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: It was great to receive the holiday wish and feedback I got for the last chapter so I'll go ahead and get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Again, thanks for the Christmas wish to me and my family, hope yours turns out to be a great one too!) and
Mb (Really happy to read you thought the first half of the chapter was an interesting update. Not surprised you had more questions about the cases with questions not being answered and there being more questions, lol, an investigation can do that. And you'll see about the reason why Skye collapsed. And I did have to laugh at you saying there were more and more questions. You're welcome for sharing the first half of the chapter! Yeah, I did want to explain why exactly Skye had collapsed, I forgot where it was, lol. And I'm glad you love how everyone's protective of each other! I wasn't surprised that you mentioned how Beckett is opening up a little with her abilities. And I thought it wouldn't be her without her being leery still with the girls having those abilities. Glad you thought it was interesting with the kind of update though of course there were many more questions, lol, had to do that a bit. And you're welcome for sharing the second half of the chapter! Thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you and your family too!).
Thanks so much for the holiday wish and review, 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 Witchy Woman written by Don Henley and Bernie Leadon, from the Eagles album Eagles.
Spellbound In The Night
"Sounds like a lot of people," Skye commented.
"Mari might be here," Alexis said, standing up from one of the table chairs. "Or my husband."
"And might is the better word," Skye said as they were going out into the hallway.
"Looks like everyone's here," Mary quipped before her wife could. She expected Skye to respond to that, but when there was no response, she looked at her in time to see her stride past her.
"Skye-" Beckett started to say, cutting herself off when her friend was grabbing hers and then Julia's arms.
"Castle, come with us," Skye said sternly. "Mari you too."
"But-" Clive started to say with a frown when his brother was stopping him by squeezing his arm gently. "What's going on?"
"Remember those four people I told you she saw in the quad?" Peter asked him. After his brother nodded, he said, "I think this has to do with that."
"Grá," Mary said, racing after them. "What're you doing?"
"Getting in touch with Lyla," Skye replied.
Gently shaking her arm out of the investigator's hold, Beckett said, "You could have told us."
"And would you have followed me?" Skye asked.
"Yes," Beckett replied firmly.
Glancing back at her, Skye was turning quickly to open the door to the pool room and once she ushered everyone inside, she said, "Though you're not exactly needed for this I thought you might want to be here."
"And what exactly is that?" Castle asked, taking his wife's scarf she hadn't had a chance to remove.
"We're going to talk to Lyla," Julia immediately said. When Skye looked at her, she couldn't help smiling and said, "I figured."
"Is she still with you?" the investigator asked.
"Yeah," Julia said simply.
"Then we better start," Skye replied.
"Right here?" Julia asked in confusion.
"Yes, the rest of them came here when I came back," Skye replied. "Lyla?" she then said, looking past the teen's shoulder.
"She's… where's she going?" Julia asked in dismay when the young woman was slipping away from them.
"With everyone else," Skye said. "And she said she had to tell me something." She then turned to the teen and said, "Did she end up telling you anything?"
"Only that it was the car," Julia said before she froze and looked at her mother with wide eyes.
"Why did you lie?" Castle asked.
"Because I didn't want you to freak out," Julia told both her parents. "But nothing happened, and I wasn't tired or anything."
"When did she tell you?" Skye asked suspiciously.
"After my Spanish class, she was getting frustrated," Julia said. "So I didn't have a chance to tell you." She looked around the room and said, "Now either," not surprised the investigator was doing the same before she spoke.
"You better call Brad, tell him to search for the car," Skye said to Castle and Beckett.
"You don't want to call Aspinall?" Castle asked her in surprise.
"I am right now," Skye said before she got her phone out of her pocket.
Watching her husband calling Brad for a moment, Beckett then walked over to their second oldest and she squeezed her shoulder gently.
"So… you're not mad at me?" Julia asked slowly.
"No but you realize you can tell me," Beckett said firmly.
"I know," Julia said. "I just want to be careful still." She smiled when her mother drew her to her for an embrace and she pressed against her close. "Did you… see anything?" she asked.
"Not really," Beckett replied. "Did you tell her not to try to talk to me."
Nodding briefly Julia said, "She's frustrated about that too, but I did tell her the last time that happened you were jumped."
"Thank you," Beckett said. "You're sure she just said the car?"
"Yeah, she said you'll find her wallet in there since she had a really thin one and it slipped when she was going to look for her ticket," Julia replied.
"Did she say how it would look?" Beckett asked, motioning to her husband and Skye.
"No, just that it was thin," Julia said. "But her license was there."
"That will help," Beckett said, going to the two and telling them hurriedly what her daughter had told her.
"She's still mad? They know now," Mari told her friend.
"Maybe a little less but I guess everyone being here did that," Julia said. "Good thing she told me." She then thought of something and was about to go over to Skye but paused when she saw she was on the phone. She sighed and then said, "I think we have to go do our homework."
"You do, we're still going swimming," Beckett said, walking back to them. "You told all of them?"
"I invited the others too," Julia said. "But their parents didn't give them permission."
"Okay, they're going to step up their search for the car," Castle said after he'd hung up his phone.
"And put out an APB," Skye said. "A few of the agents are going to assist."
"Hopefully they'll find it," Castle said. "So… are we going to continue with this or start focusing on the kids?"
"They need to do their homework," Beckett said. "And we need to see if we have enough to make dinner."
"I forgot," Castle said before they were ushering Mari and Julia out into the hall. After the kids were gathered together around the kitchen table, he went to the kitchen, looking at what their parents had picked up on the return home. "I hate to say it Kate-" he began before she was interrupting him with a smile.
"Don't, I can see there's more than enough," Beckett said. "I know you wanted to get something," she added when her husband looked at her in confusion. "But there is enough for everyone."
"I got extra for lunch," Jim explained, walking over to them.
"They can buy tomorrow," Castle said. "I guess that means we're starting."
"I'm starting," Jim said firmly. When his son in law looked at him, he said, "I was serious about making it."
"Everything?" Beckett asked her father.
"I can help," Alexis said from where she was sitting at the table with the kids. "I can take care of the soup."
"She does make a killer tomato soup," Castle said.
"Would it be alright?" Jim said with a smile.
"That's not our decision," Beckett said firmly.
"Great, I'll start now," Alexis said, getting up and walking to the island. She didn't think anything of her father walking by her before she heard the kids laughing. Turning, she sighed when she saw he was bringing over a chair from there and said, "Dad-"
"Just in case you need it," Castle said resolutely.
"Thank you," Alexis said, not surprised when he put the chair against the divider between the kitchen and breakfast nook. "But I've been resting all day, I want a little more exercise," she told her parents.
"We did walk after lunch," Mary said.
"We did but it's time for another," Alexis said firmly.
Castle was about to agree with her, but his wife suddenly walked over to the table, and he watched her in a little surprise before she began to speak.
"Do you guys have your things for swimming?" Beckett asked them.
"I do," Mari said.
"Me too," Peter and Clive said at almost the same time.
"How?" Castle asked as he walked up to his wife.
"When did you ask them to come over?" Beckett asked, turning to Julia.
"Last night," the teen said. "I was going to ask you, but I forgot," Julia added in a rush.
"Luckily you did before you came home," Castle commented, watching Beckett for her answer.
"He's right, but next time remember to ask us," she told their daughter.
"I will," Julia said before she realized her sister was getting up from the table. "You're finished?"
"I am," Eliza replied. "I only had to do a worksheet for handwriting."
"How's that going?" Clive asked her.
When her sister shrugged, Julia couldn't help smiling and told her friends, "She doesn't like it that much."
"And I told you, you just need some practice," Castle said, coming up behind her to take the paper. "You shouldn't worry you know," he then told her.
"No?" Eliza asked in surprise.
"No, this is really good for you only doing this for barely two months," Castle said.
"But my writing is so shaky," Eliza protested.
"You don't think we all start out writing this way?" Castle asked her. He smiled when she hugged him tightly and said, "Go ahead and take that to your backpack."
"Thanks Daddy!" Eliza said before she went down the hall with Rita and Rosie following her.
"How much do you guys have left?" Skye asked, seeing the rest of the kids had been watching the little girl leaving.
"I just have this page to finish for history," Julia explained before she was jumping with the others when Clive slammed his book closed.
"Sorry," the boy said, looking at his math tome in surprise. "I didn't think it would do that," he said before Beckett was speaking in amusement to get his attention.
"That's okay was that the last thing you had to do?" she asked him.
"Yeah… put my stuff away?" Clive asked.
"What else were you going to do?" Peter said with a slight frown to his brother. He tried not to laugh when Clive shrugged and returned to his own history text he was reading. He wasn't surprised when Julia was finishing the reading first but tried to focus on it the best he could before he was done himself. "Okay, now we can go swim right?" he asked, closing his book more carefully than Clive had.
"After you put your things away," Mari said in a matter-of-fact tone. She looked at Julia, who was snorting in suppressed laughter, before she said, "My dad will want me to be ready to go right away."
"Why…" Peter started to say with a frown before the girl was pointing outside. "When did that start?" he asked in surprise, zipping up his backpack.
"Just now," Julia said. "Mom," she called. "I'm going up to my room."
"You don't want to put that away in the hall?" Beckett asked in surprise.
Hesitating for a moment, Julia looked at Mari before she nodded at her mother, and they headed down the hall.
"Have you talked to Louis?" Castle asked his oldest.
"I did, since it was about to rain he had to help make sure everything was ready to go," Alexis answered. "So he might be coming back closer to dinner."
"Are you ready for your appointment on Friday?" Martha asked.
"I am," Alexis said. "Though I'm not looking forward to the drive."
"It's not that bad," Castle said.
"No, but it's still annoying," Alexis replied easily, putting the cover on the pot.
"Mom," Julia called down the hall from where she was standing with everyone at the bottom of the stairs. "We're going to go up to change."
"Except for us," Clive said hurriedly.
"You could go up to a guest room if you want," Castle told them.
"Josie-" Beckett told the toddler when she broke away from her.
"I go too Mama," Josie said in protest when Martha stopped her.
"Not yet," Beckett said.
"They left anyway," Castle commented, having glanced back down the hall to find the kids had gone upstairs. He then said, "Where's Eliza?"
"She went with them," Martha said with a smile. "She slipped out from the game room."
"It isn't a problem yet," Castle said quickly to his wife.
"It isn't," Beckett said in agreement. "She already finished her homework."
"Okay," Castle said slowly.
"Katie," Jim then said to get his daughter's attention. "You still want Josie to have a grilled cheese sandwich."
"I want that Grandpapa," Josie said before her mother could respond. She squealed when she was suddenly picked up and said, "I can have that."
"You can," Beckett said, kissing the side of her head before Josie was insisting she gave her a kiss. "We're taking her up now," she told the others after her husband had briefly touched her back. "Are any of you going to swim?"
"I'll pass," Alexis said, not surprised when her grandparents were looking at her. "And just relax once this soup is finished," she added before her grandmother was speaking to her parents.
"It's almost ready," Martha said.
"I saw that," Castle replied before they were leaving the kitchen and heading to the stairs. "You're taking her?" he asked his wife once they were at the top.
"I am," Beckett said, walking past him to head down the hall. She stopped in front of Eliza's room and knocked on the closed door calling, "Are you okay sweetie?"
"Yeah," the little girl said, a wide smile on her face as she threw open the door. "Can I go with you?"
"You're going to have to," Castle said. "That's why you're asking right? You know we won't let you go to the pool." When she made a face at him, he couldn't help laughing and he took her hand before walking with her after Beckett to Josie's room.
Inside her room at that moment, Julia was turning and said, "Well?"
"I like the fabric," Mari replied. "It's like the tiles we saw in Spain."
"That's why I picked it," Julia said, looking down at her tankini. She could tell her friend was hesitating then and she said, "What is it?"
"I thought you were going to get a more grownup bathing suit this time," Mari said. "Don't be mad."
"I'm not," Julia said swiftly. She snorted and said, "I couldn't even if I wanted."
"So you do want to," Mari said. When her friend shrugged, she squeezed her hand and said, "I feel like that too. My mom said this age is tough."
"No kidding," Julia said. She then shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter, at least I like the pattern on this one." Turning her attention more fully to Mari she said with a smile, "Will you tell me now?" Seeing her hesitating in reaction she said, "Mari, come on you've been teasing me about this all day."
"And last night," the girl said with a wide smile. Mari tried not to laugh at the way Julia was groaning in response and she turned back from her bag she'd brought upstairs with her.
"For me?" Julia asked. At her friend's nod she opened the opaque bag and gasped saying, "You finished it!" not surprised when Mari was responding hurriedly as she shook out the sundress made for her.
"Yeah, I just had to iron it," Mari said. "I would have given it to you yesterday, but Mom wanted me to do that."
"You ironed it all by yourself?" Julia asked in surprise.
"Yeah, my mom got mad at me though," Mari said. When her friend looked at her in obvious confusion she said, "I told her she was mean to make me do it when it was really important to me. But she did stay with me, so I apologized."
"And you ironed it," Julia said, unable to help laughing at the face her friend made at that. "Let me try it on," she then said. She shook out the dress and slipped on the patterned fabric and went to her mirror. "It's perfect," she said happily when she saw Mari walking up behind her. When her friend started to gently tug at the back of the dress, she couldn't help laughing briefly telling her, "You remind me of Stella."
"I have to be sure about the fit," Mari explained, blushing. She gasped when her friend suddenly whirled around and threw her arms around her. "You're welcome," she said.
"You didn't let me say thank you," Julia said, laughingly. "But thanks."
Letting her go Mari said, "I'm glad you liked the fabric."
"You said you did too," Julia replied since they'd gone to the fabric store together in Eastport with her grandmother. The cotton fabric had been on sale and she and her friend had loved the dark blue floral pattern that looked like it could have been from Indonesia, according to Martha. "Well," she said, "I have a dress… what about you?"
"I'm going to make a tunic top," Mari replied. "For summer. But that won't be for a while." They turned to the door then when there was a knock and she said, "The boys?"
"Probably," Julia said while she was walking to the door.
"Are you ready?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Julia said, looking back at her friend before they were walking out into the hall.
"Oh, Mommy, I think they're going downstairs," Eliza said, turning back to her mother.
"You can go with them if you want," Beckett said with a smile, picking Josie up from the bed.
"Sure," Eliza said, rushing out.
"Where did go Mama?" Josie asked.
"Eliza went with your sisters," Beckett said.
"Do I get to…" Josie started to say. "Go?"
"Can you say that all together?" Beckett asked her.
"Do I get to… go," Josie said, a little slow before she said the last word firmly. Smiling at her mother's laughter she then said, "Mama?"
"Sorry sweetie. But yes, we'll go as soon as your daddy is ready too," Beckett said, turning to the bathroom door when she heard it open.
"He's ready now," Castle said. "She left?"
"She did," Beckett said. "I'm not sure if she remembers they're not going into the room either, but I didn't want to stop her."
"Good," Castle said, stepping up to her and kissing her deeply. He'd been intending to be a little less fervent, but as soon as he'd been close, he couldn't stop himself. Gently slipping his tongue into her mouth he could only take a brief moment to caress at hers before she was pulling away. "Too much?" he asked once they were looking at one another.
"No but that's going to have to be it for now," Beckett told him. She wasn't surprised when he merely nodded, and she reached out to squeeze his hand firmly before they were leaving their room.
"Are you finished?" Castle asked once they were in the kitchen and his wife had set Josie down.
"I am, so I'm ready to go in the room with you," Alexis said.
"Are you sure you don't need help Dad?" Beckett said, walking over to him at the stove.
"I am, I'll finish them and keep them in the warming oven," Jim said with a nod. "Enjoy your swim."
"I'll be in with you in a minute," Martha said, going to the wine fridge.
Nodding to her mother-in-law, since she was aware Martha meant to delay as long as possible to keep her father company, Beckett said to the kids, "We can go and swim now."
"Sure," Julia said, squeezing Josie's hand. Her baby sister had rushed over to her from their parents, telling her and Eliza that they had kissed. "You don't have to tell anyone else, okay?" she asked.
"Eh," Josie replied before she was looking at Clive when he began to speak.
"Who else is she going to tell?" the boy asked.
"Just in case," Julia said.
"Yeah, she might say it to Louis when he comes home," Eliza added.
"Guys?" Castle asked, going over to them.
"Oh, we're coming," Julia said rapidly since she realized her parents were waiting for them. She picked Josie up to her giggle and they were walking after them through the kitchen. When they were in the pool room, she went straight to her usual lounge chair and said, "I don't think anyone noticed my dress."
"They don't have to," Mari said reassuringly.
Julia was going to respond to that but hesitated seeing everyone who was going to swim looked like they were ready. She then said, "Well, I'll ask Mom what she thought of it later."
"You don't have to," Mari replied.
Shrugging briefly, Julia then moved to the entry of the pool, seeing her parents were walking to the smaller one with Josie. After she was in the water, she dove underneath and swam to the grotto. When she had come up under the waterfall her father had turned on, she gasped seeing Skye and Mary were already there. "Sorry," she said in slight embarrassment since they were pulling away from each other.
"Don't worry," Mary said. "We should have stopped when you came in," glancing at her wife before the teen was talking in obvious surprise.
"How long have you been here?" Julia asked.
"A while, you took too long," Skye said before she smiled when Julia had to move for Mari. "But we just came straight here."
"What's going on?" Mari asked.
"I caught them kissing in here," Julia said with a smile.
"Wow, thanks for that," Skye said in mock annoyance. She then said, "But yes, and now I feel like going on the slide."
"So do I," Mary said.
"I wonder if you could kiss going on that," Julia couldn't help commenting.
"Someone has to try that out," Mari said, nodding seriously.
"You two," Skye said to them in a mock warning tone of voice. She wasn't surprised when the girls started to giggle and told them, "Also it'd be wildly dangerous to kiss like that."
"We know," Mari said, watching them leave. "I didn't even notice they weren't there with us." She paused and then told her friend, "Actually, I kinda thought they were staying in the room they're in to do… that."
"I'm not surprised," Julia said. When her friend looked at her in confusion she explained, "I figured they were still in their room too." She looked around and said, "Now I feel weird being in here."
"Me too," Mari said, covering her cheeks since she was blushing. "Let's get out of here."
"And go diving?" Julia asked her friend.
"Yeah," Mari said before they were falling back at the entrance with cries of surprise when Peter's head appeared past the water.
"Sorry, what're you doing?" the teen asked.
"We were about to go jumping," Julia said.
"You weren't talking about the case?" Peter asked her.
"No, I know my parents don't want me to right now," Julia said before they were leaving the grotto. "But I don't notice anyone here," she added going over to the side to get out of the water. She was about to move to the steps when her friend took her arm to stop her at the same time she was speaking to her a little worriedly.
"Are you sure about that?" Mari asked.
"Yeah, Lyla told us what she could," Julia replied. "Come on, before we have to go eat," she added, waving towards her parents.
"What were you two doing in the grotto this whole time?" Castle asked Skye and Mary when they were making their way to the entry.
"None of your business," the investigator shot to him though she was smiling shortly after she'd spoken.
"No but if Julia found you, I think it is," Beckett commented.
"We were just kissing," Mary said. "And to be honest we were about to stop anyway."
"Are you sure?" Castle asked. He sputtered, about to say more, when the investigator splashed at him. "You did that when we were kids," he said in mock complaint, brushing the water aside that had gone in his face.
"Well… someone had to make you pipe down," Skye said with a smile. She then nodded to Josie and asked, "Are you going to take her to the pool?"
"We were going to leave right now," Castle said, hopping over the side of the kids' pool.
"Are you in a hurry?" Mary asked, moving out of the way of the slide.
"The boys asked about playing in the game room," Beckett answered, helping Josie sit at the top of the slide.
"Did you warn them it was a bedroom too at the moment?" Skye said.
"Julia did," Castle said. "They said they didn't mind, but they wanted to play there."
"How much longer until their house is finished?" Mary asked.
"They had a little trouble with some supplies, so they won't be able to move in until after Christmas."
"They won't be able to have the holiday there?" Skye asked. When the writers shook their heads she said, "How sad."
"But they have their rental," Mary added. She was surprised when Castle and Beckett were exchanging a look and she was about to ask what had happened with it when Josie was crying out.
"Mama, I want to go!" the toddler said.
"Alright," Beckett said, looking at her husband to make sure he was ready. She let Josie go and watched her land in the water and his hold before she moved to get into the larger pool. "Their time with the rental ends and someone had already asked for it."
"When does that time run out?" Skye asked.
"The Sunday after Thanksgiving," Castle answered.
"Oh good, they'll spend Christmas with us," the investigator immediately responded.
"You knew already?" Beckett asked with a smile.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out," Mary said before Beckett was continuing.
"Isaac and Genevieve told us they tried to find another rental, but with the holidays they'd have to spend a month in a hotel," she began.
"And since we just finished the basement and have two rooms upstairs, we offered to let them stay," Castle said.
"They said no at first, but we insisted since we were aware they didn't want to take Emily to a hotel," Beckett continued. "So they agreed."
"How long will that make it?" Skye asked.
"They're going to start moving some stuff here the day after Thanksgiving," Castle answered. "Some will go into the storage unit they have already, and the rest will stay with them to come here. They also weren't sure about spending Christmas here, but we assured them it was fine."
"Where are the Lord and Lady staying?" Skye then inquired.
"The basement," Beckett said with a smile at the reminder of her cousin's title. "The Lennoxes insisted on taking the rooms in the basement since they'll need two."
"With the baby?" Mary asked in surprise.
"She didn't finish," Castle said. "We told them only Brennan and Clara will need a room."
"Arthur and Ella?" Skye reminded them.
"Yeah, with them," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes and he said, "No they'll stay in Josie's room since we have the baby monitors still."
"And Erin is with Julia, but I think you knew that already," Beckett added.
"Of course we did," Skye said, watching in amusement since Josie was going down the slide yet again. The toddler's parents helping her go down and then back up again while they'd been talking. "Is she going to get tired of that?" she asked.
"Probably not," Castle said.
"And are you two ready for a packed house?" Skye asked. She laughed when Beckett looked at her and said, "I don't think you need to worry, we'll try out the basement."
"Let me guess," Mary said, studying the two. "They'll stay in the basement since we have precedence in having stayed here already."
"They didn't say that," Castle commented. "But they wouldn't let us tell them you two wouldn't mind."
"You're staying in your usual room," Beckett said.
"And is there enough room for all the kids?" Mary asked, amusement evident in her tone.
"If we have to, we can let them stay in the game room," Castle said. "We'll probably have to," he added.
"I'm not surprised," Skye then said. "Alright, since we have that set… Grá, I'm going on that slide."
"That was the plan," Mary said with a smile before she followed her wife out.
"What do you want to do now sweetie?" Beckett then asked Josie since the toddler was refusing to get on the top of the slide.
"Swim," Josie said sternly, smiling when her parents began to laugh.
"Then come down and I'll take you," Castle said, holding his arms out to her. He caught her once she was going down the slide and said, "Should I do the same for you?"
"No," Beckett said simply before she moved to go into the pool herself. Standing next to him she watched Eliza swim up to them and told her, "We were watching," the little girl giggling and then walking rapidly to them as she spoke.
"You don't have to watch all the time now," Eliza said.
"Why not?" Castle asked in surprise.
"I'm not a little girl anymore," Eliza replied. "I'm gonna be eight next year."
"That-" Castle started to say before his wife was reaching out and squeezing at his arm a little roughly.
"We don't watch you because we have to," Beckett said. "We want to."
"Oh," Eliza said slowly. "Will you swim with me Mommy?"
"Of course," Beckett replied after glancing at her husband briefly before he nodded once.
"We'll swim here," Castle called before he turned his attention to Josie. "You still want to swim?" he asked though she was watching her mother and sister. When she merely said, "Eh," he couldn't help laughing and kissed the side of her head before he began helping her move through the water while he held her carefully.
"We can still play… you said," Clive told Julia who was standing at a panel. He was startled when she glanced at him and was about to talk when his brother was doing so first.
"What're you talking about?" Peter said in obvious confusion.
"Sorry I just feel kind of weird since it's a bedroom now," Clive admitted.
"It's only temporary," Mari commented.
"Yeah… I wonder when the twins are going to be born," Clive remarked.
"We don't know yet," Julia said a little laughingly. "But I think my dad wants them to be born on my mom's birthday," she said.
"Don't they usually go to Tahiti?" Peter asked her.
"That's what my mom told him," Julia replied with a smile. "Plus they would be a little early so we're hoping they're born after Thanksgiving."
"We'll see," Alexis said, walking into the room with Louis. "You guys aren't playing."
"I didn't start everything yet," Julia explained, hurriedly pressing the button on the panel.
"You can play pool," Skye commented, entering with the others.
"Are we having dessert tonight?" Eliza asked her parents.
"Just hot chocolate and popcorn," Castle said. "And we'll start that in a little but for now we can start playing." He watched the little girl rush to the baseball game and turned to his wife asking her, "What do you want to do?"
"I was going to let Josie decide," Beckett answered, setting the toddler down.
"Me?" Josie asked shyly, looking up at her parents.
"You don't want to?" Castle asked her. He couldn't help laughing when she giggled and then pressed against him as she wrapped her arms around him. "Okay," he said, picking her up and sharing a kiss with her. "Now will you pick?" he asked her before she was nodding rapidly.
"That," Josie said, pointing.
"Should we teach her not to?" Castle asked his wife while he was walking to the whack-a-mole game.
"We have, I don't think it's going to stick," Beckett commented.
"So you want to just stop?" Castle asked her in surprise. He wasn't surprised when she gave him a look and he nodded briefly before he said, "Okay," setting Josie down. "Are you going to play by yourself?" he asked her.
"No, play with me," Josie told him.
"Let me know if she wants me to play with her at all," Beckett told her husband, squeezing his hand briefly before she went to where Skye was at the pinball machine. "By yourself?" she asked.
"I could say the same to you," the investigator shot back. Since the ball slipped past her at that point, Skye turned her attention to her friend and asked, "Why are you with me? You should be with your husband."
"I'll be with him later," Beckett replied simply. "Mary?"
"She likes that game better," Skye said, nodding to her wife at the skeeball game with Alexis and Louis. She turned to Beckett and said, "How're you feeling?"
"I told you already," she replied firmly.
"Before the event happened," Skye commented. "Nearly time for them to arrive."
"And I'm still fine with becoming a grandmother," Beckett said in the same tone.
"Okay," Skye replied before turning back to the game.
"Really?" Beckett said laughingly. "That's all you have to say?"
"I know your tones," Skye said. She smirked at her friend and glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and said, "And that one said enough was enough."
Shaking her head while she smiled, Beckett said, "I need to go."
"Josie or your husband?" Skye said. She wasn't surprised when her friend didn't answer, and she turned back to the game.
"Your dad took her," Castle said once his wife was close.
"And you want to play this?" Beckett asked him, looking down at the game.
"No," Castle said, taking her hand and leading her to the pool table.
"Let me guess," Beckett commented when he handed her a cue. "We're betting."
"I'm leaving that up to you," Castle said simply. He wasn't surprised when she merely stared at him and he told her, "I'm not kidding."
"Alright, then we'll discuss what the bet is later," Beckett said simply, pleased to see the brief pause in her husband's step as he moved to fill the triangle.
"Okay," Castle replied simply before he turned his attention back to the table. After he'd pulled away the frame he jumped slightly when he saw Beckett was standing next to him. He was about to ask what she was doing when she was talking to him in a low voice that made him lean into her, so he'd be sure to hear her.
"You realize there's going to be no bet," Beckett said.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Castle replied simply. He wasn't surprised when his wife looked at him, bemused, and he leaned down to brush his lips to hers before pulling away. "You're first love," he informed her.
Glancing at him for a moment, Beckett turned to the table and hit the cue ball to start their game.
"Are you okay?" Mari asked, nudging Julia gently with her elbow.
"Just seeing what my parents were doing," she said. "I thought they were going to play with the air hockey table." Julia paused then and said, "I guess I should have known they'd play that."
"Why?" Clive asked. He was startled when Julia and Mari were exchanging a look and said, "But they're in a room full of people. Shoot."
"Our parents will do that," Peter said in a smile. "Not with pool but just while we're watching TV or something."
"I forget parents do that," Clive commented. "Oh, married people."
Julia smiled as he turned away quickly from her sister and Louis sharing a brief kiss while they were playing cards with Martha. She turned her attention to the cannon game and said, "Did you get it?"
"Yeah, finally," Peter said since he'd taken his turn. "Thanks for letting us do it twice."
"You have to practice it a little bit," Mari said, stepping up since it was her turn. She was about to press the button to start the game when her friend was touching her arm, making her step back while Julia was speaking to them all.
"Do you guys want to play at the air hockey table after this?" she asked.
"I think I want to play the foosball table," Peter said. He looked at his brother and asked, "Play with me?"
"Okay… only if you don't celebrate every time you score," Clive said.
"I won't," Peter assured him.
"Go ahead and play now," Mari said.
"Are you sure? We were going to wait until you guys are done," Clive told her.
"Very sure," Julia said. "I can tell Peter wants to play."
"I won't celebrate like I have before," he said when his brother was glaring at him. "I just want to go play."
"At least they get along," Mari said, she and Julia watching the pair leaving for the table.
"They're brothers," she said before she paused.
"What?" Mari asked, startled at the frown on her friend's face.
"Hold on," Julia said before she hurried over to the pool table.
"What's wrong?" Beckett asked, turning to see her daughter hurrying up to them.
"Lyla," Skye said, she and Mary having joined the writers for a game.
"No, I just thought… she doesn't have any brothers or sisters, does she?" Julia asked. She then faltered and feeling a little foolish said, "I just… got the idea that maybe there's something about a sibling."
Not surprised when the other three looked at her, Skye said, "I don't know, I might ask Brad."
"We should get dessert," Beckett told her. After the investigator nodded, she said to Julia, "And Lyla?"
"Not here, just… a feeling I had," the teen answered.
"That niggling feeling you forgot something," Skye said.
"Yeah," Julia said immediately. "You too?"
"Now I do, so we'll see where that might lead us," Skye said before she was putting away her cue. She followed Castle and Beckett with her wife out of the room until they were in the kitchen, and he was pulling out his phone before he hesitated and spoke to the three of them.
"What should I tell him?" Castle asked.
"You don't know?" Mary said.
"Call him, don't text him," Beckett said, realizing her husband's hesitation.
"Sure," Castle said, moving to dial the chief's number.
"This better be good," Brad said in greeting.
"You're not at the station still, are you?" Castle said with a frown.
"No, I just finished dinner and I was about to play with Sophie until she needs to go to bed," the chief replied. "But I'm assuming someone got something?"
"Julia had a thought about siblings," Skye said.
"Siblings… none of our vics had any," Brad said slowly. "Not even Kipling." He paused and then told the others, "It's something we can look into, and we will."
"Tomorrow?" Skye asked.
"Tomorrow," Brad said. "Do you agree with this?"
"Agree? You mean sense and there is something about it," Skye said. "And you should know that all but one of the CEOs at Eris has at least one sibling. Elias Brand has six of them."
"Ah…" Brad replied.
"Are you going to tell Aspinall?" Beckett inquired when the chief didn't make another sound.
"Not at the moment," Brad said. "I've left him to handle things and I was looking into the company and the CEOs. To be honest if I hadn't been I would have been on patrol essentially. But this we can look into tomorrow."
"Does that mean you want us there sooner?" Castle asked.
"Take your kids to school and come to the station from there," Brad said. "What about you Skye?" he asked.
"I have to go in whenever Trevor tells me in the morning," she replied. "It might be around the same time."
"Okay, then we'll see you in the morning," Brad said. "Goodbye."
"Bye," Castle said before his friend was hanging up. "I guess he was serious."
"With that tone of voice?" Beckett asked with a brief smile. She went to grab a pot before she said, "Are you having hot chocolate too?"
"I was going to make coffee," Castle said quickly.
"That," Skye said, nodding to him. "Should we help?" she asked, watching the two walking around.
"Would you mind getting the popcorn started?" Castle asked.
"Sure," Mary said.
"That's what you do?" Beckett asked, smiling while she was heating up the water.
"Yeah, Skye's all thumbs with the popcorn," Mary said. When she saw the way her wife was looking at her, she said, "Well, you are."
"Yes, but why all thumbs? I don't burn it, you just happen to have more kernels popped," Skye said. She glanced at Castle and said, "Too dirty?"
"No, that sounded weird," Beckett said before her husband could. "But you don't need to worry."
"Yes, I do," Mary said. "Don't try and pull the whole guest thing." She saw Beckett hesitating before she told her, "Seriously, how much do you want me to make?"
"Two bags worth," Beckett said. She and the doctor turned to the investigator as she began to hum, smiling when Mary spoke to her wife teasingly.
"No singing now," the doctor said.
"Don't let the kids hear you say that," Beckett told Mary with a smile.
Shaking her head, Skye said, "She pretends I annoy her with humming."
"Oh, that's believable," Castle said, finishing the first coffee. "But… I just thought of something-"
"I have met the CEOs," Skye interrupted him. "And I'd heard about the six siblings. So you know… just a thought."
"But wouldn't you have looked into family members already?" Mary asked, making sure the popcorn she'd started was alright.
"I'm sure they have," Castle said, sharing a look with his wife. "Unless he's thinking of looking again…"
"A black sheep member of the family," Beckett said.
"And they wanted family money," Castle said. "But they know how big Eris is to their family member-"
"And it would help hide them being the killer," Beckett said. "So they killed the four kids in revenge for being out of the family inheritance-"
"Since their family member is the only one left it gratifies their need to inflict pain on their family member," Castle said. He paused and then said with a slight frown, "But what about Kipling?"
"I would say he found something about their motive," Beckett said.
"And he confronted them," Castle said.
"A little too much," Beckett said after a moment's hesitation. "I would say he tried to speak to them… it's probably the real reason why he spoke to Ryan Harding and then his father."
Looking over at the McDouglas women, Castle said, "Sorry about that."
"No, it was interesting to hear," Skye said.
"And a good theory," Mary said. "Though you might have a little trouble proving it."
"Not that much I think," Castle commented. "We do have a few things to go with."
"And we can do that tomorrow," Beckett told her husband pointedly. She wasn't surprised when he and Mary went back to what they were doing, and she turned to the water. Once they were walking back to the game room she said to her husband, "Do you want to play with the air hockey table?"
"Didn't you say Julia and Mari were talking about playing there?" Castle asked.
"They did, but I think they'll be finished once we go inside," Beckett replied.
"You're so sure?" Castle asked. When his wife merely smiled at him before walking into the room he paused for a moment, shaking himself shortly after and hurrying inside.