Rick smiled as he opened the door to his loft to Kate. "Merry Christmas," he said, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. He took her jacket, hanging it in the closet before he put his arm around her waist. "Ready for your present?"
"What? Already? I just got here. Don't you want to sit and eat or watch the marathon of A Christmas Story?"
"No, I want to open presents," he said, leading her to the couch.
She smiled, rolling her eyes. She loved his slightly childish love of Christmas and presents. "Ok, fine. Do you want to open yours first?" she asked, putting the thin package she held on the table as she sat down.
"No. I want you to open yours first." He picked up a fairly large box and placed it on her lap. He sat next to her, watching her eagerly.
When she touched the box to pull the lid off, she jumped when something inside moved. She looked at him, he simply nodded, smiling wide. "It isn't gonna blow up, is it?" she asked as the box continued moving in her lap.
"Of course not. Just open it." He laughed when her present began scratching and barking. "I think he's getting anxious. He wants to meet his mommy."
Her mouth dropped open when she heard the noises it made. "What? What did you do?"
"Open it."
Finally she pulled the lid off the box and a golden retriever puppy wearing a large red bow poked its head out. "Oh my God, Castle," she gasped as she picked the puppy up, shoving the box away with her elbow to place him in her lap. "He's adorable."
"I'm glad you like him." He pet the soft fur on the dog's back as it licked Kate's neck and face. "I know you've wanted a dog since we took care of Royal. No one will take him from you this time."
She smiled at the thought of Royal. "I wonder how he's doing."
"He's good. Got himself a girlfriend and they had a litter of puppies about 10 weeks ago," he told her.
Kate's face lit up. "Castle, is he Royal's puppy?"
He nodded. "Yep. Royal Junior."
She made a face. "I don't know. I'm not much of a fan of juniors."
"Then what do you want to name him?"
She looked at the puppy then back at Castle. "Roy."
He smiled, nodding. "Roy it is. So what did you get me?"
She bit her lip when she mentioned his present. "Oh… it seems so stupid now. I'll get you something else."
"Stop. I'm sure whatever it is I'll love it." He picked up the present she put on the table and pulled the wrapping paper off.
"It's just… I thought you might like it. I'm horrible at gift giving and…"
"The full James Bond Connery series disk set?" he asked excitedly, lighting up like a little boy. "Can we watch them? Let's watch them now!" She couldn't help laughing as he ran over to his TV to put the first disk into the DVD player.