"There they go," Martha said, laughing slightly. "I don't know how you could miss her hair."
"You can't," Beckett said, shaking her head as she could hear Castle's yell.
"Mommy, why is he gonna get a black eye?" Julia asked.
"Have you never come with him?" Martha asked.
"We have, but he's never gone on it twice," Beckett explained. "We almost did last time we came here with my dad," she nodded to him as he was waiting with them. "But sweetie, going twice, it's more likely he's going to be thrown around a lot."
"Especially in the back," Jim commented. "I've had my fair share of black eyes."
"Isn't that sad to get?" Julia said. "And on Father's Day too!"
"Oh I wouldn't worry about him kiddo, to him it'll be a badge of honor," Martha said.
"Okay, I better go to meet him at the line. Are you sure you don't want to go on a ride with Alexis?" Beckett asked since she could tell the car was back at the station. When Julia nodded, she hurried to the line entrance where Castle was jogging to. "No black eye?" she teased him as they slowed down to walk together.
"There's time," Castle said, looking around as they were walking through the line. When he saw the end of the line ahead of them, he pulled his fiancée to the shadows, and cupping her face in his hands said, "Time for this too. Sorry; just in case." He then kissed her deeply, tilting his head to the side as they took no notice of anyone walking past them. He took his fill until they couldn't breathe anymore, and then pulled back slowly before they walked on.
Breathing harshly as they stood in line, Beckett licked her swollen lower lip, understanding why he'd done that, since she herself had wanted to do the same. She eventually realized they were a little too quiet, so she quickly said, "So how was writing yesterday, or did you just learn how to cook paella."
Taking the chance while the people around them were busy moving ahead in the line, Castle took her hand and held it until they stopped, smiling as she glanced back at him. He said, "I spent a lot of time learning, I have to get it just right. To tell you the truth, I'm worried your dad might remember doing that with your mom, so I'm hoping with Julia there, and my sharp sense of humor, and you keeping me in check, we might be able to help him-"
"Create a new memory," Beckett said with a smile. "I'm hoping too." That time as they walked nearer to the front of the line, she entwined her fingers with his, just for a moment, but that was enough.
Standing as close to the ride as they could outside, Julia jumped up and down against Alexis, holding the young woman's hands that were on her shoulders. Looking up at her, she smiled and corrected herself, then asking her big sister, "Are they there yet?"
"We'll see them, they'll be in the very back row," Alexis promised her.
It took a little longer, but finally another line of cars passed by them, and Julia cried out in joy as she quickly saw her mother's red blouse in the last row of the last car. She jumped again in front of Alexis, watching her mother and Castle being jolted around the track before they finally disappeared from sight completely. "Oh, I hope they're having fun!" she said breathlessly as they then walked to the exit to meet them.
"There they are," Alexis said, looking at her dad once she saw him and Beckett coming to them. She looked at his face, and then had to laugh, turning away from them as he heard her and shook his head.
"So I'm assuming that twenty dollars has been exchanged between you two?" Martha asked with a smile as she could see the bruise forming below her son's right eye.
"Yeah, she's got it already," Castle said, glancing at his fiancée. "It was that last turn that got me, I must have forgotten to brace myself."
"Your head was flopping around like a rag doll's," Beckett said. She laughed when he pretended to grab at her, and then said, "Okay, so I was thinking of treating everyone to some lemonade, since it's pretty hot and he needs some ice."
"Are we still going on rides now?" Julia asked as they started to walk to the lemonade stand.
"We are, I'm hoping I get to go on that roller coaster with you," Castle said as Julia was walking in between him and Alexis.
"Yeah, I wanna go with you first Alexis, and then you Castle, then Grandpapa and last Mommy if Martha doesn't want to go," Julia said happily.
"I'll go, but your mother will still be last," Martha said. "What?" she said to everyone else who was looking at her in surprise. "I used to go on the little kiddie roller coasters with Alexis, and I'd like to go with my other granddaughter as well."
"Good thing we got the wristbands," Alexis said.
"Do you two want to go on the other rides?" Beckett asked as they got in line.
"Actually, I'm thinking of bringing you and Julia back here," Castle said to Alexis. "Tomorrow since it should be a lot less crowded, you're going to be doing prep work for the Custer trial right?" he said, directing the last to Beckett.
"I will, but, I might be able to get out a little earlier," Beckett said. "We could get dinner at Nathan's and take it to the beach."
"That's a good idea, can we?" Julia asked excitedly.
"We can, and I'll get you guys the wristbands again," Castle said.
"I'll come with you Richard," Martha said. "So you two can go on the more extreme rides while I take Julia to the rides that are better for us."
"Like the roller coaster?" Julia asked her.
"Exactly," Martha said, pulling the little girl to her for a hug.
After Beckett had bought them all frozen lemonade, she got a bag of ice for Castle, handing it to her daughter while she paid. Since her mother had given the money for it, Julia took her drink and the bag in one hand, and led Castle over to where there were some tables, making him sit before he placed her on his lap.
"Thank you sweetheart," he said when she placed the ice under his eye. "Don't forget your drink."
"Does it hurt a lot?" Julia asked him.
"Oh no, it's fine, but it'll be there for a while," Castle said. "That's what happens when you forget how the ride is." He saw that she looked a little concerned still and he took the ice from her before he kissed the top of her head.
"He's pretty tough sweetie," Beckett said, sitting next to Castle. "I don't think you need to worry."
"Kay, but you can go on the roller coaster with me right?" Julia asked. When he nodded she then said hurriedly, "And the swings?" glancing at her mother out of the corner of her eye.
"You want to try that one?" Beckett asked, smoothing down some of Julia's hair.
"Yeah, can I go on that?" she asked eagerly.
"I think you just barely make the height requirement," Jim said.
"And you Grandpapa? Go with me?" Julia asked. "And-" she started to say in excitement.
"We'll all go," Martha said.
"Speaking of which, we should go now before we run out of time," Beckett said since she saw they'd all finished their lemonades. She smiled as Castle swung Julia up onto his shoulders and they led the way to the roller coaster.
"Do you all go on too?" Julia asked as she took Alexis' hand to go with her first.
"We'll take turns to-" Beckett started to say before Castle was pulling her by the wrist into line with them. "Aren't we a little big for this?"
"You never are," Castle said as Julia hugged Beckett around the waist. "And I think you wanted us to go too," he commented at seeing the smile on their daughter's face.
"Yeah, but I thought you were too big too," Julia said. "I'm glad you're not."
Sighing as she couldn't argue with that sentiment, Beckett knelt in front of her daughter and shared a kiss with her before they continued on down the line. She let herself lean against Castle slightly as they stood still again, watching as Alexis started to teach Julia a hand clapping game to pass the time. She then turned to her fiancé and said, "You're okay with bringing her back?"
"Yeah, it's the first day of her summer vacation; why not start with an amusement park?" Castle said. "Plus, I want to spend time with them both."
"Can we go on the water ride?" Julia asked. "I'm big enough aren't I?"
"I thought you didn't want to go on the drop?" Castle said.
"No, but if we go all of us then I'll go, I won't be scared," Julia said. "Pleeease?"
"We'll see how tomorrow goes," Beckett said with a smile, as she could tell the little girl was serious. They were at the loading platform, so she couldn't say anything more about that, since she and Castle were getting into the row before the last in front of where their daughters were sitting.
Crying out in joy as they rushed over the track after going up the hill, Julia saw that Alexis was holding up her arms as they started to go around in circles, and she did the same. "Again!" she cried when they came back to where they'd started.
"You will, with Castle," Beckett said with a smile as Julia jumped up to him.
Picking her up, Castle wrapped his arm around Alexis, shooting his fiancée an apologetic look. He was relieved by the gentle squeeze to the back of his arm, and he turned to Julia, listening to her tell him excitedly about the ride, though he'd just gone on it himself. He couldn't help it, and he kissed Julia's temple as they walked out of the exit, and then went back in line together.
"Can we play the frog game first?" Julia asked excitedly as she was skipping in between Castle and Beckett.
"We can, but sweetie, you need to take it easy with the prizes okay?" Beckett asked. "Or else your bed won't be anything but stuffed animals."
"That's how her bed was," Castle said, nodding to Alexis.
"He's right, it was," the young woman said with a laugh. "But we'll see what we can get today."
Coming up to the stall, Castle gave the card he had bought for them to play the games, and let Jim help his granddaughter with the fishing pole she was given. "What are you playing for?" he said, since Alexis had another fishing pole.
"A toy, I can always donate it Dad," she replied with a smile. "If Julia doesn't get something."
"I doubt that," Martha said as they looked to see that Julia was pulling up a blue frog. "Wonderful job kiddo," she said.
Giggling, Julia pointed to a little stuffed white tiger at the top of the stall, and took it from the worker. "Thank you Grandpapa," she said as they watched Alexis, who seemed to be waiting.
"You're welcome, you'll have to let me know what you name this little guy," Jim replied, carrying her.
By then Alexis had picked up a yellow frog, and she was able to pick out the same sized prize as Julia had. She chose an orange and black striped tiger, and handed it to her little sister. "For you, pick out matching names okay?" she asked.
"Oh, thank you Alexis," Julia said, her eyes wide in surprise. When her mother took the tigers for her, she leaned over until her sister took her, and she hugged her tightly saying, "I'm so happy you came home."
"Not as happy as me," Alexis said, smiling brightly. She kissed Julia's cheek as the little girl kissed hers, and pulling back said, "Let's see what else we can get."
"Let's play the water game!" Julia said eagerly. "Oh, wait, I know what I want to name them!" she said as they all started to head over to the game. "Paul and Linda. Paul is orange and black and Linda is white and black."
"Perfect names," Beckett said, not surprised at her choice. "Now I know why she waited until now to name one of her stuffed animals Paul."
"It makes sense though, Paul and Linda just go together," Castle said, smiling as she shook her head.
"You're sure you don't want to eat here tonight?" Beckett said as they were walking at the back of the group.
"I'll eat here tomorrow," Castle assured her. "And after learning how to cook this, I really want to try it out."
"So you're really going to try to cook paella?" Jim asked. "Not just have one that's ready-made? I almost thought you were kidding earlier."
"Try being the keyword there, but yeah," Castle said. "I went to a Spanish market, Despaña, in SoHo. One of the guys at the meat counter was really helpful, they call him Valenciano. That means he's from Valencia right?"
"It does," Beckett said. "And you'll have to tell me where in SoHo this place is, I'd love to go."
"I would too," Jim replied.
"Okay, so they actually have ready to make paellas, but when I was pretty firm on wanting to make it from scratch they got Valenciano, a great guy though his accent is thick and he mixes up Spanish and English, but I have it. I have everything I need, have instructions on how to prepare things, and I'm ready," Castle said. "And also managed to pick up some other things for our dinner too. So I'm eager to cook, well, for us to cook."
"Just realize that it might be a little difficult the first time you make it," Jim said.
"We'll keep that in mind," Castle said, nodding. As Beckett's dad joined the others at the game, he turned to his fiancée and said, "I'm ready if you are."
Shaking her head as he sounded a little too serious, Beckett replied simply, "So am I. Now come on, after winning that bet with you, I'm feeling lucky."
"Hoping I'll be eventually too," Castle commented in a low voice, unable to help watch her walk ahead of him, letting his eyes linger a little.
"Heard that," Beckett called back.
Castle cringed, but then laughed when she turned to him, and hurried after her to join their family to play.
"So now what?" Alexis was asking her dad and Beckett.
"Now we let it sit and wait," Castle said simply as they watched the yellow rice with chicken cooking in the paellera. It was later in the evening, though still light, and they were all on the roof of his building for dinner. He had the pan on a portable cooker in front of a bench, which he walked around to, to sit with his fiancée who immediately leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "This stuff is pretty good," he commented, looking at his can of KAS soda.
"How much stuff did you end up buying at the store?" Beckett asked in amusement.
"Just enough for this dinner," Castle said. "They have a café, tapas; I forgot to tell you, so when I go back you're coming with me."
"Thanks, how about just asking if I wanted to go? You know I would say yes already," Beckett said simply.
"True," Castle said. He stood up then to stir the rice and check on the chicken before Julia skipped up to the other side of the pan. "Having fun?" he asked.
"Yeah, the cat's cradle is fun," Julia said, her cheeks red.
"Come here sweetie," Beckett said motioning to her. "And give me the saffron," she said, taking the little jar out of her hand. "You can't drop it; we need it if we're going to make paella again."
"It's pretty, but it's red, why does it make the rice yellow?" Julia asked.
"Because of the dye it has in it," Jim said. When the three looked up at him he smiled and said, "That was explained to me the first time I saw them using the saffron in Spain. And it took some time to translate it."
"I can imagine," Beckett said as she watched Julia look at the jar of red strands in interest. "I would also imagine this is big in Spain."
"Very, since they make this all over," Jim said.
"Dad!" Alexis said, coming back out onto the roof with Martha and running to him. She hugged him tightly around the neck saying, "Thanks sooo much for the Lladro it's perfect."
"You saw the elephant?" Julia asked, sliding down from her mother's lap with her help.
"I did, did you help him pick it out?" Alexis asked the little girl.
"Yeah, they had Ganesha holding different instruments, but I said that was the best 'cause George played it too," Julia said. "Is… is that okay?" she asked in slight concern, wondering if that was the right instrument to have chosen the god to be holding in the statue.
Sharing a look with Beckett, Alexis went to her grandmother and set down the case on the small table that Castle and Beckett had used the week before. She took out her sitar and told her sister, "It's perfect, like I said."
Running over to her, Julia started to reach out and touch the instrument, but stopped, pulling back her hand. "Sorry," she whispered.
"No, go ahead, want to hold it, see if I can show you a chord?" Alexis asked. She laughed with the others when Julia seemed to wriggle once in excitement, nodding her head, and she went to some fabric, next to the case. "I use this to sit on, sit down with your legs crossed."
Watching as Julia sat down on the patterned fabric, Beckett saw that Castle was getting some rice from the pan, and she went over to him at his look. She let him feed her the bit of rice and nodded before saying, "After this."
Right," Castle said, reaching up and brushing a grain from the corner of her mouth. He looked into her eyes, and tried not to shudder as he remembered how when they'd gotten home he'd pulled her into his room to kiss her hard; wanting to suddenly do that again. He nearly jumped at the sound of music, and looked over quickly, seeing that Alexis was on her knees behind Julia, helping her hold her fingers around the neck of the sitar, and the other hand helping her strum it.
"Not bad," Beckett said, having to break from her gaze with Castle; thinking the same as he was at that moment. "But if you want to play that sweetie, you might need to wait a little so you can get taller to hold it."
"Yeah, it was heavy, but I wanna play my guitar and mandolin," Julia said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Alexis said. "Would you like to hold it?" she asked Beckett's father, seeing the desire to in the way he looked at the instrument.
"Thank you," Jim said, taking it from her.
Watching, Beckett smiled, but didn't really comment on it, knowing her father had always been interested in Indian music; mainly because of his interest in George Harrison's music. She had to wonder though, why he'd never gotten into playing instruments since it had been her mother that had taught her to play piano and also guitar. She shook herself as Alexis soon had the sitar back in its case, and said, "I think we can go ahead and eat now."
"Yeah, we can," Castle said. "And please be honest about this," he said as everyone gathered around the pan as he started to dish the yellow rice out. Once he'd had his own plate after serving everyone else first, he sat with Beckett at the bench, since the largest table on the roof only seated four. But they were close enough to them to see their daughter get a bigger second spoonful and eat it with relish.
"So?" Beckett asked, since by then everyone had taken more than one bite.
"We'll have to do this again Richard," Martha said. "Very interesting flavors."
"Tastes a lot like what I've had in Spain; though in Carbajales they put in other kinds of meat too. But this is great," Jim said.
"I like it," Julia said firmly, Alexis echoing her.
"Great, a delayed salud," Castle said, holding up his wine glass as he stood. He and Beckett tapped glasses with the others before sitting back down and he told her, "To summer."
"To summer," Beckett said, smiling at that. They tapped their glasses together, but she then leaned in, kissing him gently; tasting the saffron rice on his lips; before they parted and returned to their dishes and their family, talking about another possible trip together back to Coney Island.
"Okay, hoping I remembered everything, or else I'll have to give Diana a call," Alexis said as she opened her third suitcase. "First off, Gram," she said, handing her a tunic wrapped in plastic.
"How gorgeous," Martha said, opening the wrapping and taking out the peacock green fabric that had faux blue gemstones at the top along the neckline.
"I actually got a tunic for you and Julia, Beckett," Alexis said, handing her a sky blue tunic and then a smaller navy blue one.
"They're beautiful," Beckett replied, handing Julia hers.
"This is yours Dad," Alexis said, handing him a large, wrapped package. "It's heavy," she warned him.
"It is, what did you bring; rocks?" Castle asked. He opened the packaging, and took out a wooden statue of the god Shiva, holding what looked like a trident and with a bull next to him. "Wow, that's pretty nice, you're sure you didn't go to India itself?"
"No, but that would be so great if we could," Alexis said, handing Beckett a slightly smaller wrapped package.
"Ah, Parvati, I'm not surprised," Beckett said, smiling at the statue. It matched Castle's, the goddess holding the god Ganesha since he was their son. "Eventually we'll have them together. Thank you though Alexis, it's a great statue."
"You're welcome. Mr. Beckett, this is for you, I wanted to thank you for my fan. Beckett mentioned you liked statues of the god Krishna," Alexis said, handing him a small wooden statue of the god.
"I do, this one is going in my office," Jim said with a nod as he looked it over. "Thank you."
"Okay, that was it, except for this," Alexis said, taking out a wrapped package. "Dad, can Julia and I use your room?"
"Sure," Castle said before the two left. He went to sit next to his fiancée on the couch and said, "I have an idea what she has for Julia."
"Me too," Beckett said with a smile. A few minutes later the door to the room opened, and she looked over, seeing their daughter dressed in a cerulean blue sari. "Sweetie, you look so pretty," she said, holding her arms out to her.
Running carefully to her, Julia threw her arms around her mother, snuggling close to her. "Think so?" she asked.
"She's right, you do," Castle said. "I'm going to guess you've got one too?" he asked Alexis.
"In red," she answered with a smile. "But Julia's has churidars under the skirt, so she can wear just the top and those to play if she doesn't want to wear the draping fabric."
"Good idea, what do you say sweetie?" Beckett asked her.
"Thank you Alexis!" Julia cried happily, turning and hugging her sister tightly.
After Julia was back in her clothes, Beckett said, "Speaking of gifts…" She went to the closet and got the bag she'd left there on Friday, taking out a present which she handed to her daughter.
Castle smiled as Julia walked up to him, taking the gift saying, "This is for me?"
"Yeah, 'cause it's Father's Day," the little girl said, her cheeks bright red.
Kissing her cheek, Castle unwrapped the box and taking off the lid, saw that his present was a framed photograph. Like Beckett's from Mother's Day, it was black and white and was of Julia on his shoulders, leaning over onto his head as they were both laughing together. He studied what he could see of the background and said, "The concourse between the Japanese Tea Garden and the Academy of Sciences?"
"I took it when I was asking Julia about her camera, when we cut across it to go to the Conservatory of Flowers, you two were laughing at something you said," Beckett replied with a smile. "She picked the picture and frame out."
"I love it," Castle said seriously. "We'll have to put our two pictures together," he then said to his fiancée, who nodded in agreement. He handed the picture to Alexis who was sitting next to him, and hugged Julia tightly to him. "Thank you so much sweetheart, I love you so much."
Nodding, Julia watched as Alexis then handed him a smaller box and she said quickly, "That's from us both."
Inside was another framed picture, but that frame was obviously handmade, stiff black cardboard with old fashioned photo corners on it. And the picture was of Castle with both Alexis and Julia, from the Japanese Tea Garden. "Perfect," he said, smiling at them. "Me with my girls." He hugged and kissed them both, thanking them before Beckett took both pictures to put away in his office. "Oh, Kate, should we show them?" he asked her.
"I'll get it," Beckett said with a smile, going to the closet and getting the telescope.
As soon as her mother had opened the case on the coffee table, Julia was squealing in absolute joy saying, "We can look at the stars now!"
"Yeah, but you might want to wait until we head to the Hamptons," Castle suggested carefully. "There's too much light pollution here in the city."
"Did you try it before?" Alexis asked.
"The other night when we ate dinner on the roof," Castle said. "Oh, speaking of which, dessert."
"What is it?" Julia asked interestedly.
"Ice cream from Spain," Castle said, handing them out. "They had it at the store and I couldn't pass it up."
"I see these all the time over there," Jim said. "I see kids eating it, so you'll like it Julia."
By then, the little girl was nodding eagerly, already licking at her cone. Julia smiled when the others laughed, leaning against her mother who was sitting next to her with her ice cream, listening to the others talk with Jim about his recent trip.
"I'm not sure about this one," Alexis said, walking into her bathroom.
"Which song?" Beckett asked, not surprised when the young woman looked up in surprise at her. She followed Alexis' gaze to Castle, who was drying Julia off after taking her out of the bath tub.
"If Not For You," Alexis said. "I mean, that's an insanely romantic song, but I don't think it's one you can really dance to."
"That one we can take off the list," Castle said.
"Oh, speaking of this album; the one that song's on; what about I'd Have You Anytime?" Alexis asked.
"Look at the fourth song," Beckett said. "Your dad and I decided on that one together after hearing it on Julia's record player."
"Great, so Always, Maybe I'm Amazed… you're sure about that one?" Alexis asked, reading down the list from the top.
"Yeah, it's a little fast in some spots, but I think we can manage it," Castle said, finishing dressing Julia in her pajamas.
"Woman, I'd Have You Anytime, Calico Skies, Something, Beautiful Girl… that last one I haven't heard," Alexis said.
"You put that on? I told you we could forgo it," Beckett said as she helped Julia step up to the sink to brush her teeth.
"Well, it's a possible song," Castle said. "By the way Alexis, you're not planning on going through the whole list right now are you?"
"No, just this first page, If Not For You is the last one," Alexis reminded him. "But it's going to take a few tries to get this list set. I mean, is this all you want to play?"
"We have a few songs not by The Beatles we wrote in the margins as you can see," Beckett said, leading the way out to the bedroom since Julia was ready.
"I like that song," Julia said, pointing to the title at the top in Castle's handwriting.
"You're My Best Friend? Yeah, that is a good song," Alexis said, looking over at Beckett who was sitting against the headboard with Julia on her lap.
"I like Queen too, and we agreed on that one while Julia was at school actually," Beckett said.
"She was pretty happy when we included it," Castle said. "Okay, so is she getting a story, or are we reading to her?"
"I think Alexis is," Beckett said, smiling as his daughter was sitting next to her and Julia with her Hindu mythology book.
"I knew you weren't going to sell that back," Castle said.
"There are some amazing stories in here," Alexis said.
"Okay, let's say goodnight to her because someone had a lot of sun and a lot of walking," Beckett said quickly, motioning to Castle who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Night Jules, I'll wake you up tomorrow okay? And don't forget that we're going to Coney Island with Dad," Alexis said, leaning over to share a kiss with her. "I love you."
"Night," Julia whispered, smiling at her sister shyly.
"I love you sweetheart, and thanks so much for my picture, it was the perfect Father's Day gift," Castle said, sharing a kiss with her.
"I'm glad you like it," Julia said, smiling widely at that.
"And I love you too Julia, sweet dreams and I'll see you before I head to work," Beckett said, kissing her before kissing her forehead. "And as soon as I can, I'll come and we'll go on some rides together. Okay?"
"Kay. Who is the story about today?" Julia asked eagerly, directing the question to Alexis and leaning over to see the picture at the start of the story her sister had picked out.
"Since I have that Lladro now," Alexis said, nodding to her dresser where she had placed it in the exact middle. "I thought we could hear about Ganesha." At Julia's hurried nodding, she began to read, looking at the little girl to see when she fell asleep.
With the three of them watching, closely, they were able to see the second Julia's eyes closed and her body relaxed completely. Alexis closed the book and got off the bed as Beckett picked up the little girl to tuck her in while Castle waited behind her.
Smiling as she watched them both kiss the top of Julia's head, Alexis went outside her room with them, closing the door. "I'm actually going to take a shower and head to bed myself," she told them once she'd stopped them from going downstairs.
"Jet lag?" Castle asked.
"A little still, and like Beckett said, we got a lot of sun today," Alexis said.
"Are you sure you don't mind sharing your bed?" Beckett asked suddenly as Castle and his daughter hugged tightly.
Smiling, Alexis said, "I've shared Julia's bed with her now, and besides, we are sisters, so I have no problems with it. To tell you the truth, I kind of missed her in San Francisco… well, Sausalito I should say, and how I'd wake her up and we'd talk before you came in to get her up."
"Now you can do that again," Castle pointed out to her.
"Which I will," Alexis said. "Night Beckett, Dad."
Saying the same to her, Castle and Beckett then went down to the kitchen, where he made them coffee while Beckett went into his room. He was just finishing her cup when he felt her lean against his back.
"You have one last gift," Beckett said, nodding to the counter where there was a wrapped box when he turned to her.
"Did Julia forget?" Castle asked in surprise, going over to it. Taking it back to her, where she was sipping at her drink, he set the gift aside on the counter, finishing his coffee. "Sorry, just wanted to make sure I get a little pick me up."
"Open the box Castle," Beckett said with a sigh.
Smiling at her impatience in her tone, Castle did as she'd asked, and pulled out a framed picture, but that one was bigger than the one Julia had given to him. Looking at him and Beckett with their daughter he then glanced up at her before she suddenly spoke.
"I think we should do what we were joking about," she said hurriedly. "But make sure Alexis and our parents are with us too."
"So, this is just a temporary picture?" Castle asked.
"No, but when we go to the Hamptons again, we'll sit in the living room like we are there, and take a more formal picture," Beckett said. "I'd like to have that hanging somewhere in our new place; whatever we end up getting."
Leaning over then, Castle kissed her, telling her thank you that way instead of just saying it. He pulled away, and looking at into her half lidded eyes he started to move, but stopped himself by standing up straight. "You, should finish… Kate," he groaned under his breath as she touched his bruise.
"Does that hurt?" Beckett asked softly, tracing around the colored skin.
"No, it feels pretty nice actually," Castle said. He then grabbed her hand, and pressed his lips to her palm and then her fingertips, staring into her eyes the entire time.
"We should finish," Beckett said, her voice shaking at the pure intensity in his eyes. She slipped her hand from his grasp, and she sipped her coffee as he did the same, both of them looking at the picture of the three of them in the Hamptons on Memorial Day weekend. She couldn't help smiling at Julia's smile, knowing that her daughter had been incredibly happy taking her first family picture, though not everyone was in it; as the little girl had said.
As soon as he'd finished his drink, Castle hurried to put away the picture, setting the covered box on the table to remind them to talk over their idea with his mother and Alexis. He wasn't surprised to turn slightly to find Beckett coming up to him, and he took her hand in his, going to his room. All but two doors were locked, but once they went through them, he and his fiancée were completely alone, and the second the last lock was turned, he almost slammed her back against the door, crushing her lips with his.
Moaning heavily as it seemed like that day had been one very long line of stolen moments and frustratingly quick touches and their rapid kisses on Coney Island and there in the room, Beckett wrapped her arms around him tightly, fighting his tongue in her mouth. That kiss easily became more intense, and lasted far longer than the hurried one they'd shared before having to leave to make dinner. They had a good stretch of time still to them, and she knew he was going to make the most of it as he suddenly lurched away from the door, taking her with him.
Standing in front of the bed, Castle hurriedly pulled off her blouse before she was unbuttoning his shirt, their fingers abruptly reaching for what they could to divest one another of everything still on them. The second Beckett was left in nothing but her necklace; he was laying her down on the bed, joining her as he was in less than she was.
"Wait, I should-" Beckett started to say as she could feel the result of him no longer having to repress. He kissed her hard, and she was responding to him, unable not to, rubbing the back of his head with both her hands before he pulled away. "Castle, let me…" she started to say, breathing heavily as he was spreading kisses along her neck. She hissed when he still didn't answer her, but instead nipped around the hollow of her throat a few times, soothing the skin with his tongue.
Though he knew already what Beckett wanted to do, Castle instead went further down, and before he reached her breasts, raised his head to speak. "I know what you want, but since it's still Father's Day, and I'm assuming you want to give me something for today, let me tell you what we'll be doing," he told her, having moved up so he was face to face with her.
Shivering a little as his lips brushed against hers, Beckett then asked, "What do you want?"
"Everything," Castle said, his voice unabashedly husky and saturated with his desire, his hand reaching up to cup her breast. "Tell me I can have everything love," he said, careful not to couch his tone in a demanding way.
"Yes," Beckett breathed out in pleasure as his mouth was taking her right nipple between his lips. She closed her eyes tightly and moaned as he began to suckle at her, saying, almost deliriously, "Everything Rick, show me what you want." He was a little hard there, and she cried out slightly in surprise at his loss of control. But he was quick to make up for it, pleasuring both her breasts with his mouth and hands. She was soon on fire through her entire body, and before she could stop herself, she was begging him for more. She couldn't help blushing as she realized what she was saying, but she didn't bother to try and stop herself, knowing it wasn't going to really happen. Thinking that she was nearly distracted by Castle moving down her from her chest, but she was soon focusing on him as he kissed around her abdomen in passing, her muscles under the skin dancing in response.
Laying in between Beckett's legs that were already spread for him, Castle delayed things a little longer, kissing the inside of her thighs before he went in a steady trail to the top. At the apex of her legs, he swallowed roughly as he could see she was already wet and aroused, and he said a quick, mental apology to her as he didn't try to work up to it, bowing his head to take her clit between his teeth. Her reaction was instant, and he had a feeling she might not have wanted him to work up to it. So he proceeded to flick his tongue against her, hearing her moaning above him as her fingers slid through his hair. Finally he moved back and down, and flicking his tongue over her folds to distract her, he slid through as she was still crying out, and began to move it in a flicking motion again.
Arching her back a little, Beckett couldn't stop herself from moving with the motions that Castle was going through, and she wasn't too surprised when he quickly held down her hips with his hands. Biting at her lower lip, she still found a way to move, breathing heavily as she looked down to watch him, his head moving up and down slightly. A moan escaped her lips every so often, and more followed when his right hand reached down and began to rub at her clit. She couldn't stop herself, and reached down, joining his fingers as he briefly paused. She would have smiled as his tongue did the same, but luckily he was quick to recover, and she was soon moving with his mouth and their fingers as they worked together to pleasure her.
Castle took Beckett's hand after a while, guessing that it might be too much for her, and moved their hands out of the way slightly so he could look up at her. He wasn't surprised to see that he was right; their combined stimulation coupled with what he was already doing to her had nearly pushed her over the edge. So he was careful to slow down the pace of his tongue, which was fine by him as it was allowing him a chance to control his own arousal as he hadn't gone unaffected by what he was doing or her responses. He suddenly had the urge to pull away and just take her, knowing he didn't have to wait for her to ask him, she would allow him to fuck her as hard as he could. To get that thought out of his mind, he pulled back, and at her groan of protest, he was back at her clit, the nub heavily swollen in her arousal, and he took it carefully with his mouth.
Not caring that by then she was literally writhing on the bed, Beckett was completely unaware of time, of where she was. All she could know for sure was her own body, its reactions to her fiancé in between her legs, working so diligently to pleasure her. That same pleasure in response to him, as it burned through every space of her form until she felt almost hypersensitive. She knew the feeling of Castle, his tongue and fingers working together again. And at the last, she knew her climax as it suddenly broke through her body, making her arch her back roughly as she froze for the briefest instant.
Careful as he felt her slowly coming down from her ecstasy, Castle moved to lie next to her, feeling her slightly shaking once as he nuzzled her neck with his lips. "That was just the first time," he told her seriously, his voice husky with arousal still as he'd had no relief and held himself back while he'd focused on her.
"Oh god, one of those nights?" Beckett asked, though she noticed quickly she didn't sound all that upset at the thought. She bit her lip then as she sat up, glancing in between them. He didn't have to answer her question, since she knew the answer already. Smiling as he started to reach for her, she slapped his hands away and threw her arms around him to kiss him. She could tell he was startled as it took slightly longer for him to respond to her. But once he had he let that kiss go on for as long as it could before she pulled back. "Just this once, give me that control you're so intent on," she whispered against his lips.
"Y… yes, yes okay," Castle said as she had curled her fingers around his erection while speaking. "Ah! Damn it Kate, I hate when you do that," he hissed as she gently pulled, making him follow her before she let go. But even without the contact, he was going after her, surprised when she got on her knees on the floor. "Wait-" he started to say.
"Don't tell me that," Beckett said firmly, taking his wrists and pulling them away from her. Without a word from her he'd sat on the end of the bed, and she was in between his legs. Giving him a look, she let go of him and then leaned down, careful to use her hand before guiding him into mouth. She wasn't shocked at the sudden snap of tension that filled his body in front of her, since she knew he was probably right at the edge by then. So she decided to do what she could; knowing she had a lot less time than he'd had. With that in mind, she began to bob her head up and down slowly, suddenly feeling the urge to do something she had never had a chance to. And with that, she began to lightly hum a song that had never existed, that she made up, feeling his reaction almost instantaneously.
Hissing hard though his teeth as the pleasure was instantaneous, Castle instinctively reached down, threading his fingers through his fiancée's hair. He watched her closely, though he knew doing that was going to bring him riskily close to the edge. Feeling the sensation of her humming so directly around him was making him dizzy, and he ran his right hand over her locks to try and focus on that to distract him, feeling the texture of her hair and the waves in it. It helped, but only for a short while as she stopped humming and instead just moved on him without anything extra to aid her. He finally made her stop, having to hold onto the back of her head a little hard to do so, and once she had pulled away from him, pulled her up to him by her arms.
A little startled at their kiss, Beckett didn't try to pull away or move from what she was doing, instead going along with him, her hands on his cheeks. She breathed out heavily as they parted a while later, looking at him before she nipped at his lower lip and got down in front of him again. She heard his groan as she picked up right where she had left off, and that time she didn't bother to try and delay as she had been before; which was why she'd stopped humming; knowing they'd had to wait long enough. She felt his grip suddenly on the back of her head, wondering if she'd been so busy she hadn't felt him first touch her hair. But all thought left her, as she went back to concentrating on him when she realized suddenly that she wasn't really immune to what she was doing herself as his groans seemed to get louder and louder.
Almost panting, Castle was able to say, "Love…" before that last restraint gave away completely, and he was lost to the pleasure his fiancée was giving him. Trying to hold on to his sanity as she took his orgasm in stride, he had an inkling of dissatisfaction at how they were. He wanted more, but he lost the thought soon enough before he was limp, laying back on the bed. He was pretty sure some time had passed, since he had no idea when Beckett had moved to lay on him, kissing his cheeks and lips. "I think you're going to kill me one of these days, really pleasurably too," he commented. He felt her smile in her next kiss, and realized that he was feeling something against his thigh. "Are you…" he started to say, raising his head to look at her.
Stopping her movements as soon as he'd said that, Beckett moved away from him; not embarrassed that he'd caught her, but a little startled her trying to move carefully against him had been noticed. Her breath caught in her throat when he suddenly grabbed around her waist, holding her still as he pressed against her, both of them on their knees in the middle of the bed. Looking back at him, she was surprised when he had her turn her around. "So one of those nights," she said, glancing between them quickly.
Not answering, Castle pulled her to him, and kissed her hard as he managed to get her to straddle his lap. When their skin was touching, he wasn't inside of her, but pressed against her folds, shuddering as his imagination hadn't been playing tricks on him, she was fully aroused again. Grabbing her hips, he made her start to move, hearing her slight groan in response to that, his own joining hers. He ended their kiss so they could catch their breath, and watched her as she took over from him very quickly. He was breathing harshly as he watched her, both of them moving rapidly in a very short amount of time. There was of course the temptation to very simply move her and take her again, but he fought it, not wanting that night to be just about satisfying himself. He knew if he did that for her, he'd get a lot more in return as opposed to everything being about him. He was kissing at Beckett's neck, and finally descended to her breasts, taking them with his mouth and hands as she held him to her tightly.
Not really sure where exactly the idea had come from, Beckett had lost her hesitation with them just rubbing against each other. Granted, she thought to herself, it wasn't as pleasurable as their actual lovemaking, but she wasn't about to stop them. She stroked the back of his head as he was moving over her breasts, and finally couldn't take it anymore, moving his face up so it was tilted to her. She leaned down, kissing him roughly on the lips for only a few brief seconds before pulling away. She did that a second time and shuddered when Castle suddenly grasped her ass in his hands. She jerked on him in an arc as he squeezed hard, and she went down to brush her lips across his asking, "What do you want?"
"What I have already," Castle replied, sucking gently on her pulse that was racing against the side of her neck. He loved her throaty moan, and he pulled away before he could lose control and do that a lot harder. He moved to her lips, and they kissed at the same time, that instance taking things a little easier. It was in stark contrast to their bodies, as they undulated together, having settled on their rhythm without much in the way of hesitation. It wasn't really necessary, and it sent a shudder of pleasure through him at the thought they were that fine in sync with each other. All while that was going on though, his entire body felt as if it was sparking with electricity. She slid along him; it was energy; she touched his skin, his hair; it was energy, her lips brushed across his face; it was energy. All of that seemed to center on where they were together and yet not coupled; energy that became a heat that spread through him until he was pretty sure he was burning up. But it was all indescribable bliss, and something he was not going to stop for as long as he could get away with.
Going through much the same that her fiancé was, Beckett was fighting a little with her body, though she was sure not that much time had passed. But she gave up trying to figure that out, as she could feel her own pleasure rising, growing exponentially, to make her think that Castle would be able to hear her heartbeat, not just feel it throbbing against his length among her slick folds. She kissed him hard, feeling the desperation with which she grasped him in her hold on him. She knew they were together, and she pulled away, looking deeply into his eyes as he stared at her intently.
The gaze was broken when Castle suddenly laid Beckett on the bed, sinking in her smoothly, and setting off their combined climax as neither could hold out in the face of the added stimulation of their bodies joining. Instead of thrusting though, he kept her still, doing the same himself to just feel that moment when the world around them fell away to be just them on that bed, sharing something more intimate than could be described.
Unsure how long it took from the point when she was laying on the bed to her body trembling in the afterglow, Beckett gave up trying to figure that out too. Instead she was holding onto her fiancé, stroking his slightly damp hair. "Why didn't you move?" she finally asked when her breathing calmed down enough for her to speak.
"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that," Castle said. When she didn't reply he sighed in mock exasperation, and pulled away, reaching around her to toss the pillows onto the armchair.
"What are you doing?" Beckett asked, watching him in surprise as he made her get up to get rid of the pillow under her head. She was startled when he grabbed her, and pushed her front against the headboard roughly. "Rick…" she breathed.
There had been a second that Castle thought he'd gone too far with that, but her breathy whisper of his name was enough to convince him it was enough. He pressed close to her, but leaned down to brush his lips against her shoulder gently as she let out a soft moan. "I love you Kate," he whispered to her.
"I love you too Rick," Beckett said, looking back at him. She moved against him, biting her lower lip as she could feel him responding in turn. It took a little time, but she soon felt why he'd moved, and she reached to the back of his head as he moved her hair back over her shoulder. She helped him as she spread her legs, and with a slight movement down, she let out a gasp as he entered her, very slowly and carefully. She was about to speak, to beg him to fuck her, when he moved once, a hard, rough thrust. She pleaded with him immediately to do that again, and with that he proceeded to move, not caring with that that she had begged.
Going a little wild, kissing wherever he could reach of her skin, Castle was groaning with each press of his lips to her. Her flesh was warm and still slightly damp from their exertions before, but above all that, it was smooth, the texture like silk under his lips and making him repress a shudder. She was warm against his chest, his skin literally tingling with each brush against her and he held her back from the headboard enough so he could run his hands down her front, looking over her shoulder to watch. He nuzzled under her ear lobe; a little distracted by the way her body was moving against his to pay attention to what he was trying to look at in the first place.
Beckett however, watched him closely as his right hand strayed back up to her breasts, his left hand staying around the apex of her legs. She braced herself, but was surprised when he stroked her breasts first, very slowly in comparison to the way they were moving together. She breathed out heavily as his hands began to move together, not just his right, and his left fingers easily found her clit. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling him seeming to take his time, to try and feel what her skin was going to do to his sense of touch. She nearly huffed out a breath when his right hand brought her attention back to it, gently cupping and placing pressure around the mound it held. She looked down and watched his thumb rubbing around her nipple, it soon becoming stiffer as he flicked over it. It wasn't a big surprise when his left hand suddenly shot up to her other breast, and began to fondle her. But what was, was the fact that Castle was gentle again, and she had to wonder if his plan was to drive her insane.
Though he had no idea what she was thinking, Castle would have agreed with her if he had known, each touch to her body made his palms warm and he took another trip around the front of her body. Along with what he felt doing that, she was with him, moving with his body and making him try not to stop himself; to lengthen what he was feeling with her. But it was a difficult task; there was so much to sense, the scent of her body close to him, the taste of her skin as he nibbled gently at her ear, flicking his tongue against the shell. Loving her shiver of pleasure as he could feel it race down her spine, he whispered to her that he did, and kissed the palm of her hand as she reached back to him. He held her hand, going to her wrist and nibbling the skin as he could feel her tensing with each touch of his teeth. He reached down to her hips after he let her go so she could hold onto his neck, which she did tightly. He moved her with him, though he didn't really need to do that it was more of a way to feel her again; never getting tired of that.
Leaning back against her fiancé, Beckett was feeling as well, his body was firm against her, and his skin was rubbing against her with each of their combined thrusts. She could feel him moving within her, both of them working to create a great deal of friction between them, that made her both weak and not want to stop; not knowing how to explain that and not caring to. She felt his fingers slide across her hips, before he reached for her free hand, and they were working together to rub against her clit. Her back tensed up, rigid against his chest, as the added pleasure of that shot through her from where they were coupled to her breasts, feeling heat from all that, making her fight to stay with Castle, to keep from ending things far too soon, not realizing by then they'd been so heavily involved with one another it had been some time.
Making her lean back, Castle took his fiancée's lips in a kiss, trying not to get too frantic. When her tongue slipped past his lips, he threw that thought out the window, and deepened the kiss before he held her by the abdomen, and at the same time they jerked back and forth more calculatingly. Their kiss went into a second, and a third, followed by a fourth that was punctuated with a harsher breath of air than the first three. He lightly bit at her shoulder, feeling her tense, and moved to her ear, feeling almost feverish in his movements as he whispered to her, "I can't stop love. Tell me to stop Kate."
"Never," Beckett breathed heavily out. She leaned back so their lips could brush against one another and she murmured, "You'll never hear that from me. You're…" She couldn't quite finish that thought, but luckily Castle didn't care, both of them by then focusing more entirely on one another. They had gone back to their more natural pace, and she could feel his hands stroking all around her front. She was biting at her lower lip roughly as he moved around, his hands leaving long, wide trails of pure flames that made her shudder and writhe back against his chest. She laid her head back against his shoulder, letting things take their course as she was losing the struggle with delaying her end. She bit at her lower lip once, before straightening up, and leaning against the headboard, felt his quickened pace. The angle of his thrusts changed, and he was suddenly brushing against something deep within her. Her cry of absolute ecstasy hit the walls of the room, and she was closing her eyes tightly as she pressed her cheek against the cooler headboard, but it wouldn't stop the fever that was hitting her as each wave of her climax made her slam back against her fiancé as he was leaning over her back.
Yelling Beckett's name into her shoulder, Castle was trying to withstand what he himself was going through, feeling her orgasm. He was a little dazed at first, but things slowly came back to him, the roar in his ears dying down. But it was short lived, they managed to push each other to yet another intense high, that time neither he nor his fiancée trying to repress their cries and groans of pleasure. Time was lost, and he had no clue when it was that she stopped in front of him, and he did as well with a last, rough thrust against her, kissing around her shoulder where he'd yelled. Moving back from her quickly, he helped her to lie down before remembering why the pillows were gone.
Watching him grabbing some pillows, Beckett lay back when he came to her, and fixed the ones he tucked under her head. "You can be forceful when you want to," she commented, watching as he lay next to her.
"Well, I think you were subconsciously asking for that," Castle said. When she just looked at him, lying on her side against him, he said, "What?"
Shaking her head, Beckett couldn't stop her slight smile at that, and said, "Get some sleep Castle, you might be running around Coney Island again."
"Might be, I know I will," Castle said, scoffing slightly. He heard his fiancée yawn and then reached down, stroking her hair. "Did you see the poster?"
"I did," Beckett said, remembering the ads for the canceled Abbey Road Players concert at the amusement park. "At least Julia didn't see them."
"No," Castle said. "Are you tired?" he asked her.
Beckett raised her head and glanced at him before biting the side of her mouth in hesitation. Finally she smiled, and lay back, pulling Castle before they met in a kiss.
Making love very carefully, Castle and Beckett made sure to take their time since they could. When they finally managed to stop driving each other to the edge, they were exhausted and lay down quickly with him behind her.
"Love you," Castle murmured to her.
"Love you too Castle," Beckett said, smiling to herself at his kiss to the back of her shoulder. She felt his arm drape over her, and she was soon asleep, feeling him holding her closely as she had the last realization of him relaxing as well.
They both savored the fatigue they were feeling as it was evidence of the depth of their relationship, their desire for each other. They were in love and their bond was more than just their partnership. It was why they took pleasure in the emotional and physical aspect between them; it was what brought them always closer together, and what would keep them together as they found themselves getting nearer to July.