THE FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER PUGS HUZZAH (song fic based in and around various Christmas times in the Puggy!Verse though not necessarily in order and not necessarily always including pugs).

For Vallie, because I love her so very much and I wish I could hug her and make everything better.

Disclaimer: is five weeks over yet?

When you first took my hand on a cold Christmas eve
You promised me Broadway was waiting for me

"It's 9pm on Christmas Eve and you want to drag me out into the cold and the snow to do… what?" Kate Beckett asked, wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"Broadway, Kate. Come on, Broadway on Christmas Eve. It'll be magic."

She huffed and tugged her coat down from the hanger. "I'd rather find magic elsewhere." She fixed him with a rather pointed look as she pushed her arms through the sleeves. "You've got Latte all excited now. She thinks she's going for a walk."

"We're taking her with us." Castle grinned, already pulling Latte's coat out of the closet. Latte bounds up around him, paws dancing to and fro on his feet.

"To Broadway?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not. We're not going inside anywhere."

Kate groaned and tipped her head back. "Are you kidding me? Castle, it's freezing out there. Can't we just stay inside where it's warm?"

"You just want to get my clothes off."

She glared at him as she wrenched open the front door. "Anybody would think you had a problem with that."

He's at least carrying Latte instead of letting her walk. They'd be here forever if she was, sniffing at every single thing that she could possibly get her nose into takes a lot of time that they honestly do not have. She's refusing to hold his free hand, has them stuffed in her coat pockets. If he accused her of it, she'd deny it to the extreme, but she's sulking. He knows she's is. She knows she's is. And it shouldn't amuse him as much as it does. But he does know her, and sulking or not she is enjoying this. Broadway is crowded with people, Santa hats, reindeer headbands are in abundance around them. People around them are cooing over Latte and the young pug is revelling in it. She wants to get down, wriggles hard in Castle's arms but he keeps a firm arm around him, hoists him up and over his shoulder so she can at least watch what's going on around her. It doesn't take long for Castle to pull a Santa hat out of his own pocket. He hands Kate the hat with a smile and she happily tugs it onto her head, grinning at him. Castle wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her towards him. She comes willingly, the height of her heels giving her the perfect height to rest her head on Castle's shoulder. She tips her head into his neck, trying to share his warmth. He smells of apple and spice and cinnamon (not to mention the very obvious doggy whiff) and Christmas.

Kate loves these moments, those moments that even when she's surrounded by people, even when she's being jostled from all sides by elbows and knees and heads, they're still in their own bubble. She can pretend, if she wants, that there's nothing else beyond the curve of his arm around her shoulders and down to the curve of her waist, his fingers against her rib cage. He's humming in her ear, a low thrumming noise that sounds something like Sinatra? Maybe. It's not until she turns her focus away from him and onto the noises around her. She's not surprised at the amount of people who are rather intoxicated, finds it easy to ignore it when she feels this happy and this relaxed. She doesn't care.

"Mom! Mom! Look at the dog! Mom!"

Kate turns her head and looks over Castle's shoulder, finds two young girls gawking at Latte. She nudges Castle and he turns around. The girls are dressed in similar attire, identical elf hats stuck on over brilliantly white hair. Pale faces, big blue eyes. They could be elves from the north pole, they really could. "You wanna say hello?"

The two girls mouths drop open simultaneously, and Castle lifts his gaze to who he figures are the girls parents. He raises an eyebrow in question and they both smile and nod. "Go on, girls. Say hello."

Kate steps away from Castle slightly, lets him turn around. Castle lifts Latte off his shoulder and sets her down on the ground. She's still on her lead and she can't go far but she goes straight to the girls. "What's her name?" One of them asks, looking up at Castle like he just handed her a star.

"She's called Latte."

"Latte?" One of the parent questions. "After the coffee?"

Kate chuckles. "In-joke. We like coffee."

"You're the writer, right? Richard… something."

"Richard Castle, that's me. And this is Kate Beckett."

Kate smiles, trying to fight down the urge to turn her face into Castle's shoulder. She knew what it would be like, being in a relationship with a world famous best-selling author, but she's not necessarily used to being scrutinised by people before. She's long since stopped looking at page six, no longer searches for anything to do with them online. She cares, sure. But she's found bad things about them before. Like the time the paparazzi predicted their impending doom surely because they had a five minute bicker outside a restaurant. It was a half arsed argument at that. He wanted to walk back from the restaurant, and she wanted to catch a cab. She barely remembers it. Their relationship has never been normal, and people luxuriate in going into deep detail about the ins and outs of said relationship. So, she's given up on looking for it. Let them say what they will. She knows what her relationship with Castle is about, and she knows that neither of them plan on breaking the others heart any time soon. That, at least, she is sure of. Of course, there's all the questions about why hasn't Castle popped the question yet, is she or isn't she pregnant, and why a pug of all dogs that she can't escape.

"I'm Yvonne, and this is Martin. And these two are Lizzy and Rebecca. And they've been hopelessly asking us about getting a dog for months."

"They say we can't." Lizzy pouts from where she's kneeling on the ground and scratching Latte behind the ear. "It's so unfair."

"Right, and who's going to look after it while we're at work and you're at school?" Martin quizzes, tugging on the end of Rebecca's hat. "Maybe, when you're older."

Lizzy huffs, looks at Latte imploringly. "I'd love a dog like Latte."

Rebecca nods in agreement. "Me too. But not Latte. I don't like coffee."

Yvonne laughs, nudges Lizzy's back with her knee. "Come on, you two. Let's leave them to enjoy the night. Time we got off home."

Castle lifts Latte back up as the girls stand up. They take a few more seconds to say their goodbyes, Latte's tail wagging against Castle's elbow. Kate watches the family go with a happy smile, the two girls hanging onto a parents arm each and pleading about the dog. Castle reaches down to grasp her hand, tangles her fingers with his. "They should get a pug. Pugs are good with kids."

Kate cants her body into his, letting him support most of her weight. Latte's looking at her, happy and bright, tongue panting and her eyes full of the Christmas lights above her. "Yeah, Castle. Yeah they are."

Sinatra was singing, all the drunks they were singing

We kissed on a corner, then danced through the night

They make their way through the crowds, a slow meander that lets them stay glued at the hip and not have to walk one in front of the other. Occasionally they stop, mostly for Castle and occasionally for Latte, but they're uninterrupted for the most part. He's happy to let the Christmas spirit wash over them, forget the fact that there's murder and crime out there. He knows this is a hard time for Kate, knows that for the twelve years since she lost her mother neither her father or herself have even thought about Christmas. But now she's letting him share it with her, lets him show her just how magical this season is. And he can see it, how lighter she is. When she turns her head against his shoulder just to breath him in, tips her head backwards just to look at the lights, and when he catches her not so subtly humming along to whatever the bands playing. He knows Ryan is up there somewhere, singing along to Galway Bay in true NYPD choir style. It's nearly eleven by the time they get to the other side of the crowd, and Latte has lost her energy, has nearly fallen asleep on Castle's shoulder. Castle's pulling her over to a secluded corner, away from the prying eyes of those around them. She can't help but smile as he leans into her, bites on his lip as he presses his mouth against hers.

Latte stirs between them and Kate's hit by an image – waking up to Castle lying on his back one arm cradling the bundle of blankets to his chest with one arm. She leans over, kisses him, soft and warm, the dawn light filtering in through the closed blinds. She doesn't mean to wake the baby, she could quite easily go back to sleep, but he or she stirs, blue eyes blinking open lazily, tiny mouth smacking together. She sighs happily, feels Castle's fingertips feathering at her cheek, looking at the both of them like she's the sun and the moon and the stars and everything underneath them – Kate pulls back away from him, her head thumping back against the brick wall. Castle winces, his hand coming up to cradle the back of her head. "Kate, you okay?"

She laughs, turns her head to press a kiss against his wrist. "Yeah, yeah I'm – I'm good. Just… Latte moving made me think."

His eyes are soft, that slight rise at the corner of his mouth reassuring her that he knows exactly what she's thinking of. "Yeah?"

She hums, moves so he can wrap an arm around her neck and tug her closer. "Yeah. Have you ever thought about it?"

"You know I'd like the option. But I've got Alexis, and I've got you, and Latte obviously. Got all the family I need, really."

"But if… if it happened…"

"Then I'd be over the moon. But if you don't… if it's not what you want… wait, this isn't…" he pulled back, stared at her incredulously, "you're not telling me you're pregnant, are you?"

Kate laughed. "No. No, I'm not. But just so I know… if it happens… you're not going to freak out on me."

Now it's Castle's turn to laugh. "Kate, why would I freak out? I love you, and we live together, and we have a pug. And what's the difference between a pug and a baby? Really?"

and the boys from the NYPD choir were singing galway bay

and the bells were ringing out for christmas day