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: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song Hard Candy Christmas written by Carol Hall, from the soundtrack album for the movie The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
A/N #2: Great to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so I'll start my thank you for that! Mb (Glad that you thought the chapter was a sweet Christmas day at their hour. And I wasn't surprised you could relate to the kids waking up the adults sometimes way earlier than they were told, lol, makes sense with all the excitement. And yeah, I timed once opening gifts myself and while not that long as in the chapter, it still takes a while, lol, but luckily it's fun too! And I'm pleased that you thought it was nice with the families coming early so they could be together for longer, I thought that should happen since it was Christmas of course! You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! It was nice to see you thought the second half was wonderfully written with the continuation of their Christmas. Glad to see you liked Mary and Skye were singing Christmas songs. And I had to laugh at you saying it went boom to Castle and Beckett alone together after. But great you enjoyed Castle giving Beckett jewelry along with them giving each other each other with, as you said their minds and hearts in total love and passion too! You're welcome for the second half of the chapter!).
Thanks for the review, I loved reading it and am grateful for the time taken to write it out and send it my way!
A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Here We Come A-Caroling/We Wish You a Merry Christmas the writer is unknown (for the first part of the song which is where the lyric is from), from the Perry Como album Seasons Greetings from Perry Como.
Whom You Have Seen Before
"Dani?"
Whirling around from the door to the backyard the little girl said, "Hi."
"You're not going to go outside are you?" Beckett asked her with a smile.
"No, I was looking to see if there is snow," Dani replied, walking over to her since the writer was holding her hand out to her. She took it and said, "There isn't."
"It might snow tomorrow," Beckett said. She led the little girl back to the game room and asked, "Are you homesick?" She wasn't surprised when Dani was shaking her head and she said gently, "If you are it's okay."
"A little," Dani replied. "But my mommy and daddy can have a vacation."
"That's what they're going to do," Beckett said.
"And visit all our grandparents," Mari said, having walked up to them. "What was she doing?"
"Looking out for snow," Dani said firmly before Beckett could respond.
"I wasn't going to say you were in trouble," Mari said before her sister was walking past them. "She's kind of homesick, Mom and Dad have never been this far from her."
"They warned me and Rick when we talked to them about leaving you two with us," Beckett said with a nod. "But I hope you aren't either?"
"I'm alright, I just hope their visit goes well," Mari said.
"They did tell you last night your grandmother's doing better," Beckett said.
"Yeah," Mari replied, looking at Julia who had reached them before she was speaking a little hesitantly.
"Skye said they're going to be here soon," Julia said.
"How soon?" Beckett said though she was looking around for the investigator.
"They left the city an hour ago," Skye answered, walking over to them. She smiled and said, "So they're a half hour away."
"Are they tired?" Brennan asked.
"We'll ask them," Castle said while he moved to join the group. "But I get the feeling we'll be giving a tour to his daughter and her family."
"Especially the kids," Beckett told her husband pointedly.
"Yeah, Julia's mentioned the four wanting to see everything," Castle said. "And you're going to let them decide what we do," he then directed to the teen herself.
"I said I would Dad," Julia replied firmly. She smiled and said, "But if they're going to be here in a half hour I know we're either going to play here or go bowling."
"And you'll let them pick that right?" Skye asked with a slight smirk.
"Yes," Julia replied, rolling her eyes as she smiled before she grabbed Mari's hand and they made their way over to the baseball game.
"Dani alright?" Brennan asked.
"She will be," Beckett said. "Have you seen Josie?"
"The last I saw, she was with your dad," Brennan replied before he watched his cousin leave. "Not at all nervous at the new guests I see," he commented before Castle was responding with a laugh.
"We have had Paul and Nancy here already," he said. "And they're eager for the kids to get here."
"Can you call all of them kids though?" Brennan replied.
"I won't when they're here," Castle commented, not surprised when his wife's cousin laughed before they were splitting up and going further into the room.
After a half hour the chime for the gate rang and the kids started to make their way to the entry before Beckett was stopping them.
"Hold on you guys," she told them with a smile. "Let them come inside without a crowd to meet them."
"We could wait in the hall," Julia said jokingly.
"We'll call you when they're inside," Castle said before he and his wife were heading to the entry. He opened the gate, since he'd looked at the security camera they'd recently installed on his phone. "Two cars," he told her.
"Regular cars?" Beckett asked him. At his nod she said, "We told them they didn't need to."
"Maybe they wanted to make sure we'd fit in all the cars," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife shrugged and they looked out the windows on either side of the front door. Once the cars were parked they stepped outside since they had their coats on and they were greeting the families since they were getting out by the time they reached them.
"Are you sure we're alright here?" Paul asked after the initial greetings.
"We have the other garage," Beckett said first.
"She's right," Castle added. "You actually could have parked in there and walked through to the house."
"Back in the cars," Paul told the rest of his family.
"We'll meet you inside the garage," Beckett said in amusement before they were going back into the foyer. She paused for a moment seeing the others were all there and she said, "I thought I said not to crowd them?"
"We were going to go back to the hall," Julia said jokingly. "Where are they going?"
"The garage. We didn't realize they were bringing their own cars or else we would have told them," Castle commented before he and Beckett were leaving for the garage.
"Did someone have a car collection?" Alasdhair asked the couple while they were getting their suitcases out from the trunks.
"The owner that built this house," Castle said.
"He never showed me the other two garages until we were living here," Beckett commented, smiling at her husband.
"I had other things to show that were more important," Castle said in mock defense. "And I don't think I even parked in the garage while we were here."
"You didn't," Beckett told him with a smile. Since everyone had their luggage she and Castle led the way into the entry, not surprised the kids were still there, or when the four Willis kids immediately went to them and they were talking about their Christmases two days before.
"Hold on," Stella said to her kids. "I know you're eager to look through the house but we need to unpack. We can't be rude and leave our suitcases in the entry."
"If this was a fraternity it wouldn't look out of place," Skye said.
"Why are you hiding over there?" Paul said since he hadn't seen the investigator.
Laughing Skye went to him and they shared a brief hug before she said, "Who's taking who where?"
"I think we should go up to our room," Nancy said, looking at Beckett.
"And the girls," the writer responded, smiling slightly since they'd been talking about that during the walk from the garage. "But the boys are going to need to not look."
"Not fair," Bobby said immediately.
Laughing with the others Castle said, "We'll have a really big tour through the whole house once we're finished."
"Is that all we're going to do?" Bailey asked.
"Wait until you see the house," Eve said.
"We seem to be missing some adults," Stella commented then, having been looking around at everyone.
"Our parents," Mari said, motioning to herself and her sister. "They went to Florida to see our grandparents until after New Year's Day."
"And everyone else is here," Alasdhair said.
"They are," Paul said to his son in law with a smile. "I recognize all the faces."
"Faces in the crowd…" Skye couldn't help crooning though she deliberately butchered her voice.
"Alright, alright, we'll head up the stairs," Paul said in mock annoyance. "I'm going to have to so I don't hear that voice again."
"I'll follow you," Skye told him, making that a feigned threat. She then smiled and said, "I think most of us will be waiting down here."
"Wait," Bobby said in surprise when Eliza was tugging at his sleeve. "Are we going too?"
"I think they want to start the tour upstairs," Castle said. He looked at the others and said, "If you don't want to go with us upstairs we'll be back soon."
Julia led the Willis kids up first and she said, "This is the library."
"That closet?" Reiley asked. When the teen looked at her in surprise she said, "I want to know all about your house. Remember you wanted to know what all the doors were we had in ours?"
"Oh yeah," Julia said slowly as she recalled. She shook herself and said, "That's going to be where the elevator goes."
"You're going to have one too?" Bailey asked.
"The house is three floors," Beckett said. "And they'll start on it next month."
"Your library is full," Reiley said.
"Yeah, we have bookcases in our own rooms," Julia said. "So there's more books." She paused and then said, "And books in the family room." Seeing they were fully in the second floor hallway she said, "This is Skye and Mary's room."
"Open the door," the investigator said, having joined them upstairs. "You can go inside but there are a lot of rooms so I would just look."
"Paul, Nancy," Castle said, getting their attention before he opened the door to the guest room across the hall.
"We'll be back in a moment," the singer said before he and his wife were taking their luggage inside.
Telling the kids the rooms they were passing as they continued, Julia finally came to hers and she told Bailey and Reiley, "This is where you'll be staying." She opened the door and let the two walk inside first, following them with Mari, Marie and Kathleen going next while the others waited in the doorway. "I hope you like it," she added after watching them looking around for a while before the older Willis daughter was speaking first.
"It's great," Bailey said. "Plenty of room for air beds."
"Yeah," Julia said, since two where there already for them to use starting that night. "And we have the bathroom there."
"Girls," Stella said, walking inside. "Your things."
"Do we unpack now?" Reiley asked her mother.
"No, you'll give your clothes a toss and then what will you wear?" Stella asked teasingly. She then said with a smile, "After we decide what to do then you'll take care of everything." She looked at her sons in the doorway and told them, "You too."
"We will, if we can go," Bobby said.
"Oh quiet," Bailey said in mock annoyance. "We're leaving right now."
"Are we showing them your room?" Eliza asked.
"Yes," Beckett said, since the question had been directed to herself and her husband. When they had left Julia's room they made their way over to hers and Castle's room where they led Stella and Alasdhair in.
"Very nice," the designer said. "And I wonder if you could show me your closet?"
"This way," Beckett said, smiling and looking at her husband before she and Stella were in the room. She closed the door and said, "I'm not trying it on now am I?'
"Tomorrow hopefully," the designer replied. "Unless you have plans."
"Rick has everything planned," Beckett answered, opening the door to the former storage for furs. She watched Stella hang the garment bag and told her, "It'll be alright like that?"
"No, I need to take it out," the designer replied. She smiled when Beckett immediately moved to sit on the divan against the wall and turned to get the wedding gown out before she heard the writer speaking again.
"And it'll be alright there that long?" Beckett asked.
"I would wrap it in plastic," Stella told her. "And I have some for it once you try it on and I make any final adjustments."
When the designer walked out to her Beckett said, "Thank you again."
"Don't thank me until you try it on," Stella replied with a smile. "But it was interesting to make." She looked around and said, "I would ask to look but we need to go."
"You can tomorrow," Beckett replied. When the designer looked at her she said with a smile, "I'm not surprised you're curious."
"All set?" Castle asked once he saw his wife walking out of the closet.
"We are," Beckett replied. "And no I haven't seen the dress yet."
"Where are the kids?" Stella asked as they left the writers' bedroom.
"Here on the stairs Mum," Miller called up.
"All the way down?" Alasdhair asked.
"No, we're waiting in the middle," Julia answered.
"Go down the rest of the way, we'll follow," Beckett said firmly. Once they were all gathered in the first floor hall she said, "Where should we go first?"
"The pool room!" "The game room," Eliza and Julia said at the same time before they laughed with everyone and their mother was talking to them with a smile.
"Let's take you to the pool room first," Castle said, not surprised when his wife was nodding in agreement. As they made their way over there he wasn't surprised when Josie was walking with Maddy and Keo was talking to Clive eagerly next to them.
"Wow," Reiley said first when she looked around the room.
"Yeah," Julia said with a smile. "We love coming in here."
"When can we swim?" Bobby asked.
"Tomorrow," Stella said when the other adults were looking at herself and her husband. She smiled and said, "I had a feeling you'd want to wait. We are a little late and we still have the rest of the house to see."
"There's a second floor?" Miller asked since by then they'd walked more fully into the room and he could see the upper level.
"With the dining table and some daybeds," Eliza said.
"And an elevator," Julia commented.
"And dumbwaiter too," Bailey said.
"That's for when we're eating up there," Castle said.
"That slide is sick," Bobby said, looking at it.
"I like the ornaments on the tree," Reiley told them since there was a fake one in the corner of the room with seashell ornaments on it.
"The girls made those," Martha said.
"And it took forever," Eliza said, making a playful face before they were laughing.
"Come on, we have something else to show them," Castle told the kids before they were walking back inside the house. After they had looked at the kitchen quickly they were walking into the game room where the kids were walking around looking at all the games before they were meeting the adults back in the doorway. He couldn't help saying, "Hopefully this is a good first alternative to the pool," not surprised when the youngest Willis was speaking in slight confusion.
"There's a second?" Reiley asked before she paused. "The bowling alley?"
"We'll get there," Beckett told her. They showed them the rest of the first floor before they made their way down to the basement.
"You're sure we all fit here?" Alasdhair asked while the kids were admiring the alley.
"You do, the boys can see their room once they're done with that," Beckett said.
"Isn't it Peter and Clive's?" Stella asked.
"For the time being," Genevieve said.
"Would you two like to go to your room?" Castle asked.
"I would," Stella said firmly. "So we can be ready for what those kids want," she added before her oldest was getting her attention leaving the bowling lanes.
"Are we going to our room?" Miller said.
"Yes," Beckett said before she and her husband were leading them over to the two bedrooms they would have.
"Good thing you have these down here," Reiley said to Julia.
Nodding the teen said, "Otherwise you could have gone to my sister's house."
"The one across the street?" Bailey asked.
"Yeah," Julia replied. "They have a lot of empty bedrooms right now."
"And we still will after the twins are in their own rooms," Louis said.
"We'll get to see them right?" Bailey inquired.
"Of course, as soon as they're awake you will," Alexis said. "Along with Emily and Josa."
"Okay," Castle said while he and Beckett were leading the others from the bedrooms. "Now you've seen the whole house, what would you like to do?"
"Unpack," Stella said firmly before her kids could speak.
"You didn't already?" Reiley asked.
"Not yet," Alasdhair said. "We'll do it quickly."
"It's your decision what we do in the end," Julia replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"The game room?" Miller asked his sisters and brother when they were looking at him.
"Then we'll wait there," Beckett said, seeing the other three Willis kids nodding. After the four were leaving for their basement rooms, she watched Peter and Clive walking after the two boys before they made their way upstairs and she wasn't surprised when the older girls were going after Bailey and Reiley.
"Are you sure we're going to be able to fit in here?" Bailey asked Julia.
"We're going to need one more bed," the teen replied. "It's in that box over there. Are you going to share with your sister?"
"You don't have to," Eve said. "Though someone's going to be on their own on a bed."
"It's going to be Bailey," Reiley replied. "Our mum and dad would say since she's the oldest."
"I don't mind sharing with you," Eve said when Bailey had looked at her.
"Looks like you're going to get the bed on your own," Marie said with a smile.
"Thanks," Reiley said slowly.
"You could share with us," Kathleen said. "We'd fit."
"She's right, there's room for you too," Marie said.
"And Mari?" Bailey asked. She couldn't help laughing when she noticed the other girls were looking at the girl and Julia and said, "You always share her bed."
"We've been doing that since I moved here with my family," Julia replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"I forget you came from the city," Reiley told her.
"I forget sometimes too," Julia said with another shrug. She watched the girl and her sister finishing their unpacking and asked, "That's it?"
"We are," Bailey said first. "Now we can play right?"
"Yeah, my mom said we'd meet them there," Julia said.
"What about after we have dinner?" Reiley asked before they could leave the room.
"We're going to dinner," Julia replied.
"Really?" Reiley said.
"Yeah, and then a surprise," Julia added. She smiled when the girl grabbed her arm and said, "My parents don't want us to say. But you'll enjoy it."
"I'm not saying," Mari said firmly when the two Willis girls were looking at her and Eve.
"She's right, if Rick and Kate said it's a surprise… it's a surprise," Eve added.
"How're you and Peter?" Bailey asked her, smiling when the young woman was obviously blushing before she responded.
"Good, we exchanged gifts and I've been here since yesterday," Eve replied.
"Are your parents leaving?" Bailey asked.
Shaking her head Eve followed the others out of the room before they met Alexis, Louis, Isaac and Beckett coming up the stairs.
"Naptime is over," Isaac told the girls.
"If you want to see the twins now you should wait here," Alexis then said.
"Sure," Bailey said after her sister looked at her to answer.
"What about holding them?" Reiley asked.
"Wait until we get to the game room for that," Louis said. "And see if your mum and Nancy would want to hold them."
"Should we go to there now?" Reiley said.
"Probably," Bailey answered before they were following Julia and Mari.
After the youngest four of the group were with everyone and the newest arrivals that wanted to held Finn and Emmie, the kids were splitting up to the different games while the adults were sitting at the lounge area Castle and Beckett had made next to the bar.
"So this restaurant you mentioned," Alasdhair said. "It's got veggie options."
"A lot," Castle said. "There are a number of other places in the area that have them now. And it's a popular place."
"And the place you mentioned after," Paul said.
"I don't think they're going to talk about that," Nancy said with a smile at her husband.
"Just that we're going after dinner," Mary said before Castle was speaking quickly.
"And you'll enjoy it too," he said.
"Dessert?" Paul asked.
"The second place we're going to," Castle said simply. They watched the kids for a little and said, "Do you guys not want to play?"
"It's a little crowded," Stella commented. She smiled and then said, "But it's alright, it's nice to rest after the traveling we did."
"It's going to be harder next year when you need to go to LA," Skye said.
"We're still going," Paul said firmly.
"And we're going to do our best to," Stella added. "We just need to see what happens at the end of next year."
"Which is crazy to think about," Brennan said. "It'll be nearly 2024 by then."
"Are you going to LA too?" Alasdhair asked.
"We are," Clara answered before her husband could. She then said, "We couldn't pass."
"I have to warn you, no snow," Skye told them. "Unless we head to the mountains." She paused and then asked the others, "Would you want to?"
"Once would be fun," Paul said. "But where would you go?"
"Depends on the powder," Mary said, her wife nodding in agreement next to her. "But if not the Mt. Baldy slopes possibly Big Bear."
"It'll likely be Big Bear," Skye commented with a smile. "It's a little further but it's more than likely they'll have enough snow."
"We don't have any slopes here," Brad said before the singer was laughing and then responding.
"I didn't think we came to ski," Paul said.
"Or snowboard," Skye told him.
"That reminds me," Paul said a little seriously. "I heard you and the band accepted the offer to perform at the opening ceremonies in 2028."
"You heard correctly," Skye said firmly.
"Dad mentioned too you were both thinking of competing," Stella told the McDouglas women.
"We're going to try, as far as we know at the moment," Skye replied.
"She's right," Mary added quickly when her wife had looked at her. "But whether we'd make it to the actual surfing competition is the question."
"Yeah, six years is a long time," Skye commented.
"Five next year," Alasdhair pointed out.
"So we're not really going to worry about it right now," Skye said, smiling when the other adults were laughing before they began to discuss the next few days they'd be in the Hamptons.
"You lot are okay here?" Paul asked the kids.
"We are Grandude," Bobby said, turning in his chair at The Studebaker.
"Are you going to help them get something to eat?" Paul then directed to the American kids.
"We already decided," Bailey said instead.
"Yeah, the Impossible burger, a shake and fries," Reiley continued, laughing when her grandfather pretended to ruffle at her hair at the same time he was speaking.
"They're turning you into Americans I think," Paul said teasingly.
"Aren't we a bit already?" Reiley replied.
"You are but don't forget England," Paul said. He smiled when the kids were all laughing together before he said, "Enjoy your food."
"We will," the older kids said at nearly the same time before they were turning back to the counter.
"Are you sure the family fun center would be that… fun?" Bailey asked. "We did play in your game room."
"It's different," Eve assured her. "There are some great games and a mini-golf course indoors," not surprised the others were nodding before her boyfriend was adding to that.
"It's too bad you weren't here in the spring," Peter said. "They have rides outside, including a roller coaster but they're closed for the season."
Looking at the McDouglas twins as they were snorting in their suppressed laughter Miller said, "I don't get it."
"We never have a season for amusement parks to close," Kathleen explained first.
"Mum and Mom said that Magic Mountain used to have a season," Marie reminded her twin.
Before anyone could respond to that the waitress that had taken their family's orders came around the counter to get theirs.
"They'll be alright," Lily said, seeing Stella and Alasdhair looking to their kids.
"Have yours done this before?" the former asked.
"On birthdays we allow them," Castle said.
"You never let- or is it because it's a different country?" Darnley started to ask before he cut himself off as the realization came to him.
"Who they are," Beckett said, having been studying the designer.
"I told you it's the Hamptons," Nancy said with a smile.
"True, you can't help but be concerned," Stella replied, smiling herself.
"I would look at them right now," Skye told her. "Do they look like they're not normal children? Do they sound out of place?"
Laughing Alasdhair said, "That's because your children are here."
"You're welcome," Skye said before they were all laughing.
"At least they're enjoying things," Bobby said since they'd all looked back at the sound of their parents laughing.
"You didn't think they would?" Clive asked him.
Shrugging Bobby then said, "They're always worried about us out in public."
"Our parents are," Kathleen said.
"Mine too," Julia said, squeezing Mari's shoulder next to her when she looked hesitant.
"It works for you too doesn't it?" Reiley asked her. "You're the mayor's daughter."
"It just works here," Mari commented with a smile. "But yeah, my parents worry about me and my sister."
"Um, I don't have anything," Peter said before he looked worriedly at his girlfriend.
"Mom worries," Eve said. "Since Dad's the Chief of Police. But it's not that bad here. So I don't think any parents need to worry."
"Speaking of police," Miller said, looking at Julia. "Did your parents have a case?"
"Yeah, a crazy one," Julia said, explaining everything quickly.
"So they're together, together?" Bailey asked when the teen had finished.
"Yeah," Julia replied, smiling when she saw Miller and Bobby making exaggerated faces. "You'll see them on New Year's Eve actually, my mom invited them."
"Or at the museum first?" Mari pointed out.
"Oh… I don't know if Ms. Harrington will be there though," Julia said. She shrugged and said, "We'll find out."
"And Skye really got that racing plane?" Bobby asked her.
"Yep, I begged my parents to let us go watch her but she said we'll see," Julia said.
"Going to ask yours?" Clive said, watching the Willis kids sharing looks.
"Yeah, we could fly out on our own if Grandude wouldn't want to take us," Miller said. "But he will," he then said at the same time his siblings were.
After they'd calmed down from laughing, their food was served to them and they began to eat, talking about their visit to the Hamptons and when they'd next get to see each other.
"Remember how we spend Memorial Day weekend together?" Julia was eventually asking when they were nearly finished eating. Getting nods from the others she said, "We're spending next year at Mill Valley, you haven't been there yet."
"Definitely will ask Mum and Dad," Reiley said firmly.
"Ask," Bailey said. "You go to San Francisco right?"
"Definitely," Julia and Mari said at the same time before they were all laughing together. When they'd calmed down the latter spoke hesitantly to the four siblings about other trips the next year.
"There is the cruise we're going on," Mari said slowly. "And we're going to Japan in the summer."
"You told me," Reiley reminded her since they exchanged e-mails. "And I told Mum and Dad. I don't think they want to go on a cruise but I was begging to go to Japan."
"We all were," Bailey said.
"Bail had the best idea," Bobby said. "She told Mum and Dad that it would be ripping to go with Skye and Mary since they speak the language."
"Good idea," Clive told her with a nod.
"That's why my parents are going," Erin said jokingly before they were laughing together.
"Are you guys ready?" Castle asked, walking over to them while his wife was paying for their meal.
"Yeah," Julia said. "Josa has to go home?"
"And everyone else that's still too young," Castle said firmly since Alexis and Louis had brought the twins with them. "But they're okay with it."
"The game room Daddy?" Eliza asked, having walked over with the other younger kids. She cried out when her father suddenly picked her up before he was speaking to them all in an exaggerated tone that made the older kids start to laugh.
"When they get it all to themselves? I think they'll love it," Castle said.
"I wish Dani could go," Eliza said.
"I told our parents but they said it would be too cold for her," Mari said with a smile. "But like your dad said they'll get the game room to themselves."
"So we're going outside," Bobby said. When the other kids were looking at him he said with a smile, "It wasn't that hard to guess."
"Do you have anything else?" Miller asked his brother.
"Nope," Bobby replied easily.
Laughing Castle said, "Great, but I promise we're going right now and you'll be able to see what it is."
After everyone was together those returning to the house said goodbye to those leaving and they went outside to the cars in a hurry.
"So… we're not going to someone's house are we?" Reiley asked when they were pulling up to a curb in a neighborhood.
"No," Julia and Mari, there with the youngest Willis and her parents in their car. They looked at each other and were laughing before they stopped so they could get out of the backseat with Reiley.
"We're going over here," Julia said nodding across the street.
"Is it a neighborhood?" Bailey asked.
"It is," Eve replied with a nod. "Do you mind?"
"No, we've been in England but never here," Reiley said rapidly. "And these are large homes."
"Our size," Julia said, not surprised when her sister, standing next to her, was nodding rapidly.
"Let's go," Beckett told the others. "We need to walk before it starts snowing."
"It's going to?" Paul asked in surprise.
"Light snow," Castle replied when his wife glanced at him.
After they had crossed the street and were at the first house on the north side of the street, Mari realized something and asked Julia, "You don't have your camera?"
Shaking her head, Julia said, "I've already taken pictures this year."
"I think I want to just walk around and see everything," Reiley said when she realized the two were looking at her. "I'm not the photographer though, Bailey is more than the rest of us."
Looking at the oldest Willis daughter, Julia saw she was taking pictures and she said, "Lizzy and I do that out of the four of us."
"How do you know Josie won't yet?" Reiley asked her while they were moving to the next house.
"I don't, but for now it's the two of us," Julia said. She paused and then said with a smile, "But 'lexis is taking a lot of pictures now."
"Of course," Reiley said. "Those are her first kids."
"Will they have anymore?" Bailey then inquired.
"No, she just wanted two and since she had them that's all she wants," Julia replied.
"Oh how pretty," Reiley said when they got to one house that looked like the lights were pieces of candy.
"My sisters love this one," Julia commented. "Lizzy says it's the gingerbread house."
"It does look like it," Reiley agreed. "Hansel and Gretel," she added before laughing with their friends. They were coming to where the street turned towards the left and another came down the hill she was about to ask where they were going when Castle was speaking to everyone about that first.
"We'll head down this street," he started with. "And eventually come around to this one to go back to our cars."
"We're following you," Alasdhair replied.
"He's right, it's your neighborhood," Stella added.
"It isn't exactly but they know how to lead you," Darnley commented.
"Really well too," Clara said with a smile.
"We like to take care of our guests," Beckett commented.
"So does that mean we can't have a say?" Skye asked jokingly.
"You can," Beckett said, rolling her eyes before they were stopping again.
"Great, I wanted to say we're getting closer to dessert," Skye told her.
"I noticed," Beckett replied.
"You don't think they did?" Skye asked, looking at the kids.
"Some have," Castle said, walking with Beckett and taking her hand.
"You can get them the usual love," she told her husband, having a feeling why he'd done that.
"Just checking," Castle replied as they walked down the sidewalk to the house with the snack stall in the driveway.
"They sell dessert?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah, there are a couple others though we stop here since it's at the start and they have the best gingerbread," Julia said, surprised when the Willis kids looked confused before Miller was speaking first.
"You mean cookies?" the young man asked.
"No, actual bread," Julia said. "It's a loaf and you get a slice."
"It is delicious," Mari said.
"The gingerbread we have at home my sister made," Julia said. "Our parents got the recipe from the people here."
"It's good?" Reiley asked.
"It is," Mari said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be able to have some while you're here."
"You don't bake?" Bobby asked Julia.
Shaking her head the teen said, "I mean I like baking, but I think I prefer to cook. And she's better at baking than me." Seeing they were at the stall she fell silent and watched while her father was ordering for her family. She smiled to herself seeing Stella and Alasdhair were listening, and they ordered the same as everyone else for their family.
"Hello Eliza," the woman who had given them the recipe said with a smile when the little girl walked up to her parents. "Were you able to make a loaf?"
"I was," Eliza said, smiling. "And it was tasty. Thanks for the recipe."
"You're very welcome," the woman replied as she was handing out the slices of gingerbread for Paul and Nancy last. "Hopefully you'll enjoy that."
After they'd all thanked the woman, the group continued to walk though they were eating and drinking their hot chocolate.
"You're right," Bobby told Mari. "This is really good."
"Especially with the cocoa," Reiley said in agreement. "We should do this more at home."
"I think you mean our London home," Bailey told her sister.
"Are you there often?" Eve asked.
"Not really," Bailey said. "I mean we were this year since we were leaving for here. But we do live near a town," she added before her big brother was responding with a smile.
"And they have lights and the pub will have cocoa," Miller commented.
"Wait until you see the neighborhood we go to," Kathleen said.
"Are we going to?" Julia asked.
"More than likely," Marie answered. She then smiled and said, "We'd make Mum and Mom go anyway." She hesitated for a moment and said, "Think Mum could get them into the office?"
"Her office at home?" Reiley asked in obvious confusion.
"No, at work," Kathleen said. "She could try."
"Why would you want to go there though?" Bobby asked.
"The view," the twins said at the same time.
"Really," Miller said.
"She sees the two south runways of LAX," Marie explained.
"What?" Bailey asked, surprised at the look the twins were sharing.
"It's how she saw the plane crash our little sister was in," Kathleen said. "But Fleur was fine in the end."
"Other than that it's a great view," Marie assured them. "But we'd have to talk to our mum first."
Continuing their walk through the neighborhood, the group soon was walking down and crossing the street they'd started on. Once they were back at their cars the kids began gathering together before Beckett was speaking to them.
"What're you doing?" she asked.
"Talk about what we're going to do now," Julia answered.
"I think we need to do that back at the house," Darnley said, looking above them when he felt something cold on his cheek.
Seeing the snow was beginning to fall, the adults urged the kids into the cars before they were heading back home.