Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Very pleased to see the feedback I got for the last chapter, so I'll start my thank yous for it! TORONTOSUN (Really nice you're liking the road trip they're on, it sounded really interesting to me when I planned it out so it's great to hear that! And I'm very happy you think it's very good writing!) and
Mb (I was glad to read you thought the first half of the chapter was a lovely day at the San Diego Zoo. And nice to see you enjoyed that private tour, I wanted that there for Josie but thought the photos of the more famous people taking the tour would be a given, lol. It was great you thought the rest of the day was nice seeing all the animals there too. Had to laugh at you mentioning the gift shop along with what they got to remember their day, but it happens, lol. Really happy you thought the first half of the chapter was nicely done! You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! It was nice to see you thought the second half was nicely done! And I was glad you thought them going to Old Town was a nice way to wrap up the day. I was interested to see what you thought of their plans for the next summer, not surprised you were hoping for another country. To be honest I am trying to have them go different places, and since I had them spend a summer in Spain already I decided to have them go as a big group through Japan for a longer time. I'm a fan of there, would love to go, so I hope you'll indulge me writing them there when the time comes! And really pleased to see you thought it was wonderfully written! You're welcome for the second half of the chapter!).
Thanks for the reviews, I enjoyed reading them and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song San Diego written by Allan Vest, Andy Nunez and Marian Nunez, from the Starlight Mints album Built on Squares.
A Town So Explorable
"You shouldn't feel bad," Beckett said as she took the bike from her friend.
"How can I not? I said we'd have a picnic, and it turns out we can't," Skye said.
"We did that years ago Skye," Liam told his daughter.
Pursing her lips, the investigator nodded before saying, "At least there's dinner."
"There you go lass," Liam replied. When his daughter suddenly turned to him after she'd given Castle his bike, he shook his head and told her, "Don't start."
"I have to check on you," Skye said easily. "And you're sure you can do this?"
"We're not that far," Pablo answered, though he was looking at his husband while he spoke.
"You're going to keep an eye on him?" Mary asked, having come up to them.
"Of course," Pablo replied. "Though we really should have taken a cab with the others."
Grumbling, Liam smiled when his daughter embraced him tightly and he responded before letting her go. "I don't like to be babied," he told her.
"Who does?" Paul asked.
Rolling her eyes Stella said, "I'm going to be watching you Dad."
"Me too," Julia couldn't help quipping though she'd noticed Nancy was going to speak. She laughed when the singer's wife hugged her with one arm briefly before she said, "But we're okay to go now?"
"We are," Mary said, speaking absently while she was watching Fleur walking up to her wife.
"Don't feel bad Mummy," the little girl said. "You said we could 'ave dessert there remember?" When her mother hesitated Fleur giggled and said, "Even if it's just fruit."
"It is," Mary said before her wife could.
"I don't care," Marie said, not surprised when her sisters were immediately agreeing with her. "What about the dinner though?"
"You'll find out when it's dinner," Skye said firmly before she was looking around at everyone. "Are we ready?"
Smiling when Josie and Sophie were calling out a yes after the other kids had, Beckett asked her husband, "Are you?"
"Yeah, watch me go," Castle told her teasingly, not surprised when she gave him a look before she was getting on her bike. They left the bike store they'd gotten their bikes from and were following Skye and Mary through Point Loma. They biked through a wooded area before he noticed something to their left.
"Skye," David said with a frown.
"I mentioned it," the investigator called back though she was suddenly pulling to the side and urging everyone to continue.
"I'm fine," Julia said, pulling over to Skye with Mari. "You did tell us about this place."
"I just wanted to check now we're here," the investigator told her. "You too," Skye said when she saw that Eliza was pulling over.
"I see lots of soldiers," the little girl said when she saw the way the investigator was peering at her. "They're just standing by the stones," Eliza added.
"Is that why you were waving?" Beckett asked her, glancing at the tombstones of the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on either side of the road.
"Yeah, and I said thanks for their service, but some aren't Americans, are they?" Eliza asked.
"Well, if you want to be picky and technical no, but Californios belong here too," Skye said before she and the girls were turning to the cemetery.
"Kate?" Castle asked, standing next to his wife.
"It's okay," Beckett said absently.
"You heard that?" Julia asked her mother, smiling when she inclined her head briefly.
"Some war cries from the men from the Battle of San Pasqual," Skye told them. "But there isn't anything negative," she added, looking pointedly at the girls before Josie was suddenly speaking to their surprise.
"Ocean! Ocean!" the toddler was crying out.
"I was just going to say," Julia said, smiling at her sister. "They like it here because of the view."
"It is a nice view," Skye said. "And peaceful." She looked ahead at the others who had stopped and were waiting for them before she said, "I think we better go."
When they were riding again Castle stayed with his wife and said, "You can't see anything."
Sighing, though she had expected her husband to ask that, Beckett told him, "It's like a mist out of the corner of my eye. When I look straight at the markers, I don't see a thing."
"And you appreciate that," Castle stated.
"Very," Beckett replied, not surprised when he was reaching out to her and squeezing her arm. She took his hand before he could pull away fully and they held each other for a while before they were letting go and focusing on their ride to the end of the peninsula.
"Are you sure we're not going to get to go inside there?" Miller was asking the oldest McDouglas kids once they were at the lighthouse.
"Our mum isn't," Kathleen said. "She always gets dizzy when she goes inside."
"But… we could go, couldn't we?" Reiley asked.
"I'd like to go," Julia said before she was turning swiftly to Mari when her friend was grabbing her hand. "I don't feel anything," she said, assuring her.
"Still," Mari said with a frown.
"I'll have to ask my parents anyway," Julia reminded her before they were turning at the sound of the parents walking up behind them.
"Now we have that set," Martha commented. "What about Julia and Eliza?"
Since Castle's mother was directing that to her, Skye smiled briefly before she said, "I would exercise caution," speaking to the girls' parents. "Let them walk inside if they want to go but if they start feeling anything at all I'd get them right out."
"I want to go," Eliza said immediately when her mother looked at her.
"Me too," Julia added.
"You two can go inside," Castle told them. He looked at his wife and wasn't surprised to see her nodding in agreement with him before he turned back to them. "But like Skye said, if you feel weird at all you have to tell us."
"We will," Julia and Eliza said at the same time.
"Have fun," Skye told them before she turned her attention to Josie who she had taken for Castle and Beckett. "I would imagine you're a bit disappointed," she told the toddler.
"I want Jules," Josie said.
"Not a surprise, but I wouldn't have you get dizzy like I have," Skye said, walking to the nearest place to look at the ocean. "At least we have this view," she told the toddler. She glanced at Josie and seeing she was staring at the horizon asked her, "What are you thinking Josie."
Turning to the investigator the toddler said, "Ship."
"Mmm-hmm, I thought the same," Skye said a little grimly. She shook herself and told the toddler, "For now let's go and find ourselves some flowers," relieved when Josie was responding immediately.
"I want picks," the toddler said.
"Oh, you're lucky your dad isn't here to hear your grammar," Skye said with a smile before she froze suddenly.
"Lizzy!" Josie said, looking over the investigator's shoulder.
"She's okay," Castle said, carrying the little girl while she had her face buried in his neck.
"I felt sad," Eliza replied, sniffing.
Looking at her closely, to make sure she wasn't crying, Castle kissed her cheek and said, "It came on her as soon as she stepped inside." He glanced at the little girl briefly before he continued with, "She didn't tell us right away."
"I thought it was just me," Eliza said defensively.
"I did that myself," Skye commented. "And it's not the best idea. But you'll learn of course."
"What do we do now?" Eliza asked after nodding to what the investigator had said.
"Well, I was about to take your sister to the flowers," Skye said. "The grass over there appears to have some clover flowers, who wants to see if there's enough for a necklace."
"I do!" Eliza said eagerly.
"Maybe we should hold off on that," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when the investigator pursed her lips for a moment before he said, "National Monument?"
"Why are you being lawful all of a sudden?" Skye teased him, exaggerating her voice and making the girls laugh.
"My wife?" Castle asked.
"Is behind you," Beckett said, smiling when her husband turned to her, his face blanching slightly. "Don't worry, I heard it and I know I have to blame Skye."
"Hey," the investigator said in mock annoyance. Skye couldn't help smiling when her daughters giggled and she said, "Are we alright after that?" looking at Julia.
Watching her daughter give the okay hand gesture to Skye, Beckett said, "We're continuing?"
"For our semi-dessert," Lily said suddenly.
"I almost forgot about that," Nkosi said.
"I didn't, I can taste the mangoes," Paul commented.
With some laughter at how exaggerated the singer's voice was, the group walked together down the path from the lighthouse to find a spot to have their fruit before they moved on to that day's second location.
"We're not leaving San Diego, are we?" Eliza asked worriedly while she was looking outside at the 5 freeway.
"We're getting off… I know where we're going!" Julia started to say before she exclaimed at the end.
"Where?" Eliza asked before they were looking at their baby sister in between them when she was squealing in reaction to them.
"Mission Bay," Julia said eagerly. "Marie and Kath told us about this park, it's where they go swimming," she added, turning to her sister when she was gasping in joy.
"Does that mean we're going to swim?" Eliza asked.
"It does," Castle answered, following the two cars ahead of them to the parking lot. "And we're staying for dinner if you don't mind."
"Easy," Beckett said, laughing with her husband when their middle daughters were crying out in reaction. "We already planned to eat here."
"Can we have s'mores?" Eliza asked hopefully.
"Wait until we have dinner," Castle said. "Now let's go."
After they were out of the car Julia said to her sister, "Why'd you ask if we were going to swim?" She couldn't help smiling at the perplexed look on her sister's face and explained, "We're wearing our bathing suits already."
"Oh… I forgot," Eliza said in slight embarrassment.
"At least we get to swim," Julia said quickly.
"Yeah," Eliza replied happily before they were turning their attention to their family to help them with what they needed to take from the car to the beach in front of them. Once they were set on the grass and the sand in front of that, she took off her shirt and shorts before her mother was grabbing her. "Mommy," she couldn't help complaining.
"You knew already," Beckett said simply and with a smile. She kissed her daughter's temple and then told her, "You're going to be careful."
"I will," Eliza promised. She smiled and then said, "You're going to swim too, right?"
"Of course," Beckett said. "With your sister," she added, not surprised when the little girl was giggling.
"I was gonna ask," Eliza said. She was quiet when her mother began to help her with her face sunscreen and as soon as she finished, she asked eagerly, "Can I go?"
"Yes, don't run though," Beckett said, shaking her head when the little girl was skipping away. She watched Julia leave them and turned to her husband before she realized he didn't have Josie.
"Mother insisted on helping her," Castle explained to his wife.
"Okay," Beckett replied with a smile before turning her attention to him. "And does that mean you're helping me?"
"If you'd like me to," Castle said firmly.
Smiling again, Beckett cupped his face before she handed him the bottle of sunscreen. Turning away from him she said, "I wanted to take her into the water first."
"Mother and Jim offered to take her after she goes swimming with us," Castle said.
"Good," Beckett replied before she took the bottle and helped her husband. After she had finished with the rest of her body, she gave her husband the sunscreen and went to where Josie was standing in front of her grandparents. "We'll take her for a while," she told them. "Since I'm sure we'll want to swim," she added.
"She was insisting on her vest," Jim told his daughter with a smile while he watched the toddler wrapping her arms tightly around her mother.
"No surprise there," Castle said, handing his mother the bottle. "Ready to go?" he asked his wife and their youngest, kissing Josie's cheek to her giggle.
"I think she is," Beckett replied.
"I want to swim," Josie then said carefully and firmly before her parents laughed. "No laugh Mama," she said with a frown before her father was responding first.
"I think you mean laughing," Castle told her.
"Rick," Beckett said.
"I have to let her know," Castle replied swiftly.
Shaking her head, though she was smiling at the same time, Beckett told him, "And since you have, we can go swimming now, right?"
"Yes," Castle replied with a brief nod. He leaned over to her before she could move and shared a brief kiss with her. Startled that she had met him, he asked, "Were you expecting that?"
"Of course," Beckett replied with a smirk. She wasn't surprised when her husband leaned into her, and they were kissing a little harder though just as swiftly as the first. "Alright sweetie," she said, forcibly turning to their youngest. "Are you ready to start swimming?"
"Eh," Josie said with a wide smile. She watched the approaching water once her parents started to walk and she was squealing happily when her mother stepped into it.
"Here," Beckett said with a smile, setting her down but holding her hand.
"Is the water good?" Castle asked her when he grabbed her other hand swiftly.
"Eh," Josie told him while she was kicking the water.
"Don't splash me," Maddy said with a giggle, walking up to them with Darnley.
"Sorry," Josie replied shyly, squeezing at her mother's hand.
"You taught her that?" Darnley said.
"You didn't think we would?" Castle asked him. When the carpenter merely smiled, he said, "Why would you think I was rude?"
"I don't, just making you second guess yourself," Darnley replied before he laughed when Castle was pretending to go over to him.
"Stop it," Beckett said warningly to them. "Get out of here Patrick, you're freaking out your daughter."
"We're going, we're going," Darnley said after sticking his tongue out at her. He laughed when she was kicking water at him, and he took Maddy with him over to where his husband and her brother were swimming.
"I hope you're ready," Castle told his wife when they were alone again. He watched her let go of Josie and was quick to grab her before she went into the water, calling back to him as she did so.
"You can follow me a little," Beckett said.
"Right behind you," Castle commented, watching her duck under the water.
"We go there?" Josie asked her father.
"Not really, I think it's going to be a little too deep for you," Castle said with a smile. "But while your mom is having her swim we can practice here now." He wasn't surprised when the toddler was nodding rapidly, and he moved to begin helping her with her kicking first.
"This is a nice park," Bailey said to the others while they were treading water.
"What's that tower over there?" Reiley asked.
"Sea World," Marie and Kathleen said at the same time while they were smiling.
"Have you been there before?" Bobby asked.
"A few times," Marie said, her twin nodding in agreement. "And it's a lot of fun but Mum and Mom haven't been sure if you guys would want to go."
"Lizzy would love it," Julia said absently.
"Not you?" Mari asked her friend.
Making a face at her, Julia replied, "I would, but at least we've got something else to do here."
"Do you guys like Legos?" Kathleen then asked.
"I do," Miller said immediately. "Played with them all the time when I was a kid." He paused and then asked, "There's an amusement park for that isn't there? Here I mean, I've heard of the ones in Europe."
"Carlsbad," Marie and Kathleen said in unison again.
"And that's another place," Jacob said, though he was startled when the twins were sharing a look shortly after. "No?"
"The thing is it's kind of for younger kids," Marie said.
"We were five when our parents took us," Kathleen added. "Still, it would be fun to see the new stuff," she said thoughtfully.
"And I think we're always going to have younger kids in the group," Eve commented.
"My niece and nephew?" Julia asked with a smile.
"Yeah, but not yet," Eve replied, smiling back at her before they were swimming back to the shore.
"How is it?" Castle was asking his wife when she reached him where he was standing waist deep in the water.
"Nice," Beckett said, taking Josie from him. "How'd she swim?"
"Great," Castle replied. When she gave him a brief look, he quickly said, "She's getting better with moving her arms and legs at the same time."
"Good," Beckett said before she looked pointedly at her husband.
"I… oh, you want me to swim?" Castle started to say before it suddenly came to him.
"It's only fair," Beckett answered with a slight smile on her face.
"Okay, but you better not look for seashells or anything without me," Castle said jokingly before he kissed Josie's cheek to her laughter.
"We won't," Beckett assured him before he was leaning into her and kissing her tenderly. They were brief and she watched him going into the water before she turned to Josie saying, "Want to swim again?"
Before the toddler could respond, Josie and her mother were turning when Eliza was calling out.
"Easy sweetie," Beckett told her daughter since she was splashing them both. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, but everyone went to their families, and I don't want to go to Jules," Eliza replied once she was standing still.
"You could have gone with your daddy," Beckett pointed out to her.
Giggling, Eliza wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and told her, "He's going too fast."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said. "Well, we're waiting for him to come back to the sand so if you want you can wait with us," she told the little girl, smoothing her hair down before Eliza was replying with a giggle.
"Okay, I hope he won't take that long," the little girl said.
"He shouldn't," Beckett said since she could see he was making his way back to them.
"Daddy!" Eliza said eagerly when she saw him. "Can we make a sandcastle now?"
"Sure, what about your sister?" Castle asked before they were turning as Skye was calling all the kids to her.
"I was informed we're going to lose daylight fast," the investigator told them once they were gathered on the sand and looking at her. "So we need to do one thing before that point," Skye said before she was moving to the large bag her father held for her. "It's only fair to do this in order of age," she said. "So I hope you older kids won't mind waiting."
Beckett wasn't surprised when none of them said a word in response and she watched with a smile while Skye was handing the first kite to Sophie, holding Josie a little more tightly when the toddler was gasping and wriggling in her hold.
"What do you say Sophie?" Brad told his youngest since he was holding her.
"Thank you," the toddler said shyly.
"You might want to tell Paul that," Skye said with a smile. "Since he supplied the funds for these."
Laughing when the kids all said that to him, the singer told them, "You're very welcome. But I hope someone will let me fly one of those kites."
"You should have bought one for yourself Grandude," Bobby said.
"Still," Paul replied swiftly, not surprised when his grandson was rolling his eyes, smiling.
"Here's Josie's," Skye said, going over to her and handing her the kite. "There's a little assembling involved."
"I figured they would be this kind," Beckett said.
"She said they would have them," Paul commented while Skye was passing around the rest of the kites quickly. "I'm guessing the ones already put together were more expensive," he asked the investigator while she was giving the tote bag back to her father.
"Very," Skye said. "You would have risked going bankrupt," she added, not surprised when the singer was giving her a look.
"That would be a lot of kites," Nancy said. "For both of us," she added firmly. She then smiled when Jacob got his kite up first and asked, "Do we have enough room here?"
"Just enough," Mary said before she was gesturing her wife to help her with the rest of the kites since Marie and Kathleen had theirs.
Once everyone had finished, Castle was helping Josie with her kite before he said to his wife, "You're all set?"
"I am," Beckett replied easily since she was taking pictures of all the kids along with the scenery. She smiled at her husband and said, "Are you?"
"Oh, this is fun," Castle replied. "Reminds me of Alexis," he then commented before he was tugging the holder down. He was watching to make sure the kite wouldn't fall to the water, distracted suddenly by his wife touching his shoulder before she spoke.
"You're going to let me take her," Beckett informed him.
"Sure, but this thing is going to go into the water when that happens," Castle said. He glanced at his wife again, noticing the way she was looking at him, he said, "I don't want to hog the kite," in a rush.
"You'll need to pull it in," Beckett said firmly. She wasn't surprised when her husband was nodding and she then said, "You can be a nerd sometimes love."
"I'm not wearing my glasses," Castle said.
"That argument doesn't work, ask my wife," Skye told him as she walked by them.
"Where are you going?" Beckett asked her friend.
"I have to check the receipt," Skye answered with a smile.
"We have all the kites," Paul said in surprise since he'd heard that.
"I know, I just need to make sure I got the right one for Ivy," Skye replied.
"She seems to like it," Liam told his daughter when she was standing near him.
"It is," Skye said absently, reading the receipt. She then looked at her dad and said, "Sorry, I thought I'd gotten her the same as Iris'."
"They look different," Joseph said.
"Are there going to be fireworks," Pablo suddenly said, looking at the Sea World tower.
"There will be," Skye said with a smile. "Though I have to ask the other parents about staying until eight for that."
"Aren't they at nine?" Liam asked.
"When you and I went Dad," Skye said before someone was tugging on her top. Turning around she saw it was Ivy and she asked, "You're tired of your kite already?"
"No, you went to where that tower was?" Ivy asked.
"We did, almost seven years ago," Skye replied. "And I've gone since I was a kid."
"Tell us!" Ivy said eagerly.
"I don't think the others want to hear," Skye was saying slowly.
"Actually, some friends of ours from England went to the one in Orlando not that long ago," Alasdhair said.
"Well, I wouldn't go into detail about the shows," Skye said.
"About the girls' first time?" Mary asked her wife since she'd walked back to the sand with Ivy.
"Yeah," Skye replied.
"Tell them, we explored everything, so you don't have to talk about the shows," Mary reminded her.
"I'd like to hear about that," Castle said.
"Before I do that," Skye said while she helped Ivy with her kite to begin flying it again. "Mary and I have thought about taking you guys there."
"We should, to see it," Beckett told her husband when he looked at her.
"I agree," Lily said.
"And me," Rebecca said. "Though what about the Orlando one? I've heard a lot of good things about that one."
"From me," David said, raising his hand before he looked at his oldest when she laughed and then was speaking in the same tone to everyone.
"He wants to go on the roller coasters," Mari said. "And see the animals too," she told her father with a wide smile when he was pretending to glare at her. "Watch out for Dani's kite Dad," she said quickly.
After the mayor had righted his youngest's kite, Skye said, "We have two places."
"Three," the older kids said suddenly. They were laughing at the way the adults were looking at them briefly before they took a moment to watch their kites again.
"I'm guessing you talked to them about Legoland?" Skye asked.
"I've always wanted to go there," Castle said immediately.
"Me too," Brad said to his friend.
"We'll have them for next time," Mary commented.
"Now you need to tell us the story," Stella said. She smiled at the McDouglas women when they looked at her and she said, "I'm interested in hearing about it."
"Good to know," Mary said. "They were five… though it was in March the year they were going to turn six."
"Spring Break," Skye took up when her wife was looking to her. "But we had spent their first one two years before staying at home and the one after that going around LA. So we decided they were old enough and brought them here, we went to the zoo first and then the little places like Old Town. The Thursday we had we went to Sea World and had a hard time keeping them calm."
"Did you see that whale! It jumped in the air!" Marie said happily to her mothers.
"We did and we enjoyed it as much as you did," Skye assured her daughter. "But we can't go running around the park, okay?"
"What will we do now?" Kathleen asked eagerly.
"I think we should head to the tori," Skye told her wife since she was looking at her.
"Good idea," Mary said, the word having been Japanese for birds. She was already aware her wife meant the penguins, and they took their daughters' hands more securely and walked them along the entrance of the park. They soon came to the Journey to Atlantis ride and watched the drop of the water coaster as the boats were going down it.
"Are we gonna go?" Kathleen asked.
"Oh no," Mary said firmly.
"She says that because she's scared of the ride," Skye said jokingly. When her wife glared at her she said, "Well, to be honest you are. But I'm saying the same thing because you two are way too little."
"Are we gonna go on a ride?" Marie asked in obvious disappointment.
"Maybe," Skye said while she looked at her wife. "Arctic?" she asked her.
"You know I'm fine with that," Mary said firmly. "But we need to check on these two."
"Then we'll do that first?" Skye asked.
"We're going to reach it first," Mary replied before they looked at their daughters.
"We can go now?" Marie asked eagerly. She turned to her sister when their mothers were nodding and she said, "Okay, let's go!"
"We're going," Mary said laughingly before they walked with their mothers. When she saw the large radar screen in front of a line she asked, "This is the ride?"
"It is," Skye said, about to tell the girls what it was called when Kathleen was asking about the name.
"Does that say wild?" the little girl inquired.
"It does, Wild Arctic," Mary read for them since she knew they wouldn't be able to read it right away. "And it's like Star Tours in Disneyland."
"Does that mean we can go?" Marie asked hopefully.
"We'll see right now," Skye said before they were walking up to the end of the line where a worker was. She was relieved when both girls were just tall enough for the ride and they walked inside to wait their turn.
"What will we do after the ride?" Marie asked, squeezing at Mary's hand tightly.
"Are you nervous?" the doctor asked with a smile. When the little girl nodded Mary let go of her hand and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I do enjoy this ride," she said.
"Good," Kathleen said, leaning against Skye.
"Should we let you two go?" the investigator asked jokingly. Skye laughed when the two protested instantly and she stopped them quickly before kissing the tops of their heads. "We're going right now," she told them before they walked onto the ride. She and her wife had the girls sit in between them and they were exchanging a glance towards the end since their daughters had obviously enjoyed it. When they were walking off it, she told them, "You two were very brave."
"Have you been… animals!" Marie started to say before she was crying out at the end.
"Easy, they have them here and we're going to walk through them together," Skye said firmly.
"We'll stay," Kathleen said with a giggle before they were beginning to walk through the different arctic animals.
"Can we get something here?" Marie asked after they'd reached the gift shop at the end.
"We're going to wait until later," Mary said. "We don't want to carry bags the whole day," she added when the girls looked a little annoyed before Kathleen was speaking sternly.
"You have a bag Mommy," the little girl said.
"More than one bag," Skye said, squeezing Kathleen's shoulder gently. "Are you ready to see the next thing?"
"Is it another ride?" Marie asked eagerly.
"No, but you won't mind," Skye said, laughing when the girls were looking at her and her wife in confusion. They led them to the building next to Wild Arctic and she said, "Though it's not that much of a surprise."
"Pen," Marie started to read before she paused. "Mummy I can't read those words."
"I'm not surprised, can you spell it though?" Skye asked, sharing a smile with her wife when their daughters were spelling out the word penguins.
"Is that penguins?" Kathleen asked, the word suddenly coming to her.
"It is," Mary answered. "Want to go inside?"
"But they're outside," Marie pointed out.
"We save those for after we can see the inside," Skye said. She wasn't surprised when the girls nodded and they walked together to the entrance, not surprised when the two were shivering at the sudden drop in temperature.
"Do you two need your jackets?" Mary asked immediately.
"No," Kathleen said, pressing close to her.
"Come here," Skye was saying to Marie in amusement, picking her up. Once she had the little girl set on her hip she asked her wife, "Walkway?"
"Unless they want to put their jackets on," Mary said, looking at the girls. She and her wife laughed when the two shook their heads and she told them, "Then here we go," as they walked further inside.
"There they are!" Kathleen said happily to her twin when their mothers had stepped onto the moving walkway.
"I see them," Marie replied in the same tone, smiling back at her sister. They were watching the birds while they moved by them before they were walking into the next room. "That's all we can see them?" she asked in obvious disappointment while she and Kathleen were set down.
"It is, but if you two would put on your jackets we could go to the platform," Skye told them.
Running her hand over Kathleen's hair, Mary said, "When we're outside again we won't need the jackets."
"You and Mummy aren't wearing any," Marie said.
"You're too smart," Skye said teasingly, smiling at the little girl giggling in response. She then said, "Your mom is in a long-sleeved shirt, I'm warm enough in my top."
"Okay," Marie said after she and Kathleen had shared a look. "But just inside here."
"Yes," Mary said.
"And after we can look over there?" Kathleen asked while Mary was helping her into her jacket.
"We have to," Skye said in amusement. Once she had Marie's jacket set on the little girl, she took her hand and they headed back into the room to go up to the platform. When the twins were leaning against the railing to watch the penguins, she took Mary's hand and sat with her on a bench near their daughters. "It's going well," she said.
"I know," Mary replied. "Did you think they wouldn't like it?"
"I was hoping they would," Skye said seriously. She then leaned over and gently brushed her lips to her wife's before she said, "And you're enjoying it."
"I am," Mary said in amusement. "You thought I wouldn't?"
"Just making sure," Skye said before she looked at her wife when Mary was leaning against her. She couldn't help smiling before she wrapped her arm around her, continuing to watch their daughters for a little longer before they were forcing themselves to get up after a brief kiss. Once they had the girls, they were going to the next room and watching the puffins there.
"I liked this one," Marie told her mothers when they were walking away from the penguins.
"I'm not surprised," Mary commented while they watched Skye looking at the map. "I thought you said you remembered it here grá?"
"I haven't been in almost twelve years," Skye shot back before Kathleen was tugging on the bottom of her shirt while she spoke.
"Are we going to have lunch soon?" the little girl asked.
"That's what I was checking on," Skye said. "But we might have to walk grá."
"Where is it?" Mary asked.
"By the Shipwreck ride," Skye explained.
"Another ride?" Kathleen asked with a gasp.
"I don't know if it's running yet, but hopefully it is so we can watch it," Mary said before she and her wife were leading the girls.
While they walked along the entrance again, Skye said, "We'll go around from this way."
"Are we going to the other two shows?" Mary asked her wife.
"Yes, I was thinking of leaving them for later," Skye said. "So we can walk off lunch."
"Good idea," Mary said, smiling at their daughters since they were peering up at them. "Pay attention to where you're walking," she told the two.
"Where are we gonna eat?" Marie then asked.
"Right here," Skye said, relieved they'd finally reached the restaurant. After they were in line she went to her wife and murmured into her ear before Mary was nodding in agreement about allowing them to have dessert.
"We're sharing though," Mary told her.
"Sharing what?" Marie asked swiftly.
"Your mum is giving me some fries, she said she's getting waffle fries," Mary said quickly.
"You two will share them too," Skye said before the girls could respond and they were soon walking further down the line. She and Mary got food for their girls before getting theirs and they were able to get a table. "Don't just eat your fries," she told the pair when they began to eat.
"We won't," Marie promised, her sister nodding next to her. She smiled when Mary kissed her cheek, before she picked up one of her chicken tenders.
When they'd finished eating their lunch, Skye kissed Kathleen's cheek and had her move to sit on her mother's lap while she went back in line for their dessert. "Be good," she called to them.
"Mommy?" Kathleen asked.
"You'll see when she comes back," Mary said firmly.
"I know what Mummy went to get," Marie said in the same tone of voice.
"Oh really?" Mary asked, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, she went to get dessert," Kathleen said eagerly.
"What's for dessert?" Marie asked, wrapping her arms around Mary's arm.
"She's coming with it right now," Mary said, smiling to herself when the girls' gasps of delight were loud.
"So I'm guessing you won't mind sharing this?" Skye asked, setting down the plate with a chocolate covered Shamu cookie down in the middle, the cookie on a 'wave' of light blue whipped cream. She and Mary had to calm their daughters down in their exuberance in agreeing with her and she said, "I mean to cut this, so you know," before Marie was talking rapidly.
"I want the mouth!" the little girl said happily.
"I think you mean the front," Mary corrected her.
"What part would you like?" Skye directed to their youngest.
"The tail," Kathleen replied. "And lots of whipped cream!"
"I want that too!" Marie begged.
"We'll all have some," Skye assured them as she began dividing the cookie. After the girls and Mary had them, she was about to dip her piece into the whipped cream when her wife was stopping her.
"You don't want the fin?" Mary asked.
"I'm good," Skye said. They turned to their daughters, who were licking at their fingertips, and she laughingly turned to Marie while her wife was helping Kathleen. Once they were walking out of the restaurant, they took them to the ride, watching as the rafts on it were going by. She couldn't help sharing a brief kiss with Mary, pleased at how happy their daughters were before they continued through the park.