To Kate, the movies about Christmas in New York did the actual experience no justice. It was incredibly...innocent-for New York, anyway. The already effervescent lights seemed brighter-if that were even possible. The air was clear and smelled fresh. If you were just visiting for the holidays and you came back at any other time of the year, you wouldn't believe you were in the same place. It seemed that no matter where you were, you could hear the beat of Jingle Bells or other tunes echoing around the city. The streets were much more crowded but the people were more festive. Some wore green and red scarfs and some just wore a happy grin. Toy shops were overcrowded but it barely bothered her.

Her hours changed, but not for the better. She guessed that the saying "evil never takes a holiday" applied to murderers, too. She didn't mind too much, though. Castle seemed to be in the holiday spirit and almost everything he said nowadays made her laugh. Of course he called her non-stop at work. His excuse was that his kids were grown up and he was lonely all by himself in the "big scary loft". God, he was 70 years old and still a man-child.

She was retiring this year. They'd discussed it. Money wasn't a problem so she really could retire at any time she would like, but she liked working. Esposito and Ryan retired the previous year and that's when she decided that it was her time, too. Everyone she knew at the precinct left. She was all alone but she had trouble giving it up.

She wasn't sure why. Whether it dealt with the fact that once she retired, there was no chance of solving her mother's murder, or the fact that half of her life would be over, she wasn't sure.

It wasn't true, though. She had Alexis, her friends, Rick, and her little (well, not so little anymore) daughter, Charlotte. They were her life. Rick was half of it; the half that filled the emptiness that her mother's death caused, even after all these years.

When she thought of it like that, the thought of retirement didn't sound so bad. She'd get to spend more time reading and participating in activities related to her hobbies. Plus, the extra time with Castle wouldn't be so bad either.

The newly replaced elevator ride was quick. Now, on any other day, this would have been a great thing. But the quicker the elevator ride, the quicker Kate's job came to an end. It was silly, really. Relying on an elevator to make time slow and quicken. But nevertheless, it was true. This was her last trip to the 12th precinct. Officially, she was already retired. Her badge and gun had been turned in and she was no longer a cop. She came to the precinct to get everything from her desk. That was hard.

She fiddled with the fillings of the cardboard box she was holding as she made her way up to her desk. With heedful fingers, she picked up the timeworn elephants and one by one, put them into the box. With each object, a happy memory filled her mind. Each time she closed her eyes, hoping the memory would stay there forever. She never wanted to lose them. She put the box on the table, took a deep breath, and grabbed the arms on Castle's chair. Yes, he had stopped following her around long ago, but when he came in for lunches or just to visit, she always wanted his chair to be there for him. A few eyes followed her as she moved the chair back to its original place in the break room. They weren't quite aware of the reason why it was special, but they knew it was significant.

She said her good-byes and headed down the elevator from the 12th precinct one last time. Castle had offered to come with her, but she wanted to do this alone. She really had no idea why. Whatever the reason, she thought telling Castle she wanted to be alone was going to be a lot harder than it turned out to be. Maybe he knew the reason that she couldn't put her finger on.

She opened the door to the loft and the aroma of cookies filled her nose. As she stepped further into the room, she could hear the beat of Jingle Bell Rock coming from the kitchen. Expecting to see Castle, she turned the corner and was slightly surprised when she saw two heads of red hair.

"Alexis! James! I didn't know you were coming in so early!" Kate said as she set the full cardboard box on the counter.

Kate hugged Alexis. "Kate! Dad called American Airlines and got us an earlier flight. His excuse was that he was lonely."

"Oh god, that man." Kate looked at Alexis and smiled. She looked really good for 46.

"Grams, it's nice to see you, too." She turned around and saw James with a closed-mouth smile.

"Oh, James, you know I missed you." Kate brought him into a hug and messed up his hair with her fist.

"Hey!" He struggled from her grasp and began smoothing his hair back into place.

"Where's your brother?" Kate said, noticing the absence of the third ginger.

Before James could reply, a loud crash rang throughout the loft.

Castle shouted, "We're okay!"

Kate, Alexis, and James were already halfway up the stairs.

"Castle!"

"Matthew!"

"Grandpa!"

Alexis was the first to notice what had caused the crash. She covered her eyes with her naturally pale hand.

"Dad, please tell me that's not the lamp Susan gave you for Christmas last year," Alexis begged. Unfortunately she already knew the answer.

Kate peeked out from behind the corner. True enough to her speculations, the leg lamp laid shattered on the floor.

"Castle," she began. She tried to keep her voice steady, she really did. But in all honestly, she hated that lamp with a burning passion. Ever since last Christmas when Susan, Alexis's mother-in-law, gave it to Castle for joking about A Christmas Story, she'd wanted to kill it. Bury it. Done something that could have made it look like an accident-a fake accident-but an 'accident' nonetheless. She had to stifle a laugh before she was able to continue. "What happened?"

She could tell Castle was also trying to hide the accomplished look in his features. He wanted that lamp dead and gone as much as she did. She raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for Castle's response.

"I, we, uh, I swear this was not on purpose!"

She transferred her glare from Castle to Matthew, who was slacked-jawed and scrambled for a story to cover up what they were actually doing. He definitely took after his grandfather. It looked like he would have found one if it wasn't for her glare. She wasn't actually mad, but where's the fun in telling them that? She always knew she could be a pretty good actress. It was Castle who finally spoke.

"I was teaching Mat here, uh-"

Alexis surprised both elders and cut him off. "Dad, save the story. I'm not the one that's going to tell her what happened to it when she asks to see where you put it. You have 20 minutes to come up with a better story than the one you were going to tell us."

"Bu-"

"No. I know you too well, Dad. Now, you are a mystery novelist. I have faith in you." She turned to Matthew. "Mat, help your gramps, please."

"Okay, Mom."

She turned around and began making her way down the stairs to finish her creation in the kitchen. James followed. Kate stayed, her back against the wall, and watched them with a smile on her face. After picking up a few of the bigger pieces from the broken lamp, he looked up and noticed her grin.

"What," he asked, curious as to why she was smiling at him when she should be scolding him.

"Nothing," she replied. It was obvious she was trying not to smile, and she knew it. She could tease, couldn't she? Sure, it wasn't sexual, but this was fun, too.

He handed Matthew the shards and used the floor for support to raise him up. Once standing, he clapped his hands together, removing the dust from the old lamp that had stuck to them.

"C'mon, tell me!"

She mentally laughed at his inability to leave things alone. "Well, Castle…" She looked down at Matthew, who was in the middle of sweeping the broken leg into the dust pan. She looked back at Castle, who was waiting for her to go on, so she did. "This," she extended her arm and panned the crime scene area and continued, "is so something you would do."

He smiled his brilliant smile- that one that extended to his ears. "I guess you're right. But, Kate? Don't think that I can't see how relieved you are that this thing is finally broken."

She smile dropped from her face. "How did you-"

"I guess when you're married to someone for 28 years, you notice certain things." A wink was sent her way.

"Oh, believe me, Rick, I know." She winked back and his grin flipped.

"Wait! Not fair! What things, Kate?"

Ignoring Castle's childish cry, she made her way down stairs and offered her help to Alexis. After being denied, Kate wandered into the living room. She noticed a few picture frames had fallen over. The ornaments looked like they had done that job. She strolled over and rearranged them. Being satisfied with their location, she walked over and took her place at the couch.

A few minutes passed when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, Alexis," Kate said, not wanting Alexis to have to stop everything she was doing.

She opened the door and her daughter flew into her arms.

"Charlotte!"

"Mom!"

Kate buried her face into her daughter's golden brown hair and squeezed her tightly. After a minute, Kate put her at arm's length and took her in. Her hazel eyes were an exact replica of her own; her animated smile, charismatic. Gloves still covered the girl's hands, reminding Kate that there would be more time for catching up after she's unpacked and comfortable.

She let go and took the luggage from the doorframe and set it down close to the back of the couch.

"Lottie?"

Alexis's head popped out from behind the corner and she lit up. Her smile was large enough to deepen her barley-there wrinkles and show her pearly-white teeth. "Lottie!" She put the dough-covered whisk back into the bowl; licking off the mixture that had fallen on her fingers and ran across the room, straight into Charlotte's waiting arms.

"Alexis! Did mom and dad make you do all the cooking by yourself?" she asked as they let go from their embrace.

Alexis shrugged. "Eh, they helped earlier; just finishing off the dessert. Who would want dad's cookies?" Alexis and Charlotte both scrunched up their noses in agreement.

"Speaking of dad…where is he?" Charlotte asked, looking around for the grey-haired man.

It was Kate who answered, "He's with Mat picking up the lamp they broke."

Charlotte turned around, her jaw hanging open. "Please tell me it's not the leg lamp." She glanced back and forth between Alexis and Kate, who were both biting their lips, answering her question without words. "Oh god, does Susan know yet?"

Alexis replied, "No. She and Peter haven't gotten here yet. I came with the kids while Peter went to go pick her up."

Charlotte hummed in response. The chicken timer rang and Alexis sprinted back into the kitchen. She grabbed the pan of dough cookies with her oven mitt and placed them carefully into the oven. She shut the doors and pressed a few buttons before returning to her spot next to Charlotte.

Charlotte sighed and let the air slowly leave her lips, making them tremble.

"Long day of traveling?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, it was. I think I'm going to go unpack. I'll be back down in a little while. 'Kay?"

Kate smiled, nodded, and Alexis handed the girl her bag.

Kate's daughter hurried up the stairs. She heard her exchanging words with her father and her commenting on the lamp that they still must be working on.

Glancing at the clock, Kate estimated the amount of time they had before Alexis's Husband and Mother-in-law arrived. They would be here in an hour at the most.

They have an hour to prepare for Susan Green.

Oi vey