Castle gripped the dashboard in front of him as the car fishtailed on a patch of recently formed ice on the road as Beckett made her turn.
"He said turn right."
"He did not, Castle. He said left. Stop telling me how to drive."
"Well, if you would stop getting us lost, I'd stop telling you."
A scowl adorned her face as she heard his response, all the while trying to see past the swirling snow storm that had made visibility on the narrow road nearly impossible.
It was late. Very late, and she was beyond exhausted.
They were supposed to have been back in the city by now but one lead led to another and they had to see it through. Their suspect was now in custody in the small town near Aurora, several hours north of the city. The man was the number one suspect in several murders and in another local homicide-out of their jurisdiction.
When they had arrived earlier in the day it had been unseasonably warm for this late in December. The storm came upon them unexpectedly and the giant glittering snowflakes were beautiful, but quickly made the roads unsafe for them to return home tonight.
"There! There it is!" He extended his arm in front of her pointing towards her side window. "Cabin #7," he exclaimed, happy he would soon be able to get out of the car.
The small local hotel had been full for days, due to the fact that it was the day before Christmas Eve.
They were finally able to locate a place that rented out small cabins, equipped with just the basics after Castle had, to no avail, called every phone number to every motel that Google offered in his search.
Randy, the man who lived there and ran the place as well as a small gas station, said they mostly catered to fishermen looking to get back to nature. A step up from a tent.
"Ugg, finally!" she responded, equally ready to get out of the cramped car and out of her snow soaked boots.
They had been bickering. Both exhausted and hungry, leading them to take it out on each other. But Beckett had to admit that part of the frustration was her own internal turmoil. She was continually growing more frustrated with herself.
If she could just get up the courage to finally act on how she felt towards him. Fighting with him helped to keep him from getting too close. Keeping him at arm's length was her default.
They parked the car right in front of the small wooden cabin. The freezing snow on the ground crunched as they got out and quickly ran to the trunk of the car.
Beckett retrieved the bag of spare clothing she always kept in case of emergency as Castle grabbed the bag of basic food supplies and personal items they were able to purchase at the gas station. He then moved aside his WRITER vest and much to her surprise procured a small bag of his own.
"Castle, what is that?" She asked as the wind whipped her long hair in every direction.
"My emergency clothes," he said as if she should already know the answer to her question.
"What?" He asked in response to her eye roll. "It only took one time for me to lose the back of my jeans to that dog, to know I need to carry a spare pair."
"Just hurry up. It's freezing out here," she responded as she all but jogged in place in an attempt to warm up.
"Boy you sure are cranky when you're cold," he muttered under his breath.
They walked up the icy steps and after several jiggles of the key, were able to unlock the door to the cabin. They had just walked inside when a loud bang resonated in the room as the door slammed shut behind them with the force of the wind from outside.
"Wow, it's really getting bad out there," she said dropping her bag by the door.
A quick look around verified that this was no luxury cabin. Creaky, uneven wood floors began absorbing the water from the snow melting off of their boots as they stood in the entry.
The open room consisted of a mauve and green plaid patterned couch with a rustic coffee table in front of it flanked by an old black wood burning stove with a small pile of kindling sitting next to it.
A basic kitchen with a sink, small refrigerator and a hot plate on the counter was to their right. A small hallway was directly in front of them that presumably led to the bedrooms. Two bedrooms as they had requested, and the bathroom.
It smelled of wood and fish. Not exactly the relaxing atmosphere she had hoped for when she started dreaming of a hot bubble bath and a good book after they closed their current case.
"Castle, why is it so cold in here?" she asked as she sat in the small chair by the door and took off her boots, shrugging out of her wet jacket and placing it over the back of the chair.
He took his own shoes off before looking around the walls for a thermostat.
"I don't think there is furnace in this place. Randy said most people come up here spring through fall to fish. We're going to have to start a fire."
Kate rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm them as she walked to the small pile of kindling by the stove.
"This is not enough wood to keep us warm all night." This day just got better and better.
"Let's check the rest of the place out. Maybe there is more wood somewhere else. Come on," he said urging her to follow as he walked down the short hallway.
The first room held a full sized bed. The blanket was an "up north" theme with a moose and evergreen tree sewn on it. A side table with a lamp and a small radio sat atop it and the room had a fireplace with a menial stack of wood piled on the floor.
"Well, here's some more. If the other room has wood we should be ok."
They walked into the next room which was strikingly similar. A patchwork quilt, that was rather cozy looking, adorned the bed and it had a matching side table and lamp. This room, thankfully, had a pile of wood that was larger than the last.
Beckett shook her head as she pondered the pile, "I don't think this will be enough for both of our rooms though, Castle. Maybe you should see if there is an axe outside. You could chop some more?"
"Beckett, I am not going back out there tonight. Do you remember how cold it is out there?" He shivered just thinking about it. "Besides, there is a solution that keeps us both warm and dry…" he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Castle…" she said in warning.
"I promise to be a total gentleman. And I don't really see another solution here do you?"
She felt her heart rate increase at the thought sharing a bed, of being so close to his body. This is not exactly the picture she had in mind of how their first time spending the night together would go.
It wasn't that she didn't trust him. He had proven to be respectful of her despite the longing she knows he feels for her, even when they have been placed in compromising positions in the past.
This time it was herself she wasn't sure she could trust and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin the progress she had felt herself make over the last few months.
"Fine, but you have to promise to stay on your side. No funny business."
"Scouts honor," he said with a salute.
"We both know you were never a boy scout."
She saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye as his only response. Though she tried she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. He was incorrigible, and adorable.
Beckett headed back to the kitchen to heat up the canned soup they'd bought at the gas station. It would not be a gourmet meal, but at this point anything warm sounded wonderful.
Castle stayed behind and got the fireplace started in the bedroom that they were going to share that night.
Sure, he played and flirted with her, but in all honesty, he was nervous to share a bed with Kate. He loved her so very much and it took all he had to wait her out, to give her the time she needed. It was going to be very difficult not to pull her in close to his body and keep her warm all night long.
Thankfully the kitchen was equipped with a few pots and pans, bowls and silverware that they could eat their soup and bread. They sat on the small love seat together, thighs brushing due to their proximity. An unexpected shiver ran through her body despite the hot mug of soup in her hands.
"Still cold?"
Though it may have been his nearness and not the cold she wouldn't let him know that.
"Yeah, I just can't seem to warm up," she responded as he set down his soup and got up from the couch. "Where are you going?"
"Be right back."
He disappeared into one of the bedrooms and returned a moment later with a blanket from the bed.
He wrapped one side over her shoulders and sat back down next to her before wrapping the other half around his back and picking up his soup.
"Thanks Castle," she smiled at him with just a hint of a blush covering her cheeks. He was consistently one of the kindest people she'd ever known.
He smiled back at her, "Thanks for making us soup."
"So, did you get through to Alexis?"
"Yeah, they're safe at home. Doesn't sound like the storm is as bad in the city. However, she is pretty worried that we are not going to make it back in time for our Christmas Eve traditions tomorrow."
"I'm sure the roads will be better when we get up in the morning," she tried to reassure him, bringing her hand down to pat the top of his knee. She knew how much he enjoyed the holidays. She should since he'd been talking nonstop about his plans for the last few weeks.
His eyes were drawn to her hand as she touched his leg. He looked up at her face and they held each others gaze for a long pause before she quickly removed her hand. He wished she would have left it there. He felt they had been getting closer, she had been opening up to him more lately, but he still hoped for more. For now, he would give her an out.
"So, um, did you check in with the boys?" He asked in between spoonfuls of soup.
"Yeah, they'll be off shift the next couple of days since we closed this case. Espo thinks they'll be spending tomorrow having a Madden marathon but I think Jenny has other plans for Ryan."
"We really need to find a girl for Espo," he laughed.
"Ug, if he and Lanie would just get their act together."
"Oh," he said excitedly, "what do you know? Tell me all the gossip," he nudged her knee with his attempting to get her to spill information. All it did was send heat through her body.
"They want to be together but Espo keeps chickening out. He has some serious commitment issues. But they both definitely want to be together. They just keep fighting it."
Suddenly it felt like they were getting into dangerous territory. This all sounded too close to home for her. It was time to change the subject fast.
"So, um what-what did you get Alexis for Christmas this year?"
He told her the story of almost buying her a scooter and they fell into their usual easy conversation.
Later, when their soup was finished he watched her yawn and rest her head on the back of the couch. She needed to rest, they would have a long drive ahead of them in the morning.
"Come on," he said standing, "let's get you to bed." He reached out his hands to her and she tentatively raised her eyes to his and noticed the tenderness on his face. She could see his love practically beaming at her. It felt so intimate, like long time lovers falling into their regular bedtime routine.
Kate felt her stomach flutter and she paused to take a deep breath and then let him pull her up from the couch, his warm hands enveloping hers. He gave them a squeeze before releasing her and following her into the bedroom.