So it's my birthday tomorrow :)

Anyway.

Cute little one-shot I wrote during work today.

(It's sort of Christmas-sy themed? Probably because I won't be on ff to post any holiday stories.)

Disclaimer: don't own anything Castle-related.

There are many reasons why she didn't like to come home. Many things. Before Castle, she came home to an empty apartment, cold with the lack of heat that day, shivering as she prepared her bath.

The bath when she read his books were always the highlight of her day.

And then he came into her world.

Now she's able to come home to a warm home, lit up and full of energy and happy vibes that fill her with a sense of peace. And now, during the Christmas holidays, it's especially gay and jolly in their home.

He doesn't come to the precinct as much anymore, because he has to take care of Steph and Carolina. But he's always there, waiting, as she slips her shoes off and slides into his embrace as their two kids jump on her, eager to share their day with her.

Her two little girls. Growing by the day. Three year old twins, and they both have their father's never-ending energy and thirst for knowledge, as well as her dark hair and his blue eyes.

Boy, are they going to be surrounded by boys when they grow up.

(But she can't think of that yet. It's too soon.)

Rick presses a chaste kiss to her lips as she comes home from a particularly exhausting case, full of twists and turns to the very end.

Kate knows he's dying to come and help out, but he dutifully stays home every day, and then he makes up for the time spent apart at night.

(Mhm. Yeah he does.)

She sinks into the couch, shaking her hair out of her ponytail, and he rubs a hand through her hair, letting the waves fly free.

Their children curl up in their laps, and they chatter continuously, and she leans a head on her husband's broad shoulder.

Kate notices that the tv is on, and Frosty the Snowman is . He must have turned the volume down when he heard her come through the door, and she smiles as she presses a kiss onto his neck, and breathes in the smell of home. Her head hurts, and he must have figured it out when she answered his call a few hours before, sounding dead tired.

But now she's home for the holidays, and has four days off of work, and she isn't even on call.

(Gates persuaded her to go home, and Kate knows that it's because she fell in love with the twins, just like everyone else in the precinct.)

Just as she's drifting asleep, the girls quiet in their laps, her husband running a hand through her hair, Martha and Alexis barge in the door, loudly apologizing for being late, and the silence is shattered. Jim follows them, laughing at the startled expressions that must be on the faces of the people on the couch.

Well, the silence is over.

But oh well. Kate's used to it. She embraces it, even.

This is her family, her home. Rick, her two little girls, her step-daughter, and her mother-in-law.

(It's so worth all the problems she and Rick went through up to this moment.)

I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS BUT THIS IS FOR MY DEAR FRIEND GALENA HER BIRTHDAY IS TODAY AND SHE'S ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS ON TWITTER AND I'M SO HONORED THAT SHE'S MY FRIEND.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABE. I LOVE YOU TO THE WORLD AND BACK.

(Reviews would be a great birthday present.)

(I'm so sorry for this having no plot? It's like… my head is hurting, I have to go home soon, and I'm already done with all of this.)