Kate woke up and stretched lazily before rolling over on her side. She expected to find Castle still asleep – he always slept in, or at least pretended to, waiting for her to bring him coffee – and was surprised to find him sitting on the bed facing her, smiling eagerly. She looked at him quizzically and then noticed the box in his lap. She sat upright. "I thought we agreed no presents except for holidays," she said, fighting to keep a grin off her face. He just looked so excited.
"We did," said Castle, who remembered all to well how she rejected the bracelet he surprised her with a few weeks ago. Unlike his other girlfriends, who almost expected a millionaire writer to shower them with gifts on a regular basis, Kate wanted to live a normal life. No random expensive gifts, no elaborate fancy restaurants, just a normal healthy relationship. He was only too happy to oblige. Except this time. "Just open it."
She rolled her eyes affectionately and took the gift from him. He watched her face closely as she undid the bow and opened the box, saw her eyes widen before she lowered her head, letting her hair cascade over her face, hiding it from view. Castle wondered if he had made a mistake, gone too far, and he gently reached over and tilted her chin back. She had a habit of avoiding his eyes when she was emotional – too happy or too sad – and he couldn't figure out which just now. She had tears in her eyes but was smiling.
"You remembered," Kate said softly. "Everything" he replied before kissing her gently on the cheek. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. He responded immediately, pulling her onto his lap as the box fell to the floor, momentarily forgotten. Neither of them heard the clatter as the ice skates fell to the floor.
Two hours later Castle ushered her into the shower. Kate laughed at him and playfully pushed him away "Wollman Rink doesn't open until 2, what exactly are we rushing to?" she teased. "The manager is a fan," he answered with a wink.
Wrapped up in a scarf and gloves against the cold, they stood at the entrance to the large ice rink in Central Park. Castle's skates were well worn. "Who'd you borrow those from?" She asked. He smiled sheepishly "I've been taking lessons…for 2 years. I thought maybe one day I'd get you out there and I should be able to keep up." She stood on her toes and kissed him – for waiting, for loving her, for remembering, for everything. He put his arms around her, his left hand on her lower back, his right hand on her side. Castle's thumb pressed gently on a ticklish spot low on her stomach, marked by her tattoo of an elephant. He remembered how happy he had been to finally find that tattoo. His smile broke their kiss. Kate spun away and slid onto the ice. She glided for 30 seconds before falling on her butt. Castle laughed as he skated in circles around her on the ground, finally offering a hand up. "It's, uh, been a while," she said blushing but laughing. All the same she was glad they were the only ones on the ice.