15. Should You Chance To Meet(1)

"Hey love," Beckett said, glancing behind her at the footsteps she heard coming down the hall.

"Where's Julia? And Josie for that matter?" Castle asked as he walked up to her.

Beckett was about to answer when she felt her husband pressing his face against the side of her head. "Any better?" she asked him in Irish.

"Slightly, I'm sorry," Castle told her seriously, his voice muffled since his mouth was against her hair.

"I don't blame you," Beckett reminded him with a smile. "Are you calmer though?" she then said. When he groaned against her hair she smiled a little wider before telling him, switching to English, "Watch out or else I'm going to end up burning this omelet."

"How many did you get to?" Castle asked.

"This was the first," Beckett replied, setting it on a plate and putting it into their warming oven. "Going to help?"

"Tell me where the girls are," Castle replied as he was reaching for a pan in response to that.

With a smile Beckett said, "They're in the living room; is Alexis still upstairs?"

"She was just starting to change and Eliza's with her," Castle answered. He glanced at her and was about to speak when she tossed an egg to him and he had to scramble to catch it.

"Don't apologize," Beckett said, going back to Irish. "You can't help that and to be honest it was impressive."

"My age?" Castle asked as when they had woken up that morning he'd found he was heavily aroused and had taken a shower to deal with it while she'd started breakfast though he hadn't wanted her to.

Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "For the fact we were up every few hours last night."

"That too," Castle said. He smiled widely when she gave him a look and said, "Admit it."

"We were together a week ago Rick," Beckett said as he turned to begin his omelet. "I don't think your age is a factor."

Shrugging Castle said in English, "I wish I had gone over the family room first."

Beckett was going to respond to that when her phone rang, and she saw it was Lily, glancing at her husband while she showed him the screen so he could see too. "Lily?" she asked, putting the phone on speaker so he could hear too.

"Hey, we've all been talking together and we're going to come over for breakfast," the woman said on the other end.

"But-" Castle started to say as he shared a startled look with his wife. He then looked at the eggs that she had in a glass bowl before Lily was speaking again.

"We're picking it up… well, David and Rebecca are," the woman told them. "We'll be there in about an hour if you can wait."

"That's fine; do some of them need to leave early?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Oh no, those with flights have them at the same time," Lily began. "We just want to go out sooner."

"Nine is fine," Beckett said. She said goodbye to her friend and then hung up before saying, "Want an omelet?"

"We can save it for tomorrow," Castle said with a slight smile. "So, eighteen for breakfast."

"Seventeen, I think Dani's going to have her own food," Beckett corrected him as she let him begin cleaning up. "But it's a relief not to have to cook for all of them."

"Are you okay?" Castle asked her.

"I am but do you mind if I go ahead of you to them?" Beckett replied with a question of her own. She wasn't surprised when he nodded, and she went down the hall to the family room as Eliza was just stepping off the stairs, the little girl rushing past her. Shaking her head; and with a slight smile on her face; she followed and looked to see that Julia was walking around the room with the dogs trailing her in a line. She wanted to call to her to stop but hesitated, turning and going to the kitchen so she could get her husband.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked, looking over at his wife as he turned to find her approaching him. When she shook her head, he was a little concerned but followed her over to the family room since he'd finished. When they had stepped up to the doorway he saw the girls and the dogs, and he had to try his best not to laugh before Julia turned to look at them.

"Hi," Julia said. "She looked like she was gonna cry but Josa already ate."

"Her diaper?" Castle asked his wife.

"No," Beckett said with a slight smile. "I think she was just fussing, thank you for taking her sweetie."

"Welcome," Julia said, going to her mother so she could take the baby.

Eliza watched with a smile as their parents gave Josie a kiss and then looked at Julia, seeing she was beaming at them as well. She wanted to speak but their father was looking at them and she asked, "Is breakfast ready?"

"That's what I was going to tell you just now," Castle said. "Lily called your mom and they're bringing breakfast, everyone's coming at nine."

"Oh good, at least we're all ready to see everyone," Martha said as she and Jim walked inside, Alexis a little bit after.

"So we can play then?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"After breakfast," Beckett said with a smile. She sat down on the couch and said, "For now you three can play together since they're not going to be here for almost an hour."

Julia, while Eliza hurried around the couch to get something, went to her mother and sat down next to her saying, "Can I sit with you?"

"You can," Beckett replied. "But you don't want to play?"

"Not yet," Julia said, smiling at Josie and holding her hand out to the baby. She giggled softly when her baby sister yawned and then took her finger in a tight grip before letting her go. She couldn't help it and she leaned over, brushing her lips to her sister's cheek before she felt someone grabbing her other hand. She looked at Eliza and asked, "What?"

"I wanna do that too," the little girl said. Leaning over she brushed her lips against Josie's other cheek, giggling at the sound the baby made. "Did she say something?" Eliza asked.

"No," Castle said with a smile. "But I'm sure she didn't mind you guys doing that. Go play though, see if you can put something together before they all come over," he urged the two as Eliza had brought over her Lego set.

"Let's make the Eiffel Tower," Julia told her little sister.

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head before they got on the floor around the coffee table.

Leaning back on the couch Beckett felt Castle's arm wrap around her and she glanced up at him, seeing he was reaching to Josie and letting the baby take his finger. She then leaned slightly against him as they both turned their attention to the girls in front of them as they began to build, enjoying the time with just their family before they were joined by everyone else.

"I wish that I didn't have to work," Darnley said as he walked up to Beckett.

"You have a family to support," she told her friend with a smile on her face. "But don't worry, we'll have the summer. Oh," Beckett said as she suddenly remembered. "I told Eliza yesterday that I would let her stay the night with Maddy at your place… if you're alright with that."

"Of course," Darnley said. "She's spent the night here already, we should return the favor."

With a brief smile Beckett then said, "Tell her."

"What, me?" Darnley asked.

"Yes, I'm going to find out where Skye went to," Beckett replied.

"Alright," Darnley said. When his friend looked at him questioningly he told her, "Just curious why you're doing that."

"I haven't been able to see her too much while she's been here," Beckett said.

"True," Darnley said. "Go find her but you tell your daughter yourself." He laughed slightly when she nearly shoved him into the wall they were near and said, "Still good at that."

"My arms are fine," Beckett said wryly before he left her to head back to the beach where everyone was as the kids were playing together there. She went over to the front door, opening it and looking at Skye who was standing under the tree in the middle of the driveway on her phone. Waiting for the conversation to finish she said once the investigator was walking to her, "How'd you get out?"

"Front door," Skye said in Russian. When her friend groaned and rolled her eyes she said in English, "You opened the door for that, also the one behind you."

"Stop talking about doors," Beckett said in mock irritation before Skye had joined her, speaking in Russian herself.

"No, I just walked out," Skye said with a shrug.

"Mary?" Beckett asked.

"It was," Skye said, nodding. "And Fleur; she missed me. Actually, they both do."

"Good to hear," Beckett said, closing the door. "Even though you're leaving in about a half hour?"

"Five hour flight," Skye replied with a smile. "But I don't want to leave either of course."

Nodding Beckett said, "Luckily you'll be back."

"I try to tell myself that," Skye replied as they were making their way to the backyard. "And you?"

"What?" Beckett said in surprise.

"No just in general," Skye said.

"I've been telling everyone I'm fine, resting a lot which you saw," Beckett told her.

With a smile Skye said, "Must be nice being a bit pampered." When she saw her friend was rolling her eyes she asked, "No?"

"Not really since they've been doing that for me for a while now," Beckett told her. She stopped at the door out to the back and said, "When you get back I won't be so much."

"For Rick I don't think he'll stop," Skye told her with a smile.

"Probably not because I'm sure he'll continue," Beckett said. "Not that he's ever stopped," she said with a slight smile.

"Good to hear," Skye said. "We should go that way you spend more time with everyone."

"The thing is I'll be seeing them again too," Beckett told her. When Skye glanced at her she smiled and said, "I'm kidding, let's go." She opened the door, stepping out before she walked down to the chairs were her father and mother in law were. "How are they doing?" she asked.

"I think they're having some slight issues keeping them from going any further," Jim told his daughter.

"It looks like it," Beckett replied with a smile.

"Sit Kate," Martha said suddenly. When her daughter in law looked at her in surprise she explained, "Richard was telling us to let you do that when you came back out."

Beckett didn't say anything as she had been spending time with everyone up on her feet and she felt she could use the rest. She took the tablet that her dad was holding and then opened the app that was connected to the web cam on Josie's crib. Seeing the baby was asleep she gave the device back to Jim and leaned back to watch the others in front of her. It was just the Darnley and McCollough family there still, the Davises and Fosters having gone home after breakfast and saying goodbye to the other guests. The kids were all playing together, and she smiled watching the fathers trying to keep them on the sand. "Alexis and Louis?" she asked then as she realized the two were missing.

"They went on a walk together," Martha said with a smile.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said before she saw her husband walking up to her. "Tired?" she asked him.

"Exhau- you don't have to move," Castle began to say before he directed that to his father in law.

"It's alright, I could use the exercise," Jim replied, going down to the sand.

"She's alright," Beckett said with a smile at her husband.

"Good to know," Castle replied. He looked at his watch and then sighed saying, "It's almost time."

"I know," Beckett said. "But I'm sure they'll want to go home."

"Sort of," Lanie said as she and her fiancé were walking up to them. "Some of us have to."

"Patrick was saying the same thing to me," Beckett told her with a smile. "But we'll send you a lot of pictures of Josie."

"I was going to make you promise you would," Lanie said teasingly as she sat down next to her friend. She then smiled and said, "But for now just make sure you rest like she is."

"Not as much as she is," Beckett said slightly wryly. "And I don't think he's going to let me get away with ignoring that."

"Oh no, I trust him with that," Lanie said.

"What, you talked to him?" Beckett asked.

"She did, made me promise that," Castle said in amusement as he had been able to hear that though he and Dylan had been talking. "And I let her know I've been very firm about you getting rest still."

"So I was just talking to you now," Lanie told her friend.

Trying not to laugh Beckett nodded and said, "Alright, I will."

"Mom," Julia said, hurrying over to them.

"Are you tired?" Beckett asked, wrapping her arm around her daughter to hug her.

"No, just wanted to show you this shell," Julia told her, holding out the cowry shell.

"That's very nice and you want us to put this in your sister's room, don't you?" Beckett asked.

"Yep," Julia said.

"Do you have more shells?" Castle asked.

"Weren't you with them?" Lanie asked.

"He was but they're being very particular," Brennan said as they were coming up the beach with the Darnley-Nkosis.

"They didn't have much before I joined you love," Castle told his wife.

"Don't be too picky," Beckett told both her daughters as Eliza had joined them.

"We won't," the little girl said with a smile. "But do you like what we have?"

"They're very nice, you should keep looking," Beckett said before she was startled when her daughters and the other kids shook their heads though Keo was putting his fingers into his mouth.

"What do you want to do?" Nkosi asked them.

"Fly the kites," Erin said.

When the rest of the kids agreed with that the parents went to grab the ones Castle and Beckett had there at the house besides their daughters' and they stood on the grass together to begin flying them. They did that for the rest of the time the guests of the house had until they needed to leave and then reluctantly all made their way inside to gather in the entry where they began to say goodbye to each other.

"Text me when you get back to your place," Beckett told Lanie as she embraced her friend tightly first.

"I will, I might try and visit one weekend before July gets here," the doctor told her.

"That would be great," Beckett told her with a smile as they let go of each other. She shook Dylan's hand warmly and then said, "If she suddenly decides to get married…"

"I'll let you all know," the man said with a slight laugh since his fiancée was looking at him.

As the couple went over to Castle, Beckett turned her attention to the McColloughs and said, "Like I just told her text me but when you land."

"I think we should all just contact you," Darnley said as he and his husband were watching their kids saying goodbye to Alexis, Julia and Eliza. "Text you when we're home or we land."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile.

"We will," Louis said, shaking her hand. "Let us know how Josie does."

"I will," Beckett said before she hugged Erin quickly. She did the same to Clara and told her, "Thank you for coming for such a short time."

"It wasn't a problem," the woman said with a smile. "And we were happy to see the baby. Take care of yourself Kate."

"I will," Beckett assured her with a nod. She turned to her cousin and embraced him tightly before they let go of each other and she said, "I'm so glad you're coming with us later this summer."

"What, extra babysitters?" Brennan asked. When his cousin rolled her eyes he laughed and said, "It'll be a great vacation and we'll see you all again of course."

Beckett squeezed his arm before she turned to Darnley and Nkosi who were bringing over their kids. She cupped Keo's face in her hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead telling him, "When I see you next I'll have more time to teach you my full name."

"Kat!" Keo said happily.

"I did warn him you didn't like that nickname," Darnley said with a smile as Beckett ran her hand over the back of his son's head.

"Kate?" Maddy asked.

"Yes," Beckett said, looking down at her and then going to the bench and sitting down so she could hug the toddler. "Did you tell them?" she then asked Darnley.

"Not yet," the man said. "Go ahead."

"Eliza," Beckett told her daughter. "Come here sweetie." Once the little girl was with her she told Maddy, "When we're in DC Eliza can stay with you."

"Eeza?" Maddy asked.

"Yeah, me," Eliza replied with a wide smile. "Thank you," she said to Darnley and Nkosi.

"You are welcome," the latter said. "And you will be the first friend she will have sleeping over."

"She's not going to school yet," Darnley said when Eliza's eyes widened. "So she doesn't have friends down in DC yet."

"No one in the neighborhood?" Skye asked.

"Not yet," Nkosi replied.

Beckett hugged Maddy quickly then before telling her, "Have fun flying back home."

"Baby?" the toddler asked.

"You'll see her again I promise," Beckett assured her before she took the hug the toddler was giving her. After letting her go she stood and went to Nkosi, embracing him quickly before saying, "Again, take care of him."

Laughing slightly the man then said, "Patrick said that you would tell me that and he was right. And I will tell Rick that myself."

"And so will I," Darnley commented.

"Yeah, I figured that would happen," Castle said in slight amusement as everyone had turned to him.

"Safe flight," Beckett said once she turned her attention to Nkosi again.

"Thank you, we will let you know when we have landed," the man said before stepping aside for Skye and going over to Castle to say goodbye to him.

"Safe flight to you too," Beckett told her friend as they were hugging one another briefly.

"Thank you and I'm with the others, we'd like to keep up with Josie," Skye told her with a smile.

"We'll put out a newsletter," Beckett said jokingly before the investigator laughed and shook her head. As Skye went over to her husband she turned to Darnley and looked at him questioningly before he grabbed her and pulled her tightly to him to her laugh before he was telling her why he'd looked at her the way he had been.

"I wanted to twirl you around," Darnley said in a mock whining voice.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I'm so glad you can't." When they didn't let go of each other she said with a smile, "I can't wait to see you again."

"Me too," Darnley said. "And you look amazing." When she pulled away enough to look at him he smiled at her and said, "I figured you should hear that from someone who isn't your husband." He then leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Also someone who doesn't want you sexually."

Beckett laughed before they squeezed each other one last time and she let go of him to watch him say goodbye to her husband. When Darnley had finished she went to her mother in law as they were heading outside and asked, "You're not leaving now?"

"The girls all convinced me; I'll stay until the morning," Martha said with a smile.

"And Josa," Eliza said, coming over to them. "Thank you, Gram."

"You're very welcome," Martha said. "And that's also what convinced me as my son let me know that he's planning to make a roast."

Beckett smiled and said, "That's news to me." When her mother in law nodded she looked over at the others and seeing they were finished loading their cars she stood with her husband before they said goodbye. Once the gate was closed behind them she sighed and then said, "So that's it."

"We-" Castle started to say.

"She's fussing Katie," Jim said suddenly.

"You saw?" Beckett asked as she hurried up to the house with her father.

"I did," Jim replied, moving out of the way as she passed him.

Trying not to run Beckett made her way up to the top of the stairs and went down the hall to the sound of Josie's crying. She scooped her up carefully out of the crib and went to the rocking chair, sitting as her husband walked in with their daughters and the dogs. "Took you a while," she commented as the baby began to nurse.

"They wanted the dogs back inside," Castle explained as their daughters were standing next to the chair. He sat with Alexis on the bed before he said, "So Mother told you about the roast?"

"She did but it wasn't a surprise since you mentioned wanting to make Irish roast," Beckett said.

"Irish?" Alexis asked her father.

"Yes, with the sausages they use in breakfast rolls and side dishes that will make it all Irish," Castle replied. He saw they were all looking at him, so he said, "It was going to be a surprise. But since you seem to want to know I'll be making colcannon instead of roast potatoes, boxty with vegetables in it for the vegetables and farl for the Yorkshire pudding."

"That sounds good," Julia said. "But when will you need to start?"

"Soon," Castle said. "Luckily your grandpapa is going help me with that."

"And me," Beckett said pointedly to her husband.

"Sure," Castle said. When his wife gave him a look he said, "The three of us."

Switching Josie to her other breast; after making a gesture to Alexis; Beckett then said, "But we have some time to play with you guys again."

"Cool," Julia said, looking at Eliza who was watching Josie. She watched their baby sister as well before Beckett was finishing and she went to their father to watch him burping the baby. She wanted to ask if she could rock Josie to sleep again but the baby was falling asleep shortly after they saw as Castle was walking around the room. Since there wasn't much they could do she waited outside with her sisters for their parents to put Josie into her crib before they were joining them. Opening her mouth to ask if they could start a new puzzle together she didn't get the chance to speak as the chime for the gate out front rang, and she went with her family down to the entry where she and her sisters got the dogs to stop them from barking while their parents saw who it was.

"Hello?" Castle asked after he'd pressed the button for the intercom.

"Yes, is this the Castle home?" a man said on the other end.

"It is," Castle said cautiously, looking at his wife who shrugged her shoulders.

"I have Mr. McCartney here if you'd like to let him in," the man continued.

"Rick," Beckett said, nudging him when her husband seemed to freeze. When he stabbed the button for the gate she smiled slightly before she said, "He's here."

"He's here," Castle said in as much shock as he opened the front door so they could step out onto the porch. He'd expected a limo but wasn't really surprised when he found a town car with darkened windows. "Just him," he said. He then asked his wife, "Josie?"

"Maybe," Beckett said slowly before the chauffer was opening the back door.

"Hullo there," Paul said with a smile as he stepped out. He waved at the two before he turned back to the car and helped his wife before a young woman followed them.

"It's great to see you again," Beckett said, unable to help pausing slightly at the sight of the young woman. She shook Paul's hand warmly before doing the same with Nancy, watching her husband shake their hands as well.

"I hope you don't mind," Paul said after they had greeted them. "We'd like to beg you to stay for a couple days; until Tuesday morning."

"That's fine," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband turned to her for her to reply to that.

"Are you sure, I remember very well how it was with a new baby," Nancy said.

"The question is will you mind that?" Castle asked.

"I suppose we're fine then," Paul said with a smile. "Thank you."

"Thank you for visiting us," Beckett said.

"Alright then, this is Beatrice," Paul said, motioning to the young woman. "My daughter."

Beckett smiled at her before saying, "We should get you inside, I'm sure you'll want to drop off your luggage in your rooms."

Castle watched as the singer paid the chauffer a tip before the town car was leaving the driveway and he and Beckett took their guests inside, seeing the girls running over to the entry. He saw Beckett was about to tell them not to run when Julia skidded to a stop, her eyes growing wide in obvious shock at the sight of the three at the front door.

"Hi," Eliza said, stopping with her sister and then waving at them. She looked at Julia and then went all the way into the room saying, "You look like Paul from The Beatles."

"Well…" the singer began, fighting a smile. "That would be because I am."

Eliza, looking at her parents, saw they were smiling and she looked back to Paul before she gasped and then ducked behind her mother, holding onto the back of her shirt as she did so.

"Hi," Julia then said, losing some of her shock and walking inside more. "Did you come to see my- our baby sister?" she was able to ask.

"And you as well," Paul said. "Skye told me I'd met you before, but you haven't met my wife Nancy or my daughter. This is Beatrice," he said, motioning to the two with him.

"Hi," Julia said, smiling shyly at the young woman.

"Oh my," Martha said as she, Jim and Alexis had come over to see who was in the house.

Beckett and Castle needed to introduce the family to the three and once they had done so they had to get the dogs out of the way. But finally they had finished, and the former said, "We should show you your rooms."

"Do you want to see all our house too?" Julia asked, smiling at Nancy who she was standing next to by then.

"That would be nice," the woman said. "You do have a very nice home."

"Come upstairs," Beckett said. "We'll let you get your suitcases set and then take you to see Josie."

"We call her Josa," Eliza said as she went with her father up the stairs.

"The girls are calling their sister that," Castle explained. When they reached the top of the stairs he said, "I just realized… you're here for dinner but I was going to make an Irish Sunday roast." When the McCartneys looked confused he explained what he was making before he said, "I can… try to get something else to replace…"

"That's alright," Paul said, waving his hand to stop him. "Your boxty and colcannon sound quite nice."

"Will that be enough for you?" Beckett asked.

"It will be," Paul assured them. "So… this is our room."

"Yours and Nancy's," Castle said, watching the pair go in. "Beatrice you're here across the hall."

Julia went to the doorway of the young woman's room and asked, "Do you need to unpack?"

"Just a bit," Beatrice replied with a smile.

Nodding, Julia went over to the other bedroom and watched as Paul was talking to her parents before she heard a sound coming from Josie's room. She went down the hall and inside her baby sister's room, seeing that the sound was coming from Max in front of the crib. "What's wrong boy?" she asked, looking through the railings at her sister. "Hi Josa," she whispered, seeing the baby looked to be okay. She pet Max to calm him down before she heard footsteps coming down to the room quickly.

"Is she okay?" Beckett asked, coming inside.

"Yeah, Max was whining but she's just lying down here," Julia answered, seeing that everyone else was appearing at the doorway. "Are you gonna show her to them?"

"I will," Beckett said, reaching down for the baby. Holding Josie to her shoulder she murmured gently to her before making her way over to where the others were standing, going to Nancy first since she'd asked as she'd left for the three to wash their hands.

"You trust me?" the woman asked with a smile.

"I do" Beckett replied, smiling back at her. "And I know you have had a baby yourself." She handed Josie over to her and watched as the baby slightly waved her arms before settling, staring straight above her.

"She's adorable; Skye said the same thing when we were talking to her," Nancy said.

"When were you talking to her?" Castle said, wincing inwardly at the echo of what the woman had said.

"Not too long ago," Paul commented absently as he was standing next to his wife and looking at the baby as well.

"I thought she was talking to her wife," Beckett commented.

"Oh no," Paul said. "Well… before that she was but when you saw her she was talking to all of us in the car. But she's very cute and I find her names interesting."

"What did you expect?" Jim asked interestedly.

"Full Irish," Paul said, looking at Beckett.

"How much did Skye tell you?" she asked with a slight laugh. Calming down when the singer simply smiled at her Beckett said, "I've always loved the name Josephine and the nickname Josie. Actually, I liked the nickname because of the comedian Josie Lawrence."

"From Whose Line?" Paul asked.

"You know that show?" Julia asked in surprise.

"Oh of course, I've always loved comedy," Paul replied.

"Would you like to hold her?" Castle said then as Josie was taking his index finger.

When Paul nodded Beckett watched as his wife handed the baby over to him and she bit her lower lip for a moment before looking at her husband.

"I gather you'd like a picture right now?" Paul asked.

"If you don't mind," Castle said. He thanked the singer when he nodded and quickly took a few shots of the two before he put his phone away and watched Beckett taking her as she began to fuss.

"I'll have to get her to sleep," she explained to them. "It won't take me very long," Beckett added. "Show them the library," she then said to the others.

"We can wait," Nancy said before they were stepping out into the hall.

"Now that we are waiting," Paul said to Julia and Eliza. "Why don't you tell me about your dogs?"

"Oh…" Julia said first, looking around to make sure all six of them were there. "This one is Macca," she said, blushing a little.

"Jules named all of them," Alexis said. When Paul looked at her interestedly she smiled and said, "I started calling her Jules."

"I'm Lizzy," Eliza said, touching Paul's hand quickly.

"That's a very nice name," the singer said with a smile down at her. "But that's an appropriate name for that dog of course. And it's not my particular nickname."

"Our dad told us that you call someone that if they have a Mc in their last name," Julia said. When Paul nodded she then said, "That's Rita…"

"I'm flattered," the singer said with a smile. "But I get the feeling there's more to the names than these two, please continue."

"This is JoJo, that's Rose, then Max and last is Molly," Julia said, looking up at him and wondering what he'd say.

With a short laugh Paul said, "Didn't realize I'd provided so many names, thank you for that honor. And they're good names."

"Alright," Beckett said, slightly closing the door behind her as she stepped out to them. "We can get to the rest of the tour now since you've seen Josie's room at least." She went over to her husband and they walked together down to the library where she stood aside with him to let the others in.

"Impressive," Paul said as he looked at the titles. "Especially these."

"I wondered if you'd see those," Castle said with a slight smile, walking over to the singer. "They're from a shop in Ireland, first and second editions."

"You can tell," Paul said. "It's a nice house… well situated."

"That's the best part," Julia said as she followed him to the window seat that looked out onto the beach. "We used to live in the city."

"I had heard," Paul said, sitting down. "So Skye tells me you're quite the dancer."

Blushing deeply Julia asked, "Did she tell you I dance to your songs?"

"And George's and Ringo's as well," Paul said.

"We were gonna dance to one of John's," Julia said in a rush. "But they didn't think it was right… the lyrics. Tight As."

"That would explain it," Paul replied. "But keep looking; he had some fantastic songs besides that one."

"Did you know that Skye's gonna be on Dancing With the Stars; here?" Julia asked then.

"I did, she told me because she needed permission for my songs Mary wants to use," Paul replied.

"Can we hear them?" Eliza asked.

"Oh no, no, I was told not to tell anyone," Paul said. "But they are interesting choices."

"Let's keep going," Beckett said with a slight smile on her face.

"One thing I did want to ask you Julia," Paul told the girl as he held his hand up. "Will you be dancing on the telly too?"

Smiling at the British word Julia nodded saying, "Yeah I mean I think so, she wants me to dance with her but I don't know if I will yet. Would you go see her?"

"I made her a promise that if she gets to the finale," Paul began as he stood up since the others were gathering by the door. "I'll be there right in the front, so I'll see you all there Skye told me."

"We'll be there," Castle said with a nod. "Jim do you mind showing them your room at all?"

"No," Beckett's father replied. "Though there isn't that much to see since I'm not living here yet."

After they'd looked at Martha's, Alexis' and Eliza's rooms Julia knew they were coming to hers and she went to her mother, holding her hand tightly in her slight embarrassment and nervousness. When she felt Beckett squeeze it back she looked up at her and could tell that her mother knew what she was worried about and smiled at her before they were going inside.

"I imagine you already knew who I was," Paul said jokingly with a smile at the girl.

"Sorry…" Julia said which was a quasi question.

"Don't worry," Paul assured her. "It's nice to know I have young fans," he continued, smiling at her. "You have a record player?"

"Yeah, I listen to that with my friend," Julia said. "I have different albums."

"It's a lovely room," Nancy said, standing at the second bookcase in the room. "These are all for dancing?" she asked, indicating the trophies.

"They are," Julia said, unable to help blushing.

"Congratulations," the woman said with a smile. "So you are a dancer."

"Yes, but I would need my partner to show you… or Mari who's my friend," Julia said slowly.

"If you're on the show we'll see then," Paul said. "These horses?" he asked, indicating a picture on the dresser.

"Those are ours," Julia said quickly as she was relieved the subject had turned from her.

"They look very nice," Paul said slowly. "But you haven't been able to ride have you?"

"Not yet," Beckett said as the singer had been talking to her. "Let's finish looking through the house so you can rest if you'd like."

After they'd gone through his and Beckett's bedroom Castle watched his wife as they went downstairs and made their way through it. Stepping outside into the backyard he said, "Need to rest?" in Irish.

"Not yet," Beckett replied. She watched the girls leading everyone else down to the beach, the dogs racing around them before she turned to him as they'd remained where they were standing. "Does this feel surreal to you?"

"Just a bit," Castle said. "But we met him already. Imagine how this is for the girls."

"I thought of that," Beckett said. "And I can't really do it." She then looked at him and asked, "How is she?"

Bringing up his tablet so they could see the screen Castle said when their daughter appeared on it, "She's fine, still out…"

"What?" Beckett asked, watching him as he looked thoughtful.

"No, I just have to wonder what we'll do with them," Castle commented.

"They're only here for one full day; tomorrow," Beckett began. "And I can't imagine us walking around downtown like I know the girls will want to do already."

"We can do one thing," Castle told her.

"I know, the stables," Beckett said.

"Will you mind?" Castle asked, studying her.

"Yes, but like I said I'm not riding yet," Beckett replied. "Which implies I will soon."

"Hopefully not too soon," Castle said.

"You know I heard all of you telling me to take care of myself," Beckett commented with a smile.

With a slight laugh Castle said, "I'm overprotective remember?"

"Hard to forget," Beckett commented. When he kissed her cheek she squeezed his hand though they could do more than that but everyone on the beach was turning back to them.

"You do have a really nice house," Nancy said once they had reached them. "I say that not just because of the beach."

"That does help," Castle said with a smile. "But I need to start dinner so-"

"Will you have enough with three extra?" Paul asked.

"We will," Beckett said. "I'll be helping him too."

"Can we walk down the beach Mom?" Julia asked.

"You can," Beckett said as Alexis was holding the girl's hand. "But not too far and you have your phone?"

"I do," Alexis replied. "We'll just head to the path to the street and come around this way."

"We'll open the door for you," Castle said. When he and his wife were left with their parents and the McCartneys he said, "Would any of you like something to drink?"

Beckett smiled as they went the rest of the way up to the house with the dogs, going to the kitchen where she began to grab what they would need to make their dinner. Her mother in law got some wine for the McCartneys before Martha led them to the family room so they could begin to cook. She turned to her husband and was about to speak about something she'd thought of thinking of the food when he beat her to it.

"We should cook the sausages first," Castle said. When his wife nodded he then added, "And put them under a cloche."

"I had thought of that too," Beckett said with a smile. She then said, "Though I'm not surprised you mentioned that since you love the chance to use them."

"How many do you have?" Jim asked as he's been listening to them.

"A few," Castle said. He then looked at his wife and said, "Lily has more than me."

Rolling her eyes Beckett then smiled and told him, "Go ahead and start, I'll start on the kale." She then turned to her father and said, "Do you mind washing the potatoes?"

"I'll start peeling them," Jim replied. "Hopefully you'll help me with them."

"Yeah, I'm going to need to double the portions," Castle said. "And cut the vegetables…"

"It's why we're starting early love," Beckett said. When he nodded she went to where his tablet was and turned the screen on, opening the app for the camera in Josie's room. Propping the device on the holder they had for it next to the sink she washed her hands after her husband and father and began to work with them. She could distantly hear Martha speaking with the McCartneys and she was just mixing in kale with the potatoes her father had prepped for her when she realized their voices were getting louder.

"It got just a bit dull on our own, we wanted to see what was going on here," Paul said. "And there's something I wanted to ask."

"We both wanted to know," Nancy added.

Nodding to his wife the singer then said, "Does Julia know who Skye's partner will be?"

"Not yet," Beckett answered.

"She wants to surprise her," Castle commented. "You've watched the show?"

"I do," Paul said. "My daughter Stella told me about it and I thought why not see what they do with the music they use."

"Julia loves doing that," Jim said with a smile as he set aside the potato he'd finished peeling. "Making up a story though they don't give them much time for that."

"Skye said she's counting on her to do that for her dances on the show," Nancy said with a smile. "Though she hasn't told her."

"I'm relieved," Beckett said. "She doesn't need that kind of pressure."

"I don't think you should worry," Martha commented. She took a sip of her wine and then told the others who'd looked to her, "With her imagination…"

Laughing a little Paul said, "I imagine she's learned from her parents."

Beckett nodded before she realized it had gone quiet and something came to her before she asked the couple, "Did Skye tell you about her?"

"We guessed she wasn't your biological child," Nancy said first.

"We asked Skye and she said you would explain but only if your daughters weren't around," Paul added.

Pausing for a moment Beckett then went back to stirring before she gave them a brief explanation about Julia. "We don't really like to talk about it since it's been seven years since she lost her memory," she finished with.

"You don't think she knows at all?" Paul asked.

"She would have said," Beckett said, turning off the burner on the stove and setting the colcannon aside for her husband to cover.

"We were curious," Nancy said.

"If I didn't trust you with this either I wouldn't have told you," Beckett said.

"We don't like talking about this with too many people," Castle commented. "Just those close to us… know."

"We're staying over in your home," Paul said in slight amusement. "Would imagine we'd be at least friends if that's the case."

"It is," Martha said. "The girls are here," she added as she'd been looking out to the backyard while they'd been talking.

"It's a fantastic beach Dad," Beatrice said once she was inside the house. She smiled and then said, "It's all private?"

"There are some rocks to the east that divide the beach between the public one," Castle said, pointing in that direction. "And then to the west the land tucks in slightly to cut off that beach enough to end the private beach on that side."

"So you have it to yourselves in the summer," Nancy stated.

"Essentially," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when the woman looked at her questioningly and with a smile told her, "We haven't been here the past two summers."

"You go out on tour?" Paul asked the girls.

With a giggle Julia shook her head and said, "No, we go on summer vacation. We're gonna do that this year too but later on… Do you know about Harry Potter?"

"Of course I do, my grandchildren love the books," Paul said. "My two youngest especially. I would imagine you do."

"Were you ever sorted?" Julia asked eagerly, not having expected the singer to show an interest in it. She waited to hear what he would say and was surprised when he looked over at his daughter instead of answering.

"I made everyone in the family get sorted," Beatrice said.

"Even your brother and sisters?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"After a lot of grumbling," Nancy said. "But since the grandchildren were doing that too we all joined in."

"I got into Hufflepuff," Beatrice said with a smile. "Dad?"

"Gryffindor?" Julia blurted out. When Paul looked at her she blushed and said, "I thought you would."

"You're right," he said. "And since all the grandkids got into the same house I was quite pleased since they were of course."

"Where did you get to go?" Eliza asked Nancy a little shyly.

"Ravenclaw," the woman said with a smile. "Which amused my son greatly but then he got put into the same house."

"He did that too?" Julia asked.

"We were all together," Nancy said.

"Did you ever see the stuff they have in London?" Julia said to the McCartneys.

"We have, with the grandkids of course," Paul said. "What about you all?"

"Everyone except for me is in Ravenclaw," Martha said. "Well, except for me and the baby."

"Speaking of which," Beckett said as she heard whimpering from the tablet. She washed her hands and hurried up the stairs, not missing the look her husband had given her as she'd gone. She had waved at him in passing and then focused on getting to Josie who was crying fully by the time she got to her. Murmuring soothingly to the baby she changed her diaper as quickly as she could before setting her back into the crib. Once she'd cleaned up she went back out to Josie and seeing the baby was staring up at the ocean life mobile above her she said, "Want to join everyone sweetie?" When the baby made a slight noise she smiled and picked her up, holding her to her shoulder before she went down to the kitchen.

"She's awake?" Castle asked, spotting his wife first.

"She is," Beckett replied as she went to where the baby's carrier was on a chair at the kitchen table, setting her in it before Julia and Eliza were coming over. "Watch her and let me know if she's going to start crying."

"Okay," Julia said with a nod before she turned her attention to the baby and gave Josie her index finger.

Castle and Beckett turned their attention with her father to finishing the meal and once everything was ready the girls set the dining room table since there were too many of them for the one in the kitchen. After everything was ready they gathered around the table and began to eat, talking together about the approaching summer.

"I won't be touring during the summer," Paul said. "I do have from the end of August to November I think you know," he directed to Julia.

"We have tickets," the girl said with a smile. "But at the Staples Center."

"Oh really? Well I'll have to add some backstage passes for you since Skye and her family are going to be joining me," Paul said.

"Really?" Julia asked. When the man nodded she said an eager, "Thanks!" She went back to her food and was about to ask the singer something when her grandmother was telling Paul something else that made her soon start to blush.

"She's been listening to your album quite a lot," Martha commented.

"Oh, you have," Paul said. "Do you have that on vinyl?"

"And CD," Julia said, feeling her cheeks growing even hotter though she didn't think they could get any more than they already were.

"That's wonderful to hear," Paul said. "Now I'd like to ask you something."

"Okay," Julia said, taking a sip of her pineapple juice quickly.

"Do you know how to play the piano in the living room?" Paul asked her.

"Yeah, a little bit," Julia said. "I'm still learning."

"Tell him about the others Julia," Castle told her.

Glancing at her father out of the corner of her eye the girl said to the singer, "I can play the guitar and the mandolin." Before Paul could say anything, Julia added rapidly, "My mom taught me how to play those."

"I just play the acoustic guitar," Beckett said, looking at Josie who was moving her arm then. "I've never learned to play electric."

"Do you want to?" Beatrice asked Julia.

"Yeah," the girl said, looking at her parents.

"You should have told us before sweetie," Beckett said with a smile at the girl. She then reached over and grabbed her husband's arm telling him, "Do not buy her five electric guitars."

"Is bass really hard?" Julia asked.

"You're not the first person to pose that question to me," Paul said. "And what I've told the others is that you need to try it to see if it feels like something you could learn."

"Is that what you did?" Eliza asked.

"That was more we had a bass guitar and John and George didn't really want to play it," Paul said. "I'm very lucky it suited me. Now since I know I'd like to see how you play if you don't mind."

"Would you correct me?" Julia asked.

"I would but you're assuming you'd make any mistakes," Paul said.

"I'm not as good-" Julia began.

"He makes mistakes," Beatrice interrupted. She smiled at her father and said, "When he's going quickly with the chords of a new song."

"She's right," Paul said with a slight smile. He then turned his attention to Eliza and asked, "Can you play anything?"

"Piano but only Mary Had a Little Lamb… like you sing!" the little girl said, exclaiming at the end before she was jumping slightly when Josie started to cry.

"Don't play until I come back," Beckett said as she hurried to get the baby out of her carrier. She picked her up and then added, "I'll put her to sleep for now, so we won't have to worry about the instruments."

"Go," Jim said to his son in law after watching the man stare after Beckett even when she was out of sight.

"Sorry but thank you," Castle said, getting up from his chair and jogging out of the room.

"Does he do that often?" Nancy asked.

"All the time when Eliza was a baby," Julia said.

"And with Josie so far yes," Martha said in amusement. "But I think we should clean things up, they might be a while."

"They're going to give Josie a bath," Alexis said then while they were standing up.

"In the kitchen?" Paul said. When he saw the nods from the others he said, "Alright then, we'll help."

"Rick-" Beckett started to say as she looked at her husband when he entered the baby's room.

"Did you forget about her bath?" Castle asked his wife.

"I did," Beckett told him honestly and with a smile. "But I bet you anything Paul and Nancy will make sure they help because our parents will have told them."

"I get the feeling they won't mind," Castle replied.

"I hope not," Beckett said. She glanced at her husband then while he was sitting down on the bed and she just stared at him, waiting for him to answer the question she knew he could read in the expression on her face.

"While they were looking at Julia's room," Castle said as he knew she was wondering when exactly he'd moved the rocking chair next to the bed. "I think we should leave it here love," he said seriously.

"A bheadh agat," Beckett said, telling him the words you would. She smiled when his eyes widened, and she then told him, "Tá sé ag fanacht anois…" which was a question that meant it's staying now.

Breathing out at his wife's tone Castle said, "Ansin ní féidir leat stad a chur orm," telling her she couldn't stop him but broaching that as a question to give her the opportunity to stop him.

"Cén fáth go mbeadh mé?" Beckett replied, asking him why would she. She wasn't surprised when he moved and kissed her, working quickly to respond to him as his tongue was soon after slipping into her mouth. She dueled against him for a moment before she broke away and said, "Sorry, she finished," to explain as she moved Josie to her other breast.

"That's okay, I should have thought of that," Castle said with a smile. He reached out and cupped the back of Josie's head telling his wife, "Thank you for turning to the bed."

"I thought you'd be joining me," Beckett told him with a smile. "But you should get her bath ready."

Pausing for a moment as he'd pulled his hand away Castle said, "Will you be alright without me."

Reaching out to her husband with one hand Beckett pulled him to her as he stood and they shared a kiss that was deep but a little brief. When they had parted she watched as he leaned down and pressed his lips to the side of Josie's head, making her smile. She took his kiss he gave her then before he left her, and she looked down at the baby murmuring, "When you can see that better that happens a lot." As Josie continued to nurse she smiled and kissed the baby's temple before she sat back and waited for her to finish so she could return with her downstairs.

"Where's Mommy?" Eliza asked her father when he walked up to them.

"She's still nursing your sister," Castle replied, picking her up as she was reaching for him. "But I need to help everyone finish cleaning-"

"We did already Dad," Alexis said, walking up to him from the kitchen. When he looked at her in surprise she smiled and then said, "We all chipped in and the sink is clean; Jim did that."

"Thank you," Castle said as they had been walking to the kitchen. He said that at first to his father before he said it again to everyone else before he set Eliza down. Washing his hands, he got the tub out along with the soap for Josie the girls had picked out with him and Beckett. He turned to everyone who was there in the kitchen when Paul spoke first.

"We're going to wait in the living room," the singer said.

"Are you gonna play?" Eliza asked.

"Not just yet, your sister said you have sheet music so we'll look and see what there is," Paul replied before he and his wife and daughter left them.

"Are they going to provide music while we give Josie her bath?" Beckett asked in amusement as she had walked past the three once she'd gotten down the stairs and had heard what he'd said.

"They're waiting for us," Julia said. "Is she ready?"

"She is," Beckett said, and she went over to towel that was set on the counter to undress Josie quickly before setting her in the water in the small tub. She smiled as the girls stood on the stools they had to her left, watching their sister while Castle stood to her right. She began to run water over the baby, smiling a little wider when Josie began to make a cooing noise, and she was going to inquire where their parents and Alexis were when her husband squeezed her hand to stop her from doing that so he could answer her unasked question.

"They were leaving this to us," Castle explained. When his wife looked at him he added, "They're also going to keep the McCartneys entertained though I'm sure Alexis went to talk to Louis."

"It's likely that one," Beckett said.

"Did Gram or Grandpapa ever give me a bath when I was a baby?" Eliza asked, looking up at her mother after tearing away her gaze from Josie.

"They did, when we needed to go out into the city or went out for dinner," Castle answered.

"And when we went to Tahiti the November after you were born," Beckett reminded him.

Nodding her head Eliza said to Julia, "Did you?"

"I told you I wasn't by myself," the girl said. "And I just helped. That's better," Julia added when her sister frowned. "'Cause I'm not so careful." She then glanced at her father and said with a grin on her face, "And babies are made of glass."

"Oh sure, throw that back in my face," Castle said exaggeratedly before they were all laughing. "But really we just enjoy giving her a bath." Seeing the expression on his wife's face then he quickly added, "And it's a little safer."

"Alright, hand me the soap," Beckett said, reaching over for it. She began to soap up Josie's body, not surprised when the baby touched at her hands every so often during that. She even washed her hair and she was just about to rinse Josie off when her husband was speaking, startling her in the silence of the kitchen.

"Next time we should have a chain going on," Castle said first. He wasn't surprised when his wife and the girls were looking at him and he added, "I throw the bottle to you Julia and-"

"Oh god Rick," Beckett said, though there was some laughter in her voice. "Do you know how wrong that could go?"

Castle opened his mouth to speak and then pretended to think that over as he was getting the towel for her. "I suppose it might," he said.

"He already knows," Julia whispered to her sister though she said it a little loudly. She smiled at Castle and said, "You wouldn't do that."

"I'm too easy to read," he commented with a slight smile before he looked over at Beckett.

"I'm fine," she said while she was drying Josie off. She was a little startled when he came over with another towel and Beckett paused to let him carefully dry off the baby's hair. Once he was done she started walking to the stairs, calling the girls to follow as she walked quickly though she had Josie well bundled.

Upstairs in the baby's room Castle helped Beckett with the towel before she had Josie in a dark blue onesie and she was sitting with their baby on the rocking chair.

"How come we're here?" Julia asked since she and her sister had followed them into the room.

"Because you're going to get to do something you didn't have the chance to last night," Beckett said though she was looking at Eliza as she was speaking.

"Me?" the little girl asked.

"Come and sit on the bed," Castle told her. He led both girls to it and once they were ready watched Beckett go over with Josie.

"Hold her head up remember," Beckett was telling Eliza as she handed the baby to her.

"What do I do now?" the little girl asked once she was holding Josie.

"Rock her a little," Julia answered before their parents could.

"Gently," Castle said, sitting in the rocking chair in front of the girls and Beckett once his wife had sat on the edge of the bed.

Nodding Eliza did the best she could as she looked down at Josie, watching to see if she would actually fall asleep. She had to bite onto her lower lip when she saw the baby's eyes starting to droop closed and when she was asleep fully she let her father take Josie. "Do we say goodnight?" she asked her parents as she and Julia stood with Beckett.

"You should," she answered. "You'll be going to bed soon yourselves."

Sighing Julia leaned over and brushed her lips carefully to Josie's forehead and murmured, "Love you Josa," before she stepped back for her sister.

"I love you too Josa," Eliza whispered. She kissed the baby's forehead, afraid as soon as she had that she'd done it too hard and had woken her up. But watching Josie still sleeping she breathed out and she and Julia watched their parents going to the crib.

Beckett cupped the back of Josie's head and pressed her lips to the top of it before murmuring gently, "I love you Josie, sweet dreams." She watched Castle do the same to her, surprised when he didn't say anything for a while.

Shaking himself when his wife touched his arm Castle said, "I love you too sweetheart, goodnight." He then carefully put Josie into the crib and let Beckett cover her before they left, allowing Max and Molly to lie on the ground where they'd been standing. They went out to the hallway, closing the door behind them, before he took his wife's hand so they could rejoin the others. But before they could start walking over to the stairs he was pausing with them as they heard the faint sound of a piano in the distance before Beckett went over to stop Julia from taking off as she reassured her at the same time which made him smile slightly while he listened.

"He's only playing the piano," Beckett told her oldest gently.

"How can you be sure?" Julia asked as they were walking.

"Because I can hear," Beckett replied when they were at the top of the stairs. She smiled when Julia let out a mock huff in annoyance before they headed down and to the family room where Paul was playing the piano but not singing.

"You have a very nice instrument here," the singer said, stopping when he saw them coming into the room. "And your guitars as well."

"You brought them out?" Julia said, smiling at her grandfather.

"How did you know?" Jim said in reply.

Shrugging Julia then said to Paul, "I know the start of one of your songs."

"Oh really?" the singer asked. "Which one?"

"C-can I try to show you?" Julia replied. When Paul nodded she then hurried over to her acoustic guitar and got it out before sitting down on an armchair. She tried to make sure it was in tune, but her hands were shaking a little and she winced at what she ended up doing to the strings before hands covered her own.

"Let me do this for you this time sweetie," Beckett said. She took the instrument and tuned it easily before she told Paul, "She's still learning that process."

"It'll take time," the singer said with a nod.

When she had the guitar back in her hands Julia then began playing the first chords of the song Mamunia, wincing again when she plucked the wrong string twice before finishing repeating the chords a second time. "That's all I know," she said softly.

"Very nice," Paul said. "I saw you had some trouble switching between the chords but let me show you a trick I learned." He went to sit on the chair next to hers and taking the guitar said, "You're going from the A to the E to the A again and I'm seeing your fingers looked like they were slipping a bit."

"My fingers are trying to reach," Julia said, nodding her head.

"Then until your fingers get long enough so you don't need to do that try pressing with the very top of your finger to give your others more chance to move," Paul said, showing that to her. He did that twice before he then gave the guitar back and said, "Try it before you play it again."

Julia did what Paul had said and then started to wave her hand in the air as she glanced at her parents.

"That hurt?" Castle asked.

"Yeah but… will my fingers get used to it?" Julia said.

"They will but careful you don't press too hard," Paul told her.

With a quick nod Julia then began to play the chords of the intro again and only made one mistake the first time she went between the three chords. "Thank you," she said with a smile once she'd finished.

"Mind if I took a look at your mandolin?" Paul then said to Beckett.

"You didn't get that one out?" she asked her father as she got up. When he held it out to her she glanced at Alexis, who she'd known had hidden it behind her, and said, "Thank you." Sitting back down Beckett took out the instrument from its case and tuned it quickly before playing a bit of George Harrison's version of the song Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Finishing she looked at the singer who soon smiled and then applauded her lightly; as did the others; which made her cheeks flush slightly instead of thanking him as she knew she should.

"You do a great job with that," Paul told her.

"Thank you," Beckett finally said. "I found it a fascinating instrument, so I had to see what I could do with it."

"You play it well," Paul said with a nod and a smile.

"Will you play now?" Eliza asked, going over to him. "Do you?" she then asked Beatrice.

"I've been learning the harp," the young woman said. "And I can play guitar of course but I'll let my dad play."

"Before that," Paul said with a smile when Eliza turned to him. "You told us you can play a song on the piano."

"You want me to play?" Eliza asked, blushing deeply.

"I would love to see how you play," Paul said. "If you want to of course."

"Kay," Eliza said before she hurried over to the instrument. When the singer sat down next to her she giggled a little shyly before she looked up at her mother who stood next to her.

"Go ahead sweetie," Beckett said gently, running her hand over the back of her daughter's head. "Don't worry if you make any mistakes."

"I made of a number of those myself," Paul commented.

When her grandmother, Alexis and Julia said, "Me too," at almost the same time Eliza smiled and giggled softly again before she turned her attention to the keys. She played the song with only three fingers; as her parents had both taught her; and held her breath in case she made a mistake. But she'd practiced it so many times that when she finished she was relieved when she didn't mess up. She blushed when everyone else applauded her but then said, "Play something, please?" to Paul.

"Eliza," Castle said as he squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Thank you," the little girl added softly as she realized that was what her father wanted her to say.

"You're welcome," Paul said. "And I suppose it's only fair I play something."

"Can I ask for a song?" Julia asked, hurrying over to him.

"Alright," Paul replied with a nod. He was surprised when the girl whispered and was startled at the name. "Really?"

"Yeah, I just thought of it," Julia said, blushing a little. "Can you play it?"

"I can," Paul said before he began to do so on the piano, smiling at the girl when she sat next to him before he began to sing.

I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letterAnd make believe it came from you

I'm gonna write words oh so sweetThey're gonna knock me off my feetA lotta kisses on the bottomI'll be glad I got 'em

I'm gonna smile and sayI hope you're feeling betterAnd close with love the way you doI'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letterAnd make believe it came from you

When Paul began to just play the piano there Eliza went hurriedly to stand on the other side of it, as she'd moved for Julia, watching with wide eyes as his fingers moved faster at some points before he winked at her and she giggled behind her hands as she covered her mouth with them before he began to sing again.

I'm gonna smile and sayI hope you're feeling betterAnd close with love the way you do

I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letterAnd make believeOh, I'm gonna make believe it came from youI'm gonna make believe it came from you

When Paul finished with his fingers firmly on the keys Julia joined everyone else in applauding him loudly and she said, "You're so good at that!"

Laughing with the others Paul squeezed her shoulder and said, "Thank you so much, it's good to know."

"Your fingers were very cool," Eliza said seriously to him.

"Thank you to you as well," Paul commented. "Now I believe you need to go to bed Eliza."

Whirling around to look at her mother the little girl saw Beckett was pointing to her watch and she pouted at her before she thought of something and looked at the singer. "Can you sing a bedtime song?" she asked.

"Well… I sang one with the group," Paul said before he looked at Julia. "Does she know that song?"

"Yeah, I don't know if she knows the name though," Julia replied. She saw her sister was looking at her and told Eliza, "Golden Slumbers."

"Yeah, that," the little girl said with an eager nod.

"Okay, one last song to send us off to bed," Paul said before he began to play the piano as the two girls were watching with wide eyes.

Once there was a wayTo get back homeward

Once there was a wayTo get back home

Sleep little darlingDo not cryAnd I will sing a lullaby

Golden slumbersFill your eyesSmiles awake you when you riseSleep pretty darling do not cryAnd I will sing a lullaby

Beckett shared a smile with Castle when Paul's voice became a little stronger at that verse and she let him take her hand to squeeze it before turning her attention back to the piano as the singer was moving to the next verse.

Once there was a wayTo get back homeward

Once there was a wayTo get back home

Sleep pretty darlingDo not cryAnd I will sing a lullaby

April 19th, 2020

I can't believe what I'm gonna write down here diary it's so… COOL! Sorry about yelling but I'm just so excited!

So everyone who was here to see Josa left after lunch and it was fun to have them over and to play with all the other kids. I'm gonna miss them but we'll see them this summer for sure. Then after that someone came to the gate and Mom and Dad opened it while I was with 'lexis and Lizzy in the family room to take the dogs since they were barking. When we went back to the entry I was so shocked. Paul McCartney was in our house!

It was really, really him and his wife Nancy was there and so was his daughter Beatrice. She's talking with Alexis in the room she's staying in right now. She was really nice and talked to me and Lizzy though I was hoping to get to play a game with her or something, but we had dinner a little later and then did other stuff I'm going to talk about. But all of them are so nice and they came to see Josa which is nice too 'cause Mom and Dad met them last year… well they are talking to them with e-mails, so I guess they do know them at least.

But Paul's friends with Skye (duh 'cause she's so good playing and singing!) and he knows she's gonna be on Dancing With the Stars and he'll see her if she's in the finale. But he asked if I would be on too and he would watch on the telly (I love that word it's so… sophicticated… no, sophisticated) and he might see me. Now I do hope I get to dance on the show a little more!

Anyways we went on a walk all together, me and Lizzy with 'lexis and Beatrice and they talked about their boyfriends a little bit but she asked us about our home here. It was nice 'cause Beatrice is really nice too and she loved our beach a lot I think. When we came back we ate dinner and Dad did something different, he made an Irish roast (I think he made it up). It was good but we had sausages and I felt bad eating those with Paul here, but they liked everything else that was veggie. So at least we got to eat dinner with them. And that blows my mind (like Dad says) that I got to eat dinner at the same table with the Paul McCartney and his family.

So now there's after dinner but the first part isn't about Paul, it's about Josa. After Mom took care of her we gave her a bath… it was really Mom doing that and me, Lizzy and Dad all watching. Josa's so cute, she was staring up at Mom and I can tell she's gonna love her a ton 'cause Lizzy looked at Mom the same way when she was a baby. And I know already she's gonna love Dad too 'cause she looks at him the same way. Oh, and us too since she looks at us that same way. Anyways we all went up together and put her to bed which was nice 'cause Lizzy got to get her to sleep and she did a really good job. She was nervous though I could tell, but Mom and Dad were there and we were all okay.

And then after that we went to the living room and Paul was playing a song on the piano; not singing just playing. I think that was the song Get Yourself Another Fool and Gram knows that one, so he was probably playing that to show her he knew how to play it. After that I played for Paul, show him how I can play on acoustic guitar. The Paul McCartney! And I did that already but it's really him! Here! But he was really nice, and I played the start of Mamunia and he thought I did good even though I made two mistakes. But he showed me how to try to fix that and I can do it now but I really gotta practice so I can get better. After Mom showed him how she plays on the mandolin and he liked how she played too so that was cool.

Then Paul played two whole songs for all of us, on our piano!

Julia had to stop as she was moving around in her excitement at the memory and she giggled a little, looking back at Macca and JoJo on her bed who were watching her. "Sorry, I'm really happy and excited," she told them before she turned back to her diary. "Oooh," she groaned in disappointment when she saw the pages.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked, walking into the room with Castle then.

"Oh… I got too excited and look what I did," Julia replied.

Glancing quickly at the pages; since he didn't want to read any part of the entry that was there; Castle saw the blots of ink scattered across them and said, "I guess you were having too much fun dancing."

"I wasn't dancing," Julia said before she was soon smiling. "Just moving around a lot. Do I have to stop now?"

"How much more do you have left?" Beckett asked her.

"You didn't read what was there?" Julia asked them. She laughed softly when her mother gave her a look and she then answered, "Not that much."

"Then go ahead," Beckett said before she and Castle went to sit on the edge of the bed.

Turning back to her diary Julia studied it for a moment before she wrote, making a new paragraph underneath her last sentence.

I'm so, so sorry about the spots diary, I just got so happy I was moving around and I guess shaking my pen too. So anyways he played two songs the first one I asked him to play. It was I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter (it's a really long title but I love it) and it was so cool to see that. And after Lizzy asked if he would play a 'bedtime song' so he played Golden Slumbers. We had a little concert and that was so much fun… I just thought of Mari, I'll ask if she can come over (maybe everyone can!) so she can get to see Paul 'cause she likes him too.

Mom and Dad came in before I told you about the spots so that means I gotta go to bed now. But today was the best and I can't wait for tomorrow 'cause Paul and his family are gonna be here until Tuesday in the morning. So night and I'll tell you all about the next two days!

Looking up as Julia closed her diary Beckett smiled and said, "Was your whole entry about Paul?"

"I wrote about Josa too," Julia told her. She then admitted sheepishly, "Not too much though."

"It was a big day," Castle commented. "And I'm not surprised you focused a lot on Paul."

Julia nodded and said, "I'm really glad he came over."

"So are we," Beckett told her as the girl sat next to her. She wrapped her arm around her oldest and said, "I get the feeling you'll play your guitar a lot now."

"Yep," Julia said simply. She then laughed softly and said, "But I'll still dance."

Sharing a look with his wife as their oldest was visibly counting on her fingers Castle then asked, "What are you counting down to now?"

"August," Julia said. "That's when they'll announce who's gonna be on the show… right?"

"Around there," Beckett said with a nod. "But you have a lot still to go."

"I know… do I really need to go to camp?" Julia asked.

"You don't want to go now?" Castle said in surprise. "You were really eager to when you found out about it."

"If Josie does anything we'll let you know," Beckett said as she was able to figure out what her daughter was thinking of with her protest about going to camp.

"Really?" Julia asked.

"Really, now let's say goodnight someone needs to get to bed," Beckett told her.

Jumping up Julia went to her father and wrapped her arms around him tightly before she said, "I love you Dad."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle said. "Get some rest and we'll go out to the stables with the McCartneys tomorrow after school."

"You like saying that huh?" Julia asked, looking up at him.

"Of course," Castle replied with a smile. "And you'll love camp," he added before they shared a kiss.

"Don't shrug sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile as the girl came to her. "We told you what you'll do, and you'll get to ride a horse."

"I'll still miss everyone," Julia said, hugging her tightly.

"Good; you're supposed to," Beckett said before her daughter pouted at her. She hugged Julia tightly again as she was doing the same to her before she said, "I love you so much Julia. And get some sleep."

"I know I need to," Julia said with a smile. She then said seriously as she pulled away a little, "I love you too Mom."

Sharing a kiss with her Beckett got out of the way of her and then helped her with the covers before tucking her oldest in securely. "Stay in bed, we have guests over and I don't want to risk waking them up walking around."

"I know, but when it's just us we're gonna go see Josa and you," Julia said.

"We'll see," Beckett said in amusement before kissing her cheek. She and Castle said goodnight to their oldest and left the room, turning off the lights before they went down to Josie's room where she picked up the baby and together they went to their room.

"How're you doing energy wise love?" Castle asked his wife once the door was closed behind Max and Molly who'd raced inside. "Are we letting them stay again?" he then said.

"Yes," Beckett replied with a smile as the dogs had stayed with them the night before. "And I'm fine though I could use some sleep in a bit."

"A bit?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett said again. "But for now, I'm going to change."

"Bath? Shower?" Castle asked.

"Tomorrow, for now I just want to change," Beckett replied before she went to get her pajamas. Her husband was doing the same with her and they were quiet, so they could listen to Josie in case she might need them. But the baby was quiet as well and they went together over to the bathroom where they brushed their teeth and she took her hair down from the ponytail she'd eventually put it in that day to brush it out. She wasn't surprised when her husband stayed with her and then went to her, burying his face into her locks before she moved carefully to face him. Their lips were just centimeters from one another when she stopped as she heard Josie starting to cry out in their bedroom. She and Castle raced out to it and she picked their daughter up, sitting on the edge of the bed so she could nurse her. As she began to do so she looked at her husband, waiting for him to say what she thought would be a smart-ass comment. But what he told her instead made her surprised at first before she was smiling at what he was saying exactly.

"Tá a fhios agat go bhfuil tú ina bandia," Castle told his wife, saying she knew she was a goddess as he didn't want that to be a question.

"Ach amháin mar gheall inis tú dom," Beckett replied, saying only because he told her.

"Ní ba mhaith liom bréag," Castle said seriously, telling her he wouldn't lie. He then leaned over and kissed her as deeply as he could, feeling her free hand reaching up to him to touch his arm. He was cupping the side of her neck with his hand until they slowly parted some time later and once they had he pressed his forehead to hers for a moment.

Though she didn't want to break what they were doing Beckett had to look down at Josie to check and see if she was alright. Seeing she was she turned her attention back to her husband and she said, "You should have waited."

"Couldn't," Castle said simply. When his wife gave him a look he smiled and then said, "Not for that reason; I couldn't see them when I was kissing you."

"Pervert," Beckett said wryly before she needed to move Josie to her other breast. Once the baby was settled she said to her husband, "You need to wait now."

"I will," Castle said, not surprised she had caught he was tense with wanting to go to her. He wrapped his arm around her, reaching down to Josie and gently cupping the back of her head. He gently rubbed his thumb a few times over her hair before letting go and he jumped up to run and grab a towel, throwing it over his shoulder.

"You're taking that over?" Beckett asked him with a smile as he'd been watching her.

"I am," Castle replied, sitting down next to her and watching her to see when Josie would finish. As soon as the baby had he took her from his wife, beginning to burp her while Beckett was fixing her top. Since she had finished soon after he was going to ask her if he could get Josie straight into her bed before she was answering him swiftly though it didn't surprise him she was.

"You're aware you can already," Beckett commented. "Why do you ask?"

Trying his best not to shrug; as he was tempted to do; Castle said, "Habit."

"You didn't always ask," Beckett said wryly.

"True but this is a little different," Castle commented.

"I don't know if working on a case is any less important," Beckett pointed out. She studied him then and said, "I wonder if I should have let you take me to dinner that first night."

"I don't think that would have changed things that much," Castle replied, not surprised she'd said that.

"Probably not," Beckett replied before she watched him stand up. She was going to tell him he probably wasn't going to need to do that for too long when the dogs walked after him. She gave a quick whistle; hating having to; and pointed to the floor when Max and Molly looked at her. She was relieved when they went quickly to where she'd pointed, and she climbed up onto the bed, sitting up while she waited for him to get Josie to sleep.

"Okay," Castle said, keeping his voice low as he was covering the baby up. "They'll keep quiet right?" When he saw the questioning look his wife was giving him he explained, "I should get their beds."

"Go ahead," Beckett replied.

"Fháil ar roinnt eile," Castle told her, kissing her cheek after he'd told her to get some rest.

"It's why I'm staying," Beckett said with a slight smile. She watched him go and when she was alone she moved so she could peer down at Josie who was still fast asleep. Something came to mind and she reached for her phone on the nightstand, dialing a number before she got off the bed on her husband's side. She went to the windows so she could be within hearing range of the baby before she said with a smile, "Did you know he was coming over?"

"Well good evening to you too," Skye said in amusement. "Or night in your case. And I was aware he was going to give it a shot visiting you, but it was never a sure thing. He made it?"

"He did and it was… interesting," Beckett answered.

"Don't tell me Julia passed out," Skye replied.

"No," Beckett said with a soft laugh before she cut herself off quickly. She paused for a moment and glanced over towards Josie's bed before she said, "Sorry, the baby's asleep."

"That's alright," Skye said quickly. "But she was happy."

"She was," Beckett said with a smile, telling her friend about Julia's diary pages covered with spots and then the rest of the day after the McCartneys had arrived.

"So it turned out well," Skye commented. "Think he would go back?"

"I don't know, Rick and I already talked about giving them an invitation for the future if they ever wanted to return," Beckett began, smiling when her husband walked inside the room. "But that's more up to them."

"Of course, let's hope they do… you could invite him to your Fourth of July party," Skye said.

"Ty podlyy," Beckett said in Russian and in amusement. When her husband; walking to her after closing the bedroom door; looked at her in confusion she then said to Skye, "You're a sneak," since that was what she'd said. "You invited him?"

"Extending your invitation to them, of course," Skye said. "I honestly didn't think you'd mind."

"Wait, what about Nancy's son?" Beckett asked. She hurriedly covered her phone and told her husband, "She invited Paul to our Fourth of July party."

"He's off… somewhere, he said it'll actually be just him and Nancy," Skye replied. "Beatrice is going to be spending the summer with a friend before her last year of school before she decides on college."

"Okay, then I guess I can let that slide," Beckett told her teasingly.

"Good to know and you do realize that with him coming over I'll definitely have to sing," Skye told her.

Since her husband was leaning over so he could hear Beckett squeezed his arm when he started to laugh so he would stop and keep from waking Josie up. "The thought did cross my mind," she told her friend.

"Hullo Rick, enjoyed your guests?" Skye asked as she'd heard his brief laugh.

"Of course and thank you for taking the initiative with the Fourth," Castle replied.

"Glad to help," Skye said in obvious amusement. "I'll talk to you guys another time, for now we're about to sit to dinner."

After she and her husband had said goodbye to the investigator Beckett turned to her husband when he squeezed her arm a little to keep her from saying anything.

"She's going to freak out," Castle said. "Or…" he added when his wife furrowed her brow slightly. "Be very excited." When Beckett next rolled her eyes he said, "She is your daughter."