Christmas Day: Who needs the Ghost of Christmas Present?

Steeling herself for what was sure to be an excess of "Christmas joy" at the Castle household, Kate knocked on the door at precisely half past ten. She was dressed casually, just as Castle suggested, wearing comfortable jeans and a long, red, cashmere sweater with a v-neck that wasn't too suggestive under her warm black coat. Boots were a requirement on a day like this, but she had more comfortable shoes in her bag.

The door opened to a bright, smiling Alexis Castle. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was dressed similarly to Kate, but with a green shirt that brought out the best in her complexion. "Detective," she said stepping back from the door, "come in. I was told not to wish you a Merry Christmas, but I will anyway."

"Merry Christmas," Alexis stated with a twinkle in her eye giving her a hug.

Kate looked around the apartment, slightly surprised at the mildness of decoration. There was a tree, of course, that was beautifully decorated, but just a few gifts under it. Stockings were hung, and apparently filled by a jolly, old elf.

"Would you like some coffee?"

"Thanks, that would be great."

Alexis walked to the kitchen and pulled out a travel mug. "I would offer to take your coat, but we're about to leave."

Alexis let Kate fix her coffee the way she liked. "Where are we going?"

"I'm not allowed to say, but it's a tradition for us. Grams was totally not on board last year when we forced her to come along, but she's going willingly today." As if on cue, Castle walked out of his bedroom and Martha descended the stairs.

"Are we ready?" Castle clasped his hands together with a look of excitement. "Detective, you look lovely today. Let's go!"

"First, we need to talk, Castle. Your office—now."

"Yes, ma'am." He followed Kate into his office. "How can I help…?"

She whirled around on him and shoved a blue box into his chest. "I don't know what you were thinking, but I can't keep this."

"Why not?" Castle pouted. "It took me a long time to pick that out. I thought you would love it."

Kate took a deep breath, "It's beautiful; it's just too much. I can't accept it."

Castle held the box and studied her face, "Kate, there aren't any strings attached to this. I wrote a book; the main character was based on you. The book is doing really well. You aren't getting anything from that, and I think you deserve something nice for putting up with me all this time. That's all."

"Well, I appreciate that Castle, but I still can't accept it."

"It's yours, Kate. If you want to return it and…I don't know… give the money to charity, that's up to you. But the bracelet is yours." He placed the Tiffany's box on his desk. "However, I'm going to leave it here, because you shouldn't take it with you today. Let's go. I can't keep them waiting." Castle gathered his coat and ushered the three women out the door.

Twenty minutes later, the car pulled in front of The Bedford House, a shelter for abused women and their children in Brooklyn. Kate was curious as to what they were doing here, but she didn't think she had ever seen Castle so excited.

A middle-aged woman with graying red hair and wearing a loud Holiday sweater rushed out of the building. "Mr. Castle, right on time as always. Everything is ready in the dining hall." They walked into the building.

"Merry Christmas, Ms. Walker. We have fifteen mothers and thirty-eight children, correct?"

"Yes, we do. And they have absolutely no idea what's going to happen. I told them that I had an important visitor coming and I needed them all to go upstairs and get ready to come down when I call for them."

The group walked into the dining hall and Kate sucked in her breath. The room was beautifully decorated, with a large throne-like chair in the middle and a popular Christmas elf (who was usually quite busy on this day) sitting in it. Mr. Claus was surrounded by bags and bags of gifts.

Beckett leaned into Alexis, "What's going on?"

"My dad has a soft spot for single moms. So five years ago, my dad ran across a woman who was being abused by her boyfriend. She told him that her boyfriend said he would hunt her down and kill her and her daughter if she ever left him. Dad found this place for her and helped her leave him. They were still here a month later when Christmas rolled around, so dad contacted Mrs. Walker and asked what he could do. It turned into this." Alexis smiled proudly at her father who was making sure everything was ready.

"So every year, he hires Santa, buys gifts and spends Christmas here?"

"The same Santa every year. He's the best one. And dad doesn't just do gifts; he has Mrs. Walker gather letters to Santa. He wants to make dreams come true. Last year Mrs. Walker called at two o'clock Christmas Eve afternoon, very upset, saying that she had another mother and her five year old son come in that morning. She didn't know how we could make this work for them. Dad immediately cancelled his Christmas Eve party, wrote down the specifics for the mother and child, and out we went to make Christmas happen for them."

Kate watched Castle with a different perspective. I guess he isn't always a twelve year old. Turning back to Alexis, she asks, "So, how long do you usually stay?"

"We pass out the gifts, play with the children, and talk to the moms. Then, we have dinner at around twelve. Dad takes care of that too. We usually end up leaving by two o'clock or so. Why? Do you have somewhere to be?"

"No, I was just curious. Maybe I'll write a book." Kate cut her eyes over to Alexis who rolled hers.

"Please, spare me. I can only handle one writer." Kate and Alexis made their way towards Santa as they saw Castle walking that way.

"Mr. Kringle," Castle exclaimed, "It's so good to see you again." Rick leaned over to shake his hand.

"Ricky, my boy, good to see you too. I have something for you that I forgot to leave at your place." Santa reached into his pocked and pulled out a small green felt bag. He handed it to Rick.

"What's this?" Rick opened the drawstring and a chunk of black coal fell into his hand. "Why?"

"If you have to ask, you should consult with Katherine Beckett behind you. She knows exactly why you've been bad this year." Santa teased him with sparkling eyes.

"Cute trick, Castle." Kate replied.

"I didn't tell him you were coming." Castle turned to Ms. Walker. "Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?"

Mrs. Walker radioed to her staff to let the mothers and children come down stairs. They could hear them coming, but it wasn't the rush of children's feet that you would normally hear on Christmas Day. The children came down quietly, behind their mothers, unsure of what to expect. When they saw Santa, they smiled shyly and waved. He waved back.

That's when the magic started to happen. Kate planned on sitting back and watching, but there was so much to be done, she had to participate. They had gifts and stockings to pass out for every child. They also had gifts for the mothers. One mother there had two daughters; they barely spoke English. They were Russian. Santa looked at Kate knowingly and handed their gifts and stockings to her to distribute.

"Anya?" Kate asked. The young mother nodded. "These are for you, Katerina, and Sveta. Merry Christmas."

"No much English." Anya responded, shaking her head.

"Это для вас. С Рождеством Христовым." Kate repeated her words in Russian. Anya and her girls lit up. She sat on the floor with them and they talked for ten minutes. Anya, Katerina and Sveta were just happy to have someone that could talk to them. At one point, Kate looked up and caught Castle's eye. She smiled at him and nodded slightly with approval. Watching her girls open their gifts, seeing the joy on their faces, Anya's face beamed. Everything is good for her today. She can see hope for the future. Castle did this?

Kate marveled at the room. Every child and mother was smiling, some with tears in their eyes. Alexis, Castle and even Martha was sitting on the floor, dressing dolls, building with Lego blocks or simply talking. It was nothing like what Kate expected. Watching Castle with a little boy building a tower, she felt warmth spread through her.

Drat! How does he do it? I can't be mad at him; he always weasels himself back in.

Later, after a delicious Christmas dinner, Kate was putting on her coat as they were getting ready to leave. Katerina and Sveta came up to her carrying a picture of Santa Claus they had colored in crayon. "Спасибо," they said hugging her legs.

"You're welcome." Kate replied, laying a hand on each head. "Merry Christmas, Katerina. Merry Christmas, Sveta." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she watched them return to their mother.

When they were back in the car, Castle looked over at her. "So?" He queried. "What did you think?"

Holding on to her drawing and looking out the window, Kate nodded, "It was good."

"We're not through." Castle stated. "Do you have time?"

This was her out. She could leave and return to her non-Christmas day. But her heart spoke before her brain could intervene. "Yes," she said. "I have time."