I'm DYING for a Castle Christmas and since we aren't going to get one, I thought I'd write one. The title is from the Charlotte Martin song of the same name. I first heard it on a Castle fan vid on Youtube and, in my opinion, is the perfect Caskett song.

Castle is not mine.

He stood outside her door and shook the snow from his hair. He wouldn't admit it to himself but he was stalling. He was still unsure as to whether this was such a good idea. She'd never taken too kindly to him just showing up and, regardless of the date, he doubted her opinion would be any different. He raised his hand to knock on the door but then thought better of it. He leant his ear towards the door. It hadn't occurred to him that she may have plans. He held his breath, he couldn't hear anything. Maybe she wasn't even there. Maybe she had gone to visit her dad. He cursed himself, her Dad, of course she would go and see her dad. Idiot. As he turned to walk away, convincing himself it had been a waste of time, he heard something. It wasn't a loud noise, more like a faint hum but he definitely heard it. Before his brain had time to engage with his arm he was knocking on the door. Dammit. His throat went dry. He suddenly realised that he didn't really have any reason to be here, other than he missed her, but he couldn't, wouldn't, tell her that. His heart rate increased as he heard her footsteps on the wooden floor. He ran his hand through his now wet hair and plastered on a smile.

"Castle? Hey. What are you doing here? Is everything ok?" He was the last person she expected to see on her doorstep today.

"Hey. I.."

"Come in Castle you're freezing…and soaked. Still snowing huh?" He hadn't realised just how cold he was until she had mentioned it. Now, all of a sudden the sound of his teeth chattering was all he could hear.

"Coffee?" He nodded and sat on her couch. As she busied herself with making coffee he took in his surroundings. He had been here many times but today something was different. He couldn't put his finger on it but something wasn't quite right.

"So, why are you here?" She'd never been one to beat around the bush. He was expecting her question, he just hadn't prepared an answer.

"I just…wait…you haven't got a tree" That was it, that's what was wrong. He looked over at her, she was biting her lip and looking down into her coffee.

"It's no big deal Castle. I'm hardly ever here so I didn't really see the point."

"But it's Christmas day! You have to have a Christmas tree, if only to put all your gifts under!" She closed her eyes for perhaps a tenth of a second but he noticed. He was such an idiot.

"Well I don't really have any gifts." She laughed, desperately trying to make a joke but failing miserably. She could see that he looked uncomfortable. She didn't want him to think he'd made her sad. Quite the opposite actually. Not that she would ever admit that.

"What I mean is that my dad usually just gives me a cheque and I don't really have any other family…" She didn't really know where she wanted to go with the rest of the sentence.

"Kate…"

"Castle, I'm fine. Christmas was my Moms thing and since she died it's never really been the same. My dad tries but he would much rather spend the holidays fishing. I sent him off to his cabin yesterday. And I…well I decided to catch up on my reading" She smiled. She genuinely was having an ok day. Castle smiled when he noticed the book she was reading.

"I couldn't think of a better way to spend Christmas" He joked.

"So, Castle, You never answered my question. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be playing with your new train set?" The way she smiled at him almost bought tears to his eyes. He'd never been a sappy romantic, in fact he was pretty sure he'd never been in love before now. He made the decision on the spot. He had to tell her. Just not here.

"I..came to give you your Christmas present" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He was mentally going through his pockets to see if he had anything he could pass off as a gift that was good enough for the woman he loved.

"Really?" She narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe him but there was a reason he'd chosen to come see her over spending Christmas day with his daughter. Alexis!

"What about Alexis?"

"What about her?" He was confused.

"Why aren't you at home with her?"

"She's spending the evening with Ashley and his family. And don't worry I haven't deserted my mother, she deserted me actually." He pouted slightly.

"Aaah was poor Ricky lonely?" She chided. He looked so cute she almost leant over and pinched his cheek. She coloured at the near miss, something not lost on Castle. She swallowed hard and made a move to get off the couch.

"So…my Christmas present. Whad'ya get me? A pony?" Castle was deep in thought.

"Go put something warm on. We're going out." He got off the couch and totally miscalculated their distance. They were nose to nose. Kate had to literally squash down the gasp that played at the back of her throat.

"Where are we going?" She whispered.

"You'll see." He whispered back. All he had to do was move less than an inch and his lips would be on hers. He could even claim it as an accident. He was certain that she had looked down at his lips. As her tongue darted out to lick her lips he realised that he had to move or he was going to lose control. He took a step back.

"You'll need a hat. It's still snowing" He said, gesturing to the window. She nodded and walked wordlessly to her bedroom. Once she was inside and the door was closed she let out the breath that she was unaware she had been holding. She didn't know what Castle was up to but she trusted him and she was almost tingling with excitement at spending time with him outside the precinct. She had to admit to herself that she was also a little excited about the prospect of receiving a gift, everyone liked gifts. Shit! She hadn't even thought about the fact that she hadn't got anything for him. She'd never really bought gifts for friends. Friends. Was that really all they were? A sound in the lounge reminded her that she probably shouldn't be analysing their relationship at this precise moment. She pulled her favourite jeans out of the dresser and threw a hooded sweater over her head. She had no clue where they were going but considering what Castle was wearing, it was nowhere fancy. Before she had any more time to dwell on it she strode purposefully through the door.

"You ready?" Castle hadn't heard her come through the door and spun round from his position by the book case. He looked her up and down and smiled.

"Let's go" He held his arm out for her and she took it. She grabbed her coat and hat as they exited her apartment and headed for the elevator. She didn't let go of his arm until they were descending to the ground floor. Castle helped her into her coat like a true gentleman and she pulled her hat over her head. They smiled at each other. Neither of them knowing exactly what the evening held in store but both knowing that whatever it was, it would be a Christmas they wouldn't forget in a hurry.