And Miss Amber wrote, I'll see you later in the summer, but I have enjoyed having such an attentive student in my first class this year. Miss Yvette wrote here underneath, I agree and we will miss you until classes start again, remember your extensions! Hasta luego."
Giggling, Julia said, "She always says that about extensions. But what does that mean at the end?"
"It means until later," Castle said. "The Spanish say that instead of goodbye."
"I like that," Julia said. "I asked Castle if he would sign my book, will you?" she said to her mother.
"Of course," Beckett said quickly, kissing her forehead. "Now we should set the table."
"Kay, after can I look outside?" Julia said.
"You can," Castle said as he went to get some wine for him and Beckett, and some juice for Julia.
With her mother helping her, Julia was able to skip over to the windows looking out quickly, and she watched the rain dripping down the glass before she saw a flash of lightning. She looked in awe as she was able to see the cloudy sky light up briefly, but several seconds later, the thunder began, rumbling louder and making her tense up. She felt someone come up behind her, and she turned, pressing her face into her mother's side.
"It's alright," Beckett said gently.
"But what if the lights go off?" Julia asked, peering up at her.
"We have flashlights and the same lanterns we used at the beach house," Castle said before he went to the door at a rapid knock.
"He's right, but that lightning is pretty far away," Beckett said.
"How do you know?" Julia asked.
"There's a trick to it, my grandfather taught me. Wait for the lightning," Beckett told her as Castle set their dinner on the table and started to serve it. There was a flash of light and she said, "Now count, one thousand one, one thousand two…"
Julia counted with her, reaching eight before the thunder began and she quickly said, "What does it mean."
"That it's eight miles away," Beckett said, taking her then to the table. "So it's pretty far."
"Can you do that all the time?" Julia asked.
"Not unless the thunder starts right away," Castle said. "But your mom is right," he said as he helped Julia wash her hands. "It's pretty far, so we should be okay with the electricity."
Sitting down to their gyros and stuffed grapevine leaves, Beckett said, "You have to tell us how school went today sweetie. You practiced for your graduation tomorrow didn't you?"
Nodding as she was eating, Julia spoke quickly when she had finished saying, "We put on our robe and hat and we get our diploma," pronouncing the last word slowly. "And then we go to the classroom to have drinks and cookies."
"Before lunch, I'm surprised the other parents didn't protest that," Castle commented, looking at his fiancée.
"They'll be hyper even without that, good luck getting them to eat," Beckett said, waving her hand in the air.
"So you and Castle are gonna go Mommy, who else?" Julia asked after they'd eaten in silence for a little longer.
"My mother is definitely going," Castle said first.
"And your grandpapa too, but Lanie, Ryan and Esposito need to see if they can get off work in time to go," Beckett said. "But they want me to take pictures to show them."
"Would you mind if they weren't able to go?" Castle asked. He wasn't too surprised when Julia shook her head no and said, "We should have a graduation party with her."
"You mean I should throw a dinner for summer," Beckett said wryly. "Or you could if you wanted to hold it here; you have more room for that."
"And invite the boys, Jenny and Lanie?" Castle asked. At Beckett's nod he said, "I'll do that in a couple weeks; give me some time to plan it."
"Where's her cap and gown?" Beckett then asked.
"In her bag, I have no idea what it looks like, she wouldn't let me see it," Castle commented as Julia giggled since he turned to her.
"I wanted you to see it at the same time," the little girl explained. She finished her juice then and said, "Can I get it."
"Let's clean up," Castle said, since they were finished by then. "And then we'll take a look at it."
Sliding down from her chair, Julia took her plate from the table, and just as it was sliding off, it slipped in her fingers, and she caught it in her arms, holding it to her chest. She cried out, startled as the tzatziki sauce from the gyro smeared onto her shirt. "Mommy," she said, tears welling into her eyes as she looked up at them.
"Here," Castle said, since he was closer to her then. "Kate-" he started to say after he'd taken the plate off of Julia.
"Take her up and change her into her spare shirt she has," Beckett said simply. "I'll get started."
"I'm sorry," Julia called to her as Castle led her upstairs.
"It's okay sweetie, just get changed and come back down," Beckett told her while she walked to the kitchen.
Up in Alexis' room, Castle helped Julia change before letting her put on her new shirt, a Beatles shirt that was her spare when she was at the loft. "Okay, all set?" he asked, since she seemed to have recovered a little. "I got all the sauce right?" as he'd dabbed it off.
"Yeah," Julia said with a sigh. "That never happened before," she told him as she took his hand and they headed for the stairs.
"You shouldn't really worry, like your mom said," Castle told her, picking her up then. "And I just got a great idea since I realized the lightning and thunder stopped." He smiled when Julia begged him to tell her what he'd thought of, but he didn't answer, reaching Beckett who was about to start cleaning the table. At their daughter's insistence, he set Julia down and watched her run to her mother.
"Let me help," the little girl begged her mother, reaching for the damp towel she held.
"Clean the corners for me sweetie," Beckett said, watching as Julia stood on tiptoe at all four corners to wipe off the table before going back to her. "Thank you," she said simply before she glanced over to her fiancé to see what he was doing.
"So I got an idea," Castle said, seeing Beckett's look towards him as he was cutting up a peach into slices. "For dessert."
"And? You can't leave her hanging like that," Beckett said in amusement, nodding to their daughter who was biting her lower lip as she watched them anxiously.
"Head down two blocks to the new gelato place," Castle said.
"Well," Beckett said, going to the sink and washing her hands since she'd finished cleaning up. "I think we can do that, we fit under that umbrella you have."
"Now?" Julia asked eagerly.
"After we finish our fruit," Castle said, handing her some slices on a napkin. He watched her run to the window and went with Beckett after her. They sat on the chairs at the tables there, watching their daughter eat her peach slices before licking the juice off her fingers.
"Sweetie, napkin," Beckett said, but without any real kind of scolding. "Alright, let's go, because we need to give her a bath for tomorrow."
"Now I can show the robe and hat," Julia said as they went to the front door. She went into her bag with her new clothes for the next day and also the next week. "See?"
Taking the cap and gown in their packaging still, Beckett smiled and said, "All in blue."
"And light blue for the tassel, very nice," Castle said, giving Julia a thumbs up before she leaned against him. "We'll need to take a lot of pictures tomorrow."
"With everyone?" Julia asked as her mother set aside the packages on the table.
"With your family and friends, your two teachers too, everyone we can get to take a picture with you," Castle told her.
"That's a lot of pictures," Julia said seriously. She then frowned and said, "But… but what about Alexis?" her voice dropping into a whisper.
"She came up with an ingenious plan; she must be my daughter," Castle said in an aside to Beckett who only pushed him away from her. He laughed at that reaction and continued saying, "She suggested I Skype on my phone with her during the ceremony."
"She won't… oh; I keep forgetting the time change. What time is her first final tomorrow?" Beckett asked.
"Nine to eleven," Castle said simply. "Developmental Psychology."
"She should do good," Julia said as she put on her jacket her mother handed her with Castle's help. "She watched the movie she had to a lot she said."
"And she didn't breathe a word of any details, so she's already got that patient-doctor privilege down pat," Castle said as he grabbed his big umbrella. "Okay, let's get going," he said. He took Beckett's hand as Julia held her mother's other, and they went out into the hall. Getting down to the sidewalk outside his building, he opened the umbrella and just as they started to walk towards the store, his phone began to ring. "Speaking of Alexis," he said, seeing who it was. "Hey kiddo, you caught me walking down the street with Kate and Julia."
Looking on as he didn't put the phone onto speaker, Beckett felt Julia squeezing her hand, knowing their daughter wanted to speak to Alexis. "Hold on sweetie," she told her quickly to calm her down.
"Okay, she'll talk to us back at the apartment, she just called to see we weren't eating dinner," Castle said as soon as he'd hung up. "So you'll see her soon sweetheart," he told Julia, seeing her about to speak.
Inside the gelato shop, Beckett read the flavors to Julia as they waited in line, and after getting their orders she let their daughter lead her and Castle to a table. "Is that your mom?" she asked her fiancé, seeing a familiar face looking through the windows outside.
"I'll be right back, don't take my ice cream," Castle said in a mockingly stern tone to Julia who only smiled at that. "Mother?" he called as he came out of the door and saw that it was her.
"I thought it was you," Martha said, closing her umbrella to come inside. "I didn't have a chance to call about dinner; I went with a few students to the nearby French café."
"Did you have dessert?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when his mother didn't answer, instead walked over to the counter to get in line. "I think she's joining us," he commented as he sat down with his fiancée and their daughter.
"Hi Martha," Julia said eagerly as she sat with them.
"Hello kiddo, how was your day at school?" she asked the little girl.
Since Julia was talking to Martha, Beckett and Castle listened in on the conversation; basically the same things she'd told them, but they were both amused at hearing her tell the story of how she'd nearly stumbled on the letter q when she'd been reciting the alphabet.
"I knew you'd do wonderfully," Martha commented when they were finished and stepping outside. "And very smart of you to think of the animal alphabet in your book to help you remember q."
"I'm happy that I did! I don't want to be in grades and not know my alphabet," Julia said, walking with her under Martha's umbrella, her mother and Castle following them. She glanced behind at them as they waited to cross the street, and saw they were talking quietly to each other. "Is my mommy kay?" she whispered to Martha.
Surprised, she glanced at Julia and then back at her son and his fiancée before realizing what the little girl was likely picking up on. She had been aware of the way Beckett and Castle had gotten the killer in their case, since a student of hers had been watching the news during a break in their class, and had seen them leaving the building; letting her know what he'd seen. Martha sighed under her breath, wishing the bond between Julia and Beckett wasn't as strong as it was that the little girl picked up on things like that, but she said, since Julia was looking up at her intently, "She's just fine darling, I would imagine she's a little tired from the work she had to do with this case. From what she and Richard told me, it was a little difficult to solve."
Julia nodded at that, but still felt a little unsure, and she went to her mother once they were in the lobby of Castle's building. She wrapped her arms around Beckett before she could move, and pressed close to her, keeping her from going to the elevators.
"Come here sweetie," Beckett said picking her up in her arms and sharing a look with Castle as they'd been waiting for her to pick up on something with either of them after what had happened that day. "Are you tired?"
"No, but… can we play a different game, I don't wanna play Clue now," Julia said.
"I wouldn't mind if we did," Beckett told her as they went up to his floor. "But if you don't really want to," she said since Julia had looked a little panicked hearing that. "Then what would you like to play?"
"UNO," Julia said simply. "Will you play too?" she asked Castle and Martha.
"Of course," Martha replied first. "And Richard, you are too, we'll keep score and see who gets the most points," she said as she took Julia into her arms and carried her into the loft.
"Okay, I guess we're all playing," Castle commented to his fiancée as they walked in after her.
Sitting around the table as her fiancé was starting to shuffle the large deck of cards for the game, Beckett commented, "It's a little quiet isn't it?"
"Julia?" Castle said, holding his hand out to her.
When the two had disappeared into his office, Martha leaned over to Beckett across the table and said, "Are you alright?"
"You heard about what happened?" she asked.
"A little, just that there was a SWAT team responding to shots fired and an NYPD detective went in to negotiate with the shooter," Martha said. "And also they mentioned personalities?"
Looking up as the sound of Paul McCartney singing Give Ireland Back to the Irish started, Beckett quickly explained the situation with the killer, not surprised when Martha looked at her in a little shock as she had to tell her she'd gone into the apartment unarmed. "I know it was a risk, but, it was either that or a shootout. I had to try and talk to her."
"Well, things ended alright, I guess we can take something from that," Martha said. She saw that Castle was suddenly chasing Julia around the desk, and she smiled before saying, "He was shaken up."
"I know, I was too, but, we'll be alright," Beckett assured her, smiling slightly as she watched the two. "Castle," she called then. "Your mom and I are going to start playing ourselves since you and Julia decided to play hide and seek again."
Squealing as Castle picked her up, swinging her legs up in the air, Julia giggled and said breathlessly, "I was teasing him Mommy, we're gonna play right now."
Setting Julia down in her chair after he kissed her temple, Castle squeezed Beckett's hand in passing before sitting down at his chair. He then began to deal the cards as the song switched to one by George Harrison. "You know, I'm surprised you let her listen to this," he commented to his fiancée as he recognized it by the opening music.
"It's a good song," Julia said with a giggle as George Harrison's The Pirate Song began. She sang along as she watched the others take their turns with the game, and then she placed a draw two card saying sheepishly, "Sorry Martha."
"That's a better card to get rid of," she commented simply, taking two from the deck. "Speaking of music, are you finished with that list of yours?"
"Yeah, I have all the songs good for Mommy and Castle," Julia said, putting down a card after her mother had gone. "Alexis has to look at them."
"Speaking of Alexis; again," Castle said as his phone suddenly started to shake on the table. "I think we should put our game on pause." And with that they went to his office where he simply turned on the TV; having set things up while he and Julia were getting the music set.
"Hey Gram, I didn't think you'd be back yet," Alexis said in surprise when she saw her grandmother with the others once the screen was on.
"I ran into these three at the new gelato place down the street," Martha said simply. "How are you darling?"
"I'm okay," Alexis said a little hesitatingly.
"Did you do okay on your test?" Julia asked.
"Oh, yeah, I passed, the professor told us if we did or not after our presentation. He thought I did a great job with my report. It's nothing to do with school," Alexis said.
"You're almost finished, so I'm not sure why you'd have a problem with school," Castle said, since she would no longer be attending UC Berkley with her final in Modern Irish the next afternoon. He opened his mouth to say more, when he felt his fiancée's hand squeeze his arm. He looked at her, and then turned to his daughter when she started to talk.
"There's something I should tell you, since I'm sure you're going to wonder," Alexis said slowly. "Max and I broke up earlier today, after my History final."
"Oh Alexis-" Martha started to say in sympathy.
"It's okay actually, don't feel bad for me, because this was going to happen anyways," she quickly said. "We kind of drifted apart before Christmas, and we decided my coming here to California would be a nice break to make us want to be back together again when I came home. But we realized it was more of a chance to have a break from each other and the relationship. We just finalized it tonight."
"I'm still sorry to hear that sweetheart," Castle said. "You seemed pretty happy."
"I know, I thought I was too, but," Alexis said with a shrug, not continuing.
"How are you doing right now?" Beckett asked her.
Smiling at that, Alexis said, "Pretty great considering, like I said, it was something I knew would happen. So, now that's over, tell me how it went for you at school today Jules. How was it when you recited?"
The rest of the conversation was mostly between Alexis and Julia, as they both talked about their days at school. Watching his daughter, Castle couldn't see any indication of when she'd be coming home, and he felt deeply disappointed as she said goodbye to them, saying she was heading to the Academy of Sciences as the school had managed to arrange a trip for the students from Columbia, to celebrate the end of the semester. He didn't try to ask when she was coming back; instead telling her he loved her before saying goodbye. While his mother and Julia left he started to take down the cords plugged into the TV when he saw his fiancée standing next to him out of the corner of his eye.
"She'll come back, just give her time okay?" Beckett said gently.
"I know, just, I don't know if I'll be that happy this Sunday if she's not here," Castle said. "I love Julia, and I'll enjoy it with her, but I want both my daughters with me."
Smiling at that, Beckett let him finish before she took his face into her hands and kissed him gently on the lips. "Come on, we need to get Julia to bed soon."
Nodding, Castle followed her to the table, and they finished up their first game of UNO, Martha winning.
As he was shuffling the deck again, Beckett was a little surprised when Julia climbed up on her lap. "Sleepy?" she asked the little girl as she yawned and stretched.
"Yeah, can I watch you play Mommy?" Julia asked.
"Go ahead, but don't fall asleep yet, you need to take a bath still," Beckett said. When the little girl groaned she said, "You need to be clean in your new dress and graduation robes."
"Yeah, would not be a good look if you went like Pig Pen, clouds of dirt following you wherever you go," Castle said, smiling when Julia laughed a little at that.
Watching as the three played the game, Julia leaned back against her mother, holding her hand after her arm wrapped around her stomach. She knew something had happened that day; something with her mother's work; she just couldn't figure out what. But she could tell from the way Castle was looking at her mother when she was playing, that he was trying to make sure she wouldn't disappear suddenly and was thinking something else though she couldn't tell from the look on his face. She sighed and then turned, wrapping her arms around her mother tightly, pressing her cheek to her as she felt suddenly relieved that her mother was there with her.
"We're almost finished sweetie," Beckett whispered, leaning down and kissing her forehead. She put down her last card; winning the game; and was about to wait for Castle to put the deck back together again when Martha took the cards out of his hand.
"Go and get her ready, I'll come up to say goodnight," she told the three who looked at little startled at that.
"Thank you Mother," Castle said, standing up after Beckett had. He let her lead the way into Alexis' bathroom, and waited until Julia was in the water to join his fiancée next to the tub.
A little more awake then, Julia let her mother wash her hair before she said, "Can I play first?"
"After," Beckett said simply. She kissed the little girl's forehead before washing her body quickly, and finishing with letting Julia wash her face herself. "Alright, you can play now, but quickly, because you need to be awake for the ceremony tomorrow."
"Can I play with crayons please? And you both play with me?" Julia asked shyly as Castle went to the cabinet where her bath toys were stored.
"Play what? I hope it's not to draw, because I am not that good," Castle said, handing her the blue bath crayon in the set. "Though stick figures I can make pretty well."
"No, can we play tic-tac-toe with three people?" Julia asked, looking at her mother.
"We could play hangman," Castle said when Beckett had shaken her head.
"What's that," Julia asked interestedly.
"It's a good thing the crayons wash off," Beckett said as Castle leaned over and marked out seven spaces. "You need to guess the letters there are in the word. And if you guess wrong…"
"I draw a part of a horse and a dog, so you've got twelve chances. If you can't guess the word though, then you lose," Castle said. "We'll have to start over."
"Let's play that, but do you play too or just me?" Julia asked.
"We'll take one turn each, any longer in the water you're going to be wrinkled into tomorrow when you graduate," Beckett said.
"Kay, um, is there a e?" Julia asked. She clapped when Castle wrote down the letter and then guessed a t. After guessing the letter a, she said quickly, "Is it Beatles?"
"It is," Castle said, smiling as his fiancée was looking down at the crayon in her hand, obviously trying not to laugh at his choice. "Okay, I think it's time for your mom to go."
"You pick a word," Julia said quickly.
Thinking for a moment, Castle finally nodded and wrote down a word before saying, "It's a place."
"Thanks for giving me that hint at least," Beckett said. "Alright, t first."
Julia looked on as her mother was just able to guess the word before running out of tries, and asked, "What's Sa… what it says?"
"Salamanca," Beckett said, taking the crayon Castle was holding after Julia had cleaned off the wall. "It's a city in Spain."
"Has your dad been there?" Castled asked, looking on as she marked the spaces of the words she had chosen. When his fiancée nodded he then asked, "Can I get a hint?"
"No, you're on your own," Beckett said.
"Alright, then s," Castle said.
Julia, wondering what the words were, watched in surprise as Castle ran out of turns and she said, "What did you pick Mommy?"
Beckett smiled and then wrote out C Moon, and laughed when Castle groaned in frustration. "I thought that would get you."
"It wouldn't have if you'd given me a hint," Castle said, pretending to be angry as he cleaned off the wall and got out of the way so she could get their daughter out of the water.
"You don't get any," Beckett said. "You're the writer."
"That's still a hard thing to guess," Julia said as her mother dried her off.
"I know, but next time he might guess," Beckett said simply. She dressed Julia in her pajamas and after helping her brush her teeth they went out into the bedroom where Martha was waiting.
"Quickly," she said as Julia hurried to her. "You're late already and you have a big day tomorrow."
"Goodnight," Julia said, wrapping her arms around Martha. "Will you come to school with us?"
"I'll see, but I will be at the graduation, you can be sure of that. Goodnight Julia," Martha assured her. "I'll be downstairs," she said to Beckett and Castle before leaving the room.
"Into bed," Castle commented as he picked Julia up and set her under the covers. He leaned down and shared a kiss with her as he was pulling the covers over her and said, "Don't forget tomorrow night we're heading to that dance. And I'm taking you and your mom out after for a special dinner."
"That's too late," Beckett protested.
"It's her grad night," Castle countered. He laughed when she pushed his shoulder; but not hard enough to move him; and he went back to Julia, kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams Julia, I love you," he told her seriously before stepping back to let his fiancée say goodnight to her.
"I can't wait for tomorrow night Mommy, even if it's gonna be past my bed time," Julia confessed as her mother pulled the covers up the rest of the way.
"I know, and I'm a little excited too," Beckett replied, smiling when Julia looked at her in surprise. "But until tomorrow, you need to sleep, can't fall asleep when you graduate." She leaned down and shared a kiss with the little girl before saying, "I love you Julia, sweet dreams."
"I love you too Mommy," Julia said, sitting up and hugging her mother tightly. Feeling safe in her mother's embrace, she pressed her cheek against Beckett's, kissing her cheek and smiling at Castle when he smiled at them
Beckett made sure Julia was settled after she was lying down and tucked in again before she followed Castle to the doorway, not surprised to see their daughter was asleep as soon as they turned. "Busy day," she said softly as they went down the stairs, grabbing his hand.
"Yeah, you know, I have to admit, when I heard the gun shot, I was scared out of my mind," Castle said.
"I know, I heard from Ryan that you took off at a run down the hall before anyone from SWAT got a chance to move," Beckett commented. "He said if you weren't so tall you'd have been a gazelle as fast as you were going."
"I had to make sure," Castle said. "And they didn't mention that in the report did they?"
"No reason to," Beckett said with a shrug as he took her to the table by the window where they stood looking at each other. "I'm just glad you didn't throw yourself into the room without checking first."
"I had to be careful still," Castle said. He then pulled her into his embrace, his arms tight around her saying, "But you're alright."
"I am, so why don't we watch something, a comedy, to lighten the mood a little more now our little girl is in bed," Beckett said, brushing her lips across his. "And then take that bath together," she whispered before they closed the gap between them at the same time, and began to kiss each other deeply.
Castle dimly remembered in the back of his mind that his mother had mentioned something about being downstairs, but he was too involved in the kiss to focus his attention on that. But he heard her footsteps, and he pulled away hurriedly before they turned at the same time to see it was her. "So we're going to watch something funny Mother," he said as Martha started to walk to the kitchen. "And it's something I think you should watch with us."
"Are you sure?" Martha replied. "I wouldn't want to be the third wheel on movie night."
"It's not that long," Castle said quickly.
"And it's not really movie night either," Beckett said as she followed Castle to the kitchen, where he began to make coffee.
"Then I'd be delighted to see what you've chosen Richard," Martha said.
Castle didn't mention what he wanted to watch, only finished the coffee for the three of them before leading the way to his office. "Okay, so…" he began to say before trailing off when he saw Beckett was going to get his desk chair. Before she could, he reached out to her and pulled her to one of the armchairs, making her sit on his lap. "So you'll recognize who this is Mother," he said as Martha sat down in the other armchair.
Smiling as Beckett was looking at her son as he turned on the TV, Martha said, "I really wish you'd just tell us what we're watching."
"Rowan Atkinson Live?" Beckett asked, looking at the screen.
"It suggested it after we watched Life of Brian the other night," Castle said. "I watched the beginning and thought of you Mother."
"I worked with him," Martha said quickly to Beckett's questioning glance. "I was on his show when I was in London one spring, but my scene was cut."
"Too bad, I'm sure it would have been a great scene and you could have told Julia you were on the Beeb," Beckett said. "Was it for Mr. Bean?"
"Another show," Martha said.
"I've seen a few episodes, what's he like?" Beckett asked.
"Very nice, and very, very funny. A dedicated actor as well, I admired him when I saw him work. Play the movie Richard, I'd like to see some of his comedy," Martha said.
Castle smiled at that and warned them saying, "It's a little crude."
"Stand up can be," Beckett said. She leaned back against him then, smiling at the first act, which was supposed to be a demon greeting new entrants to hell.
"Remember I said crude," Castle said when it finished.
"I'm enjoying this so far," Martha said, not surprised when Beckett echoed her.
The rest of the movie had the three laughing at different jokes, but the second to last act had Castle and Beckett glancing at his mother, since it featured the actor "lecturing" on Shakespeare and demonstrating different types of characters. They shared a relieved look at her laughter, and relaxed for the last act, the actor pretending to play a drum set with different instruments.
"Well, he's a good comedian, I have to say I enjoyed his acceptance speech for another actor's win greatly," Martha said when it was over and they were standing up. "I imagine that's exactly what would be going on in the actor's mind if they ever had to do that. I'll head to my room now; I'll see you in the morning. What time are you three leaving?"
"She doesn't need to go until ten," Beckett reminded her. "So we'll leave at nine-thirty."
"She might wake up before us," Castle warned his mother, going to them after he'd rinsed and put away the mugs.
"That's alright, I've taken care of her before when she's done that," Martha said. "Goodnight you two."
"Night Mother." "Night Martha," Castle and then Beckett said as she went upstairs.
Holding his hand out to his fiancée, Castle smiled when she did and wrapped his arm around her as she leaned against him instead. Kissing her temple he waited until they were inside his room with all the doors locked before he asked, "Still serious about that bath?"
Since they had stepped apart for him to lock the doors, Beckett grabbed his hand then, and took him to the bathroom where he closed that door. "What if I told you I wanted to take this bath by myself?" she asked when he went straight to her and started to unbutton the blouse she'd changed into after stopping at her place. She couldn't help smile as he faltered on a button, and whispered, making him look up at her, "I'm kidding."
"Good, because remember how we were talking about things developing?" Castle asked.
"You should have let me get your desk chair," Beckett said simply, knowing then that she hadn't been imagining his arousal as they'd been watching the movie.
"And I think I made a great decision, luckily the movie was distracting enough I wasn't pulling you in here before it was over," Castle said, straightening up and helping her slip the sleeves off her arms. He lingered behind the fabric though, running his hands over it slowly and feeling her shiver in response. Leaning down, he closed the gap between them and kissed her, gently at first to get her to respond to him. When she parted her lips a second later to his seeking tongue, he held her by the small of her back, shuddering at the feel of her bare skin.
Beckett was a little unsure of how long exactly they were pressed together, their tongues slightly dueling one another in her mouth, but when they parted, she wasn't at all shocked when they became a little frantic to get their clothes off. She put her hair up into a makeshift bun after undoing the ponytail her hair had been in that day as he filled the tub, and said, "So things worked out nicely," as he got in first.
"Not develop?" Castle asked, smirking slightly as he saw where she was staring.
"I think you're past the development stage, way past it," Beckett said before she got into the water. She had to smile when Castle grabbed her, making her sit in front of him before they both leaned back. "Hmm, haven't done this for a while," she commented as she stayed like that for some time, the only sound was the water when they would move slightly.
"We've gotten pretty busy," Castle said. "Work, school for Julia and then all of us getting sick."
"I have to wonder how things will go now that she'll be at day camp," Beckett said.
"Well, I can pick her up now if you need me to," Castle told her.
Sitting up and turning around, Beckett said, "Does that mean you're going to write more? I'm pretty sure you're behind on your book though you won't tell me for sure."
"Slightly behind," Castle said, reaching up to her and sliding his hand around her waist before rubbing it back and forth on her damp skin. "You can't rush me."
"Unless it's the last minute," Beckett teased him. She cried out shortly when he suddenly pulled her against him, wrapping her arms around him. Their kiss was very gentle and careful, and she sighed, pulling away from him when she needed to breathe. "I love you," she said before opening her eyes to look at him.
"I love you too," Castle said before he ran his hands up her back and remembered something. "Here," he told her, making her sit up and turn around to look away from him. He got on his knees as well and said, "Where?"
"My shoulders, but it's not as bad this time," Beckett said. "Really."
"Still," Castle said simply before he went to her right shoulder first. Massaging her skin, he felt an odd mixture of arousal and concentration, as he could feel her tension in her muscles. But he ignored his desire, and instead focused on getting her relaxed which didn't take as long as he thought it would. "So the punching bag made it out of your fight in one piece it looks like," he commented when he'd finished by running water over her skin and gently rubbing his fingertips in circles on her skin.
"It did, but everyone who walked in while I was busy with that did the same thing again," Beckett said, turning around to him.
"Avoided you?" Castle asked. When his fiancée nodded he said, "I feel like one time I should go in and hold the bag for you, see what anyone would say."
"It's likely they'd feel sorry for you," Beckett said, shaking her head as she smiled. She wasn't too surprised when, as she was talking, Castle sat up and reached around her, undoing her hair so it fell around her damp shoulders.
"They wouldn't see how you'd make it up to me though," Castle said.
"And what makes you think I would," Beckett asked simply as he was taking her and turning her around so she was against the back of the tub.
"Because I'd make it so you want to," Castle said, his voice a little deeper without him realizing it as he narrowed the gap between them.
"Like you are right now?" Beckett breathed out as she could feel him, still very much eager for her, against her thigh. He didn't answer, and she didn't really care, as she took his kiss enthusiastically, throwing her arms around him as he reached for her legs to part them, finding they already were.
Castle moved slightly, and finally he was sliding into her, the kiss disintegrating with each inch he entered her. He watched her tilt her head back and moan in pleasure, and he couldn't resist, biting at her neck briefly, feeling the beating pulse under her skin going crazy. He kissed her briefly, only letting his lips brush across hers, and he proceeded to move, lowering his head at the same time.
Gasping out slightly as he was moving very slowly inside her, Beckett had her eyes closed tightly, so she couldn't see what he was doing. But she felt easily when he descended to her breasts, his right hand coming out of the water to let his thumb roll around her nipple, getting it wet. Opening her eyes; forcing them open; she looked on as he brought his mouth to it, tongue lolling out as he stared up at her, to take the water off her skin. But he left it just as damp as it had been before that, and when he carefully blew across her flesh, she shook hard; nearly breaking their rhythm they'd gotten to together. "Castle…" she begged him.
Shaking his head, he moved up to kiss her, not surprised when Beckett made it deep, her fingers sliding over his scalp on the back of his head. Castle moved away, gasping for air and feeling his groin throb pleasantly as that kiss affected him greatly, it being so much more intense than how they were moving. He forced himself; not too hard to do; down to her breasts again, and that time he didn't tease her as long as he had before. He didn't think he really could, as he was literally hungry for them. He took a brief moment to kiss around her right nipple, not surprised that when he took it with his lips it had stiffened with her arousal.
Watching as Castle began to suckle at her, Beckett was trying to take in his measured, careful pace as it joined the movement of their bodies. They were still going slowly together, and she felt the pleasure in that joining the pleasure of his mouth. She started to breathe a little harder, biting at her lower lip as he moved to her left breast and proceeded to do the same to it. She ran her hand over his head, and let her moan she'd been holding in go. When he glanced up at her, she felt a little startled at how dark his blue eyes had become. She suddenly couldn't fight her urge, and she pulled him up to her so they could kiss. That time they contrasted against their bodies, heads tilting back and forth as they tried to win the duel between their tongues, neither of them caring there was no real winner. When he pulled away from her, she kept him close to her lips as she whispered, "This is what you want?"
Immediately knowing she was asking to make sure he wasn't being so careful just to please her, Castle went to her ear, lightly biting at the lobe. As he began to nibble at it, he changed the angle of his hips and had to stop, a stuttering groan leaving his lips. "You… know this is what I want love, just you," he whispered into her ear before sliding his lips down her skin from right below it to her neck. He resisted the urge to bite at it, and instead went to her shoulder. There he indulged himself in nibbling the junction of it and her collarbone, feeling her moans getting progressively louder, and he had to wonder at how one simple word could start that. He didn't try to explain it, just let it happen, reminding himself to call her love a lot more when they were rougher. For the moment; as he was moving back down to her breasts; he wanted to take things more simply, and just feel how they were together, wanting her to feel the same as well.
Though she wasn't really aware of what Castle was thinking, Beckett seemed to sense what he was trying to do, and she slid her legs up higher around him. Being in the bathtub, she couldn't really position herself as she would if they'd been on the bed, but she did the best she could. She breathed out a little hard as his next thrust into her felt deeper to her, and his groan against her left breast seemed to confirm that. When he raised his head she drew him to her lips, teasing him with them before drawing back. He immediately came forward to her, and she took the chance to take his lower lip with her teeth. She could feel his breath against her lips as she nibbled lightly at him, letting him go expecting to share a kiss with him. But instead, he was returning the favor, and at the same time she could feel his hand underneath her, pushing up on the small of her back to force her hips up at a slight angle.
Feeling Beckett's fingers dig into his back as he seemed to sink deeply inside her, Castle breathed out, pulling away from her mouth. He went back to her quickly though, and almost crushed her lips with his own. They sped up a little then, with him following her as she seemed to undulate above his hand that was helping to hold her in place. He was lucky he'd remained on his knees, knowing if he hadn't, he'd be slipping against the smooth surface of the tub. But since he didn't need both hands for support, he took advantage of the fact, and reached in between them, ending their kiss so he could be sure she was watching.
Closing her eyes tightly as she felt Castle's fingertips against her clit, Beckett was a little surprised when he didn't move them, only touched her. She was going to move her hips enough to try and see if she could spur him on, when he was whispering hoarsely into her ear, "Open your eyes Kate." She didn't really have much time to react to that, and her eyes opened quickly to his staring straight into hers.
"Watch me," Castle told her huskily before he was reaching back down, rubbing her clit again. He knew she couldn't really see that well, but she could see his hand moving, and he used his first two fingers to move around and around her, grunting slightly as she was thrusting in time with the passes of his digits. He slowed down, and was relieved when she did as well. He moved his hand then to join the other under her, tilting her hips a little more. He became dizzy then as he moved inside of her, his body literally burning from what she was making him feel. He was getting deep inside of her, and he felt her around him, tightening as he sank into her for the briefest second, and then as he moved back she was relaxing, but it was a little hard to tell at the same time. He leaned down and kissed her then, pleased when she cupped his cheeks.
With their tongues meeting and falling away before rubbing against each other again, Beckett breathed out heavily when they parted a bit later. She was feeling things getting stronger, the pleasure was rising in her body though there was nothing but Castle thrusting in her, steadily as he'd been since he first started making love to her. She looked on as he suddenly moved his hips in such a way that he was brushing directly against her clit, and that was all she had needed. Breaking completely, her back stiffened before it curved into an arc, and she was crying out his name, hearing it reverberate back to her in an echo even as her ears were roaring with the ecstasy she was feeling.
A little unsure if he was close behind her, or it took him a little more time than usual, Castle found he didn't care, his orgasm almost knocking him into thrusting harder and faster. But he just barely found the strength to resist that, and he moved carefully, slowly as he was groaning her name, holding her as close as he could to him by her hips. He panted a little when they finally slowed down, and moved away from her enough to help her sit up. He wasn't surprised when she threw her arms around him, feeling the water she'd brought with her cascading down her body in warm trails over their skin as he held her close while they kissed. When they had parted he nuzzled her lips with his and whispered, "I adore you, love."
"Hmm, I love you Rick," Beckett said with a smile before she closed the gap between them for another kiss. That went on for a little longer since they had more of their breath back, and when they finally parted she sighed saying, "Thank you."
"For that?" Castle asked. When she nodded he couldn't help smile saying, "I aim to please, but you know that was as much for me as you."
"Which is why we're that good together," Beckett said simply before they kissed again.
That was a shorter, yet still deep kiss, but as they were doing that, Castle ran his hand down the back of Beckett's hair and realized the ends were soaking wet. "I got your hair wet," he began apologetically in a whisper. "Sorry."
"No, actually, I think it needs to be washed," Beckett said simply. She couldn't help smile at his eagerness at that and said, "You've got a fetish, I don't care if you might deny it, but you do."
"It's not a sexual fetish," Castle said, grabbing the shampoo she kept there. "It arouses me, but doesn't get me off," he continued absently as he rinsed her hair meticulously.
"We could try though," both he and Beckett said at the same time before they stopped and she turned to look at him.
"I was joking," Castle said hurriedly before he made her turn around.
"Me too," Beckett said, breathing out a sigh of relief. She was quiet then as he washed her hair, and felt a little drowsy by the time he rinsed her hair for the last time. She wasn't too surprised when he helped her out, nor when he immediately began drying her off. She had to smile at that, since she knew it was partially because he was trying to be thoughtful, but also because he could touch her intimately; his hands always going after her towel to "check" to make sure she was fully dry. That night though, she decided she wanted to do the same thing, and turning around she pulled his towel from his hands, starting to dry him off.
"Ah, Kate," Castle hissed when she fondled him through the towel.
"You need to be dry," Beckett said in a matter of fact tone of voice. "And I should check-" she started to say, her fingers just starting to curl around the tip of him before he grabbed her wrist.
"Not tonight, maybe tomorrow if we're up to it," Castle said carefully.
"You're tired?" Beckett asked as he took the towel from her since she was finished.
"Slightly, I know you are though, I thought you were going to fall asleep while I was washing your hair. Thanks for letting me do that by the way," Castle commented as he went to his medicine cabinet to get her cream.
Nodding when he held the tube up to her, Beckett waited for him to start rubbing the slightly minty smelling cream into her muscles, grunting slightly at the force he used. She wasn't sure how he could figure out how much she needed, but he always seemed to know. When he had stopped, she went out to the bedroom, knowing that he was trying to keep his eye on her before she rounded the corner and was in the room. Even after nearly two years with him, she couldn't help the thrill knowing his gaze was on her naked body. She picked her pajamas without thinking, so it was a little shock to feel the silk of her sky blue nightgown slipping over her skin and she turned to Castle who was walking out. She bit her lower lip at his pause, but she didn't say anything, and neither did he, until he was dressed in his pajamas and was embracing her closely as their lips met in a slow, sensuous kiss.
After they had parted, Castle followed his fiancée to the bed, slipping under the covers after he'd taken care of his light. When she was lying on his arm with their hands entwined he started to speak, but then hesitated before saying, "Is it my imagination, or was Lanie at the station as I was leaving?"
"No, she was," Beckett said. "And you reminded me; I wanted to tell you what she said. Well, she apologized again, but she also let me know that she's done."
"Done? You better start from the beginning," Castle said quickly.
Smiling at the slight surprise in his voice, Beckett said, "We were in the break room and I began to speak but she cut me off, she was a little concerned still; I guess the texts I sent her weren't enough of a reassurance," as she recalled her friend's anxious tone earlier that afternoon.
"I'm so sorry Kate," Lanie said, interrupting Beckett as she'd begun to talk about Julia's graduation the next day.
"I know, and I told you I accepted your apology Lanie," Beckett assured her. "But I'm glad you're still talking about this, because it's something we need to talk about in better detail. Before this you've always hinted to me that I should go out on dates, or I should try and start something with Castle. But this was a little too much, why did you decide to do something underhanded like that?"
Lanie didn't reply at first, looking down into her mug of coffee before she finally took a slight breath and confessed, "I'm worried about you. About how Queens has affected you. I know, I know, you went to your therapist for that, but… are you traumatized by what happened to you?"
"I can't really say," Beckett replied. "I haven't been with a man for… a while."
"Josh?" Lanie asked. When her friend gave an infinitesimal nod, she said quickly, "And that doesn't make you a little lonely?" At a shake of Beckett's head she then said, "Or at the very least h-"
"Easy Lanie," Beckett said, smiling though as she knew the doctor was only joking. "I'm a mother now, can't really speak like that around me."
"Still, you're okay on your own?" Lanie said. When Beckett nodded she said, "Whatever you're doing you need to share with me."
"Not a chance," Beckett said, since while she and Lanie were good friends and would share a lot, they were a little mum on the details of their love lives or anything else dealing with sex as they didn't want to over share; wanting to keep that as private as they could. "But I'm fine with Queens; I can fantasize about a man-"
"Castle, right?" Lanie said simply. When she saw Beckett's slightly flushed cheeks she started to speak when her friend quickly interrupted her.
"No, I-" Beckett began.
"Not going to buy it," Lanie said. "I know you've been doing that for a while; you even said to me you were."
"That was only once," Beckett protested, looking at the doorways to make sure someone wasn't there to hear that.
"It was more than once, don't try to deny it," Lanie said. "And really is it so wrong to fantasize about him? Though girl, honestly, for six years you've been doing that and it never occurred to you to try and start something?"
"Six years?" Castle said suddenly, interrupting Beckett's story.
"I… yes, but it wasn't every time I was… fooling around with myself," she said, knowing he'd be able to tell she was blushing though the room was dark. "And you were fantasizing about me," she shot back. "By the way, don't tell me more of your fantasies."
"Don't worry, acting them out wouldn't work, you're much better than what I could come up with," Castle said. "But go ahead."
"I just don't see the point," Beckett said. "But if I ever feel like Julia and I could be important, and he could love me enough to not just want to fool around with me, then maybe I would try. But Lanie, let me do that on my own time okay?"
"Okay, I swear I will," the doctor said, taking her friend's hand and squeezing it. "I just want you to be happy. And I want Julia to have a father; it scares me to think of something happening to her like what happened to Javi after his dad left."
"We have more support than he and his mom did luckily," Beckett said, understanding then why Esposito wanted Julia to have a dad too. "And also, she needs to be ready to have a dad, and I'll of course take her into consideration whenever I start to date again. No more trying to set me up okay?"
Nodding, Lanie stood up saying, "I should go, I have paperwork and I know you do too. Give me a call Monday and let me know how your dad's first Father's Day as a grandfather went."
"I will, and Lanie, thank you for trying to take care of me and Julia; trying to make sure we're happy," Beckett said as the doctor started to leave. When the woman turned to her at that she smiled and said, "You're a good friend, though a little enthusiastic with this attempt."
Smiling Lanie said, "It could have been an amazing night with him you know."
"Are you talking from experience?" Beckett teased her, since she could sense her friend wasn't entirely behind that little teasing sentence.
"Oh no, I'm just guessing," Lanie said. "And you know, he might be with other women, but you should notice the way he looks at you. I get the feeling you could be it for him; as much as he's it for you." When she saw Beckett looking startled at that, she smiled saying, "Tell Julia her auntie said hi."
"I will, bye Lanie," Beckett said as her friend waved over her shoulder as she walked to the elevator.
"It makes sense," Castle said once Beckett had finished. "Why they want Julia to have a dad, and Lanie forgot to mention the fact Julia's never had a dad is another reason why she should have one. There's nothing wrong with her mother," he quickly said as he leaned over to kiss his fiancée on the lips. He lingered more than he'd meant, but finally pulled away saying, "Nothing wrong with a dad either."
"And you're being a great dad to her. I know you'll love her no matter what and be there for her. It's what I want her to have in a father," Beckett said soothingly, knowing he was thinking of his father and the similarity with Esposito's dad, though it was a lot worse since he hadn't even known the man or knew who he was. She turned onto her side and pressed close to her fiancé as he did the same saying, "And she's right you know. Remember how when we talked about your marriages the first time, that I told you I was a one and done kind of girl."
"Yeah, that was blaring through my mind when I bought your ring," Castle said, picking up her left hand and looking at her engagement ring that was just barely visible with the little light coming into the room with the storm still going on outside. "And why I was nervous proposing to you. I'd been married twice, I wasn't sure if that was going to make you decide you couldn't risk it."
"We'd known each other long enough and been together long enough too for me to know this was going to be it," Beckett said. "And that brings me what I noticed earlier, you hesitated before asking about Lanie. It's what Wilder asked me, about if I would follow you if you died or committed suicide." When she saw Castle nod his head slightly she took in a deep breath and said, "I would likely toy with the idea, but I couldn't because-"
"Julia," they said together.
"I wouldn't want you to," Castle said in a rush. "You need to be here to raise her, she needs her mother."
"She needs her father, so if anything happened to me-" Beckett started to say.
"But it won't, we'll be okay, we've got each other to watch the other's back," Castle interrupted her.
"I know," Beckett said, letting the subject drop easily since it hurt to think about that idea; since it brought up her past. She looked into Castle's eyes then; what she could see of them; and was going to speak when he did so first.
"Kate, don't hate me for saying this, but… your dad tried didn't he?" Castle whispered gently, holding her tightly. He was surprised when she took a shuddering breath in and he hugged her as tightly as he could. "You don't need to say," he told her.
Shaking her head, Beckett said, "I was just thinking about that. And he considered it, seriously considered it. I came into their apartment one day, and found him sitting at the kitchen table, a bottle of sleeping pills he had a prescription for after he suffered from insomnia after my mother was killed there in front of him. I talked to him then, tried to be calm but inside I was panicking, I didn't want to become an orphan though I could only imagine how much it hurt him to wake up, to go through each day and close his eyes to sleep knowing my mom wasn't there with him. But I told him I needed him, he was all I had left and I was being selfish, but I was only nineteen years old. I wanted him there when I got married… when…" She trailed off, the pain from that remembered conversation she'd managed to forget too hard to speak about.
"It's okay, I understand," Castle said soothingly, stroking her hair. "So he didn't."
"I was lucky, but then he kept on drinking… and watching him and just managing to keep him from killing himself slowly and so deliberately in his pain I couldn't let that happen to me," Beckett said softly.
"So that's the other part of the wall you said you built around you," Castle said. He saw her nod in response, and he leaned down, kissing her tenderly. When they parted he pressed his forehead to hers saying, "I love you Kate, and believe me when I say I will do whatever I need to to keep from leaving you and Julia. And my mother and Alexis. I can't forget what I have. Just promise me you'll remember what you have too."
"I do, I remember all the time, you know that," Beckett said, their breath mingling between them as they were pressed so close to each other from head to toe. "And I know that you do too. And I love you too Rick." She smiled when he hugged her a little tightly before they kissed deeply.
When they had parted, Castle held her to him as he lay on his back, and rubbed her shoulder carefully as they were quiet, watching the shadows of the rain chase each other along the opposite wall of the room. He felt her relax in his arms, and turned his head, kissing her forehead gently.
Taking comfort in that kiss, Beckett's attention drew itself from the past, to the future, to the next day and to her daughter. She found comfort thinking of Julia; of hers and Castle's daughter as she reminded herself; and she was soon asleep as her fiancé nodded off nearly at the same time. As she did so, she was thinking of the fact that they would be there to see her graduate and to celebrate with her another step in growing up, celebrating subconsciously that they were raising their daughter together.