200. Chapter 200

Chapter 200

"Rick, you didn't have to get up this early," Kate said, entering the room in her dress uniform. He was preparing her coffee and had a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on the breakfast bar waiting for her. "But it looks good. Thank you."

"Change of command is at ten?"

"Yep."

"I got an email from London yesterday…Gina, still reminding me of my deadlines until they find somebody here to replace her…somebody I'm satisfied to work with," Castle told her. "I might need to pass on this change of command. I could probably be there by ten, but you said this would be short; and now that you're back at work and the children are back in school, I need to get myself on some kind of schedule again. I took advantage of having you here full time and enjoying Christmas and the whole family at home, and I'm a little bit behind. I'm sure I'll still procrastinate, but I can make a noble effort."

"You've had more reason for distraction and have done less procrastinating this year, though. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, m'Love." He brought his plate. slid onto the barstool next to hers, and kissed her head. "You said this precinct isn't as bad as the last one?"

I retain my status as a captain, but it's understood that I'm training an intern and won't be there more than six months. And no. This precinct doesn't have the kind of problems the last one had."

"That's a relief."

"It just wasn't handled as well as some of the others. Another old school captain who wasn't into numbers or a lot of extra effort, but he took care of his people. He didn't reach out far to the community, but he didn't entirely ignore them either. That sort of thing."

"So kind of like leaving the car in neutral…it still runs but doesn't get anywhere more interesting."

"I guess that's about it. I'm more annoyed at having to work with the arrogant son of an arrogant former captain…

"Castle chuckled and said, "I really thought that phrase was going somewhere else. Thought you might owe the swear jar if one of the kids walked in."

"Well you wouldn't be far off. When Lieutenant Schroder started answering the interview questions, even if it was something I asked, he would answer facing one of the men and every now and then he'd look over at me and wink…like 'Did you see how God's gift here answered that question so well?' I finally asked him if he had a problem with his eye, and he stopped. They gave him to me as an intern because his dad and his dad's good friend, the commissioner, want him to be a captain. So I'm supposed to work with Lieutenant Schroder and do what I can to remold the son of an arrogant former captain." She gave him one of her mischievous smiles, and he laughed.

"New euphemism to avoid the swear jar?" Castle asked with a smirk. "Don't forget to take your little office sized coffee set-up so you have caffeine close by to help.

"Don't worry about not being there this morning. You've seen enough of these things. And thank you for breakfast. Is there enough coffee left for a travel mug…without depriving you?"

"I can make more. I'll be here most of the day. Give me a minute." He got out one of their travel mugs and filled it for her, adding the flavoring.

"I may not have to leave this early every day, but I need to gauge the travel time this week to see. Picking up the tote bag with the caffeine equipment and supplies, and her purse, she said, "I love you, Writer-Man." After a soft, slow kiss, she lifted the travel mug and said, "Thanks for this. I'll miss you."

"The Little Castle babies and I will pick you up for dinner and see your new digs."

"Then I'll take a taxi this morning. See you around five."

xxxxx

Beckett arrived early enough to set up her little espresso machine and her coffee supplies and treat Captain Bridger to a good cup of coffee before his exit. They had a conversation about his plans for retirement and he gave her a few helpful comments about the precinct and personnel, things he hadn't thought to mention when she spent part of a day visiting during the week after Christmas.

Her intern arrived barely before ten, and Captain Bridger remarked that captains generally try to arrive before the assembly called for them has already assembled. "Just a note for the future, Lieutenant."

Lieutenant Schroder bristled slightly but forced out a, "Yes, Sir." Then he turned to Beckett and asked "How long have you been here?"

"Almost an hour," Bridger answered for her. "We've had coffee, a nice conversation about my retirement, for which she had great patience; and I've had time to give her some insight into the precinct and some things to watch for…in addition to what she learned when she came by last week."

"Last week?"

"I sent a text to let you know you were welcome to be here, too. Didn't you get it?" Beckett asked.

"Oh… I…um…had a schedule conflict."

Deputy Chief Alvarez wasn't far away during the conversation, and came to tell them, "We're ready to start when you are."

"Lieutenant Schroder, you'll stand over here next to Captain Beckett," Alvarez began.

"Do I need to do anything else?" Schroder asked.

The retiring captain harrumphed and said, "That's the reason for being here a little early, boy. We already got these instructions."

The ceremony was brief, After Bridger was introduced and spoke to his precinct, Beckett and her intern were introduced. She said as few words as necessary, and then Alvarez took a few minutes to speak about Bridger's loyalty and long service to the city and to offer his hope that he would have a long and happy retirement.

Former Captain Schroder walked to the podium as Alvarez was speaking to Bridger afterward and interrupted with, "My son is a candidate for Captain and practically assured of the job. I don't see why he's here as an intern."

"Because we thought he might still have some things to learn," Alvarez answered.

"Like what? I'm perfectly capable of mentoring my own son."

"Arrogant as ever, aren't you Schroder," Bridger asked. "I can say that to your face now. We all used to say it behind your back to keep the peace, but now I'm officially retired, too. From the little bit I've seen of your boy here, you've definitely mentored him in how to be arrogant. Maybe they need him to learn to listen to somebody besides himself."

The former captain did not look pleased as Bridger waved to his former staff and walked out of the precinct.

"The precinct is yours, Captain Beckett. I'm sure you'll handle it well," Alvarez said.

"Are you ready, Lieutenant?" she asked. "It's time to meet the people we have to depend on to get the job done."

Former Captain Schroder shook his head as if disgusted, and left.

Beckett made her way through all the various units of the precinct, meeting the detectives and whatever officers were on the floor as she usually did. She encouraged Schroder to be involved, even though he let it be known that he didn't see a reason for it. When she asked questions, they were framed in a way that asked for a report of what had been done and where they were before asking anything else or offering suggestions. When Schroder asked, it was a near insult, since he questioned if they had already done things basic to any investigation or told them that's where they should start. She spoke to him about it later in her office, after making both of them coffee; and he saw nothing wrong with what he had done.

"Let's walk to the homicide floor for a minute or two. She stood at the outskirts of the bullpen and observed. How many of their names can you remember?"

"The redhead over there is Detective Rainer. "

"And how did you remember that?"

"She flirted with me," he answered, looking pleased with himself.

"You're two ranks her senior. Be careful of that. Anybody else? Any of the cases we looked at?"

"No. It all ran together after a while."

Beckett named several detectives and the cases they were working on.

"How do you know that already?"

"I was paying attention, and I took notes…and I wasn't flirting with anybody. The names are the ones who represented their teams in reporting on their cases, and the cases are the newer ones I want to follow. The other investigations are well established and progressing. Going into a new precinct is like going into a new investigation. You need both eyes and both ears open so you don't miss a vital piece of information that may be important later on. It helps you meet the people who work for you, and it helps keep you up to date on possible problems."

He answered as if he'd heard nothing she had said. "I don't see why you need to ask about all the cases. They're going to send you their files when they're done anyway."

On Friday, after a week of Lieutenant Schroder's questioning of the necessity of everything she did and his not making much effort to work with it, Alvarez didn't have to say much to loosen Beckett's tongue after he asked about the lieutenant's progress.

"I know he's the commissioner's political choice, Sir; but unless his attitude changes, I'm not sure I can help him."

"Let me talk to him on Monday. You'll have a day free of him."

"I'll look for him on Tuesday, then.

On Tuesday, Alvarez was at the precinct with a woman who appeared to be about Beckett's age. He asked her to wait for him while he spoke to Beckett, then he went to her office and closed the door behind him as Beckett stood to greet him.

He put a file on the corner of Beckett's desk and sat down. "The woman with me is the one we wanted to have intern with you. I won't ask for confirmation of my suspicions, but I suspect you may be relieved to know that she will be replacing Lieutenant Schroder. And she's happy to be given the opportunity."

"Thank you for not asking," Beckett answered. "What happened with Schroder?"

"Well, you know what was going on here. The chief and I scheduled a meeting with him on Monday, but before we had completed the meeting, his father was there demanding to know what was going on, complaining, and still insisting his son should not be expected to intern. The chief sent both of them to wait outside his office and called the commissioner. You may not have seen much of the commissioner, but he's fully aware of the results in the precincts you've commanded, and he's a man who likes good results. Chief Dawson told Commissioner Tragle what we had done to give his candidate a chance to learn from you. Then he told him how Schroder, the younger, had argued every step of the way and how Schroder, the elder crashed the meeting with his son arguing again against his son having to be involved in the internship, and this time questioning your methods, undermining you and us in his son's eyes. Then the chief said, and I quote, 'Neither father nor son seem interested in working with Beckett. We need captains who can think for themselves and see beyond the ends of their own noses, and I'm not seeing that in this case. And in all the years I've been doing this, it's the first time I've ever had a prospective captain's father come into my office to help him fight his battle to be entitled. What will he do if a crisis arises, call his daddy to come in and fix it?'"

"Well, that's a surprise," Beckett answered.

"I admire your professional self-restraint, Beckett. You're not dancing around your office yet." He chuckled and finished with, "Long story short, Commissioner Tragle seemed surprised at the situation and apologized for sending us this problem. He said he would explain to them the reason there would not be a new Captain Schroder this year and what would need to change before there might be. Lieutenant Felicity Lorraine Wright will be your new intern, and I'd bet both of you will be happy with that."

"Well, I guess I should invite her in and get started."

"And I'll get back to my office and get out of the way." Tapping the file he left on her desk, he said, "I'm pretty sure you remember her file, but here's your copy just in case."

Both of them stood and went to the door, and Beckett walked over to Lieutenant Wright, who stood to meet her, and shook her hand when Alvarez introduced her. He immediately left to get back to his own business for the day."

"Come in and let's sit down and get started. Would you like some coffee?"

"I'd love that. I'll admit I'm a little nervous."

xxxxx

"I sense a better mood," Castle noted when his wife came home that evening.

"The son of an arrogant captain is gone," she answered with a big smile. "My new intern is Lieutenant Felicity Lorraine Wright…Lori Wright. Even her name sounds happier. She's open and enthusiastic, and ready to work. So, yeah. Better mood." She planted a big, celebratory kiss on his lips.

"How did that happen?" he asked, and she told him the story.

Then the children came to welcome her home and took over her attention for a while.

xxxxx

By the end of that week, Lieutenant Wright was absorbing information like a sponge, asking good questions, and engaging with the detectives and officers. A decided improvement from the last intern, for both Beckett and the pool of candidates for captain.

On Friday afternoon when they were leaving the precinct for the weekend, Beckett told her, "You're doing well, Wright. Does what we're doing make sense so far?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I like that you give me the reasons for the way you're doing things. To be honest, I've followed your career and what you've been through. I'd hoped to be able to work with you sometime in my career, and this was more than I'd imagined. But you don't wear your success like some people do."

"I just do my job the best I know how. It doesn't help to get caught up in self-importance." Beckett stopped to speak to the desk sergeant. "'Night, Haines. I'm going home. Anything I need to know before the weekend?"

"No, Ma'am. You're free and clear."

"Okay. You know how to find me."

"Night, Carpenter," she said to the security officer as they walked out the door.

"How long have you been here?" Wright asked.

"A couple of weeks."

"You know a lot of people by name already. I've noticed when we walk into one of the bullpens."

"It's worth the effort to learn them. I try to add a few more each day. People feel more important when they're recognized by name. It's good for morale, which usually improves the work. Beyond that, I always like knowing who I'm working with."

Wright nodded her understanding and said, "Have a good weekend."

"You, too."

xxxxx

On Saturday morning, as the family was eating breakfast, Jo asked, "Can we go on another adventure?"

"Yeah. Can we?" Jamie was obviously in agreement.

"What do you think, Kate?" Castle asked.

"I think it sounds like fun. It might be a little cold, but it's supposed to be sunny and mild today. If it gets too cold, we can always come back home. We can't go out of town, though."

"Then we can have a city adventure. We haven't done that in a while. Mommy and I will decide on a good place to start, and we'll get dressed and go; so you need to get dressed in jeans and warm shirts while we decide." Both children started to leave the table. "After you finish your breakfast," their father reminded them. "Then you get dressed."

"Oh, yeah," Jamie said with a sheepish little grin, and they both came back and scarfed down the rest of what was on their plates. "Adventure Day!" Jamie called out as he ran for the stairs.

Jo quickly finished the last of her milk and echoed the call, following her brother up to their rooms.

"You think they're excited about this?" Castle asked, both parents laughing.

"I can see you doing that when you were a boy."

"Guilty. I won't even argue. You still see me do that, don't you?"

"I wasn't going to mention it, but yeah. Part of your charm. It just looks so cute when I imagine you at Jamie's age."

"So where should we start?"

"The Village? They'd love Washington Square Park, and I think a big playground is open there now. Some of the street performers might even still be out in the cold. I don't think we've ever taken them there, have we?"

"I don't think so. Let's get dressed before they're back down here telling us to hurry up."

When everybody was ready, Castle said excitedly, "Adventure Day!" and everybody answered with the same energy as they left the loft. The doorman hailed a cab for them, and they started in the open part of Washington Square Park near the Arch.

"That's big," Jo said, looking up at it.

"Come over here," Kate called from a little distance away. Let's get a selfie of all of us and the arch."

The phone was moved around until all of them and a recognizable portion of the arch was in the picture. At that point, they all smiled and then checked the picture.

"There's a man on a bike with only one wheel," Jo said, pointing across the square. "How does he do that?"

"I don't know, Honey. It's called a unicycle. I tried one once, and I still haven't figured out somebody balances on one of those things. Want to go watch?"

"Yeah," Jamie answered for the two of them, and both children were on the move.

Then they found the tempting looking fountain and were promised a trip back to the park in the summer when it would be warm enough to take advantage of being allowed to wade in it. There was a folk singer with a guitar, and she was playing a short set of children's songs and encouraging the children listening to her to sing along. After singing several songs with the group, Jamie spotted the large playground. The parents found a bench and watched their kids climb and run and investigate what was there and didn't rush them. Now and then one of them would intervene when one of the children got too far away or was doing something that called for a little more caution, but mostly they watched and held hands and talked while they allowed their children to enjoy being children.

"This was a great idea," Castle said. "It's nice to just let them play. I'm glad we had a second child so they have each other for company. That's something you and I never had…or Alexis. I love seeing them playing together like this."

"Me, too. All of the above. They argue like any other brother and sister, but they also worry about each other and try to take care of each other. It balances out…most days."

Castle huffed a little laugh. "Yeah. We'll see whose sand castle gets squashed by an annoyed sibling first this summer. You know it's gonna happen."

"And there will be other opportunities for mischief between now and then. Let's just enjoy right now. If they're going to use this much energy for much longer, we're going to have to feed them before long."

"Why don't we let them tell us when they're hungry? I'm gonna go to the little stand over there and get us some water. Then I'll come back, put my arm around your shoulders, and enjoy keeping my wife warm and watching our children playing together."

Their offspring finally wore themselves out enough to tell their parents they were hungry. Kate handed each of them a big wet wipe for their hands, and Castle gave each of them a bottle of water. Then they went on a lunch hunt, allowing the children to be part of the discussion about the little restaurants available. They finally decided on one and asked the cashier what was close by for children. There was a children's museum where they filled the rest of their afternoon before it started getting colder outside. At that point, they hailed another taxi and went home, everybody smiling.

That night when the children were in bed, Castle handed his wife a glass of their favorite red wine and asked, "Shall we have another adventure?" and she smiled and easily agreed. They leisurely finished their wine, and Castle put the glasses on the counter and took his wife's hand. Then just as enthusiastically as that morning, but at half the volume to avoid waking the children, he declared, "Adventure Time!" and pulled her into the bedroom with him.

xxxxx

Beckett didn't have quite as much work to do in community outreach as she did in the last two precincts. Captain Bridger's connection with community leaders was cordial but not particularly involved. She and Wright and the community outreach sergeant, went to work right away, setting up meetings and talking to people…doing all the things she had done before.

Three months into her stay at the Queens precinct, Lieutenant Wright was looking like excellent captain material, and the work at the precinct was seeing an uptick in completed cases. Inspector Auerbach and the Deputy Inspector who served that precinct came to check on progress for both the precinct and Lieutenant Wright. They met with Beckett and then met Wright and observed for a while. Then Auerbach asked to see Beckett before he left. I hope Wright is doing well enough that you take on another intern." he stated.

"Is Schroder coming back?"

"No. But we've been questioned about the other political 'suggestation'."

"Oh. The other man didn't look like he'd be hard to work with. He just didn't seem to have much confidence. I didn't see or hear much that looked like leadership material."

"This is the nephew of one of the bureau chiefs. Dawson has spoken to him about having him intern with you, and his response was the total opposite of former Captain Schroder's. Your new guy is going to be here on Monday. We didn't intend for you to have to handle two interns, but we're caught between a rock and a hard place."

"We'll manage. I'll look for him on Monday. This one is Lieutenant Cannady, right?"

"Good memory." He handed her Cannady's file. "I hope it goes better than with Schroder."

"'Morning, Cannady. It's good to see you again," she said when he reported in on Monday morning. "Have a seat. Let's talk before I show you around. Why don't we start with why you want to be a captain."

"I have to admit that my uncle talked me into taking the exam. I'm not entirely certain I should be here."

"Well, we'll get you started anyway. If you do well, you don't have to accept a command offer if you decide you don't want it. But if you're prepared, you'll have the option if you do."

"That's reasonable," he answered with a smile.

Cannady was a quiet sort, a little shy; but he was bright and willing, so she worked with that. According to his file, he had been a very good lead detective. He went to the community meetings, and though he wasn't as outgoing as Wright, he participated and seemed to enjoy the interactions. Cannady listened and learned to sharpen his skills, and he was building a good rapport with the detectives and officers…earning respect through his efforts and gaining confidence with the growing respect. The two interns worked well together, both learning the necessity for discipline when the need arose, and how to handle it…and of course, how to handle the endless supply of paperwork. By the time Beckett's six months were over, the precinct was working at a noticeably higher level, and the NYPD had a politically placed prospect for captain who was much better prepared for the job than anyone expected, including himself, and another highly capable woman who would undoubtedly handle a command well.

xxxxx

On the last day of her six months, Castle and their children met Kate at the precinct, bags packed and in the car for a week and a half at the beach house, and a burger and shake from Remy's for Kate to eat as they drove. They had already eaten and were ready to take Mommy to the beach with them. She had worn clothes that day that looked professional enough to pass but would survive a dousing in the ocean, and they ran in the house, took off their shoes, and went out the back door and down to the water. Other family members visited during the time they were there, and babysat to give Kate and Rick a couple of evenings out for dinner on their own or their beloved walks on the beach.

The children both enjoyed having Mommy at the beach with them, and they were also excited about being in a plane to go on Castle's next European book tour with him. They were leaving for London five days after they left the beach…a tight schedule, but they had planned ahead to be ready for it. Jamie had a passport from their last European tour, and Jo had one now, too.

During the week at the beach, they read books about travelling, books about the different countries they would see, and talked about the different languages spoken there. Jo was almost six, and Jamie was halfway between eight and nine, so both of them would remember a lot of what they would see and do for most of their lives. And Bentley had promised they would arrange time to let his niece and nephews show them some of their favorite places in London. They were excited about seeing the Keane children again, too.

xxxxx

The day they arrived back at the loft, Castle answered a phone call from Paula and told Kate, "Paula is coming over to take care of last minute details and make sure we're going to be ready for Europe on time."

"We're going to knock her socks off we're so ready. The kids have even decided on what toys to take. I'll never forget Jamie insisting on pulling his little dinosaur suitcase himself like Daddy. He was so cute. I wonder how it will work out this time."

"How it will work is that we tell them if they want to have some of their toys with them at the hotels, they have to be responsible for their own toy suitcases. Otherwise, they can give the toys to some other kid who might want them and not have to worry about a suitcase. We already have all the luggage we can manage. Those suitcases aren't all that big, and if we're creating little world travelers, they have to learn about luggage, too."

"That was very daddy-like."

"Are you telling me Mommy wouldn't tell them the same thing?"

"I probably would. I can't believe Jo is almost six and we haven't had her on a plane yet. That's because of my work, isn't it? I'm sorry."

"Did I or did I not agree to that? But we're in the free zone right now and about to enjoy it. Maybe one day soon we'll talk about how much longer we divide the year?" he said tentatively.

"After the book tour, or maybe on the book tour. Let's just enjoy Europe as much as you can between book signings. This is about your job now."

"I have a surprise for Jamie."

"What kind of surprise?"

"The big party is in Paris this year, and the kids are going to the party with us again. It's black tie. My tailor took his measurements when we had his new suit altered for the wedding. I gave them to John, and he's pulled a couple of tuxedos for Jamie to try on at The Haberdashery tomorrow morning. My tailor has already altered my tux to accommodate the weight I've lost. I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow morning, and he's promised to have Jamie's tailored for him before we leave."

"Your tailor knows a good future customer when he sees one."

"I thought I'd take him for a father/son lunch after we leave the tailor's. We'll need to dress both our children for a formal party. I'm still not willing to leave them with babysitters we don't know."

"Me, either." She kissed his cheek and smiled up at him. "Jamie's going to love it. I can't wait to see him in a tux."

"And I thought we could get Jo a long, formal looking dress while we're in Europe...one for you, too. And you can take her for a mani/pedi the day of the party. Have a girl day."

"Jo and I will be happy to go dress shopping and have a girl day. I've told you that you can spoil us a little bit while we're gone."

"And I plan to take full advantage," he answered, leaving a kiss on her forehead. "Be right back. I just had an idea for Nikki and Rook, and I need to write it down."

"Go, Writer-Man. Keep them alive long enough for another book."

He chuckled on his way to the study.

Paula was at the door an hour later. "Come on in, Paula. I'll let Rick know you're here. He went to write down an idea for Nikki and Rook right after you called, and he never came back."

Then "Hi, Miss Paula!" was heard at the top of the stairs, followed by the sound of two sets of little feet as the children came down to give her hugs.

"You drag your husband away from his laptop…which I wouldn't do if we had more time. I'll be collecting Munchkin hugs. "

"You're getting soft, Miss Paula," Kate teased as she went to get Rick.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever," Paula answered good naturedly. "Hi, Guys." She stooped down to meet the little Castles at their level and talked to them as they hugged her.

"Hey, Paula," Rick said. "What do we need to do this morning?"

"I have to talk business with your mom and dad for a little while. Why don't you two decide on a book I can read you before I have to go? Just one. I don't have much time this morning."

Both little Castles charged back up the stairs to check their bookshelves, and Paula picked up her bag, taking out some papers and moving to the dining table where they usually did this sort of thing. "I have all the finalized plans. We know you wanted time with the entire family like the last time, and it's all here. I need you to look at it carefully and be sure we haven't missed anything. We can still make very minor adjustments, but it's too late to make major changes."

Both Castles looked over the schedule carefully, knowing what they were looking for, and agreed that they were satisfied. They did the same with the travel and hotel accommodations, briefly discussed a few other things, and verified the time they would leave.

Paula left copies of the information for the Castles and turned to find the children waiting for her on the sofa. She smiled and told the parents, "I'm going to sit with your children for a few minutes and go. Do whatever you need to do. I can see myself out."

As she read, Rick and Kate went into the study. He wanted her opinion on part of what he had written earlier.

When Paula was ready to leave, Jamie went to let his parents know and came back saying "They were kissing again."

"Hey," Castle defended. "That isn't all we did. We started out with Kate legitimately giving me an opinion on part of what I'd written, and I made some corrections. You said do what you need to do; and after that was finished, I needed to kiss my wife. I make no apologies."

Paula shook her head and laughed as she left.

When Paula had left, Rick looked at his son and said, "Tattletale."

Jamie grinned his copy of his father's unapologetic grin and asked, "Can we go to the park before it gets too hot?"

Castle swatted the back of his head playfully and answered, "We have some things to do this morning, but we can go late this afternoon when it's cooled off a little bit."

xxxxx

Three days later, they were in the security line at the airport telling their children what to expect and helping them through the process. Their toy suitcases were unzipped and put on the belt to be scanned, and they all went through the detectors. Then they went to find their boarding gate and took the children to the window of the empty gate next to theirs and showed them the planes and luggage transports and a jet bridge being connected to one of the planes… and answered a lot of questions.

"Jamie knew how to do all this when he was two and a half. We brought him with us when we did this the last time, but he was too little to remember it for very long," Castle told them.

"Was that when I wasn't born yet?" Jo asked.

"You weren't born yet. We knew we were going to have you, but you were still inside Mommy; so you were with us, too. Jamie and I talked to you by talking to Mommy's tummy."

"That's silly," Jo said, but she giggled and looked happy that she was included.

On the plane, each child was with one of the parents, and were talked through the process of increasing speed and lifting into the air, and before long, everybody in first class heard Jo's excited call to her brother. "Jamie, we're up in the clouds. I can see them."

And they were off on another adventure.