24. Another Turning Point(1)

"Kate?" Castle called before he turned to find her walking out to him. "Does this look crooked?" he asked her when she was close.

Moving his hands away Beckett told him as she studied his tie, "No, but stop touching it or else it will be."

"Thanks," Castle said. "Look I know I might sound like I'm nervous but I'm not."

"I didn't think you were," Beckett said with a smile. "But this is important of course and I know you have that in mind."

"I don't want to embarrass her," Castle confessed.

"Unless you started yelling in the theater I don't think you would," Beckett said firmly.

"Are you worried about Josie?" Castle asked.

"No because my dad will keep an eye on her," Beckett said.

"Sorry," Castle said quickly as his wife sighed since the school had reversed its allowing the baby to be in the hall where the ceremony would be. It was the twentieth of June and they were all in Oxford for Alexis' graduation ceremony though the two youngest of the family wouldn't be attending. "I'm really mad they're not allowing Eliza at least. She's very mature for a five-year-old."

"I know," Beckett said with a sigh again as her father had offered to watch the two as they were under the age limit of seven that the school allowed to attend the ceremonies. "But at least Erin can see her brother graduate."

"Too bad they're not graduating together," Castle commented.

"I don't think it matters," Beckett said. "And nonetheless Josie and Eliza are here."

Castle nodded and watched her go to the baby, joining her as she held Josie cradled in her arms. He was amazed at how much their youngest had grown; two months old by then; and he said, "Hopefully she'll enjoy today."

About to reply Beckett smiled at the baby when Josie smiled at them and she pressed her lips to her forehead. She then said to her husband, "She will, she'll eat and sleep and she'll have what she needs."

"True… we need to go?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett replied as he was looking at his watch. She took Josie back to her carrier and let her husband get their youngest's bag before she met him at the door. She was startled when he stopped her, looking at him questioningly at his squeezing her arm gently.

"She's going to be there," Castle said.

"We established that already," Beckett replied. "And she should be there, she's Alexis' mother. As long as she leaves our girls alone I'll be fine."

Castle nodded, as he could tell she was serious, and he opened the door so they could leave their hotel room as he brought their suitcase they'd shared together for their short trip to England. "Hopefully they're down there," he commented when they were in the elevator going down to the lobby.

"They will be," Beckett said firmly. "They want to make it to the ceremony."

Nodding Castle wondered how his daughter was doing as she'd stayed with Julia and Eliza the night before since she and Louis had already moved out of their townhouse. He was going to mention the one she would be seeing the next week in the Hamptons when the doors opened, and he saw their family was all there. "Hey, did Louis get in touch with you yet?" he asked.

"No, I'm sure the ceremony has to be finished soon though," Alexis replied, resisting the urge to check her phone again. "But we need to go."

"What about your robes?" Beckett asked the young woman.

"I have them," Martha said, smiling down at Josie who was looking back at her with wide eyes. "And we should head out…"

"Alright," Alexis sighed though she was shortly smiling. "We've been seeing other students with theirs on and they all want me to wear mine though they're just the first set of robes," she told her dad and stepmother. "But first let me hold Josie." She got the baby out of her carrier and held her up against her shoulder as her littlest sister cooed. Kissing her temple, she told her, "I'm sorry you won't be able to come see the ceremony but Dad's going to film it, so you'll see it when you're older."

Eliza, who'd gone to her sister at that moment, smiled up at her and said, "So will I, but right now."

Laughing briefly Alexis said, "Yes you will." She kissed Josie again and put her into the carrier before she hugged Eliza tightly and kissed the top of her head saying, "You'll have fun with your grandpapa, right?"

"Yep but have fun too," Eliza said earnestly.

"I will," Alexis replied before she gave her a last hug and went to her grandmother to start putting on her robes. She felt someone helping her and was about to thank Martha when she saw that it was Beckett. "Thanks," she said as she smiled.

"Not a problem, they need to be as close to perfect as possible though you're changing into your new robes after," Beckett said with a smile herself as she finished straightening the back of the black robes.

"I didn't tell her that," Castle said in mock self-defense when his daughter and wife looked at him.

"We should go," Martha said in amusement.

The family left the hotel and made their way over to the Sheldonian Theater where the graduation would be, joining other people and students as well. When they were close to the building they spotted the McColloughs making their way over to the sidewalk, waving to them before the two families had reached each other.

"So, it's Dr. McCollough now?" Castle asked Louis as the young man and Alexis were embracing tightly.

"Technically," he replied with a smile, his black robes for his doctorate in Veterinariae Medicinae lined at the hood in green with a cream color just above that. "But just Louis here."

"How was it?" Alexis asked once she and her boyfriend had managed to let go of each other.

"Alright, the speeches were… the speeches," Louis replied before he smiled. "We're heading back to the hotel," he said as he saw more people were arriving for the next ceremony. "We'll see you after."

"Are we that late?" Beckett asked, giving her cousin a quick embrace.

"It looks like it, we need to clear out," Brennan replied. "But we'll have London."

"Don't leave without us," Castle said jokingly.

"We won't," Brennan said with a slight laugh as he shook his hand. "Clara won't let me. Congratulations Alexis."

"Mommy," Eliza said, reaching for her mother's hand as they stayed to watch the McColloughs leaving towards the hotel after they'd said a quick goodbye to the other family. "What are we gonna do in London?"

"We'll see," Beckett said simply. "We won't have too much time though. And now we need to say goodbye to your sister since we need to go to our seats."

Going to Jim first Alexis leaned over as he held up the carrier and kissed Josie's forehead saying, "I'll see you very soon Josa, be a good girl for your grandpapa." She smiled when her sister made a sound and looked down to see she was smiling briefly. "Jim-" she started to say, turning to Beckett's father. She was startled when Castle took the baby's carrier and the man hugged her tightly for a moment.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you and I know you'll be a wonderful psychologist," Jim said with a smile.

"Thank you," Alexis said, touched. "I'm sorry you can't go inside."

"I am as well but I'll be watching what Richard films later," Jim said. "With Eliza, of course."

Alexis couldn't help laughing slightly and nodded before telling him, "The Trinity College Gardens should be open if you want to take them there."

"I was planning on it," Jim told her. "Congratulations Alexis," he said as he watched Eliza wrapping her arms around her.

"Dad," Beckett said, giving Josie's bag to him. "There's something for Eliza in there," she murmured near his ear as they watched the little girl and Alexis speaking.

"When you finish will you come see us?" Eliza was asking.

"Of course," Alexis replied. "But have fun with Jim and Josa okay?"

"Yep," Eliza reassured her since she knew her sister thought she was mad she had to stay with their baby sister. "Do I call you Dr. Alexis after?"

"That'll be Dr. Castle," Castle commented.

"He's right but you're still calling me 'lexis," the young woman said after they'd all stopped laughing. "That's only for when I work."

"Kay, con…" Eliza tried to begin before she trailed off.

"Congratulations," Martha said slowly for her.

"Cong-at-ula-tions," Eliza repeated carefully before she beamed at her big sister and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Lizzy," Alexis said, trying not to laugh before she hugged her one last time. "I need to go, so the rest of you I'll just hug," she said to the others. She hugged Julia first, then Beckett and squeezing her grandmother and dad last before she was about to head to where she needed to go to meet the other students when they all turned at a familiar voice calling her name.

When she saw who it was Julia went to her father with her little sister and they took his hands as Alexis' mother made her way over to them. When she was closer she realized a man was following her and she glanced up at Castle to see he was looking at Beckett.

"Hey Mom," Alexis said as her mother engulfed her in a hug. She smiled at her mother's husband over Meredith's shoulder and said, "I would love to talk but I really have to go join everyone else."

"Of course, you look… well a little old fashioned but I'm sure you have to wear those," Meredith said.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," Alexis said, waving to the others and hurrying away from them.

"Meredith," Castle said, nodding to his ex.

"Ricky," the woman said. "Well… I guess we'll be heading inside," Meredith said, glancing at Josie in the carrier.

"Glad you made it," her husband said quickly as he had to hurry to follow his wife.

"That was fun," Martha said with a sigh. She looked at the girls and saw they were sharing a glance and sighing themselves. "So that was her husband."

"It was," Castle said. "I guess we don't get an introduction."

"Is he nice?" Eliza asked.

"Your sister said he is," Castle replied. "Okay, we should get inside before the ceremony starts."

"We'll come get you as soon as we finish," Beckett said, hugging Eliza tightly. "Have fun."

"We will," the little girl said with a smile. She stood with her grandfather as the others went into the theater and she said to him, "Can I run around?"

"You'll be able to," Jim said, placing his free hand on the back of her head so he could guide her to the gardens nearby. It took very little time to reach them since they were just down the street and once there he had Eliza sit on the grass with the carrier.

"Is there a blanket?" the little girl asked.

"We don't need one, the grass is very nice," Jim told her. He opened Josie's bag and pulled out a small bottle of bubbles saying, "I think this is yours."

"Think Josa could blow a bubble?" Eliza asked her grandfather with a smile as she took the bottle.

"Maybe in a few years," Jim said, smiling at her. "Go ahead and play with that while you can." He opened the bottle for her and got the covering off the top inside before she was starting to run around to let the bubbles fly out from the wand. He then took Josie out of her carrier, holding her against his shoulder while Eliza ran around them. He smiled and though he wished they could be inside the theater with everyone to watch Alexis he realized he didn't mind getting to spend time with his two youngest grandchildren that late summer morning.

"I feel bad for Grandpapa," Julia said to her mother once they were in their seats, whispering.

"I know," Beckett replied. "But he didn't want any of us to miss the ceremony."

"Oh," Julia said softly as she realized her father and grandmother really couldn't miss the ceremony. She looked around and said, "Did she look at Josa really?"

"I think she did," Beckett said, knowing her daughter was talking about Meredith. "But it doesn't matter, we should pay attention."

"Okay," Julia said though she really wanted to point out there was nothing to pay attention to. She stopped herself though and asked instead, "What about in London? What can we do?"

"You'll see when we get there," Beckett replied with a smile, not surprised she was asking too. "For now, we need to wait for the ceremony."

"I thought we should pay attention?" Castle asked his wife as he was sitting next to her and was listening to their conversation. When his wife gave him a look he said, "Which we should."

Beckett rolled her eyes before she looked at Julia and said, "In London we're not going to do anything big; we don't have the time. But if we're lucky we can do two things."

"Cool," Julia said, looking over the railing where they were sitting as some students were walking in.

Smiling at her daughter Beckett turned her attention to the students as well in their robes though she couldn't help recalling the day before in London as they continued to wait for the officials to arrive next. But she only hoped that what they would have time to do after Oxford would be as fun to the girls as the previous day was.

"So," Castle said. "We are off to…" he began before he looked at his wife.

"Harrods," Beckett said. "And then we're going to visit St. James Park because it's nearby."

"What's there?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Nothing really," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"It's more you'll get to see St. James' Palace," Castle said.

"Oh! We won't get to go inside?" Julia said in slight disappointment.

"It's not open to the public because some of the royal family lives there now and it's in use as a palace," Castle said gently.

"But we will get to see the outside," Beckett added as she watched their oldest and the disappointment on her face. "Would you like to get to see that at least?"

"Yeah," Julia replied.

"Then we'll try to go straight over there after lunch and go through the park after," Beckett said with a smile as the girl knew about the palace from what she and Castle had told her about the history of the British monarchy.

"How come we're going to Harrods again?" Julia asked, a smile on her face at the thought of getting to go to the palace.

"We want to visit a few stores while we can," Beckett replied. "Since our hotel isn't too far from it.""When can we go in the pool?" Eliza asked.

Since their cab was stopping at that moment Castle and Beckett had to focus on getting out and paying the driver so they couldn't answer their middle daughter. But once they were on the sidewalk and waiting for their parents' cab to reach them the former began to speak.

"We'll have to wait a little for that sweetheart," Castle told the little girl gently. "But we will swim, just the four of us."

"What about Grandpapa and Gram?" Julia asked.

"They're going to rest until tomorrow," Beckett answered. She saw the look that the girls were giving each other, and she told them, "They're not as young as they used to be girls, it was a long flight and we have to get a little used to the time change before we go home."

"With 'lexis," Eliza said eagerly.

"With her too," Castle said, smiling at them though he was looking at the cab that was pulling up in front of the shopping center. He hurriedly went to it so he could pay for the drive and when the two were out he said, "We're going to head right in; Julia would like to see St. James's Palace."

"Isn't it a residence?" Martha asked.

"It is but we want her to see the outside of it on Pall Mall at least," Castle commented.

"I would too," Jim said. When his son in law looked at him he smiled and told him, "I'm interested in history as well."

"True," Castle said with a nod. "Well we're going to have lunch here and then go to the park after we see the palace."

"I wish we could go inside," Julia said with a sigh.

"I know but we have the chance to see it at least," Jim told her as she'd gone over to him, holding his hand.

"Yeah," Julia said, thinking over that for a moment before she nodded and laughed. She couldn't help squeezing his hand in her excitement for that as they were entering the store, wondering what they would get while they were there.

"So, the girls came out very well," Castle said while he was watching his wife. When she gave him a look he smiled and said, "Just saying."

Rolling her eyes Beckett folded the shirt they had gotten for Eliza at Harrods and said, "They did, considering they picked everything from Stella McCartney."

"Should we tell them?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said simply, looking down at the front of the shirt that had a parrot singing karaoke on it. "But they made interesting decisions."

"Is it the fact it's not a horse?" Castle said.

"No," Beckett said with a soft laugh. She put the shirt in the bag they had with Julia's choice, a red orange color that had a heart made of multi-colored lines on it. "But thank you for what you got me," she told him.

"I thought why not? The girls got something from Stella, so you should too," Castle said, watching her holding up the blue wool jacket he'd bought her. It had black at the collar and he had been the one to find it, showing it to her hurriedly and hoping she would like it as well.

"I'll wear it… I was going to say when we're home in the fall, but I guess it'll have to be LA," Beckett started to say.

"Do you like the jacket?" Castle asked her in Irish.

"I do," Beckett said with a nod. "It seems… very me." Saying that she looked over at her husband and said with a smile, "What if I'd said no to it."

"It would have ended up in box on our hotel bed," Castle told her.

Beckett couldn't help laughing softly saying, "I'm not surprised." She put the jacket away quickly before she kissed his cheek murmuring her thanks to him before she said, "We're here."

Looking outside Castle saw the palace nearby and nodded when the cab stopped before he was hurriedly paying for their ride when the cabbie turned to them. Stepping outside he said, "I really hope they were okay with all the kids," since their parents had all three kids with them.

"They will be," Beckett said easily, taking his hand. "So that's it," she said.

"It is," Castle said, studying her as he knew her father wasn't the only one in the Beckett family that enjoyed history. "It's funny to think where we are Charles II might have walked this way… or even Queen Anne or-"

"I got it," Beckett said in amusement. She kissed his cheek quickly before she turned to see their family's cab coming up to them. "Hopefully the park won't disappoint," she murmured to him.

"I don't think so," Castle said. "Let them tumble like jesters and they'll be happy."

Beckett was laughing again, and she hugged Castle tightly before they turned their attention to the cab and helping their parents with their daughters before they made their way to the main entrance of the palace. They stood there, staring at the brick structure and not saying anything until Martha broke the silence between them and the spell some of them were under while considering the historical site.

"It does still look imposing," Castle's mother said.

"Is that why we can't go in?" Eliza asked, holding her hand.

"No, it's because the royal family lives there," Beckett reminded her. "So, this is all we can do, and we should go to the actual park."

Though she didn't want to go Julia took several quick pictures of the palace before her mother was taking her hand. She allowed Beckett to lead her away to the side of the palace and she took more pictures until she saw the park ahead of them. "That's it?" she asked.

"It is," Castle said before his wife could. "And down there," he told both girls as he pointed to their right. "Is Buckingham Palace."

"Where we went before?" Eliza asked, seeing the palace in the distance.

"It is," Jim said first. "Over there is Marlborough House."

"That was…" Julia started to say interestedly as she took in the red brick and white stone mansion.

"It was used by a lot of the royal family," Beckett told her. "But it's open now."

"We can go to the park," Julia said, hesitating after she saw her sister hopping on each foot.

"That's very nice of you sweetie," Beckett said, squeezing her shoulder. "And some day when we come back we'll try and go."

"Cool," Julia said with a smile. She looked ahead at the park and said, "We can go now."

"Come on," Beckett replied before she touched her husband's arm to get his attention.

"Here," Castle told Eliza before he placed her on his shoulders. They made their way across The Mall and once they were inside the park itself he said, "Want to get back down?"

"Yeah," Eliza said with a smile. Once she was on the ground she ran onto the grass on their left, squealing as she waited for someone in her family to catch up with her.

"They must have heard me," Castle said in amusement as the girls; once they were together; started to do summersaults.

"I doubt it," Beckett replied wryly. "Girls," she called to them. "Come back here please."

"Sorry, it looked… inviting," Julia said as she grabbed her sister's hand and they ran together over to their parents and grandparents. She looked at Josie who was in her carrier being held by Martha and she said, "Could Josa go on her back in the sun?"

"She could," Castle said. "But not in the direct sun I think."

"Thank you," Beckett told him as she agreed with the idea but didn't want the baby in the sun fully.

"Dappled would be nice," Castle said.

"I think you just wanted to say the word dappled Richard," Martha said to her son as they were walking down the path again.

"Look at the water," Eliza breathed when they reached it in the middle of the park. "Can we go in?"

"I don't think so," Castle said in amusement. "Why don't we find a spot on the shore where we can take your sister?"

"Over there," Julia said, pointing to their right and the shore of the lake. She saw that it was on the dirt and she asked, "Do we have a blanket?"

"We do," Jim said, getting it from Josie's bag. He handed it to his son in law and said, "How long are we staying?"

"We have a while," Beckett said as soon as the blanket was set and they were sitting on it. She let her mother in law get Josie from her carrier but took her to lay her down in the shade though sun light was shining down on the baby's body. They were all watching Josie then, seeing her moving her legs and arms and smiling at her and Castle while they enjoyed the warm afternoon in the park.

Sitting once the line of officials had sat down Castle looked down at the students, easily finding his daughter as she was the only one with such vibrant red hair. He smiled at the somber expression on her face before he felt his wife taking his hand and squeezing it before they turned their attention to the official who was in front of a music stand as the man began to speak.

Listening to the speech Julia wondered if she shouldn't have stayed with her little sisters and grandfather. But she glanced down at Alexis and thought about the fact that she was going to have to wait for her degree. That calmed her down a little bit, and the fact the official in the middle was taking off the cap he had on for a moment. She wondered why the students sitting in the chairs didn't have them on but was distracted by her mother touching her arm. She smiled up at her before the official was telling the students to stand up and try to make eye contact with their loved ones to thank those who had helped them get to that point. "Is that us?" she whispered.

Beckett only nodded as the students were standing and she looked down with them to Alexis who was standing and applauding. She waved with everyone else down at her and watched the young woman quickly turn to where her mother was seated. When the students were sitting down the official was speaking again and she felt Castle taking her hand. She squeezed his back before she turned her attention to the speech again.

When the students were later taken to the stage in the theater where the officials were all seated Castle took in a deep breath as he knew it was the supplication and presentation to the Vice Chancellor. And he knew it was nearly time for the end of the ceremony with that happening, looking at his wife and daughter as the official next to each student was speaking in Latin. He was relieved they didn't seemed bothered by the language and were just listening to the words. When Alexis was presented he resisted the urge to applaud for her as his daughter had told them that they were discouraged from doing that. Instead he watched until she had bowed to all the officials in front of her before going back to her seat.

"She's going to get her new robes after they talk to everyone," Beckett whispered gently to Julia as she knew she was going to ask.

Julia nodded and couldn't help thinking it was cool how her sister; in her black skirt and white blouse; looked like she was in Hogwarts even though the robes weren't close to how they were in the movies. She tried not to squirm in impatience as they continued with the students, wanting to see her sister in her new robes since Alexis hadn't told them what they would look like. She glanced at both her parents as students were coming back inside with new robes and wondered how they seemed to be so calm. Deciding to try and act like that; since she couldn't help recalling that if she'd been four years younger she would be outside; she did her best not to count seconds before finally the last student was being presented with Alexis' doctorate group.

Beckett smiled at Castle as the group of students bowed to the officials before leaving and she said, "Almost time."

"I know," he said with a smile before looking over at his mother.

"I'm alright," Martha said quickly. "Did you pause that?" she asked as her son had been recording the ceremony with his phone.

"Just the part where she was presented," Castle said. "Eliza would get bored really quickly."

Nodding Martha said softly, "How are you kiddo?" leaning over to see Julia.

"Good, I wanna see her new robes," the girl replied, speaking quietly too.

Beckett was about to say they wouldn't have to wait long when she heard the doors opening and she looked down with the others in time to see two students who had the robes for the Bachelor degrees for Civil Law, Medicine and Surgery as well as the Magisters Juris walk down to the officials on the stage to bow and then return to their seats. Directly behind them were the doctorate graduates for Clinical Psychology and Alexis was the third from the front. She joined her husband, mother in law and daughter applauding; as everyone else was doing; watching as her stepdaughter walked up to the stage and once the two students in front of her had gone walked up to the Vice Chancellor to shake his hand.

Wondering what the man was talking to Alexis about Castle leaned a little further in his seat before his wife gently tugged him back. He smiled at her and looked forward again to see Alexis was going back to her seat. At that point, he realized the process would need to be repeated for the other degrees that were being presented to the group of students. It took some time but finally the last group had left, and the officials were walking down the aisle of the theater before they could leave themselves. Outside he looked around as he held Julia's hand, trying to find his daughter before he finally heard her familiar voice calling to them.

"Hi Dr. Castle!" Julia said, waving to her big sister as she neared them.

"Oh no, no," Alexis replied though she was laughing as well. "That's 'lexis to you Jules. And thank you for calling me by my degree." She turned to her father and hugged him as tightly as she could while he did the same to her.

"I'm so proud of you sweetheart," Castle said seriously.

"Thanks," Alexis replied. When they pulled back from each other she said, "I feel kind of dazed… did I really just do that?"

"You did," Beckett said with a smile as her stepdaughter turned to her. She embraced her tightly telling her, "Your dad should have said now we're very proud of you."

"Thank you, Kate," Alexis said with a laugh. She wasn't surprised when her stepmother straightened her robes when they'd let go of each other and she said, "I had to hurry and put it on."

"We noticed," Martha said, stepping up to her granddaughter. "Oh darling, Kate is right we're so proud of you. You looked so professional in the theater… I'm so pleased you followed me to one to a degree."

Laughing loudly Alexis told her, "I was thinking about that Gram and I'm glad I could do that even briefly."

"Your robes are so cool," Julia said when her sister turned to her. She looked at the length of blue and red that went around the chest and back of the black robes. "Both were."

"I know, when I saw these the first time I thought I got sorted into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," Alexis told her sister.

"Gryffin-claw?" Julia asked.

"Raven-dor," Alexis said firmly, both starting to laugh shortly after. She then heard someone crying her name and looked to see it was her mother, making her wince at how loud she was being. She saw Jim was approaching from the street, Eliza and the carrier where Josie was in his hand. "So…" she started to say.

"It's alright," Castle said as she had directed that to him. When she looked at him questioningly he just shook his head and glanced at Meredith as she reached them with her husband behind her.

"Look at you, a doctor now," the woman said as she grabbed her daughter by her shoulders. "And you looked fantastic in these robes; I'm so glad they had you change."

"The others were nice too," Julia said in annoyance.

"So, want to take a picture Mom?" Alexis said quickly though she wasn't surprised her sister had had that reaction. "I know you need to head to London soon."

"Aren't you going to London? Maybe we could go together," Meredith commented.

"No, we're going to meet up with Kate's family," Castle said in a rush. "You probably should take pictures now."

"Of course, baby," Meredith said to her husband. She was about to tell Castle to join them; having put her arm around their daughter; when he went over to the baby as it had started to cry.

"Mom," Alexis said to get her attention as she'd watched her. They took the pictures and she was relieved when her mother let her hug her before they were all saying goodbye to the couple.

"I want to thank her," Beckett said to her husband in Irish, looking down at Josie who was still in his arms.

"I already did that," Castle said. "But we need to take pictures too, so she needs to go back."

"Okay, pictures," Alexis said. "I don't want to make Louis and his family wait for too long." When Beckett showed she was holding her camera she said, "Okay, first Dad and Gram, since you guys started me off in school."

"How many different combinations are you going to have us do?" Castle asked as he was getting Josie back into her carrier.

"As many as we can," Alexis said jokingly and with a smile. Once her father and grandmother were with her she put her arms around them and they did the same to her. She heard the shutter of Beckett's camera go off a few times as they smiled, and she was about to ask her stepmother about that when she answered her.

"They're just in case," Beckett said. "Take the next one with your sisters."

"All three?" Alexis asked.

"She hasn't eaten yet," Jim said when his daughter looked at him. "So she shouldn't get sick."

"I would have taken her anyways, I can't tell if she's asleep," Alexis explained.

"Here," Castle said, taking the baby over to his oldest. He helped her hold Josie against her chest so the baby was looking out and once she was set he ushered Julia and Eliza over to their big sister.

"Smile," Beckett said, wondering what her husband doing standing behind her. But whatever it was she still took the pictures, stopping and saying, "I hope it's alright, she's not looking at the camera."

"Mainly because she can't see it, Dad," Alexis said with a slight smirk on her face. When she saw the expression on her stepmother's face she explained, "He was waving."

"Oh… well that was a waste of time," Beckett told her husband teasingly as she turned around to him.

"I don't mind trying," Castle said in amusement. He took the camera she was giving to him before he waited for his wife and father in law to stand on either side of Alexis. "Ready?" he asked.

"We are," Jim replied, having been almost about to ask the young woman if she was okay with him taking a picture with her. But he had the feeling she would have said something; if she hadn't planned on it; so he merely looked ahead at the camera and smiled for the pictures that Castle took.

"One more," Alexis said with a smile. "Stay here," she told Beckett as her stepmother was going to walk away. "You too Dad."

"I'll take that," Jim said with a smile at the young woman's idea. He glanced at his daughter, seeing that she was putting her arm back around Alexis' shoulders.

Standing with his daughter and wife Castle hoped Meredith wouldn't end up seeing the pictures that Jim eventually took, knowing his ex would be livid at the sight of it. But he was touched Alexis wanted him and Beckett with her and squeezed her shoulder before they were moving apart. "So… is that it?" he asked, looking around and seeing a lot of the people that had been outside the theater had left by then.

"That's it, let's go so I can change," Alexis told them.

"And see Louis," Julia commented. She laughed when her sister pretended to hit her on the head with her cap. When she felt Alexis placing the cap on her head she said, "Does that mean I'm a doctor now?"

"Nope," Alexis replied, taking her sisters' hands as her hands were free. "What it means is that you're trying it on."

"Cool," Julia giggled.

"I want to try it on!" Eliza protested.

"When we're almost there I'll let you take it," Alexis replied before they made their way over to the hotel.

Walking with her husband last; their parents in front of them behind the girls; Beckett looked down at Josie in the carrier he was holding and said, "What do you think?"

"About… oh I'm happy, this has been a long time in coming," Castle said, a little confused about what she'd meant before he realized. "And she's happy so it all works out." He hesitated for a moment before he said, "And she's coming home."

Beckett laughed softly before she said, "I was waiting for that."

"Now we can head to London," Castle said as they reached the hotel in time to see Louis coming out with his family.

"Don't call me doctor," Alexis said in amusement as her boyfriend made a beeline for her.

"Wouldn't dream of it; don't call me that either," Louis replied before he took her into his arms. He held her close saying, "We finally did it."

"We did," Alexis said. They shared a quick kiss before she went to his family and he went to hers, greeting them and thanking them for the congratulations they received. When they'd finished, she said, "I need to change and then we can get going."

Castle went with Beckett and Jim after Alexis was inside the hotel so they could pick up their suitcases, going back outside to wait with the others. "Does it feel weird?" he asked Brennan.

"Of course," the man replied, knowing what he was talking about. "Spent so many years making sure he got the best education he could and now… He already has a job so what more do we need to do?"

"I feel the same," Castle said with a nod. "And Alexis has a job too. So all we have to do is get them a home."

"You didn't really have to do that," Louis said.

"We will; we haven't gotten it yet," Brennan told his son, squeezing his shoulder. "But when will you see where they've suggested?"

"I talked to Lex and she said she would look and walk around with her phone so I could see," Louis said. "But if it's huge-"

"They have different sizes," Beckett said.

"You know you could go home with them," Brennan said.

"Not a chance Da," Louis said firmly. "Tomorrow's Father's Day; in the States as well; and we'll be there soon enough."

"Did Alexis tell you to remind you?" Martha asked.

"She did, she said that it would be better if I celebrated with Da and stayed at home until our flight," Louis said.

"Luckily you agreed with me," Alexis said as she walked out to everyone, changed out of her robes and formal clothing. "Let's go."

"No regrets leaving?" Beckett couldn't help asking her stepdaughter.

"No," Alexis said. "Since I finished what I set out to do." She glanced at her boyfriend who was walking with his sister and added, "And we're going to be together."

Beckett couldn't help smiling and said, "I would have thought the same thing." They had reached their cars by then so she merely shared a smile with the young woman before they moved to get everyone and everything in so they could get to the train station and make it finally to the capital city.

"Where are we?" Julia asked, looking out of the window of the taxi. It looked familiar to her though she wasn't sure why until she was able to look ahead. "We're gonna get to see Abbey Road again?" she asked eagerly, turning to her parents.

"Can I cross the street?" Eliza asked. "All of us?"

"We're not here for that," Castle said first.

"We're just driving-" Julia started to say before she trailed off as they were stopping. She was tempted to ask again what they were doing there if not to see the famous crossing again but held off as she knew her parents weren't going to answer. When they were together with her grandparents, Alexis and the McColloughs she was startled when her parents led the way to the white building where the studios were.

"What are we doing here?" Erin whispered to Julia and Eliza as she was walking with them.

"Hullo, hullo everyone," Skye suddenly called to them. She smiled as her three daughters ran to the three with the Castles and McColloughs and said, "Was just about to go in; the whole band is here."

"Band?" Brennan asked.

"I told you about her band," Beckett said, smiling at her cousin. She waved to the other members of The Rambling O'Dells before they walked together to the entrance.

"Are they recording here?" Julia asked her mother before they stopped at the steps leading up to the front door.

"You'll see," Beckett replied, speaking quickly as she knew Skye had some introductions she wanted to make.

"Alright, everyone knows the band's name so I'll tell you the rest of the band," the investigator said. "That's Jackie, Raj and Barry. The last two are married. And guys the three kids here are Erin; she's the McCollough's daughter; Julia and Eliza who're Rick and Kate's. The baby is theirs too, Josie."

"She's adorable," Jackie said as she'd looked at the baby before Skye had started speaking.

"Thank you," Beckett said. "I can take over the rest," she told her friend.

"Okay," Skye said. "Wouldn't have been a problem but yeah, go ahead."

"This is my father, Jim Beckett," Beckett said to the three from the band. "And my mother in law Martha Rogers."

"We've heard of you," Raj said to Castle's mother.

"You have?" Martha asked in surprise.

"Oh sure, we played a cricket game here a few days ago," Raj began.

"For charity," Barry added. "Bloke by the name of Andres Piers was there."

"He was? He was with me for Shakespeare in the Park," Martha told the others. "How is he?"

"Doing well, he was only there to watch but I suppose word got out we were in those music videos," Raj commented.

"Those were so cool," Julia said eagerly. "I was at camp and I showed everyone that."

"Skye told us," Jackie said. "Thanks for doing that. That was a small release."

"We're not ready to go in yet," the investigator said in mock annoyance as the guitarist looked at her.

"There's still the McColloughs," Mary commented.

"I'm Brennan," the man said himself before his cousin could say. "Kate is my cousin, and this is my wife Clara. This is our son Louis. Dr. McCollough."

"Da," the young man groaned.

"Congratulations," Barry said. "We heard you've just come from Oxford."

"I did, thank you," Louis said. "And this is my sister Erin," he said though Skye had already introduced her.

"Great, let's get inside before we're all late," Skye told them.

With some laughter, the group made their way inside before they were led down some halls by a woman who'd hurried to them once they'd entered.

"Hello everyone," Paul McCartney said as the group neared them. "I see you've all made it, especially the graduates."

"Hi Paul," Julia said, a little startled when everyone looked at her. "What?" she asked them.

"I think they've been wondering about your reaction," Paul said. "Now come 'ead and give us a hug girls."

Eliza was a little surprised he was including her, but she went with her sister to the singer, both hugging Paul. "You remember us?" she asked.

"Of course," the singer replied with a slight laugh. "And I wanted to see your sister as well."

"She's here," Beckett said, walking over with Castle. She shared a quick hug with the singer before stepping aside and watching him shake hands with her husband.

"She's how old now?" Paul asked as he was looking down at Josie.

"Two months and three days," Castle answered. "Nancy's not with you?"

"No, I should introduce her now since there's far more of you lot," Paul said with a smile. He turned to the woman behind him and when she came up to stand next to him he was about to speak when there was a gasp from Julia and they both looked over at her.

"Sorry," the girl said with a slight blush. "Y-you're Stella."

"I am," the woman said with a smile. "So you've heard of me?"

"Our mommy uses your perfume," Eliza said with a smile.

"I do and before anyone else says anything I also have a few things from your clothing line; so do Julia and Eliza," Beckett said, embarrassed but deciding she should tell the woman.

"Our dad bought her a jacket that's from you," Julia said. She paused and became thoughtful before she said, "You designed. It's blue and really pretty."

"Oh… I'm glad to hear that," Stella said. "But I've been wanting to meet Skye; Dad's told me about her."

"I'm here," the investigator said. "What can I help you with?" Skye asked with a smile as she was shaking the designer's hand.

Before Stella could say anything, a man called to the group and Paul said, "You'll have to wait love. We need to get going or we'll run out of time for you."

"Damn, you're right," Skye said after checking her watch. "Alright, where will everyone go?"

"There's enough room for you all," Paul said. "We'll lead the way." He took them down the hall again before they entered a room where a man was standing up and greeting them.

"What is it?" Alexis asked as Julia had stopped abruptly, leading her to have to sidestep her.

"It's Giles," the girl breathed.

"George Martin's son?" Louis asked.

No one answered as the producer was being introduced before Paul said to the band, "We're just going to work out four songs today. I plan a little concert here."

"Concert?" Skye asked as they'd had no idea what the singer wanted to do with them before his album they would be working on next year.

"Our audience," Paul said, nodding to everyone else.

"We're going to be out there?" Marie said, pointing to the studio.

"Oh of course," Paul said with a smile. "Can't quite record you all reacting to us in here."

"What songs will we be singing?" Raj asked.

"Four of mine," Paul said. "Though what those will be…"

"Really? You trust us enough for that?" Mary asked with a smile.

"Oh sure," Paul answered in amusement. "But you've got to decide now of course."

"Now what?" Julia asked, pretending to be annoyed when everyone looked at her again. She grew serious and gasped out, "You want me to pick the songs?"

"That's right, you're a big fan," Paul said. "What about something not often heard?"

Breathing out Julia closed her eyes before she said, "Arrow Through Me, Must Do Something About It and Why So Blue. And I think you should do London Town and let Skye sing that one in the lead even though it's the name of your album you had." She breathed out again, as quietly as she could, watching the singer and wondering what he would say to her choices as he was obviously thinking them over.

"Alright, but these will all be duets," Paul said, looking over at Skye.

"And you're just doing this for fun, right?" the investigator asked, blanching for a moment.

"No, no, it'll be a release," Paul commented.

"Like Amoeba's Secret?" Castle asked.

"Just like that," Paul replied, nodding to him. "But fans seemed to be alright with you singing along with me. Though I'll agree with Julia; London Town you can take."

"Alright," Skye sighed.

"I should have asked," Paul said. "Do you know all the songs?"

"Oh yeah," Jackie said with a nod.

"Played 'em many times," Barry added.

"Alright, let's go," Paul said laughingly before he gestured to the studio.

"We can go inside?" Alexis asked.

"Oh sure, unless anyone doesn't want to be the audience," Paul commented.

"What about Josa?" Eliza asked.

"Josa?" Stella inquired, looking at Castle and Beckett.

"Her sisters call her that," Paul told his daughter. "And I imagine she'd be better here."

"I'll stay with her," Martha said.

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked her mother in law.

"I'll be able to hear from in this room," Martha replied. "Will I?" she asked the others as well as Giles.

"We will but it won't be very loud," the producer warned her.

"That's fine with me and the baby," Martha said as another worker indicated she could sit on the couch against the wall with a view of the window into the studio where everyone was going into.

"Alright," Paul said once the band was standing where he'd directed them with their instruments. "I was going to ask what you have but now I can just say, fantastic."

"Should we try the songs out first?" Mary asked, sharing a glance with her wife.

"Of course, we weren't going to just run into recording," Paul replied. He went to where his Hofner bass was and put it on before he said, "Skye?"

"Will we be going in order?" the investigator asked.

"Yes," Paul said simply before he went up to the microphone next to her. "Arrow Through Me."

Sitting with everyone else in front of the band and Paul, Beckett looked at Julia who was next to her, seeing the absolute excitement on her face. She murmured to her husband, "I'm glad we had the chance for them to see this," as she could see Eliza on the other side of him bouncing a little on her chair.

"Me too," Castle said, squeezing her hand before he let go of her since she had her camera. He couldn't help feeling proud of her; as she'd been taking pictures since everyone was preparing in front of them; before she stood up while Paul was counting them in.

Julia couldn't help shuddering in pleasure at the sound of the bass Raj was playing on his keyboard, the introduction of the song, and she waited anxiously for Paul and Skye to begin to sing which they soon did together. She smiled as her mother was walking around them, taking pictures of them every so often through the song.

Ooh, baby, you couldn't have done a worse thing to meIf you'da taken and arrow and run it right through me, oohOoh baby, a bird in the hand is worth two flyin'But when it came to love, I'd knew you'd be lyin'It could have been a finer thingWould have been a major attractionWith no other thing: offering a note of distractionCome on, get up, get under way, bring your loveOoh Baby, you wouldn't have found a more down heroIf you'da started at nothing and counted to ze-e-ro

Oo-oo-ooOoh baby, you couldn't have done a worse thing to meIf you'da taken an arrow and run it right through meIt could have been a finer thingWould have been a major attractionIf no other thing offering a no love distraction

As the band began to play out the song Beckett felt someone standing next to her and she smiled as she wasn't surprised to find it was Julia. She hung her camera around her neck as she applauded with the others and said, "So do you need to change anything.""I think that was perfect," Clara commented.

"It was, Raj," Paul said, going over to the keyboard. "I love you speeding up that intro but try it a note higher."

Raj nodded and played the opening notes again with the notes a little higher, watching the singer nodding his head in time to it. "It fits Skye's voice."

"Exactly. I think we're ready to record," Paul said. "Skye?"

"Ready," the investigator said with a smile.

"Me too," Mary said.

"And me," Jackie added.

"So am I, back here," Barry said before they all laughed as he'd been waving at them.

"Then we'll start," Paul told the band. "And you lot," he said, turning to their audience. "Feel free to react and applaud." He looked at Beckett and said, "You're alright doing that?"

"I am, you asked me to take pictures," she replied with a smile.

"Okay, are we ready Giles?" Paul called out to the producer.

"Go ahead and count in," the man said through the intercom into the studio.

Eliza, sitting on her father's lap by then, was bouncing again on his lap before the song began again. She watched as they were singing into the microphones and her mother was going around them again, taking pictures. She was surprised when Julia suddenly took her mother's camera and was taking pictures as well. She giggled behind her hands before the song was finishing and she applauded, remembering the sound would be on the recording. "Sing again!" she couldn't help calling out.

Laughing with everyone else Skye said, "Thank you for that and we will now… are you sure you want to do the next song Julia suggested?"

"Sure, I'll have you sing it on your own as well," Paul said as he was going over to an acoustic guitar he had to switch to. "I'm sure you've done it already."

"Do any of you want to sing it?" Skye asked her wife and bandmates. When they shook their heads, she groaned and said, "Traitors." She looked at Beckett and said, "Stay still."

A little startled Beckett remained where she'd been standing, waiting for the investigator to set down her electric guitar. She couldn't help laughing when Skye came back to her and wrapped her arms around her, embracing her back before she said, "We didn't have a chance to do that."

"No," Skye said, laughing herself. "But at least we have the chance to now. And thank you for taking pictures."

"You're welcome," Beckett said, looking at Mary. "I'll get to that later."

"Are you really going to sing the next song on your own?" Julia asked, giving her mother back her camera as she had stopped hugging Skye.

"I am," the investigator said. She sighed and said, "How that will go…"

"That's why we're going to be practicing it first," Paul said, getting their attention. "Your band is all ready."

"Not my band," Skye said as she put her guitar back on. Standing away from her microphone she waited for Paul to start counting them down before she sang as he played the opening chord on his guitar.

I've just seen another sunset on my ownAll day long I've been aloneAnd I must do something about itYes, I must do something about it

Played another losing card game with myselfLonely joker on a shelfAnd I must do something about itYes, I must do something about it

No one on the party lineNo one seems to need a dimeNo one even knows that I'm feeling this way

I've just seen another sunset on my ownAll day long I've been aloneAnd I must do something about itYes, I must do something about it

No one seems to need my voteNo one has to change a noteNo one here to hold my coatOh, what a day

I've just watched another movie on TVNo one's in the house but meAnd I must do something about itYes, I must do something about itOh, oh, something about it

I've just dialed another number on my phoneAll day long I've been aloneAnd I must do something about it

With Skye repeating that last line the others were applauding loudly, and she said, "You don't need to do that yet."

"It's needed," Beckett told her. "That was great."

"Thanks," Skye replied before she looked over at Paul.

"Oh she's right, I like that you took the must do something about it line so far at the end of it," the singer said. "You all did great with that but what were you playing?" Paul then directed to Raj.

"The bansuri," the man answered.

"Good choice," Paul said with a nod. "Keep that." He turned back to the others and said, "Alright, let's go ahead and get this one recorded." He said to Beckett who'd paused in taking pictures, "Alright?"

"I'm fine," Beckett assured him. "But what are you going to do with these?"

"I'll find something," Paul said with a smile. "We're ready," he called to the booth. When they were directed to begin, he counted them in and played the opening chord as Skye started to sing as before.

That time they ended up having to stop when Skye messed up a lyric, laughing as the others in her band called out to her, "Poopie!"

"Oh, stop it," the investigator called to them. Skye then laughed and said to everyone else, "Sorry, they would yell that in the outtakes for Mystery Science Theater 3000."

"Haven't heard of it but I imagine they had fun with it," Paul commented. "From the top?"

"From the top," Jackie said, strumming her guitar a bit.

The group played through the song one more time, that time getting to the end without any mistakes. Their 'audience' applauded their performance and they nodded to them before the band turned their attention to Paul.

"We should take a bit of a break," the singer commented. "Give our voices a chance to rest."

"Might we have tea?" Barry asked.

"Sure, I'll take you to where you need to go," Paul said as the 'audience' got up as well.

"Be careful," Beckett said firmly as all six girls were looking at the guitars.

"They can hold my Hofner," Paul called back before he was leaving the studio with most of the others.

"Is he serious?" Julia asked her parents in shock.

"He is," Skye said, picking up the guitar in question. She walked over to the girl and was about to hand it to her when she held up her hand. Pausing, she watched Julia to see what she was going to do as everyone that had stayed in the studio was doing the same.

"Sorry," the girl said, wiping her hands carefully on the sides of her shirt. Julia let Skye put the guitar strap around her neck and she almost forgot to breathe before she looked up at her mother who was taking her picture. She smiled widely as she held the guitar neck and body carefully before she said to the investigator, "Have you ever held this?"

"I did, you never saw the picture I sent your mother?" Skye asked.

"I thought that was yours," Julia said in surprise.

"It wasn't," the investigator replied, shaking her head. "Go on and play."

"But-" Julia began.

"It's alright, just a few chords and then you might let your sister have a try," Paul said as he walked inside with a mug of tea.

"Are you sure it's okay? I have oils and stuff in my hands-" Julia began uncertainly.

"It's alright," Paul said slightly laughingly. "I have the same in my hands and it's still here."

Julia turned her attention to the neck of the guitar, making the A chord and strumming it slightly smiled up at her mother again for her pictures she was taking. When she finished, she was reluctant to give up the guitar but let her father take it, trying not to giggle at the way he held it reverently; like she thought she had done. But finally, he was helping Eliza with it and she did her best to help her sister form the chord she had while Beckett was taking pictures again.

"Can I wait for my da and mum to come back?" Erin said when Castle was taking the guitar over to her.

"We're here," Brennan said as everyone who'd stepped out of the studios was coming back inside. "Better start Erin so they can get on to the next song." When his daughter had the guitar he glanced at his cousin, seeing she was already bringing her camera up. He smiled and watched Julia trying to teach Erin the form the chord and then strumming at the same time.

"Very nice," Paul said with a smile to the little girl. "You've done very well, would any of you like to play with us?" he asked the three, smiling as they immediately started to giggle.

"Will you play it for the next song?" Julia asked when they'd calmed down. She watched the singer nod and then take back his guitar; as the twins and Fleur had held the guitar before; before her sister was going back with their dad to the seats and Erin went with her parents. She waited with her mother, wondering if she could take anymore pictures when Beckett turned her attention to her.

"Want to keep taking pictures?" she asked her oldest.

Shaking her head Julia replied, "You can, you're supposed to be the band's photographer."

"That's not a bad idea," Skye commented when Beckett glanced at her and the rest of the band.

"She's right, you could be," Jackie said.

"I think I already agreed to that," Beckett said. "And I hate to say it, but you need to get to your songs."

"She's right, Neil's going to be waiting at Heathrow in about three hours," Skye said after checking her watch.

"Then let's practice the next song," Paul said before he put on his Hofner.

"Playing them in?" Brennan asked interestedly as the singer was tuning the iconic guitar.

"You've never heard the song before?" Raj called.

"Not really," Brennan said, looking at the singer apologetically.

"Not to worry," Paul commented with a slight smile. "You're about to now." He began to play his bass, looking up at Skye in surprise as she was playing her light blue guitar with him as an almost echo.

Beckett paused in taking pictures, watching Skye for a moment before she glanced at her oldest. She smiled briefly at the expression on Julia's face at the way Skye was playing with Paul, stopping when the singer began to sing the song with the whole band joining him for the background vocals. She had to wonder what Paul would think of that, once the song ended, but was focused more on listening to the lyrics since it was a song she enjoyed.

Staring from a cardboard castle, down and outOne of life's young students finds out what it's all aboutPapers flutter, angry taxi-drivers shout

From the pages of a paper, candles shineOn a perfect table laid for two who love to dineThey suggest a highly recommended wineOnce again the same old line

Why so sad, my fine young friendWhy so blue?

Weary carriage horses standing in single fileSomeone at a crowded bus stop wears a friendly smileTouching nerves that no one's heard from in a whilePapers from the same old file

Why so sad, my fine young friendWhy so blue?

Sometimes when eyes meetYou know, they have to meet againSometimes birds of a featherGot to fly together, oh

From a dingy attic window, candles shineOn a perfect table laid for two who love to dineNow they drink the highly recommended wineFree at last and feeling fine

I'm so glad, my fine young friendGlad for youI'm so glad, my fine young friendGlad for you, you used to be so blueYou used to be so blueWhy so blue?

With Paul saying he was pleased with the performance of the song they recorded it quickly before they paused so they could all drink some water that was brought in for them.

"Alright, we'll sing together," Paul said, speaking to Skye and Mary. "You two have a good sound with each other."

"Thanks," Mary said, looking at her wife. "But she's taking the lead?"

"Actually, let's give the first verse a shot with the three of us," Paul said. "Sorry Julia but I thought we should sing together."

"Do that," the girl said. She shrugged and said, "They're not my songs."

"That's true," Paul said with a slight laugh. He turned to the two women and said, "We should just do that."

"We're ready," Barry said, sitting back behind the drums that had been in the studio.

"Then on the count of three Raj," Paul told the man behind the keyboard.

After Paul had counted, Julia waited eagerly for the three to begin singing, wondering what it would sound like as the original recording had him singing it with Linda and Denny Laine. She soon found out as they began with the first verse and she sucked in a breath of air as quietly as she could. She loved how it sounded already and knew that that was how the very last recording would go before the impromptu concert was finished and the album was completed.

Walking down the sidewalk on a purple afternoonI was accosted by a barker playing a simple tuneUpon his flute- toot toot toot toot

Silver rain was falling downUpon the dirty ground of London TownPeople pass me by on my imaginary streetOrdinary people it's impossible to meetHolding conversations that are always incompleteWell, I don't knowO, where are there places to goSomeone somewhere has to knowI don't know

Out of work again the actor entertains his wifeWith the same old stories of his ordinary lifeMaybe he exaggerates the trouble and the strifeWell, I don't knowOh, where are there places to goSomeone somewhere has to know

Crawling down the pavement on a Sunday afternoonI was arrested by a rozzer wearing a pink balloonAbout his foot- toot toot toot toot

Silver rain was falling downUpon the dirty ground of London Town

Someone somewhere has to knowSilver rain was falling downUpon the dirty ground of London Town

"Mom?" Julia asked as she stood next to the seats where her parents were.

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett asked, smiling up at her.

"I was wondering, what does the word rozzer mean?" Julia asked. "Do you know?"

"I do," Beckett replied. "It means a police officer."

"Oh… that's why Skye winked at you," Julia said in realization.

"That's why," Beckett replied with a smile. "So, did you have fun?"

"Yeah but… I'm so surprised," Julia said.

"How come?" Castle said, having her sit on his lap.

"I'm not too heavy?" Julia asked.

"Definitely not," Castle said firmly. "So why are you so surprised?"

"Well we went for 'lexis' graduation and then we were with Paul at Abbey Road," Julia said.

"It was a shock," Alexis said, stepping up to them.

"How're you doing?" Beckett asked her stepdaughter.

"I'm fine," Alexis replied with a smile as her grandmother had been asking that too. "I'll see him very soon and there's a lot I need to do."

"When will you move into the house if you get the one you go see?" Eliza asked, going over and taking her sister's hand.

"I'll have to see," Alexis replied slowly. "But Mary said we're almost back home."

"Have you looked in on Josie at all?" Beckett asked her.

"She's asleep," Alexis replied.

"And how's Fleur?" Castle asked.

"She's good, someone's been helping her," Alexis answered, looking down at her little sister.

"She's scared but I said it was cool 'cause her mom was flying," Eliza said. She frowned and said, "She wants Skye now."

"Understand-" Castle started to say before Skye herself came over the intercom of the plane they were in flying back to NYC from London.

"Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts," the investigator said. "We will be landing at JFK shortly."

"Come on," Castle said as he had Julia get up. He followed her back to where she'd been sitting with Marie and told the two, "Better listen to the pilot," before he watched them buckling their seatbelts.

"You have to too Dad," Julia said, smiling up at him.

"Smart aleck," Castle said though he was smiling too. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he went over to where his wife was, making sure Eliza was alright with Alexis.

"We're good," the young woman said. "And are we going straight home?"

"We are, your gram is ready to stay with us for the rest of the summer," Castle answered.

"Great," Alexis replied with a nod.

"Did you miss home?" Eliza asked her sister.

"Of course," Alexis replied before Skye was announcing they were cleared for landing. "And now I'm finally back after five hours." She smiled when her sister giggled before they looked out the window, finding the city getting nearer and nearer as they made their descent.

"Kate," Castle said to his wife as he entered their room. "We need some chicken for dinner. And some other things so I'll head over to the market."

Beckett was about to answer when she heard a knock on the wall outside their door and she looked over to see Alexis was there with her sisters. "You got tired of playing with them?" she asked the young woman with a smile.

"Oh no, they wanted to follow Dad," Alexis replied. "And you can both go to the market."

"Yeah," Eliza said quickly.

"I don't have to," Beckett said wryly.

"Are you still unpacking?" Alexis asked her.

"Now you're starting?" Beckett said jokingly. She sighed and said, "I finished getting everything out of the suitcase… alright. We need more than chicken, so I might as well make a list and go with you."

"Don't force yourself," Castle said.

Glancing at him Beckett said, "I'm worried about-" before she was cut off by Josie beginning to whimper. "I don't need to anymore," she said in amusement.

"Come down to the kitchen," Castle said while they watched her taking the baby from Alexis. "And catch if I've forgotten anything."

"Sure," Beckett said though she was already going out the door since Josie was crying. She hurried down the stairs and at the kitchen table she sat down and opened her blouse before she proceeded to nurse the baby. "I know we're going to need milk," she said as her husband and the rest of their daughters appeared soon after with the dogs trailing behind.

"Do they have food?" Eliza asked, standing next to her mother and taking Josie's hand that had been pressed to Beckett's chest.

"Why don't you and Julia check?" Castle asked.

Beckett looked on while Eliza kissed the back of her sister's hand, smiling when the little girl rushed away with Julia. "Don't run please," she said, shaking her head. "And we'll need lunches and dinners love," she said, turning her attention to her husband.

"I figure we can save that for last," Castle replied. He was looking in the fridge and said, "How about some watermelon tonight?"

"Sounds good," Alexis said. "Mind if I use some to make popsicles?"

"Good idea," Castle said absently, looking at the vegetables they had. "Alright, I see what we need," he told the two, typing in those items on his phone. "So next is dinners."

"And lunches," Beckett said a little absently as she was switching Josie.

"Can you get her a towel?" Castle asked his daughter quietly.

"Sure," Alexis said, going over to the closet near their office. She glanced back at them while she opened the door, smiling to see her father leaning over to kiss the back of Josie's head and then his wife on the lips before she turned her attention to the towels that were there for the baby so she could grab one. She was hurrying as the girls were coming back from the garage and she wanted to join them.

"They have food," Julia said.

Studying her for a moment Castle said to the girl, "You gave them a treat too."

"We wanted to say we were happy we were home with them," Eliza explained with a smile.

"Yeah and it was the ones for their teeth," Julia said.

"Okay," Castle replied. "You'll help your sister with Josie, right?"

"She's probably going to sleep love," Beckett said, looking down at the baby. She turned her attention to him and said, "What about our meals?"

"I was thinking tomorrow-" Castle began.

"Monday," Beckett said.

Smiling at his wife, as the next day was Father's Day, Castle said, "Going ahead to Monday then. I was thinking of sandwiches or any day of the week, some breakfast for lunch and then chicken parmesan with spaghetti."

"Make that a dinner," Beckett said as Josie was finishing. She reached out to Alexis for the towel she held but watched with slight surprise when her stepdaughter slung it over her own shoulder. "You don't mind," she stated.

"It's not that hard to do and I do love to hold my sister," Alexis said with a smile as she knew her stepmother was teasing her.

"Did you do that for me?" Eliza asked.

"I did," Alexis said while she was patting the baby's back gently.

"Love?" Castle asked to get her attention. "Any suggestions?"

"Some Swedish meatballs," Beckett said while she swiftly buttoned her blouse. "Some salmon with rice and chow mein, empanadas." She had to pause there as the girls gasped in delight, making her smile, before she said, "And maybe some fondue a couple nights."

"Okay, that should be good," Castle said. "We'll be back," he said as he and Beckett stood. He went to Alexis and kissed the back of the baby's head before telling his oldest, "Call if there's any trouble."

"I think that was a given Rick," Beckett said, going to the baby and kissing the back of her head as well. "Wait until we're back to let them go outside."

"I will, we'll be fine," Alexis assured them with a smile before she watched them go. Once they were out of the house she turned to her sisters and said, "Time to play," laughing softly as she watched them run off to the family room while they cheered. She followed, Josie still against her shoulder, getting ready to play with her two sisters as their little sister slept.

"Do I have time to write in my diary?" Julia asked as she was yawning widely.

"You do," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband looked to her to answer that.

"Maybe we shouldn't do anything tomorrow," Castle said to her.

"No Dad! It's Father's Day!" Julia told him.

"She's right Rick," Beckett said with a smile. She turned to their oldest and told her, "We might be a little later starting but that's okay."

"Will Grandpapa and Gram be okay?" Julia asked in concern.

"They will be," Beckett assured her.

"It was a little too much for them, especially with the time difference," Castle added. "That's why they took a nap as soon as we came home."

Julia nodded before she asked, "Should I start?" When her mother motioned to her desk she smiled and went over to it, taking out her diary, pen and ink. When her pen was ready she began to write, starting with the date and yawning slightly again.

June 20 th , 2020I'm back diary! I went to England and I didn't take you since it wasn't for very long. Not even a full day really. But it was for something really fun and that was Alexis' graduation.

College graduation which is so much bigger than mine and Lizzy's of course. So big that she wore real robes. Not like the robes she wore when she graduated from high school that Lizzy and I saw before, but robes like Harry Potter robes. There were even different ones! Well, they weren't different houses but what major, or degree like Dad said, the person had they were getting the degree for. I saw some with blue… wait let me make a list that way I can remember better and then ask Mom and Dad what they were.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked when Julia turned to her and Castle abruptly.

"If I ask you about the robes I saw," the girl began. "Would you know what major they had?"

"I can look it up," Castle said, getting his phone from his pocket.

"You're writing that down?" Beckett asked their oldest with a smile.

"The ones I remember," Julia asked.

"Hopefully you remember your sister's," Castle commented.

Julia just glanced at her father from the corner of her eye before she looked back to her diary to prepare her list.

Okay, had to remember in my head but here they are:

A black robe with blue and red around the neck and shoulders- that was 'lexis' for Clinical Pscology

"How do you spell psychology?" Julia asked her parents.

"P-s-y-c-h-o-l-o-g-y," Beckett answered first.

"Thanks," Julia said quickly as she turned her attention back to her diary.

Psychology

One that was black too with green and then a cream color- that was Louis' for Vet Sciences… well it has a different name but the letters that go next to his name will be DVM, I think it's Latin. Dad knew how to say it.

Another black robe with gold and white on top

Black with a color that looked like a light tan

Red with blue (that one was right before 'lexis went down the aisle)

And the last one I can remember is a light purple with I hope fake fur. Oh! And that makes me remember one with blue surrounded with fake fur. And that's it. So now I have to ask Mom and Dad what those were for, I'll write it down next to the colors.

"What was the gold and white?" Julia asked.

"They were the linings for the robes," Castle said absently as he was looking at his phone. "That's the Master of Fine Art."

Writing that down next to the colors she had noted, Julia asked, "Black with something like a tan color?"

Looking at his phone again; while his wife was leaning against him to watch as well; Castle said, "I think the color is sand and I like this one, it's for Master of English."

Julia laughed softly and nodded, as she wasn't surprised her father had said that, before she wrote it down and asked, "What about red with blue that was right before 'lexis? The robe was red."

"Doctor of Philosophy," Castle replied as he found that quickly. "Next?"

"Hold on, let me write it down Dad," Julia said with a smile. After she'd done so she said, "What about purple with the fake fur."

Castle was about to speak when his wife grabbed his arm and he paused, knowing that she didn't want him talking about the fact that it was rabbit fur. So he said, "Do you mean light purple?"

"Yeah," Julia said, wondering about their exchange though she guessed it was because she had said the wrong color.

"That's for Bachelor of Music," Castle replied.

Scribbling quickly next to her last line Julia asked, "What about the blue with that fake fur?"

"It's for either the Magister Juris," Beckett began since that was one of the ones she knew. "Which is for studying law. And for Bachelors of Civil Law, Medicine and Surgery."

"Oh… all of them have to wear the same one?" Julia asked before she turned her attention to writing it down.

"They do but I don't think they'd mind," Beckett said with a smile. "It's more that they're able to graduate. Are you finished?"

"No," Julia replied, shaking her head. "I'm just gonna write really fast about what we did after." She was relieved when her parents nodded, and she went back to her entry.

So those robes were really cool. But I can't talk about the whole ceremony 'cause it was long. But 'lexis left with black robes and then she came back in with the ones I talked about. Oh, all those colors were on the edge of the hood the robes had.

When we went outside 'lexis met us and we said hello again; Grandpapa, Lizzy and Josa went to a garden close by to wait 'cause Lizzy and Josa were too little to go to the theater (that was really pretty). I forgot to say before 'lexis went with the other students at the start her mother came over to us and her mother's husband. I could tell she didn't like Josa 'cause she just looked at her super fast; didn't even look at Mom but that's not a surprise. And she didn't stay for long, then or after we got back outside. We went back to the hotel and saw Erin and Louis again, they were happy and so were we.

I forgot something else, now 'lexis is Dr. Castle, but she kept saying to call her 'lexis, especially me and Lizzy (and Josa when she can talk).

We left on the train for London and I didn't know what we were gonna do at all, but we went in a taxi to Abbey Road. I thought we were gonna walk to the crossing even though we did that already but then Skye, Mary, the twins and Fleur came up to us with three other people. They were the rest of the band! The Rambling O'Dells so I got to meet a band! I met them and they're really nice, Raj really is from India. And then we went inside and Paul was there, meeting us! He wanted to make a little album of a live performance and the rest of us were the audience. Oh and his daughter Stella, she was really nice and she talked to Mom about being a model even though Mom wasn't one for that long.

The little concert was so cool, Mom took pictures while they were practicing and playing, and she let me take some too! But we don't know what he's gonna do with those. But I almost forgot, I got to pick the songs! And they did them, it was so cool, and Skye got to sing some on her own. And then Paul let me hold his Hofner Bass and I even got to play it a little too! After that we had to go back to the airport and the plane we had to ourselves.

It was really nice to get back to the house to get to see the dogs, but the best part is that AJ and EJ are back together! 'lexis is here until… I guess until she and Louis move to where they're gonna live together. But that's okay, hopefully she'll be really close! So I gotta stop now, I'm super tired and I keep yawning. It was the best day though and I'm very happy.

Gently taking the pen out of her daughter's hand, Beckett got it emptied of the rest of the ink in there before she cleaned it. She wasn't surprised when; as she closed the ink bottle and the diary; that Julia fell asleep in Castle's arms as he picked her up. They went together to the bed, knowing their daughter knew they loved her as they began to tuck her in.

"Since we're still doing something tomorrow," Castle commented as he walked around the bed once he'd brushed his teeth. "Can I have a clue?""You realize we're leaving the decision of what we do up to you right?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"Yeah but…" Castle said before he trailed off.

"You want to go golfing?" Beckett asked, studying him.

"It's Father's Day, I want to be with the girls," Castle replied. "And you of course."

"Of course," Beckett replied. "But you don't need to choose now Rick, you have tomorrow."

Shrugging Castle said, "Can I ask for something that's not where we go?"

"Okay," Beckett said, slightly confused.

"I'd like to go out to breakfast because I'm not the only father here," Castle replied.

"I was going to suggest that but tomorrow once we were up," Beckett replied with a smile. "But you two need to decide where we go."

"Sure," Castle said. He told her with a smile, "I'm tired."

"Me too," Beckett replied. She said, "There's tomorrow night." She raised her hand as soon as her husband opened his mouth and told him, "Don't say I don't owe you that. I don't care what day it is I just want my husband."

"Great, I want my wife so maybe we'll both get lucky with them," Castle said. He smiled when his wife rolled her eyes and then stood up to take off his robe. He was about to toss it to the table behind the headboard when he paused.

"You do realize that I'm going to give the decisions to you tomorrow night," Beckett pointed out to him as she was watching him.

"Yeah… it's been a while," Castle commented absently. He tossed his robe over to one of the armchairs instead and climbed over his wife to get on his side before he tucked his legs underneath the sheet. "What're you looking at?" he asked as she had her tablet in her hands.

"These," Beckett said, showing him the pictures she had open.

"That was interesting," Castle said, as they were the ones they'd taken with Alexis after the ceremony. "I'm really glad she wanted to take a picture with us both."

"Me too," Beckett said. "But what I wanted to tell you is that I want to get this one printed out for our room," she told him as she opened the picture of their four daughters together.

Castle turned his head and pressed his lips to the side of her head, telling her, "Bhufuil tú máthair bródúil," which meant she was a proud mother.

"Tá tú ag athair bródúil," Beckett replied, letting him know that he'd been a proud father. "You know," she said, switching back to English. "I couldn't help feel like I'd raised her with you and we were seeing the results of years of education together."

"I felt the same way," Castle replied, nodding his head. He smiled and said, "I get the feeling Alexis felt the same; you were approving of her going to Oxford. And not so she would get out of your hair."

Giving her husband a look Beckett told him, "You realize she knows how I feel about her."

"Sure," Castle said before he was laughing when she playfully shoved him aside. "I hope she didn't mind we didn't give her any gifts."

With another look Beckett reminded her husband, "She knows the townhouse… or whatever they get, is going to be from us." She thought for a moment and said, "What if she wanted a house over in the west part of town?"

"She told you about those?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded her head, he said, "I guess she likes a cozier home."

"They're a step below ours," Beckett told him with a roll of her eyes. "Just one less bedroom and bath."

"True," Castle said. "I should get some listings and plant them in front of her. The closer the better."

"Oh no, not yet," Beckett said, grabbing her husband by the arm and pulling him to her. Before he could react in any way she had wrapped her arms around his neck and they began to kiss deeply. She cried out into his mouth when he pulled her onto his lap but was quick to recover. Unfortunately she needed to breathe shortly after, so she pulled away telling him, "You know I could use a little of this."

"Heavy petting?" Castle asked.

"Petting what?" Beckett asked in amusement.

Castle opened his mouth before he recalled he was a little limited and he pretended to grumble as his wife laughed softly. "When you're set with those," he said, nodding to her breasts. "I'm going to pet and suck until my mouth is sore."