December 7, 2010
Half of the time, when they didn't have a case, Kate was glad. She worked a lot – more than a lot – and she recognized it as her choice in employment, but there were still some days she was glad her only responsibility was to the Evil Gods of Paperwork. It didn't require her complete and utter attention and it didn't require actual logical thought. Cases demanded everything.
And today, she was anxious.
Antsy.
Nervous.
Alexis had called her that morning to put Phase I of their plan into action. There was a part of Kate that was glad they weren't going to be wasting time. The last thing she really wanted was to give Castle the chance to realize that even if she'd been completely sincere and maybe even a bit vulnerable in asking him to stay in New York for the holidays, he didn't want to celebrate. That would be a painful blow.
But, she also recognized that starting off with something heavy just wouldn't cut it either. They needed to do something light-hearted, something she associated with Christmas, but didn't necessarily come wrapped up in paper and bows.
"Hey Girl."
Kate looked up as her best friend wove through the desks with a grin and a bright red folder. It was almost the end of her shift which meant it was almost time to start showing Castle what she would do at Christmas.
"Lab report from the Pine case, all signed and sealed for your case file." Lanie held the file out from her.
"Thanks," Kate replied. "You didn't have to hand deliver it."
But Lanie's eyes had strayed and were resting on Castle's almost empty chair. "Did we have plans today?"
"Um, no," Kate responded, studiously not looking at Lanie or the skates that rested on the chair. She and Alexis had agreed that skating was that perfect mix of Christmas and simple winter recreation.
Lanie arched an eyebrow, well aware Kate didn't have to actually see it to know she was doing it. "Uh huh. Icy commute?"
Kate blew out a breath. "No. Not that either."
"Girl, start talking. Now."
"Alexis, Castle and I are going skating at the end of my shift," Kate rushed out. "I'm… spreading Christmas cheer."
"With Castle's daughter."
"She likes Christmas," the detective shot back. "Unlike her irritating Grinch of a father."
Lanie's eyes widened. "You didn't. Kate, tell me you didn't."
"I didn't what?" Kate responded, looking up in alarm and confusion.
"Did you invite Writer Boy to spend Christmas with you?"
Kate hissed. "No! God, Lanie."
Lanie just looked at her.
"I didn't like that he doesn't like Christmas, okay? He told me about it. So… I asked him if I could change his mind."
"Change his mind," Lanie said without inflection. "And how in the hell were you planning on doing that? A skimpy Mrs Clause outfit?"
Kate shot a glare at the ME. "Don't."
"Don't what?" Lanie asked with a wicked grin. "Make an insinuation that all he would probably want for Christmas is you?"
"Or come right out and say it," Kate said on a sigh. "Look, it just seems unfair, okay? He's had Christmas ruined since he was a kid, and Alexis was in here on Sunday telling me about how she wants to celebrate Christmas with her dad and… I may have promised to help her change his mind."
"And that involves skating."
"I know it's our tradition-"
"Oh no. You are not going to weasel your way out of this because you and I have gone every year. Nuh uh." This was too good. Lanie could feel it. She'd spent too many years celebrating Christmas with Kate not to know what the holiday entailed. The pictures she was coming up with were too good to think of feeling bad Kate was bailing on her. "You are going skating."
"We'll still go," Kate said, because she knew sometimes she neglected her friends. "We'll find time."
"We always do." The ME glanced significantly at her watch. "Now isn't it the end of your shift? Go hunt down your shadow and his progeny."
Kate offered Lanie a smile and a goodbye as the ME departed, making a stop at Esposito's desk for a moment before continuing on. Kate shook her head. They thought they were being secretive, but she and Ryan knew there was more between them.
"You off, Boss?" Ryan inquired as he walked by.
"Yeah," Kate replied. "You guys are big boys, you can hold down the fort. But it's the end of shift and I have plans."
"The Beckett has plans? Who is he?"
Kate chuckled as she slid the tied skate laces over her shoulder. "You'll never know. Have a good evening, gentlemen."
She sauntered off and Ryan immediately turned to his partner. "Ten bucks says her date's with Castle. Fifty says they kiss by Christmas."
"It's a sucker's bet," Esposito replied. "You gotta get your ears cleaned man. They're doing Christmas things together."
"You have an inside source," Ryan accused, even as his eyes widened in shock. Beckett didn't share Christmas.
"Nope. Head them talking about it yesterday."
Ryan considered a moment. "Think it's too late for me to change my date in the office pool?"
They'd waited over two hours in line.
Kate didn't mind. It was part of the holiday season, part of what she loved about Christmas in New York, but Castle was a different story. He was good for the first forty-five minutes and then things had started to go down hill. She'd even thought to herself that she should have brought a backpack of toys to distract him. She and Alexis had gone as far as resorting to 'I Spy' just to occupy him.
But now they were lacing up their skates, laughing as Castle got himself tangled in the laces before his daughter stepped in to save the day.
"Too many thumbs, Castle?" Kate teased as she stood easily on the thin blades. It was definitely going to take her a few strokes to get back in the rhythm once she set foot on the ice, but it felt good to be in skates again.
He was a little wobbly on his skates and Kate quickly stepped to his side to ensure he didn't fall over. He draped an easy arm over her shoulder and as much as she was sure he wasn't used to skating, she couldn't help but think some of his floundering was an over-exaggerated ploy. When Alexis was done tying her skates, she came up on Castle's other side and they made their way to the rink.
Kate had been right about those first couple of strokes and it was only made worse by the quickly obvious fact that Castle could not skate.
"What did you expect?" he told her with a cheeky smile. His eyes belayed some sort of anxiousness that made her refrain from rolling her eyes.
"Some sort of balance?" she replied, focusing on the humour and the rhythm of her skates on the ice. They moved silently with the flow for a while, until Alexis managed to spot one of her school friends and skated off. Castle floundered even more without the added support of his daughter and Kate chuckled.
She removed his arm from her shoulders – she'd left it there for his support, nothing more, nothing to do with the warmth of his arm and body, never – and pushed a half a pace ahead. Then she turned gracefully, skating backwards as she faced him. She held out her hands. "Come on, Castle. I'll teach you how to skate."
Because if she wanted him to have a good time, he couldn't be a laughing stock of the rest of the rink.
He reached out and clasped her mittened hands, wrapping his long fingers over her wrist. "Okay, Obi Wan. Teach me."
They took their time doing their laps of the rink. He fell, constantly, and Kate laughed every time, but he was smiling and the anxiousness faded as they continued their laps. Alexis passed with a wave a few times, egging her father on. After a while, Alexis skated back with them and offered Kate a smile.
"I'll skate with him," she said, wrapping her arms around her dad's. "You've been skating slow the whole time."
"I don't mind," Kate admitted with a genuine smile for the teenager. "Your dad's a pretty quick study. At least with skating."
"Then we'll be fine for a few laps," Alexis encouraged. She was glad Kate was with them, glad that this was one of Kate's annual traditions, but that didn't mean she shouldn't have the chance to really enjoy herself.
"Go on," Castle agreed. He really wanted to see her skate. The woman in front of him was a Kate he only got glimpses of, and he wanted to see if she could lose herself in something as simple as sliding on ice. He'd caught her looking wistfully at some of the faster skaters, but she'd had a surprising amount of patience for the number of times he'd fallen. Finally, she smiled.
"Just a few laps," she agreed.
And Castle was treated to an awesome sight.
If he was honest, the thing he liked the most about Kate was that she never ceased to surprise him. And she didn't disappoint. The easy slide of her skate blades on the torn up ice made her look classy and graceful. She wove her way carefully through the other skaters, waving as she passed, but Castle couldn't take his eyes off her. He tracked her through the crowds of skaters, watching her push off, watching her come to a quick and fast stop when a little boy suddenly dropped right in front of her.
She looked beautiful, graceful and happy.
And even Castle had to agree that this had been a good idea.
They sat side-by-side on a bench as they unlaced their skates a while later and Castle turned to her.
"Are you always like that?"
"Like what?" Kate inquired, hiding her nerves behind a mask she'd etched in stone.
"That carefree," Castle elaborated and his mouth quirked up in a little smirk when she jumped. "On the ice there. You looked…"
"It was one of the things my mom, my dad and I did every year," she interrupted. She was just sharing Christmas traditions. The flattery would chip at her heart and she was pretty sure her heart wasn't ready for Castle. "We'd come out every week. Saturday and Sunday afternoons. And we'd skate until I couldn't feel my feet. Then Mom would wrap me up and carry me home." She offered him a tentative smile. "And now that she's gone, it seems even more important to do it. I usually drag Lanie along but… you know, I actually had fun."
Castle eyed her for a moment with careful deliberation and Kate felt herself shifting under his gaze. It was as if he knew something about her actions that she didn't and it made her terribly uncomfortable. Then he offered her a smile she rarely saw, so full of genuine admiration and happiness it made her heart jump.
"So did I. Maybe this Christmas stuff won't be so bad after all."
She echoed his smile, even though a part of her wanted to respond with a sexy smirk. "And we've only just begun."
He groaned.
Same rules as yesterday apply. Mistakes are mine. I don't want to talk about it.
Unless you can send me a speed-reading gremlin that can do my "portfolio" for me. Remind me to shoot the person who invented procrastination 'cause it's really cramping my style. Which is making me Grinchy.
Hearts to all of you that reviewed the last one and very politely told me to shove it with the worrying!
