A/N: Okay, this is the first fan fic I have written in a while and the first one I have ever written for Castle. I know its not Christmas at the moment but this little idea popped into my head and wouldn't go away and I couldn't wait until Christmas to post it. So here is a fluffy little one shot written at 4am because I couldn't sleep until I wrote. Also please note that I am Australian and trying to write for an American show so feel free to correct me on anything I got wrong.
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the song Little Things by Billy Gilman. But if anyone would like to give me a really early Christmas gift...
Love is in the Little Things
Little things that you do
Make me glad I'm in love with you
Little things that you say
Make me glad that I feel this way
Little Things by Billy Gilman
Bitter cold bit at Rick Castle's cheeks as he hurried from the cab into his brightly lit apartment building. Thick, fluffy flakes of snow were slowly falling, adding to the magic of the season and he could smell roasting chestnuts and hear the distant strains of Christmas carols.
Nodding at the doorman as he passed, he made his way to the elevator and waited patiently for it to arrive. Nodding a good evening to the people exiting, he walked in and pushed the button for his floor, his mind turning to how happy he was to be returning home.
He loved this time of year. The festive feeling in the air, flashing lights and Christmas displays in shop windows. Family returning home for the holidays.
Arriving at his floor, he once again nodded in greeting to neighbors as he passed while unhurriedly making his way along the long corridor to his door, smiling as he passed the many decorations adorning the walls of the building.
He unlocked the door to the apartment and brushed the small amount of remaining snow off his shoulders before stepping through the door. Pulling his scarf from his neck and shrugging off his thick winter coat he noticed how peaceful it was in the large loft.
Alexis wouldn't be returning from college for a week and his mother was living at her new husband Chet's place but he would expect some noise even if Kate, his wife of two years, was the only one home. Normally she would have some carols softly playing or the TV on in the background, turned down low. Today, however, he was greeted only by silence.
"Kate, I'm home!" he called as he hung his coat and scarf on the rack. Maybe she was reading or taking a bath and hadn't heard him come home. There was no reply to his greeting though and he decided to venture further into his quiet home in search of his beautiful wife.
It didn't take long to find her. Case files and crime scene photos from the latest string of murders to puzzle the detectives of the 12th precinct were spread across the coffee table in the lounge room along with a yellow legal pad, the first page of which was filled with notes in Kate's neat, even handwriting. Kate herself was curled up on her side on the large, leather lounge that accompanied the coffee table.
The Christmas tree in the corner painted her face a rainbow of colours with its flashing lights and its bright decorations clashed with the horror of the crime scene photos she had been studying. The festive red and green sweater she wore also looked at odds with the grim reality painted in those pictures. Rick, however, was focused only on the woman on the couch and not her surrounds.
One of her delicate hands rested near her face, still loosely gripping the pen she had been writing with, the other laying gently on her swollen pregnant belly. Her long legs were bent, her feet tucked up in an effort to keep them warm and her hair was a mess of gorgeous brown curls, framing her face that was relaxed and peaceful in sleep.
Rick couldn't do anything but stare at the breathtaking sight before him. His beautiful wife looked so calm and serene as she slept, her hand gently cradling their unborn child. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen her more relaxed, peaceful and carefree, caught in a realm of dreams where the everyday stress of her job melted away.
It was then that she moved, shivering slightly despite the relatively warm apartment and curled her legs closer to her body.
Unable to bear the thought of waking her, Rick moved closer, gently prying the pen from her fingers with one hand and reaching for the throw rug he kept nearby with the other. He proceeded to gently cover her sleeping form with the warm blanket ensuring that only her head was left uncovered.
He stopped himself from caressing her stomach, fearing it would wake her and instead crouched down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"I love you," he whispered, his breath tickling her hair.
"Rick," she muttered, stirring slightly, "Love you too." Those last three words came out as a sigh, her face relaxing into a smile and her eyes fluttering.
There was nothing special about tonight. Christmas was still two weeks away and it was just he and Kate at home yet he could feel the magic of the holiday in the air, in every little thing he did.
"Sleep," he whispered, smoothing her messy curls back from her face gently.
Her eyes closed fully as sleep reclaimed her mind and his face stretched into a bright smile of its own. He gently stroked her cheek, still marvelling at the softness of her skin despite the years they had been married.
Taking one last, long, lingering look at her serene face he straightened from his crouch beside her and slowly made his way into the kitchen to make dinner.
Kate remained smiling as she thought of her husband and felt her child kicking within her. The only sound that reached her was Rick softly singing Christmas carols as he cooked accompanied by the distant clatter of pots and pans. Other then that everything was still peaceful.
She snuggled deeper into the blanket he had placed over her and lost herself to her happy dreams once more a final, fleeting thought crossing her mind as she drifted into a deep sleep. Something her mother used to tell her every night in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Love was in the little things. And she was right.
A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought