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: Really great getting the feedback for the last chapter so I'll start my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (It was nice reading you really like seeing Skye and Mary more in the story since I did love writing them in as much as I did!),
Smallhill (You're welcome for the stories. And I hope you'll enjoy the story once it's fully posted!) and
Mb (I was glad to see you thought the first half of the chapter was a nice update showing the four enjoying their day out. And it was great you thought the call home Castle and Beckett had with their family was nice. Happy to see you thought it was nicely done! You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! I was glad you thought the second half was a nice update too with their dinner and dancing. I wasn't surprised you were laughing at Castle and Beckett having one more day before they, as you said, can finally be together again. I was really pleased you liked the memory at the end of the chapter since I thought that one would be interesting to write since I wanted something from early in their relationship. Great you thought it was nicely done! You're welcome for sharing the second half of the chapter!).
Thanks for the reviews, loved reading them and I 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 Seaside written by Luke Pritchard and Paul Garred, from The Kooks album Inside In/Inside Out.
In The Seaside
"Okay," Skye said after they were past the entrance. "So there are a couple of options. We can go see the orca presentation or go straight or to the right." She wasn't surprised when there was no response and she sighed saying, "I'm leading?"
"I think you mean us," Mary told her wife.
"Fair enough," Skye said. "Should we see the first presentation?"
"I think so," Mary replied before they started to walk and the writers were following them. They led the way to the stadium and once they were inside she said, "Do you mind sitting in the middle or higher?"
"I don't," Beckett said. "I see the splash zone stickers."
"Yeah, you want to avoid those," Skye commented. "Unless you've brought a change of clothes."
"Did you do that?" Castle asked.
Unable to answer that since they were starting up the stairs, Skye waited until they were sitting together on a bench and she said, "When I was a kid I was allowed to. Of course the weather needed to be warn enough for that."
"We'll be here in May," Castle told his wife.
Shaking her head firmly Beckett said, "I don't want to worry about them changing," a little surprised that her husband was obviously hesitating.
"I wonder if we shouldn't let Julia and Eliza decide that," Castle said.
"I would," Skye and Mary said at the same time.
Not surprised when the writers were looking at them, Mary explained, "They're both older aren't they?"
"We'll talk to them," Beckett said with a sigh. "Mainly to Eliza."
"You don't think Julia would want to?" Skye asked in amusement.
"Probably not," Beckett said.
"She's right," Castle told the two women. "Now she's older…"
Looking down at the water below them, Skye said, "What do you think?"
"Why did you change the subject?" Mary couldn't help asking her wife in amusement.
"I think we're set on giving them advice, they'll have to discuss the rest with Julia," Skye said. She leaned over a little to see the writers and then nodded saying, "Which they know already."
Glancing at them herself Mary said, "I wish you would have mentioned that," smiling when Castle responded first.
"I didn't think it needed to be said," he commented.
"How much longer before this starts?" Beckett asked when the doctor looked at her.
"Not long," Skye said before music was beginning.
Since she was holding her camera, Beckett was taking pictures when the presentation began. It was a little difficult at first before she managed to anticipate the orcas when they were leaping out of the water. She could hear her husband applauding next to her and the McDouglas women cheering before it was over and she said, "I'm glad I brought that second battery."
"Is that good or bad?" Castle asked her.
"Good," Beckett replied before they were getting up to leave. "Did you like it?" she asked, squeezing his hand since they were holding each others.
"Yeah, it was great. The girls will love it," Castle said before they reached the stairs and were making their way down.
"We're glad to hear that," Skye said once they were out of the stadium. She smiled and said, "Now I want to know do you guys want to see the underwater viewing area?"
"Of what?" Castle asked.
"The orcas," the women said at the same time.
"For a little," Beckett said, making sure her camera was ready. They followed the McDouglases to a long span of acrylic looking in on the water before she paused when an orca swam past, her husband reacting verbally first.
"Can we get closer?" Castle said.
"Yeah, you didn't have to stop," Mary said, slightly laughingly. After they were close to the glass she said, "That one that just went by they rescued not too long ago."
"H- Where is Skye going?" Castle asked seeing when the investigator left them.
"I'm not sure," Mary replied.
"They're going to release it next month," Skye said, walking back to them after she'd spoken to an employee.
"Is it the only one here?" Beckett asked.
"It is, they needed to keep it separate," Skye explained. "But it's alright now," she added, looking at the view window. "Are you ready to go?" she then asked them after shaking herself.
"Yes," Castle said.
"Which way were you thinking of going?" Mary asked her wife since she'd taken the map from her.
"I wanted to go around here," Skye said. "And then we can go on this ride."
"Right," Mary said. "Better get it out of the way before we have lunch. You'll enjoy this one, even I do."
"You do?" Beckett said, startled and not surprised her husband looked the same.
"We… I think we forgot to tell them," Mary said with a laugh when the realization came to her.
"We'll show you once we're finished with the section we're going to right now," Skye said.
"Which is?" Castle asked.
"We'll see right now," Skye said firmly though they were coming up to a ship.
"What's this?" Beckett inquired.
"A restaurant and ride," Skye replied.
"A rapids ride," Castle said. They moved to stand at the railing to watch some boats going by and he smiled at the cries of kids on it. He then looked at the others and said, "This one none of us are going on are we?"
"I'm not," Skye said, not surprised her wife laughed before she spoke.
"She's right, we don't usually go on it," Mary said. She wasn't surprised when the writers were frowning a little and she explained, "We tell the girls when we come they have a choice, sit in the splash zone at the orcas or this."
"They usually choose the splash zone," Skye said. "But once in a while they'll want to go on this." She then turned directly to her wife and said, "Grá, I think it's time."
"Time?" Mary asked in confusion.
"Time for the girls to go on their own whenever they want to go on it," Skye replied.
Beckett shared a look with Castle before they were looking at the doctor, startled when she began to smile.
"I think you're right," Mary said. "Don't look so surprised," she directed to the writers when she saw the expressions on their faces. "I have been on this ride. I just don't like it because of the water."
"Force of habit," Castle said, smiling when the three women laughed at that while they were leaving the railing to walk again. When he saw they were approaching something with people leaning over he asked, "An animal?"
"Tidepool," Skye said simply.
"And you can touch here Rick," Mary said jokingly.
"That's not up to me," Beckett couldn't help saying laughing when her husband immediately looked at her. "Just promise you'll wash your hands after."
"Of course," Castle said, spotting a sink by the pool. Since he was wearing a jacket he was taking it off in a hurry before looking around.
"Here," Beckett replied, reaching out for it before Skye was taking it.
"If you don't mind," she told her friend. When Beckett shook her head she was about to speak when her wife was taking the jacket.
"Why-" Castle started to say with a frown, having been watching them.
"I know Skye wants to join you," Mary said. When her wife glanced at her she urged her saying, "Really grá, you can I know you love to."
"Thank you," the investigator said before she was turning to the pool. Removing her jacket Skye gave it to her wife saying, "Perfect weather to be honest."
"Are we in trouble for coming in May?" Beckett asked, taking pictures of her husband and the sea stars that were inside the water.
"I don't think so," Mary said first.
"She's right, it's mild here," Skye added, cradling a reddish hued star. "Though if it's sunny, hats and sunscreen."
"Oh don't worry," Castle replied. "We will." He and Skye picked up and touched a few more sea stars near them before they were heading to the sink. After they had washed their hands he asked, "Let me guess, Manta is next," a little taken aback when the McDouglases laughed before Skye responded first.
"You're a little too fast there," the investigator told him. "There's one more thing before we head to the ride." She wasn't surprised when Castle held out his hand in a gesture for her to lead them and said, "Alright, we're going right now."
Walking with her husband Beckett said in amusement, "I'm trying to decide what you're more excited about."
"Why don't you just ask me?" Castle asked her, taking her hand.
"Because I know you're going to say both," Beckett said. She glanced at him and said, "Tell me I'm wrong."
"Not really," Castle said. "So you don't need to decide."
"I wasn't going to, though you talking about Manta without knowing where it was…" Beckett teased him since they were able see the track ahead of them.
"Just wondering," Castle said. "And we need to test these for Eliza."
"One you won't be able to test is Atlantis," Skye said. She paused and then said, "I mean it's open and you could but it's partially a water ride."
"They can see it," Mary said before they were at the next thing.
"This?" Castle asked, seeing there was what looked like an art installation.
"It's the entrance to where we're going next," Skye replied before she took her wife's hand and they were heading to it first.
Soon making it inside, Castle quickly saw what was in the large aquarium in front of them and said, "Turtles."
"Sea turtles," Mary said with a smile at the obviously restrained delight in his tone before his wife was speaking with a smile of her own.
"He likes animals… if you couldn't tell," Beckett said. She saw the way her husband was looking at her and said, "So do I."
"I would film this," Skye told her friend. She smiled when Beckett looked a little hesitant before she told her, "Trust me. Just film as we walk up to the viewing glass here."
"Alright," Beckett said once her camera was ready. She couldn't help smiling as the others were making sure not to get in the way of her before her attention was taken by one of the turtles swimming up along the glass. Her eyes widened when it seemed to be looking at her and then stopped filming there. "I see what you mean," she said.
"It's happened to us before," Skye said. "Both just Mary and I and us with the girls."
"It's awesome," Castle said. "I wish we'd brought the girls here sooner."
"They can appreciate it more," Beckett replied.
"Then… does that mean we can come back again?" Castle asked.
"It does," Beckett answered. "I know you're thinking of Josie."
"Hey, those rides," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when the women were laughing and he took his wife's hand. He kissed the back of it swiftly before they were continuing in the room and he was startled seeing how big the aquarium was. After they'd walked along it, seeing turtles and fish, they were leaving the last viewing glass and he said, "I'm glad we did this."
"So early in the visit, nice," Skye said before her wife was speaking with a smile as she was looking at Castle.
"You know you forgot about this," Mary said.
"What?" Skye asked.
"The gift shop," Beckett said, looking ahead of them.
"Right," Skye said. "Remember you can have them hold your bags."
"We're going to need to," Castle said, looking at his wife.
"You said you didn't want to have a bag," Beckett told him teasingly as they were entering the shop.
"I don't," Castle said before they were splitting up. Seeing the turtle shirts he said, "You don't think one of the girls will want one of those rescue shirts?"
"I think Eliza," Beckett replied. She glanced at her husband and smiled saying, "She wanted to be a vet for a while, didn't she?"
"Good point," Castle said before he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. "They didn't really mention that ride," he commented.
"I don't think they wanted to," Beckett said. She squeezed his arm when he was about to speak and said, "Wait until we're finished." She smiled when he immediately nodded before they were getting a light green shirt with a sea turtle on it with Sea World under it for Josie, a white shirt with a sea turtle on the back and the logo of Sea World with the words under it on the front for Julia. They looked at the options for the rescue themed shirts for Eliza and soon decided on a dark blue one. After they'd paid and left their items to be sent to the pickup at the entrance they went outside to where the McDouglases were and she was about to ask if they were going to continue when Skye was addressing that first.
"There are two things we've missed," the investigator said. "There were some tidepools at the entrance and this ride."
"We thought you might not want to go on the ride," Beckett said.
"Would you want to?" Skye asked. "I wanted Mary to be able to go on a ride first."
Smiling when the writers were assuring them they didn't mind, Mary said, "Thank you for that."
"Actually if I had a choice I'd want to go on a roller coaster more," Castle said.
"But you can go on that one," Mary said. "It's called Riptide Rescue."
"What about after?" Beckett suggested. "We can get that one out of the way before lunch."
"Sounds good to me," Skye said before she led them over to the roller coaster. "Oh, nearly forgot, there is this touch pool," when they were nearly at it.
"Rays?" Castle asked.
"Bat rays," Mary said. "Would you want to touch these?"
"Definitely," Castle said before he looked at his wife.
"Let me get some pictures before we start," Beckett said with a smile at him before she was getting her camera. She took some shots of the rays under the water before moving with the others to reach in and touch the tops of them as they swam by. When they had finished and washed their hands, they walked over to the line for the roller coaster.
"It's too bad we weren't a few months later," Skye commented after they were near the loading platform.
"Why?" Castle asked.
"Another roller coaster is going to open," Mary said first. "We have no idea when exactly but they've said this spring. Arctic Rescue."
"Is it one you can go on?" Beckett said to the doctor.
"I think so," Mary replied. "We'll have to wait and see once it opens and someone films on it."
"I think you can, it seems like it's going to be similar to a ride at the park in Orlando," Skye said. "So… hopefully." The line moved then and she said, "Do you two care sitting in the front?"
"It's not for me," Mary said swiftly when the writers were looking at her. "It's the ride, it's better to sit in the front." She smiled when they nodded before she said, "Since we've been on this many times already, go ahead and sit in the front."
When they reached the loading platform, Skye asked for the first two rows which they needed to wait for but soon they were boarding.
"I hope the kids can go on this," Castle told his wife.
"Except for Josie," Beckett said with a smile before the train was starting to move and they went through a tunnel before they were looking at the sides of it when screens lit up.
"Why the water?" Castle asked.
"It's bubbles," Skye said in mock annoyance behind them before the writer was responding in the same tone.
"It's under the water," Castle replied, laughing with the others before the train was suddenly going backwards a bit before rocking back and forth while he saw the shadow of rays on the screens. Raising his hand to block his eyes as a door at the end of the tunnel raised up they were suddenly launching.
Crying out in joy at the speed, Beckett laughed when they were arching to the right before dipping down. Coming back up to the right she saw her husband was raising his arm before they were arching a little to the left. When they were going straight she wasn't surprised it didn't last long and they were going down to the left. She tried to hold her arms up herself, but it was too hard as they were going up and down. When they were level she said, "Okay?"
"They'll love it," Castle said, knowing she was talking about the girls. He was going to say more when they were being launched again and he laughed hearing Skye letting out a whoop behind them before they were traveling over the rest of the track. When they finally made it to the break run he and his wife applauded with the McDouglases behind them and said, "I think we'll take them on."
"I don't think they'll let us not take them," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband chuckled briefly at her wording.
When they were off the train and walking away from the platform Skye said, "Do you want to see the aquarium viewing?"
"Sure," Castle said before they were following the women to a set of stairs where he could see the rays they'd touched in the pool swimming around.
"Is it weird we went back and forth with the turtles?" Castle asked.
"That was on purpose," Mary said, smiling at him. At his confused look she explained, "We did that with the girls."
"You didn't go into the sharks," Castle stated.
"When we first took Marie and Kath," Mary said simply.
"Oh… I guess that makes more sense," Castle said.
"She didn't want to do that," Mary explained. "She thought you two would find it weird but-" she then started to say before he was interrupting her.
"We've never been so we thought there was a reason for going in that direction," Castle said. He paused and then said, "What about that roller coaster by the tidepool?"
"Remember she mentioned wanting to go on Manta first?" Mary said.
"I forgot," Castle said honestly. "And just so you know we don't mind," he added.
"I'm glad to hear that," Mary said with a nod. "I wonder if Skye's talking to Kate about that."
"It's likely," Castle said, looking towards the interior of the Calypso Smokehouse where they'd gone for lunch.
"I wouldn't worry so much Skye," Beckett told her friend while they were waiting in line.
"True, I guess I took it for granted that Mary was used to this," the investigator replied. "Coming around the top to the main sea turtle aquarium."
"I wonder why they have that other one," Beckett said, since there had been a habitat for them by the tidepools.
"No clue," Skye said. She then smiled and said, "We'll have to wait to go on the rest of the rides for a bit, but I was thinking of us walking around the rest of the park before we go back to those."
"I don't mind," Beckett replied. "Though… do you go back to the presentations?"
"After we've seen them already?" Skye asked. When her friend nodded she shook her head and said, "No, we just go once."
"Then what do you do once you've gone around?" Beckett said.
"Now go on rides," Skye replied. "But before it was walking around and looking at everything again. The tidepools… all of that."
Nodding Beckett turned her attention to ordering since they'd reached the front of the line and as they walked along the food they were soon getting to the desserts. She wasn't surprised when Skye, in front of her, grabbed a plate with a Shamu cookie on whipped cream. When her friend looked back at her she took the next one and they were walking to the registers to pay before heading outside to their spouses.
"You did get a cookie," Castle told his wife when he saw her tray.
"I did," Beckett said. "Since Skye mentioned it."
"So did I," Mary added laughingly.
"Hopefully you'll enjoy it," Skye then said. She then smiled when the writers were looking at her and said, "Everything, not just the cookie," before her wife was asking about their food.
"You settled on ribs?" Mary asked since she'd let her wife decide.
"They did too," Skye said, nodding to Castle and Beckett. "And they looked good."
"I think you just noticed the fries," Mary said.
"Can you blame me?" Skye asked, picking up one of them. She dipped the waffle fry into a little ketchup and fed it to her wife.
"Hey, hey, you two aren't alone here," Castle said in mock protest.
Squeezing her husband's hand Beckett said, "Split the salad love."
"Sure," Castle said, quickly moving to pick it up in its bowl. He put some on his plate before he took the vinaigrette and mixed his half. When he'd finished he asked the McDouglases, "Salad?"
"Yes," Skye said. "I prefer some freshness, those fries aren't enough."
"I don't know if I'd call them fresh," Mary said in amusement.
"It was either that or the mac and cheese," Skye replied wryly.
"The food is good," Beckett said before the doctor could respond.
"Oh good," Skye said, smiling. "I was afraid you might not want barbeque."
"We don't mind it," Castle said. "And we mentioned something about trusting you…"
Laughing briefly Mary said, "I spoke with him about the path we took after the tidepool."
"Great, now I won't need to ask," Skye said. "After this we'll go on a more… standard route."
"Route?" Beckett couldn't help saying. When the investigator made a face she said, "It doesn't matter, whatever is easier for you guys is fine with us," before the doctor was speaking first.
"Did you tell her what we do after the presentations?" Mary said.
"I did," Skye said. "Him."
"I did," Mary deliberately echoed. She smiled and then said, "And I'm guessing you guys are both fine with that."
"We are," Castle said, his wife nodding in agreement. They turned their attention to their food and were eating in silence until he said, "I'm glad you agreed to come with us."
Laughing Skye said, "Are you sure about that?"
"I am," Castle said.
"He's right," Beckett said, picking up her husband's napkin. "Though next year-"
"We're going somewhere on our own," Mary said firmly before she and Skye were watching her.
"Sorry, I had to help him," Beckett said since she had gently wiped at the corner of her husband's mouth.
"I could have done that," Castle said, though he'd purposely left his tone even. He took the napkin back and ran it over his mouth before he said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Beckett said, unable to help laughing.
After they'd eaten for a little longer in silence, Skye stated, "I did want to ask what you thought of the sea lion habitat," not surprised Castle was the first to respond.
"It was great," the writer said first. "The girls will love that… especially feeding them."
"He's right," Beckett said with a smile. "Though did you ever need to explain to your girls that you don't feed the ones at Pier 39?"
"We did after we brought Marie and Kath here," Mary said first.
"Very quickly after we took them to that and fed the sea lions they were begging us to allow them to go back to Pier 39," Skye took up. She smiled remembering and said, "I was very firm on the fact they couldn't do that because those sea lions were very picky and preferred getting their own food."
"And it worked?" Beckett asked in amusement.
"It did," Skye said.
"Yeah, they were fine just watching them in San Francisco," Mary added. She saw they'd finished their entrees and she said, "Okay, time for the cookie."
"The best part," Skye said, not surprised when the writers were laughing at her tone.
"Though you know she's right," Castle told his wife, watching her getting the plastic knife she'd brought. "Can you-" he started to ask before she interrupted him.
"I've got it," Beckett said, unable to help smiling since he'd been watching her closely. When she had the cookie split she got her fork and then put some of the whipped cream onto her plate, taking her half of the sweet after.
Watching the writers eating their first bites Skye said, "We didn't oversell it I hope," before Castle was responding first.
"No, you never said it was the best cookie ever made," he told them. Castle then smiled and commented, "I can see why your kids enjoy it so much."
"And the two of us, don't forget," Mary added. She wasn't surprised when the writers laughed before they were calming down and completing their dessert.
When they'd finished and thrown everything away Skye said, "We're going to backtrack, but just because we went near it and not to it." She saw the expressions on the writers' faces and asked, "Too vague?"
"Incredibly vague grá," Mary said first. "And I know what you're talking about."
"This way," Skye said before they were heading around the restaurant.
"Oh finally," Castle said when he saw the sign that read Shark Encounter.
"You wanted to go to this?" Mary asked laughingly.
"Of course," Castle replied. They moved to walk into the building and when they were near he said, "What about Josie?"
"We'll talk to her," Beckett said. "And stay with her."
Nodding, since they were inside and could see the top of the aquariums where the sharks were being held below them, Castle then glanced around. "I wasn't expecting this," he commented since the wall across from them had a mural on it.
"We're supposed to be looking down into water you know," Skye told him teasingly before they were turning to Beckett.
"You don't need to wait for me," she told them, guessing all three were looking at her while she was taking pictures before her husband was speaking first.
"I think I need to," Castle commented, not surprised when she was rolling her eyes before she spoke.
"You don't," Beckett said first. She smiled and then said, "I know you'll be ahead of me." She was a little surprised when her husband was taking her hand and the McDouglases were walking ahead and she said, "Rick?"
"Yeah?" Castle asked before they were walking after the two.
"What're you doing?" Beckett asked him though they were stopping when the McDouglases did to look down at the sharks again.
"Nothing," Castle said. He raised her hand up to his lips which he kissed swiftly before letting her go so she could take a picture. When they were walking again they were meeting up with Skye and Mary and he said, "We're going down to them right?"
"You'll see," the women said at the same time before they were laughing and moving away from the edge of the second aquarium.
Continuing down the path, Castle was looking at the fake trees and rocks before saying, "It's not my style but the girls should like it."
Smiling, since her husband had been speaking in Irish, Beckett said, "I'm sure they will," before they were reaching a smaller pool though she couldn't see much in it. They passed another view of the larger aquarium and she managed to take a quick picture of that before moving on with the others. When they began going down she said, "I don't know about this," since the path got a little darker.
"I'm thinking her sisters might distract her," Castle said.
Nodding, Beckett took his hand when they were turning to the left and she said, "She might have a problem," not surprised when he nodded in agreement before he spoke as they came to another tunnel with blue lights wavering like light shining through water.
"I'll say it again, her sisters would be able to help her," Castle said.
"You don't think you two would manage to do that?" Skye asked them.
"I think we all will," Beckett replied before they were turning left again. "Where-" she started to say with a frown when they were curving around to the right.
"Don't worry, we're here," Mary said with a smile. "I know it's a while but it does pay off."
Castle wanted to laugh at her wording, but they were reaching a clear tunnel and he said, "You might be right."
As they stepped onto the moving walkway, Beckett was hurrying to take pictures of the sharks and fish around them and a few swimming above them. When they were walking off she said, "That seemed a little short."
"We can always come back," Skye explained as they walked around and came to a floor to ceiling viewing window. They stood at the railing for a while before she said, "We'll be going on a straighter path."
"Straighter?" Castle asked.
"Quiet love," Beckett told him teasingly as she took his arm. "Come take a selfie."
"Are you going to be in it too?" Castle immediately inquired.
"Of course," Beckett said before Skye was stopping them.
"Let me make it a picture," the investigator told them before she had taken the phone. She waited for the writers to stand in front of the teeth and jaw of a shark and took the picture before she said, "We're going to be doing a lot of walking," not surprised at Castle's response.
"I thought you said we weren't going to go around-" he started to say.
"We're not, the next thing is a bit far from here," Skye said, looking at the time on Castle's phone before she gave it back to him.
"You might be able to start on rides after," Mary told her wife.
"I was thinking of that," Skye replied with a brief nod. She then smiled and said, "It would give us a chance to sit."
"You're being vague again," Beckett said teasingly.
"Thank you," Skye replied before they were laughing together leaving the building. She led them past foliage and a circular building before they were reaching an outdoor habitat and was about to speak when Beckett was first.
"Penguins?" she asked.
"Yeah, our favorite section," Skye said, watching her friend taking pictures of the Magellanic penguins that were in front of them.
"Is this inside?" Castle asked.
"Yeah, whenever you're ready," Skye replied.
"We are still going to split up," Mary stated when they were moving together to head to the entrance of the building.
"Of course," Castle said. He paused and then asked, "Are you going to come back here and make out?"
"Póg, I think I've told you," Skye said firmly. "And no, we won't."
"Really," Beckett said.
"You too," Skye said in mock annoyance.
"No, I expected it," Beckett replied with a smile before she was pausing.
"It's freezing," Castle said, sensing the temperature change as well.
"There's a reason," Skye said, smiling at the writers. "And you'll get used to it."
After they'd walked past some plaques with information about penguins on them they came to another moving walkway which they stepped onto together. Once they were moving Beckett began to take pictures though she was pausing every so often to look at the habitat.
"Wait," Mary said when the writers were going to continue through the building after they were off the walkway.
"We're not continuing?" Castle asked in confusion.
"Not yet," Skye replied. "Though really we hope you won't mind going here."
"Again, you're not going to make out here?" Castle asked jokingly, keeping his voice low while they were walking up a small flight of stairs.
"Just come with us," Skye said in mock exasperation.
When they were at the top Mary told the writers, "You see why we enjoy it here."
"It is nice to not have the walkway," Castle said while he was nodding at the same time.
"It's too bad the sharks don't have that," Beckett commented.
"I've thought of that," Skye told her. "But I realized that it works better for the atmosphere they're trying to set up. Also because people are afraid of sharks… though they don't necessarily need to be."
"No, just cautious," Mary said in agreement with her wife. "But that's just our opinion."
"I think we both agree," Beckett said, trying not to laugh when she could see her husband was nodding rapidly in agreement a few times. "Have you brought your girls here?"
"They enjoy coming here to watch them," Skye said, nodding over to the birds. "And no we haven't come here to make out," she added firmly though she was smiling slightly at the same time before her wife was continuing for her.
"We tend not to do that here, there's a lot of kids," Mary said. "Definitely not when we had the girls," she said before they were looking at her wife when she stood up.
"I'm ready to move on," Skye said in explanation to the three slightly puzzled expressions that had turned to her.
"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked, standing herself.
"I'm not surprised you figured that out," Skye said with a smile. "We still have a little longer to go before we should go back to the rides, I'm thinking of going through the rest of the park that isn't."
"There isn't all that much," Mary reminded her wife while she and Castle were getting up as well.
"So do you mind?" Skye asked.
"No," Mary said with a smile. She took her wife's hand and they turned to the writers at the same time.
"That's fine with us," Castle said first. "But… what're you going to do while we go on those?"
"Watch the rides," Mary said. "Since I don't go on them I enjoy hearing others' reactions to them… which I hope didn't sound weird."
"It doesn't," Beckett said, smiling. "I noticed Skye will yell a little louder sometimes."
"When I know that we might be getting near Mary," the investigator said, squeezing her wife's hand. They left the room where the penguins were and came to an aquarium where there were puffins.
"There's a gift shop here right?" Castle asked while they were watching the birds.
"Rick," Beckett said.
"What?" Castle asked in surprise.
"If you're thinking of getting a stuffed puffin for Josie… I would wait until we come back," Beckett explained to him.
"She's right," Mary said as they were walking again. "She might want a penguin."
"Knowing Josie… she might want both," Castle said, not surprised when the women were laughing.
After they had gone through the gift shop attached to the penguin building and had their purchases, the four made their way through the rest of the park looking at the different animals they could. They also paused outside the Journey to Atlantis ride where they watched the drop and could see a little of the roller coaster that was part of it.
"So that's it," Skye said when they finished at the touch pools just past the entrance. "Hopefully you two are happy with this place," she said a little jokingly, not surprised at Beckett's response.
"We are and we have been saying we'd bring the girls here," she reminded her friend.
"Great, so…" Skye said before trailing off.
"We can start going," Mary said in mock annoyance.
"Well, first we need to discuss how we're going to do this," Skye replied, getting the map.
"You have a plan," Castle commented. When the investigator was looking at him he said, "Just a hunch."
"Really good one," Mary said jokingly. She laughed when her wife playfully nudged her before she was folding the map. "What's wrong?" she asked, surprised she was doing that.
"Nothing," Skye said reassuringly. "But we need to figure something out. "I was going to suggest we go the way we did this morning… well, not exact since we don't need to go straight to the turtles. But you need to tell me if you want to go on the rides we reach."
"Well… we agreed not to go on the one by the turtles and sharks," Beckett said first.
"And I'm not sure if I'll be able to go on the kid rides," Castle said honestly.
"I'm not sure about us either," Skye said. "So just decide on the ride as we go around to them?" When everyone nodded she smiled at her wife and said, "Let's go."
As they were starting to walk Mary said, "I'm guessing you're leaving that gift shop for last," smiling when Castle was responding first.
"That's the plan. I mean we've gone to all the others," he said. "But… Or should we go now?" Castle directed to his wife.
"Last," Beckett said firmly. They continued walking until they reached the ride after Shipwreck Rapids and she turned to Mary. "Do you think you can take pictures while we're on the rides?"
"Of course," the doctor replied, holding out her hands for the camera.
"It's all set," Beckett said.
"Okay, have fun," Mary replied.
Going into line Castle asked, "How're we going to sit?"
"Well, we are going to split up," Beckett said.
"Oh no," Skye immediately replied. "You two don't need to-"
"I think Mary would want one of us to sit with you," Castle interrupted as they were walking. He went behind the two women and then continued saying, "It should be your sister."
Beckett tried not to smile as Skye was rolling her eyes but they were at the loading platform and moving to board. She and Skye were in the second row while her husband was behind them. Glancing back at him she saw he was on his own and she smirked at him when he winked at her before she was turning back. After they'd lowered the over the shoulder restraints she said, "Have you been on this?"
"I have, it's… not a favorite but it is different," Skye said before the metal panels next to them were lowering. She laughed when she heard Castle saying, "Hey," since the train they were in was tilting.
Castle was about to speak when the train was being pulled back before going forward, when they were going back again. Eventually they were going over the track and passing another train and going upside down. When they were going faster he wasn't surprised when Skye was letting out a whoop since they'd seen Mary standing near the loading platform. Nor was he surprised when the ride wasn't that long though he was clapping after Skye had started doing so. "It was fun," he told the investigator once they were walking to the exit.
"Oh good, I'm glad you approve… who's going on that one next time?" Skye asked them.
"Probably just Julia," Beckett said firmly, since her husband was looking at her. "If she wants to go." She turned her attention to Mary and said, "Were you able to take pictures?"
"I did, I got some of you before it started to move," the doctor replied. "And I took one of the trains passing there in the middle."
"How did that turn out?" Castle asked since his wife was checking them.
"Good," Beckett said, smiling at the doctor. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Mary said. "That was luck though so I hope I can manage with the next ride."
"That's her way of asking what it'll be," Skye told the writers. "And I was going to ask you two if you want to go on Manta again."
"We'll probably go when we split up," Mary said swiftly after the writers were looking at her.
"Then we should skip it," Castle said before the investigator was leading them through the park. Once they reached the ride Emperor he was about to speak when his wife was doing so first.
"If you can see us on that drop that would be fine," Beckett told the doctor, handing over the camera.
"I'll recognize Skye's shirt," Mary assured her before she told the three she'd see them at the exit.
Getting into line, Castle said, "Do we need to figure out the seating on this one?"
Beckett glanced at him before she said, "You saw how the car was."
"I'm not sitting in the middle," Skye said before Castle could respond to his wife. She then said to him, "Kate should be."
Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "Only if you promise to go on Manta later with Mary."
Skye couldn't help laughing before they were moving forward again and when they stopped she said, "Mind if I ask for the front?"
"No, are you going to answer?" Castle said.
"Of course, to be honest I thought you'd know I was planning on it," Skye said. "Unless you're giving me a hard time," she said pointedly to Castle.
"I am," he admitted, laughing when she placed her hand on his shoulder and pretended to push. "Sorry, force of habit," Castle explained.
"So was that," Skye said with a smile.
"And Ma still hated you doing that," Beckett told her.
Skye was going to respond when they were at the front of the line and she was asking for the front. That time they didn't need to wait and were soon getting onto the train's front row before putting on the restraints. She noticed the young woman to her right was glancing at her and said, "Nervous?"
"A little," she said. "Are you Skye McDouglas?" she asked.
"I am," she replied. The gates in front of them opened and she said to the woman's gasp, "It'll be fun, just like flying an old jet," before the young woman was merely nodding her head.
When they began to move Beckett murmured in Irish, "Think she'll be okay?"
"I hope so," Skye replied as they were going up the lift hill. She kept an eye on the young woman while they were heading up but the time taken to get to the top and curve to the left appeared to help her before they were at the top of the drop.
Castle, as they were looking down at the loop they would soon be going through, was tempted to joke about just taking Julia but they were let go down the drop. He wasn't surprised when he could hear Skye letting out a whoop before they were going out of the loop and over the rest of the track before they were reaching the loading platform. "Nice," he told Skye, leaning over to look at her.
"I haven't gone on this one that much," the investigator said as they were getting off the train. "It just opened last year… actually it won't be a year old until next month."
"I thought she'd ask for your autograph," Castle said, seeing the young woman who'd been next to Skye was walking off with her group.
"Me too," the investigator said, "Okay, next to Electric Eel."
"Great… how far to it?" Castle asked.
"I think it was the one by Journey to Atlantis," Beckett said.
Nodding, Skye said, "It'll be quick but it's fun." They were at the exit out to the rest of the park and she said to her wife, "We're going to Electric Eel."
"Like I would really believe you wanted to go on Atlantis," Mary said, giving Beckett her camera back before sharing a brief kiss with her wife. "But I'm not surprised."
"Keep it," Beckett instructed her, not taking it.
"Right," Mary said. "And did someone ask you for your autograph?" she asked as they walked over to the ride.
"No, but there was a young woman next to me that knew me," Skye answered before her wife was explaining her question with a smile.
"I heard your name mentioned while a group was leaving," Mary said. "So she must have been there."
"More than likely," Skye said with a nod. "Alright grá, only one more ride you don't want to go on."
"Seriously?" Castle asked.
"She's right," Mary said with a nod. "The other rides I'm fine with… or the kids' rides."
"Since you brought that up," Castle said. "Would you mind if we split up after this ride."
"No," the McDouglas women said immediately.
"I don't either," Beckett said in obvious amusement when the other three were turning to her. "We'll be on time to call home."
"We're going to do that very shortly," Skye commented. She looked ahead of them and said, "And we're here."
Looking at the roller coaster Castle said, "Definitely Julia."
"We'll discuss it with Eliza in May," Beckett told him teasingly before they were heading to the line.