Pretty Little Packages
The precinct was empty, and the lights dimmed throughout the bullpen, save for the illegal Christmas lights that had been smuggled in to the break room. Other than the sound of the cars outside on the wet road, and the occasional sound of a car horn, it was a quiet, peaceful evening. Kate's eyes flickered up to the clock on the wall, and then back to the paperwork on her desk. She always found solace in the safety of her workplace, especially when the phones were silent, the white board was blank, and chaos was at an absolute minimum. Carefully, she turned the next paper in the pile of papers on her desk, listening to the slap of the paper onto the pile of completed papers.
She furrowed her brow at the discovery of a small green envelope that had somehow wedged its way into her paper stack. Her eyes flickered up self consciously to see if anyone had slipped past her detection, and rolled her eyes at herself when she realized she hadn't left her desk for hours, but for the occasional cup of coffee. Her fingers landed on the envelope, and she slowly slid it toward herself. Turning it over in her hand, she noted that it showed no signs of address, and the flap stuck open, inviting her to venture further.
She glanced again at the door, and then back to the envelope, and slipped her fingertips beneath the card inside. Carefully, she slipped the card out, and lifted an eyebrow at the plain red cardboard card. It was odd, but she could feel a bit of anxiety creeping into her chest. It wasn't a bad sense of anxiety, but one of active curiosity. Her lip curled up to a slight smile, and slowly, she opened the card.
She read the carefully scrawled words, and let out a soft breath. She could feel a lump in her throat as her heart pounded in her chest.
Peace for those you've lost.
Peace for those you've saved.
Peace for those yet to be saved.
Love Forever.
She didn't need to question the writer of the words, and her eyes flicked to the chair beside her desk, and she closed the card, sliding it to the side. The card had been unsigned, but the handwriting was all too familiar, the prose was hauntingly clear. Her hand dropped to her cell phone, but she didn't pick it up, instead she just shook her head and smiled. She had told him that she'd call when her work was through, when she finished what she needed to do. Her eyes flicked to the bright red card, and her lip curled to a smile as she shook her head. She pulled her hand from the phone and continued her work.
She began to fill out the next report, her long fingers covering the pen as the pen strokes slowed, and her eyes drifted to the card. She let a little puff of air escape her lips and her eyes narrowed.
"Focus, Beckett."
Her voice sounded louder than she had expected, and the humored tone only succeeded in forcing that smile on her face again, and her eyes to drift to the card. She shook her head and put her pen down. Leaning back in her chair, she grabbed the card from the desk and opened it, staring at the words.
She could see the thought and care that he had put into the words, and she imagined that gleam in his eye as he did so. Before she could convince herself to put the card down again, she stood up. She slipped her phone into her bag, grabbed her scarf and her coat, and made her way silently toward the exit.
The snow crunched beneath her boots as she slowly made her way through the cemetery toward her mother's grave. Grasped her hand was a small box, the size of her palm, tied carefully with a tight red bow. She paused beside the stone, silent and thoughtful. Taking a long, deep breath, she crouched before her mother's grave and allowed a sad smile to escape. There were no words to speak, and nobody to hear the thoughts that were traipsing through her mind. She was just content enough to follow the letters of her mother's name with her eyes, and carefully brush away the snow at the base of the stone. She placed the small box on the base, watching the winter wind blow tenderly against the ribbon, flickering it in the light wind that danced through the air. She could feel the prickles of tears in the corner of her eyes, and took a slow deep breath to keep herself from allowing the sob in her throat to escape.
Kate reached out and let her finger roll over the ribbon on the box, following the looping ring with her fingertip. She closed her eyes and allowed a tear to drop down her cheek, though when she wiped it away, she found herself smiling. "I love you, Mom," she whispered. "Merry Christmas."
For several more minutes, Kate crouched before the gravestone and watched the snowflakes land delicately, and melt against the grey stone. She then slowly stood up, keeping her eyes on her mother's name, as she glanced to the tiny box she had left. She then turned slowly without looking back, and walked slowly through the snow toward her waiting car.
Kate pulled her car to the curb and climbed out slowly. She reached to the passenger seat and carefully lifted the small blue box with the green ribbon into her hand. She walked up the steps of the brownstone and rang the buzzer, waiting to hear her father's voice on the other end. It took a minute or two, but he made it to the call box to buzz her in, knowing from the distinctive pattern of the ring, that his Katie was there. She walked up the steps to her father's apartment, and the door opened immediately.
"Dad, you shouldn't just open the door, you should really look."
"I already knew it was you." He said with a smile, reaching his arms out to envelop her in a tight hug.
"Merry Christmas, Dad."
"Merry Christmas, Katie," he said, turning to lead her into the apartment, she smiled at the slight effort that her father had made to at least acknowledge that it was Christmas. He had never been one for announcing the holidays, and with her mother gone, the garland and tinsel had become even more sparse. She started to pull her scarf off, and her father gave her an odd look. "I thought you were going to spend Christmas with Rick and his family."
"I never said that," she smiled and pulled her coat from her shoulders. "Besides, Castle can stand to anticipate my arrival. It'll be good for him." She smiled, hanging her coat over the overstuffed chair. "Besides, I brought you a Christmas gift."
"I told you, no gifts." He said sheepishly, though the smile never left his lips. He took the small package that his daughter handed him, and watched her flit silently through the apartment and make a beeline for the coffee pot. "What is this?" he asked.
"Open it." She smiled, pouring herself a cup of coffee, she pulled out a barstool and sat on it, leaning her elbows on the counter with a child like anticipation. She brought the coffee to her lips and watched his eyebrow lift, questioning her for a moment.
Jim sat across from his daughter, and slowly pulled the ribbon on the top of the package. He opened the box, and pushed the bit of tissue paper out of the way, glancing at the object in the depths of the box. She watched the corners of his mouth lift, and his eyes sparkled. "A new watch."
"Yes." She watched him pull the watch from the box and set it on his wrist, his eyes on the simple band and face. "Castle wanted me to get you one that works under water, and tells time in three different time zones."
"This is perfect." He smiled at her. "Simple, and perfect. Thank you, Katie."
She finished her coffee and talked with her father for a while enjoying his company with no want for distraction. He caught her glancing at the clock, and put her hand on hers. "You can go if you want, sweetheart."
"I'm here with you, Dad. That's where I want to be right now."
"I know, but you have other people that care about you, and they are waiting for you. We can have lunch together sometime next week, how about that?" He could see the pause in her expression. "Thank you for the watch."
She stood up and walked around the counter to hug her father. She embraced him tightly, and released when she felt him chuckle. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Katie. Now go on, before he sends out a search party for you."
She smiled and grabbed her coat. She pulled it on and buttoned it quickly. She grabbed her scarf and reached out for her father. She needed just one more hug before she slipped out the door for her next destination.
Upon arriving at Castle's loft, she took a moment of pause to collect herself. She could see from her approach to the building, the windows of his office and the brightly colored lights glowing within. She checked her phone, and found that he hadn't called or messaged her since the last time she had spoken to him that afternoon. She smiled and took a deep breath, grabbing the small bag from the seat beside her, she exited the car and made her way to his loft. She knocked on the door, and in a split second the door was opening, and she was being pulled inside.
"Kate will settle this!" Castle exclaimed as he pulled her carefully by the arm into the apartment. He dropped a kiss on her cheek and tugged at her coat as she whisked her way into the apartment.
"Wait, wait… what am I settling?" She asked with a laugh. All veiled nervousness had officially disappeared, and she found herself being dragged into the kitchen.
"What do those look like?" He asked, pointing to a tray of cookies.
"Chocolate oatmeal cookies," she said, glancing to him. "Why? What are they supposed to look like?" She could see Alexis smiling behind him.
"Don't they look like little piles of…"
"Richard, drop it." Martha said as she stepped into the room.
"It looks like someone already did," he laughed.
"Dad!" Alexis laughed.
Martha's eyes rolled dramatically and she took Kate's coat from Castle, and embraced her. "Come, sit… we were about to open gifts. Did you eat?"
"Um, yeah." She lied, but didn't want to impose, though Martha could see right through it, as usual.
"Let me get you a little something." She then proceeded to hand Kate's coat back to her son. "Take care of that, Richard."
He rolled his eyes and laughed, tossed the coat over the barstool, and led Kate into the sitting room, followed by Alexis.
"You brought me a gift," he smiled, reaching to grab it. "How thoughtful."
Kate scowled and sat down. "I brought everyone a gift." She looked around the brightly decorated room, and to the Christmas tree, decorated with bright and colorful lights and decorations. "Everything is beautiful, Castle."
"Thanks, I'm using a new moisturizing…"
"The tree," she said, leaving him on the couch, she moved toward it slowly. Her eyes focused on the decorations, and the colorful lights danced through her eyes. "It's really beautiful." She reached out and touched it, feeling the sharp needle beneath her fingertips. "It's real."
"Of course it's real." Castle laughed. "I don't think I'm rich enough for a hologram tree just yet."
"Dad prefers real trees." Alexis said with a smile. "He says that it doesn't smell like Christmas, otherwise."
"He's right." Kate said, breathing in the scent of the tree.
"Dinner is served." Martha said, entering the room with a plate of cookies. "I figure we'll start with dessert, and work our way to something else if we see fit."
"Sounds good to me." Kate replied, and moved toward the sofa to settle in for gift giving.
The four of them laughed and joked as the gifts were doled out and opened. Cookies were devoured, and wrapping paper flew. Kate found herself leaning against Castle's side, his arm resting lovingly over her as the night wore on. When things had settled, Alexis went to take a phone call from her mother, and Martha disappeared into the kitchen to get them a bottle of wine, and Kate found herself alone with Castle for the first time since she had arrived. "Thank you for inviting me." She said, looking up at him. His eyes were looking lovingly down upon her.
"Of course."
"Thank you for the note," she said, watching him give her a confused expression that was veiled with a knowing smile.
"I thought you might need a little something to get you away from that paperwork," he admitted.
"It helped." She straightened herself up a little and reached for the bag that was close to her feet. She pulled out a red box, with a bright blue ribbon tied to it.
"What's that?" he asked.
"It's your gift."
"I thought you already gave me a gift."
"Nope." She handed him the box and watched him straighten himself as he took it into his hands. He glanced to her and pulled at the ribbon eagerly.
"What is it?" he asked, before opening the box. He took her scowl as a sign to just open it and be quiet. He pulled the lid from the box and was greeted with another box within it. "Is this a Russian nesting gift?"
"Just open the box, Castle."
He opened the box and smiled at its contents. Nestled within was a gold pen. "I heard a rumor that you enjoy writing."
He let out a laugh and pulled the pen from its box, lifting into his fingers, he fiddled with it, rolling the smooth metal in his fingers. "It's beautiful."
"There's an engraving," she pointed, and he smiled to her as he lifted the pen to view it.
"Potius sero quam numquam." He read aloud. His lips curled into a bright grin. "Better late than never?"
Kate laughed, covering her face for a moment as she let out a laugh. "What? It's a good motto for a writer with a deadline," she laughed.
"Right," he nodded, letting out a laugh. "Sure that's what it means."
"You don't like it?"
He pulled it to his chest away from her reach and looked into her eyes. "I love it. Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said shyly as she cuddled back into him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not giving up."
They both were silent for several moments, peacefully holding one another with no words exchanged, as time passed by them as slowly as they wanted to allow it to go, for once.