Note: None of these characters are mine.

A Mrs. for Mr. Claus

"Please Kate? Please? You promised!" Castle was trailing along behind Beckett as they made their way through her apartment, carrying a long garment bag.

"I did no such thing! I said I'd think about it. Well, I've thought, and the answer is no." Kate glanced back at him and smiled at how much he looked like a petulant three-year-old.

Castle nearly stomped his foot like a child in a tantrum, but caught himself just in time. "But Kate!"

"Castle. Look, you invited half the precinct to your party. I have to work with these people. I get teased enough as it is. The last thing I need is an endless supply of pictures of me in a Mrs. Claus outfit popping up all over the precinct. No one will ever take me seriously again!"

"But I can't be Santa Claus without a Mrs. Claus! Kaaate." Castle whined as he hung the garment bag containing the Mrs. Claus costume in Kate's closet.

"Castle. Rick," Kate assumed her persuasive voice. Putting her hands on Castle's shoulders and slowly walking him backwards towards the door, she reasoned with him, "You need to go back to your apartment, and get ready for your party, which starts in an hour. And I need to shower and get dressed so I'm not late for said party." With this, she pecked him on the lips and stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door with a decisive click.

Castle pouted for a brief moment (for effect), and then hurried out of her bedroom and down the hall. He had hoped she'd come around and willingly wear the costume, but he wasn't naïve. He had made back-up plans. In the trunk of his car sat five large empty plastic bins. He figured five bins would be enough to pack up all of Kate's season-appropriate clothing and hide it until after the party. After eight months together, he knew her routine by heart. She'd be in the bathroom for at least 25 minutes, giving him ample time to pack-and-run, leaving her with no choice but to wear the costume he'd left hanging on her closet door. He liked to call his scheme Operation Mrs. Claus.

Giddy with his mischievous plan, Castle had a little skip in his step as he turned down her hall to enter the living room. The living room that Kate had spent the last month decorating with care. She had pixie lights lining the ceiling and the bookcase. Candles lit every window. A large pine tree that Rick himself had lugged up the stairs for her sat in the corner, decorated with ornaments from her childhood. Her mother's ornaments.

He hadn't known how much she loved Christmas until their first (official) date last April. They'd gotten caught in an unexpected spring snow shower on the way to the restaurant, and he'd made a joke about Christmas in April. She'd started telling him about she and her mom had loved each Christmas so much, they couldn't wait a full year for the next one. So they'd instituted an annual mini-Christmas in April. He could still picture how her eyes had lit up as she'd told him all about the little yearly celebration. She regaled him with Beckett Christmas stories all throughout their meal. When the waiter came to inquire about dessert, Kate's face had flushed with embarrassment. She'd begun to apologize for rambling on and on all evening, but Castle had interrupted her, before she could put her guard back up. With a little coaxing, and a few Castle Christmas tales, he had gotten her talking again. Over dessert and coffee, she told him about the traditions she still held onto, the ones that kept her mother alive at the holidays.

When he finally pulled himself out of his reverie, Castle realized two things. One, behind the bathroom door, the shower had stopped and he was running out of time. Two, even if he had all the time in the world, Operation Mrs. Claus was one prank he'd be skipping. He knew she'd have taken his joke lightly, wearing the costume without further complaint (or possibly showing up at his party in a bikini and shorts). But he wanted Kate to have the perfect Christmas, and if that meant going against the very nature of Christmas party etiquette and being a Mr. Claus without a Mrs. Claus, so be it.

Anyway, he mused, tiptoeing back to her bedroom, with a little luck, by this time next year, she'll be his Mrs. C for real.

Kate stepped out of the shower and put her ear to the bathroom door, listening closely. Nothing. Not a sound. That was unexpected. Kate had been sure Castle would pull something. Maybe gluing her closet door shut. Or stealing all of her clothing. But the apartment was silent.

Exiting the bathroom, Kate walked into the bedroom and towards the closet, where the infamous Mrs. Claus garment bag hung. She unzipped it and surveyed the costume. It truly was hideous. Bright red and velour, trimmed in some sort of synthetic fluff. When Castle had first shown it to her, she'd asked why she couldn't just wear a Santa hat and the nice red dress he'd bought her for her birthday. But Castle had vehemently insisted on the full costume. He said that half the fun of being the Clauses at a Christmas party was the hideous outfit.

It was a tradition, he said, and an honor.

She'd planned on wearing it, she really had. But since they'd started dating, the teasing she endured at the precinct had multiplied tenfold. A little joshing around was all well and good, but when you had patrol officers coming up to you at a crime scene to regale you with their rendition of Castle's latest antic, that was an entirely different ballgame. She didn't need a stint as Mrs. Claus added to the already long list of teasing ammo.

While she was lost in thought, a post-it pinned to the costume caught her eye.

If you won't wear me, maybe you'll wear this instead -

Kate followed the arrow, pulling aside the costume to look behind it. Hanging hidden at the back of the garment bag was the simple red dress Rick had bought her for her birthday, with a Santa Claus hat suspended from the hanger. A smile bloomed on her lips as she reread the post-it note.

Rick was a good man. A sweet man. He proved that to her day after day. And life had been a lot more fun since he'd shown up; since she'd opened up and let him in.

Fun.

With a smile, Kate hung the beautiful red dress back in her closet and took the Mrs. Claus costume out of the bag. She zipped up the voluminous skirt and plopped the truly terrible traditional red bonnet on her head. Standing in front of the mirror, she had to laugh. The costume was awful. She looked ridiculous. Everyone from the precinct would get a good laugh (and would tease her with this for months).

Let them laugh. Castle was worth it.

Anyway, she thought, smoothing out the dress, as soon as he asks, (hopefully very soon), she'll be his Mrs. C for real.

Thanks for reading!