A/N: Yes, I know it is "The Nutcracker Suite", but I'm just warning everyone that they will have to brush their teeth when they're done reading this, because as usual, it's sappy and corny. But then, I'm sappy and corny. Enjoy!
Martha Rodgers sat back and watched her family celebrate Christmas – her children, her grandchildren, and oh my goodness, her great grandchildren. (She never thought she'd have great grandchildren!) As usual, a Castle Christmas was a loud, flashy, and happy affair, and she wouldn't miss it for the world. As she watched the generations celebrate together, she found herself thinking of past Christmases.
She remembered Richard's very first Christmas. He was almost nine months old, and was the light in her life. Career wise, she was in the chorus of a musical, and she even had a solo and a few lines, so things were looking up. And coming home to Richard was truly the highlight of her day. He was such a happy baby; as soon as she walked into the room, he'd stop whatever he was doing and smile at her. She decided they would have a Christmas celebration and splurged. She bought a small tree and a few presents for him. She had fed him and then put "The Nutcracker" on the stereo. Richard loved music of all kinds, and he'd bounced on his bottom when the first notes sounded. She took him in her arms, and did a spin around the room. He'd laughed and patted her cheek as she hummed along. She promised herself they would always find a way to celebrate Christmas.
She remembered a Christmas a few years later, when Richard was about ten. It was a down year for her career; she'd had to work other jobs just to provide for them. They had a one bedroom apartment – Richard had to sleep on a pull-out couch in the living room – but they made the best of it that Christmas. She remembered coming home that Christmas Eve after working in a store. She was bone tired, but she had money in her pocket and she and Richard would be able to have a nice Christmas. She walked in the door, and she smelled it – pizza! She turned to see Richard standing there with a big grin on his face. He had been helping the super do some small jobs and had saved his money so he could buy them a pizza dinner to celebrate Christmas. He put "The Nutcracker" on the stereo, and the two of them enjoyed their Christmas pizza. She thought that was the best tasting pizza she'd ever had.
And that made her remember the fancy meal he'd treated her to that first Christmas after "In a Hail of Bullets" was published. Her career was going well then; that was when she was doing many guest spots on television dramas and was living in California. But she had come to New York for Christmas and the two of them celebrated their dual successes at a dinner at Le Cirque. She knew he could have been having fun with his friends, but he insisted on celebrating with her. And that night, they went to see "The Nutcracker" together at Lincoln Center. She remembered how he had grabbed her hand and smiled when "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" – his favorite – started.
She thought of the first Christmas after Richard and Meredith's divorce. Alexis was very young, and she seemed so sad. All that she understood was that Mommy wasn't there when she woke up. But Richard did the best he could, and by the end of the day, Alexis was happy again. And when he put "The Nutcracker" on the stereo, Alexis turned to her and said, "Come dance with me, Gram!" and Martha did. She and Richard shared a smile over Alexis' head.
Then she thought about that first Christmas after Richard and Katherine became a couple. About how he'd been so excited to share their traditions with her, and sad when she and Alexis wanted to go off and do things without him. She didn't know it, but Kate had been reluctant to celebrate because of her traditions – about how she honored her mother by keeping watch on Christmas. She and Alexis had cancelled their plans, but seeing him trying hard to celebrate made her tell him to leave and go to Katherine. But like something out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, she had traded shifts and showed up just as he was leaving. She watched happily as they celebrated together, the strains of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" playing in the background.
She thought of the many Christmases since then – the Christmas they were engaged, the Christmas after they were married (when he had banned from the precinct but he and Katherine hadn't told them yet), James' first Christmas, then Hannah's and Alexander's. Jim Beckett had started to celebrate with them too. And of course, the first Christmas that Alexis' young man Michael joined in the fun, the Christmases after they were engaged and married, and then the first Christmases for their children, Katherine and Joseph. She hoped she'd get to see the birth of more great-grandchildren too.
At that moment, Richard cued up his iPod, and she heard "The Nutcracker" start. He walked over to where she was sitting, and put out his hand. "Care to dance, Mother?" he said with an ear to ear grin. She smiled and let him help her up. It wasn't Christmas for them unless the "The Nutcracker" played at least once. And then he said to her, "Remember all the times you would put this on the stereo when it was just the two of us? You always made Christmas so magical. It couldn't have been easy, but you gave me hope. Thank you for that, Mother," he said as he kissed her cheek. Martha was too overcome with emotion to speak, so she simply patted his cheek as they danced together. Yes, she made a lot of mistakes along the way, but she raised a good man.
A/N: I hope this gets us through another Castle-less Monday – only 49 more days to go!