The blizzard was supposed to hit by noon. It was already ten, but Castle knew if they left now they could be back before the worst of it hit.

However, Castle couldn't think about that right now, there was no way this storm was going to ruin their day. They only had one day left until Christmas Eve, and he had some plans of his own.

Today was the day he and Beckett were going to find the perfect Christmas tree and do the last minute preparing. Well, all the preparing actually. The loft still had to be decorated, and all the gifts had yet to be wrapped. There was a lot to do. Alexis and Martha were both out of town at a holiday party thrown by Martha's acting studio. That being the case, Castle knew this would be a perfect excuse to get Beckett in on all of his Christmas hype.

He was already fully dressed, wearing his black winter jacket, grey fuzzy mittens, and a dark blue wool scarf. He was still tired from waking up early, and hadn't even showered yet. He figured he could do it when they got home from the Christmas tree farm.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, finishing up his last sip of coffee, he found himself slipping into a bit of a daydream. He thought about their day to come, him and Kate, decorating the loft with his abundance of festive ornaments. Together, dressed in their cozy winter pajamas, his favorite Christmas jingles filling the loft, the aroma of hot chocolate and cinnamon filling the air, Kate's laughter surrounding him as they decorated sugar cookies together, cuddling up by the fire, the warmth of their bodies-

"Castle! Can you come here for a second?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Kate's voice coming from his bedroom. Already reading her mind, he ran to the door and grabbed her black leather gloves off the front table.

He turned around continued back through his office to find his door just a crack. He pushed it open, and the sight of her immediately caught his breath. They've been together for over a year now, but seeing her standing there near the foot of his bed, smiling and beautiful, it still gave him butterflies. She was wearing dark skinny jeans, a pair of vintage grey snow boots, a thigh-length navy pea coat, and a red scarf. Covered from head to toe, and she still looked gorgeous. She had her hair pulled back into a low slung pony tail, but a few curls still hung out to frame her perfect face.

Her eyes lit up immediately at the sight of him, and he smiled.

"Hey there," he said, closing the space between them, and bringing his hand up to lightly sweep the hair from her cheek.

"Hey yourself," she smiled sweetly, bringing one hand to his shoulder and leaning in slightly to brush their noses together for a split second.

"You called?" He responded after a moment of silence, his hands circling her waste as hers settled lightly around his neck.

"Yeah, have you seen my black gloves? I swore they were in…," she trailed off, looking back over her shoulder at the dresser that was in quite a disarray now.

"These gloves?" He replied with a smirk, pulling one had from behind her back and holding it between the two of them, displaying the leather material she had been hunting for.

She flashed her brilliant white teeth, beaming at him. "What! Castle, where did you even…?"

"The front door. You always leave them there." He snickered a little bit.

She gave him a flirty glare, "Well, I've been looking for them for the past ten minutes!"

"Glad to be of service." He smiled and cocked his head slightly, still grinning at her.

She leaned in, her lips centimeters from his and he could smell her, the sweet scent of her perfume making him a little dizzy.

"Thank you." She whispered, and before he could close the distance with a kiss she was gone, shooting him a "come and get me grin" over her shoulder as she left their bedroom.

He followed her out into the open area of the loft, glancing quickly out the window. The snow was just beginning to fall, but he could tell it was probably bitter cold because it looked like the wind was starting to pick up. He headed back to his office quickly to grab a headband for Kate and his own winter cap out of a drawer in the bookshelf. Rushing back out into the kitchen he found Kate fiddling on her phone.

"You ready?" she smiled, looking up and sliding her phone into her coat pocket.

"All set," he said, tossing her the fleece band he had grabbed for her.

"You're lucky I haven't showered yet" she said coming around the counter to meet him by the front door.

She must be implying the headband would mess up her hair, he thought silently.

"You'll thank me later, it looks freaking freezing outside," he said quickly, grabbing his phone to shove in his pocket.

"I'm sure I will," she said seriously, plucking the keys from the dish on the front table.

He winked at her, and she flashed him a quick smile before heading the door. He followed after her and locked it behind them.

He was right. It is freaking freezing out here. Kate put on her headband the minute they stepped out of the car. He insisted on driving and she was perfectly okay with that, it gave her a chance to navigate exactly where they were going on his GPS. "Elliot's Evergreens" was a small tree farm about 8 miles out of the city. Normally Kate would make a fuss about the distance, but Castle convinced her they had the best and cheapest trees.

He came around to her side of the car just as she was stepping out, and his mittened hand grabbed her gloved one immediately.

"Oh, hey there! 'Writer boy' is ready for some action," she laughed, eyeing the saw he grabbed from the back seat.

He looked down at her grinning from here to ear. God she was beautiful, he thought to himself. Her cheeks were already rosy from the nipping wind and her eyes a popping green, twinkling and brilliant compared to the cloudy skies and the white snow that was falling faster now.

He must have been gaping a little because she winked at him knowingly. With that he couldn't resist, he leaned down and kissed her cheek with a loud smack. "I'm armed and ready!" he said, holding up the sharp back saw, which was thankfully covered with a plastic protector.

"So not funny," she replied but grinned again and tightened her grip on his hand. And with that he led the way.

He was surprised at how fast they found their perfect tree. There was no fuss; they both agreed right away that it was probably the best one that they were going to find. Kate had pointed it out; a beautiful Douglas Fir that stood about 7 feet tall. It had medium length needles, and perfect branches around its entire circumference.

Kate steadied the tree well Castle attacked the base with is manly saw. She giggled as the needles fell onto his face, and he dramatically spat them out of his mouth, smiling at the sound of her laughter. It only took him minutes to cut it down and when it came toppling over Kate caught the head of it before it could hit the frozen ground. She insisted on carrying the front half of it as Castle grabbed the back end, and they headed to the checkout like two little dwarves. Castle started to whistle and they trudged through the snow, which made Kate laugh even harder.

They headed over to the small wooden hut where Castle paid for the tree. The two stood hand and hand under the hut's overhang while the owner Elliot and his only other helper shoved their perfect tree through circle of orange netting. Castle watched it like a little boy, chipper and excited. With the snow falling around them, Kate smiled up at him and leaned against his arm, both of her hands wrapping around his large mittened one. She admired the way the snowflakes landed on his eye lashes, and then drifted down his face when he blinked. She loved the way his lips turned a dark pink when they were cold, and his cheeks were flushed and adorable. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the way her body was pressed into the side of his. Her teeth were still chattering she was so cold, but inside she felt warm, and as corny as it sounds she was sure her heart was smiling.

When she opened her eyes Castle was looking down at her. His eyes were a piercing blue, so full of love and desire. He bent down and tenderly pressed his cool lips to the tip of her nose. She smiled and tilted her chin up slightly to meet her lips with his softly in a quick chaste kiss.

Elliot then came up to both of them, gripping their now orange tree upright in his rather large hand.

"All set folks. Now are ya going to need help putting this in a trunk or strappin' it to your car?" he asked, his voice deep yet friendly, a hint of a southern accent seeping through.

"I think we can manage. Thank you so much for your help though." Castle replied with the same tone of kindness.

"Alrighty then, have a safe holiday kids. Thanks so much for stopping by!" Elliot said again, smiling at Castle, then Kate.

"Merry Christmas," Kate finished off sweetly, letting go of Castle to lift the tree from his grasp. Castle grabbed the opposite end and they headed to the car.

Once the tree was strapped in safely, Castle headed over to the passenger's side while Kate took her place in the driver's seat. He cranked up the heat immediately and turned on his favorite station. Dean Martin's version of "Let it Snow" radiated through the speakers, and Castle chucked and looked over at Kate. She was smiling as she started the engine, and backed out of the lot safely. The snow was falling heavy and the wind was picking up. Yep, the blizzard was definitely here, and they were both anxious to get home as soon as possible.