I just want to stress one thing before you read this. I have only been to New York once, on my honeymoon 6 years ago, I'm not 'up' on the geography of the city so I apologise for any mistakes.
Castle and Beckett aren't mine.
The air outside was biting cold but neither Kate nor Rick felt it. It was still early evening but the streets were almost deserted. The only sound they could hear was the snow crunching beneath their feet.
"So where are we going Rick?" The use of his first name made him smile. It was happening more and more frequently just lately and he liked it. He really liked it.
"All will be revealed Detective. Don't worry, it's not far." He automatically put his arm around her to keep her warm, it seemed like the most natural thing to do. He shivered when she put her head on his shoulder. It had nothing to do with the temperature. They walked in silence for a few blocks until they reached their destination.
"The park? Seriously?" She was confused. Castle answered by tightening his grip on her and guiding her along the path.
"You know it's actually quite dangerous to be in the park this time of night."
"You're a cop. And unless you're really pleased to see me…I know you have your gun." The last part came out in a whisper as if to throw 'bad guys' off the scent. She giggled. This was new. Kate Beckett didn't giggle.
"You bought me to the zoo Castle?"
"What? No, over there." He watched as she strained to see what he was pointing at. Her eyes grew wide and the smile that appeared threatened to split her face in two.
"No way!" She let go of him and turned to face him "Seriously?"
"Am I to assume, judging from your reaction, that you like it?"
"Castle I love it! How did you know?"
"You showed me pictures. Of you and your Mom." The smile on her face faltered slightly and she seemed to get lost in a memory.
"Thank you Rick" There it was, his first name again. He reached for her hand and was surprised to feel her squeeze it that bit tighter.
"Come on. I'm dying to see you on the ice" She giggled again and the smile was back. If bringing her here could make her smile like that hell he'd bring her here every day if he had to.
Kate went and sat on one of the benches while Rick went to sort out some ice skates. When he sauntered over she felt herself warm up instantly.
"Hey, you only have one pair of skates!" She exclaimed.
"You want to spend Christmas in the ER?"
"Castle, if we're doing this, we're doing it together!" The look that she shot him reminded him that she carried a gun!
"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."
While he went back for more skates, Kate laced her boots and took in her surroundings. She hadn't been here since before her mom had died. She was always afraid that coming back would be too painful. But as she sat looking at the families on the ice laughing and having fun she realised that these were good memories to have. She looked over to where Rick was and suddenly realised how much of a risk he took with this. There was no guarantee that she would have been happy being here. He knew that she used to come here with her mom. It showed just how well he knew her and how much he cared about her. Her face ached from smiling so much. If she needed any proof of just how much he loved her, this was it. When she had been shot he'd said it. She'd heard it but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was just the situation that had forced the confession. She had wanted to mention it, so many times, but she wasn't sure she was ready for the conversation. The truth was, she loved him back and it scared her silly.
"Hey, you ok?" She hadn't heard him sit down beside her, a jolt of electricity shot through her as he touched her arm.
"I'm great Castle, really great. Now get your boots on and let's go"
He wasn't kidding. He was not meant to skate on the ice. He was not meant to walk on the ice. He watched as Kate literally glided across the ice. She passed him 5, maybe 6, times before he'd even moved 10 yards. He clung to the side railings as if his life depended on it. He really wasn't concentrating on what he was doing and didn't see the boy in front of him until it was too late. He lost his footing and ended up on his ass. He muttered several expletives before he felt a warm hand wrap around his own.
"You weren't joking Castle" She helped pull him onto his feet and couldn't help laughing at the wounded expression on his face.
"Come on" She laced her fingers with his and began to guide him around the ice.
"Beckett you're going to have to slow down" The panic in his eyes made her laugh out loud.
"Castle if you hate this so much why'd you bring me?"
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and thrust it in her face. "For this"
It was a picture of her. He'd taken it while he was waiting in line for skates. He'd been mesmerized by the look on her face and he wanted to remember every detail of it. He'd never seen her smile so brightly and so openly. As he watched her face now he realised that it actually might come across as a bit creepy.
"That's creepy Castle" She smiled as she said it and nudged his shoulder with affection. She must have knocked him harder than she thought because the next thing she knew his arms were wrapped round her and he was leaning on her for support. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to remind herself to breathe. Why was she fighting this? The more she thought about it, the more it just didn't make any sense.
"Come on Castle. I'll buy you a coffee." The relief was evident across his face. She giggled again. What was with all the giggling tonight!
"I'm sorry Beckett. I guess I didn't really think this through." He looked genuinely upset now.
"Hey, Castle, It's fine. I've had a really good time but my fingertips are going blue. How am I supposed to shoot bad guys with no fingers?" She smiled warmly at him and he couldn't help but smile back.
"Coffee it is then."
They found a cart not far from the ice rink and ordered their usual. As Kate made her way to a bench to sit down, Rick suddenly had an idea.
"No sitting" He said as he grabbed Kate's elbow with his hand.
"Where are we going now?" She pretended to be annoyed but she couldn't hide the grin that was lighting up her face.
"You'll see."
They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked. Kate was starting to wish she had bought her gloves as she willed her coffee not to cool down in the freezing temperatures. As she dropped her free hand by her side Castle took the opportunity to grab it. His hand felt soft and warm. She smiled into her coffee.
"So Castle, I never asked, what did you get for Christmas?"
"Alexis bought me a climbatron!" And there was the 9 year old that used to annoy the hell out of her.
"I'm probably going to regret this, but what is a climbatron?" She listened as he excitedly told her about the 'acro-bot'. Apparently it climbs up windows and, well, not much else actually but the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke about his morning opening presents with his mother and Alexis made up her mind. She was going to have to tell him. And she was going to have to tell him now.
"Rick?" But he didn't hear her.
"We're here. " She hadn't even been paying attention to where they had been going. She looked around and was still none the wiser. Rick softly put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to her right. She gasped.
"Beautiful" She whispered.
Rick had to agree. But he was willing to bet that they weren't talking about the same thing.
To be continued…..
