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 getting the feedback for the last chapter I did so I'll get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Really pleased seeing you thought the last chapter had very good writing for post couples since that was definitely my aim!) and
Mb (Great to see you thought the first half of the chapter was a nice update with them in San Diego for Valentine's Day. I was really glad that you loved the face time call Castle and Beckett had with their family since that was fun to write. Pleased you thought the first half was nicely done! You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! Great to see you thought the second half was a nice update too! And I'm glad you enjoyed the two couples settling in before the vacation/celebration of the love the couples have. I had to smile when you laughed at both couples being celibate for a bit longer, lol, but I'm not surprised you did! Nice reading you thought the second half was nicely done! And you're welcome for the second half too!).
Thanks for the reviews, I love reading them and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Balboa Park written by Bruce Springsteen, from his album The Ghost of Tom Joad.
Through Balboa Park
"Okay, we've had our pictures taken in front of the flamingoes," Skye said as she put her phone away in her pocket. "Now we can go."
"That seems to be a tradition for you guys," Castle commented.
"It is," Mary replied with a smile.
"And the girls insisted the two of us do that at least," Skye added, smiling herself. "I believe you two… Kate," she started to say, trying to hand the map to the San Diego Zoo to her friend who had shaken her head at it.
"I don't need it," Beckett replied easily.
"She's right," Castle was quick to say. "You two know this place well."
"Are you challenging us to not use the map?" Mary said, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. "It wouldn't be a great idea." She wasn't surprised when Castle looked surprised and explained, "While you won't necessarily get lost, the zoo is huge remember."
"We're letting you two lead us," Beckett said before her husband could respond.
"I figured," Skye said. She paused for a moment and then said, "Well… we go this way now we have the girls…" motioning towards the reptile house.
"That's fine," Castle said. "Though do we necessarily need to go to the children's zoo?"
"I think you mean Wildlife Explorers Basecamp," Skye said. "And that's up to you."
"We should skip it this time," Mary said before the writers could reply. "I… miss the girls," she admitted, looking at her wife as she spoke.
"I don't blame you, we miss ours too," Castle said. "But don't tell them that."
Laughing as they were moving to the building the reptiles were housed in, Skye said, "You'll tell them."
"Just once though," Beckett said. "They want us to focus on our trip."
"And each other," Skye couldn't help quipping. She smiled when her friend glanced at her and said, "Our girls tell us the same," before they were inside and at the first of the animals there. They went around, Beckett taking pictures before they were leaving and she looked at the map while Castle was speaking to her teasingly.
"We should have made a bet," he told her.
"I'm just checking to make sure the section that's next hasn't been changed," Skye replied, speaking a little absently since she was looking at the map still. She then folded the paper and said, "Okay, let's head this way."
"I remember these," Castle said when he spotted the large tortoises.
"Do you guys mind coming here again?" Mary asked while they waited for Beckett to take a picture.
"Oh no," she said before her husband could respond. "It's a great zoo."
"Did your daughters make you promise to come here too?" Skye asked.
"No, we told them we were coming before they mentioned it," Castle said as they walked to the next habitat. "But she's right, we don't mind being here again."
"And shouldn't I ask if you guys mind me making you wait while I take pictures?" Beckett asked with a smile.
"We don't," Skye said swiftly. "It means we won't race by each animal." She smiled when the others were laughing before they continued until they had reached the end of the area. She studied the map and told Castle jokingly, "I'm only checking for stores." Once she had finished looking she said, "There's just the Mercado in front of the Reptile House."
"We can keep going," Castle said. He saw the McDouglas women were looking at the bag he was holding and said, "Don't worry, we'll use it."
"Not yet," Skye said with a smile before they were walking back towards the entrance. She led them to the left of the flamingoes until they were stopping at the animals on the way to the tigers before Beckett was speaking.
"And now we'll be missing our girls," she said.
"You don't mean just Josie?" Castle asked with a smile. He then said, "Again, how did that work out?"
"I was just going to say," Skye said. "And if you didn't tell her to be wary of these…"
"We weren't going to," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she was taking pictures of a tiger in the habitat while it was walking around. They stayed for a little longer before Skye and Mary were leading the way up the path past the tigers and she went to her husband, taking his hand.
"Good?" Castle asked her while they were pressed close against each other.
"Yeah," Beckett replied. "Though I wasn't lying about missing them." She smiled when her husband was bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss the back.
"I am too, though I should tell you I'm kind of hoping we come back for Memorial Day," Castle told her.
"This year?" Beckett replied. She smiled when her husband nodded and then said, "You're going to need to start planning that."
"You're coming back?" Skye asked, stopping at some monkeys.
"We'd like to," Castle explained before telling them the details.
"Oh, by all means you should," Mary said quickly. "Since you're going to be seeing Sea World in two days," she added before Beckett was speaking in obvious confusion.
"Why does it sound like you're not going to be here?" she asked both women.
"We aren't," Skye replied.
"Didn't you say we were going to spend this Memorial Day apart?" Mary asked as they were moving to the next animal.
"We did," Castle said. "Did you plan already?"
"Of course," Skye said firmly. She smiled and said, "We're going to Lake Tahoe, our side."
"Really," Beckett said.
"We're staying at the home of a friend we met via Paul since he helped us get that contract with Capitol Records," Skye explained.
"It's a large house," Mary said. "Arcade and right on the water."
"I like how you led with the arcade," Beckett commented in amusement.
"Corbin… that's his name," Skye started to say. "Told us that right off." She looked at her wife and then said, "You forgot about the boat."
"Neither of us can drive it grá," Mary said wryly.
"Still, it has a dock for that boat," Skye said.
"Good jumping," Castle said, not surprised when the women were laughing. Looking at the former panda exhibit he said when they walked inside, "What're they going to do with this?"
"Well, they do have red pandas here so I think it'll stay as it is," Skye said first.
"I'm not complaining," Mary then said. "But I do miss the pandas they had." She looked at her phone after they'd reached the habitat and said, "Believe it or not it's almost lunchtime," not surprised Castle responded first after looking at his watch.
"You're right… did we do more walking than anything else?" he asked jokingly.
"You always do," Skye said.
"Do we need to decide?" Beckett asked.
"We probably should," Skye told her. "And I did, the Hua Mei Café."
"Is that the one near here?" Beckett said, unable to help laughing at the investigator's statement.
"It is, I figured on suggesting that and then Albert's for dinner," Skye said.
"Great, though I'm having some kind of burger," Castle commented.
"We'll see what the menu has," Beckett said laughingly since he was looking at her.
After they finished with the Panda exhibit they went back to the main path and shortly after reached the café where they split up and were looking at their choices.
"You're getting the cheeseburger?" Beckett asked her husband.
"No," Castle said. He smiled when his wife turned to him in obvious surprise and he said, "I'll get the chicken sandwich."
"You don't mind pineapple?" Beckett asked since it had that and teriyaki sauce.
"No," Castle said firmly. "You?"
"The mandarin chicken salad," Beckett said.
"I'm getting that too," Mary said, turning to her. "It's really good."
After the McDouglas women had stepped up to the cashier to order, Castle turned to his wife and said, "I forgot to ask if they would want to get a snack later."
"You don't know what time we're having dinner," Beckett said.
"Around six, six-thirty," Mary said, walking to them and carrying two bottles of water. "And don't worry, we agree to the snack," she added before her wife was speaking behind her.
"Of course we do, but that we can talk about later," Skye said swiftly, watching the writers heading up to the windows.
After he and Beckett had ordered, Castle let her take their drinks while he waited for their food. When the investigator walked up to him he said, "Did you forget?"
"No," Skye replied with a smile. She looked around and said, "So far not bad."
"Did you expect it to be?" Castle asked in amusement.
"No, but since we started out talking about our kids…" Skye said before she trailed off. She then smiled and said, "We haven't stopped at a shop."
"I know, we passed that one," Castle said.
When the writer didn't continue, Skye couldn't hold back her brief laugh and said, "You don't remember if you can get up to the polar bears from where that store is."
"Not really, but I'm hoping you guys don't mind," Castle replied.
"We'd be backtracking," Skye answered. She wasn't able to say anything else then, her name being called. "We'll have to discuss this."
After his wife's name was called, Castle took their tray of food swiftly to the table and said, "Now we can discuss."
"Discuss what?" Beckett asked in surprise while she was mixing her salad.
Relating what she and Castle had spoken about, Skye said, "You need to go back on the path we used to get to the one in front of us. But we'd need to anyway to reach the polar bears," looking at her wife and Beckett before the former was responding first.
"I thought you two were going to get shirts," Mary said.
"We were talking," Beckett said with a smile at her husband. She wasn't surprised when he was nodding, since he'd taken a bite of his sandwich and she laughed before she was squeezing his arm. "How is it?" she asked when he was finishing.
"Good," Castle said. "Yours?"
"The same," Beckett said.
"I told you it was good," Mary told her.
"Mine is too, what?" Skye asked, pausing in picking up a piece of orange chicken.
Laughing with the others, something came to Beckett's mind and she asked, "Is it possible we might go through everything before dinner?"
"It is," Skye said first.
"She and I have," Mary added. "And usually we just go around more slowly when we've done that, have a drink… that snack we already talked about."
Laughing Skye said, "She's right. And if we get to that point we could split up."
"It sounds like you want to," Castle said teasingly.
"And you don't?" Skye shot back immediately. She couldn't help laughing when the writer merely drank his water and she then said, "But we'd need to see how walking through the rest of the zoo will go."
Bringing up the next day, Mary changed the subject though with the glances she and her wife gave each other; and she had seen Castle and Beckett share too; she knew they would be splitting up at some point that day.
Once they'd finished their meals, the four picked everything up and headed back the way they'd come until they had reached the store they'd passed earlier.
"Okay," Castle said, looking at his wife.
"We agreed to choose together," Beckett told him teasingly. He was about to open his mouth to speak and she said, "I know you found one for Josie."
Nodding, Castle walked over to the shirts and took a hippo one that had the animal wearing a bathing cap saying, "She would love it."
"She would," Beckett replied. "But not that size." She smiled at him briefly when he was holding up his hands playfully before he gave her the shirt and she turned her attention to getting the right size. Handing it to him she said, "Eliza?"
"That I'm not sure," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife was looking around in their second youngest's size before he saw her stopping. "Yes," he said firmly before she could turn to him.
Looking at her husband, Beckett smiled saying, "Good, we agree," before he was laughing and speaking swiftly.
"It works out really well for her," Castle said, since the shirt was an okapi trotting over grass. "I remember how much she loves these."
"And this one for Julia," Beckett said, picking up a teal one with a giraffe head.
"Then you're ready?" Castle asked. When she nodded he took the shirt she picked out for Julia and went to the register while she went to where Skye was standing on her own.
"You've got for your girls?" the investigator asked once her friend had reached her.
"I noticed you did too," Beckett replied with a smile.
"We thought of it first," Skye said in mock annoyance.
Shaking her head, Beckett said, "You weren't really too angry we decided to do the same last night."
Making a playful face at her friend, Skye said, "It's odd we weren't around each other while we were looking."
"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked, studying her.
"The Skyfari," Skye said simply.
"We can't all go on it together," Beckett was quick to tell her.
"And you didn't even ask if I wanted to," Mary said, stepping up to her wife since she and Castle had finished paying.
"Would you like to?" Skye immediately asked.
"We'll talk about that while we keep going," Mary told her wife in a mock stern tone of voice.
Letting the McDouglases leave ahead of them, Castle said to his wife, "I'd be open to going."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with a smile. She then said, "But we'll see how it goes." When he took her hand she fought another smile; since she'd expected that; and they continued after the McDouglases until they were reaching the Polar Bear Plunge. Before they could head into it, she was startled when Mary was turning and speaking to the three of them.
"I thought about it," the doctor was saying.
"The Skyfari?" Skye asked in surprise. When her wife nodded she said, "Then you're saying no."
"I'm saying yes," Mary replied.
"You want us to go there after?" Beckett inquired, though she was speaking to Skye.
"I… to be honest I think we should wait and leave it for when we're closer to dinner," the investigator said slowly.
"So we can go inside now?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when his wife rolled her eyes before they were going into the habitat. When they had reached the viewing area of the polar bears he said, "Is it weird if we get all three polar bear shirts?"
"No," Beckett said firmly while she was taking a picture of a polar bear that was swimming by.
"I just realized something," Skye told the writers. When the two were looking at her she said, "You didn't get anything for Finn and Emmie."
"We were told not to," Beckett said.
"But-" Mary started to say with a frown.
"I texted her just now while we were walking," Castle said. "Luckily she didn't have an appointment. She said we could get a few shirts, but just three."
"I'm not surprised," Skye commented. "So what will you give them?"
"Wait, shirts?" Mary asked.
"Alexis wants that since they're still small right now," Castle explained. "So they'll be able to wear them in the future… summer?"
"Next summer I think she's aiming for," Beckett replied with a nod, lowering her camera.
"And you can get the right size for that?" Mary asked in surprise.
"It's a guess really," Beckett said. "He told Alexis that but she said if they needed to they'll have them tailored," not surprised at Skye's response.
"Lucky kids," the investigator stated. "Does anyone want to sit?"
"I think we're ready to keep going," Beckett said. After Skye had nodded they walked through the viewing area and to the smaller habitats outside and she took a picture of the animals they were passing before they made their way out.
After the gift shop at the polar bears, where they had bought shirts, they went back to the street and walked again. As they were making their way down the hill they were on they were stopping here and there until they were at the elephants.
"We can sit right?" Mary asked with a smile.
"We can," Skye told her wife. "You two don't need to stay with us if you want to keep going."
"No, I think we're going to rest too," Beckett said, glancing at her husband.
"Yeah, we're not as young as our kids," Castle said, sitting down. He then glanced at Skye and asked, "Mind if I see the map?"
"You want to see how much is left?" the investigator asked with a smile.
"I don't remember that much of the zoo," Castle said, laughing with his wife and the McDouglases. He took the paper and then studied the areas they had left before he was looking at the places to eat. "Would you consider something?" he directed to his wife after a moment.
"What?" Beckett asked, trying not to smile too widely since she'd been watching her husband.
"Splitting a cotton candy with me?" Castle asked. "For our snack," he said since by then it was nearing two thirty.
"No," Beckett said, not surprised when Skye laughed briefly.
"Too bad, I would have taken a picture of him so your girls could see," the investigator said before Castle was responding with a frown.
"And torture them like that?" he asked jokingly.
"I'm not the one eating it," Skye replied.
"It's funny how they never stopped doing this," Mary said, leaning forward slightly to talk to Beckett.
"I know," she said in reply. "Are you two done?"
"So what should we get?" Castle asked her after nodding rapidly. He was briefly startled when she stood up and he did the same before he inquired, "Does this mean you want to continue?"
"It does," Beckett said firmly though she was looking over at the McDouglases who were soon standing up as well. "And before you ask, I'd like to get some popcorn." She smiled when he nodded again and said before he could speak telling him, "Dessert will be after dinner."
"Sure," Castle replied before they were laughing and walking past the elephants his wife had been taking pictures of. Once they were through the section, purchasing elephants shirts for their daughters and grandchildren on the way, they came to the Africa Rocks section and walked through that before they were back at the restaurant where they'd eaten lunch.
Seeing Beckett was taking a picture of the building Skye asked, "How're you going to get the restaurant tonight?"
Smiling Beckett said, "The waterfall."
"Ah, good point," Skye said. She then said, "We're nearly done," since they were walking back downhill again.
"Time for… wait, where is there popcorn?" Castle asked.
"In the front," Skye and Mary said at the same time.
"Said from experience?" Beckett said, smiling.
"A lot of experience," Skye said, nodding. "But it's good stuff."
Trying not to laugh for too long at her friend's tone, Beckett said, "That reminds me of something I wanted to ask. How does it come?"
"A souvenir bucket," Mary answered first.
"Going to take that home?" Skye asked, watching the writers exchanging a look.
"More than likely," Castle said. "But is the serving a lot?"
"For two? And for more walking? And for-" Skye started to say.
"Would you just answer grá," Mary interrupted in mock annoyance before they were laughing together as they walked up to the koala habitat
"It's not, you two will be fine sharing it," Skye said before they were leaning against the railing looking down at the koalas.
After they had finished with the Australia section, which they had left for last, Skye and Mary led the writers back to the front of the zoo and one of the food stalls there. They both got a bucket to share before they were splitting up, promising to meet at the restaurant for dinner.
"Here?" Beckett asked him in surprise when he led her to a pond behind a fence.
"Yeah, I noticed there weren't many people here," Castle told her before he spotted a bench. When she didn't protest he moved the rest of the way to the bench before they were sitting. They were silent for a while, eating, before he asked, "What about cotton candy after dessert?" He couldn't help laughing when she tossed a small kernel of popcorn at him and was about to speak when he noticed a duck coming out of the water by them. "Should I have picked that up?" he asked as they watched the fowl eating the kernel.
"It's too late now," Beckett said as the duck soon walked back to the water. She turned her attention to her husband and said, "We'll see what we can get."
Nodding Castle said, "It's been fun."
"Are we really going to go around again?" Beckett asked. When he looked at her in surprise she said, "There is time after dinner too," not surprised at his answer.
"I don't mind, I mean it'll be dark by the time we eat dinner," Castle began with. "And it'll be fun to see the animals."
Beckett smiled and then said, "Where do you want to go first?"
"The Skyfari? I'm surprised Skye didn't mention it," Castle said. When his wife was glancing at him he said, "Unless that was the point."
"I think it was," Beckett said. She squeezed his hand and when he looked at her she leaned into him. They kissed gently before she said, "Ready?"
"I don't know," Castle said, looking around. "We're alone here."
"Not really," Beckett said, beginning to stand up. When her husband kept her from rising too high off the bench she said, "Rick."
"Just one more," Castle said. When she gave him a look he said, "Seriously."
"I'll hold you to that," Beckett murmured before he was leaning into her. They kissed deeply then and though she wanted to hold onto her husband better than she was, they were soon pulling away from each other. Smiling at him she said, "Come on."
Nodding, Castle put the popcorn bucket in the bag he was carrying for his wife and they stood up before leaving the secluded area. Making their way to the Skyfari, he wasn't surprised to spot the McDouglases in line, their arms wrapped around each other as they were speaking.
"You couldn't wait for us to be alone for this?" Mary asked her wife.
"Not really," Skye told her with a smirk. She was about to continue speaking when someone behind them was clearing their throat loudly. She and Mary jumped before they turned to find it was their friends. "Really," she said.
"We remembered this," Castle told the women as they walked back to them.
"Are we going together now?" Beckett asked.
"I don't think so," Skye said.
"She's right, we've discussed it and we're going to the polar bears," Mary added.
"Would you like to go down to the tigers?" Castle asked his wife.
"You didn't discuss it? I'm shocked," Skye said with a smirk.
"We were talking about other things," Beckett said. She then turned to her husband and said, "I'd like to do that." When he nodded she reached for his hand and they were continuing in line before they were telling the McDouglas women goodbye as they boarded a car and were soon heading down the line. She entered the next one first before her husband joined her and she said once they were in the air, "I'm surprised you agreed to go on this."
Shaking his head, since he was well aware his wife was teasing him, Castle responded saying "We can always hold hands."
"I think I'm going to be a little busy," Beckett teased him, holding up her camera. She wasn't surprised when he made a face, but she was shortly after taking a picture of a plane coming in for a landing in the distance. She took a few more of the view below before she said, "We need to do something once we get to the tigers."
Smiling, Castle said, "Now you know why I suggested going to the tigers." Looking at his watch he said, "They'll be back by then."
"They… wait," Beckett started to say.
"I suggested they stay for dinner too," Castle told her. "Which I'm guessing you're mad about," he added, relieved when she responded swiftly.
"Why would I be? It is Saturday," Beckett said.
"Since they've been there basically all day?" Castle suggested. He watched his wife laugh before he said, "Great, they're still there."
"Then we can watch them a little at the arcade," Beckett said before she noticed they were starting to descend.
After they were off their car, Castle and Beckett waved to the McDouglas women who were already making their way to the polar bears. They had walked down the path they needed to get to the tigers when they looked back at the two women to find they had stopped and looked like they were signing autographs.
"I was wondering if that was going to happen," Castle commented.
"Me too," Beckett said. She turned back and they walked down the path again and once they had reached the tigers she watched her husband getting his phone out of his pocket. "I was going to say," she told him when she saw he was texting Alexis.
"Hopefully they're done with dinner now," Castle said before he jumped when his phone rang. "I think so," he said, smiling at his wife when they could both see their oldest's name on the screen.
"Hey Dad, Mom," Alexis said, seeing them on the screen. "I thought it was getting a little late so I wanted to call you guys to see if you're ready to talk."
"Are you still at the family fun center?" Castle asked.
"Yeah, we're going through the arcade right now," Alexis replied. "We had dinner a little early since we're leaving at seven thirty."
"You too?" Beckett asked.
"A little earlier," Alexis said. "My sisters are on the bumper cars if you're wondering." She turned her camera and said, "They're almost done."
"Mind letting us watch them?" Castle asked.
"No," Alexis said, smiling as she continued to hold the phone.
When their cars came to a stop, Julia couldn't help laughing when Josie next to her was groaning in disappointment. "Come on, we have to get out of the way for the other people."
"I think Mommy and Daddy are on the phone," Eliza said, walking over to her sisters to join them to leave the square the ride was in.
"Oh yeah," Julia said, seeing their big sister waving to them. She picked Josie up and carried her over to their family saying, "Is it Mom and Dad?"
"It is," Castle said, laughing with his wife when their daughters were greeting them after he'd spoken. "Hey, are you guys having fun?" he asked them.
"Wait," Beckett said when the three were speaking simultaneously. "One at a time okay?"
"We're having fun," Julia said, unable to help smiling when her sisters were looking at her.
"Yeah we went on the golf courses outside and then the arcade," Eliza said.
"I wonder if you aren't bored after all that time there," Beckett commented.
"We weren't," Julia said, squeezing her sister's arm when Eliza started to open her mouth to speak.
"And you still aren't?" Castle asked.
"No," Eliza said swiftly, smiling at her sister when she wrinkled her nose at her.
"Are we talking to you for a while?" Julia then asked.
"We'd like to," Beckett replied before she paused when the camera and everyone else were obviously walking.
"We needed to get out of the way of the people coming off the ride," Martha said.
"Then we can talk?" Castle asked. When the girls; the phone facing the three of them; nodded he shared a smile with his wife before he said, "Before we do that we'd like to show you where we are." He then turned his phone and could hear Josie squealing when her sisters were pointing out the tiger in the habitat.
"Tiger Mama? Dada?" Josie asked.
"We're with the tigers," Castle said, looking at his wife in surprise when she nudged him slightly. "Looking at the tigers," he added quickly.
"How's it been at the zoo?" Louis asked.
"Fun," Beckett replied with a smile. "But we're supposed to hear about your day at school yesterday," not surprised Julia and Eliza were looking at each other before the former was speaking first.
"And you'll tell us about yesterday and so far today?" Julia asked. "Lizzy wanted to know."
"We will," Castle said first. He and Beckett moved to the nearest bench and sat while Eliza started to tell them about her day at school. When she and then Julia finished with their dance class he said, "So you had nice Fridays."
Laughing Eliza said, "You mean Friday, Daddy."
"Either works," Castle said, not surprised the girls were giggling. "Now today."
Beckett was surprised when Julia and Eliza were speaking quietly to Josie before she said, "You want to start sweetie?"
"Eh," the toddler said. "We ate at pool."
"In the pool room?" Castle asked. He smiled when Josie was nodding rapidly and he said, "You didn't go swimming though did you."
"No, we came…" Josie said before she trailed off. "Here!" she cried out, having obviously been thinking of the word she needed.
After Julia, Eliza and the rest of their family took over relating their day at the family fun center, Beckett asked, "How've Finn and Emmie been?"
"Good, they've been watching everything," Louis answered first.
"I think they like all the lights and stuff," Eliza commented. "They've been smiling a lot."
"Good," Castle said. "They haven't laughed yet have they?"
"Still a little early Dad," Alexis replied. She took the phone from Julia and said, "Say hello to your grandma and grandda," to her kids.
After they'd said hello to the babies who looked like they were ready to go to sleep soon, Beckett said, "Are you sure you want to hear how our days went?"
When Eliza was exclaiming the word yes Castle said, "Alright, not too loud for Finn and Emmie."
"Sorry, I just want to hear," Eliza explained a little sheepishly.
"You will right now," Beckett said before she was beginning with what she and Castle had done after they'd hung up with their family the day before. He helped her relate that and that day so far and she said, "So we've had fun but we still miss you."
"Not too much," Eliza said in a rush.
"We're going to finish the trip, don't worry," Castle said.
"What about dinner? Where are you going?" Julia asked.
"The treehouse one," Castle answered.
"Where we went?" Eliza asked.
"With Paul," Beckett said, nodding her head. "But that's not for a little longer."
"So you're just going to walk around?" Julia said. When her parents were nodding she said, "We better let you go."
"No!" Josie complained.
"Why not?" Eliza asked her.
"Stay," Josie then said. "And play."
"When we're back home from the B we'll have a ton of time for that," Castle said reassuringly, feeling his wife squeeze at his free hand. He did the same back in response to her since he felt the same way hearing their daughter's entreaty. "Since we're ahead in our books," he added before she was responding.
"Promise?" Josie asked.
"We promise sweetie," Beckett said firmly. She wasn't surprised when Julia led the goodbyes with her sisters and she and Castle were saying the same after making sure their parents were doing well watching the girls. "I think they want us to stay too," she couldn't help telling her husband when the call was ended.
"I know Mother does," Castle said, pocketing his phone. He glanced around briefly and then pulled his wife close for a swift kiss before saying, "Where should we go now?"
"Back to the Australia section," Beckett said.
Inclining his head once, since he was aware his wife enjoyed the animals in that section, Castle walked with her while they continued to hold each other's hands. "We should do that again," he stated once they were near the front of the zoo.
"Do what?" Beckett asked in a little confusion.
"Have breakfast with Skye and Mary," Castle answered.
"The last full day?" Beckett said with a smile. When her husband was about to speak she told him, "We're going to theirs tomorrow and Monday we're heading straight to Sea World."
"I'm worried about that," Castle said. "If we need that much rest the girls-"
"Skye applied that extra time for rest to us," Beckett said, cutting him off. "We'll need it to walk around."
"Right," Castle said slowly. He then asked, "Does that mean we'll come for Memorial Day?"
"Yes," Beckett said laughingly. "I'm surprised the girls didn't mention it," she added, not surprised when he was commenting.
"I think they wanted to get back to the arcade," Castle said. When his wife nodded he squeezed her hand and let it go when she raised her camera to take pictures. While he watched her he couldn't help thinking of that morning when they'd woken up and had Skye and Mary over for breakfast before leaving for Balboa Park.
Turning over on his side, Castle blinked a little furiously before he saw his wife had rolled into him. "Morning love," he told her.
"Morning," Beckett said before she yawned and brushed her hair away from her face. "I was confused."
"So was I, though that's more your fault," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife opened her eyes to look at him and said, "You rolled into me." He wasn't surprised when she merely shrugged one shoulder and asked, "Do we need to get up?"
"I think so," Beckett replied, moving to sit up. She smiled before she said, "Though I would like to open the curtains first."
"Me too," Castle said before he hurried to get off the mattress. He went to the window across from their bed and moved the shade covering it, blinking a little at the light from the outside.
"How does it look?" Beckett asked.
"Not bad," Castle replied, aware she meant the weather. After he'd uncovered the other window he said, "Ready?"
"Of course, I was just watching you," Beckett teased him. She wasn't surprised when he made a face as she walked up to him and she kissed his cheek saying, "Get changed love." She was about to walk past him when he was grabbing her hand and she said, "I'm not kidding."
Castle was going to speak for a moment but then decided not to before he leaned into her and kissed her tenderly. He lingered, pleased when she was responding and he slowly pulled away from her. Pressing his forehead to hers he told her, "We can keep doing that right?"
"If it's possible," Beckett replied with a smile. They shared a brief kiss and then parted before they were hurrying to change and finish getting ready. Out in the living room she was opening the curtains they had closed the night before while her husband was ordering their food.
"I'm so glad they texted me their order," Castle said, walking to his wife.
"I think they want to leave too," Beckett told him, not surprised when he was wrapping his arms around her. She put hers about his neck and said, "And they'll be here soon."
"I hate when you're so practical," Castle teased her. "Although I do love that about you."
"Are you sure?" Beckett asked in amusement.
"I am," Castle said, leaning into her. Before he could reach her lips there was a sudden knock on the entry door and he sighed saying, "You mentioned them wanting to go."
"I did," Beckett said, brushing her lips to his before they were letting each other go. She led the way to the door and after making sure it was the McDouglas women she opened it for the pair.
"Good morning," Skye said to the writers after they'd told her and her wife the same. After the door was closed she asked, "Do we have any time for a tour?"
"Plenty," Castle replied before he and Beckett were walking the women around the suite.
"You have a great view," Mary said once they were sitting in the living room. "Though I'm surprised at your bathrooms."
"She's right, I'd hate that," Skye said jokingly.
"We leave the doors open when we're using the sinks," Castle commented.
"And when one's bathing and the other's showering," Skye said, using the same tone she had before.
"I don't think that's a problem," Beckett said before her husband could speak. She then said, "How was your bed?"
"Really good," Mary said first. She smiled and then said, "Yours is the same I hope."
"It was," Beckett said before she spotted the slight frown on Skye's face. "What's wrong?"
"No, I was thinking about how nice it was of you two to let us come here for breakfast," Skye said. "I think we should return the favor," she then told her wife.
"I was just about to suggest it," Mary said with a smile. "And that would be nice, though it's smaller."
"I don't think either of us really care," Castle said firmly. "So that plan is set?"
"It is," Skye said with a nod. She then said, "Though I'm wondering about timing."
"What time does the restaurant open?" Castle asked.
"Ten," Skye said.
"What's with that tone?" Mary asked, looking at her wife closely.
"I had an idea," Skye replied.
"Are you going to tell us?" Castle asked.
"Of course, I'm thinking of stopping on the main street and walking around the houses for a bit," Skye answered.
"The main street?" Beckett said in confusion.
"Rosecrans," Mary said. "The houses before you start hitting the stores?"
"That was the idea. There are some really nice ones," Skye replied. "But a short walk."
"I think that's fine," Beckett told her.
"And the rest of the day will stay the same?" Castle asked.
"For now," Skye replied.
"You know we never discussed dinner tomorrow night," Mary said.
"I think we should go to the Gaslamp," Skye said.
"Any specific restaurant?" Castle asked.
"I almost thought you were going to say Horton Plaza grá," Mary told her wife before there was a knock at the door.
"We'll talk about that tomorrow," Skye said with a smile while Castle and Beckett were getting up to let in the employee with their food.
"That would be interesting," Castle told his wife once they were near the entry.
"We probably will," Beckett told him, smiling before she let him step up to the door first.