Genre: Romance, Family and Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: As you can tell by the genres above, this is definitely not an investigation story, so it's similar in that respect to Deep Blue Sea; the second story of this series; which I point out just in case anyone's expecting there to be a crime occurring at any point here.
A/N #2: The title of this story is a lyric from the song New Year's Day by U2, from their album War. And the title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney, that can be found on the 1993 reissue of his album Back To the Egg.
This Time Of Year
Picking up her bag, Beckett pulled out her scarf and gloves and put them on her desk as she glanced up to see Castle walking up to her. "Behind you," she said as she looked down at her bag once he was next to her.
"Looks like you made it on time to pick up Julia," Ryan said as he and Esposito stood next to Castle.
"I did," Beckett said, looking at her watch though she already knew the time.
"So where are you going? You never told us what you're doing for Christmas," Esposito said.
"It wasn't for sure," Beckett replied, closing her bag. "But we're heading up to my dad's cabin."
"That'll be nice, Julia should enjoy the snow," Castle said. "I'm guessing she didn't get outside much before?"
"No," Beckett said, looking at her phone to try not to smile at the ridiculousness of the question. But it helped make it seem like he didn't spend a lot of time around her and her daughter. "But guys, I'm going off grid as I want this time with my daughter, and just relax and enjoy Christmas."
"Got it," Esposito said, Ryan and Castle nodding in agreement. "But tell our sobrina Merry Christmas from her uncles."
"I will, and thank you for the gifts you got her," Beckett said with a smile. "She's enjoyed them greatly."
"Told you I got a great gift for her," Esposito said to Ryan.
"What're you guys doing?" Beckett said as she started to put on her coat.
"Jenny and I are heading to spend Christmas with her family this year in Florida, we're flying," Ryan said. "Tomorrow because we have a little break in the weather so we're taking the chance while we can."
"I'm just hanging out with some friends on Christmas," Esposito said.
"Did you guys end up doing your Madden thing," Castle asked.
"Hell yes," Esposito said.
"So what are your plans Castle? Staying in the city?" Ryan asked, shooting a glare at Esposito so he wouldn't go on about how he'd won most of the matches they'd played against each other.
"No, actually my mother and Alexis were talking about a change of scenery, so we're heading out to the Hamptons tomorrow afternoon," Castle said. "Oh, speaking of which," he said, looking at his watch though he didn't really focus on the time. "I need to head out."
"Last minute gifts I'm guessing," Beckett said.
"No, I'm all set, but I need to get the last of the decorations, Alexis is insisting that we decorate the same as we do here in the city," Castle said. "And I couldn't say no to my daughter of course."
"I'm sure you couldn't," Beckett said as she tucked her scarf under her coat and buttoned it up.
"Merry Christmas guys," Castle said, wanting to comment on that, but knowing she wanted him to leave first. "See you next year."
"Merry Christmas Castle," Ryan called out. After Esposito and then Beckett had said the same thing he turned to her and said, "Leaving now?"
"I need to," Beckett said. "I don't want to make her teacher stay behind to watch her and delay her own holiday plans. Have a great Christmas guys, and New Year's too." She then headed to the elevators, looking at her watch as she went. She heard Ryan and Esposito wishing her happy holidays, but she was mentally cursing herself for taking so long to prepare to leave. She only hoped her daughter wasn't going to become worried as she wasn't going to be able to make it in time to get her right at two thirty. But she had a feeling Julia wouldn't care, only happy to have finally reached her Christmas break; something she startlingly agreed with.
Coloring in more green on her picture, Julia nodded her head from side to side at the song that was playing on her teacher's tablet. Since she was the only student left in the class, her teacher had allowed her to listen to music of her choice. She hummed at the Paul McCartney song from the album she had chosen; New; and picked out a crayon in blue. She was so focused on her coloring that she didn't realize someone was sitting across from the table she was at until they spoke.
"Not ready to go home yet?" Beckett asked with a smile, having watched Julia as she'd entered the room.
"Mommy!" Julia said happily as she looked up and saw who it was. She got off her chair and ran around to her mother, hugging her tightly as Beckett put her on her lap. "Is it Christmas now?" she asked eagerly.
"Not yet, but now you're on vacation for two weeks," Beckett replied. She smiled when Julia squealed softly in excitement and she pushed the dark blue Santa hat she'd bought earlier in the month for her daughter off her forehead so it wasn't going onto her eyes. "Are you ready to go?" she asked her. "Or do you want to color more?"
"I want to go," Julia said. But before her mother could help her down she asked, "Can I have a kiss Mommy?"
"Of course," Beckett said, sharing a kiss with her. "Let's go," she said in a low voice since Mrs. Clayton was in the room. "Castle's going to get there before us and we still need to finish packing okay?" When her daughter nodded she helped her clean up the crayons she used and picked up the picture while Julia ran to her teacher to say goodbye.
"Thank you so much for the gift," Mrs. Clayton said, giving Julia a hug. "My daughter loves the candle and she put it in her room."
"You're welcome," Julia said shyly.
"I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year Julia, and I'll see you in January," Mrs. Clayton told the little girl before she stood. "Happy Holidays Ms. Beckett," she said with a smile as Julia went to her mother.
"Happy Holidays," Beckett said with a smile before leading her daughter to where her coat was at the entrance to the classroom. Bundling up Julia and making sure the little girl had her mittens on; she went outside and was relieved to see the weather was holding; not looking forward to a drive in the snow. After getting back to their building, she took Julia to their apartment and as soon as they had gotten their things off, she went to her daughter's room as the little girl colored at the coffee table.
Zipping closed her daughter's suitcase, Beckett turned to take it out to the door when she saw Julia was standing in the doorway, watching her. "What's wrong sweetie?" she asked, wondering how long she'd been there.
"When do we go Mommy?" Julia asked as she followed Beckett to the entry and then back to her room.
"Whenever Castle gets here," Beckett replied as she set Julia on top of her bed.
"Are we really going to the beach?" Julia asked, looking at her Stitch doll as her mother packed up a few things before closing her suitcase.
"We are, but that doesn't mean you can swim," Beckett said, setting her suitcase on the floor. "It's going to be too cold."
"Then what do we do?" Julia asked as Beckett sat next to her.
"Well," Beckett said as Julia climbed onto her lap. "There's decorating, and you have a few last minute things to wrap. Plus I'm bringing my tablet so you'll have games to play."
"Does Santa bring me toys?" Julia asked eagerly.
"He might, I don't know," Beckett said, kissing her forehead. "I won't know until you open your gifts on Christmas morning."
The bell for the door rang then, and Julia said eagerly, "It's Castle, can I open the door?"
"Go ahead, but remember to make sure it's him," Beckett said, setting her down. She smiled as she followed her daughter; who ran out to the door; and had to marvel at what a difference half a year had made. She was pleased at the relationship Julia and Castle had, since she had been worried her daughter was going to remain afraid of her boyfriend. But as Julia opened the door once Castle had answered that it was him and threw herself into his arms, she was relieved that he had worked so hard to get closer to the little girl.
"I guess you're ready to go," Castle said as he tried to set Julia down but she wouldn't let go of his neck. He turned to Beckett after he'd closed the door behind him, and was going to reach out to her when she suddenly said she'd forgotten her suitcase and left.
"Mommy will come back," Julia said to him. "Did you see my hat?"
"I did," Castle said. "It's nice," he told her as he set her down on the ground. "Are those presents?" he whispered to her, pointing to two boxes that were on top of each other.
Giggling, Julia nodded and said, "Mommy said they're surprises."
"Do you know what she got me?" Castle asked.
"I'm not suppose to tell," Julia said, shaking her head before she squeezed her lips closed.
"I wouldn't try to inveigle the answer out of her," Beckett said, coming back then with her suitcase in tow. "Especially since she really has no clue what I got you."
"Well, I had to give it a try," Castle said, ruffling Julia's hair through her hat, making her laugh before he fixed it for her. "So are we set?"
"I think so," Beckett said absently as she looked around at the two suitcases and three boxes. She was trying to go over the gifts in her mind to remember if she had everything, when she was abruptly turned around and she found Castle's lips on hers. She was a little taken aback, but recovered quickly and kissed him back briefly before they parted.
"I wanted to do that before I left the station, but I'm pretty sure there would have been a problem if I had," Castle said.
"Good thing you waited," Beckett said. "Okay, we're ready to go, and I'd like to get out to the Hamptons before it starts to snow."
"Are you ready Julia?" Castle asked the little girl who was watching them.
"Yes please," Julia said, a little surprised when the two started to laugh. "What, Mommy?"
"Nothing, grab your suitcase and then we'll go out to the beach house," Beckett said, giving her the handle for her case. She took her suitcase and a box before they stepped out into the hall and she locked her door.
"Mrs. Parker, nice to see you again," Castle said as they started to walk down the hallway.
"I was hoping to catch you before you left," the older woman said. "Do I need to feed Julia's fish today?"
"No, it's set," Beckett replied. "So you have today off. But thank you so much for doing this for us," she said, touching Julia's shoulder.
"Thank you," the little girl quickly said. "I told Kauai not to get scared 'cause you feed him, so he will be good."
"I'm sure he will be," Mrs. Parker said with a smile. "Have a wonderful Christmas."
"You too," Beckett said before they continued to the elevator. When they were inside and going down to the building's parking she felt Julia tug her hand and asked, "Are you cold?"
"No, but did Mrs. Parker get her present?" the little girl asked.
"She'll see it tomorrow when she goes to feed your fish," Beckett said.
"What did you get her?" Castle asked.
"I made a snowflake in my class for a tree," Julia said. "Mommy let me give it to Mrs. Parker."
"Nice gift," Castle said. "I can't wait to see what you got me." When Julia shook her head furiously he asked, "No? Come on, a hint, just a little one."
"It's a present," Julia said, giggling when Castle laughed briefly at that. "I don't say anything else."
"I'll stop," Castle said as they left the elevator and walked to his car. "At least I only have to wait four days until I see."
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised," Beckett said with a slight smile.
"I know, anything I get from your daughter is going to be a huge surprise," Castle said as he opened the trunk and set down the boxes among the three that were already there.
"Can we fit everything in here?" Beckett asked, seeing the trunk was almost full as he set her third box inside.
"Do I go in here?" Julia asked, trying to stand on her tip toes to see inside.
"I've got my suitcase in the back," Castle indicated. "There's room on the floor and seat next to hers."
"Come on Julia," Beckett told her daughter, holding her back as Castle closed the trunk. "Let's get you inside and we can leave."
Leaning against the side of the car as he watched Beckett and Julia, Castle couldn't help but smile as the little girl excitedly asked her mother if Santa Claus would bring her certain gifts. When Julia was set in her car seat and Beckett closed the door he told her, "How come she gets to believe in Santa and I don't?"
"Because you're not a four year old child," Beckett said, giving him a look as she walked around to the other side of the car. "And if you want to, for this Christmas indulge in your belief as much as you want. It should be good for Julia."
"Thank you, but you know having a kid makes it less awkward to believe in St. Nick," Castle commented. He watched her roll her eyes before she opened the passenger door and got in the car. "Ready?" he asked Julia once he'd gotten into the driver's seat, checking on her in the mirror.
"Yeah," the little girl replied, yawning slightly.
"Here sweetie," Beckett said, handing her tablet to her daughter. "I've got your game all set for you."
"Kay, but I'm tired Mommy," Julia said, seeing it was her favorite game.
"I know, but I want you to stay awake or you won't sleep later," Beckett said as Castle pulled out to the street.
"Is that bad," Julia said.
"It will be for tomorrow," Castle commented.
"Why?" Julia asked interestedly.
"I've got a surprise for you and your mom. Not riding horses," Castle quickly added as every time he mentioned the word surprise, Beckett's daughter would remember when they had ridden on Thanksgiving. "But something else we all can do okay?"
"Kay," Julia said.
"Play your game Julia," Beckett told her. When she saw her daughter's attention was focused on the game, she turned to Castle and said, "A surprise?"
"Yes," Castle said shortly. "I can be mum as well as your daughter."
"We'll see," Beckett said simply as she smiled at him and squeezed his arm before settling back in the seat to prepare for the hour and a half drive through Long Island.
"Warm enough now?" Castle asked as he walked into the room that Julia was going to be using at the beach house again.
"Very, I didn't think you'd be able to do that in this kind of house," Beckett said. "As cold as it can get at the beach."
"She's falling asleep Kate," Castle said, looking at Julia and seeing the girl was nodding off against the window.
"Julia," Beckett said, shaking her gently.
"I'm tired Mommy," Julia whined.
"I know, but we're probably going to have dinner soon and after you can go to sleep," Beckett said, making her move from the window. She was surprised when Castle suddenly picked her daughter up and watched as he sat in the armchair that was next to the bed. "Thank you," she said in relief. "She's been falling asleep on and off this whole time."
"I noticed, why is she so tired?" Castle asked as he grabbed Beckett's tablet from the dresser.
"She's been very excited for Christmas," Beckett said, folding away Julia's snow pants into the dresser. "You're lucky you haven't been over for the past few nights."
"I bet you I could have made her sleepy," Castle said with a smile as Julia started to play the game he'd picked out on the tablet.
"How?" Beckett said disbelievingly as she passed him to take some shirts to the closet.
"C-SPAN," Castle said simply. When Beckett turned to him he said, "What? It always puts me to sleep."
"What's that?" Julia asked, looking up from her game.
"It's a channel on TV, they talk about politics," Castle said.
"Oh," Julia said. Her face screwed up in thought for a moment as the two watched her and she finally said, "I would sleep Mommy, I don't know what politics are."
"And you think it would make you sleepy?" Beckett asked with a laugh as Castle was trying to smother his laughter. "Okay," she said as Julia nodded. "For now though, try to stay awake." She hung up some shirts, and then went back to the suitcase on the bed asking Castle, "How are we on food?"
"Same as last time, fully stocked," he answered after restarting the game for Julia. "And I've got dinner tonight."
"What were you thinking?" Beckett asked as she took the last few things out of the case and put them away in another drawer of the dresser.
"Something special," Castle said, pausing the game then.
"Why did you do that?" Julia asked.
"I wanted you to hear what I'm going to say, you can play after, I promise," Castle said quickly. "But what do you think about having breakfast for dinner?"
"Oooh, yes please!" Julia said. But she then looked at her mother and tugged on the front of Castle's shirt until he leaned down enough so she could whisper in his ear, "Can you do that?"
"You can sweetie," Beckett said. "There's not a law that you couldn't."
"Good," Julia said. "What do you make?"
"It'll be a surprise," Castle said, getting up and setting her back on the chair.
"No it won't," Beckett said simply, putting Julia's empty suitcase in the closet. When Castle looked at her in confusion, she said simply, "We'll be in the kitchen with you," nodding towards her daughter who was rubbing her eye.
"Good idea," Castle said, taking the tablet from Julia and turning it off since she wasn't playing. "Come on, I'll tell you what I have in mind to make," he told the little girl as he picked up her and settled her on his hip. "And you can tell me if it's a good idea or not."
Beckett had to smile at the serious expression on her daughter's face as she listened to Castle. She walked behind them to the kitchen and leaned against the island where he had put Julia on one of the chairs. "No s'more-lets Castle," she said when he suggested that to them.
"Then what am I supposed to do for dessert?" Castle asked, looking back at them from the fridge.
"Pancakes!" Julia said.
"I think I have some chocolate chips in here," Castle said, going to the pantry.
"You're sure you couldn't use some help?" Beckett asked.
"And Julia?" Castle said, coming over with a bag, setting it on the counter with other ingredients.
"She'll stay on the chair," Beckett said, looking at her daughter as she spoke. "And she'll stay awake too."
"I can do that," Julia said, nodding her head seriously. She giggled when her mother smiled at her and shared a kiss with her before Beckett went around the counter to wash her hands. "Can we listen to music while you cook Mommy?" she then asked.
"Of course," Beckett said. "Go and get your player," she said, taking Julia down from her chair.
"Give it to me when you get back," Castle said as Julia rushed out, Beckett calling for her not to run. "And I'll hook it up so it plays on the sound system I've got."
"Can I help?" Julia asked.
"Sure," Castle said. "Careful on the stairs," he said quickly before Julia was out of sight. "Boy does that bring back memories."
"It should," Beckett said, cracking some eggs into a bowl and remembering their suspect that they'd watched fall down a flight of stairs at the end of their last case. "Since that just happened yesterday."
"Crazy case though," Castle said, starting to cut a tomato. "I really thought it was the co-founder and not the CEO."
"You were pretty close," Beckett said.
"So I was half right," Castle said. He smiled when Beckett didn't say anything, but went back to the eggs. "Still, it was interesting."
"Yeah, the holiday themed ones can be," Beckett replied. "I just wish it had been less gruesome than it was."
"Good point," Castle said with a grimace as he remembered the victim; the wife of the main founder and CEO of a Christmas decorating company for the city, killed by a hanging snowflake that had been attached to the ceiling of the lobby of the Flatiron Building. "But it was a fascinating case," he said.
"You took a while to come to that conclusion, are you sure?" Beckett asked with a smile as she was already finished with getting the eggs to the right consistency for omelets.
"Yeah, how long did I take?" Castle asked, looking at his watch.
"Does it seem like it's taking a long time for Julia to get back down here?" Beckett said as she watched him.
"Yeah, I'll go see what she's doing," Castle said, going as fast as he could out of the kitchen. He got to the stairs just as Julia was at the top starting to come down, and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I got my crayons," Julia said. "I want to color a tree."
"Good idea," Castle said, taking the pad of paper and crayons from her hand and then her iPod. "Want a ride to the kitchen?" he asked as he turned on the player.
"Yeah," Julia said eagerly, shaking her head yes.
"Okay, hold on tight," Castle said, kneeling down and picking her up on his back. He had done the same with her many times before, so it wasn't a problem to carry her over to the study first to get the music set to play before going to the kitchen.
"I thought I was going to have to go after you both," Beckett said as she took her daughter and set her back onto the chair. "What happened sweetie?"
"I wanted my crayons," Julia said as Castle set them and her paper in front of her. "I wanna make a picture for you Mommy."
"Go ahead," Beckett said, kissing her cheek before she went back to preparing her daughter's omelet. As she and Castle were working on the meal, she looked over at Julia from time to time as she began to sing to some of the songs. When she had finished everything she was working on, she went over to her daughter.
"Look," Julia said eagerly, looking up at her mother. "I made a Christmas tree," she said happily, holding out her picture.
"That's a great tree," Castle said, a little surprised that the green on the picture was close to the shape of a fir tree. "But no decorations?"
"I don't know how to draw that," Julia said, frowning a little as Castle took the picture from her mother. "You put it there?" she asked in shock as he put a piece of tape on it and put it on the door of the fridge.
"Of course. Almost everything in the house has some kind of decoration-" Castle began to say.
"Are you sure that's as much decoration you're going to put up?" Beckett asked with a smile as she took Julia off the chair.
"Yes, all that's left is the tree," Castle said. "Maybe some snowflakes for the windows, but we can wait for Alexis to come on Christmas Eve for them to do that."
"Paper snowflakes?" Beckett asked as she and Castle picked up some of the plates.
"She would always do that as a kid, now she wants to make some with Julia," Castle said.
"They don't melt?" Julia asked, sitting on one of the chairs at the table as she watched them get their drinks and hers.
"They're made out of paper," Beckett said. "Eat before it gets cold sweetie," she said, sitting down next to her. They had all taken a few bites when she asked Castle, "Any plans for this trip?"
"Besides Christmas, not really," Castle said. "I was thinking about walking along the beach one day, just as far as we can go, but with the way the weather's going…"
"We'll see," Beckett said, watching as Julia pushed the pieces of omelet that she'd cut for her daughter around. "What do you want to do?"
Startled at the question, Julia looked up, her green eyes wide before she smiled shyly and squirmed. "Don't know," she said, giggling softly.
"One of these days, if there's enough snow," Castle said. "We can make a snowman, or have a snowball fight, though that we should probably wait for Alexis."
"Why?" Julia asked.
"So it's more even," Castle said simply. He looked at Beckett's incredulous look and said, "I'm not taking you on by myself," in protest.
"And yet you seem to do so incredibly willingly most of the time," Beckett teased him, fighting back her laughter, but failing to suppress a smile as he looked at her with wide eyes. "We can try though, again, if there's enough snow to do that. I would like to see you make a snow angel this time sweetie," she said to her daughter to try and get the conversation on safer ground.
"Like I made in sand?" Julia asked. When both Castle and Beckett nodded she smiled and said, "Can I go now?"
"I don't think so," Castle said. "Probably freezing out there and you'll have to put so many layers on you won't be able to move."
"Mrs. Clayton said eskis live in the snow," Julia said seriously.
"Eskimos," Beckett gently corrected her. She smiled when her daughter nodded at her pronunciation, and she said, "She's right, they live in the snow, but they have better ways to keep out the cold."
"Should have made an igloo in that container," Castle commented.
"With what?" Beckett scoffed.
"Could have done a MacGyver," Castle said with a shrug.
"You keep telling yourself that," Beckett said, shaking her head.
"What is a Mac… what you said Castle?" Julia said.
Beckett had to smile as Castle began to explain the '80s TV show, and took that conversation through the rest of the meal until they began to clean up. When they had finished she looked at the clock on the wall and debated with herself for a moment.
"Does she need to go to bed?" Castle asked as he walked up to her.
"I think we can watch something," Beckett said. "But let me get her cleaned and changed and we'll be back down." She went over to the table where Julia was, singing again to the music still playing, and picked her up.
"Do I have to go to bed?" Julia asked with a loud sigh.
"Oh, now you don't want to sleep? You almost fell asleep in the car so many times I should have just sat in the back," Beckett teased her to her giggle.
"And who would I have talked to? Your suitcase?" Castle called after them. He smiled and waved at Julia as she waved over her mother's shoulder at him, and he turned to get ready for when they came back down.
Julia was well behaved during her bath once her mother had told her she wasn't going to bed yet and they went through it quickly. As Beckett dried her off she asked, "Mommy, can we watch a movie?"
"I don't think so," Beckett replied honestly. "It's a little too late; we'll try tomorrow to watch one of the movies you brought. But we can watch something short."
"Can we see Paul's cartoons? Castle never saw before," Julia said, her tone of voice rising in excitement. "He can see Wirrell and Wilhelmina and the froggies."
"We'll ask him when we go downstairs," Beckett said as she hurried to dress her. Once she had slipped Julia's robe on and tied it, she let her daughter run out to get her DVD holder and go downstairs to ask Castle about the movie.
Running into the kitchen once she had made it downstairs, Julia grabbed onto Castle's hand as he turned to get something from the fridge, and squealed when her feet slid along the floor in her socks.
"Hey, where's your mom?" Castle asked, holding her steady.
"Upstairs, can we watch Paul's cartoons?" Julia said eagerly, holding up the case in her hands.
"He's got cartoons?" Castle asked, taking the case from her.
"Three," Beckett said, walking over. "She wants you to see them."
"I'm excited to see them," Castle said. "If you like them that much."
"You can go ahead and get started," Beckett told the two as she reached into the pantry for the hot chocolate mix.
"We can wait," Castle said. "I actually wasn't ready; I needed to know if you wanted some wine or coffee."
"Wine for now, the same one we had at dinner," Beckett said. "You took to that Compostela white quickly."
"Prefer it to the red actually," Castle said, getting the bottle and pouring some into their glasses from dinner.
"Can I go in the room Mommy?" Julia asked, watching them.
"Go ahead," Beckett said, waiting for her cocoa. "Or is it still cold in there?"
"No, there's a fire, go ahead and sit Julia, but don't start the movie without us," Castle admonished her teasingly.
"I won't," Julia giggled, since she knew he was kidding. "But promise you will come and see?"
"I promise," Castle said. He squeezed Julia's back as she hugged him before the little girl ran to the living room, her DVD case in hand. Turning back to Beckett he saw she was looking at the stove, a small smile on her face. "Something amusing?" he asked, handing her one of the glasses.
"It's something I was thinking about before we left my place," Beckett said, turning to him. "About how much your relationship with Julia has changed since May."
"I know," Castle said. "I'm still pretty surprised how quickly she took to me."
"I think your immaturity helped a little," Beckett said.
"So cruel," Castle said under his breath.
"I'm kidding, you did a great job not trying to force her to accept you, and you understand her pretty well," Beckett said after she'd sipped some of her wine. "And it also helps you both have similar tastes in music, since you know how much she loves Paul."
"That's the great part about Julia," Castle said as Beckett poured the cocoa from the pot on the stove into a mug. "She has excellent, excellent taste."
"She does, I'll agree with you there," Beckett said.
"Speaking of Paul, you ever thought it was strange that she was raised to fear men, but she worships Paul; George too actually," Castle said.
"It's safe to do that," Beckett said; having already thought about that herself. "He was never someone who would come into her home and hurt Julia, so… it was safe."
"Luckily she enjoyed the concert," Castle said, wondering what she was thinking about as they walked to the family room.
"No, just, a gift I got her," Beckett said with a slight smile when she saw his questioning look. "I'm eager to see her reaction to it."
"Mommy," Julia said, peering over the back of the couch as Castle and Beckett walked into the room then. "Can we start?"
"Right now sweetie," Beckett said, sitting so she could set the mug and glass in her hands down. She watched in amusement as Julia watched Castle putting the DVD inside the player, hopping from foot to foot behind him.
"Okay, it'll start playing now," Castle said to Julia when he turned and saw her. "Go ahead and sit." He was a little surprised when she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the couch. "I guess it's pretty good," he said once he was sitting and she was leaning against his knees.
"It is, Julia, why don't you sit?" Beckett said.
Shaking her head, Julia squealed in surprise when Castle suddenly lifted her up, setting her down in between him and her mother. "But I want to watch," she told him.
"You will, but if you stand up you can't really share the popcorn," Castle said, picking up the bowl from the coffee table. "And I'll drink your hot chocolate."
"But I want it, please?" Julia begged him.
"I'm joking. And I already have a drink," Castle said, handing her the mug. "So you can have it all to yourself."
"Thank you," Julia said before the movie started. She swung her legs back and forth as it began with Paul McCartney in a library, and she was soon bouncing up and down as he began to talk about animation.
"Can tell it's going to be good by that reaction," Castle said as Beckett quickly took the mug out of the girl's hands before she spilled.
Beckett smiled at that and then wrapped her arm around her daughter to calm her down. She watched both Julia and Castle as the movie went on, wondering if he minded at all watching the cartoon. But as the first cartoon ended; Julia singing the song Tropic Island Hum over the credits; she had to laugh as Castle began to speak.
"That was pretty good," he said to Julia who looked up at him, nodding. "So Linda was the voice of Wilhelmina?"
"She sang with Paul too, she was a good singer," Julia said seriously. "And she played the piano, she was in Wings!"
"I know, you can hear her voice on a lot of Paul's songs," Castle said. "Remember he sang a couple of Wings songs when we went to see him?"
"Yeah, and everybody made a W," Julia said. "Like this," she said, crossing her thumbs together. "Mrs. Clayton said I was smart 'cause I remembered the letter W 'cause of that."
"You are smart sweetie," Beckett said.
"Thank you," Julia said shyly before the next cartoon started.
After the third cartoon the movie was over, and Beckett picked up her daughter, who was sleepy again. "Julia? Wake up, you need to brush your teeth and then you can go to sleep." She then turned her attention to Castle and said, "I'll be back."
"I'll follow you actually," he told her.
"Can I have a story Mommy?" Julia asked as Beckett walked over to the stairs.
"Not from me tonight, but Paul took care of your stories, he told you three of them," Beckett told her.
"Did you like them?" Julia asked Castle over her mother's shoulder.
"I did," Castle said. "The Rupert cartoon surprised me, though why I don't know since he's British."
"Is Rupert here?" Julia asked.
"I don't think so," Castle said. "But he definitely is in England."
"You know you surprise me a lot of the time with your knowledge of obscure things like that," Beckett said. "Along with you being the only one out of the six of us who remembered the Wings sign when we were at the concert."
"I'm a Renaissance man, what can I say?" Castle said with a shrug.
Beckett smiled at that and shook her head before she disappeared into the bathroom to help Julia finish getting ready for bed.
Sitting on the armchair in the room while he waited, Castle was looking at some text messages he'd gotten when his phone suddenly rang. "Hey Alexis," he said to his daughter once he'd answered the phone.
"Hi Dad, did you get in alright?" Alexis said.
"I did," Castle said, switching to speakerphone as Julia came running out. "Say hi to Julia, I've got you on speakerphone."
"Hi Alexis," Julia said eagerly. "I'm back at the beach!"
"I know, I'm so jealous of you," Alexis replied, amusement evident in her tone of voice.
"But you come here too don't you?" Julia asked, thinking the young woman was serious. "You have presents from Castle too?"
"I'll be there on Christmas Eve," Alexis said reassuringly. "Gram and I will both be there so we'll be spending Christmas with you too."
"How many days is that?" Julia asked as Beckett came out and started to untie her robe for her.
"Just four," Alexis said. "So it should go by fast."
"Say bye sweetie," Beckett told her daughter. "You need to get some sleep."
"Hold on a second," Castle told his daughter. "I'll say goodnight to Julia and then get back to you." He set his phone on the dresser and picked up the little girl, kissing her cheek before she kissed his, telling her goodnight as she repeated the words quickly. "I'll be downstairs," he told Beckett, handing her Julia.
Setting her daughter under the covers as Castle left the room; Beckett kissed her forehead as she tucked her in once Julia had her Stitch doll. "Warm sweetie?" she asked.
"Yeah," Julia said with a yawn. "Mommy, Castle didn't say his surprise."
"I know, he's not going to say until tomorrow," Beckett replied with a smile. "Or else it wouldn't be a surprise."
"Oh, do you know what it is?" Julia asked.
"No idea, but I'm excited to find out too," Beckett said. She laughed when her daughter's eyes went wide and she said, "I can be excited too," tickling Julia's neck. "Okay, now you can get some sleep, and I promise I won't stop you."
"Thank you Mommy, I'm tired," Julia sighed, working her arm out from under the covers. She hugged her mother around the neck, and shared a kiss with her before laying back. "I love you Mommy," she sighed deeply, trying to stay awake a little longer.
"I love you too Julia," Beckett said, stroking her hair until the little girl's eyes closed and stayed closed. She allowed herself to get up then and left the room, closing the door behind her. "I thought you were going downstairs," she said simply to Castle; who had been in the hall.
"It was a faster conversation than I thought it would be," he said as he followed her down.
"You know, there is something that I want to ask you," Beckett said before she turned to him at the bottom of the stairs. "Why are you always there when I'm putting her to bed?"
"I like seeing how you are when you're doing that," Castle said honestly. At her startled expression he quickly said, "It's sweet, and I don't always get to see you like that."
"Doesn't surprise me," Beckett said with a smile. "And I am so glad you can't tell Ryan or Esposito how I am with her."
"They've seen a little of it," Castle reminded her, following her as they started to walk to the family room. "I won't tell them," he quickly said when she turned to him. "How about some coffee?" he asked when she just looked at him.
"That would be nice," Beckett said. She turned but was stopped when Castle spoke again.
"Kate?" he said, and once she had turned around he spoke again. "You're a great mother."
Watching him walk towards the kitchen, Beckett smiled slightly before she glanced after him. She gathered herself and walked to the door to the backyard, and looked out at the snow that was falling in flurries outside. She wasn't sure how long she was looking, only that after a time she could hear Castle's footsteps approaching. Turning, she took the mug he was holding out to her and said, "I find myself wanting to prove that with this first Christmas with her."
"I understand," Castle said. "That first Christmas with your child you always think is an important one…"
"I think this one is a little different," Beckett said as he trailed off, knowing he was thinking of his first Christmas with Alexis. "Since Julia is definitely not a baby."
"But still," Castle said. "I think you've done a great job so far," he told her as he led her to the family room. "You're not forcing yourself are you though?"
"Oh no," Beckett said with a faint smile. "I knew as we got closer to this month I needed to watch myself. It's why I asked to tone down the decorations."
"Was I able to comply with that?" Castle asked as they sat on the couch and he looked around the room.
"You did, I'm proud of you, I was half expecting every inch of free space to be decorated," Beckett said. "But what you have is nice, more how I would decorate."
"I think my mother and Alexis are going to be surprised," Castle said, laughter in his voice. "Speaking of those same decorations, my surprise tomorrow is to go get the tree."
"I thought so," Beckett said. "But why is it a surprise?"
"Because of where I'm taking you and Julia to get it," Castle said. "There's a tree farm right outside town, kind of in the woods, and I thought we could go there."
"Interesting," Beckett said slowly.
"It's not supposed to be that cold," Castle said, knowing what she was thinking of.
"We'll see," Beckett said. "But I get the feeling you'll convince my daughter, if not me, to still go even if there's a blizzard."
"I wouldn't do that to her," Castle said in mock defense. "But we should get a tree somewhere tomorrow, if not at the farm."
"It'll be interesting to see if you'll be getting a massive one like you usually do," Beckett said. "Where are you planning on putting it?"
"Here," Castle said. "Great spot right here," he said, pointing to the windows. "I can't really get a tree that tall, but still, the ornaments you and Julia have should make it look pretty good."
"And your ornaments too," Beckett said. "What?" she said with a laugh. "You didn't think I'd notice the box I carried in had decorations?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't so I could very easily slip them onto the tree," Castle said, making a sliding motion with his hand.
"Okay," Beckett said slowly. "Why would you need to slip in those ornaments, they're nice. And I'm assuming the ones wrapped up are the more special ones."
"Yeah, the ornament Alexis made for me is one of them," Castle said. "Couldn't go without that one, sorry."
"You mean cookie angel?" Beckett asked. She laughed slightly when he looked at her in astonishment and said, "Alexis told me; well, more like warned me; that you would want that on the tree. I assured her I didn't mind it, though she seems to think you should be getting rid of it."
"We do that every year now that she's an adult," Castle said. "But I'm not letting that thing go. Has Julia made anything?"
"She has," Beckett said with a smile. "Mrs. Clayton is very much into the holidays, they've made ornaments, menorahs, Kwanzaa candle holders, things like that."
"I like that, they learn about different celebrations," Castle said. "Is that why you got her that coloring book on different holidays?"
"It is," Beckett replied. "But Julia made a snowflake the day they made ornaments in class, and she gave it to me, wrapped up in red paper. She was so proud but scared, it was the sweetest thing."
"Of course," Castle said. "Where is it?"
"In one of those boxes with the ornaments," Beckett replied. "You'll see it tomorrow if we end up getting the tree."
"No comment on my train?" Castle asked as she took a sip of her coffee.
"Not really, I'm just wondering where you're planning on putting the whole set," Beckett commented.
"I didn't bring it," Castle said. "Just enough track to put it around the tree."
"You don't even know what the circumference will be yet," Beckett said, slight laughter in her voice.
"I brought extra, just in case," Castle said easily. "But I thought Julia would like it."
"She probably will," Beckett said. "She's been pretty delighted with everything Christmas related that we saw. You remember how she reacted when we took her to see the tree at Rockefeller."
"Yeah, that was fun," Castle said with a nod. They were quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "So what did you get her that you haven't told me about?"
"You'll find out on Christmas morning," Beckett said.
"Fair enough," Castle said. "I think I got her some great gifts."
"Really," Beckett said. "How much did you get her that I don't know about?"
"Plenty," Castle said. "She'll be shocked."
Rolling her eyes, Beckett stood up and left, Castle hurrying after her, as she said, "Don't try to play that game with me."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun," Castle said.
"Seeing which of us gave the better gift to my daughter? That's a little sad," Beckett said.
"Alright, then why don't we try and see who gives the better gift between the two of us?" Castle suggested.
Shooting him a look, Beckett didn't say anything, merely rinsed her mug before setting it aside and turning into Castle who had stood next to her without her realizing it. "No," she said simply.
"Would be fun," Castle said cajolingly.
"Isn't the idea supposed to be the gifts being fun? Or meaningful?" Beckett asked.
"Maybe, but I like my idea better," Castle said.
Exhaling in exasperation, Beckett walked around him and strode over to the stairs saying, "Then maybe I should wait to give you my gifts on Boxing Day."
"That's mean, it's not even celebrated here," Castle said. "And hey, that's traditionally when people gave gifts to their servants." When she smiled over her shoulder at him he groaned and said, "Walked right into that one," before he rushed after her to his bedroom.
"Look, I did the best I could with my gifts," Beckett said as she went to her drawer in the dresser, pulling out her pajamas. "I just hope that you'll remember I bought them with trying to make you happy in mind."
"At least this year we're giving each other gifts," Castle joked, starting to change as she did. "And I can feel your look through this shirt," he said in the most convincing tone of annoyance that he could convey; though he was acting. "I realize now I should have gotten you something, but you were so damn sure when you kept saying no gifts."
"I was hoping for a surprise," Beckett said before she went into the bathroom.
Castle wanted to reply to that, but waited until they were back out in the room, and getting under the covers. "Who knows," he told her as she lay down. "You might get one this year."
"It better not be a horse," Beckett said, pointing at him as he lay with her.
"No," Castle said. "But I think you'll like what I got you."
"I'm sure I will," Beckett said, watching as he pulled the covers over his shoulder, lying on his side.
"I didn't get Julia a pony, but it was tempting," Castle said. "Always wanted to do that with Alexis, but you know she was more into unicorns than horses, so I couldn't quite pull that off."
"I bet you couldn't stand that," Beckett said with a smile.
"No, but a really nice statue of a unicorn seemed to be good enough, so I was lucky there," Castle commented. "And I know what you're trying to get me to say," he said, sliding his hand over her side before pulling her close to him. "And you have to know already I'll like whatever you give me. You know me pretty well, and you're smart, so I'm looking forward to a great Christmas. Plus it doesn't hurt that we're celebrating this year."
"No it doesn't," Beckett said. "But you know if I hadn't adopted Julia-"
"You would likely be working Christmas Eve," Castle said with a nod. "I know. And that's one of the reasons I'm so glad you adopted Julia. She's getting you to take some time off work which you could use, you have to admit."
"The only thing I'm admitting to is that I'm glad I adopted Julia because I love my daughter," Beckett said.
"As you should," Castle said. "But come on, you know I'm right." He grunted playfully when Beckett shoved against his rib with her fist and said, "Now I don't know if I want to participate in that possible snowball fight, unless we're on the same team."
"Against a four year old? That's cruel Castle," Beckett said, leaning up and kissing him once she had finished speaking.
"Yes, then I want Julia on my team," Castle started to say before he caught the expression on her face. "Okay, then it's man versus woman and girl."
"Goodnight Castle," Beckett sighed, though she wasn't annoyed as she turned away from him on her side.
"Night, you know I'm hoping this is a great Christmas for you too," Castle said, going behind her and wrapping his arm around her.
"It should be," Beckett said simply, smiling as he kissed her collarbone through her shirt before she turned her head back so they could kiss. When they had parted she pressed back against Castle, and closed her eyes, letting the warmth of him and the covers make her drowsy before she fell asleep, his arm holding her close to him.