The idea for this has been bugging me basically all year. It feels so good to finally have it all down on the page and ready for you to read. I really hope you enjoy it. I must thank my wonderfully, superbly, extraordinarily ace beta Jo, who thinks about my stories when she should be sleeping, and without whom these words would be a terrible mess (or at the very least, full of superfluous adverbs).

There's a playlist to go with this – made in October…! – that you can find by heading to "8tracks dot com slash the - klf slash christmas - wrapping" and, again, I hope you enjoy.

Christmas Wrapping

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong 'cause it is my favourite holiday…

Christmas was only a matter of hours away when Kate Beckett looked up from her seat at her dining table, the surface covered with cards and envelopes, and saw flakes of snow floating by outside. Her phone announced a new message, and she pulled it out from her pocket to find a picture of a beautifully decorated tree with the caption, 24: only one more sleep to go! She shook her head with a smile blooming across her face, allowing herself a moment to let her mind wander to what the message's sender might be doing that evening to celebrate before she got back to the task at hand.

She turned her stereo up and continued writing her remaining Christmas cards to the strains of Bing Crosby crooning White Christmas. Just these last ones to do and then she would hand deliver them to her friends before holing up in her apartment for the duration of the holiday.

It wasn't that she hated Christmas – quite the opposite, in fact. But this past year had been so hectic she'd barely taken any leave from work, and Captain Montgomery had, naturally, noticed. He'd sent her home from the precinct at the end of shift the day before with an order not to come back till the Monday after New Year's.

So with the prospect of almost two weeks enforced relaxation before her, Kate found herself embracing the sudden opening in her diary. She'd spent the earlier part of the morning putting the final touches on gifts for her family and friends – courtside seats at the next Knicks game for the boys, spa vouchers for Lanie, and a new baseball stats notebook to go with the traditional novelty socks for her dad, along with various foodie presents for the branch of their family he was spending the holiday with. She hadn't been this organised in years, especially as everything was already wrapped – by her own hand – and just awaited delivery.

And with the final envelope stuck down, that was the next task. She almost wished she had a big sack to carry everything in, but her bright red coat would have to suffice for a Santa costume. She toted her biggest purse down the street to the subway, heading for the precinct, the snow falling steadily now reminding her of another snowy day earlier in the year.

She didn't take any notice of who had walked in the door when the shop bell tinkled quietly. It was difficult enough deciding between a full ski suit or salopettes and a jacket without the distraction. Kate had been a bit upset when her dad had called a few days before to tell her he'd found mice in the store room of the cabin and they'd chewed a hole in her old ski pants – just before she was due to head to the mountains for a weekend of skiing with him.

So she'd run down to the ski shop on her lunch break to get new gear, but with time dwindling she wasn't any closer to a final decision.

"Definitely the full suit. Nothing worse than getting snow up your back when you fall on your ass."

She whirled around to the source of the voice. A man a little older than her with immaculate brown hair and the twinkliest blue eyes was giving her a cheeky grin.

"Who says I ever fall on my ass?" she flicked an eyebrow up in challenge. His face fell as he began to backpedal.

"Well, I… uh… you wouldn't, obviously… uh…" She began to giggle and clamped her hand over her mouth to try to hold the unusual sound in. Her eyes danced with amusement and he huffed in embarrassment. "Hi, I'm Rick, and I'm usually much better at not making a complete fool of myself in front of beautiful women." He held his hand out.

"Kate." They shook hands, both lingering a little longer than strictly necessary. "Clearly you don't work here, else the manager would be over wanting to know why you're attempting to flirt with the customers."

"Attempting? Ouch!" He put his hand over his imaginary chest wound and she pressed her tongue to the back her teeth as she smiled. He dropped the act and gave her a genuine smile in return, scratching the back of his neck as if he could feel the blush creeping up to his ears. "Um, would you like to go for a coffee?"

Kate glanced at her watch and grimaced. "I can't, I need to get back to work soon." He looked crestfallen and she felt about the same. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something about this guy. "How about we exchange numbers, and I'll call you?"

The suggestion was greeted with a lopsided smile, and an eager, "Sure!" They got their phones out and dictated, saving each other's number. "It was great to meet you, Kate," he said, walking backwards towards the door. "And definitely the suit…"

She grinned as his back connected with a mannequin and he spun around to catch it, face flushed in embarrassment.

"Bye, Rick!" she called, as he hurried out the shop. She figured he was probably looking for the nearest brick wall to knock his head against.

"I thought I told you not to come in till after New Year's!" Montgomery stood in his office door, hands on hips, shouting across the bullpen as soon as she stepped off the elevator.

"So you don't want this Christmas present then?" She couldn't help the accompanying eye roll but Roy ignored it with an indulgent smile as he ushered her into his office. She put her purse down with care on the sofa before rummaging through it to find the box labelled 'Roy' atop the gaudy wrapping. "Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed as she handed it to him and they exchanged a one-armed hug.

"Are we gift-giving right now?" Ryan popped his head in through the door and gave them a cheeky grin.

"Depends if you closed that case I saw on the board or not…" Beckett teased.

"Actually," Esposito piped up, a smug smile across his face, "We just cracked the perp!"

"Good job, Detectives," Roy nodded to them and continued in his most condescending fatherly tone, "Now see if Beckett has any gifts for you before you go do your paperwork." The boys bounced into the office with eager faces and he shook his head. He turned to Kate, "Are we opening now, or should we wait? Is this a wife-and-kids-safe gift?"

Beckett held in her chuckle as she shrugged. "I don't mind. Yours is for here anyway, but it's nothing you couldn't let Evelyn see… It's hard to say without spoiling it!" She brought a couple more gifts out of her purse and handed them out.

"Thanks, Beckett!" Esposito cheered when he opened his present. "Yours is under my tree for when you come to the party."

"About that, Espo… I've decided not to come."

"Aw, what? Why?"

"Yeah Beckett, it won't be the same without you," Ryan chimed in.

"I just need some time to myself this year, without rushing around. Gonna relax and have a quiet one." Roy nodded his approval. "Dad's going to stay with his sister, and he's not going to be able to strong arm me into going with him. He can manage by himself with the family gossip for a couple of days. What about you guys?"

"Jenny and I are going to Javi's tonight and then spending Christmas Day with her family and then to mine for the evening. Bit hectic but it'll be good."

"I intend to spend the day itself mostly asleep," Espo declared, and they all laughed.

"And the rest of the time will be spent entertaining a certain medical examiner we all know, right…?" Kate ribbed him just enough for the tips of his ears to go pink but let him off the hook. "Speaking of which, gotta visit her before my Dad. Don't try to call me, turning my phone off tonight!"

"Wow, when you said quiet you really meant it, huh?" Kate just smiled at Kevin, then Roy.

"Captain's orders."

"Damn right. Captain orders you two to get back to work," he shooed the boys back into the bullpen but Kate snagged a hug from each of them. "And Captain orders you back to your vacation. Have a good one, Kate."

"You too, Roy, send my love to Evelyn and the kids."

"Sure thing, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!"

Back in the spring, Kate had been in the middle of a tough double homicide when she stepped into the Java Hut by the office of one of the persons of interest. She was overdue her caffeine hit and just couldn't face the sludge at the precinct. As she stood in line she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, as if someone was watching her intently. She glanced around the café as carefully as she could. Seeing the guy from the ski shop – what was his name again? She'd helpfully saved his number as 'ski shop guy' even though she was sure he'd given her his name – with an awestruck smile on his face as he stared at her was certainly unexpected, and she silently admonished herself for doing a double take.

He was already on his way over to her before she could pretend she hadn't seen him. What could be more embarrassing than bumping in a cute guy you said you'd call and never did? Oh, maybe bumping in said cute guy in a busy public pla-…

"Hi," he greeted her, interrupting her train of thought.

"Hi." If only the ground could have swallowed her up in that moment, she would have been happy.

"Kate, right? How was the ski trip?"

She stood there blinking at him. This guy had a really good memory and she was so overcome by the way his hair flopped onto his forehead she couldn't even remember his name.

Get a grip, Kate!

"Yeah, it was great, thanks. Just a weekend at my dad's upstate, but good fun. How are you, anyway?"

"Oh, not so bad, I guess." He shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned slightly at his feet. "I, uh… I made such a complete ass of myself when we met before, I kind of… well, I didn't expect you to, but…" He kicked at nothing on the tiled floor, concentrating on it. "You didn't call."

"Oh." Kate was still floundering and now it was like he'd done a one-eighty from excited to see her to a little boy whose puppy had been kicked. "I'm sorry…" shit, what was his name?! Oh! "…Rick, I meant to, really, it's just… work has been a killer lately…" She managed to neither laugh nor roll her eyes at her inadvertent pun. "Look, do you have your diary with you? Maybe we can find a time for lunch?"

He looked up at her through his eyelashes so she flashed him a smile. Bit of encouragement wouldn't hurt, she supposed, and she rested her hand on his forearm. "I feel bad for not calling, but I don't have an office job, so finding a time we can agree on might be difficult."

"I don't have an office job either, schedule's pretty flexible. We could make it work." He pulled his iPhone out from his pocket and opened the calendar app. "Except I forgot about all the meetings I have coming up. Uh, how about next Tuesday?"

She dug her phone from her pocket too and sucked in a breath when she looked at her calendar. "Nope, in court that day, and probably all the week." She glanced up at him and was pleased he hadn't even got around to asking what her job was because the answer often meant a swift about turn from the previously interested party. She concentrated on the calendar once more, "My next definitely free lunchtime is two weeks on Wednesday."

"Damn, I'm out of town..." He looked up and grimaced but she shrugged.

"We tried," she smiled. "We'll keep in touch, maybe when you're back and I'm not so busy we'll manage to get together for lunch."

"Sure," he nodded, and she thought he looked like he almost believed her.

The barista called out for Kate to make her order, and Rick jumped in immediately after she'd requested her latte, paying for that and his cappuccino before she could stop him. She was about to press her share into his hand when he murmured to her, his voice clear despite the busy café, "To make up for me not calling you either. I thought I'd made such a fool of myself you wouldn't want to hear from me ever again, so…"

Kate laid her hand on his arm again, trying to ignore the thrill she felt at the seemingly ordinary contact. "We're both at fault… let's just try to keep in touch better from now on, okay?"

Rick moved his arm, dislodging her hand but he immediately grasped her fingers within his own. "Okay," he smiled in return.

"Hey, girl, what're you doin' down here? Aren't you on vacation?"

Kate shook her head with a grin.

"And exactly how do you know that, Lanie? Do I need to gag Esposito so he doesn't tattle all my secrets to you?"

"Hah! You do that plenty without his help." They greeted each other with a hug, before Kate put her purse down on the office chair Lanie had just vacated. "And what is this about not coming to the party? How is that even an option?!"

"Lanie, come on... I've not had more than one day off at a time for the last, what, five months? I just want to take advantage of the next few days, really let myself relax. It's way overdue."

Lanie nodded once with a shrug. "You got me there."

"Anyway, now I am playing Santa, so here..." she made a show of rummaging through the purse, "is your present!" She managed to not laugh at Lanie's disappointed face when she saw the small envelope. "Remember, size doesn't matter...!"

Lanie tutted and took the envelope with a pursed smile before hugging Kate again. "Thank you. I'll open it tomorrow morning."

"Alright… well, I gotta love you and leave you, Lane, one last delivery to make, then I am going home and locking my door until New Year's."

"Take care, girl, call me and I'll bring your gifts from Javi's over sometime."

"Thanks, Lanie. Merry Christmas!"

"And Happy Holidays to you!"

The shrill beeping of her cell phone woke her. Kate peered around the darkened room and picked her device up from the coffee table without lifting up from the sofa.

"Beckett."

"Uh, Kate? Sorry, did I wake you?" She glanced at her phone screen to see who was calling.

"Hi, Rick. Yeah, I think you did, but it's okay."

"Are you sick?" She frowned, his intrusive perceptiveness startling her the rest awake. "It's just… it's only six-twenty."

"Just tired. It's been a long week. How're you?"

"I'm great, thanks. I know I already texted you about it, but I was just calling to ask if you'd like to come up to the Hamptons over the weekend. I've got some fireworks for Independence Day and the fridge is stocked full with barbecue food, and my cupboards are groaning from the weight of all the marshmallows, chocolate, and Graham's crackers."

She paused, weighing his words when her brain caught up to the first point in his argument. "You realise fireworks are illegal, right?"

"Well, sure, but it's the Hamptons. We all blame it on the next-door neighbours so the cops turn a blind eye and get back to whatever it is they do up there. Busting drug smugglers, I expect."

She shook her head though he couldn't see and realised he probably expected a response. "Well, look, it sounds great-…"

"So you'll come?" he interrupted, his excitement palpable even through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Rick, but you're right, I am sick…"

"Oh." Even with only one syllable, he sounded utterly dejected. "Well, that's a shame… Maybe for Labor Day? We could do it all the same, just… without the fireworks."

"Maybe you could let me know nearer the time?"

"Sure. I hope you feel better, Kate. We'll talk soon."

"Definitely."

As they signed off the call, Kate moved towards the bathroom to look at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a cooked lobster, the skin on her face, neck and shoulders beginning to blister even under the aloe she kept applying. She shook her head at herself, today had been the worst possible day to forget sunscreen when she had to stake out a suspect's house in broad daylight in the heat of a New York summer.

Her phone chirped before she could really begin to feel sorry for herself – and sorry for having to say no to Rick yet again – announcing a text. She unlocked the screen to find what seemed to be a stock picture of a beautiful bouquet of flowers in a vase on a large kitchen island with a view of the sea through the windows behind, and she scrolled to the attached message.

I'd send you 'get well' flowers if only I knew your address – these will have to suffice in the meantime. Rick.

The pursed lips managed to hold in the giggle but not the smile this time, and she shook her head at her own giddiness.

The glove muffled her knock and she was about to take it off to try again when the door was flung wide open.

"Katie!"

She grinned at her dad's enthusiasm in seeing her and let him lead her into his apartment. She looked around as she took off her coat and scarf, drinking in the details of his home. Though he'd moved a couple of times in the last ten years or so, she still found little quirks to his decorating style that she knew he'd picked up from her Mom. It used to make her cry, but now she could smile fondly.

"Merry Christmas, Dad," she wished him with great sincerity.

"You too, Sweetheart. Do you want a coffee?" She nodded with an appreciative hum and he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

"Where do you want me to put the presents for the family?"

His voice drifted in over the sound of the coffee machine. "On my bed, thanks." She laid them out from her purse and went to join Jim at the tiny kitchen table.

"I put yours on top of your case, but they're all labelled."

"Okay, thanks Katie." They fixed their sugar and cream in companionable silence. "So, how's work?"

"It's fine. Busy. Way too busy." She took a fortifying sip of her drink before staring into the brown liquid as if in search of the answers. "Montgomery made me take the time off, else I'd still be there. I'd be keeping watch."

Jim laid his hand on her forearm, "Katie." He waited until she met his eyes before he continued. "You don't have to keep watch, you know. Katie, your mom…" He squeezed her arm gently. "Your mom loved Christmas. She loved it because we were all together, whether it was the three of us, or the whole family piling around to your Nonna's. And we haven't had a Christmas together since…"

"Dad…" Kate's eyes brimmed with tears as she tried to interrupt him.

"No, Katie. This is the last year I'll let you have the holiday to yourself. Next year we have it the two of us, or you come face your cousins at your Aunt Theresa's with me." He squared his jaw, and Kate saw the lawyer in him pushing to the surface for a moment. "I won't take no for an answer."

She nodded and swiped at her cheeks, whispering, "Yes, Daddy."

He pulled her into a one-armed hug, dropping a kiss to her hair. "Love you, Katie."

She smiled through her sniffles, "Love you too."

Despite numerous conversations by text, Rick never did call about Labor Day weekend, but by the time Hallowe'en rolled around Kate had scored a lucky break on the shift rota. With the prospect of the next day off, the call just before the end of shift at 8pm was unexpected but certainly not unwelcome. At least, until her partners caught her twiddling her hair.

The sound of an office chair rolling towards her desk was the only notice she got. "Who was that on the phone, Beckett?" The other chair arrived moments later.

"Yeah, Beckett, was that your boyfriend?"

When she finally looked up from her paperwork at her boys she was armed with the biggest eye roll she could muster, but the hopeful looks on their faces arrested her movement. She rested her elbow on the arm of her chair and drummed her fingers against her lips to hide her indulgent smile. Her boys. She decided she was going to get them great Christmas gifts this year.

"No," she replied to Ryan. She tried not to notice the disappointment on their faces. "He did invite me to a Hallowe'en party though… And… he's going to pick me up from the coffee shop downstairs in about half an hour."

Esposito gave her a long look. "Girl, ever since you realised this guy's your favourite author-…"

Ryan interrupted him, "-and it's still hilarious it took you almost five months, by the way-"

Esposito held out his fist for Ryan to bump. "-you've not stopped talking about him. So, are we gonna have to come down and give him The Talk?"

She couldn't hold in the eye roll then. "Going on about him? I think I've probably mentioned him twice, Espo, get a grip." She grinned at them both.

An hour later, she wished she'd let them keep her company. Rick was late. And when the coffee shop closed at 10pm, when she was just about ready to give up on him, he called.

"Kate?!" He sounded frantic. "Kate? God, I am so sorry. I, stupidly, so stupidly, borrowed my friend's car to come pick you up and… ugh, I can't believe how stupid I was, it turns out he hasn't filled it with gas in about two weeks and I'm on the FDR Drive, and I've been waiting for a tow for like two hours, and I'm so sorry, Kate… Kate? You there? Don't tell me my cell crapped out on me too?"

"Rick! It's okay! It's okay. Do you need me to come get you?"

"Uh… no, Kate, I think the truck's just pulling up. I am so sorry, I'll make it up to you, I promise. I have to go…"

"Alright, take care, get warmed up soon."

"Thanks, bye."

"Bye!" Her response was lost to the sound of the call being cut off, and her sigh filled the silence before she waved down a cab.

Kate raced from her dad's place over to the Food Emporium on Greenwich to stock up on everything she'd need for the next few days. It wasn't her usual market, but the lack of familiarity meant she actually found a sense of enjoyment in the shopping. Braving the incredibly long queue at the store was worth it in the end, as she finally returned home with the world's smallest turkey and all the trimmings.

She swung straight into action, morphing from Santa's elf to domestic goddess, with the help of her mom's old recipe book. Full of the family secrets, Kate knew everything would be fine so long as she stuck to the tried and tested methods. She flipped her Christmas playlist on and set to work. Soon enough, the turkey was safely in the oven along with some chopped vegetables, and she turned the page of the book to see what was next.

"Cranberry Sauce," she read from the neat writing that had belonged to her mother's mother. "Cranberries… shit!"

There was nothing for it. There was no back up in the cupboard and to have turkey without her Nonna's cranberry sauce would be a travesty, so she tugged her boots back on and bundled up again to brave the snow, heading to the Jubilee Marketplace on Broadway, the only place she knew would be open still.

The store was almost deserted, two attendants at the check outs trying to amuse themselves with some kind of word game and a few lonely-looking shoppers who mostly weren't in any sort of hurry at all. Except for one guy, tall, broad-shouldered, expensive Italian wool coat… Kate gasped when she realised who it was.

"Rick!"

He span around on the spot as if caught red-handed, searching for the source of his name before he saw her and his face broke into a wide smile. "Kate! Hi!"

She couldn't stop herself from grinning back, meeting him halfway along the fresh produce aisle. "Shouldn't you be at home right now?"

"Oh, just grabbing some supplies for the next couple days," he glanced down into his basket as if to check he'd remembered everything. "My daughter's with her mom in LA this year, and Mother is staying with friends in Vermont, so I'm spending this one alone. But it's good, I need a break; this year's been crazy."

Kate nodded in sympathy, "Me too… but, uh, why are you…?" She glanced into his basket and stifled a snort, "You mean, you forgot cranberries too?"

He couldn't hold his laughter in, and she found it infectious, laughing right along with him. Their eyes met, amused delight twinkling and connecting between them, and when they'd recovered enough to talk again, he finally responded.

"Would you..." He shifted his weight, the move revealing his sudden nervousness. "Kate, would you do me the honour of joining me for Christmas dinner?"

She ducked her gaze down to the floor before looking up at him through her lashes. "I left my turkey in the oven, so if you wanted to come to my place…"

He chuckled again. "Mine's already cooking too… We could stop by your place, get yours and make the feast enormous… I, just… I thought it'd be good to have the time to myself, but the truth is there's one person I really want to spend Christmas with."

Kate tried to avert her eyes from his steady, piercing gaze, so overwhelmed with his quiet admission that the thought of offering to use roshambo to decide whose home to head for went clear from her mind. Her voice was timid when she managed to speak, "Yeah?"

"You might know her, she's a smart, quick-witted, sexy detective, and she and I have been chasing each other around Manhattan for almost a year with only a few, brief coffee shop dates and a couple thousand texts to show for it…" His eyebrows flicked upwards and she laughed again, letting her delight show in the sparkle of her eyes and the openness of her face.

He offered her the crook of his elbow and she took it, letting him lead the way. Kate couldn't help feeling that there was some Christmas magic in play at that moment, but she didn't dare question it. Not when it felt like the beginning of a very happy ending.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Couldn't miss this one this year!

Wishing you all a peaceful festive season, with gratitude. Katherine x