Tis the season for this

With apologies to Charles Dickens

As usual I own no part of any of the players. I also cannot claim Scrooge

A Christmas Castle Carol

Christmas Eve at the 12th precinct.

A very normal Christmas Eve

The uniformed officers who had drawn the short straw and had to be on duty tonight have already made their way out the doors and into the street. It will be Christmas Day before these men and woman see St. Nick

The fourth floor, like all the other detective floors, is mostly empty. Only one or two plain clothes officers are present. The vast majority of the detectives have already finished their paperwork and headed home to be with their families and their Christmas Eve celebrations

But as she has done this and every year since joining the police department, Detective Katherine Beckett has volunteered to work the Christmas Eve shift. Even though she has seniority on the floor and could easily take the night off, her tradition has been to be the one to protect the city.

She has done this ever since she became a cop so her fellow officers could be with their families because

She is single and has no family to celebrate with

Just after lunch time she was greeted by the arrival of the ever present, ever annoying writer. That one person who seemed to be able to still pull her chain and still, after all these years, get a reaction from her. Although a negative one. He still does get under her skin more deeply than any person or rather any MAN has ever been able to do.

"Castle! What do you want?" she snipes at him

"I came by to wish a Merry Christmas to you and was wondering what plans you might have for tonight?"

"I am working Castle. That is my plan or can't you see that?"

"Detective. It's Christmas Eve. Don't you have some tradition to do? Aren't you going home? Celebrate? Open presents?"

"Castle. I am doing my tradition. I work on Christmas Eve. That IS my tradition. Anyway I have no special place to go"

"You can come to the loft and celebrate with us. Mother, Alexis, and me. We have a nice diner planned. We open presents. Drink mother's Glug. I think she is making it a little stronger this year"

"Castle. I'm sorry but Christmas means something different to me than it does to you"

"It's Christmas. How can it be different?"

Beckett is becoming a little irritated at the writer. He always wants fun and games and silkiness but she knows what is really important.

WORK

She points at the windows overlooking the street." This is my Christmas tradition. I am guarding all those people down there. I have that job and nothing else in my life

"Detective" he says in a very frustrated voice "I really wish you would reconsider. I promise you if you come to the loft, there will be no funny stuff. Just a lot of family love and good cheer"

Him using the term 'No Funny Stuff' reminded her of the week end he invited her to the Hamptons and she turned him down in go with Tom instead. He said no funny stuff then. He does probably mean it tonight. But she has other duties to take care of tonight

"Castle this is my job and I will stick with it so if you have nothing else to say, I have paperwork to do"

With a look of downtrodden and without another word spoken a defeated Richard Castle turns and walks off the floor.

What Beckett has not yet realized is that his invitations are truly from his heart and not from some self satisfying agenda. If she only could see how much he wants to have a true relationship with her, but she only knows the tasks that she has assigned for her and those tasks have no room for her personal happiness to get in the way. The tasks set up in a dark alley so many years before

Half way through her next report the elevator bell rings and she is rushed by her best friend and medical examiner

"Girlfriend! What are you still doing here? You are supposed to be out shopping, cooking, baking, putting cookies and milk out for Santa. Then looking around the floor or even hanging mistletoe over the door in the off chance a certain novelist comes calling"

"Lanie. That is enough. I am not in the mood for your cheery Ho! HO! HO'S! I am busy"

"Kate are you telling me that you are not going to go celebrate with someone special tonight?

"You know what I have to do, Lanie. This!" Beckett points to the stack of files on her desk yet to be finished

"What about going over to writer boy's for some Yuletide fun?"

"Lanie. This is my Christmas. Right here"

"OK Girlfriend but if you keep this up you will some day regret not grabbing all the gusto you can. While you still can." Then Dr. Parish adds a jab "with a man who is crazy about you" then Lanie whispers so no one will hear "and you are crazy about him"

Katherine Beckett has no time for such foolishness as what her best friend is suggesting. Since her mother's death Kate has not found a man she loved and will not have a man to love because to love them and then just to lose another person she loves. She will not be able to handle it.

So to keep her life simple she will just never love again

"Goodbye Lanie" Beckett huffs out as the medical examiner heads toward the exit

Detective Beckett returns to her paperwork and attacks the large stack of documents with a renewed vigor. Most of the paperwork today is routine. Today is mostly rechecking file contents. Not the most exciting task but one that still must be accomplished. The day drifts into early afternoon then mid afternoon.

Her mind cannot help but think about who she is helping today. All the victims that she can help find solutions for. All those families who might not have a good Christmas due to the loss of a loved one.

Right now Kate Beckett has no loved one in her life other than her father. At least not that SPECIAL loved one that so many others have. She probably could have had one but the murder of her mother, those many years ago, has tainted her desire for a special one. She knows that to love again will be to disrespect her mother's memory and she will not do that. Her mother's death is what drove her to be a cop and what drives her to be alone on Christmas.

She suddenly realizes that it is almost five o'clock and she forgot to bring anything for dinner. Looking at her watch she decides that instead of calling in a to go order at the local Chinese take out, she will leave for just a few minutes and get a Hot Pastrami with kraut at the corner deli. She can bring it back to the empty precinct and have a warm sandwich alone in the break room

She exits the elevator on the main floor of the station. As she moves toward the outside door she tells the desk sergeant where she is going and that she will be back in fifteen minutes

Wrapping her long coat around her body to prevent the wind from cutting thru to her flesh and pulling her gloves on covering her long fingers she walks out into the freshly falling snow

As she steps just outside the precinct doors her thoughts instantly go to the weather. She thinks "This is nice. We re having a White Christmas"

But!

Katherine Beckett's penchant for high heeled boots and ice covered cement are not a good combination.

As her feet go one direction her head goes the opposite and into the now closed police station doors

A moment of darkness is followed by a bright light.

An almost blinding light followed by…

Katherine Beckett finds herself standing in the entry way of her home. Not her Chelsea apartment but the home she grew up in. She is standing in the entry way of her parent's apartment. Before she can move a figure appears in front of her. She recognizes the person. Or at least who she thinks it is

Then the deep soothing voice of Roy Montgomery resounds around her

"Hello Detective"

"Sir?"