A/N: This was inspired by Polly Lynn's Knit One, Murder Two. If you haven't read it, you should!

I mean that my heart unto yours is knit

So that but one heart we can make of it.

-Lysander, A Midsummer's Night Dream

It started when the first snow fell. Suddenly she noticed that Castle was wearing scarves a lot. Not that she had a problem with that. He always looked hot in scarves. And she's allowed to look at a crime scene right? They've already established strict no-PDA rules but she finds herself slipping more than he does.

And then she saw Alexis wearing this cute red hat. She asked her where she got it but Alexis just stammered and wouldn't reply. It was so damn confusing. She had also seen Martha with this pair of beautiful knit gloves but when she asked, Martha only replied that she got them from a special secret place.

And now here it was, three days before Christmas Eve and she was wrestling with his scarf collection in his closet. She had the loft to herself and she figured this would be the perfect time to hide her Christmas presents. Castle would never suspect they were in his own closet. And he was too original to hide his own there. But when she opened the doors and pushed through to the back, she never thought she would be attacked by a bundle of scarves. She was trying to push a box on the upper shelf aside when it came tumbling down.

And now that she was looking at it, there were a lot of scarves. A LOT. At least forty although she suspected more. What was Castle doing with all these scarves? She glanced up to the shelf and saw another box beside it that had ANOTHER scarf peeking out from the top. And a wooden stick?

Kate stopped what she was doing for a moment.

She was supposed to be hiding her presents here, not snooping. But Castle wouldn't be home for another hour due to his meeting and she really wanted to find out what was in that box. She would just have to put everything back the way it was. That would work, right?

She stood on her tippy toes and reached for the box, pulling it down and setting it on the floor. She sat cross legged amongst the pile of scarves and pulled out the one that was resting in the box. But it wasn't a scarf.

It was half of one, the other end still attached to its knitting needles. It had a beautiful, intricate pattern and she caressed the wool for a moment, revelling in the softness on her fingertips. It was absolutely gorgeous and it wasn't until a few moments later that she snapped out of it and realized what this meant.

Castle was a knitter.

She poked through the box and sure enough there was a pattern with his hand written notes on the side. She chuckled as she read through it. The beginning had a few instructions including something about checking the gauge. Castle had crossed it out and written 'Wusses check gauge.' The rest of the pattern was mostly numbers as if he was counting down each section and crossing it off as he went.

But he had scribbled some notes of frustration as well, the writer in him unable to stop. 'She had better like this. This pattern is hell.'

Kate suddenly realized that she was who he was talking about. This beautiful piece was for her. She sucked in a breath and smiled lightly.

This man.

He made a present for her. It was totally unexpected and absolutely perfect. Tears pricked her eyes as she realized that he had done it again. Made her feel special with the sweetest of gestures. She wiped her eyes and then gathered up the scarf and needles, placing it back in the box. She hoped he wouldn't notice when he went to get it next.

She knew nothing about knitting but she wondered if he would complete it in time. They had been really busy lately. Kate gathered up the rest of the scarves and put them in the box. She had just secured it on the top shelf when she heard a cough and whirled around.

There was Castle with a smirk on his face.

"Snooping for your present are we?"

"I wasn't…" She stammered. "I was trying to hide yours and then it fell and then…"

Castle's eyes flicked up at the second box and back down again. "Did you…"

"You knit?" She interrupted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You saw?" He asked, moving towards her and the box.

"I didn't mean to. But Castle…" She stepped towards him and took his hand in hers. "It's beautiful. Is it for me?"

He nodded. "Of course it's for you. And I didn't tell you because…I don't know, knitting's not very manly and I know the guys would tease me but it helps me to relax and is the only thing that cures my writer's block and…"

"I love it. I love it so much Rick." She said fervently. "I love that you made me something so incredible."

"Matches the person." He replied, tugging her waist until their foreheads rested against one another.

"I'm sorry I ruined the surprise." She said, snuggling into him.

"Eh, I got you lots of other presents too."

"I love you." The words poured out of her mouth and she was sure she looked as startled as he did. "I love everything about you and everything you do."

"Even knitting?"

She nodded. "It only makes sense that you would knit. After all, you are good with your hands."

"I'll show you good with my hands." He growled, pushing her against the wall of the closet. And when the box of scarves came tumbling down, neither of them cared.