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: Great receiving the feedback I did for the last chapter so I'll start on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Pleased to see you thought the last chapter was very good writing. And I was so happy that you think it's so much fun reading, since with the vacation stories I never am totally sure, lol, but I'm glad you like it!) and
Mb (I was pleased you thought it was nice the ladies had what you called a play date and let the husbands spend the morning with the kids, I wanted to do something different there. Really glad that you enjoyed the new addition to Skye and Mary's house and how they were able to see everything they had there. I hate not having Alexis and Louis there, but I do have to have them seeing his family so I was relieved you thought it was good that they went! And I'm not surprised you're thinking his family will go to the Hamptons once the twins are born. You're welcome for sharing the first half of the chapter! Great seeing you thought the second half of the chapter was wonderfully written! And I was really glad you thought it was nice too seeing them enjoying being together and relaxed too. I was relieved to read that you enjoy Bath and Body Works since I do too, lol, and I just felt like including it here. I go for the body wash, sprays and candles myself. And I was so glad you like the candles and holders since I have a themed, sort of, holder for each month I display, lol, this month is a pumpkin one for September. So I was really happy reading that! Pleased you thought it was great seeing them relaxed and happy! You're welcome for sharing the second half of the chapter!).
Thanks for the reviews, I loved reading them and appreciate 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 You and I written by John Deacon, from the Queen album A Day at the Races.
Happy As We're Feeling Tonight
"Does anyone want something to drink?" Mary asked while she walked over to the fridge. "Wine?"
"Are you getting everyone drunk grá?" Skye asked with a smile while she was setting the last container of food on the island.
"No, just seeing what everyone wants to drink," Mary replied. She glanced at her wife and asked, "You didn't hear the first part, did you?"
"I didn't, was a bit busy," Skye replied.
"Did you get everything?" Darnley asked.
"Yeah, luckily we did," Skye said, looking at the containers.
"Why Dim Sum?" Beckett asked.
Smiling Skye said, "We do like Dim Sum too you know."
"Though if you get the exact ones my wife likes I'm going to be suspicious," Castle said.
"And you realize we like basically the same things," Lily said. When the writer merely shrugged, she laughed and looked at everything on the counter. "It looks good," she said.
"This place is great," Mary said. "We went there for our… fourth date?"
"I think so," Skye replied since her wife had been asking her. "And our girls love it too."
"Are we eating now?" David asked.
"He's hungry if you can't tell," Rebecca said wryly.
"Yes, let's eat now before it gets any later," Mary told the others before she ushered them to the island. Walking over to her wife she brushed her lips to the investigator's and told her, "Did you grab the spring rolls?"
"Good excuse," Skye said before they were brushing their lips together again. When they parted, they looked to the island while Darnley was calling out to them.
"Hey, you guys are coming to eat too, right? We don't want to take it all," the carpenter said. "And stop making out."
"I was waiting for that," Beckett said wryly since she was looking at her friend.
"So was I, and we'll stop," Skye said, taking her wife's hand before they were walking up to the others.
"Are we still feeling weird?" Brad asked everyone while he was handing his wife a plate.
"No," Lily told her husband firmly, nudging him in the side playfully. "Though did we decide what we're doing now exactly?"
"The game room, right?" Castle asked them.
"The kids gave us permission," David stated.
"And they were very insistent about us playing everything," Nkosi said.
Smiling, Castle asked, "Maddy and Keo?"
"Yeah, I'm blaming all your kids for that one," Darnley said jokingly, he and his husband waiting for the others to get their food. "Except for Josie and Sophie."
"Thanks," Beckett said wryly. She then picked up a bao before she said to the others, "But they're right, the kids that could insist on it were."
"What about Alexis and Louis?" Skye asked.
"They weren't insisting but I suggested they join us, and they said no," Castle said.
Placing her hand on her husband's arm, Beckett told the others, "I think they want some kind of practice."
"They'll be fine though," David said.
"They've taken care of babies," Lily added. "Both of them," she then said before Skye was speaking quickly.
"I would imagine they're still worried," the investigator said.
"Of course they are," Castle said in agreement. When Skye and Mary finished getting food for their plates, he followed his wife to the pool room where they went to the patio table they'd moved outside. "But we're not going to talk about that are we?" he asked.
"No," Beckett said with a smile. "I don't think they'd want us to."
"The kids?" Rebecca asked.
"They'd be upset," David commented.
After they'd stopped laughing, Lily asked, "What does that leave us to talk about?"
"I thought of something," Darnley said. When some groaned out loud, he said, "Geez, am I that bad?"
"You could be," Beckett said, smiling again.
"I was just going to say we should reminisce," Rebecca commented.
"About our past life?" Castle asked.
Shaking her head Rebecca said, "Our relationships now."
"But make it safe for work," Lily said.
"I was going to say," Darnley said in amusement. "How far could we take it?"
"Nothing graphic," Mary said.
"Agreed," the others said at the same time.
"Then what are we talking about and who is first exactly?" Castle asked.
"We'll go first," Nkosi said. He glanced at his husband and seeing the way the carpenter was looking at him said, "Don't be so surprised."
"It's hard not to be," Darnley admitted. "But I'm in agreement. So what are we talking about?"
"Your wedding," Beckett said immediately.
Looking at her in surprise for how fast she'd spoken, Darnley then laughed and said, "I was going to say. But you guys haven't heard about it," directing that to the Davises and Fosters before the mayor was speaking first.
"We will now," David said reassuringly. "We've seen the pictures at your house though."
"And we're assuming it was a nice day," Brad said.
"It was," Nkosi said while his husband was taking his hand and squeezing it firmly before he listened to Darnley begin talking about that day at the end of April.
"I wish she was here," the detective muttered to himself.
"Are you okay?" Sutter asked him.
Sighing, Darnley turned to his partner and said, "To a degree," before he was frowning. "I… I just wish Kate was here."
"Don't feel guilty," Darnley said to her rapidly.
"I am going to a little," Beckett replied. "But I realize you weren't able to get in touch with me."
Nodding, Darnley said, "We were at Tudor Place… the gardens actually."
"That was my decision," Nkosi said. "I had always loved it there, so did my parents." He shifted slightly and then said, "And we were happy to marry there for obvious reasons."
"Someone related to George Washington owned it," Darnley explained. "But once we were out there, I was waiting for Trev with the officiant we had."
Smiling widely when he saw his fiancé walking down the aisle with his parents, Darnley tried not to shift too much before the three were in front of him and his soon to be father-in-law spoke.
"We hope you will be happy," Joseph said, clasping the detective's hands briefly.
"And please take care of our son," Bethany said.
"I will," Darnley said seriously, hugging Nkosi's mother and shaking Joseph's hand. He watched his future in laws hugging their son before he reached out to him, and they turned to the officiant.
"At that point it's the usual stuff," Darnley said.
"And you know our vows already," Nkosi reminded everyone.
"Then why are you telling this story?" Castle couldn't help asking jokingly.
"The reception," Darnley said.
"We held it in the backyard of our house," Nkosi said. "And it started with us walking out to it."
"Well, our first appearance in public as husband and husband," Darnley said.
"You have been waiting to say that," Nkosi said.
"For ages," Darnley told him. He wasn't surprised at the look his new husband was giving him and said, "Okay, okay, hours."
"Minutes?" Nkosi suggested since it hadn't been that long.
"Deal," Darnley said, reaching out so they could shake each other's hand. He laughed when his husband began to and they leaned into one another, kissing gently before the door to the backyard opened.
"Guys," one of Nkosi's co-workers said. "Enough, we're all waiting."
"Here we go," Darnley said with a smile at his husband as they let go of each other and were holding each other's hand.
Stepping out into the backyard, Nkosi held up his hand entwined with his husband's while their guests were applauding. They began greeting them and thanking them for making it to both the ceremony and the reception. After they had reached the table, they were going to sit at, he said to his parents, "Did we talk to everyone?"
"You did," Joseph said with a smile.
"There are not very many people here," Bethany added with a smile. "Though does this mean you are both hungry?"
"Extremely," Darnley said.
"Luckily they are beginning to serve our lunch now," Nkosi said before they were watching the waiters from the catering company walk out from the house with trays.
After they'd eaten, Darnley was surprised when he heard glasses being tapped and told his husband, "At least they let us eat first," not surprised when he was responding.
"Yes, but they are demanding," Nkosi said. He smiled when his husband laughed, and he leaned toward him the same time Darnley was moving to him.
After they'd kissed, the detective was laughing and telling their guests who were catcalling them, "You knew what was going to happen when you did that."
"Are you still in touch with them?" Lily asked the two men.
"My coworkers," Nkosi said. "Since I still work with them of course."
"I know some of them," Skye said swiftly when some of the others were looking at her.
"My coworkers not so much," Darnley said. "Though I do keep in touch with Sutter of course."
"How is she?" Skye asked.
"Good, the last I heard she was debating moving to the FBI still," Darnley said.
"Do you think she will?" Castle asked in surprise.
"No, but she'll do this every so often and decide to stay with Metro," Darnley replied. "Though are we set?"
"No, where did you go for your honeymoon?" Rebecca asked.
"Ocean City," Darnley and Nkosi said at the same time. They glanced at each other and laughed before the latter said, "Since it was so close in Maryland and we'd both been before."
"Many times," Darnley said. "We got a little beach house."
"Tiny I think you want to say," Nkosi reminded his husband.
Laughing briefly, Darnley said, "He's not kidding, it was only one bedroom one bathroom… about the size of an apartment in San Francisco."
"Why there?" Mary asked.
"Have you seen the apartments in New York?" Darnley asked. "You should have seen mine."
"And mine," Beckett said with a smile.
"And you were able to share?" Brad asked.
"Yeah, how did you?" Castle then inquired.
"I crashed on the couch," Darnley said wryly. "Don't worry your wife's virtue remained intact… since I didn't want to go near that." He saw Beckett was putting her hand to her face and he said, "Sorry," though he couldn't help doing so laughingly.
"You had to reassure him," Beckett said, fighting her laughter. She then said, "What about the house?"
"We're still supposed to be safe for work, right?" Darnley asked.
"Yeah," Lily said in amusement.
"Okay, then I'll be brief," Darnley said, sharing a look with his husband. "We got there in the afternoon, took a tour of the house-"
"Which didn't take that long," Nkosi interrupted.
"Right," Darnley said, smiling at him. He then turned back to the others and said, "We took a walk along the beach and went to a restaurant while we were doing that for dinner."
"And that's where it stops being safe," Nkosi commented.
"So please someone else tell a story," Darnley said, exaggerating his begging tone.
"I think we will," David said.
"Mayoral privilege?" Skye asked jokingly.
"Why not?" David replied before they were all laughing together. Once they'd stopped, he said to his wife, "I was thinking of the one week anniversary of our moving in together."
"You mean when I moved in with you," Rebecca said. When her husband tapped his nose with the tip of his finger, she rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, then," before they were looking at Mary who was asking them about that day.
"Did you do something special for the occasion?" the doctor asked.
"Sort of," David said.
Frowning at the expression on his friend's face Castle asked, "Was there a problem?"
"Why don't we just explain?" Rebecca said after she squeezed her husband's arm.
"Go ahead," David said. When his wife was giving him a look he asked, "What?"
"Help me," Rebecca said firmly.
"Oh sure," David was quick to say before they started relating what had happened that night since the anniversary had fallen on a weekday.
"Rebecca?" David called while he walked through the house.
"I'm here," she said, walking down the stairs and smiling at her boyfriend.
"I'm so sorry-" David started to say in a rush.
Since she was standing in front of him, Rebecca was able to stop him by covering his mouth with her hand. "Let me respond to that, even though you're not finished." She couldn't help smiling when her boyfriend was nodding slowly, his eyes wide, and she told him, "I know why you were late, litigation on the Breakers case was going to be rough. But nod if you finished." After he'd done so she removed her hand and then kissed him gently on the lips. "How'd it go?" she asked him with a smile.
"We won," David said while he was drawing her closer abruptly before they were kissing deeply. When his girlfriend was holding onto him tightly and responding he was relieved though he was soon after pulling away from her carefully. "I better change," he said.
"Please, and then we can eat," Rebecca replied.
"You didn't?" David asked in surprise.
Shaking her head Rebecca said firmly, "I wasn't going to do this on our anniversary." She was startled when a strange expression crossed his face and she asked, "You forgot."
Brushing his lips to hers, David went to his briefcase and pulled something out of it before he said, "Of course I didn't."
Smiling, since he'd handed her a nosegay of rosebuds in pinks and reds, Rebecca threw her free arm around him, kissing him tenderly. When they parted, she said, "Thank you, though you preceded me."
"Not really, that's to decorate our table for dinner," David said, kissing her briefly again and walking to the kitchen. He picked out a small vase before he took the nosegay from her and took it to the table that was partially set. "I have something for later," he told her. At the slight frown on her face, he smiled and said, "You do have something for me."
"Yes, but it's not extravagant," Rebecca informed him.
"Oh, don't worry, neither is mine," David said before he kissed her again. He couldn't help himself, doing so deeply before he was hurrying up the stairs. He changed as fast as he could without leaving a mess behind him, racing down to the kitchen.
"I'm surprised you didn't trip coming down," Rebecca teased him once he was with her.
"I wanted to get back here," David explained, watching her stirring a pot of soup on the stove. "I forgot to ask, what did you decide on?"
"You're going to be surprised," Rebecca answered. "Something simple, we're having tomato soup and BLTs," she told him while she was watching him though he was shortly after responding with a beaming smile to her surprise.
"Definitely my favorite," David said, stepping closer to her before he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He kissed at the back of her shoulder before he said, "I'll have to make it up to you, won't I?"
"I'm not going to force you to," Rebecca told him with a smile. "But I know you're planning it already."
"Yes, tomorrow night if that works out," David said.
"It will for me," Rebecca replied with a smile. She shared a brief kiss with him before asking him to assist her in serving their food.
Sitting together at the kitchen table, David and Rebecca discussed his case while they were eating, sitting close together until they had finished and were cleaning up.
"Okay, we're finished," David said once the last thing was put away into the dishwasher. Before his girlfriend could say anything, he was grabbing her hand and pulling her to the couch.
"Hold on," Rebecca said in amusement when he tried to make her sit. "I need to get your gift too."
The two left then and hurried to get their items in their offices before they were together on the couch.
"You first," David told her, handing the gift bag he'd put the item in to her.
"Thank you," Rebecca replied, reaching in and grabbing a book. Pulling it out she laughed and said, "Nice."
"You like it?" David asked, the book of recipes to make items found in high teas.
"I do, I might do some of these for a lunch," Rebecca replied before she leaned over and gently kissed him.
"You still have that book," Beckett said when the two were pausing.
"Of course, David loves when I make high tea for lunch," Rebecca replied. "The girls too."
"Now tell us about your gift for David," Darnley said swiftly, the couple laughing before they continued.
"Now you," Rebecca said with a smile while she handed him the bag she'd gotten.
"I see we didn't go that fancy," David commented.
"Tell me that in a year," Rebecca said with a slight smirk when her boyfriend was looking at her in surprise.
"So that means you're going to be wrapping," David stated. When she looked pointedly at the bag on his lap he said, "Okay," reaching into it and pulling out a book.
"We thought alike," Rebecca told him when he was looking at her.
"Thank you though I am really happy with this one," David said, leaning into her and kissing her. After they'd parted, he asked, "Want to read it after me?"
"I need to, I read the first two pages already," Rebecca said before she took the book from him and placed it on the coffee table with hers.
"Becca you-" David started to say before his girlfriend was suddenly kissing him and he was responding as fervently as he could.
"What was the book?" Brad asked in surprise when the couple stopped talking.
"His," David said.
"Which?" Castle asked, not speaking in surprised since he'd expected it.
"Storm Rising," Rebecca answered. "That was the only time one of them was a gift though, we just bought it outright so we could read it."
"You're our friends already," Beckett told her teasingly.
"I have to be honest," Rebecca replied.
"Is that it for your story?" Skye asked.
"That's safe for work? Yes," David answered before his wife could and he looked at the investigator pointedly before Brad was clearing his throat.
They were all looking at the chief before Lily rolled her eyes and was speaking swiftly before her husband could.
"I think he wants us to tell you guys our memory," the chef said.
"Do you know already?" Castle asked.
"No clue," Lily said before she looked pointedly at her husband.
Smiling, Brad said, "Something we didn't really go into much detail about."
"Whoa," Darnley said in mock exaggeration. "Safe for work remember?"
"Our first date," Brad said in exaggerated annoyance.
"Kate knows a little more detail," Lily then said after her husband had squeezed her hand.
"You can tell them," Beckett said swiftly when the chief looked like he was going to speak.
"Great," Brad said eagerly. He had been planning to continue but he'd begun laughing when his wife did, and he shared a quick hug with her. "Sorry, it was an amazing night," he said once he was calm. "You know how that is."
"I do," Castle said, not surprised when his friend had turned to him. "But I think yours was way different from ours."
"You'll tell us, right?" Skye asked.
"Wait until our turn," Beckett said with a smile.
"So I asked her out," Brad said, not surprised when the two women were turning to him shortly after that. He then glanced at his wife, smiling when she rolled her eyes before she spoke.
"He was trying to find the right restaurant and finally broke down asking what I wanted," Lily replied.
"And what did you want to do?" Nkosi asked.
"I asked him to make dinner for us if it wasn't too much trouble," Lily replied.
"And I said it wasn't," Brad took up quickly with a smile. "And I was going crazy until she arrived but luckily things went well."
"Brad," Lily said after her boyfriend had opened the door to his apartment for her. When he looked at her with slightly widened eyes, she smiled and told him, "I can tell by your eyes you're freaking out. Stop it."
"Come inside," Brad said swiftly to cover the fact that she was right. He locked the door while she was taking off her jacket and he said, "Is it raining?"
"Sprinkling," Lily replied. Turning to face him she said, "And don't worry if it does start raining. Though I'm getting the feeling you'll still escort me home."
"If I hadn't needed my kitchen we would be at your place," Brad said, hanging her jacket in the entry closet. He then reached for her hand and raised it to his lips kissing the back before he said, "And I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too," Lily said while they were gazing at one another. She was about to tell him he didn't need to hesitate when a timer was going off and she looked on with a smile as the detective was racing to the kitchen while he was calling back to her.
"I made some empanadas," Brad said. "And I really don't want to make us order anything."
"It smells like you're good," Lily told him, walking after him.
"Yeah, you're right," Brad told her after taking the pan out of the oven. "Chorizo and Manchego cheese… you like?"
"Separately?" Lily responded with her own question.
"Yes," Brad said.
"I can't wait to try these," Lily replied before she watched him getting something else out of the oven.
"A little corn casserole," Brad explained. "And that's dinner."
Since she had walked around the small island his kitchen apartment had, Lily cupped his cheek before she said, "And I'm so glad I'm here."
Taking her hand, Brad was about to move to start serving them, but the temptation was too great, and he leaned down to her. Feeling her responding to him as he kissed her tenderly, he was overjoyed and tried not to linger for too long before they were parting. "Hungry?" he asked her.
"Hmm, definitely," Lily said with a smile before he was brushing his lips briefly to her own. When they'd parted, she said, "But you need to let me go first."
"Right," Brad said, doing so swiftly. He turned to the plates he had stacked and was about to get her food when his girlfriend was taking the top one from him. "I was going to do the gentleman thing," he told her, watching her getting her food.
"I realize but you didn't need to," Lily replied easily before she went to his table. Sitting she looked at the bottle of wine he had there and said, "I'll pour."
"You know you are my guest," Brad told her, sitting next to her.
"And it's not that difficult to do this," Lily said easily, pouring the wine for them both. "But now we're set I think we should change the subject."
"Do you want me to talk about my work?" Brad asked hesitantly.
"No," Lily replied. "Unless you wanted to of course. But I wanted to tell you about what happened with my sous chef today."
"Are you alright as head still?" Brad inquired.
"Oh yes," Lily said. "But it was funny and luckily didn't affect the food," she added before he was speaking rapidly.
"Then tell me, I'm all ears," Brad said, smiling when she laughed. Once she calmed down and began to speak, he resisted the urge to take her hand while she was relating the story. He couldn't help laughing, since the sous chef had ended up flipping the piece of fish she'd been cooking too high and onto the plate it was going to belong to. "The chances of that have to be astronomical," he said when she'd finished.
"The funniest thing was her face," Lily replied, handing him her plate since they'd finished. She got her phone and quickly went to her gallery before she was showing her boyfriend the picture she'd taken.
"You had a chance to take that?" Brad asked her in surprise.
"Amazingly I did," Lily said, turning off her phone and setting it aside. She smiled and said, "But she was relieved, and I told her not to worry about it."
"Was it lunch?" Brad said. At his girlfriend's nod he said, "She was lucky."
Lily smiled and was about to walk to the kitchen after him when he was stopping her.
"I'll take care of this," Brad told her firmly. He wasn't surprised when she was hesitating and he assured her saying, "Seriously, it's not that much anyway."
Nodding, Lily went to her purse by the front door before she was taking out her Altoid mint tin before putting one in her mouth.
"Dessert already?" Brad asked, having seen her.
"No, a mint," Lily replied. "Want one?" she asked.
"Yeah," Brad said quickly since he was aware his breath likely wasn't that great. He watched her walk over to him and he was about to dry his hands before she was slipping the mint into his mouth. "Thanks," he told her around it.
"You're welcome," Lily said with a smile, watching him wash the second plate.
"Okay," Brad said as soon as he was finished. "Would you like dessert now or anything?"
"I'd prefer to wait," Lily said while she was taking his hand and they were walking to his couch. "Dinner was great," she told him.
"And I'm so relieved," Brad said, watching her laugh before she was taking his hand. He then said seriously, "Lily."
Looking at him in surprise, the chef was soon smiling briefly when he began leaning into her. Lily was quick to respond to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly until they were slowly parting. "I think I see what you're doing now," she told him, smiling when a confused expression appeared on his face before he was responding.
"And what exactly is that?" Brad asked her.
"Oh, easing me into the part where we start making out," Lily said.
"I didn't expect that, not on the first date," Brad said defensively.
"No, but you'd like to," Lily replied.
"We don't need to fully make out," Brad said swiftly. "And you know talking is nice."
Cupping his cheek with her hand Lily said, "It is, but not as nice as this."
"So that's where the safe for work ends?" Mary asked.
"We didn't do anything other than kiss," Brad told the others firmly. He saw the looks on their faces and said, "Believe me or not," before his wife was placing her hand on his chest to stop him before one of their friends spoke.
"I do," Beckett said.
"That's because you know me," Lily told her friend teasingly while she was smiling. "But it was a great date… after being cheated on I really needed it."
"So, which one of us is going next?" Castle asked the McDouglas women.
"We can do that," Skye said, looking at her wife who was nodding shortly after. She smiled and then said, "Though I'm going to leave it to Mary to decide what she wants to relate." Glancing at her again she said, "Unless you didn't think of anything."
"Oh no, I did," Mary said easily. She leaned into her and murmured to the investigator before Skye was nodding to her. "Okay, so this was a month and a half or so…" she started to say.
"Around there," Skye replied. "I can't remember exactly."
"It was after I'd moved in," Mary then said. "I came home a little early, intent on a surprise for Skye since she'd been having a little trouble with the investigation she'd been on. But once I got inside, I was a little surprised to find her there already."
"Skye!" Mary said, seeing her girlfriend sitting at the island with her face on her arms. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Skye replied with a sigh, raising her head. "I had to talk to the FAA today."
"Oh," Mary said in understanding. "And it didn't go well?"
"To a degree it did," Skye replied. "I didn't lose my temper."
"Do you think they're going to take your recommendation?" Mary asked.
"Recommendations," Skye corrected before she was sighing again. "Doug said he'll talk to them."
"He better," Mary said firmly, smiling at her girlfriend's laugh. She then cupped Skye's cheeks with her hands and was kissing her gently on the lips before telling her, "You ruined my surprise for you," not surprised when her girlfriend was responding to that immediately.
"Surprise?" Skye asked. When her girlfriend kissed her gently on the lips, she was responding in a rush before she pulled away first.
"Yes," Mary said quickly before she could respond.
"Well," Skye began slowly. "Maybe you could still do it."
"I might," Mary replied. "Though I wasn't expecting you back home until an hour or so from now."
"I don't feel like moving," Skye said firmly.
Laughing softly, Mary nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you. Just don't ask any questions."
"Alright," Skye said, looking on while her wife was going around the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to find her making a sub sandwich and she asked, "How big is that going to be?"
"We'll split it," Mary answered. "Want some chips or anything else?"
"Whatever you were going to let me have," Skye said. When Mary was grabbing something from the pantry she called, "Dessert?" freezing when her girlfriend turned around with a smile.
"I have something in mind," Mary replied. She then realized the investigator wasn't responding to her and she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Come here," Skye said. When her girlfriend was close, she pulled her closer and kissed her deeply before she told her, "You're beautiful."
"Hmm, you too," Mary said before she swooped into her girlfriend and captured her lips hungrily.
"Not too much is it?" Skye asked the others.
"We talked about doing the same," Darnley said, about to add to that when his husband was doing so first.
"And at least you didn't go into detail," Nkosi said.
"Yeah, like you jammed your tongues down each other's throats," Darnley added with a smile.
"Oh, beautiful imagery," Rebecca said, shaking her head.
"We don't really do that," Mary said.
"Right, and you don't want to hear about her surprise for me?" Skye asked them.
"Keep going," Lily told the women.
"I'll start," Mary told her wife with a smile when Skye turned to her. She looked at the others around the table and said, "I finished up dinner and we headed out to the beach."
"Man, it's cold," Skye said.
"Are you going to complain the entire time?" Mary asked her girlfriend.
"Yes, though don't suggest going home," Skye replied easily before they were laughing together.
"I'm glad to hear that," Mary said.
"I'm fine," Skye assured her. "Though I did need this."
"Are you finished with the investigation?" Mary asked her before she took a sip from the covered cup she'd brought.
"Luckily I am," Skye answered. She then smiled and said, "So I'm off for a few days."
"What do you have after?" Mary said.
"I need to give a lecture at UCLA," Skye said.
"Series?" Mary asked immediately. When her girlfriend nodded, she said, "Now it's your turn."
"Mine is going to be three days," Skye said, her girlfriend having spoken for two days for a former professor's classes.
"Which professor?" Mary said with a frown.
"Dr. Taggart," Skye replied.
"And in which capacity?" Mary inquired.
"Both," Skye said easily. "I was thinking of focusing on the investigations I've had where I had to get into the pilot's mind… or the crew I should say."
"Sounds like it would work," Mary said, nodding her head. "But why does she want you to talk about that?"
"The class goes over human reactions to different situations," Skye explained. "She had a vote in the class if they wanted to hear about this, and they did want to."
"How many classes?" Mary asked.
"Two, one in the morning at ten and the second from one to two," Skye said. She smiled at her girlfriend and said, "I'll have to get a surprise ready for you."
"Maybe," Mary told her. "And I forgot to tell you that I'm off tomorrow."
"Really," Skye stated instead of asking. She smiled while her girlfriend was laughing and she cupped her cheek gently before she told her, "We'll have to think of something tomorrow," trying not to laugh when Mary was racing to respond.
"I don't think so," the doctor said.
"This one's not safe for work?" Brad asked with a smile when the two women stopped and looked at each other.
"From that point, no," Skye said. "But it was nice to relax after that day."
"Considering what you did after that… it sounds like," Darnley said teasingly.
"That's none of your business," Mary replied.
"I think that means we're next love," Castle told his wife when the others were looking at him and his wife.
"It does," Beckett said. "And yes, we can tell them," she said before she was smiling. "Since you already mentioned it."
"Our first date," Castle replied before looking at the Davises.
"That's fine," Brad said swiftly, glancing at Lily before she was laughing.
"It is," the chef said.
"You haven't told the others though?" Brad asked them.
"No," Darnley said so exaggeratedly that they were all laughing together. It took a little for them to calm down but once they had he said, "Seriously, you mentioned your dates were usually at your places… apartments?"
"Close enough," Beckett replied. "And they needed to be."
"So is this the first date you ever had or the first where you went somewhere else?" Rebecca asked.
"First date of any kind," Castle answered though he was looking at his wife while he spoke. At her nod he said to her, "Together?"
"Yes," Beckett told him firmly before she allowed him to begin since it had been at the loft.
"Hey, did you make it over alright?" Castle asked, not surprised her response was a joke.
"It was agony," Beckett said, stepping aside to allow him to close the door behind her. "But I am glad to see you, in case you were fishing."
"I wasn't, but I'm happy to hear you say that," Castle replied easily before he was leaning down to her and kissing her tenderly. "You need to take that into the bedroom, don't you?" he asked when they'd parted.
"You noticed," Beckett stated in amusement since her overnight bag had gently hit him on the back.
"Of course I did," Castle replied before they were letting go of each other. "I would show you over there, but I need to start the dinner."
"You didn't start it?" Beckett asked, obviously startled.
"It needs to be fresh," Castle said simply, not surprised she'd cupped his cheek before walking to his room.
Stepping inside the bedroom, Beckett went to her boyfriend's closet to put away her things, not surprised to see he had obviously cleared a place for her to do so. When she was stepping up to the bed she paused for a moment, and then shook herself since Castle was calling her. "I appreciate the space," she told him, moving to lean against the other side of the island.
"I thought it would make things go a lot faster," Castle said.
"What did you want?" Beckett asked him with a smile.
"Would you want wine with dinner at all?" Castle responded with his own question.
"Of course," Beckett said. "But I'll have to get it," she told him before he was speaking in slight consternation.
"I was going… never mind," Castle began before he trailed off and stopped there. "I was going for the Jacobin 2009 bottle."
Nodding, Beckett went to his wine fridge and searched the bottles before she pulled out the one he wanted before she asked, "What're your plans for tomorrow?"
"You want to know already?" Castle asked.
"I would," Beckett said.
"You have plans," Castle said with a slight frown.
"No," Beckett told him firmly. "I would like to suggest something."
"Go ahead," Castle replied. "Though I should tell you I think we're thinking of the same thing."
"Staying in?" Beckett asked. When her boyfriend nodded, she smiled and told him, "Good."
Glancing up at her for speaking so simply, Castle had to turn his attention back to the wok on the stove in front of him since he was making Chinese for them. After he'd turned off the burner he asked, "Are you ready to eat?" watching her pouring the wine for them.
"I am," Becket said. "Where can I take these?"
"The table over here," Castle replied. "I'm planning on serving us here." While she walked away, he was turning his attention to the food and dishing it out. He took the plates to the table before she walked back to him, and he set them down a little hard before he grabbed her.
Relieved she had set down the glasses already, Beckett was wrapping her arms around her boyfriend as he kissed her deeply. Feeling the way he was clutching at her she was a little uncertain they were going to end up eating yet and she tried to continue to respond to him the best she could before he was literally tearing himself away from her.
"I… haven't seen you for a while?" Castle asked her.
Beckett couldn't help laughing, not surprised when her boyfriend was doing the same before she could say, "I don't think you need an excuse, but I did want to eat this now before it got cold. Since you went to a lot of trouble with it."
"Not really, but I appreciate you do," Castle said before he reluctantly let her go. They sat together to eat, though he couldn't help glancing towards his bedroom for a moment before he focused on his girlfriend while they talked together.
"Guys, this is really unfair," Darnley said.
"You mean for you?" Beckett asked him.
"No," Darnley replied in mock annoyance. "I mean you guys," he then told her.
"I think it'd be more unfair if you just played with us at the start," David told the carpenter, not surprised when Darnley's husband was speaking laughingly.
"Very unfair," Nkosi said.
Watching as David and Rebecca were starting to play, Castle couldn't help saying, "Did anyone think of the fact that this is going to take a while?"
"Yes," Brad said firmly, not surprised when his wife placed her hand on his chest. "I blame it on the censorship we did."
"But you still thought about it," David said, standing at the table while his wife joined him.
"Who hasn't?" Skye asked.
"Then should we stop?" Mary said to the others. "We have done everything we planned. Dinner, dessert… some playing."
"You too?" Nkosi asked her.
"Playing just two on two?" Darnley asked quickly.
"Guys," Beckett said then. "You realized we were planning on playing pool."
Castle looked at his wife for that before he noticed the way she was staring at him pointedly and he said, "So you still want to play," slowly.
"No, the two best here," Beckett replied.
"Oh, that would be nice," Skye said.
"She's right," Lily said with a smile.
"Wait, wait," Brad said.
"She means Rick," Mary commented.
"I was going to say," Rebecca stated with a laugh, going to him and handing the writer her cue. "I remember you playing at the Rosburg's."
"I'm not surprised," Castle said before he turned to Darnley seeing David giving him his cue he'd been using. "Though this is just for fun, right?"
Laughing briefly Darnley said, "I'm not a hustler."
"That was a great movie though," Nkosi said.
"We watched that after he found out that I played," Darnley explained while Castle was getting the pool balls racked.
"And well," Nkosi added with a smile.
"Okay," Castle said when he'd finished. "Who's first?"
"You," Darnley replied.
"I would feel so intimidated if this wasn't for fun," Castle said.
"Wait," Darnley then told him, stopping the writer. "Why don't we let Skye and Mary decide?"
"True, it is your table," Castle answered though he was looking at the two women.
Smiling Mary said, "Isn't that a little pressure on us?"
"To be honest I think you should have Rick go first," Skye added.
"Okay," Darnley said, turning to the writer.
When her husband hurried to the table to set up his shot, Beckett smiled at the sight of him leaning over the table. She did her best not to show her interest while the game began with the cue ball striking the triangle loudly.