This chapter is dedicated to Educate The Masses. Happy birthday a little bit early.

In case you're wondering, I don't own the characters. I merely borrowed them for a little bit.

This has not been betaed, so all mistakes are mine.

The loft was dark except for the glow of the lights on the Christmas trees as Castle made his way back to his study. He had gone in search of Kate's stash of Twizzlers and gotten sidetracked by a phone call from Alexis informing him that she and Ashley were going to catch a late movie before she came home. It was still hard for him to believe sometimes that his baby girl was already in her second year of college and only home for a couple of weeks over the Christmas break.

As he passed the small tree on the kitchen island, he couldn't help but smile. It had surprised him when Kate had suggested they have smaller trees in the different rooms of the apartment, but he hadn't even considered telling her no. So once they had finished decorating the large tree in the family room, they had moved on to his study, then the dining room, the kitchen and then finally their bedroom. It had taken them the better part of a day to finish, but it had been worth it to see the sparkle in Kate's eyes as they turned off the lights that evening and sat in the glow from the decorations.

It was their first Christmas together as a married couple and Castle had wanted it to be one they would neither one soon forget. The morning had started well before dawn with Kate kissing him awake. It had actually shocked him to discover that when it came to opening presents, Kate was every bit as much of a kid at heart as he was.

The two of them had awaken Alexis and together they'd made their way down to the family room where they'd torn into presents with gusto. He wasn't sure which had brought him the most joy...Alexis' squeal when they'd given her the keys to her new car, or the smile that had lit up Kate's face when she'd opened the gold locket that held a picture of her with her mom taken on their last Christmas together. Both of them had rewarded him with a hug that had him offering a prayer of thanksgiving for having two such amazing women in his life.

After presents, they'd moved to the kitchen where the three of them had worked together to make eggs benedict and hash browns for breakfast. While Kate had teased him about the tradition, she'd easily settled into their routine...a large breakfast after presents and then homemade pizzas for dinner later in the day.

The tradition had started the year Alexis was four. Castle had set out to make his first traditional Christmas dinner only to realize that he hadn't thawed the turkey long enough and it was going to take several hours for it to cook. His attempt at stuffing had been so dry he couldn't eat it and he'd forgotten to set the timer on the dinner rolls so they'd burned while he had mashed the potatoes.

Not wanting the day to be a total disaster, he'd propped Alexis on his hip and the two of them had looked thoughtfully at the contents of their refrigerator. It was Alexis who'd pointed at the cheese and then looked up at him with a calm expression.

"Pizza, daddy."

From there, it had become their tradition to make pizza for Christmas. Even after Castle had finally mastered cooking a turkey, Alexis had insisted they stick with pizza for Christmas dinner. Since they always cooked a big meal for Thanksgiving, Castle didn't see the harm in it. Having Kate there with them this time had only made it more special.

"Was there a problem with the couch?" Castle asked as he stepped into the study.

Kate looked up from the pile of cushions, pillows and blankets she'd placed on the floor beside the Christmas tree.

"It's snowing," she said by way of explanation.

Castle looked over at the now cushion-less couch even as he made his way to Kate's side.

"On the couch?"

Kate laughed and reached for his hand, effortlessly pulling him down beside her as she relieved him of the licorice candies he'd brought back for her.

"No," she replied. "But I couldn't see it from the couch."

"Ah," Castle said, understanding dawning. "It's been a few years since we've actually gotten snow on Christmas Day, hasn't it?"

"It's almost magical," Kate replied as she snuggled against his side, both of them propped up against enough cushions to allow them to watch the snow fall through the window.

"I thought you didn't believe in magic."

It was a long moment before Kate met his eyes with a shy smile on her face.

"Falling in love with you has made me re-evaluate a lot of things in my life."

Castle merely smiled and tucked her further into his side. It still shocked him how much Kate enjoyed cuddling. Before they'd started dating, he would have never believed it. It thrilled him though, how easily she curled into his embrace and allowed him to hold her.

They sat in silence for several minutes as they watched the snow fall gently. It had been quite a while since Castle had taken the time to merely sit and watch as snow covered the city. It was indeed almost magical.

It was Kate who broke the stillness, her lips pressing against the side of his neck as one hand trailed patterns over his stomach.

"Make love to me, Rick."

There was no need to ask twice.

They moved in unison, removing each other's clothing as lips and hands caressed and aroused, until they were both naked, bathed in the lights from the Christmas tree.

"I love you, you know?" Castle whispered as he slid into her welcoming heat.

"I know," she replied softly. "And I love you."

"Merry Christmas, Kate."

"Merry Christmas, Rick."

No further words were needed as they lost themselves in one another, the sounds of their lovemaking filling the room as the snow continued to fall, obscuring the sounds of the outside world until it seemed that nothing existed beyond the two of them and their love for one another.

The plan for this story is a series of one-shots based off of prompts. So that means when you hit the review button, you should include a word or phrase you'd like me to try to use. That being said, a big thanks goes to ss_sunset for the prompt for this chapter.

Happy New Year everyone!