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: Another epilogue and that means the end of another story. However, I have the next story of this series all ready to go, so I'll begin posting it in a few days, if anyone wants to read it look out for it!
A/N #2: Loved getting the feedback I got for the last chapter, so want to hurry and get to my thank yous! Beckett-Castle4ever (Great seeing you liked the chapter again, always nice to see that! And not surprised you like when Castle and Beckett talk about getting married, the same with them talking about Castle being Julia's dad. And so happy that you want to read the next chapter of course!), vetgirlmx (Really happy you liked the messages in the yearbook, wanted to make them sweet so glad I managed that, lol. And actually this was the first time I had Beckett refer to Castle as daddy in front of Julia, so nice to see that made you excited. The same with you getting excited about Castle signing the yearbook as Daddy. And very happy to see you liked the dance and then the dinner and am feeling the same about you getting hungry with my descriptions about the food, lol. And yeah, I thought Julia would enjoy Celia being there, lol, plus thought it'd be a sweet thing for Castle to do, so glad you liked that too! And yeah, I wasn't sure if I wanted to have Lanie and the boys going to the graduation, but eventually decided not to because of what you mentioned, about Castle having to hold back with Julia and Beckett, and didn't want to do that, so yay you thought it was better I didn't have them go! Not surprised you're looking forward to Father's Day and also want to see Alexis back. And so happy you want to read the next chapter, and now you can!), pcol22 (Nice seeing you liked the last chapter too of course! I'm not surprised you mentioning Castle talking to Beckett about that pregnancy thing. And can't really talk about future stories, lol, I wish I could, but it'd be a spoiler alert, whatever I said of course. But now I know what you want to see, interesting to read. Glad you liked the graduation, and also that you thought the evening with the dance and the dinner was fun too! Great to read you wanted to read the next chapter, and now of course you're able to too!), life's a mystery (Loved that you thought it was a great chapter too! And not surprised you like that it's getting closer to the wedding, lol, or that you're wondering when they'll be telling Lanie and Esposito about them, I get that question a lot, lol) and sammysgirl78 (Ah, was glad to see I wrote the graduation well; I took from what I remember of my sister's Kindergarten graduation, lol. And I figured, would be best for Castle to Skype with Alexis when Julia walked, so she could see too, so of course, happy you liked that. And I figured a whistle would be nice to let Julia know where they are, 'cause it's hard to see people from that stage lol. But like you, thought it would be sweet for Castle to do that, and glad for some confirmation on that! And nice to read what you thought of the messages Castle and Beckett wrote in Julia's year book. Not surprised to read you liked that he signed it daddy too, lol. Again, nice to see what you thought of the show, and also that you thought it was sweet of Castle to invite Celia and her parents. Interesting to see your mother in law makes that stuff, I like tortilla too, and out of all the Spanish food my family has, that we eat most often and it's my favorite too! Was glad to see again that you like Julia and Alexis' relationship, always like reading that in the reviews. Oh, and not surprised you want Alexis to come back home too, lol, I expected to see that a lot. And liked confirmation again that you liked the routine they have with Julia, to put her to bed. So great to read that again you liked the alone time Castle and Beckett had, and that you thought it was sweet and hot, it's what I'm going for! And I liked that you enjoy reading Beckett still being able to make Castle speechless, 'cause I do like writing that! So great of course you want to read more, and now you can!). So thanks so much to you all for letting the feedback, loved reading everything that was said, and of course, as I always say, I appreciate the time taken to writ them out!
A/N #3: Since this is the last chapter of this story, wanted to say a quick thank you to those of you who read, favorited, followed and reviewed this one. And to those of you who do so in the future I'm going to say thank you for that as well, I will of course definitely be grateful for it!
A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Alligator by Paul McCartney, from his album New.
When I Come Home
Throwing his pen up in the air, Castle caught it easily in his left hand before he placed it on the back of it. Trying to flick it around that way, he hissed when the tip landed square on his knuckle, hitting a nerve at the same time. "Oh, hey Mother," he said, shaking his hand back and forth when he saw her walk into his office.
"You're brooding Richard," Martha said as she sat on the other side of his desk. "You've kept yourself holed up in this office since Kate and Julia hung up with you on Skype to wish you a Happy Father's Day, well, except for your breakfast of an omelet you ate back in here while you were watching cartoons. You miss them?"
"Well, yeah of course I do," Castle said, not really surprised his mother had picked up on his mood. "But I'm a little… I guess depressed. It's Father's Day, and here I am, alone without either of my daughters, or my fiancée. But don't get me wrong," he said quickly as his mother opened her mouth to speak. "You're here I know I just…"
"Want to be a father right now," Martha stated for him. When he nodded she smiled and said, "You couldn't have gone with them to Jim's apartment until they left for lunch?"
"No, I wanted him to have the chance to spend his first Father's Day as a grandfather with them alone," Castle said. "I'll have other chances to do things with Julia first today. But I miss Alexis, I've been texting her, calling her, she only mentioned she's busy with Diana so… here I am. Thinking, and there's something I want to ask you that I can't ask Kate." When his mother looked at him expectantly he said, "Do you think with Julia that I'm acting like a father, or am I playing the goofy uncle more? Because I worry I'm being a little too much like the latter when I need to be the former for her, since I'm technically the only father she's ever had."
"You never really doubt yourself Richard, but you've done that many times with Kate and Julia," Martha commented.
"This is different, I can't joke around with things concerning them, at least not the important stuff like my relationships with them both; not after Queens," Castle said.
"Well, first, you can't be perfect, so don't try that," Martha said simply. "And answer this, when you're with Julia, you try and make her laugh," she said. When her son nodded firmly she then continued saying, "And are you doing that to be silly, or because you love her and you really want to make her happy?"
"The latter," Castle said before she could finish saying happy. He was quiet and said, "And I'm also trying to show Kate that I love her; that I love them both actually."
"Then you have absolutely nothing to worry about," Martha said, standing up and reaching over to pat his hand on the desk. "You're doing everything you're doing for the purest reasons, you love Kate and Julia." She was about to leave when she paused and said, "They can't move in can they?"
"Not yet, but the way things are now, they pretty much have, except for last night," Castle said. "I guess I miss her," he said, sighing. "I really wasn't expecting that, at least not missing her this much."
"When you're in love, it can change you," Martha commented with a smile. "Call her Richard, and then let's go because it's nearly time to leave so we can meet them."
"I'll just wait until we meet them at the zoo," Castle said. "She might think I'm getting needy if I call her so soon after talking to her earlier," he said to his mother's back. He sighed and started trying to make his pen spin as he heard her head upstairs. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, looking at the pen and then at his watch, before he heard a knock on the door. "Want to get that for me Mother?" he called, since the knock wasn't one he was familiar with and didn't want to be bothered with answering it.
"I'm on the phone with Marianne," Martha called back to him. "And you need to get out of that office."
Sighing, Castle got up, and went to the door, nearing it as there was a flurry of knocking. "Okay, hold on," he called, guessing it was someone he knew. "I said-" he started to say as he opened the door to more knocking. He froze when he saw who was on the other side and then seemed to jump saying, "Alexis?"
"Daddy!" she cried, laughing as she threw her arms around him. "I missed you so much."
The shock left Castle then, and he wrapped his arms around his daughter, laughing with her. "I missed you too sweetheart, and you're home," he said finally once they had let go of each other. "When did you get in? Just now?" he asked.
"Alexis! Darling, I thought I heard your voice," Martha said, coming down the stairs then as quickly as she could. She hugged her granddaughter tightly as Castle began picking up her things still in the hall and looked over, seeing three suitcases and a case. "You've brought San Francisco back with you I see."
"There are gifts for all of you," Alexis said. "And Julia, Beckett and her dad; since he got me that fan."
"Speaking of that, we should go," Castle said, looking at the case with a puzzled expression on his face. He then looked up at his mother and daughter and said, "They'll be waiting for us at the sea lions."
"It's funny Julia was so eager to see them in San Francisco when she's seen them at the zoo," Martha commented.
"That's because of the pictures I sent of them on their docks," Alexis said as they left the loft. "They're not like that at the zoo. How is she?"
"Your sister?" Castle asked. When his daughter nodded he smiled and said, "Good, she's going to freak out when she sees you. I think she was missing you as much as I was."
"Well of course she was," Martha said. "So it'll be interesting to see her reaction to you."
Biting back a laugh, Alexis nodded as they got into the elevator and said, "It definitely will be."
"There they are," Jim said to his daughter and Julia who were standing next to him at the sea lion pool.
"Alexis!" Julia cried before she ran up the steps and into the young woman's arms. "Did you surprise him?"
"A lot, I almost didn't think he recognized me," Alexis said as she picked the little girl up, kissing her cheek. "Mr. Beckett, it's nice to see you again."
"And Kate too," Castle said, a little surprised his daughter had missed Beckett.
"And you too, sorry," Alexis said.
"That's alright, there are a lot of us now you need to remember," Beckett said, squeezing Castle's arm quickly since she couldn't really do anything else. "So are we ready to go through the zoo? Because she is."
"Do you want to see these again? There aren't a lot, and they aren't pushing like in San Francisco," Julia said, taking Alexis' hand once she had set her down. "But they're cute still."
"You and Julia weren't really that surprised to see her," Castle commented as they went after their family to the edge of the pool where two of the sea lions were leaping from the water as they swam through the water of their habitat.
"That's because I actually came home yesterday evening Dad," Alexis said, hearing him. "And I stayed at Beckett's last night." When he was about to speak she said hurriedly, "That was part of my Father's Day gift to you, to surprise you and Gram."
"So… where'd she sleep," Castle said, not going to begrudge Alexis that since he was just relieved she was home, not caring when she came back exactly.
"With me, we had a sleepover," Julia said happily. "But it was a surprise that she came."
"Want to explain that to me?" Castle asked, turning to his fiancée as their daughters turned their attention back to the animals.
Beckett smiled and said, "She surprised us actually, we were planning for her to come back and surprise you on Father's Day. Since she didn't want to have jet lag, she got tickets for yesterday evening, and she was planning on staying with her friend Edith. So it was more than a surprise when I heard a knock at the door well after Maddie had left."
"It was interesting to hear about her reaction to Julia," Castle said.
"She loved her," Beckett said. "But do you want to hear about that again or Alexis?"
"Alexis," Castle said quickly. "No, sorry, Kate was just telling me something," he said when his daughter turned to look at them.
"Anyways, I was getting Julia ready for bed when the knock came," Beckett said, her smile returning to her face as she recalled the night before as she and Julia were sitting down to read a book together on the little girl's bed.
Looking over at the doorway, Julia then looked at her mother and asked in a little concern, "Who is it?" She then suddenly brightened up and asked, "Is it Castle?"
"I don't think so; he was going home after he went to his bar with your uncles remember?" Beckett said. "I don't know who that is, so stay there sweetie, and I'll see." She got off the bed and went to the door, glancing out, but since the person was turned away then, she frowned before realizing she'd seen that shade of hair before. "Alexis?" she asked as she opened the door. "You… you're back." She shook her head at the idiocy of that statement and hugged the young woman saying, "I'm glad to see you're back I should have said." Stepping back she looked down and said, "I thought you were here to see Julia, but you have your things."
"Yeah, um, I went to Edith's but her parents said she's with Max," Alexis said slowly.
"Max… so they've been dating?" Beckett asked.
"No, this was their first date her parents assured me; and they wouldn't lie; they apparently wanted to date but didn't want to do that to me," Alexis said. "So things worked out."
"Then you should come in," Beckett said with a smile. "I'm wondering, when did you get a sitar?" she commented as she helped Alexis with her cases.
"Since I learned Mitch's boyfriend knew how to play. I bought one for a great price at that Indian store in the Haight-Ashbury area, and he taught me a little," Alexis said. "I'm going to try and see if I can keep learning."
"I've been learning to play the mandolin, I'm sure your dad will tell us to start performing concerts together at home," Beckett commented. She was about to call to Julia to let her know who was there, when Alexis touched her arm.
"How is he?" she asked.
"Missing you like crazy, and us too actually," Beckett said. "Your grandmother is out at a play tonight, so he's alone."
"We'll be there tomorrow and he'll wish for that peace and quiet again," Alexis said with a wry smile. "Okay, so, my sister?"
"Julia?" Beckett called, smiling at Alexis. She went to the doorway to the rooms and when she saw the little girl in the doorway to her bedroom, motioned to her saying, "Someone here to see you."
"It was Castle, wasn't it Mommy?" Julia said. "I told… ALEXIS!" she suddenly shrieked when she came around the doorway and saw who it was.
Both Beckett and Alexis jumped at the yell, but they were distracted when Julia ran and seemed to jump at the same time before she was in the young woman's arms.
"I wish I could have Vined that," Alexis laughed, hugging the little girl to her tightly. She kissed her cheek and said, "I surprised you didn't I?"
"Yeah, but where's Castle?" Julia asked. When her mother and Alexis explained what was going to happen the next day, she smiled and said, "That's a good surprise. I bet his face is gonna go all funny. Where are you gonna sleep tonight?"
"With you," Beckett said simply. "The bed's a little small, but she doesn't take much room."
"That's fine," Alexis said.
"Do you go to sleep now?" Julia asked, looking eager.
"Not yet, but you need to sweetie," Beckett said. "Say goodnight to Alexis and I'll tuck you in."
"Night, I'm happy, happy you're home," Julia said, hugging her tightly around the neck.
"Goodnight Julia, believe me I am too," Alexis said, kissing her cheek before Julia kissed hers.
"Go ahead and eat something if you want," Beckett said. "There are some leftovers from dinner; Chinese. And get whatever you'd like to drink."
"Thanks," Alexis said, waving at Julia who was doing the same to her over her mother's shoulder.
"Oh Mommy, why can't I stay up?" Julia asked as her mother was tucking her bed sheet around her. "Alexis hasn't been home in forever."
"I know, but she'll be here tomorrow and we're going to the park remember? And she'll be there with Castle and Martha," Beckett reminded her, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.
"I forgot something, Alexis!" Julia suddenly called, sitting up. "The papers Mommy," she explained when Beckett tried to get her to lay down again.
"What's wrong?" Alexis asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Sorry, I'm starving; I skipped dinner so I could sleep on the plane."
"She wanted me to give this to you," Beckett said, handing over the papers.
"It's…" Alexis started to say before her eyes widened. "The song list?"
"Paul and George have a lot of songs that work for weddings," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at her reaction. "Believe me, we tried to tell her she didn't need so many, but she insisted."
"'Cause they're perfect for Mommy and Castle," Julia said from the bed, having been watching them.
"I think we'll need to listen to them, all four of us together, because I was planning on doing that with a smaller list. But you and Dad should know a lot of these by now," Alexis said.
"I know them all," Beckett said simply. "But your dad might not, we'll need to see."
"Goodnight Julia, I'll start looking at the list now while I eat okay?" Alexis said.
"Kay, night," Julia replied, settling down in bed again. She squirmed after the young woman had left and then said, "Mommy, can I ask a question?"
"Go ahead," Beckett said, fixing the sheet around her.
"Will Grandpapa be Alexis' grandpapa?" Julia asked. "When you and Castle get married?"
"He'll be her step-grandfather," Beckett said. "Since I'll be her stepmother."
"Oh, I forgot," Julia said before she mused a little to her mother's smile. "I'm glad you're a nice mommy, that way she doesn't have an evil stepmother."
"I don't think Castle would want to marry me if I was evil," Beckett said, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice at how serious her daughter was. "Is that all you wanted to ask?" she said, to make sure there wouldn't be any more interruptions in getting her to sleep.
"One more," Julia said quickly. "Does she have a present for him tomorrow?"
"I don't know, if she does, it's because she brought it from San Francisco, not because it's Father's Day," Beckett said. "Now you need to sleep," she told Julia firmly. She leaned down and shared a kiss with her before pulling back and saying, "I love you Julia, sweet dreams."
"I love you too Mommy," Julia said with a sleepy sigh. Her mother stood up to leave, and she whispered, "Will Castle be mad if I don't call him daddy?"
"No," Beckett said simply, turning and not too surprised at the question. "We're letting you say it when you're ready to. Are you?" When Julia shook her head no, her already wide green eyes wider in her panic, she said, "Then he won't be expecting it."
"Even as a surprise?" Julia asked.
"Even as a surprise," Beckett said. "We know you're waiting like we are sweetie. Now sleep, I'll let Alexis wake you up tomorrow. Night."
"Night," Julia said before her mother turned off the light and closed the door. She sighed at that, and turned onto her side, hoping Beckett was right.
"So how was that dinner with your friend?" Alexis asked, still eating when Beckett came out into the living room.
"It was fine, you can sit over here, watch TV if you want," Beckett told her as she sat on the couch.
"I'm planning on leaving early tomorrow morning," Alexis said as she sat at the coffee table in one of the armchairs. "And I'll wait by home in a coffee shop until it gets close to the time we're supposed to meet you at the zoo."
"You're sure you wouldn't want to do something before that with your dad? You could go earlier instead of just sitting and waiting," Beckett suggested.
"That's okay," Alexis said. "I'll stick to the plan. Speaking of planning, besides that list, anything else new for the wedding?"
"We discussed that, and we've got everything done that we can right now," Beckett replied. "But when we head to the Hamptons, we'll check out where on the beach we'll want the ceremony."
"Are you going to get the license there?" Alexis asked.
"The morning of, very early," Beckett said. "We figure that's the one thing we should rush. Also having it there at the Hamptons we're hoping will give us some time before the media will find out."
"I thought he was crazy when he told me how worried he was about that, the media bothering you once you were married," Alexis said. "But with that article that had you in it too, I bet they'd love starting to nose into our lives. I can just see it, paparazzi hounding me, asking if I knew about you two, if my dad ignored me or if you were pushing me away from him."
"Were you listening to Julia's questions?" Beckett asked in amusement at Alexis' delivery of what the media might ask.
"I did, sorry," Alexis said. "But it's quiet so I couldn't help overhear. You're right though, actually the first two answers to her questions. He will be my step-grandfather and you're definitely not an evil stepmother. You wouldn't be a month and a half from your wedding if you were. Though you know he's being tortured with that right?"
Beckett didn't reply to that at first, and she studied the young woman before saying, "You don't think I'm trying to delay the wedding do you?"
"A part of me is," Alexis said slowly.
"That's my fault, you're looking at how I was in the past," Beckett replied, smiling in understanding when she saw that Castle's daughter looked a little guilty in thinking that. "But I'm being tortured too. It's just… a lot of our relationship has been us working together, we can't just stop. Or your dad can't," she corrected herself quickly.
"You could still, I mean if he had to stop working with you at the NYPD," Alexis said. When Beckett looked at her questioningly she said, "You could always try and write with him," wondering what kind of reaction she'd get from that.
"You know it's funny, I have helped him and I gave him a paragraph once," Beckett said, very obviously declining to mention the paragraph and the circumstance which she'd told him it. "And we've talked about his ideas he's gotten. But I can't see myself as a writer. For one thing, I'd be too busy with work to write. But it's an interesting idea."
"So how's Lanie," Alexis said, nodding to what Beckett had said.
"Oh boy, so your dad or Lanie herself didn't tell you," Beckett said with a smile.
"Tell me what?" Alexis asked in confusion.
"About your dad's blind date and mine that she and Esposito set us up on," Beckett said in a matter of fact tone of voice.
Alexis was startled to hear that, and shook her head once before saying, "You better explain that, because you're still engaged."
Beckett smiled a little wider at that, and quickly clarified what had happened on their blind date and how they'd left to have dinner together on the rooftop of his building. "So Lanie's promised to stop trying to set us up, and we understand a little better why she was doing that, and why Esposito was going along with it like he was," she finished with after telling her about her conversation with Lanie.
"Wow, that's pretty amazing," Alexis said. "Though if I were you I would have just gone through the date, would have gotten a nice dinner out of it."
"We still did," Beckett said with a shrug, though she was smiling again since she knew the young woman was joking. "So I'm wondering could I have a look at your sitar at all?" she asked.
"Sure," Alexis said. "Though I wonder if you'd mind answering something for me."
"Go ahead, I seem to be doing that a lot tonight," Beckett said, watching as the young woman went to get the instrument in its case.
"I don't know if you can answer this though," Alexis said, coming back and setting the case down on the table.
"I'm guessing from that it's about your dad, our relationship?" Beckett asked.
"It's going back to what you said before, about how you were with him in the past," Alexis said. "I'm worried you might… get fed up with him, he can be a little…"
"A smart ass? Pardon my language there, but I think it's what you're trying to say," Beckett said, holding the stringed instrument in her hands. When Alexis nodded she said, "He's changed, actually since I first met him he's changed, but more so since Julia came into our lives. I'm getting the feeling he was the same with you."
"But he didn't have a wife constantly to make that change stick," Alexis said quickly. "I was only three when he and my mom got divorced." She noticed her dad's fiancée start to speak, but then hesitate. "They agreed to do that actually, I have vague memories of me and my dad asking her to come home; coming pretty close to begging sometimes; because I missed her and he wanted her here to be with me."
"But not to be with you both," Beckett stated hearing what she didn't say loudly.
"No, by then he was a little fed up and uneasy with how she was as a mom, you've met her so you have an idea of how she is," Alexis said. "She's not horrible, she never hurt me physically or emotionally, she was just more like a friend than a mother. She and Dad had me very young and she was just the kind of person who wasn't really going to mature enough to be a mother like you are."
"Um, thank you Alexis, but what is it you want with that compliment?" Beckett asked, a little startled.
"Nothing, I'm serious, I'm actually kind of jealous of my little sister, I wish you and Dad had met sooner," Alexis commented. "I know," she said quickly as Beckett tried to speak again. "You would have been very young to be a stepmother then, but still. Anyways, the divorce was something they talked about; not argued because my dad didn't really want to make it any more difficult than it would be for me. So it was amicable."
"And Gina?" Beckett asked, wondering why she was tormenting herself with that question, strumming the strings as softly as she could.
Alexis nodded to the door to the rooms, and when Beckett nodded, she went to close it, allowing her to play the sitar a little. "It's a little difficult," she said with a smile as Beckett cringed at the sound she was making with the strings. She took it and sat on the couch next to her, playing a few chords she'd learned. "Very difficult, I asked Dani about playing Norwegian Wood or Within You Without You, and he said it was going to take time to get to that. But I had promise."
"You know how to play the violin, so that might help you," Beckett said.
"It might," Alexis said. "But about Gina, she and my dad were… a little strange actually, since they got back together." She was surprised when Beckett crossed her legs, looking a little uneasy, and she said, "I think he married her because he liked the idea, and got back together with her because he was desperate and she wouldn't leave him alone about his book."
"But after that?" Beckett asked.
"Apparently they were arguing a lot, which they did when they were married too, I remember a lot of disagreements. A lot of them about me, which was just great," Alexis said in sarcastic joy. "Gina tried a little too hard to be my mom, and also she would forget… or she planned it, I don't know, but she wouldn't talk to my dad about things about me like that doll they argued over, he's told you the story."
Nodding, as her fiancé had told her the story when they'd been looking for the game Perfection together at the toy store, Beckett then said, "So I'm wondering now if you're worried I'm going to hold myself back with your dad. Is that the problem you're seeing between us?" When Alexis nodded once she said, "You know, it's funny, I always did that in my relationships, maybe once in a while, if I thought I could really let go of the fear I had trapped myself in, I told a boyfriend something I hadn't told another. But it was never enough. Your dad knows more about me than they ever did, but what's become different, and is making me shake that instinct more and more is the fact that he's not using it for his books, which was an idea I hated. But now… actually, I'm learning more and more about him than I thought I would. Maybe I'll become his biographer."
"Oh, I don't think you want to do that," Alexis said seriously. She glanced at Beckett and they both started to laugh before she put her sitar away.
"How did you get that on the plane I have to ask," Beckett said.
"I had to pay extra for it too, but it's worth it, she's beautiful isn't she?" Alexis said, running her hand over the raised strings.
"You have a name for her?" Beckett asked. "I ask because your dad insisted I name my mandolin."
"So you don't mind his sense of humor?" Alexis asked.
"It's one of the things I love about him," Beckett said simply. "And in case you're wondering, I made him decide with me since I just ignored him. He's a funny man when he's irritated."
"Believe me, I have my share of stories like that," Alexis said, laughter in her voice. "What'd he insist you name her?"
"Well, at first Yvonne; and I threatened him with a night on the couch for that one since-" Beckett started to say.
"I know, I've heard that song through Julia, though think it's a good idea for her to hear a song about a woman who fools around with other men?" Alexis asked.
Shrugging, Beckett said, "Luckily she doesn't understand a lot of that. So finally he suggested Lucille, and to get him to stop I agreed. Plus I do love Paul's version of Lucille." Her phone rang then and she looked down at it on the coffee table before making an exasperated noise in the back of her throat. "Sorry, I told him I'd call him, but apparently he's impatient; as usual. Castle, I told you… well, yeah, but… okay, okay, just give me a second, Maddie stayed a little longer. Okay, I love you too; I'm in my bathroom! I love you Castle, bye," she said to Alexis quickly before talking on the phone to her fiancé. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Alexis said with a slight laugh. "I should probably head to bed though, get some sleep and hope I don't have any jet lag."
"Alright, so are you getting up earlier than eight?" Beckett asked as she watched the young woman take her sitar in its case back to the entry.
"No, that's a good enough time, I'll get Julia up. And you can have the day off getting her ready, I'll help her," Alexis said.
"She'll love that, she's missed her sister," Beckett replied with a smile as they walked to the door to the rooms. She turned when she felt Alexis touching her arm and saw her hesitating to speak. "Something else to ask?"
"No," Alexis said simply. "I was going to tell you, that my dad loves you, a lot, and I just hope he's not seeming like he's too… like he needs you around all the time."
"Don't worry, we talk on the phone a lot when we're not at each other's homes," Beckett said, smiling a little at her worry. "So we're not going down that path if you're talking about him becoming possessive."
"Sort of, I'm just glad you're the same pretty much," Alexis said.
"I would take out the words pretty much," Beckett said. "Welcome home Alexis, good night."
"Thanks for letting me stay with my little sister Beckett, night," Alexis said, starting to turn to Julia's room. She paused and said, "Would you want me to keep calling you that?"
"It depends on you, call me what you'd like, just nothing… negative would be nice," Beckett said before her phone shook with a new text. "I'd better get to bed," she said, pursing her lips to fight her smile at her fiancé asking what she was wearing. "Night."
Murmuring a good night, Alexis stood in the doorway to Julia's room, watching as Beckett was saying into her phone in a mock scolding tone of voice, "Rick, calling me love isn't going to make me ask you to come over." She nearly laughed at that, a little surprised they'd gone into endearments with each other after so many years calling each other by their last names. But it hit home what she'd been hoping was a viable fact; that Beckett was as in love with her dad as her dad was in love with his fiancée. Breathing a sigh of relief; since she wanted her dad to be as happy as he was with Beckett for as long as possible; she went into the room to sleep over in Julia's bed instead of vice versa.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Beckett was smiling saying, "I don't think so Castle, you know I don't really go for the whole phone sex thing."
"You're playing with your pendant aren't you?" Castle said.
"Okay," Beckett sighed, switching to the screen. When she saw her fiancé she said, "See, I'm not naked."
"Too bad, would have been awesome to see. Okay, then really quick since you want to go to bed. First, I love you, and second, tell me about tonight," Castle said quickly.
Rolling her eyes though she was smiling, Beckett lay back on his side of the bed and said, "Alright, she was more eager to meet Julia, and once she saw her, the squealing…" the smile not leaving her face as she saw the answering one on Castle's.
"So how was it this morning?" Castle asked as they were walking into the tropic zone section of the zoo.
"Interesting, I walked into Julia's room to find someone jumping on the bed…" Beckett said, looking at Alexis and Julia ahead of them.
"Alexis, how could you, and it's not even your bed," Castle said in feigned shock.
"It was me," Julia said, hurrying back to them and holding her arms up until he picked her up. She shared a kiss with him and said, "Forgot to say morning. And Happy Father's Day again."
"That's okay, we haven't been here for a while," Castle said. "And Alexis, why didn't you join in with Julia?"
Shaking her head, Alexis said, "I'm a little old for that Dad. And she wasn't jumping for too long, not once her mom came in."
Giggling Julia said, "Mommy made me help her straighten the bed, 'cause Alexis and I made it already."
"Sounds like you had fun then," Castle said. "Want me to put you down?"
"Yeah, the animals are on the ground, the ones I wanna see," Julia said. Once he'd set her down she ran to Alexis, and they stood at a railing, looking at some coati who were sniffing around some leaves in the exhibit.
"She was staying close to Alexis all morning," Beckett commented with a smile as she and Castle stood together a little further down, to have at least a moment relatively alone.
"Ah, then she must be like me, afraid she's going to go back to San Francisco if we let her out of our sight," Castle commented. "But it was a great surprise, thank you for letting her stay at your place."
"I wasn't about to turn her out," Beckett said, shaking her head. "But I'm wondering, now she's back, will she mind sharing her bed with Julia?"
"I won't," Alexis said, coming over to them since Julia was hurrying along the exhibit with one coati as it walked along the fence. "She asked me that earlier actually, confessed that she likes my bed better than hers."
"Most likely because it's bigger," Beckett said before they continued down the path to the next animal once Julia had gotten enough pictures.
"We'll have to get her a bigger bed when we move," Castle mused. "You know, I have to wonder if she will be tall, her mother was wasn't she?"
"About five-seven if I'm remembering correctly, and her father was six feet tall," Beckett said. "But you know, she could take after a member of the family who was short, we won't know yet. Though I agree with you, we need to get her a bigger bed; I only have that one in her room because it's all that fits. Luckily she doesn't seem to mind having such a small room."
"Well at only five she's not going to spend much time there anyways," Castle commented.
"Plus we're rarely there at all," Beckett said. "Anyways, you don't want to go with them?"
"Actually, I'm okay for now, I don't need to spend time alone with them every second," Castle said. "I'd love to spend time with the entire family. Plus, your dad is a father too… that sounded weird. He should spend time with Julia too. And if you meant instead if I wanted to walk with them, we have more to see of the zoo."
Shaking her head, Beckett went with him to a habitat with a brightly colored anole and she watched as her father was talking with Julia, looking at her camera before letting her take a picture of the reptile. She heard Castle breathe in to speak, and she beat him to it saying, "It was fun." She smiled as she turned to him and said, "It felt strange though, we haven't celebrated today for a while, well, we haven't done something for Father's Day like this. It didn't feel right to either of us to do much more than me give him a gift and cook dinner for us."
"How'd he like your gifts?" Castle asked, knowing about them already since she and Julia had told him about them.
"He loved the picture of the three of us," Beckett said. "Since he didn't have one framed like that yet, it's in his office now. And he's taking the picture of Julia with the frame she made to work to put on his desk."
"I thought he would," Castle said before they moved on to the next animal.
"Look, we saw these in San Francisco," Julia said eagerly, turning to her mother and Castle. "Alexis said they're lemurs too."
"They are adorable," Martha said, before one of the lemurs started to let out its call. "Well, except for that."
"It says here early explorers to Madagascar; where these are from," Castle was reading from the plaque for Julia. "Thought they were groans from the dead."
"That's silly, they're animals, not people," Julia said.
"I know, but they didn't know about these yet," Castle said.
"Look at the birdies! Can I-" Julia began to say when she caught sight of a bird with feathers at the top of its head. She squealed for a moment when he swung her up on his shoulders, and then immediately started taking pictures.
"She's just like you Dad," Beckett said, standing with him as they watched Julia take a picture of a Red Bird-of-Paradise.
"She is, and she has the patience I lost as I got older," Jim commented as Julia and Castle stayed at the bird to wait for it to open its wings. "I'm starting to remember more and more why I loved photography now I'm going with her through the city."
Taking her dad's arm, Beckett squeezed it gently saying, "That's the great thing about having a kid."
"I almost thought you were going to take after me," Jim commented as Castle walked back to him.
"Kate was into photography?" Castle asked as he handed Julia to her grandfather.
"I was, for a little," Beckett said slowly as she waited for the others to go ahead, leaving them alone to look at a large Tamandua on a branch. "Sorry," she said as she noticed her fiancé was looking at her in slight concern. "I'm trying to remember if I ever took any pictures back then that you've seen, and actually you have."
"The one of your parents?" Castle asked, not too surprised to hear that.
"It was a Christmas gift before I went to Stanford, and that was my first picture with my dad's camera," Beckett said, smiling. "I took it that night."
"I don't think there was an almost taking after your father," Castle commented. "I think you did, that picture is amazing. And I'm not saying that to compliment you, it's true."
Nodding a little, Beckett said, "We should go, they're already leaving."
Castle let her start down the path again after their family, and he resisted the urge to reach over to take her hand. He suddenly got an idea and strode a little after her to catch up with her before he held his arm out to her. "Path's a little uneven," he commented when his fiancée looked at his arm then him.
Since the path was as smooth as it could possibly be, Beckett couldn't help fight a smile as she took his arm, letting her hand rest on the crook of his elbow. Squeezing gently, she wasn't surprised when he brought his arm closer to himself, and she didn't let go until they reached the next section of the zoo. She went with her dad, walking with him and talking with him about his last trial before they reached the pond with turtles and birds, Julia taking a number of pictures as they stood behind her.
Turning to watch Beckett walk down the path by herself, Castle commented, "You ever want a turtle?"
"No, I just like watching them," Beckett said with a smile. "Again, we're good with Kauai."
"I still think I need to buy you a horse and Julia a pony," Castle said.
Shaking her head Beckett said simply, "They aren't pets."
"Still, I had to try," Castle said. "We should probably go riding on the Fourth."
"Maybe we can go on our own. You don't know if Rebecca and David would want to ride," Beckett pointed out.
"That's true, and since they'll," Castle said, nodding to their parents and Alexis who were with Julia looking at the Red Pandas. "Be there with us, they can watch Julia, unless you'd like her to come with us?"
"Actually, I'd like us to ride alone," Beckett said. "So we have to think of something else to do."
"Why don't we just swim?" Julia asked. She smiled when her mother and Castle looked down at her and she said, "I'm done looking at the pandas, can we see the leopards now?"
Sharing a look, Beckett took one of their daughter's hands, and Castle took the other as they walked down to where their parents and Alexis were waiting for them, swinging Julia in between them to her cry of joy.
Leaning against the railing of the King Penguin exhibit, Julia watched her mother and Castle who were sitting on a bench behind her, talking quietly together. She smiled as she remembered when they'd split up after lunch, Castle and Alexis going to see the Polar Bears again with Martha before meeting up there at the indoor penguin exhibit. She was alone with them, her grandfather, Martha and Alexis going ahead of them. Watching the penguins that were standing in their exhibit, Julia watched a baby start shaking before it waddled away. She yawned then, and turned to see if they were still on the bench when she jumped off the railing discovering them behind her. "You were so quiet," she said in surprise as they were quick to steady her together.
"I think you were distracted, and tired," Castle said, picking her up. "Need a nap?"
"No," Julia said quickly. "Can we go now to see the other zoo?"
"The Children's Zoo," Beckett corrected out of habit. Ever since the first time she'd brought Julia there, the little girl had called the Children's Zoo the other zoo; likely because they had to go out of the main part of the zoo. "Yes, let's go, or else we won't have time for Coney Island." They set off, seeing their parents and Alexis waiting for them at the path toward the zoo, and she said, "Are you still planning on cooking?"
"I am, I have everything set, and I am as prepared to make paella as I can possibly be," Castle said as they neared the others.
"You're making that tonight?" Jim asked.
"Whoops," Castle said, looking at his fiancée since he knew she'd wanted that to be a surprise for him. "Yeah, I am actually, we had Spanish food the other night and were discussing how you had paella outside usually when you're over in Spain. So decided to take advantage of the weather, and try and see if we can make it."
"Although you know men traditionally make it," Jim said with a slight smile.
"We're going to try and see if we can't break that tradition," Castle said jokingly, wondering if Beckett's father was remembering when his wife had made the dish.
"Probably, I told you I'm not that bad a cook," Beckett said quickly, noticing the look on her dad's face as well.
"True, I guess I should pay attention?" Castle asked.
"You should, you never know what might happen," Beckett said simply. She tried not to smile as his gaze shot to her since she'd been trying to be suggestive but not overtly so, and she walked ahead of him to walk with her dad.
"Do you wish you could kiss Mommy right now?" Julia whispered as they neared the gates to the Children's Zoo.
Wondering if the little girl had picked up on what his and Beckett's flirting was even when it was subtle, Castle smiled slightly and waited to answer until they were actually in the zoo. Once there he set her down after kissing her cheek saying, "Very much so." He was pleased to see her wide smile at that, and guessed she had worries about him and her mother not getting married. Jumping a little, he turned to Alexis who had come over to him and had touched his arm to get his attention.
"Don't want to come with us Dad?" she asked him.
"Oh are you kidding? Nothing I wanted to do more today than spend the day with my daughters. Now Julia can't go on the Cyclone, but you and I are going on a ride," Castle replied, wrapping his arm around her to shake his thoughts.
"In the back?" Alexis asked with a smile.
"I'm not sure where else you're supposed to ride that," Beckett said. She smiled when the two looked at her in surprise and said, "Sorry, I heard you mention the Cyclone-"
"You owe me a ride," Castle said, cutting her off.
"For what reason?" Beckett asked.
"Just because," Castle said. He laughed when she pushed at him and said, "No but seriously, I do want to take a ride with you."
"I'll bet you twenty you'll get a black eye," Beckett said.
"You're on," Castle said, shaking her hand.
Seeing Alexis shaking her head at them, Beckett said, "Another reason I came over, Julia wants to take a picture with you at the turtle shell."
"Oh sure," Alexis said, going to where Julia was waiting with Jim and Martha at the hollow turtle shell. "Who's taking the picture?" she asked as she helped the little girl into it and followed her.
Julia giggled when she heard her camera and three cell phone cameras go off saying, "I think they all are."
"They are," Alexis said, helping her out. She took her hand and pulled her to the sheep, getting food for her and Julia before she called to the sheep that soon ran over towards them.
Taking pictures with Julia's camera, Jim watched as the two then hurried down the path, to the goats. He was going to follow, when he felt his daughter come up to him. "Are we letting them go on their own?" he asked.
"No, just not rushing over," Beckett said as her fiancé walked with his mother ahead of them. "Are you coming to Coney Island?"
"Of course, Martha as well, we discussed it, and since she was sure he would convince you to ride the Cyclone, we decided to watch Julia for you two so you can go," Jim replied.
"She knows her son so well," Beckett said, amusement tingeing her tone of voice. She smiled at her dad before she turned to Castle who was calling her name, walking up to them. "You-" she started to say when he took her hand, pouring some dried corn into it. "Castle," she said before he was pulling her by her free hand to the railing where their daughters were feeding some of the miniature goats.
Looking back at Jim, Castle mimed taking a picture and when the man nodded, realized that he was holding Beckett's hand with their fingers entwined. "Sorry," he said, though he was very reluctant to let go of her.
"That's okay," Beckett said, biting her lower lip slightly. "And I don't mind him taking pictures of us all," she said to him.
Flashing a quick smile at her, Castle knelt next to Julia and they began to help her and Alexis feed the goats. He couldn't help it and he kissed Julia's temple as she giggled at one of the tiny kids that was beginning to kick and leap around in a circle. He turned at the sound of the little girl's camera going off and smiled wider that time as he thought that was going to be a great picture; Beckett at that same moment leaning against him, her hand on his shoulder as Alexis was pointing to the goat next to Julia. It was a family picture, and he reminded himself that now Alexis was back, they needed more of those and more moments just like that to take pictures of, finding himself suddenly anticipating it more than he had expected.