25. Chapter 25

"Use your words, baby."

Castle looks up from the massive picnic dinner spread out before him, one of the condo's comforters under his elbows, the dunes at his back. Kate sits across from him with her hair in a thick and wild fall down her back, her shoulders bare under the intense, yellow sun. Wisps of hair float on a shimmer of a breeze, her lips are pink as she smiles.

His heart clenches to see her. Dash has made their picnic into a game of Indians on a hunting party, and Kate has dutifully donned a feather, cleverly holding it in place with a band circling her head. One of those workout headband things she uses to keep all the little flyaway pieces out of her eyes when she runs or spars. Now the white feather crowns the sexy mess of her hair as she laughs with the kids.

Again, their little girl holds her hands up to Kate, pleading with solemn eyes, still silent.

Kate flicks her finger at Dashiell's feather, causing the boy to jump up from the quilt, scattering grapes, but running to a nearby dune with a war whoop, grabbing handfuls of sand grass to haul himself up.

The girl glances to her father and Castle gives her a shrug, sighing inwardly. It's always a battle. He and Kate never agree on this. Their daughter opens and closes her fists with silent asking.

Kate turns her smile back to the little one, her eyes softening. "I need you to use your words, mala."

"Momma, she wants you to pick her up!" Dash hollers from the top of his sand dune, his knees covered in fine white grains.

Kate rolls her eyes and yells back. "I know that, malo tuka. I want her to tell me that."

Dash laughs so hard he nearly falls off his little mountain. "Momma! Did you call me a turkey?"

Kate grins back at him even as Castle chuckles as well. Dash has inherited his terrible and ineffective facility with languages (meaning he *has* no facility), but Kate injects a little Croatian into their conversation here and there. Mostly when she's talking to the little one, but she still tries with Dash.

"I did. But only a little one. And you are. Now hush and let your mala sestra answer for herself."

"Volim te!" Dashiell calls out, giggling again, speaking the only phrase he's mastered: I love you.

Kate laughs back. "Ditto, little monkey." She turns her eyes back to the little girl, about to open her mouth.

Castle sighs. They're on vacation and she wants to push this now? "Kate-"

A single glare from her transforms her from sexy Croatian-speaking Indian to smoking-hot, pissed off Indian. He shuts up.

Kate glances down to their daughter and reaches out a hand to smooth the girl's hair out of her eyes. "Now then, moja tiha, my quiet one, I would love to do anything you want me to. I just need to hear your voice. Let me hear your voice, moja ljubav."

My love. Even Castle has heard that one enough to know what it is. And seriously, how can Kate think that she *doesn't* coddle their daughter like he does? She coddles the girl all the time. If it were Dash-

Well of course, it will never be Dash in this same situation because that child has no trouble asking for what he wants, no issues at all with speaking up. But this one? She's not delicate, that's not the case. She's just. . .

Sometimes Castle thinks she's just stubborn. Beckett stubborn. Determined not to speak. But why? Because she can't control anything in her little life, and this is the one thing she *can* control?

Yeah, that has some merit. Sounds like Kate, that's for sure.

Finally, after a long and painful to watch staring contest between the two, the girl gives in and opens her mouth.

"Please?"

"What are you pleasing for? Please what?"

Oh seriously. Kate. Come on!

"Uppie, Mommy," she whispers, those luminous eyes clear and direct in a way her own voice has never been.

Kate responds immediately, gathering their daughter so very close, pressing her nose to the girl's neck, her arms wrapped around the slight frame. The two dark heads together, tightening in his chest.

"Oh, Ellery, I love to hear your voice," she whispers, and when her eyes open again, Castle's frustration melts away. Because Kate looks. . .so relieved. So relieved to hear her daughter speak.

And that sucks.

But it's just how Ellery has always been. Confident, assured, but just. . .not much use for words.

Actually, a hell of a lot like his wife, Kate Beckett.

He just wishes that Kate would see it like that, wishes she wouldn't agonize over the girl's silence quite so much.

Honestly, it's only been recently that Kate's started in on the talking thing. Within the last six months. Castle has a bad feeling it has something to do with whatever happened to her, whatever terrible thing wakes her with nightmares.

"Now, you both can be Indian princesses," Dash orders, whipping the feather off his head and awkwardly cramming it over Ellery's hair. The little girl reaches for it to hold the thing in place and turns to her mother, eyes wide.

Kate laughs and readjusts the feather headdress so that it will stay. "We're both Indian princesses," she says, kissing Ellery's cheek.

"And me and Daddy are Lost Boys," Dash exclaims, puffing his chest up and glancing to his father.

Rick gets to his knees on the quilt then jumps up. "Yes! Where's Peter Pan though?"

"We don't need him," Dash scoffs, brushing a hand across his face. "He's probably doing kissy-face with Wendy." The scorn in his voice is so animated, so vitriol, that Kate and Castle share a look, trying not to laugh.

"Wait a minute," Kate says. "Didn't the Indian princess get captured by Hook and tied to a stake in the ocean?"

"Yeah, but we rescue you," Dash whines, because he probably already knows she won't go for that storyline.

"I'm not getting tied to a stake. I'm smarter than that. So is Ella. Ella, you gonna let Hook trick us and tie us up in the ocean?"

Ellery gives her brother a long hard look, then shakes her head.

"She said no," Dash complains. "But, Ella, you get to be Tiger Lily. . ." He draws it out, raising his eyebrows expressively, offering it like a prize.

Ella hesitates.

"Don't do it, baby girl," Castle coaches. "You are too smart for Hook."

Ella raises her eyes to her father, cuts them to her mother, then settles on her brother. She watches him, studies him, and Kate sees exactly why everyone seems to think Ella is so much like herself.

This is the face she makes when she's staring down a criminal over the table. That I don't believe you look.

Castle is trying to get her attention. Kate waves him off, because she knows he wants to point it out. Again. But she gets it already. Yeah. The girl is just like herself.

Dash wheedles for awhile, trying to convince his sister to be Tiger Lily so they can play, but Ella doesn't seem willing to budge. Finally, she shakes her head and lifts her little arms like she's going to take the headdress off. It's enough of a threat that Dash gives up, his face falling.

"Fine. No Tiger Lily. Then what are we gonna rescue, Daddy?"

Rick leans down and whispers something in Dash's ear, too low for Kate to catch, but she sees Dash's face grow shocked, his mouth falling open and his eyes turn to her.

Uh-oh.

Then Rick stands up. "Watch your sister," he murmurs, and heads for Kate.

She backs up. "No. Not-uh. What are you-"

Before she can make another move, Castle tackles her around the waist and lifts her into a fireman's carry over his shoulder, swinging her around.

He takes off at a run, which keeps Kate from being able to resist him. Her stomach bounces against his shoulder with every step and from what she can see, the bastard is heading straight for the ocean.

"Richard Castle - don't you dare!"

"We need a - need a Tiger Lily -" he pants, his feet kicking up sand.

Kate completely and utterly regrets dragging his ass out of bed every morning to go run. Completely. Stupid, stupid idea to get this man in such good shape. She can feel every ripple of muscle under his shoulder, the solid rock of his grip across the back of her thighs, one hand at her ass to hold her in place.

"Castle. I am so serious. I'm only wearing a sundress. Put me down." She wriggles a little to test him out, but it makes his shoulder catch her rib and she gasps. "Castle-"

She feels the spray of the water as his feet hit the ocean, and then he's swinging her around in his arms, holding her like a baby, lifting her-

"Castle!"

"Hold your breath," he warns and then dumps her in the ocean.

Of course, Kate takes him down with her. He wouldn't have expected anything less.

Her arm is hooked around his neck and her leg sweeps across the back of his knees and they both plunge into the water, tangled up, wrestling to be the one to break the surface first.

They come up at the same time, Kate's eyes dark and feral, but he takes a precious second to glance towards the shore where they left the kids, just to be sure, and she takes him down again.

They jostle each other under the water for a few seconds, his hands slipping under the skirt of her dress as it billows around her in the water, then Kate gets a foot planted in his chest and pushes off, heading for the surface. He swims around her, dives a little deeper, at the limits of his held breath, then rockets up behind her, water cascading around them.

She sputters and turns around, laughing at him, wiping water out of her eyes, dragging the hair out of her face. The feather is missing, the hair band tangled in the ends of her hair. He reaches for it, for her, and eases his fingers into the soggy knot.

Kate stills and puts her hands on his shoulders, breathing shallowly, quickly, the waves pushing them up and towards the shore, her dress brushing against his legs. He uses his other hand to slowly lift the strap back up onto her shoulder, his fingers hesitating over the line of her collarbone.

"You dumped me in the ocean, Richard Castle."

"I did."

"I thought you were supposed to rescue me?" she murmurs, darting towards his mouth and nipping at his lower lip. His fingers lose all manual dexterity and he can only cradle the back of her skull, the rubber band tangled in his fingers now too.

She breaks away, reaches back to loosen the band, takes it out of her hair. All without losing eye contact with him. No promises in her gaze, just simple enjoyment. She likes to tease; he's always known that. He likes being teased by her.

"You said you don't need rescue," he says back.

"I think I might need a little more mouth to mouth," she says instead, lifting an eyebrow.

His lips quirk, but he doesn't want to ruin the moment by laughing. Still, he can't help but comment. "I think that was my line."

"What can I say? After four years of marriage, you've rubbed off on me." She hums and her lips are liquid against his ear. "I like the rubbing part."

His breath catches, his fingers curl in her tangled hair. "Only four? Feels like-"

"If you say forever, Castle, I will hurt you."

He grins and presses his lips to her cheek, letting go of her hair. "In the best possible way, Kate."

"Daddy! Bring back the Indian princess!"

He glances towards the shore, the remnants of their early dinner and the two kids standing hand in hand on the beach. The sun is making its slow descent in the sky, pausing to throw warm light over the scene. Ellery's hair flutters in the wind, still wearing her red sundress, sand up to her knees. Dashiell is in cargo shorts, his shirt off, his scrawny little chest puffed out as he bellows at them.

"The kids are calling," he says, glancing back to Kate.

"One of them is. The little one is letting the big one do all the work."

He laughs. "And that bothers you. I know."

She sighs and shoves on his shoulder. "Hush. Drag me back to shore, Lost Boy."

"Yes, Indian princess," he retorts, and lowers his shoulder, scoops her up. Kate twists, an arm around his neck for leverage, and rolls behind him, the water helping her escape.

"Not like that, you oaf. Knock the wind out of me."

He glances behind him just as she wraps her legs around his torso, her arms loose around his shoulders. Kate puts her mouth to his ear, tugs at his earlobe with a throaty laugh as he startles. He loops his arms around her thighs to hold her there.

"I'm gonna follow Ellery's lead and let the big one do all the work. Giddy-up, Castle."

"That's so not funny." She knows he doesn't like the stupid animal stuff.

Her big toe digs into his hip bone; she sucks on the skin of his neck. "Mm, salty."

He shivers at the touch of her tongue, clamps his arms tighter around her legs. "Kate."

"Get going, Castle. Rescue me."

And well, he can't quite say no to her. Especially when she unclasps her hands and rubs them slowly down his chest, her knees tightening around him.

He takes in a long, shuddering breath and starts forward, slogging against the pull of the tide and the give of the sand. The whole way back, Kate, her sundress sticking to him, her body wet and hot and entirely too sexy for her own good, whispers nonsense in his ear and uses her teeth.

And her tongue.

The kids are looking at them with reproach.