Karen couldn't help it; she turned in her seat and looked towards the entrance to the school auditorium for the fourth time in twenty minutes.

"Jesus, Page, you're going to give yourself whiplash," Jessica teased her friend, flipping through the program.

"I can't help it," Karen sighed. "He promised."

"Then he'll be here," Trish reassured the other blonde. "He wouldn't let her down."

Karen twisted her fingers together, anxiety bubbling in her stomach. Frank had promised he'd be at their place before the concert, but she hadn't heard from him in two days. She was so grateful that Jessica and Trish had offered to come too - so had Mattie. The little girl had been out of her mind excited that two of her favorite adults were coming to her Christmas concert.

She'd been twirling around the apartment in her red dress, nearly knocking over her sister in her excitement.

"Mommy! Aunt Trish and Aunt Jess and Daddy and maybe even Aunt Sarah and Uncle David are all comin' to my singing!" she'd squealed, blue eyes bright.

"Mhm," Karen had laughed, getting everything ready and holding in her anger and fear that Frank might not make it to the school.

"Can we get ice cream after?" Mattie'd asked.

"Definitely not," Karen had laughed. "It's so cold out!"

Mattie had pouted, but perked up when Karen had pulled her and Louisa out into the hallway to head over to the school. Karen was glad that she hadn't told the girls that Frank would come to the apartment first.

Now, she swiveled in her seat again, looking to the door when it opened. She exhaled in a huff. It was just Sarah, David, and the kids. Mattie would be happy.

"Hi Karen," Leo grinned and kissed her cheek before wiggling down the row and sitting in the open seat next to Louisa. She started entertaining the four-year-old, much to Karen's relief. Zach waved from the end of the row where had had taken a seat and Karen waved back, blowing kisses to David and Sarah.

"Frank?" Sarah mouthed.

Karen shrugged in response - trying to ignore the fear clawing up her throat. She resisted the urge to grab her phone and text him - he wouldn't answer.

The lights dimmed in the auditorium and the first graders paraded out onto the stage.

Jessica let out a loud whoop when they spotted Mattie skip on stage. The little grin heard, grinned and waved wildly in their direction. Despite her worry for Frank, Karen grinned brightly. Their little girl was a ham - she loved the spotlight.

Karen pulled out her phone and started recording - if Frank couldn't see it in person, she would absolutely show him the video.

The kids worked their way through 'Frosty the Snowman', 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town', and were just starting 'Jingle Bells' - complete with golden bells to shake - when Karen saw Mattie's eyes widen. The first grader dropped one set of bells and immediately waved wildly. Karen waved back, until she realized her daughter was looking past her.

She turned and there - hiding by the door and half hidden by shadows - was Frank. He had a baseball cap pulled low over his head, but Karen could see the glint of his teeth as he smiled and the movement of his hand as he waved back to Mattie. She sunk back into her seat, completely relieved that he was in one piece. The hat was obviously hiding some bad bruising since he didn't really need it to go incognito anymore. But she would deal with that later.

Now it was time to enjoy their daughter's show.

The concert came to an end fifteen minutes later. Karen sent the Liebermans and Jessica and Trish to wait out in the lobby while she retrieved Mattie from the classroom.

"Hi baby," she said, spotting Mattie. She ran - full tilt - into Karen's arms.

"Momma! It was so fun!" she giggled. "I think I'm gonna be a singer when I grow up."

"Oh do you, little miss?" the gravelly voice was unmistakable.

"Daddy!" Mattie beamed, lunging out of Karen's arms and into Frank's. Karen didn't miss the way he winced when Mattie's knee made contact with his side. She raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head - he would explain later.

"Did you see me?" she asked, hugging Frank's neck tightly.

"You bet I did, little miss," Frank kissed her cheek. "Gave a real good show with those bells, Matt."

"They were real jingle bells," Mattie informed him seriously. "Miss Mulvaney said we were 'sponsible enough not to goof off."

"I believe her," Frank replied. "I know you got some fans waitin' for their autographs out in the lobby."

"Oh man!" Mattie beamed. "I've even been practicing my cursive."

Karen smiled as Frank and Mattie chartered away. She trailed a step or two behind them as they navigated the crowds toward the lobby. He was *such* a good dad.

Mattie slipped from Frank's grasp once they got to the lobby and ran to the small group of people waiting for her.

"Keep up back there ma'am," Frank turned to her with a smile. He held his hand out and Karen grasped it tightly.

"I'm glad you made it, Frank," she whispered to him, squeezing his hand.

"Pete," he corrected with a wink.

"Pete," she amended with an eye roll. She hated that name. He wasn't a Pete and he never would be. "Whoever you are, I'm glad you made it."

"I promised my girls, didn't I?" he said seriously.

Karen sighed. "You worried me, Frank."

"I'm sorry about that," his tone genuinely apologetic. "I'm tryin', Karen."

"I know, I know," she said, leaning into his side - she just wanted to touch him, to make sure he was solid under her fingers. "You're staying tonight?"

"As long as I can," he promised.

"Good. The girls miss you too," Karen murmured, watching Frank's gaze drift to where Mattie and Louisa were being smothered with affection.

"I miss 'em too, Karen. Believe me," his tone grew soft. "I'm missin' so much."

"You didn't miss this," she gripped his bicep. "You're a good dad, Frank."

Karen could see the ghosts in his eyes and she nodded, "Come on. Let's go get some dinner. I thought we could get Chinese and go back to the apartment - have a little party for Mattie's concert."

"Sounds like a good idea, ma'am," he replied. He looped his arm around Karen's shoulder, still holding her hand so that their interlocked fingers were resting on Karen's left shoulder.

She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, following the parade that Mattie led.

"You know, we are going to talk about why you haven't called in two days and we're late today," Karen said casually.

Frank laughed. "Wouldn't expect anythin' less, Karen."

A/N: Hi! So this is my first time writing Kastle after binging The Punisher a few days ago. I'm obsessed and I loved them so much. I have another story that I'll publish in a few days, but this Christmas idea hit me and i wanted to post it before it was too late hah.

Mattie is short for Matilda, which is a name I liked and Louisa is Frank's mom's name according to the comic wiki. I felt like the names went nicely together.

Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is always welcome :)