17. With Your Neon Flashin'

"Wow," Mari said after they turned past some gambling tables. "That's the theater?"

"It's over there," Julia said, smiling at her friend. It was the twenty-ninth of October and they were walking through the casino floor of the Mirage in Las Vegas going to the Love Theater. She looked over at Clive and Peter and seeing their reactions said, "What do you think?"

"It's cool," the latter said. "The colors change and everything."

"Are we going straight in?" Mary asked her wife.

"Yeah, we'll meet someone at the entrance by the concession," Skye replied.

"Concession?" Derek asked.

"You haven't seen this show?" Julia said, turning back to him.

"Not yet," the pro said, smiling when the girl wrinkled her nose.

"You'll really like it," Julia told him. "I think you'll like the dancing too."

"It's different?" Peter asked her. He grinned when partner nodded and then looked down at the floor as they were walking over it leading to the theater.

"Oh, here he is," Skye said, spotting the man standing to the left of the end of the path.

"Ms. McDouglas?" the worker asked. When she nodded in the affirmative he shook her hand and said, "Is this everyone?"

"It is," Derek said.

"Then follow me," the worker, who had introduced himself as Wayne said before he led them up the flight of stairs to the right and into the theater.

"Whoa, it's big," Clive said once they were in the theater.

"Yeah," Julia said with a smile. "It needs to be for what they do." She was startled when her sister suddenly grabbed her hand and looked at Eliza.

"Is that someone in the show?" the little girl asked.

"It is," Julia said, looking down at the stage and spotting someone they'd seen when they'd first gone to the show. "It's the Sugar Plum Fairy," she added.

"Come on," Skye said. She followed Wayne to the stage and was first onto it with Derek, glancing back at the others as they were instructed to remain at the seats.

"Aren't we going up?" Marie asked her mother as they took their seats.

"Soon, just give it some time," Mary said gently.

"It's great to meet you," Skye said, shaking the dancer, Neo's, hand.

"It is very nice to meet you both," Neo told them. He then said, "I was surprised you wanted to come here."

"It was her instance," Derek made sure to say. "She recalled your performance and wanted us to include that."

"What exactly is the Jazz dance that you'll be doing?" Neo asked. He watched the pair show him and he said, "What about my dance? How will you work that into yours?"

"At the beginning, and maybe a couple steps if I see some I need to include," Derek told him.

Julia looked at the camera that was there in the theater with them and smiled as they were filming for the show. She was distracted when Derek was calling for the kids to join them and she quickly got up to go with all of them, holding her little sister's hand.

"Are you filming?" Beckett asked her husband as he was holding his phone.

"Of course," Castle replied, smiling at her as he was doing that for their parents since they'd remained with Josie at their villa. He continued smiling, watching the kids learning some of the dancing, as even the McDouglas girls were doing their best to take it in. "That's a lot of kids," he commented to Mary who was on the other side of his wife.

"That's basically the plot of the song," the woman replied, smiling back at him. She then looked back to the stage and said, "I wonder if he'll want to practice now."Beckett was about to say that he might when the boys were starting to chase each other, and she called, "Watch the sides of the stage," to them.

"She's right," Skye told them. "You have a harder time seeing it here."

"What else are we doing?" Julia asked as they had finished their instruction then.

"They're letting us practice," Derek told her. "But only for so long since they need to give tours."

Julia wanted to ask if they could do that, but she knew the answer already since they would have had to pay for it. But she reminded herself they'd get to see the show that night and focused her attention to Derek who was calling Mary so they could take things from the start.

"They learned quick," Castle commented, speaking about the McDouglas girls.

"It's easier than the ballroom dances," Beckett replied, smiling as the three youngest seemed to be enjoying stomping their feet in the dance.

"Obviously," Castle said. They stayed in the theater for another fifteen minutes until Derek called for them to stop and he said to his wife, "Good thing, nearly lunch time."

"I noticed," Beckett said, glancing at her husband since she knew he was hungry. "Hey girls," she said with a smile as the two were at the end of the stage in front of them. "You're ready?"

"I'm hungry," Eliza said immediately.

Laughing Beckett said, "Alright," while she and Castle were standing up. She watched her husband get them down and told them, "Want to let your dad pick?"

"Sure," Julia said.

"Are we gonna go to the deli?" Eliza asked, turning to Castle immediately.

"No, we can go there at home," he replied. "I want to go try the Paradise Café," Castle told them. "And after we'll go to see the cats."

"Not go to the museum?" Julia asked in surprise as she watched her father helping the other kids down.

"We'll go after, it works out better that way," Skye said. "Did you call your parents?" she asked Castle and Beckett.

"I texted my dad," the former said. "They'll meet us there with Josie." Beckett took Eliza's hand and they walked out of the theater and over to the café which had seating outside. As she had said hers and Castle's parents met them there with Josie at a table that was near some waterfalls, not surprised when her husband's mother was asking the kids about their time in the theater as soon as they were close enough.

"How was your performance?" Martha asked

Shaking her head, Julia hugged her grandmother and told her, "It wasn't a performance, it was a practice… a lesson."

"But you had fun," Jim commented.

Julia laughed and nodded before she hugged him quickly and moved aside to let her sister do the same. "How's Josa?" she asked.

"She's good," Martha replied since the baby was awake. "Are we still going to the museum?" she asked her son as the others were sitting down.

"We are we're going to the garden first," Castle replied. "Since we're close to it."

"Will she be able to see them?" Eliza asked her mother a she was helping her with the menu.

"She will," Beckett said in reassurance.

"Cool," Eliza said with a smile.

Kissing the top of her head, Beckett made sure she had picked something before she turned her attention to the baby to her right as her husband had moved the high chair in between them. Smoothing down her hair, she kissed Josie's temple, smiling when the baby let out a coo and touched her arm. "Are you all ready?" she asked Julia.

"Yeah, what about Josa?" the girl said, smiling at her sister as the baby was suddenly wriggling in her seat.

"I fed her before we came out here," Jim told his daughter.

"Then she's had her lunch," Beckett said. She turned her attention to the waiters that were coming out to the table so they could order and when they were waiting she was about to speak to her husband when Josie started to whimper.

"Here," Castle said, handing the baby her teething mitten. He made sure she was chewing at it and he said, "I was wondering," to his wife as they glanced at each other over the baby's head.

"So was I," Beckett said. "Hopefully she'll be awake when we go to the garden." Before her husband could say anything, she said firmly, "Do not keep her awake."

"Do you think I did that with Alexis?" Castle said simply.

"He wouldn't," Martha said with a smile as she'd been listening to the two across the table.

"You might want to tell the girls that," Castle told her.

Glancing at the two, Beckett nodded and said, "Eventually," since they were talking to their friends. Skye was getting her attention across the table and they were soon talking together until their food arrived and they ate lunch.

"There are a lot of planes Mummy," Ivy said as another was going above them after they'd finished and had left the café.

"It's Las Vegas lass," Skye said with a smile. "It's a very busy airport."

"In October?" Martha asked.

"In October," Skye replied with a nod. When they had neared the entrance to the garden she said, "This is very small," to her three youngest. "But we'll take our time to watch everything."

"They know a little Mum," Kathleen commented.

"Yeah, they have dolphins," Clive began.

"And cats," Peter said.

Eliza giggled and said, "Sorry," since the boys had been looking at her.

"It's alright, you only know what's there," Skye said.

"We'll find out what it looks like now," Mary said before they walked over to give their tickets.

Once they were inside, Beckett watched Eliza take off from Castle; having been holding his hand; and she went to him to grab his arm before he could go after her. She smiled when he turned to her and she told him, "She's alright."

"Really?" Castle asked.

"She's not that far away," Beckett said with a smile, squeezing his arm before she turned to her father and went to get Josie from her stroller.

"Will we need this?" Jim asked her.

"If she falls asleep," Beckett replied, smiling at Josie as the baby was laughing. She carried her over to the pool where there were some dolphins swimming around in front of them. She looked at Josie when they were near and thought she might have seen them, but she was soon turning her head.

"Ahh-ba-ah," Josie said before she was smiling as her father walked up to her.

"Dolphin?" Castle said.

"I don't think so," Beckett said with a smile.

"Dog?" Castle asked the baby directly.

"Ba!" Josie said before she was wriggling around in her mother's arms.

"Rick, you're going to make her a little too excited," Beckett said laughingly. She handed him the baby and said, "Teach her but be careful."

"Sure," Castle replied, gently bouncing Josie to her laughter.

Beckett went over to Julia and touched her shoulder before asking, "Are you getting pictures?"

"Kinda," the girl replied, looking at her over her shoulder. "When they slow down." Julia studied her mother for a moment and asked, "You're not going to take pictures?"

"I will," Beckett said simply before she grabbed her camera and then headed over to her husband. She took several pictures of him with the baby before she was doing the same with Julia and Eliza. She took more of Mari, Clive and Peter; for their parents who hadn't been able to get to Las Vegas; and then stood with Skye as she was standing on her own. "Alright?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, just got a call," Skye replied.

"I saw that," Beckett said as she studied her.

"It's an investigation," Skye said eventually. "I didn't want the kids to hear."

"Bad?" Beckett said seriously. When the investigator nodded she sighed and said, "Will you need to go?"

Shaking her head quickly Skye said in Russian, "I'll be kept up to date but essentially I'll be a consultant."

"Does Mary know?" Beckett asked, speaking in English.

"She will," Skye said, looking past Beckett's shoulder and smiling at her wife.

Stepping out of the way of her friend, Beckett smiled as the two women walked towards the second pool but stopped at one point to speak. She turned back to the others and saw that her husband was making his way over to her, appearing to be holding a conversation with their baby.

"Say apple," Castle was telling Josie. "And that's connected to the Beatles so your sisters will be very happy about that."

"Ah-ah!" the baby cried before she settled down against her father's neck.

"We should go," Beckett said as she ran her hand over the back of the baby's head.

"Before she falls asleep?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he looked for his mother and then waved over to her so she could tell Skye and Mary and they could gather the kids.

"You want to keep holding her?" Beckett asked her husband as they were walking.

"I do," Castle said with a smile. He then kissed Josie's temple before they reached the entrance to the part of the area with the wild cats. After they were through he went to the white tigers; as Eliza was insisting they take the baby there first; and he looked down to see that Josie's eyes were wide. "I think she sees them," he commented, since the white tiger in front of them was walking around.

"Can we get her a stuffed one?" Julia asked after she'd taken some pictures. "That way she has more tigers."

"Okay," Castle said, breathing out heavily in mock annoyance. "Now I know they're doing that on purpose."

Beckett, who was laughing, shook her head and said, "Let her decide Rick, but she does seem to like them," as they were watching the baby who had placed her fist in her mouth.

"Here's her mitten!" Eliza said, hurrying over with it.

"I don't think she's doing that to teethe," Beckett commented, handing that to the baby who turned her head away. She watched her yawn and then smiled saying, "Almost nap time."

"Ooh," Eliza said in disappointment. "She's gonna miss the other kitties!"

"We'll keep walking," Castle said in amusement as they made their way around to the other animals. When they got to the lions he glanced at Josie, seeing that she was staring before she turned to look over his shoulder with a whimper. "Love?" he called to his wife.

"I'll take her," Jim said quickly as he'd seen his daughter was taking pictures of the wild cats. He got the baby into his arms and gently bounced her, kissing her temple and walking ahead of them. He wasn't aware that someone was following him before he glanced behind him and saw it was his daughter. "You got pictures?" he asked since she had her camera in her hand.

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile. She turned her attention to Josie and took the baby's hand she had curled into a fist kissing the back of it before she glanced at her father. "I know Dad," she said with a slight smile as she saw the look on his face.

"She'd never let her go," Jim commented once he felt he could speak, his wife having taken over his thoughts as he'd seen Johanna in his daughter for a moment.

"Or the other girls," Beckett said with a smile, holding her arms out to take the baby. She held Josie close once she had her and laughed softly when the baby cooed before she kissed her forehead. "Do you want her back?" she asked her father.

"Do you want me to take her?" Jim said, glancing at her camera. When she shook her head he smiled and said, "I'll see what the other girls are doing," walking away to let Castle approach the two.

"Do you want me to take her?" he asked her.

"No, I'm alright," Beckett replied with a smile. She let him take her camera and she gently moved the baby up and down, trying to get her to look at the camera. Josie kept turning her head so she merely kissed her temple before she said to her husband, "Got it?"

"I did," Castle replied with a smile. "Should we keep going?"

"Yes," Beckett said after they both watched their baby yawn again. She started walking around the rest of the habitats, waiting in front of the panther for a while, while her husband was taking pictures for her. She watched the others approaching them, smiling when their daughters hurried over to where they were standing. "Are you having fun?" she asked them.

"Yeah!" Eliza said happily. She reached up to Josie and taking her hand asked, "Are you liking it too Josa?"When they got a kick of her legs in response Castle said, "I think that's your answer."

"We need to go," Beckett said. "You want to take her to the giftshop right?"

"We can really go?" Julia asked.

"Of course, not all of us have been here already," Skye said.

"I'm not getting a tiger shirt," Derek said as she'd been looking at him.

With some laughter at the expression on the dancer's face, the group went together to the shop outside the area with the habitats. Julia and Eliza were just able to get their sister to see and grab onto a stuffed white tiger before she was falling asleep.

"We'll get it," Beckett said in amusement. She let Castle take the toy to the register and after he was back with them they were the last to leave. "We'll meet in front of the exhibit center?" she asked Skye.

"Of course, it's the first thing we come to," the investigator said.

Julia glanced at her sister and friends when the two women started to speak in Russian before she shrugged as those that hadn't been there looked at her questioningly. "I'm sure it'll be cool for you guys," she said.

"Alright," Skye said firmly, making Julia jump. "Oh, sorry," she said with a slight laugh.

"A bit bombastic grá," Mary said.

"I think that was excellently delivered," Martha commented.

"Okay, okay," Skye said, laughing. "Either way we need to go."

Once the kids were gathered the group headed out to the front of the casino where they got into taxi vans, having to take a few but soon on their way to Henderson.

"I didn't know this place was so far," Derek said after the cabs were leaving them.

"Well… it's quite big so it wouldn't have fit on the Strip," Skye commented.

"Hey, can we go there at night?" Clive asked suddenly.

"We will, after the show," Beckett said. "This way though."

"See the building?" Eliza was asking Fleur as they were walking hand in hand. "It looks like the…"

"Native Americans would make," Julia supplied as her sister looked at her. "What do you think?"

"It looks just like your-" Mari started to say when Clive was exclaiming.

"A train!" the boy said, running for it.

"Is this what you two were talking about?" Jim asked the investigator in amusement.

"I knew my girls would enjoy seeing it too," Skye said with a smile as hers and Mary's three youngest rushed after the boys. "Well… time for pictures I believe," she said before was laughing with the other adults and heading over to the locomotive engine across from the main building of the museum.

After they had taken several pictures of the kids, and a few family ones they walked across the road into the building. Castle paid for their admission and they started looking around the lobby where Julia had taken the McDouglas girls and her friends to a display.

"Wow… you mean there's really what's left of the plane over there in the mountains?" Peter asked.

"There is," Julia replied, looking at the item from Carole Lombard's plane. She sighed sadly and then said, "She's still here, her spirit. But it's at the saloon near the mountain."

"Julia," Beckett said gently. "Sorry sweetie," she said with a slight smile when her daughter looked at her with wide eyes. "We should keep going."

"She's not here right now is she?" Castle asked Skye as his wife and Mary were leading the kids to the first exhibit.

"No, no, your daughter was right she's at the Pioneer Saloon," the investigator replied. When Skye saw the questioning look on the writer's face she smiled and said, "I just know, can't really tell you more than that."

"Daddy!" Eliza said eagerly.

"I'm coming," Castle said, walking over to her. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked the little girl as she was jumping up and down. He was startled when she didn't say anything, just pointed to the taxidermized wolf that was on an outcropping of rocks next to the first display. "You want me to pick you up?" he said in surprise. When she nodded he did so, holding her on his hip before he watched her leaning over towards the animal. "Eliza?" he said.

"Go closer Daddy!" the little girl said firmly.

"I don't think he can kiddo," Martha told her as she was standing near them with Josie, still asleep in her carrier. "That wasn't really meant to be petted."

Frowning Eliza looked over at her mother and saw that she was gesturing to her and she sighed as her father set her down. "I wanted to pet it Mommy, it's like our doggies," she explained, taking her hand when she was close to her.

"I know but it's a museum and unless it says you can't touch it," Beckett told her gently but a little sternly.

Sighing Eliza looked ahead and then saw the rocks they could touch, and she went to it eagerly.

"What?" Castle asked his wife when she glanced at him.

"That's very familiar behavior," Beckett murmured to him in Irish.

"Again, you've called me twelve and younger," Castle said in the same language.

"Guys," Skye said with a smile. When the two looked at her she said, "I can understand you and we've gotten the kids away."

"How'd you do that?" Castle said in surprise.

"Your dad let them know they couldn't use the stones," Mary commented. "And they're leading the way now."

Walking after the others, Beckett took her husband's hand and she wasn't surprised at the startled look he gave her shortly after that. Smiling at him she said, "I've taken pictures already. And I will take pictures of them but I'm taking a break right now."

Nodding, Castle stopped walking, as the kids and adults were going through the display of the Jilly-Bean Mine. He took the chance and kissed her gently on the lips, quickly since he knew they didn't have that much time. "I have to take my chances where I can," he pointed out to her.

"I know, but the girls are looking for us," Beckett said gently.

Turning his head Castle saw that she was right, and he hurried with her over to them saying, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, but we're gonna finish the museum and you'll be way back," Julia said. She grinned at the look her mother gave her; knowing she didn't really mean it; and then asked, "What're we doing for dinner?"

"You can't be hungry," Beckett said in protest.

"I'm not, but Peter and Clive are wondering," Julia said. "I don't think they're hungry."

"They might be if we're here for that long," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"I have bars," Beckett assured him. When she saw her husband and daughters were all looking at her in surprise she said, "I know you all can get hungry; I have to be prepared."

"You're the best mommy," Eliza said, wrapping her arms around her waist tightly.

"Thank you, sweetie," Beckett told her, hugging her back. "We should go though, now we're all being left behind."

"Not going to do it," Skye was saying, shaking her head as the rest of the Castle family was rejoining them.

"Are you asking her to sing again?" Julia asked with a smile.

"I am," Derek said since it was him. "But something… different."

"She's singing Queen this week," Clive said. "What did you want her to sing?"

"Hotel California," Skye said wryly. "That's a big song though, bit hard to sing acapella," she started to say. "And," she continued hurriedly, pointing at her wife. "I include singing with the phone as well."

"She won't," Mary said to Derek.

"Sing someone Mum!" Marie begged.

When the other kids were doing the same Skye said, "I'll have a think on it, see what I can do."

Beckett squeezed Julia's shoulder; since she'd seen the girl was about to speak; and told her, "Wait until we're outside. That's what she wants to do."

"Oh… sure," Julia said as she realized her mother had a point about that. She was suddenly impatient to go through the rest of the museum, but they were near the end as they were at the gambling items on display.

"Whoa, look, they're destroying the building!" Clive said as he saw a video playing on a screen of an implosion.

"That's what they've done to some casinos," Jim said. When the two boys looked up at him in surprise he said, "Sometimes they get old, unpopular, and they destroy the building so they can build a new one."

"Is where we're staying one of those?" Mari asked.

"It is," Kathleen said suddenly. She smiled when the other kids looked at her and said, "Mum told us. It was the Castaways before the Mirage-"

"And before Castaways it was the…" Marie started to say.

"It was the Red Rooster Nite Club," Skye explained. "So the Castaways was bigger of course."

"Come on," Mary said. "There's a lot more and remember we have the show."

That seemed to spur them, and they started to walk together though the rest of the exhibits. When they were stepping outside Marie and Julia rushed over to Skye, making the investigator groan.

"You two, you're not going to leave me alone are you?" Skye asked them though she was smiling at them both.

"Nope," Marie said to her mother. "Sing something Mum."

"I assume you've thought of a song?" Skye asked Julia. When the girl nodded she said, "It's a secret?"

Gesturing to the woman, Julia whispered into her ear, not surprised when the investigator looked back at her in surprise.

"You know you'll need to dance," Skye said laughingly. She then looked at the others and said, "She wants me to sing Wonderful World; by Sam Cooke," not surprised when her wife began laughing.

"You won't sing that Mum?" Kathleen asked.

Skye was about to shake her head no when she heard a whispered, "I love that song," suddenly and they looked over at Ivy together.

Blushing deeply suddenly the little girl murmured, "I do."

"Hmm, I may have to change my mind then," Skye said before she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "How do you know that song?"

"We heard it on the radio once," Iris piped up. "But we didn't know the name of it until we heard Kath listening to it."

"Is that good enough?" Skye asked Derek.

"It is," the pro said. "You have a dance for it?" he then asked Julia though he was looking at Peter as well.

"Yeah," the girl said with a blush. "But it's nothing special."

"Yeah, a simple Foxtrot," Peter added.

"Let's go where there's better ground," Beckett said suddenly, as she didn't like the two dancing on asphalt. "And you can do that there." She went to Julia and took her hand as they continued over to the trails when she felt her daughter squeezing her hand weakly, making her look down at her before she started to speak.

"I don't know if there's going to be a good place to dance," Julia told her. She thought for a moment and said, "Unless we did it in the houses or the chapel."

Beckett, smiling as her daughter had been almost whispering then, said, "Then let her know you don't really want to dance." She looked ahead of them and said, "I think she might forget to do that," as they'd reached the structures of the Paiute people made from branches. "Go with your sister," she told her daughter.

"But you already took pictures with us here," Julia protested.

"Yes, but not with Josie," Beckett told her.

"Oh," Julia said before she went over to her grandmother since she was getting the baby from her carrier. "That wasn't a long nap?" she asked instead of saying.

"It was long enough for her," Martha replied with a smile. "She just woke up."

Julia nodded and then took her baby sister, putting her on her hip and then bounced her a few times as she walked to the structure. She kept Josie in her arms as she stood with Eliza and they smiled for their mother's pictures and once they had finished she was going to continue carrying her sister when she paused as Josie was whimpering.

"Let me have her," Castle told her, taking the baby quickly as he knew what was wrong.

"What is it?" Clive asked in surprise as Castle and Beckett were leaving with the baby's bag.

"Her diaper needs changed," Mari said. When the boys looked at her she said, "Dani would make the same sound when she needed it."

As Peter and Clive made faces, Julia wanted to tell them they could have a sibling one day when she paused. She realized that was a little mean, though she quickly reminded herself that their parents didn't have to be married to give them siblings. Shaking herself she said instead, "Hey, you might have babies one day. You'll do the same thing."

"Meh," Clive said with a shrug before they were laughing together until the McDouglas girls were calling to them.

When they left the building; as the bathrooms had been there; Castle said, "I wonder if she wanted us to stop before we got too far."

"I don't care," Beckett said with a sigh. "At least she's happy now."

"Yeah," Castle said, holding the baby above him and making her laugh. "Are you okay?"

"I am," Beckett said with a smile to reassure him. "You have a very… crazy imagination."

"And you knew that after we worked together for a bit," Castle said.

"Yes, a bit," Beckett said jokingly before they reached where everyone else was standing by the jail. She glanced at the building, wondering how she could have forgotten about the structure and she looked ahead of them to try and find their second oldest.

"Mom," Julia said, walking hurriedly over to her. "I don't think you should walk over here, neither does Skye."

"But I have to go this direction," Beckett said, looking around.

"No," the investigator herself said, going to them. "There's another path a bit away. Let me walk you over there with the baby."Though she wasn't sure she wanted to agree too readily to it, Beckett nodded and turned to her husband.

"I'll go with you," Castle said quickly. They went with Skye over to the other path, standing between his wife and the structure as the investigator was as well. When they stopped at the end of that part of the path; where it joined the main one; he was about to tell the investigator to hurry when his wife was speaking.

"Give me Josie, Rick," Beckett told him. When he looked at her she said, "I can wait for you both here."

Since the baby was wearing a hat and the carrier would provide her shade, Castle was tempted to go but he was glancing at Skye who merely looked at him. "I better stay," he told her.

"I…" was all that Beckett was able to say before Skye told them they would rejoin them shortly. After they were alone she turned to her husband and said, "You didn't need to."

"I think she wanted me to," Castle replied. "Plus, I got the feeling I should."

Beckett merely nodded at that and they watched the group go through the ghost town before they were walking over to them. "I'm surprised," she told him.

"Me too, I figured the boys would have been running around the jail for an hour," Castle commented.

Glancing at him, and fighting her smile, Beckett asked the kids that came up to her first, "Does anyone want water?" before her husband was passing out the bottles they had under the carrier on the crib.

"Keep walking," Skye was saying to the others. "We have a lot more to see."

While they were passing the historic mining equipment Martha said to her daughter in law, "You wouldn't want her to sleep?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "If she wants to. Otherwise she'll stay up." She then frowned slightly and said, "Are you sure-"

"I am," Martha replied. She looked around and spotting Jim talking to Ivy she nodded to him and said, "We are, we don't want you two to have to stay for the baby."

"And you want to take care of her all on your own," Castle commented.

"We will be together for dinner," Martha said with a brief nod.

"And she'll be asleep most of the night," Beckett pointed out to her.

"And there's a very nice lounge chair outside," Martha said. "In October."

"Who's making a cocktail Mother?" Castle asked.

"I am, I know how to do that at least though it will be a mocktail," his mother replied. She paused and then said, "Though I wonder-"

"It's alright," Beckett said. "He'll be fine, but you'll have the door open where she is right?"

"Of course," Martha said with a nod. "You don't need to worry," she said, squeezing her daughter in law's arm with a smile before she walked ahead to where the kids were in front of a tall cactus.

"Why I asked that I have no idea," Beckett said to her husband as she took Josie from him.

"Instinct," Castle replied. When she looked at him he smiled and told her, "I did the same when she was watching Alexis. And remember we did the same when we left Eliza with my mom and your dad; separate or together."

Beckett nodded, smiling, and she kissed the baby before they made their way to the train depot building. She walked after the kids, keeping Josie in her arms, and as they were heading to Heritage Street she glanced at Julia to see how the girl was acting at that moment.

"What's with all the houses?" Peter asked.

"It's not a neighborhood, is it?" Iris asked her mothers.

"In a way, but I can assure you," Mary said, waiting to go up the path to the first house. "No one's living here."

"To a degree," Castle commented. When Julia gave him a look he shrugged before they were stepping onto the porch of the California bungalow house.

"We really can go inside?" Ivy asked Skye.

"Mmm-hmm," the investigator said, smiling at her.

When they'd gone through the living room, Mari was crying out suddenly as they were looking into the dining room and she saw the mannequins there. "I thought they were real," she said in slight embarrassment.

"I did the same thing too," Julia said quickly, grabbing her friend's hand tightly. "When I first came, remember I told you.""And I still got scared," Mari commented.

"That was a while ago," Julia told her.

"That's true," Mari said slowly with a nod.

"Girls," Beckett called to them.

"This is cool though," Mari was saying as she and Julia were walking together after the others back through the living room. "I know you showed me pictures but…"

"It's better to see in person," Julia finished for her. When her friend nodded she smiled widely and said, "I'm glad you got to come here."

"Me too," Mari said before they were walking through the rest of the house.

When they were outside Julia went to her mother and said, "Are we gonna go to the garden?"

"That'll be last," Beckett assured her.

Watching her mother looking at her watch Julia asked, "Are we running late?"

"No, we're doing well," Beckett said while they walked up to the Tudor revival house that was next to the bungalow.

"Mom you didn't say about dinner," Julia commented.

Seeing that the boys were glancing at them Beckett shook her head and said, "Let's go inside, they're waiting for us already."

Julia hurried up to the entry and they were going together inside before they were going down the hall past the living room. She remembered that house as being from the fifties and she went over to Derek saying, "What do you think?"

"It's interesting," the dancer said. "The colors in this house are… interesting."

Julia smiled and said, "It's such a small house, I'm not used to that except for the apartment my mom and I used to live in. In New York City."

"You said you have a city apartment still," Derek said.

"Yeah, it's a loft so it's bigger than the apartment we were in," Julia said before they went back to the front of the house. "You grew up in… Utah?"

"I did, so the landscape was a little like this," Derek said. "The state is right next door to Nevada. It's almost like I'm at home," the pro said before Julia was laughing as they walked together after the others to the last house on that side of the street.

Going to the chapel before the rest of the places on the other side of Heritage Street, Eliza and Fleur were inside first and the latter looked at the former when she let out a short shriek.

"C'est bien mon petite," Skye said, hurrying to her, telling her that it was alright.

"Il y en a tellement," Fleur said, meaning there were so many referencing the mannequins in the main part of the chapel.

"Did she say something about them looking real?" Clive asked hopefully.

"No, she said there are so many," Marie said.

"She's right," Mary said.

"A lot of weddings today," Castle commented. He smiled when the kids started to laugh; Skye and Mary looking at him gratefully; and he watched them calm down to begin taking pictures. He stayed behind with the baby, Josie awake but sitting in her carrier. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, smiling when he pulled back to find her smiling at him.

"Rick?" Beckett asked, having been walking to him. When he turned to her she said with a smile, "We're finished."

Nodding, Castle was first to leave with the stroller but waited for the others to pass him before he walked with his wife. While the others were going into the next house he hung back with the stroller and said, "I wasn't expecting anything, doing this?"

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said since she was with him. "Though I am that the girls didn't say anything about it."

"They're more eager to show their friends everything," Castle commented, looking down at the baby with her. "I'm really eager to get back to the villa," he suddenly said after they were silent for a few minutes.

"I know, I agree," Beckett said with a smile. She then reached out and slipped her arm through his, leaning her cheek to his shoulder as she said, "Spend the rest of the time with her?"

"Of course," Castle said firmly. He wasn't surprised when she laughed softly, and they shared a kiss before they needed to move to the next house on the street with their friends and family.

"Hi Mommy!" Eliza said happily as she was walking to the open door of her parents' room at the villa. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," Beckett said, smiling at her. "And so can your daddy."

"How did you know?" Castle asked in amusement as he walked into the room behind their daughter.

"It wasn't hard to guess," Beckett said wryly. "I knew you'd be waiting for me to open these doors."

"Your dress is pretty Mommy," Eliza said then.

Hearing Josie vocalizing Castle said, "I think she agrees."

"I guess so," Beckett said with a soft laugh. She was about to ask where Julia was when the girl suddenly rushed in, laughing heavily before she turned around.

"Look," Julia told them, holding out her tablet.

"Hey Alexis," Castle said when he saw her on the screen. "You weren't going to call until tomorrow."

"I called her," Julia replied. "I wanted to see her before the show." She paused but then said, "I told her how everything was going.""How's Skye before I talk to you?" Alexis asked.

"She's doing well, she's having a lot of fun with her Quickstep," Beckett began. "Which I'm assuming Julia told you the story for already."

"She did," Alexis said, unable to help laughing softly. "And they're really going to have people from the show on?"

"We've already met the three," Castle said.

"How was that?" Alexis said.

"Awesome," Castle said simply, not surprised when his wife and their daughters started to laugh.

"Yeah, they were all really nice," Julia said. "Kevin let us teach him some dance steps too… that might be in the intro before their Quickstep."

"Cool, so tell me what's been going on since Tuesday," Alexis said. As the family filled her in on the last two days; including their time in Vegas up to that point; she smiled and said when they'd finished, "So you're having a lot of fun."

"They're still learning," Castle commented, knowing what his daughter was saying. "We're going to be focusing on school mostly tomorrow."

"But we are practicing later in the afternoon," Julia said. "From three to… whenever right?" she asked her parents.

Nodding Beckett said, "That's up to Derek."

"How are they looking in the Jazz dance?" Alexis said. "I almost forgot to say."

"Good," Castle said, looking down at Eliza who was giggling softly and swinging back and forth.

"Can we show her?" the little girl asked her parents in a loud whisper.

"Go ahead, but just a little bit," Beckett said. "We have to go, and I think your sister needs to too."

Alexis looked on while her little sisters danced, Becket holding the tablet for them, when they had stopped she applauded and said, "You're doing that with all the other kids and Skye and Derek?"

"Yep, everyone but Josa," Julia said happily.

"Nice," Alexis said. "And it'll look great; it does already. And are you ready to be on TV Lizzy?"

Eliza shrugged before she wrapped her arms around Castle who she had gone to stand with. "I wanna dance," she finally said.

"And you will," Alexis said. "I'll let you go, Julia let me talk to Gram and Grandpapa first and I said goodbye to them already. I'll talk to you on Saturday probably, I have a full day tomorrow."

"Everything okay with work?" Beckett asked her oldest.

"Yeah, I just have another patient that Dr. Logan wants me to talk to now," Alexis explained.

"They're trusting you more," Castle said.

"I know, which I'm very happy about," Alexis said firmly. "I hope you have a great time at the show and with dinner too before that. I love you Jules, Lizzy, Josa."

"Love you," the two girls said together.

"And Ma, Dad? I love you too," Alexis directed to them.

"We love you too," Beckett said with a smile.

"Have a good time at work the rest of the week," Castle then told her. After they'd said goodbye and Julia had turned off her tablet he said, "Is everyone ready now?"

"Gram went to finish after she talked to 'lexis," Julia explained. "And Grandpapa is watching everyone else."

"They're in the pool, aren't they?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"They're taking turns on the steps," Julia said hurriedly as they left the room.

"Kids," Beckett told them.

"We weren't swimming," Clive said in a rush.

"We know," Castle said, smiling at the boy. "We're going to leave so you need to get your feet dried and your socks on."

"Cool," Peter said.

"Rick," Beckett told her husband.

"Yeah," Castle replied, going to the room that Jim was sharing with the boys. He side stepped the air mattress, though it was deflated for the day, and went into one of the two bathrooms that was attached to the bedroom. He grabbed the different colored combs and went to the doorway leading out to the back. "Boys," he said.

"Oh… do we have to?" Peter asked.

"We do, we're having a nice dinner and you're seeing a nice show," Jim told him, squeezing his shoulder.

The boy let out a mock exaggerated sigh before Peter smiled at Beckett's father and rushed to get his comb to tame his sandy blonde hair while Clive was doing the same with his deep brown hair. "Now can we go?" he asked hopefully when they had finished.

"We can," Beckett said with a smile. They went inside; after the doors leading to the back from the rooms were closed; and while her husband was getting their keys she checked on Josie. The baby was in her arms by then, wearing a dress with thinner pants under it. The outfit had been a gift from Lanie and she smiled as she thought of her friend, who was a little over five months into her pregnancy. The doctor and Dylan had decided to wait to see what gender their baby was going to be, but she had her own suspicions as she had seen the shape of her friend's stomach the more it had grown.

"Okay love?" Castle asked his wife as he touched her back.

"Yeah," Beckett replied. "I was thinking of Lanie."

"Did you want to call her?" Castle asked.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "It's later, she could be tired. She's still working of course."

"True," Castle said, knowing their friend was still experiencing a little fatigue. He then said, "Now I know how everyone felt when we didn't find out what Eliza was."

"I was thinking the same," Beckett said with a laugh. She squeezed his arm quickly before they were meeting up with the McDouglases who'd taken another villa and they were entering the casino to head to the restaurant.

"Oh! This one again?" Julia asked eagerly when she saw the one by the entrance from the Strip.

"It is, so you like this one?" Beckett said. She laughed when Julia threw her arms around her and said, "We're not really going to be able to sit all together you know," warning her. "They can't put the tables in the middle together for us, so I think we're at the booths."

"I don't care," Julia said firmly as they met Derek at the entrance to LVB Burgers; where she had eaten with her family before they had gone to see the show the year previous. Once they were seated she couldn't help saying to her mother, "It's been a year."

"More than that," Castle said, knowing what the girl was thinking of. "And that's awesome to realize too."

"I was little," Eliza said, sitting on one side of their booth with Castle.

"You still are," Beckett said, smiling across the table with Julia and Mari. "No shakes girls," she said, noticing that they were both eyeing them on the menu. "We're having dessert after."

"What's that?" Clive asked, looking over the back of the booth.

"You'll find out," Castle said, motioning for him to sit.

Julia laughed with Mari as the boy made a quick face before he was sitting and once he had disappeared she asked, "What do we get?"

"Whatever you'd like, but please pick something you know you'll eat," Beckett told them.

"Oh!" Julia said after they had ordered. "What about the gift shop?"

"We'll go after, remember we can send what we buy to the room," Castle reminded her.

Beckett was distracted at that moment as Josie was whimpering and she took the baby out, setting her on her lap saying, "She wants to go too."

"Will she get anything?" Eliza asked.

"Maybe," Beckett replied.

"We should," Castle told his wife.

"I know, but we'll see what there is," Beckett said, relieved when he nodded.

As they were waiting Castle couldn't help saying, "We almost went to the buffet at Caesars."

"That's okay," Julia said, since her parents were both looking at her. "We went last night."

"It's why we did that," Beckett said, letting Josie hold onto her teething mitten she'd gotten from the carrier just in case. "But he didn't say we almost went here last night."

"I like coming here better," Julia said with a smile. "Before the show."

"Me too," Eliza said though it was her first time.

"So do I," Mari added.

The group laughed before Julia was telling Mari about the Neon Museum they'd gone to the year before. It was as she was explaining the signs that something came to mind and she turned to her mother when she saw that Beckett was smiling at her, making her look at her questioningly before her mother spoke.

"Are you wondering when we'll be back?" Beckett said.

"Sorta," Julia confessed. "So we will come back.""I'd like to," Castle said.

"Would we see the show again?" Julia asked.

"I think so," Beckett said when her husband looked at her. She then smiled and told their second oldest, "Josie hasn't seen it yet.""Or Gram and Grandpapa," Julia was quick to add. "Once she can go they can go too?"

"Yes," Beckett said with a nod. "But for now, we need to focus on dinner," saying that as she'd seen their waiter coming over with their food and knowing her daughter was getting excited to go.

Though she was eager to get to see the show with her friend and sister, Julia did eat since she was hungry after all the walking they'd done that day. When they'd finished she sighed and said, "That was really good."

"Yeah, too bad we couldn't get a shake," Mari said jokingly.

"We're getting dessert," Castle said in mock annoyance as he stood up to get the carrier off the high chair. "But not until after the show."

"What if I fall asleep Daddy?" Eliza asked, holding her arms out to her mother who'd come to her side of the table.

"I don't think you will," Beckett replied. "And you're sharing with me." She wasn't surprised when the little girl nodded, and she set her down so they could leave the restaurant and regroup outside.

"Well, I was going to suggest some gambling-" Skye began.

"Grá," Mary said warningly.

Smirking at her wife, who playfully pinched her arm, Skye then said, "I'll go ahead and tell those of you who want to go do that we'll stay with the kids." When no one said anything or moved she asked, "Really?"

"It's not that long until the show," Jim said.

"You two wouldn't want to?" Derek asked him and Martha.

"Well…" Castle's mother began. She then shook her head slightly and asked, "What are you doing now?"

"Going to the gift shop," Beckett replied. "But we can walk around a little before the show that way you can do some gambling." After her mother in law and father agreed to that they went to the store where the kids took off ahead of them. "No protests?" she asked her husband jokingly.

"No, they're not leaving," Castle said. When his wife gave him a look; as the doors at the back of the store were closed; he smiled and then walked with her after the kids.

"They have some new shirts," Julia said happily as she was looking at what there was. "How many can I get?"

"We'll see what you find," Beckett said. "But make sure you can see us."

"You're gonna go get Josa some shirts?" Eliza asked.

"We are, we'll be towards the front," Castle told her, making sure one of the kids was holding the little girl's hand.

"We'll watch them," Skye said as she and Mary were walking over to them.

When they were at the shirts for babies, Beckett said to her husband, "She's going to need to be older."

"Of course, Julia still has those shirts form last year," Castle replied. "What about this one?" he said, holding up a blue shirt with the Beatles in the cartoon about them on the front. He wasn't surprised when she nodded, and they picked out a couple more tops for Josie before they made their way over to the others at the back.

Both Julia and Eliza found shirts they wanted, as well as one for Alexis, and they walked around together with the other kids while they waited for their parents to pay.

"I wonder if it's really that fun," Mari was saying as they watched some machines just outside the gift shop.

"I guess, people don't stop," Clive said.

"But then you lose your money," Kathleen pointed out.

"Does your grandmother gamble that much?" Peter asked Julia and Eliza. "Or your grandfather?"

"I don't think so," Julia said when her little sister shrugged. "They need to take Josie to the villa anyways so they're not going to do it too much here." Glancing over to the registers she saw that both her parents and Skye and Mary had finished making her say, "We can go now."

The group split up then, Martha and Jim going to gamble for a short amount of time while everyone else went to the atrium to look around. They needed to regroup after twenty minutes and Castle and Beckett said goodnight to their youngest after her sisters had. Saying goodbye to Martha and Jim, they went to the theater and down to their seats.

"Think we can go and dance?" Julia asked her mother jokingly.

"I don't think so," Beckett told her in amusement. She looked down at the others seeing that the McDouglases seemed to be settled in front of her as they were looking at the book Skye and Mary had bought for their youngest daughters; the oldest twins having seen the show already. She turned to Julia and said, "You're still excited?"

Smiling, as she had been expecting her parents to ask her that, Julia told her, "I really am. I know I saw it already but it's such a good show I want to see it again… and again."

Beckett laughed softly and leaned over, pressing her lips to the top of her head before she saw the tall man with the silver teapot coming up to the seats. She watched with the others as another cast member came up until the show finally began. She and Castle were sitting on either side of Eliza since they both wanted to watch her reactions. Since it was a little dark at the beginning of the first song, she couldn't see the little girl but when things let up more she was smiling immediately at the look of awe on her face. As the show was continuing she noticed that Julia was watching Mari, not surprised since she knew her second oldest wanted to see how she enjoyed it.

"Are you liking it?" Castle whispered to Eliza when they were getting towards the end.

The little girl; her eyes fixed to the stage ahead; merely nodded before she watched the women float from the ceiling for the song Hey Jude. Eliza sighed in awe at the rose petals that were falling from their umbrellas and she giggled as that song went into the reprise for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. When All You Need is Love was after she groaned as she knew that was the end of the show as her sister had told her about it and she waved to the cast members that were walking around the edge of the stage. "That's it?" she asked in disappointment when the lights came back on.

"It is," Beckett said with a smile as they stood. "Be careful with the streamers when we go."

Nodding, Eliza was about to step over some that were at the end of their row when her father picked her up to her squeal of surprise. "Thanks Daddy," she said, smiling up at him before she took his hand. When they were outside of the theater her eyes widened at how many people there were, but Castle picked her up before he had Peter hold his hand while Clive held his. It took them a while to make it away from the entrance and once they had she was going to ask her father what they were doing when Skye stopped them so they could talk.

"We're heading straight to dessert, it is a little late for the youngest here," the investigator said first thing. "Stay together and don't break off."

Leaving the Mirage, the group went across the street and walked down to The Linq, the kids talking together or sharing glances as they wondered where they were going exactly. They knew they wouldn't be able to find out until they were there and they walked with the adults, anxious to find out what they'd get that was sweet.

"What time is it?" Martha asked, coming out of her room to where Jim was in the back.

Checking his watch, he said, "Almost nine, I imagine they'll be here soon. How's Josie?"

"Doing well, fast asleep," Martha replied, settling back. She looked up at the sky for a moment and then said, "What do you think Eliza thought?"

"She enjoyed it," Jim replied before he started to open his mouth to speak when he heard something, slightly muffled. "I think that's them," he said with a smile.

"I better get the doors," Martha said, hurrying to the ones at her room. She closed them, leaving a slight crack between the two, and turned as the kids were coming outside first.

"Easy," Jim said with a smile as Eliza was talking rapidly about the show. Once he'd gotten her to stop he asked, "So you liked it?"

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head rapidly.

"What about dessert?" Martha asked.

"Here," Julia said, walking over to them. "I hope it didn't melt too much."

"Why are you giving me that face?" Martha said with a smile as she cupped her face playfully.

"You knew what we were getting already," Julia said though she was smiling by then."I did, your parents wanted us to keep that a secret," Martha said.

"I hope you like your ice cream," Julia told her though she was turning her attention to her sundae.

"Did you get that all for yourself?" Jim asked in surprise.

"No," Julia said, looking behind her Mari walked up to her. "We split it up," she then explained since her friend was holding a cup half full like her own from Ghirardelli which her parents had said they were going to since they weren't going to San Francisco.

"I should have known," Jim said in amusement, starting on his ice cream.

"Oh, did the items come from the gift shop?" Mary asked Jim and Martha suddenly.

"They did," the latter replied. "They're all split up right?"

"They were in the store," Skye said with a nod.

"Mum," Marie said.

"Oh no," the investigator said with a mock groan.

"Come on Mum," Kathleen said in protest.

"Yeah, we want to entendez-vous chanter," Fleur said so fast that she lapsed into French.

"Moi aussi!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Anyone want to translate?" Skye asked.

"Hear her sing?" Julia said. "Or you, she said you," she corrected herself.

"I said me too!" Eliza said eagerly.

"I think," Beckett said before Skye could say anything. "That we need to finish our ice cream and then let them dance."

"Smashing idea," the investigator replied. "And I need to finish before I sing," she said. "But am I still singing the Sam Cooke song?"

"Sing whatever you'd like," Derek said, waving his hand.

"Julia," Castle told the girl.

Frowning for a moment, Julia went over to him and was surprised when her father pulled her close so he could whisper into her ear. She smiled at him before she hurried over to Skye and whispered into her ear before pulling back to see her reaction.

"Alright then," the investigator replied with a nod and a smile at Castle. "But finish your sundae first."

They were all quiet, seeming to want to hear the performance before the cups and spoons were set aside and Skye was talking to her wife.

"So… will you sing?" Ivy asked.

"We will," Skye said quickly. "Kate-"

"It wasn't hard to notice," Beckett interrupted with a short laugh. "Go ahead and start."

Skye looked at her wife and once she had started the music for the song she was singing immediately, the kids gathering in front of her.

I know something you don't knowI want you to listen to the taleI know a reasonable womanHandsome and witty, yet a friendShe's got the right amount of passionShe isn't into rumourNot too serious or too dumbAnd equal mixture of good humourAnd sweet, sweet memories (Ah, sweet memories)Sweet, sweet memoriesSweet memoriesSweet, sweet memoriesShe's got sweet, sweet memoriesSweet memoriesSweet, sweet memories

Beckett watched the kids as they danced together, jumping up and down when the beat sped up before they were spinning each other in their pairs and rocking back and forth. She felt her husband grab her hand before the next verse, smiling at him as she knew he'd meant the song for her.

Has she got any faults thenYes, she has one I must admitWhen all the world tries to praise herShe refuses to hear itShe's got the right amount of passionShe isn't into rumourNot too serious or too dumbAnd equal mixture of good humourAnd sweet, sweet memoriesSweet, sweet memoriesYeah, we got sweet, sweet memoriesSweet memoriesShe's got sweet, sweet memoriesYeah, sweet memoriesSweet, sweet memories

At the instrumental there, Julia tried looking at Skye as she wondered why the investigator wasn't vocalizing as Paul did in the song. But the investigator was taking a drink of water; as was Mary since she was singing back up with her. She then glanced at her parents, smiling since her father was kissing her mother's cheek before Peter was spinning her again.

"I'll thank you later," Beckett murmured to her husband as she knew Skye was about to sing again. She did her best not to laugh when her husband raised and lowered his eyebrows at her quickly before she leaned against him while they listened to the rest of the song.

She's got the right amount of passionShe isn't into rumourNot too serious or too dumbAnd equal mixture of good humourAnd sweet, sweet memories

Sweet, sweet memoriesSweet memoriesSweet, sweet memoriesShe's got sweet, sweet memoriesSweet memoriesSweet, sweet memories

Oh memory, memories

Hey yeah, sweet memoriesWe got sweet, sweet memoriesTaking me backTaking me backTaking me back

"I'm wondering if I wasn't all that subtle," Castle commented.

"Not really but I think Mary appreciated your choice," Beckett replied. When her husband paused and looked at her in the mirror she smiled and told him, "You couldn't tell?"

"Not really, I was mainly looking at you," Castle told her seriously.

Nodding, Beckett then walked out to the bedroom and to the doors leading to the back of the villa. It was later that night and she and her husband were preparing for bed after having spent some time with the girls when the others had left. She got onto their bed and told him, "I am a little tired."

"Don't worry, I am too," Castle replied. "Though you are gorgeous."

Smiling Beckett said, "And earlier?"

"That applies to this entire day," Castle said quickly, getting onto the bed with her. They laid down together but left the lights on and he kept his glasses on before he said, "The stuff apart from the memories worked for you."

"Don't worry, I understood," Beckett assured him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. They were silent for a moment before she then said, "And the memories?"

"I do have one," Castle admitted.

"Tell me, we might not be intimate, but I'd love to hear," Beckett told him.

Nodding, Castle said, "It was in 1945, the Christmas after the war ended, which of course was memorable."

"Are you going to talk about the whole day?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said with a smile, not surprised she'd asked. "It's about the afternoon after we opened gifts. Your mother was still with us, but she stayed at home while we went out since it was a very nice day." He felt her nod and when she was settled again he continued, beginning with, "We headed downtown, even though nothing was open that day in celebration."

"I'm sooo glad there aren't any more rations," fifteen-year-old Josephine said eagerly to her parents.

"Me too," Rick replied with a nod. "But stay with us."

"I will," Josephine promised. She then turned to her sister and said, "What do you think Elizabeth?"

"About what?" the eighteen-year-old asked with a smile.

"About college! You get to go finally," Josephine replied.

"I was going to go to Berkley already," Elizabeth pointed out to her. "If it wasn't for the War then I would have gone this semester." She then looked back at their parents and said, "I'll miss you still."

"At least you'll be with friends," Kate said, the young woman staying with her friends from Mill Valley who would also be attending the college. Recalling hers and Rick's oldest she turned, seeing that she was still speaking with her little sister. She was about to call them over when the two were hurrying down and Julia was speaking first.

"We're coming Ma," the twenty-three-year-old was telling her. "We were just wondering where Aunt Rose and Aunt Mary are."

"And your uncle," Kate reminded them with a smile. "Hold onto your hat Alexandra."

"I know Ma, I don't want to lose it," the seventeen-year-old said with a smile. "Especially since it's a gift."

"I told you she'd like it," Rick told his wife who gave him a look. He squeezed her hand that he was holding before they stopped and turned at voices calling to them.

"Is Ma alright?" Kate asked her twin when she neared her.

"She's swell," Rose reassured her. "She's keeping an eye on dinner."

"Let's keep walking," Patrick said.

"You need the exercise," Mary said to him, smiling at him before they continued to the shops downtown.

There were several people there strolling already though nothing was open, women sporting new hats and coats while children were running around the sidewalks and streets when they could.

"Julia?" Kate eventually said as she was alone with her oldest. "Will Mari be here?"

"She will," Julia said, nodding her head with a smile. "But after dinner, for dessert."

"You did tell her that her family could come along didn't you?" Kate asked.

"I did," Julia replied. "They want to stay home. Da."

"What?" Rick asked as he'd been standing near them.

"Why are you eavesdropping?" Kate asked, slipping her arm through her husband's as their daughter went to where Elizabeth was with a couple of her cousins in front of the bookstore.

"I wasn't," Rick replied. He glanced around for a moment and then murmured to her in Irish, "I have a gift for you. I want to give it to you later."

"I have the same for you," Kate replied in the same language. She then smiled and said, "Should we continue?"

"We'll have to get our girls," Rick said, nodding towards their daughters who had found friends and were talking together. He was about to go over to Josephine first when a friend called his name and they turned to greet the man and his wife before they were walking again.

"We did that most Christmas afternoons didn't we?" Beckett asked her husband when he paused.

"If it wasn't raining? Yeah, we did. Though as time went on people did that less and less," Castle said. "I think later in the fifties we stopped doing it. With the grandchildren wanting to play with their toys and all…"

Beckett laughed softly and when she saw the questioning look on her husband's face she said, "At least you allowed our daughters to have children of their own."

"All our daughters were of legal age," Castle replied easily before he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "But I wasn't finished."

"Go ahead," Beckett told him with a smile, not surprised he began talking about what they'd done after dinner.

"Very good meal," Patrick said, looking at his glass with Irish whiskey in the bottom of it. "You know girls, there was a time when we weren't able to drink this."

"No?" Fleur asked.

"I'm going to refer to her as Fleur," Castle told his wife before she could say anything about the name. "It's easier than Fiona, and I don't think that was her name then anyway."

"Did they have any other children?" Beckett asked her husband.

"Kate," Castle said simply. When she raised her head to look at him he just started at her and waiting before she groaned slightly.

"Alright, Ivy and Iris weren't twins but they were sisters," Beckett said. "They were from Paris and the three of them got them out just before the occupation. And they were able to adopt Marie and Kath last from England a year later, their orphanage was bombed during the Blitz. I know, they were all there too," she said wryly.

Reaching up to her, Castle cupped her cheek with his hand before he raised his head so he could kiss her. After they parted he said, "We told them about Prohibition, since they'd all been born in the thirties. Fleur and Ivy were born the same year, 1934, and Iris, Marie and Kath in 1935. So they were eleven and ten."

"Okay, you can continue you know," Beckett told him.

Castle smiled and kissed her swiftly before he said, "We told them about it and then Julia helped us with it too."

"Ma used to have the prettiest dresses," Julia was saying, smiling at the way her cousins' eyes widened.

"You still have them don't you Katie?" Rose asked.

"Don't," she said warningly to her sister; though she was soon smiling. "I'll have to tell them about you dressing as a man."

"Oh, she's told them that already," Mary said, rolling her eyes.

"I want to do the same," Marie said.

"Maybe for Halloween," Rose said, kissing the top of her head. "Now, aren't you kids going to play?"

"A game?" Kath asked.

"Chutes and Ladders," Josephine said. "Your newest game."

"What about dessert Mama?" Ivy asked Mary.

"We'll have it soon," the woman replied soothingly. She then looked over at the others and told her, "You'll miss out on the game."

"Where are you going?" Kate asked her daughter as she and Mari had stood.

"To the porch," Julia told her soothingly. "We'll be back."

"Put on your coats," Kate implored both women.

"We will," Mari replied.

"Is she leaving?" Rick asked, finishing his glass of Irish whiskey.

"No," Kate said. "I suppose they'll want to talk about when they'll be able to fly again."

"Soon," Rose told her sister with a smile. She looked at her twin and said, "They'll not want to stop."

"I wasn't going to tell them," Kate replied. She was going to say more when the younger girls were squealing together, and she said, "I suppose the game's a hit."

"It is," Patrick said. "The girls wanted it something fierce knowing it was from India."

"They want to go to India now," Rose said. "But we've consoled them by promising to take them to Paris."

"When?" Rick asked. "The papers say things are still bad."

"Truman would like to help I've heard," Patrick said.

"No politics," Kate said. "You promised for today."

"She's right," Rick said to his brother in law. "It's Christmas."

"And as it is-" Patrick started to say.

"No more whiskey," Mary said with a smile. "You can put a bit into your coffee, but no more on its own."

"Fine idea," Patrick said, raising his empty glass to her.

After the girls had finished their game Rick said to his wife, "Should I go get the girls?"

Kate opened her mouth before she then said, "No need."

Startled at that, Rick looked over at the front door to see Julia and Mari walking inside and he asked his wife, "Time for dessert?"

"And a toast," Kate said pointedly. When her husband smiled at her she got up with him and they began gathering what they needed. Once they had it on the table in the living room they picked up the glasses, whiskey for the adults and milk for the children.

"To our Christmas this year and in years to come now that peace has returned," Rick said as they held up the glasses. "Sláinte."

After they all said the same, the group was tapping their glasses together and drinking before they went to the desserts and started to eat, laughing and talking about their plans they had to welcome the year 1946 in a week.

"It was a nice night," Beckett commented.

"It was, and we were together of course…" Castle said.

"You gave me a pearl bracelet," Beckett replied with a smirk, having raised herself above him so she could look down at him. "And then I gave you a very… clinging nightgown that didn't stay on me for that long."

"Yes, I think we enjoyed our gifts that night," Castle said. "For different reasons."

"Pervert," Beckett said with a smile before they were kissing deeply. They did that for a bit and when they parted she told him, "But you're right." She smiled when he laughed for a moment and after she brushed her lips to his she murmured against them, "I love you."

"I love you too," Castle told her, and with that he pulled her to him so they could begin kissing deeply.

Though they were fatigued after their activities that day, Castle and Beckett spent some time kissing one another until they had to stop. They settled down to sleep, wrapping their arms around each other as tightly as they could until they nodded off, letting their memories of one another lull them before they dreamt of them through that night in Las Vegas.