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: I was pleased to receive the feedback I got for the last chapter so I'll get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Really happy to see you thought the last chapter had very good writing for all couples since I was aiming for that, so glad I managed to in the end!) and
Mb (Really glad you thought their Easter start was sweet and lovely. I had to laugh at you mentioning the twins joining in the next Easter, you're right there would be more madness, lol, with them old enough for that! And I was really pleased you guys enjoyed the Hampton families joining them, along with seeing what the McDouglases and Fox and Harrington were doing too. Great to see you thought the first half of the chapter was nicely done! And you're welcome for the first half of the chapter! It was nice reading you thought the second half was wonderfully written! And I'm glad you thought it was great seeing everyone enjoying being together and celebrating Easter too. And I'm glad you understood the adults talking about their kids being so close to graduating, I thought some people might. And yeah, it's always funny how I ended up having the kids being so wide ranging in grades, but that can happen with larger families and a bunch of families too. I had to laugh at you mentioning how it went from the Easter celebration to the bam of the private celebrations. Really pleased you thought it was a nice took with Skye and Mary and then Fox and Harrington as well as Castle and Beckett. Also that you caught all of their passion and love too! You're welcome for the second chapter!).
Thanks for the reviews, I love reading them and appreciated the time take to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song It's Johnny's Birthday written by George Harrison, Mal Evans and Eddie Klein, from George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass.
Like To Wish You
"Are you excited Josa?" Eliza asked her sister.
"Yeah," the toddler replied happily.
"For tomorrow too?" Julia asked her. She couldn't help laughing when her baby sister was looking at her in obvious confusion and she explained, "You get to go on a plane with Mom and Dad."
"To Skye?" Josie asked.
"Yep," Eliza said, giggling when the toddler turned quickly to her since she was sitting in between herself and Julia in her car seat. "You get to have Mommy and Daddy all to yourself. And you get to go see a ton of stuff."
"Ooh, I can't wait," Josie said happily. "Can you Mommy, Daddy?"
"No," Beckett said, looking at the backseat from the passenger seat.
"Can we ask her to go back to calling us mama and dada?" Castle asked his wife jokingly. It was the twenty-second of April and five days after their youngest's third birthday when she had switched to calling them mommy and daddy after they'd measured her height the morning of the seventeenth.
"No," Julia, Eliza and Josie answered at the same time from the backseat.
The car was soon full of their laughter before they were slowing down for a red light and Castle said, "Okay, okay, I'm not surprised you started saying that already to be honest. I knew your sisters were going to teach you."
"But are you excited Daddy?" Eliza asked him.
"I am," Castle said. "But you two-"
"Don't worry," Julia was quick to interrupt him. "Again, we know you've taken trips with just us when we were little so it's her turn now."
"I'll stop," Castle said, glancing at his wife before he saw they were near their destination.
"Now that we're about to leave tomorrow," Beckett told him teasingly. She wasn't surprised when Julia and Eliza were giggling behind her before she said, "Are you two set on your plans tomorrow?"
"Yes," the two said rapidly at the same time.
"Okay," Castle said slowly. "That was a little weird."
"You're coming back here aren't you?" Beckett asked.
Julia rolled her eyes in amusement when Eliza's mouth dropped open in surprise and she said, "It was everyone else's idea."
"Since Josie's not going to be here?" Castle asked as he parked the car.
"Yep," Eliza said, popping her p and making her sisters laugh. They were moving to leave the car and once she was outside it she looked at the family fun center Josie had decided to go to for her birthday celebration. "Are we really staying all day?"
"We are," Beckett said. "But we're leaving as soon as dinner is over since they'll be closing at seven."
"I can stay up?" Josie asked as her father was helping her out.
"I think today you can," Castle told her, taking her into his arms.
"And presents?" Josie said eagerly before she was laughing after her father had started to do so.
"She's my daughter?" Castle asked his wife.
"I think it's more she's three," Beckett replied, not surprised her husband was nodding and then doing so to Josie. "Come on, everyone's here," she told them since she could see the cars.
After the group had gathered in front of the entrance and greeted each other they were telling Josie Happy Birthday while she beamed up at them.
When they were inside the lobby, Castle was stopping everyone and said, "I think we should discuss what we want to do right now."
"Shouldn't we ask the Birthday Girl?" Darnley inquired.
"We did," Julia said, unable to help speaking laughingly when everyone turned to her. She calmed down the best she could before she said, "And she said she wants to play the fairy tale golf course outside first."
"And that's it?" Martha asked in surprise when the teen wasn't continuing.
"Oh, you want me to say the whole thing she planned?" Julia asked in surprise. She saw her parents were nodding and she smiled before she said, "Then we weren't sure if we'd be eating lunch or not so I guess we just eat lunch whenever you say." She was about to continue when her baby sister had walked over to her and was taking her hand. Smiling down at her she squeezed Josie's hand before continuing with, "Then she wants to go on the rides, then the Japanese golf course-"
"What did she call that one?" Maddy asked interestedly.
"Japan!" Josie said sternly with her brow furrowed. She was soon smiling when the others were laughing at her tone and then joining in a little before her sister was continuing.
"Then go on the rides they have inside," Julia said. She glanced at Josie and then told their parents, "She wants to ride the bumper cars a bunch."
"A lot of times," Josie said seriously.
"We'll see," Beckett said gently.
"And then the indoor golf course… it's spring still right?" Julia asked.
"Probably," Castle said with a nod.
"Okay, after that the arcade and I guess just finish there," Julia said.
"Does anyone not like that idea? Ideas?" Castle asked. When no one protested he smiled and said, "I think it's time to get those bracelets," before he left the group with a few of the other parents.
"Mommy?" Josie asked, going to her.
"Yes?" Beckett asked as the toddler wrapped her arms around her waist and she caressed her longer hair.
"Can I play by myself?" Josie said.
"Yes," Beckett said. "I'm sure your daddy is going to get a smaller club for you."
"Good, when can I play with him?" Josie asked eagerly.
"He'll help-" Beckett started to say.
"No, no Mommy! Play the big golf," Josie interrupted her before she was explaining herself.
Beckett took a moment to answer that since she was smiling at her daughter's tone, and she finally said, "I see. And that you might need to wait a little longer."
"I don't play that golf and both my daddies do," Maddy said, standing near them with Dani and Eliza.
"Me neither," Eliza told her sister. "Though one day we will."
"Yeah, we'll head to the drive and let you two learn how to swing," Castle said, walking back. "I could hear you," he explained when he saw his wife and daughters were looking at him. "And we're ready," he told them before he started to pass out the golf balls and clubs.
"Thank you Daddy!" Josie squealed when her father had handed her a smaller club.
"She wanted to play here too," Beckett said when her husband was looking at her in surprise.
"I see, well of course you get to play, it's your birthday," Castle said, leaning slightly down to her. He straightened up after they shared a kiss and then said, "We can keep the clubs since we're going to play all the courses, but we'll have to get new golf balls whenever we're going to go on another." He wasn't surprised when the others were merely nodding before making their way outside to the first golf course.
"There are a lot of you," Joseph said to everyone once they were in front of the Snow White themed hole.
"We only hit five times and then move on," Nkosi reminded his father. He frowned for a second and said, "Did you want to do something else?"
Shaking his head Joseph said, "Just reminding the children."
Smiling when the kids were laughing, Beckett said, "Okay, youngest to oldest."
"Emmie!" the kids were all saying at the same time before they were laughing together.
"Not Emmie," Alexis said firmly though she was smiling shortly after. "Sophie?"
"No, Emily," Isaac said. "So they got the first two letters right but not after."
"Hurry up," Genevieve said, pretending to be annoyed.
While they waited for Josie's turn, Castle went to his wife and said, "Are we helping her, or letting her choose?"
"The latter," Beckett said. She looked across the course and said, "Hmm, it's going to take a while."
"I know, it's why I'm wondering if we'll manage all three of them," Castle said, following her gaze.
"I wouldn't be so negative," Brad said. "It's Josie's turn already."
Shooting a mock glare at his friend, Castle went with Beckett to Josie to discover that she had asked Julia to help her. As they were making their way across the course he wasn't surprised she was asking nearly everyone older than her to help her. After they'd hit their golf balls into the eighteen hole to drop them off he went to his wife and said, "Sure we couldn't compete?"
"I'm sure," Beckett replied. "What do you want?"
Castle was about to speak but he couldn't help laughing at her guessing that and he said, "Could we go on a ride together?"
"There aren't many options," Beckett said knowingly as he took her golf club.
Before Castle could answer, David called to him, "We're leaving these somewhere right?"
"Yeah, the lockers," Castle replied. He gathered the golf clubs his family had used and led the others inside to the small room before they took lockers enough for them.
"Would it have honestly taken that long to get new clubs?" Darnley asked him jokingly while they were leaving.
"Yes," Castle said. When the carpenter's brow furrowed he smiled and said, "You heard what my daughter wanted to do."
"That's true," Darnley said with a laugh before they were hurrying outside where the others were waiting for them by the rides.
Taking the younger kids to the less thrilling rides, the older kids were allowed to go to the roller coaster if they wanted to. They remained long enough to watch the younger kids on the boat ride before they were heading to the bigger ride.
"You don't feel bad do you?" Mari asked Julia while they were waiting in line.
"No, there's a lot of smaller rides there," the teen said. She paused and then said, "Or little kid rides."
"I knew what you meant," Mari said with a smile. She then said, "Did you have to tell Josie about here to get her to pick it."
"I thought that's what they did," Jacob commented with a smile.
"No, she asked about the place with the trees inside," Julia explained after giving a mock look to him. "We were confused at first but then we realized she meant the holiday decorations when she said they had lights and ornaments." She paused for a moment and then said, "Well, she said toys but we've heard her say that before so it wasn't that hard to figure out."
"I'm glad she picked it," Peter said, not surprised when the others were agreeing with him. "But how many times are we going on?"
"My parents said twice," Julia told them. "I mean we could you know," she added, raising her wrist to show them the wristband she had on.
"I hope we do," Clive said firmly before they were laughing together.
"You're coming back tomorrow too?" Eve asked Mari quickly when she saw the ride vehicles were approaching them.
"Yeah, I get to spend the night," Mari replied with a smile. "You guys want to come too?"
"We better wait to talk to our parents about that," Julia said as she was watching the train pulling into the station.
"I wonder if you want to go on that ride," Beckett was saying to her husband as they watched Josie going on the little motorcycle ride in circles in front of them.
"This one?" Castle asked her.
Giving him a brief look, Beckett said, "No, the roller coaster."
"Sure, I do enjoy it," Castle said. "But," he added, turning more fully to her. "I wasn't talking about that one."
"No?" Beckett asked, surprised.
"No," Castle said before he leaned forward a little to look at the Ferris Wheel.
"Alright," Beckett said laughingly before she squeezed his arm just as the ride was stopping. Since that was the last one their youngest could go on they were walking to the roller coaster in time to meet the older kids leaving.
"Hey, we said we would meet you," Eve said in slight dismay.
"We're going on it," Lily reassured her daughter.
"Can we?" Clive asked slowly, motioning to himself and the older kids.
"Yes," Genevieve said laughingly.
"Are you okay staying with us?" Jim was asking Josie once everyone going on the roller coaster had left.
"Yeah," Josie said. She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck saying, "Why don't you come too?"
"Your sisters are going to be here remember," Jim reminded her, smiling since she had told both him and Martha the same thing about L.A. before then. "So we're going to watch them. And the house."
"Will you miss me?" Josie asked.
"Of course, but I want you to have fun with your mom and dad okay?" Jim asked. He smiled when she nodded rapidly before they were looking at the ride when the cars flew by.
"I see Mommy!" Josie squealed since she remembered her mother's sky blue patterned blouse.
"I saw her too," Jim replied with a nod before he set her down. "They'll be back soon."
"Are there more rides?" Josie asked him as she took his hand.
"Just one," Maddy said, walking over to them and pointing to the Ferris Wheel. "That one."
"Ooh," Josie said. "I forgot."
Nodding Maddy asked, "Are you going on that?"
"I am!" Keo said eagerly.
"I know that," Maddy said, frowning at her brother. "I'm asking Josie."
"Yeah," the toddler giggled.
"If her parents say it's alright," Jim said to the kids since he'd been listening to them.
At that moment Josie spotted her parents and she was hurrying to them before she was asking eagerly about the Ferris Wheel. They explained to her that she needed to go with them but didn't care since she was happy to ride it, which they were soon doing before they were making their way to the main building of the complex to have lunch.
"Are we going to sit like this at dinner?" Martha asked her son and daughter in law once they'd sat at a table after ordering.
"No," Beckett said. "We reserved one of the rooms."
"Plus we wanted to sit all together," Castle added, not surprised when his wife was nodding in agreement.
"The kids will be happy about that," Alexis said since they were at two tables near them.
"I think they're okay with it now," Louis commented in amusement since the two groups were talking and laughing loudly.
"I'm surprised you let Josie go with them," Alexis told her parents, turning back to them.
"She was asking to go with the younger kids," Castle said, glancing at his wife. "But Kate pointed out that she might want to stick with her older sister for now."
"Pointed out or just told her?" Louis asked with a smile.
"That," Castle said, not surprised when his wife rolled her eyes. He heard their number being called and stood up with Beckett so they could get their food.
Since they were spread out through the seating area of the café, it took a little time to get the food to the kids and sit back at their table. But they were eventually eating and were talking though they weren't the only people at the café.
Towards the end of their meal Castle said, "Think she'll change what she wants to do at all?"
"I highly doubt it," Beckett replied since that question had been directed to her.
"I was going to say Dad, now she can golf herself she'll want to keep playing at the courses," Alexis said with a smile. She then asked, "Did you want to stop playing?"
"No," Castle said firmly. "I was just wondering. But I agree, there's no way she'd want to stop playing. Good thing it got cloudy."
"It's not that hot," Beckett told her husband.
"So she doesn't have to wear a hat?" Castle asked her.
"Did she put you up to this?" Beckett responded with her own question, her tone of voice teasing.
"No," Castle said slightly laughingly. "I know our youngest."
Nodding Beckett said, "She does, it's not fully cloudy."
"That's all I wanted to know," Castle said before he was standing up and gathering his trash.
That seemed to start everyone cleaning up and once they were finished, the younger kids were having Josie lead them to the room where their golf clubs were. A few of the parents were getting new golf balls and once they were set with their equipment they were making their way to the second outdoor course.
In the middle of the different Japanese themed holes, Josie went to her parents where they were waiting for their turns and asked, "Are we going to the games?"
"Do you want to go there instead of the other golf course?" Beckett asked her.
"You can if you want to," Castle said quickly since the toddler was looking around at everyone.
"But remember we can go on the rides too," Beckett reminded her.
"I want that too," Josie said firmly.
"Okay, but if we don't play the golf course inside we'll have to leave it for another time," Beckett said.
Smiling when the toddler was nodding firmly, Castle said to his wife, "I think she prefers the fall and holiday decorations for that one."
"I know," Beckett replied in amusement before they were continuing. She and her husband waited for the end of the game to tell everyone what Josie had decided. She laughed with the other parents when the younger kids who could speak were telling the toddler it was a great idea before they were leaving to go back inside.
"Do you like my…" Josie started to say to Eliza before she trailed off.
"Idea," the girl said. She smiled when her little sister nodded rapidly and she hugged her before she said, "Yeah, I mean golfing is fun inside too but we did it twice so…" She then grinned after she had trailed off and told her sister, "I wanted to play and go on the rides in here too." She laughed outright when her little sister was jumping up and down and clapping before she was moving with her to go to the bumper cars.
"We're going to the pier while we're over there right?" Castle was asking his wife as they watched the kids on the bumper cars.
"Probably tomorrow," Beckett said. She then told her husband with a smile, "I thought of doing that with her too."
"Me first," Castle said jokingly. He kissed her cheek after she rolled her eyes before he took her hand and they were turning to watch their youngest with her grandfather.
"Do I drive good Grandpapa?" Josie asked when their car was stopping.
"You did, you bumped into the others which you're supposed to do," Jim assured her while he was helping her out.
"What're you going on next?" Eliza asked her sister.
"She wanted to go twice didn't she?" Mari said in confusion before the toddler could respond to that.
"I think she meant go on it, then another ride and then come back… a bunch of times," Julia answered before she saw her sister was nodding rapidly. "That," she said in amusement. She hugged her baby sister for a moment and letting her go asked, "What did you want to do now?"
"The horsies," Josie said immediately.
"I'm not surprised," Eliza said, smiling when her sister was nodding in agreement.
Going to the small carousel in the middle of the building, Beckett let Martha take Josie though she had wanted to go. She looked at her husband as they stood outside the ride again and said, "Should we go to the one at the pier?"
"Maybe," Castle said. He frowned for a moment and then looking at his wife asked, "Why don't they go there that much?"
"I'm not sure," Beckett said. She then told him, "Maybe because their girls are getting older."
Thinking that over, Castle was soon nodding and saying, "Good point, but still who doesn't love a carousel?"
Beckett merely laughed before she was waving to Josie who had done so to them. Watching her husband hurrying to respond before the carousel began to turn and she was smiling hearing Josie's squeal and then laughter. She felt her husband squeezing her hand and glanced at him before they waited for the ride to end.
Since there was only the bumper cars to ride again, the kids were soon turning to Josie who smiled and said, "Time for games."
Not surprised when the kids were hurrying to split up to go to their families, Castle said, "I guess you guys want some money?"
"Please," Julia and Eliza said at the same time.
"I figured," Castle replied before he was reaching for his wallet.
"Josie," Beckett said to get the toddler's attention. "You're going to come with me and your daddy okay?"
"Can I go with Sophie?" Josie asked.
"I think her parents want to play with her," Castle said, handing Julia and Eliza the cards with credit for the games on them. "And I hope you'll stay with us because you need to hold our card."
"I can hold it?" Josie asked with a gasp while her father handed it to her.
"If you want to," Beckett said in amusement.
"Please," Josie said before she was bouncing up and down.
"Bye!" Eliza cried before she was hurrying away to her friends.
"Are we going until dinner?" Julia asked, looking at her phone.
"Possibly," Castle said.
"What if we get tired of the games?" Julia asked. She burst out laughing when her father looked at her in consternation and said, "Can we get the golf clubs back?"
"We'll wait and see," Castle said before she was saying goodbye to them and going with the older kids.
"Did you ask him?" Mari asked her friend when she was close.
"Yeah, and I think if we have the time and nothing else to do before dinner then I think we're going to play the indoor course," Julia said, gesturing to it since they could see it from the arcade.
"I don't mind," Jacob said.
"Me either," Clive and Peter said at the same time.
Julia began laughing with her friends before she said once they calmed down, "Are we going to stick together now?"
"If you guys want to go play the video games then you can go on your own," Eve said when her brother was sharing a look with the Lennox boys.
"Well, we do but how about we go to one of the racing games first?" Peter suggested. He smiled when his girlfriend did at him before she and the other two girls agreed to the plan and they made their way to the consoles.
"Hey," Eve said once they were all sitting down in a row. When the others were looking at her she told them, "We have to decide together on where we're racing."
"I think we should go alphabetically," Mari said firmly. "Easier to do."
"How long are we racing though?" Jacob asked in confusion.
"Twice?" Julia suggested. "And then we'll split up?" She smiled when the others were agreeing to that readily before they were turning their attention to the screens in front of them. They picked the first course together and were soon racing on the screen, jokingly trash talking to each other before they were finishing and Clive had won. Their second race Jacob ended up winning before they were getting up.
"Have fun guys," Eve told them. She smiled at her boyfriend as he looked uncertain and said, "Go with them, we have spent our whole time here together."
"Thanks," Peter said gratefully. "Can I sit with you at dinner?" he asked while the other two boys were walking away.
"You better," Eve said firmly before he was leaving them. She then turned to her friends and said, "Are we staying together?"
"If you want to," Julia said, Mari looking at her to answer. She smiled and then said, "Do you want to?"
"Yeah, otherwise I'm by myself," Eve said. She laughed with the girls before she said, "Where did you guys want to go?"
"I think the Star Wars pod racing one," Julia said, glancing around the arcade for a moment. "But there's only two."
"That's fine," Eve said. "We might be here for a while."
Nodding, Julia led the way to the game consoles before she and Mari were moving to start racing against each other. She accidentally bumped against the side once and ended up losing to Mari before she said, "You're so lucky."
"We might have tied," the girl said, smiling widely at her friend since she knew she was joking. Mari turned to Eve and asked, "Do you want to race?"
"Against you? Sure," the young woman said firmly.
Moving to let Eve sit, Julia watched the two race and cheered them on though the young woman was eventually winning. "I feel like I jinxed you," she said with a smile to Mari while she was getting up from her seat.
Shrugging, Mari said, "Where next?"
At the same time Julia and her friends were going to the bowling game, Castle and Beckett were next to each other at the skeeball games.
"Is there any reason why you wanted to play this game?" Beckett asked when they'd finished their turns, Josie with their parents at that point.
"It's fun to do something new," Castle replied easily since they'd been at the more modern skeeball consoles.
Beckett laughed and shook her head before she said, "At least she's enjoying today."
"Are you thinking about L.A.?" Castle asked her in surprise.
"Slightly," Beckett said. "Should we… stick with the theme parks we're going to?"
"They have rides for little kids and you remember what Skye said," Castle replied. He paused for a moment and then said, "And Mary."
"I know," Beckett said. She then smiled and said, "I guess I should think of Josie."
"And she'll have a ton of fun," Castle said while he was nodding. "Want to play the clown cannon game?"
Beckett couldn't help laughing heavily and once she'd calmed down said, "I do." She let him take her hand before they were walking to the games since there were two next to each other. "We're not competing," she told him firmly.
"Oh no," Castle said. "I can't forget we're waking up at… ugh, four thirty," he told her.
"Yeah," Beckett said with a slight frown. "I just hope she sleeps on the plane," she told her husband while she handed him the card they were using for the games.
"Luckily we know how to get her to sleep," Castle commented. "Or I should say you do." He wasn't surprised when she was glancing at him before they were turning their attention to their games. When they'd finished he turned to her and asked, "How did we forget about her nap?" Her response was to smirk and he asked, startled, "You planned that?"
"Partly," Beckett said, taking her husband's hand and pulling him after her to the coin drop games. "At first I forgot she needed a nap but I remembered very shortly after she pulled us to the whack-a-mole game. And I decided she was going to need to fall asleep on her own."
Thinking that over for a minute, Castle said, "Good point. And luckily she did sleep."
"We'll see how long it'll be before she wakes up," Beckett told him with a smile. She wasn't surprised when he squeezed her hand and said, "Go ahead and play."
Castle was about to speak before he glanced at the game and said, "Sure," since he was standing in front of it. He swiped the card through it and got his coins before he started to play. When he was halfway through he heard laughter near them and turned with his wife to find Julia was approaching them with their friends. "Having fun?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I can't help feeling a little bad since this is all for Josa," Julia commented.
"I don't think your sister would hold it against you," Beckett said with a slight smile since her husband had turned back to his game. "You wouldn't if you were switched would you?" she then asked the teen.
"No," Julia said quickly. She smiled and then said to her father, "What're you going to do with the tickets?"
"Give them to you and your sisters," Castle said firmly. He dropped his last coin and then turned to Julia asking, "What do you have in mind?"
"I'm not sure," the teen replied honestly, going to the game next to the one he was standing at. Julia then swiped her card before she said, "I was going to say we should give the tickets to Josa; so she could pick something that she wants."
"Instead of a gift? How mean," Castle said jokingly. He wasn't surprised when both his wife and their second oldest were giving him looks before he laughed and said, "Like mother like daughter."
Rolling her eyes, Beckett turned back to the game and dropped her first coin before she managed to get a large amount of coins off the bottom shelf. Glancing to her left where Castle was, she smiled and told him, "Thank you."
"I saw it when I finished," he said in amusement. "You're welcome."
Smirking, Beckett said, "I'll tell Josie to say that to you," and she turned back to her game before she was finishing her turn.
"Do you want to keep going?" Castle asked her. "Or play again?"
"One more time," Beckett replied before she stepped out of the way.
Nodding, Castle got his card ready and quickly swiped it to start playing again so he could contribute to the tickets for Josie.
Looking around the table, Josie was smiling at the sight of everyone gathered around it. She was sitting at the head in a booster seat and was listening to everyone talking. Eventually she turned to her mother who was to her right and asked, "What are we eating?"
"You'll see," Beckett assured her, not surprised her husband was leaning past her a little since he was on her other side.
"Did you want to pick yourself?" Castle asked teasingly.
"No, I will like it," Josie said. "What is it?" she then asked in a rush, smiling widely at her parents' laughter.
Beckett squeezed Josie's hand gently before some of the kids in the middle were exclaiming as waiters and waitresses were bringing in pizzas to set on the table. She turned to the toddler and asked, "Will you like that?"
"Yeah, I want a piece," Josie said eagerly. She watched as some were set in front of her and she clapped her hands before her mother was getting a piece of Margherita pizza for her. After she had taken her first bite she was humming in pleasure before she looked at her parents who were eating as well. Eventually she asked, "Mommy?"
"Yes sweetie?" Beckett asked, turning to her.
"What do we play tomorrow?" Josie asked.
Smiling, Beckett said, "Do you want us to tell you what we're going to do?"
"I want to know," Eliza called, near them though a little down the table.
Not surprised when the other kids were saying the same, Castle said to his wife, "I guess we should."
"You guess?" Beckett asked in amusement. When he nodded she couldn't help laughing briefly before she said, "You already know the beginning of our trip; the flight." She wasn't surprised when most of the others down the table were nodding and she said, "We'll get there at around ten thirty their time and after Skye picks us up we'll head to their home and we'll unpack before lunch."
"What's lunch?" Dani asked.
"I doubt it'll be pizza," Rebecca said wryly.
"It probably won't be," Castle said when Dani was looking at himself and Beckett. "I think we might go out around their house, we'll be deciding once we're there."
"And after?" Darnley asked.
"The Promenade and pier," Castle answered. He looked at his wife and said, "We can suggest eating lunch at home."
"I was going to do that anyway," Beckett replied with a smile. She then turned back to the others and told them, "And that will be it for the day."
"You'll tell us when you come back what you'll do right?" Julia asked with a smile at her parents.
"Yes," Beckett said firmly.
"Josie will tell you if we don't," Castle said jokingly. He then told the others, "We're trying to keep it a surprise for Josie." He glanced at the toddler and then said, "Even though she's not very happy about that."
"She's just joking," Eliza said, looking pointedly at her sister before she was nodding in agreement.
"I want a surprise," Josie said firmly.
"Don't worry, you'll get it," Castle said. "I mean you will every day while we're there." He glanced down the table a little and said, "Okay, I guess we're ready."
"For what?" Peter asked in surprise.
"You guys want to play a little more out in the arcade right?" Castle asked. He wasn't surprised when the kids were exclaiming yes and hurrying away from the table.
"Are any of you guys going?" Brad asked the other parents.
"I think I'm just going to walk around," Beckett said before she was standing up. After she had helped Josie out of her booster seat, she instructed the toddler to go with Eliza who was passing by and made her way to the door to leave the room. She glanced at her husband when he caught up to her and said, "What're you going to do?"
"I was going to race with Brad and David," Castle said. "Patrick is going with Trevor to the Jurassic Park game… I'm assuming to make out," he added to her, not surprised she rolled her eyes while she was smiling.
"I don't think so, not the way that game moves," Beckett reminded him. She laughed when he nodded, pretending to stroke his chin, and she told him teasingly, "Go with your friends." She wasn't surprised when he squeezed at her hand before he was leaving her and she turned to Lily who had stepped up to her.
"We're okay about this in our husbands right?" the chef asked her friend jokingly.
"We are," Rebecca said, stepping up to where the two were standing. She spoke firmly before she looked back at Genevieve, who was walking up to them. "We talk like this," she told her.
"I wouldn't worry," the architect said reassuringly. "I'm aware you're joking." Looking out into the arcade Genevieve then said, "Don't forget my husband is a tech guy."
"Does he play video games that often?" Lily asked.
"Not on his own," Genevieve said. "He plays it with the boys mainly so I don't really have much complaint." She glanced at the three women with her and said with a smile, "So yes, I think we're okay about this in our husbands."
With some laughter, Beckett watched her friends head further in the arcade before she looked at Alexis next to her with Emmie on her hip. "Okay?" she asked, reaching to her granddaughter and letting her take her finger.
"Yeah, they were getting restless," Alexis replied since her husband had already walked past them with Finn. "Which means we're going straight home after this."
"We are too," Beckett said with a smile since she was aware her oldest and her family were coming to their home for the night.
"Are you guys going to be okay leaving that early with Josa by the way?" Alexis asked.
Beckett was about to answer when the toddler herself was rushing over to them and she smiled while she was hurrying to calm her down. "You know you're not supposed to run," she told her as she picked her up.
"But I can have cake!" Josie said eagerly.
Seeing Eliza warily glancing back at her Beckett called, "She knew already. But we should go."
Having been listening to that, Castle said to the other men he was with, "We better go."
"You don't need to worry," Beckett was saying then after the men were gathering the kids. "We're putting her to bed as soon as we're home."
"In her bed?" Alexis asked, smiling.
"Yes," Beckett replied. "She asked about it this morning when we went in to wake her up."
Nodding Josie said, "I'm a big girl."
"You are," Alexis said. She was about to mention the cake and presents when she saw the way her mother was shaking her head slightly and quickly stopped. "We'll be inside," she said.
"We all will be," Beckett said before she was taking Josie into the room. She sat down next to her and when her husband was on her other side she nodded when he was squeezing her arm lightly. It didn't take very long before one of the waiters was bringing in the cake and she and her husband started off the others singing Happy Birthday for Josie while the room was being darkened.
Looking around at the others, though she couldn't see everyone, Josie was smiling widely until they were finishing and clapping and she did her best to blow out the 3 candles on top of the cake. When the lights were turned on after that she squealed when she saw her cake had Tigger on the top on his stomach. The cake itself was covered in a fondant tiger print and she saw there was a banner in front of the character. "What does it say?" she asked her mother as she was taking off the candle.
Handing that to her husband Beckett said, "Happy Birthday Josie." She wasn't surprised when the toddler looked pleased hearing that and she took a moment to kiss the top of her head before she was turning her attention to cutting into the cake and serving out the pieces.
Eliza, though she was enjoying the Neapolitan flavored cake, watched closely to see when everyone had finished and as soon as they had she was jumping up. Everyone had brought at least one gift for her baby sister, including her family, and they were on the side table in the room. She was about to step towards it when her father was speaking to her and making her freeze though his tone was obviously teasing.
"And where do you think you're going?" Castle asked her in amusement.
"It's time for presents isn't it?" Eliza asked hopefully, not surprised when Josie was gasping in pleasure.
"It is, but let us give them to your sister," Castle said, he and Beckett having stood up while he was speaking.
Though she didn't want to, Eliza nodded and sat back down in her chair between Dani and Maddy. She soon shook off her disappointment in not passing out the gifts as her sister was beginning to unwrap the first.