The Season Comes 'Round Again - Castle
Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. I just do this for fun, and put them back as they were when I'm finished. :)
Summary: Last year, Castle was on a mission to help Kate rediscover the magic of the holiday season. This year, she's on a mission to show him how well he succeeded. Sequel to last year's "Spirit of the Season," and partner-piece to lms2457's "The Season Comes 'Round Again - Beckett"
For Li, who was there during this year's best of times and worst of times. :)
Day One - Surprises
Castle wasn't sure how to feel when he walked back to Kate's desk and she was gone. Not just gone, but her coat and purse were missing as well. It wasn't like her to leave without a word these days.
He had almost, *almost* shrugged it off when he saw the folded piece of paper leaning against his iPad. He snatched the paper and unfolded it, finding the word "Surprises" written in her neat and looped writing.
His heart jumped into his throat, and he was pretty sure there might have been a tear or two that tried to pool in his eyes, but he willed them away. The boys would never let him live it down if they caught him misty-eyed.
Kate had started out this holiday season in the spirit he did last year. Only, he was trying to help her rediscover the joy. What could she have up her sleeve?
He put his iPad in his coat pocket and walked to the elevator. He knew one thing for sure, if Kate was gone, she was where the surprise was. So, he needed to start looking.
The ride down to the lobby was almost too long for him to stand. When the doors finally opened, he burst out of the elevator and quickly made his way out of the building and onto the sidewalk.
But then, Castle stopped. He had no idea where to even begin looking. The card only said "surprise" and it was just a piece of paper, with no markings to lead him anywhere.
"Excuse me, Mr. Castle?"
He knew that voice. That woman. She even conspired with his car service against him. "Hello, Max," he said, and stepped closer to the car, "And I wonder what, or whom, has you waiting out here this evening?"
The younger man smiled, "That will have to remain a mystery, sir." He answered as he opened the door, "However, I am under orders to make sure you come with me. I believe there was a threat of possible dismemberment on your part if you didn't come along willingly."
That definitely sounded like one of Kate's threats. "Then I suppose I have no choice," he said as he ducked into the car, "than to agree to this abduction."
"Thank you, sir," said Max. He shut Castle's door, then walked around to the driver's seat, and pulled into traffic.
"Where are we headed?" Castle asked.
Max smiled and shook his head. "You'll have to wait and see, Mr. Castle."
Kate must have paid the man well. Once they were moving, Castle took out his phone and typed, Beckett I've been abducted!
He figured she'd get a kick out of that.
In a few moments, his phone buzzed with her response, Poor thing. How will I find you? Do you have any clues?
Well, no, he thought, Max isn't speaking to me. He'd definitely have to see about getting this guy a raise. He typed, No! Which is completely unfair.
Then, her reply came in. I think you do.
Oh really?
At least mine was descriptive. Surprises? That could be anything.
Start at the beginning, she sent back. This is your last clue until you arrive.
Well that sucked. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and watched the buildings, taking notes in his mind of where they were going. Max made a few blocks here and there, so he was in on keeping Castle confused. Kate obviously had him take advantage of the day's lighter traffic.
Then, he felt the car slow, and saw Rockefeller Center ahead. Almost in the exact same spot he stood about a year ago, stood Kate, smiling.
He would never get enough of her smile.
The car came to a stop, and Max came around to open his door. He saw the two exchange words, and wondered what exactly she had planned.
And... was Kate bouncing on the balls of her feet? She was obviously excited about something, but he wasn't crazy enough to call her out on it. Not so soon, anyway.
He stepped from the car and their eyes met. "I'm having the oddest sense of déjà vu," he said, trying to sound unaffected. "Only seems backwards, somehow."
Kate looked away for just a moment, her lip finding its way between her teeth briefly. "Hmm... I can't imagine why."
He laughed, then stepped over to Max, who was back in the driver's seat. "Keep up the good work," he said, then passed him several bills. He had no idea how much, but it really didn't matter. Max was awesome and deserved every cent.
"Thank you, sir. I'll see you in about three hours," he said, then smiled and rolled the window up as he pulled away.
That was interesting. He wondered what Kate had up her sleeve. He walked back to her, saying, "Well, I know you're up to something – Max just told me he'd see us in about three hours. Where to, Detective?"
She held out her hand and he took it. They moved quickly without much of a throng in the area, though it was a bit thick with tourists, it was nothing like the nearly dangerous crush they had faced last year. He followed her quietly as she led him straight around to the side entrance of Rockefeller Center.
Straight to the gym. "The gym?" Castle asked, totally confused as to what was going on now. "Some sort of subtle hint, Beckett?"
Kate let out a breathless laugh at that. "No, not at all. Most convenient entrance," she said as she made her way quickly to the elevator pulling him along with her fingers wrapped around his.
He was glad to hear that. That definitely would have been a surprise. "That's a relief. I was really hoping you weren't going to try to be one of those bridezilla types."
She shot him a look that told him he needed to be quiet. "Quit while you're ahead there, partner."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, and stopped talking for a bit... even if there was a little glimmer in her eye that might not have been irritation.
They threaded their way through the small cafe in front, and Kate guided them toward the host stand near the bar. Castle was amazed at how well she seemed to know her way around the place. He filed that thought away for questioning later.
When they approached the podium, she gave his name, much to his surprise, and maybe a little pride. He knew Kate would never do such a thing unless they would both enjoy their time. Not that he minded at all, really. She could use his name any time. He trusted her more than any other person he'd ever known.
He barely noticed how the girl seemed flustered for just a moment before leading them to their table by the window. It had an awesome view of the massive tree and skating rink below.
Kate looked thoughtful, and maybe a little adorable, the way her brow furrowed. Then, the moment was gone when their waiter arrived and they ordered their meals. Again, Kate surprised him when she offhandedly requested a few cocktail napkins from the bar. As the young man left retrieve them, she dug a pen out of her clutch.
The waiter returned with the napkins, then left to put in their orders. Castle was about to ask what the deal with the napkins was when she handed one to him and the pen. "Sign that," she said quietly.
She... wanted his autograph? Didn't she know by now he would sign anything, anywhere, that she asked? "Pardon?"
Kate rolled her eyes and said, "Come on Castle, don't tell me you can't recognize fangirls unless they're throwing themselves at you. The hostess. You're gonna make her night. Probably the whole week."
"Oh." Oh. He looked back to the young woman at the podium. "I noticed I just didn't think." This was rather different. Kate normally ignored the fangirls on the rare occasion that they ran in to one. "I mean, I know you're not wild about drawing attention, and I usually don't make a big production of it if we're -"
"It's not a production, it's a cocktail napkin," she said, sounding a little exasperated. "Sign it. Make the girls day. Besides, it's almost Christmas."
When she raised an eyebrow at him, he quickly bent over the table to scrawl his name on the small white square, muttering, "Kathrine Beckett, I never."
She then reached out and picked up the newly autographed paper square and held onto it until the waiter returned to refill their water glasses.
Kate carefully handed him the small napkin. "Excuse me," she said, "could you make sure that the young lady at the hostess stand gets this?"
"Oh, certainly. Marcy?" The young man looked at the napkin, then smiled. "Oh, she's gonna flip. I mean – yes ma'am, of course."
It was completely amazing, seeing what magic Kate had already made tonight, and this really all just started. He must have had his heart on his sleeve again, by the way she asked, "What?" and tucked her hair behind her ear before she looked away, somewhat defensively.
He leaned forward and spoke softly, keeping this between the two of them. "Nothing. It's just, it's kind of fun watching you play Santa Claus."
She smiled at that and shrugged. "Well, you know," she started, but didn't finish the sentence.
After a moment that may have almost gone too long, he cleared his throat and said, "Amazing view, I see why you picked it."
Kate smiled even more broadly, if that was possible, then cast her eyes toward all the action below, "Well, it's not the VIP section or anything, but it seemed like good place to begin."
Castle wasn't going to let her downplay this at all. "Are you kidding? This is awesome. I don't think I've ever been back here, what made you think of it?"
With a shrug, she said, "I was looking for something that felt right, that held a memory of last year, but made it different, too. I looked around online a little, made reservations."
"It's amazing. You're amazing," he said quietly. He could tell when she turned, by the blush on her cheeks that he'd embarrassed her, so he fell quiet.
Their food came, and they settled in to enjoying the food and the view below. When the time came for dessert, Castle begged off. When Kate raised a eyebrow in question, he shrugged and said, "There's a Ben & Jerry's in here, thought that might be fun."
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.
It wasn't long before the check came, and she insisted on buying. He really didn't mind, but when she glared, he knew he was on very shaky ground, so he let it go.
"Fine," he relented, "But, I'm buying dessert." And he had a plan that might just blow her mind.
Kate sighed, but agreed. She followed him out, and as they passed the hostess, it wasn't lost on him the breathless "Thank you for coming," from Marcy.
He could only thank Kate for that, and started to say something, but it appeared she was trying not to laugh. So, he let that be. Obviously, there was something he missed, and tonight, it didn't really matter.
When they reached the Ben and Jerry's, Castle sent her in search of a table in the nearby seating area while he ordered at the shop. The frown she gave him almost made him laugh, but he held it in. He knew that might be the least of his worries here in a few moments.
He made his order and watched as the kid behind the counter assembled the quite-literal monstrosity. This would be awesome, he thought with a smile.
When Castle approached Kate at the table she'd secured near the edge of the open seating area, she gaped at him. "Richard Castle, what did you do?" she asked.
He sat the bucket on the table between them and answered, "I figured we could share."
For a short moment, he thought she might shoot him. "With half the city? There have to be 15 scoops of ice cream in that thing."
Wow. That was a good guess. "Twenty, actually. And cookies and brownies and bananas and - well, everything, really."
"Castle," she sighed. "Why on earth -"
Why did she get caught up on this sort of thing? He did this because it's fun, because well, lots of reasons. "'Cause I could, and it looked like fun. Besides, I got there just before closing, so they got to use up a lot of bits and pieces."
And that eyeroll he knew he'd earned. He nearly didn't hold in the smirk that wanted to stretch across his face. Kate sighed, "Oh, why the hell not? Though, we won't come close to finishing it, and it's still going to take forever to work off."
Castle liked her wording there. He passed her a spoon that seemed entirely too small for the insane concoction, and she chose an area and started digging.
"Sure," he said, as he took a bite of his own, "but that's going to be half the fun, Beckett." He leaned closer and using his bedroom voice, finished, "Working it off."
He didn't miss the flush across her cheeks and he was sure when her foot came in contact with his leg, that it was initially meant to be a kick. However, she was still digging in, like nothing was going on.
He found an area to begin working on, a scoop that looked rich and chocolaty with bits of something mixed in. He took a bite, and the mix of salty and chocolate nearly did him in. "Oh my god, Beckett," he exclaimed suddenly, "You have to try this scoop over here. I think it has potato chip pieces in it!"
Kate groaned, still trying to act like this wasn't the best ice cream sundae she'd ever had, but he could see right through that. If this is how this year's Christmas season was going to start, he couldn't wait to see what would happen tomorrow.
Or the day after that.