"Is she awake yet?" Castle asked his wife.
"No," Beckett replied with a smile, watching him towel his legs dry. "How was it?"
"Nice, though to tell you the truth I'm missing ours," Castle told her.
Nodding Beckett replied, "I'm not surprised. But we'll be back there eventually."
Looking over at Josie, Castle turned his attention to his wife and said, "Want to share your chair?" He made a face and then said, "I didn't mean for that to rhyme."
"I know, and I don't know if we should, it's a squeeze," Beckett said.
"Just until they come back with our smoothies," Castle told her. He wasn't surprised when she was hesitating briefly before she moved and he was quick to stretch out next to her. "You don't want to do anything else?" he asked.
"Before that last case?" Beckett replied with a smile. When her husband nodded she told him, "Not today, tomorrow ask me again."
"I'm excited to go," Castle told her seriously.
"Me too, everything is ready?" Beckett asked him. She wasn't surprised when he was nodding rapidly and she told him, "Then we're good." She was about to speak when she heard some movement to their left and glanced over with her husband before they saw their youngest was blinking her eyes. "Morning Josie," she said with a smile when the toddler was focusing on them.
"Morning Mama, Dada," Josie replied, sitting up. "Drink?"
"The smoothies?" Castle asked. When the toddler nodded he was about to speak when he paused, seeing their family returning to them. "They're here right now," he said.
Seeing what her husband had, Beckett was smiling at Josie's gasp of obvious joy before she said, "Come here sweetie, let me smooth your hair."
"Okay," Josie said, climbing off of the chair to her. As she felt her mother gently running her fingers through her locks she asked, "Can I long Mama?" She turned to her and asked, "Longer?"
"Longer," Beckett said with a nod, not surprised at her daughter's correction. "And if that's what you want."
"Yeah," Josie replied, nodding rapidly. "I want like you."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said. "Your sisters did too," she added, just as the others were returning, including her husband who'd left to help them.
"Here's yours Mommy," Eliza said, giving her one of the cups. "And Josa gets one too!"
Beckett was about to speak before she saw the cup her husband had in hand and stopped herself since it was smaller than theirs. "Which did you get her?" she asked Castle directly.
"The Berrilcious one," he answered. "And I got you a different one, the Synergizer."
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said since she'd been interested in that one before changing to what she thought she'd share with Josie.
"Don't drink that too fast ceann beag," Castle told the toddler as he glanced at her. "You're going to get too full for dinner."
"You never said what we were going to do for that Dad," Julia told him.
"Well, we thought first about splitting up," Castle began after looking at the other adults who nodded to him. He wasn't surprised when the kids were protesting immediately and he held up his free hand so he could continue. "Then we looked through all the places and decided to do what we did in Disneyland… if you remember."
"Pick a number?" Julia asked with a smile.
"Oh! Let's do that again, it was fun," Eliza said.
"What if we pick Cabanas?" Ivy asked after raising her hand.
"I think that would depend on you kids," Nkosi said.
"He's right," Mary said, smiling. "We didn't go, you guys did."
"Otherwise we'll have to all agree with it," Castle said. "I'm guessing you guys want to do that now?" he wasn't surprised when they were nodding rapidly and he smiled saying, "Alright," reaching for his phone in his pocket. He got his random number app and then looked at the restaurants.
"What is it Daddy?" Eliza asked, surprised when she could tell he was hesitating.
"There's only four," Castle said. "Unless you want me to count the three here we've been having lunch at."
"Could we?" Jacob asked, directing that to all the adults. "I mean today was the last day we're going to have any of the places."
"And we did have them all in the end," Clive added.
"Okay, that makes it seven, so go ahead and pick a number," Castle said after none of the other parents was protesting. He shared a smile with his wife when the kids grouped together before they were parting, Julia smiling at him and speaking for them all.
"Two," the teen said. A little startled when her father started to laugh, Julia asked, "Is it Cabanas?"
"It is," Castle replied, not surprised when the others laughed briefly. "Well, like we said it's up to you guys."
Beckett was surprised when the kids were going to the grandparents and she couldn't help smiling before she said, "I think it's up to them now."
"They did take them," Lily said, not surprised when her friend was nodding in response.
"We'll go there," Julia said. "So does that mean we've gone to all the restaurants on the ship?"
"Basically," Castle said with a nod. "There are two adults only ones and some of us have only gone to one of those."
"Don't tell us to go on our own again," Skye said swiftly when her three youngest were turning to her.
"She's right, only two more nights and we're spending it together," Mary said firmly. She then said with a smile, "And then we're splitting up."
"To go home," Clive commented.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Mom-" Peter started to say to his brother.
Shaking his head, Clive interrupted saying, "You know I'm not doing anything on the show so I might as well go home."
"You want to see Emily don't you?" Mari asked her dance partner with a smile.
"Yeah, I mean… she's the first sister I've ever had," Clive replied, shrugging his shoulders. He then said, "So… what're we doing now?"
"Finishing the smoothies," Castle said in amusement. "And you know already what we're going to do." He couldn't help laughing when the boy shrugged, sipping his smoothie, and he turned his attention to his wife since they'd moved to sit on their lounge chairs while they'd spoken. "So… I hope you'll enjoy the last… case," he said.
"I will, it's more important the kids do," Beckett replied. She then looked at their parents and said, "You're sure you're okay keeping our spots here?"
"We will be," Jim assured his daughter. He then smiled and said, "It's been a long cruise."
Glancing at his mother Castle said, "She told you to say that."
"Richard," Martha said in mock warning.
"I know you well Mother," Castle said simply before his wife was laughing and Josie was patting his cheek with her hand.
"Are you fight Dada?" the toddler asked.
"No," Castle said slightly laughingly. He kissed her hand before he told her, "We're just talking about what we're doing next."
"The case," Josie said.
"Why does she say that clearly?" Castle asked his wife jokingly.
Beckett shook her head before she said, "We'll do that once we're finished." She wasn't surprised when Josie raised her glass and said, "We're all finished." Smiling when the toddler pouted, she pulled her into a hug and asked, "Do you want to try mine?"
"Yeah," Josie said eagerly before she took a sip from the straw. She then made her mother pick her up and once she was on her lap she said, "Jules solves it."
"Everyone will," Julia said in a rush since it wasn't hard to hear her sister. "You can too." She had to laugh at the way her sister's eyes went wide in response and then said, "I'm done."
Beckett wasn't surprised when the other kids were saying the same and since she was finishing she didn't respond to that before they were all getting up and saying goodbye to the grandparents who were remaining. "Enjoy the pool Dad," she told her father after she had her sundress on.
"I will, I'm eager to see the Jacuzzi," Jim replied, since he had been planning on swimming at the adults only pool.
"You'll enjoy it," Castle told his father in law firmly. Since he had his shirt on he followed his wife and Josie to the inside of the ship and where the Midship Detective Agency console was.
After they started, the younger kids didn't seem to mind they weren't going to work on that case since the Muppets were doing a different intro. Laughing with the others, they were soon leaving to the painting of Mickey, Donald and Goofy on the deck above.
"Am I first?" Mari asked when Eve was handing her the badge.
"You're the youngest of us all," the young lady reminded her.
Mari made a face before she suddenly said, "Wait, I think we should make this even fairer."
"How?" Ivy asked with a frown since she thought the girl was thinking of her and the younger kids joining them.
"You guys do this too," Mari said, looking at her parents and the rest.
"That's a great idea," Julia said in a rush before the adults could say anything. "Since you didn't get to do these on your own."
"We're not going to be able to protest are we?" Beckett said wryly.
"No Mama, you solve the case," Josie said firmly, going to her and squeezing her hand.
Laughing with the others, Mari then turned her attention to the screen and after getting the badge in place was a little surprised seeing it was a dark room with crime scene tape crossed over it. After the tape was broken and Kermit explained to look for clues she began moving the flashlight on the screen around until she landed on an alarm clock and Pepe the King Prawn spoke. "Broken," she said, looking at Julia next to her who was scribbling in the case book.
Nodding, since Kermit and Pepe had appeared on the screen, Julia wrote down the time 1:47 as the time the crime occurred. She looked up when Pepe was gasping and freezing before Kermit hit his back, making her laugh with the others. She was laughing again when Josie and Sophie were clamoring, "Clue! A clue!" after Pepe and Kermit mentioned writing the time down. "Don't worry," she said, hugging her sister. "I already did."
"What about where we're going next?" Castle asked.
"I think I'm going to start at the bottom most floor and go up from there this time," Julia said. "It's a lot easier." She wasn't surprised when the others were agreeing to that and they made their way to the elevators and deck 2.
At the Bambi painting, Clive got the badge in place on the screen before it revealed a dark stage and three ropes in blue, red and green. After Kermit explained moving the lights with the ropes, he moved the badge in his hand until he had pulled all three. A chalkboard with three names for a rehearsal appeared and he said, "Oh man, I was hoping it was the Swedish Chef."
"That's your favorite character?" David asked. He laughed when the boy nodded and said, "Mine too," before they were turning to Julia since they'd watched the video out fully.
"Hold on," the teen said rapidly. She crossed off the three characters in the book before she said, "Okay, this is the only painting on this deck so we need to go up." After they were at the painting of fairies Julia got the badge and had Mari hold the casebook and pencil for her. Once the painting had moved, she smiled when the younger kids were giggling at Bobo the security guard eating bratwurst in buns before he was moving since they were asked to try and fix the monitors to see the security feed. She saw her task was to plug in a cord to a surge protector. Once it was set she gave the badge to Peter and watched with the others as the security footage was pulled up.
Laughing loudly when the footage changed to a bulldog skateboarding, Eliza giggled at Bobo's explanation that he'd made the recording. Her eyes widened at the sight of a flame shooting through the Aquaduck on another bit of security footage before she turned to her sister. "That's Gonzo isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Julia said laughing, writing in the book. She was about to tell everyone they could go up one deck when there was another piece of security footage. She laughed with the others since it showed Miss Piggy with a face mask and cucumbers on her eyes, Pepe standing and massaging her arm. Their laughter deepened when Miss Piggy smacked away the king prawn with her signature hi-yah. "Now back up to deck 4," she told everyone when they'd turned to her.
At the painting of Daisy Duck as Pinkie, Peter took the painting off before he revealed Beaker in a gallery of paintings. He needed to suck the clouds of words the Muppet was saying and he moved the vacuum cleaner on the screen. Eventually he got all of them and read for the toddlers, "I found this note by the trunk at two o'clock." When the picture of it appeared on the screen he read with all the kids who could read, "Hugs."
Before she could write that down, Julia was laughing again since Beaker was blinking at the flash of the camera for the evidence. She then noted it and said, "What a weird word."
"Are we going down this deck?" Jacob asked before he paused and they all turned to the McDouglas twins. "You didn't say anything," he told them in an accusatory tone.
"We hate being the youngest," Marie said in mock annoyance.
"I hate it even more than she does," Kathleen said, pretending to be mad before she stopped since she was laughing at everyone doing the same at her exaggerated tone. "Really, we… just didn't want to be the youngest for once."
"Then you two can do these pictures here on this deck," Julia told them before Peter was giving Kathleen the badge.
When they were in front of the picture of Walt Disney at a movie camera, the girl couldn't help laughing since behind it was one of the pools on that ship they'd just been at. There were a large number of beach balls before she sprayed them away with a hose until she found what Kermit called a stolen prop. Handing the badge to her twin she smiled as Gonzo appeared and said it was his helmet before he revealed he had been on the Aquaduck at the time of the crime after being shot out of a cannon.
Smiling at a shark diving onto the Muppet with Gonzo soon standing as the shark had the top half of his body in its mouth, Beckett said, "I wonder if this is good for kids to watch."
"We'd never want a shark in the… pool," Eliza started to protest. She paused and then asked, "Were you joking Mommy?"
"I was, let's go to the other picture," Beckett said with a smile before they turned.
At that picture, Marie got it out of the way and found it was a bunch of flowers with a UV scope. She moved it around until she was finding another stolen prop, Fonzie's gag flower. She smiled seeing her favorite Muppet on the screen shake one end of the prop before a paper shot out. Seeing it was a used excursion ticket she was surprised when Pepe was saying he had photos on his door and they could find it on a map. "Is it really there?" she asked, turning to Julia.
"Yeah, deck 5," the teen said, looking over the map. She wasn't surprised when the younger kids were begging to go see and they headed up the stairs until they were at a room that read 5148 . There were signs around it and they were looking over everything before they were focusing on the pictures.
"Yay, Kermit is safe!" Dani said eagerly at the sight of her favorite Muppet on the picture at the time of the crime.
"Innocent," Rebecca said with a smile.
"Yeah," Dani replied, smiling herself when her friends were laughing.
"Statler and Waldorf are innocent," Julia said as she was looking at the pictures of the suspects. "And Dr. Bunsen."
"Another picture on this floor?" Brad asked the teen before she was nodding.
"The one that's the fort," Julia explained before they were making their way there.
Taking the badge from Jacob, the young man couldn't help saying jokingly, "Anyone younger that hasn't gone?"
"Just go," Brad told his son in mock annoyance.
"I am," Jacob replied laughingly. Looking at the screen he took the painting off, revealing pipes that Kermit was telling them were disconnected, and a wrench. He was using that to reconnect the pipes by turning them before Animal's drumsticks fell out of two. He handed the badge to his sister before the Muppet was coming out to get them and was soon drumming on the pipes to their laughter.
"Wait," Julia said when the others were turning to her. She watched as on screen the 'camera' took a picture of the pipes and Kermit and Pepe were talking about green paint found next to them. She wrote it down in the book before she looked at the map for the green star for the Muppet call board Kermit and Pepe were talking about. She stopped when she heard Animal, and laughed as he came back into view, still drumming.
"Oh no!" Eliza giggled when the Muppet hit something and steam started to fill the 'room' he was in. When it was over she said to her sister, "Did you find the call board on the map?"
"Yeah, we have to go down one deck," Julia explained before they were walking together to the stairs. She led them to the call board before they were looking at all the things on them before she saw one that was about set painting.
"Is anyone left?" Eve asked, looking from the names to the book.
"Yeah, I get the feeling we're solving the case soon," Julia replied with a smile.
"Who's the youngest adult?" Peter asked, having heard their conversation.
"Oh don't start," Skye said in mock annoyance when the other adults were looking at her. "And you don't know if solving the case is next."
"Speaking of that, where next?" Beckett asked her daughter.
"We have to go to deck 7, we went to deck 6 first," Julia explained. She was surprised no one was protesting and they were moving to the elevators. On that deck she led them to the painting and they were watching as Eve was holding up the badge.
"Good thing I got this," the young woman said in amusement since she saw she needed to use a magnet to remove knives in slots. She then focused on getting the knives out of the way, smiling when she could hear the younger kids pretending to be fearful as they were flying around the 'kitchen'. Eve was a little surprised when one, a cleaver, landed on the board where the knives were and looked at Clive when it was identified as the Swedish Chef's knife.
"Hey," the boy said with a laugh when the character appeared and was talking, pointing at the knife.
Surprised there was something on the handle of it, Julia waited for the camera to take a picture before it was showing it. Pepe appeared with a magnifying glass, and she paused for a moment to write anything down when the prawn was sticking its head where the lens should have been. Laughing with the others, she was listening to him saying it was a fishhook and writing it down before the Chef was chasing a yelling Muppet tomato.
"Looks like you are going to help grá," Mary told her wife.
"Whatever," Skye said in mock annoyance before they were turning to Julia.
Leading them to the stairs, Julia said, "We can go to the two here but again, I feel like we're going to guess soon."
"Guess or you know?" Castle asked her teasingly. He wasn't surprised when she was glaring at him before they turned to Skye.
Getting the travel poster off the screen, the investigator was soon blowtorching some ice blocks and figures. She laughed after Sam the Eagle had appeared to scold them and said, "This is fun."
"I don't know why you complained," Mary teased her wife before she was revealing a fish prop for the character Lew Zealand.
"I hope you got that," Skye said after a receipt for betting on the crab races was there.
"Yeah but… we have to go back to Pepe's door," Julia said slowly.
"No we don't," Castle replied. "I took a picture," he explained to everyone as he gave it to Julia.
"Thanks," the teen said before they were looking at the screen when the character's boomerang fish slapped the painting. Smiling, Julia looked back at the picture before she said, "Okay, so it says Rizzo, Pepe, Bobo and Lew Zealand."
"Do you know who it is?" Iris asked as she and the other younger kids were watching the older ones talking.
"Maybe, we need to see the next painting," Julia said.
"I know it's my turn," Beckett replied with a smile before she took the badge that Skye handed to her. At the painting across the way she got the badge in its slot before it was revealing a bicycle wheel with the suspects for the case. "Wait-" she started to say before she was jumping slightly, startled when the kids and other adults were protesting that. "You don't mind if I do this?" she asked.
"No, it is your turn," Castle said firmly.
"Alright but am I deciding or will we talk about it?" Beckett said, not surprised when the other kids were looking at Julia.
"Why us?" the teen asked her little sister.
"Beats me, I guess it's 'cause Mommy and Daddy solve cases," Eliza said with a shrug. "And I think I know who it is too." She was surprised when her sister gestured her over and she went to her, whispering who she thought it was. When she pulled back she saw her big sister was nodding and said in shock, "Really?"
"Yeah, say it at the same time?" Julia asked. She was about to start counting down when the little girl was nodding in agreement before their baby sister rushing to them.
"I want to say too," Josie told them though she was wrapping her arms around Julia's waist.
"Do you know who it is?" Julia said. She wasn't taken aback when her sister nodded, trying not to laugh since she wasn't sure the toddler would have been able to figure it out, and said, "Whisper it to me." She was shocked when Josie was right and she pulled away asking, "You do know it."
"Yeah," Josie replied, nodding her head. "I say too?"
"Sure," Julia replied. "Okay, one… two… three. Bobo," she counted before she and her sisters were saying the security bear's name. She smiled when the others groaned in disappointment and said, "His name kept popping up."
"I thought the same," Beckett said. "Should I choose him?" She wasn't surprised when the others nodded before they were watching as Bobo failed the 'Liar, liar pants on fire' device. She laughed and said to Mary, "You'll get a turn at least."
"I get the feeling that'll be the actual guessing," the doctor said before they were going up to deck 10. "I was right," she said when she made the painting slide away and there were photos of the suspects. "Here we go," Mary told the kids as they were gathered around her. After she put the photo of the bear in the spot they were going to the 'room' of the character and soon coming to a safe. "Oh, who knows the combo?" she asked, laughing when the younger kids were crying out, "Hugs! Hugs!"
"Take it easy you lot," Skye said while the other parents were getting their kids calmed down. They then watched her wife put the code in using the numbers 4847 before the safe opened to reveal Kermit's missing banjo which was the last prop. When she saw they needed to go to deck 4 she commented, "At least we're getting a workout."
After Darnley had been given the badge they went to the elevators, heading down six decks before they walked quickly to the Dumbo poster. The carpenter got the poster out of the way before they watched as Bobo was confronted.
"Mama," Josie said tearfully when the bear sounded so sad in his confession.
"Easy sweetie, wait to see what Kermit says," Castle said as Beckett picked their youngest up.
When she heard Kermit say Bobo could stay, Josie gasped and clapped her hands before she watched the character kissing and hugging the frog. Giggling she pressed her cheek to her mother's and said, "He stays."
"I know, good thing," Beckett replied before they were watching as Kermit was talking to Dr. Bunsen.
"Trev-" Darnley started to tell his husband as he had a feeling there was another activity.
"Don't," Nkosi interrupted. "It's all you."
Making a face at his husband playfully, Darnley turned back to the screen and lit the 'fireworks' by passing a lit match over them. When the fireworks went awry he was laughing and holding Maddy on his hip so she could see better. The video ended with Pepe in Mickey's detective office, with Mickey asking who changed the lock and he kissed his daughter's cheek before he set her down. "A job well done I guess, to sound really cliché."
"But that was so fun!" Eliza said.
"Yeah, even if we didn't do anything, it was fun to watch," Fleur said. "Though I was so scared it was going to be Rizzo."
As the kids were talking about the character they were worried the suspect was going to be and how glad they were Bobo wasn't really in trouble, the parents ushered them to the elevator so they could make their way back up to the pools and grandparents waiting for them.
After she and Peter had parted Eve smiled at her boyfriend and said, "I had to tell my mom we started to do this."
"You… had to?" Peter asked in surprise.
"Yeah, when we were on the mini-golf course I think she caught the way I was watching you," Eve explained.
Nodding Peter said, "I saw you too."
"And did you mind?" Eve asked laughingly. She laughed outright when her boyfriend merely shrugged and hugged him briefly before saying, "She didn't but I got the you're only fifteen lecture."
"Almost sixteen," Peter couldn't help adding.
"Yeah, I said the same thing and she said not until September but whatever," Eve replied.
"Your dad didn't hear that conversation did he?" Peter asked a little anxiously. When he saw the way his girlfriend was hesitating he said in a strangled tone, "He's going to kill me."
"If he honestly was he would have done it already," Eve told him calmly. "My mother and I spoke to him and the only thing he wanted to make sure was we weren't going any further than we did the other night."
Nodding Peter said, "We won't," before he was startled when his girlfriend was frowning before he said, "No?"
"I guess I should say eventually we'll do more," Eve said. She then turned to him and kissed him, gently brushing her tongue to his lower lip at the same time he was doing the same to her eventually. Since they were touching each other they pulled back abruptly and then started to laugh. Once she had calmed down enough she said, "And I guess we just did," before he was smiling and speaking a little shyly.
"Did… did you like it?" Peter asked. "Or should we stop?"
"Yes to the first and no to the second," Eve said firmly and laughingly before they stared at each other for a little and she turned her head to the side first with a blush on her face. She soon felt Peter taking her hand and looked back at him as he was kissing the back of it.
"Hopefully that was okay," Peter told her.
"Don't worry, but I think…" Eve started to say before she was trailing off.
Peter was startled and was about to ask what she was thinking before his girlfriend was leaning into him. He was kissing her back as soon as her lips touched his and they wrapped their arms around each other tightly before he was moving his tongue to brush to hers first. The shock of the feeling made him pull away and he said, "Eventually we'll kiss for longer."
"Eventually," Eve said with a smile, not minding that. "But for now our parents are telling us to stop… mentally." She wasn't surprised when her boyfriend was nodding and they were laughing together before turning to the door leading into the suite hearing it opening. "We'll come in," she said, smiling at her boyfriend briefly when they saw it was Julia.
"We have the show ready," the teen said while the two were walking up to her. "Though you don't have to watch with us."
"I can hear my parents telling me to get inside," Peter said wryly, not surprised his girlfriend was smiling at his reference to their conversation.
"Mine too and they're right next door," Eve added laughingly before they were inside and he was closing and locking the door. She looked around and said, "Jake?"
"He's getting dressed and brushing his teeth last," Clive answered.
"I hope he's not upset about the mini-golf game," Eve said jokingly.
"I thought your sister was last?" Marie asked.
"She was, but he was having a hard time tonight," Eve said with a slight frown. She then noticed her boyfriend exchanging a glance with his brother before she asked them, "What is it?"
"There was a girl by our table he was looking at," Clive said.
"She was his age I think," Peter said.
"The one with the flowery sundress?" Mari asked. When the two boys nodded she said, "She was… nice."
"Don't worry," Jacob said, walking to the living room from the other bathroom. "I went up to her while we were leaving and said hi."
"What happened?" Eve asked in a little concern.
Shrugging Jacob said, "She rolled her eyes and said she wasn't interested in boys… and then she went to someone I guess is her boyfriend. I think she just looked young." He then held up his hand before the others could speak and told them firmly, "I don't really care, I had no idea who she was exactly and where she lives. She did me a favor to be honest."
Though she wanted to ask him if he would ever be interested in anyone, Eve held back since she'd been the same before she and Peter had begun dating. "Well, since that's set do you want to… watch the show?" she asked.
"That would be really nice," Jacob said. "And don't worry," he told the other kids. "My dad didn't really date until he was sixteen. And I don't think I'm in a hurry for it either. You guys are though," saying the last teasingly to his sister and Peter.
"He's fine," Eve told the others wryly before they were laughing together and moving to sit on the couch so they could watch the cruise ship show again.
"Rick?"
Shaking awake, Castle focused on his wife in front of him and said, "I… sorry I fell asleep," while he was sitting up.
"I wouldn't worry," Beckett said, stepping back to get out of his way as he stood up.
"Well, I took a nap so we can do something together," Castle said, soon finding himself fighting a yawn. He was unable to do that fully though and covered his mouth before he was finishing to find his wife was doing the same.
"I think you're going to have to face facts love," Beckett told him teasingly.
"We're going to bed?" Castle asked.
"We don't need to go right this second," Beckett replied. "But I think we're going to have to defer until tomorrow." She paused and then told him, "When you'll choose."
"I… figured you were going to say that," Castle said after pausing for a moment.
"And you don't want to?" Beckett said in amusement since she was already aware of the answer.
"Oh, I didn't say that," Castle replied, smiling when his wife laughed.
"You're a pervert," Beckett said as her husband was taking her hand and pulling her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and while they embraced she said, "But I'm looking forward to tomorrow night." She wasn't surprised when he was nodding against the side of her head and she said, "We could do this in bed you know."
Castle couldn't help laughing and he said, "I get the hint."
"Good, I didn't want to have to spell it out for you," Beckett teased him lovingly. They let each other go and then walked hand in hand into their bedroom before they were changing and then brushing their teeth.
Castle, finished first, was pulling at the sheets before he eventually paused and looked at the ceiling. Moving swiftly he turned on the star lights there before he turned as his wife was walking out. "We only tested them," he said. "But I thought it'd be nice to use now."
"It is," Beckett assured him before she was moving to take off her robe. Going around to her side of the bed she told him, "Do you want to use them tomorrow?"
"I… let me see how I feel," Castle said, setting aside his robe and moving to the bed. He got on it after her and they laid on their backs, looking up at the lights in silence for a little before he said, "Maybe I'll pass."
Beckett couldn't help smiling before she turned to him and pressing against his side said, "Remember when we did this in our past life?"
"When we were kids or married?" Castle asked, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Married," Beckett replied with a smile before she kissed at his shoulder. She wasn't surprised when he was kissing her then and she took it eagerly before their tongues were gently rubbing against each other. Following him after he deepened it, she allowed his tongue into her mouth to begin caressing at it lovingly until they had to pull away to catch their breath. Smiling she told her husband, "You kissed me like that then."
"I had to, you were my wife… it was spring," Castle said, smiling against her lips as she laughed.
"Not spring exactly," Beckett teased him. "I hadn't realized I was pregnant with Eliza yet."
"No, so that's why things progressed the way they did in the end," Castle said. When his wife laughed he brushed his lips to hers and then said, "I better turn off the lights."
"I know," Beckett replied with a smile before she was moving to sit up as he got off the bed. Watching him turn off the lights she said, "I'm surprised we didn't make love in the backyard."
"You scolded me," Castle said before he paused. "At first you did watch yourself regarding…"
"Say it, being a wanton," Beckett told him. She squeezed his hand when he was standing next to the bed and told him, "I was warned not to be like that."
"Which is a surprise since it was the Twenties," Castle commented. He wasn't surprised his wife was rolling her eyes in response and he kissed the back of her hand lovingly before reaching up to take off his glasses.
Stopping him, Beckett smiled when her husband looked at her in surprise and she cupped his face with her hands, pulling her to him. They kissed deeply, but didn't linger, and she murmured against his lips once they were apart, "I love you Rick."
"I love you too," Castle said before he was embracing her tightly. He turned and kissed the side of her head and said, "And I can't wait to show you tomorrow."
"Pervert," Beckett teased him with a smile. She laughed briefly when her husband was nodding in agreement and they were embracing quickly before parting. She moved out of his way once he had his glasses off, turning off her bedside light while he did the same. They laid down together and she pressed against his side telling him, "Do you remember what you told me while we were laying on the grass in the backyard?"
"Yes, that I had learned the constellations during the war," Castle replied. "And I told you all about them until your hand slid under my shirt."
Smiling, Beckett said, "And that was why I was trying to convince you to go inside."
"I loved the way you were," Castle told her seriously. "I never thought you were… wanton as you would say."
"I'd never heard the word vixen," Beckett replied.
Castle nodded, though he wasn't sure if his wife could see him, and then told her, "Do you remember the next morning?"
"Of course," Beckett said. "I teased you mercilessly for wearing one of my aprons while you were making us breakfast."
"I was handsomely rewarded after that," Castle reminded her.
"I know, but we were rejoined at lunch," Beckett said, steering the conversation to a safer subject.
"And had a picnic with Julia," Castle said. After a pause he then smiled and said, "I can't believe Eliza is going to be eight. I feel like we were just in the hospital and you were giving birth to her."
Smiling at his reminder of the birthdays the next day, Beckett said, "I've thought of that myself. But you know she's excited."
"She mentioned that to me too," Castle said. "While she was trying to weasel what we were going to do at the Cay out of me."
Laughing, Beckett soon calmed down and inquired, "Did she have any luck?"
"No," Castle said. "You're the only one who can get anything out of me."
"I know," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband looked down at her. She bit her lower lip for a moment and then said, "You need to say goodnight to me Rick."
Nodding Castle said, "After you indulge me in my request."
"My hair?" Beckett asked. After her husband was nodding she said, "Okay." Smiling when he was hugging her gently she then told him, "Goodnight my love."
"Night Kate," Castle said seriously before they were kissing each other gently. Once they'd parted he watched her settle against him and felt her relaxing shortly after, which was his cue to follow. He was doing so swiftly, dreaming eagerly of himself and his wife celebrating his birthday that would happen in reality the next night.