Prompt: Character A doesn't feel the Christmas spirit but character B, who lives above them, keeps playing Christmas carols really loud.


"Oh for the love of...!" Kate Beckett cursed whoever lived above her because who the hell plays Christmas carols this loud?! "Fuck off."

Kate walked around her apartment, trying, in vain, to find a room in which the carols wouldn't be heard. She was very temped walking up to her neighbor flashing her badge and, preferably, her gun to make the bastard stop the damn music. Whatever made some people so jolly around Christmas anyway? Taking a deep breath she tried to calm herself, they would probably realize the music was too loud any minute now. Any minute now. Aany minute now.

"Oh to hell with this!" she yelled out after several minutes of hoping it would work out on its own.

Kate yanked up her door and slammed it behind her loudly as she strode towards the stairs, she didn't have enough patience to wait for the elevator because damn she wanted that jerk to just shut the music flew up the stairs two steps at a time and once she was in the corridor above hers it didn't take long for her to locate the apartment above hers, the music hadn't turned down one bit since she left her second she reached the door she started knocking rapidly on it, trying her best to get the attention of whatever asshole lived in apartment number 447.

"Hey hey hey!" a manly voice said in a rushed voice as the door opened. "No need to break the door in."

Oh the manners of this guy, if she hadn't sworn to protect the people in this city she would've punched him right in that smug smile he had plastered on his face.

"If you don't turn that godawful music down I swear to god I'm gonna shoot you," she hadn't meant for the threat to actually slip past her lips but her irritation was getting the better of her.

The man in front of her looked oddly familiar but she couldn't place him. Probably seen him in the building before, she figured, or perhaps she'd arrested him sometime while she had still been a rookie.

"Well, hello to you too," he said with a sweet smile and she was wondering if he had heard her at all.

"Are you deaf?" she questioned and he chuckled.

He actually chuckled.

"No, I'm not, but I answer better when the people I meet say their greetings first," he answered, that smile still plastered on his face.

What the hell? Kate felt her breathing quicken a bit and tried to calm herself down by taking deep breaths. It was after all illegal to shoot the guy, plus that would mean she'd loose her job big time.

"Hey, we you okay?" he suddenly asked and she gave him a narrowed look.

"Do I look okay?! I live right under you and your music is making me tear my hair out."

She was harsh, her voice stern and determined, she wanted this guy to turn down his goddamn music so she could be in her silent apartment in peace.

"Your hair looks beautiful to me."

Her fingers clenched into fists and she had to keep telling herself she could not hit the guy. She could not kill him for being a lousy neighbor.

"If you don't shut those damn jolly carolsoff I swear to god I will break past and do it myself."

It was the first time his expression showed any sign of non-happiness, there was a small shock in his eyes, as if he hadn't taken her previous threats serious.

"You're serious aren't you?" he asked with his smile completely gone now.

She narrowed her eyes further, giving him the look she had practiced too many times on suspects. His mouth form an 'oh' as he seemed to take in her full expression.

"You don't like Christmas carols?" he asked and she clenched her eyes shut.

"No."

She could feel his eyes observe her and when she opened her eyes again she confirmed her cop senses.

"Why not?" he sure knew how to push her every button.

"Because I don't, and I sure as hell don't have to explain myself to you," she tried her best not to yell, but her voice was a lot louder than she had preferred it to be.

"Okay, okay, come on in, and I will turn down the music."

He opened his door a bit more and made a hand gesture for her to come inside.

"What the hell makes you think I'm just gonna waltz right into your apartment?"

What is this guy's problem?! Couldn't he just simply turn the music down so she could go back to her peace and quiet apartment with no Christmas decorations or whatsoever?

"If you don't come in I won't turn the music down," he was starting to sound like a child and she had to count down from 10 in order to not punch him in the face right there.

"Daddyyyyyy, what's taking so long?!" a small voice called out from the inside and Kate felt her veins freeze to ice.

He had a kid? Suddenly it all made sense, the loud music, the jolly expression he'd had when he first opened the door. Now she felt kind of bad, she couldn't rob the kid of her Christmas, that was just cruel.

"Who are you?" a small redhead peeked out from behind the guy's legs and looked carefully at Kate.

"No one, I'm sorry I bothered you," Kate said, trying to give a small smile before she turned around to walk away from the man and his daughter.

"Wait! Why don't you come in, we have cookies in the oven and I bet Alexis here would love it if you tried them out," the man said and Kate shook her head while looking back at them.

"No, I'm good, sorry," she said before she went with long steps towards the staircase.


"Dad?" Alexis asked as Rick Castle closed the door again, the woman having disappeared faster than he could imagine.

He hummer and bent down in order to scoop her up in his arms, giving her his whole attention.

"Why did you invite her? Didn't she just want to shut down our music?" she asked and he should've known she would eavesdrop.

Sneaky little thing, his daughter.

"I don't think she meant it that way, pumpkin. I could see a sadness in her eyes, as if she was hurt by the reminder of Christmas,"he tried to explain and her eyes widened.

"She doesn't like Christmas?" she said shocked.

Rick shrugged his shoulders, he had a feeling he couldn't shake.

"Maybe she can't celebrate Christmas with her family this year," he offered as he carried her towards their cookies.

Alexis got a horrified expression on her small face as she understood the meaning of his words.

"Alone for Christmas? We can't leave her to be alone daddy! Maybe she'd be happier if we invited her!" the little girl suggested and Rick smiled at his daughter's warm heart.

"Yeah, maybe it would, let's get these cookies out of the oven first, how about you go turn down the music a bit, we don't need to remind her more than necessary," he suggested and she agreed, immediately running off to the stereo the second he put her down on the ground.

Rick took out the cookies and wondered how they should do to convince the woman she was more than welcome to celebrate the holiday with them. He knew one thing or two about how important it was to celebrate with people you cared about, his mother always making sure they would have a cozy Christmas no matter how badly their economy had been.

"Can we test the cookies now?" Alexis asked when she came running back.

"They're too hot, we'll burn our tongues, of course we should try them now!" he said with too much energy and a childish glow in his eyes.

His daughter laughed at his excitement and they brought out milk to be able to drink if it really got too hot.

"Maybe we could invite her tomorrow," Alexis suggested, her expression telling her father she was in deep thought.

"Christmas is still far away Alexis," Rick reminded her.

"I know, but if she comes to dinner tomorrow she can get to know us and then feel at home once Christmas comes," she sounded so wise beyond her years that Rick wondered, as so many times before, who she got it from.

"Sounds like a plan," Rick decided then, making a mental note that Alexis should be the one asking.

Maybe the woman would be more willing to say yes to the little girl than to him, especially considering the immediate reaction she'd had to learning he had a daughter.


Kate was surprised to hear the music was turned down once she got back into her apartment, especially considering his threat about not doing what she wanted unless she joined him inside. What was that all about? Why invite someone you have never met and who also just knocked on your door to complain?These were the kinds of questions that kept circling her mind and even followed her into her dreams because she just couldn't make sense of the morning it was not totally forgotten but she managed to push it away in order to focus on getting herself ready for work. She went through the day focusing on the new case they caught, but to her irritation her captain sent her home when he was heading home himself. Don't get her wrong, she loved everything captain Montgomery had done for her, especially the fact that he hadn't told on her when he busted her snooping through things she shouldn't have beenlooking at, but she didn't exactly enjoy getting babysat by him every time she wanted to dig herself into she got home she thought about ordering food but since she had practically been kicked out of the precinct she wasn't exactly feeling like eating immediately. Sitting down by her coffee table she picked up her bag to take out the file she managed to snatch when her captain wasn't looking, she had no plans on stopping finding the killer just because her shift was jumped when there was a rapid but, small?, knocking on her door. Had Montgomery noticed her grabbing the file despite her discretion? She stood up from the couch and considered hiding the papers, but since they were already all spread out across the table and the knocking kept going she figured it would be for the better to just get busted. Only when she opened the door her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

"Hiii! Will you come have dinner with us tonight? Dad makes the best pasta with chili sauce!" the small redhead from the day before said excitedly with a big smile on her lips.

Kate started to stunner, not knowing what to say so she just eventually shut up and stared at the girl and man in front of her. What the hell were they doing here?

"Ehm, my name's Rick by the way, and this is my daughter Alexis," the man said, probably noticing Kate had no idea what to answer to the strangers standing in front of her.

"Sorry, should introduce me first," the girl grinned in a 'sorry but I'm too excited'-kind of grin, it was quite adorable actually. "What's your name?" she added with a glimpse in her eyes.

"Beckett," she said automatically before quickly changing to, "Kate. My name's Kate."

"That short for Katherine?" Alexis asked and Kate felt the shock must be shown all over her face, especially when the man, Rick, opened his mouth.

"Pumpkin, let's wait with any question that doesn't involve if she wants to join us for dinner."

"I'm sorry," the small girl said but Kate could see she wasn't that sorry.

Kate took a quiet deep breath to collect herself enough to answer their question.

"I'm sorry but I can't do dinner," she said and she saw the small girl's smile go downwards.

"Can't do dinner tonight? We can do it tomorrow instead if that suits better?" Rick suggested with a smile still on his lips.

"Uhm, no, I mean I can't," she hoped he would understand and give his daughter some real reason because she didn't think she could come up with anything good enough.

"Why not?" Alexis asked with a small pout.

Kate struggled to answer because it didn't look like Rick was going to save her, he was looking at her as if he was as clueless as his daughter. Why couldn't he take the hint?

"You don't even know me, I'm sorry about yesterday, I shouldn't have been so rude..." she started but Rick was shaking his head long before she was done.

"No, no, we should've thought about our neighbors, it wasn't cool of us to have our music that loud," he said and his daughter was nodding in agreement. "Come on, just one dinner, neighbors should know each other right?" he added with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, please dinner, please," Alexis asked with what Kate supposed was her sweetest voice she could muster.

Alexis's eyes got bigger as if she was begging her to say yes. Kate had a feeling that was the look she used to give her father when she wanted something, she also had a feeling the girl could get anything with that look. Urgh.

"Okay, fine, but only dinner, then I need to get back, I have work in the morning," Kate gave in.

Alexis let go of a small shout of joy, jumping up with her fist in the air and Kate couldn't stop the automatic chuckle from escaping past her lips. When she looked at Rick she could see a satisfied glimpse in his eyes and she wondered what the hell made him ask he to join them for dinner anyway.

"You can come up as soon as you're ready, you already know the apartment number so I trust you won't get lost," Rick had a teasing tone within his voice.

"Yeah, right," Kate hummed, and after a 'see you later' from the little girl the two of them walked off towards the staircase.


Kate wasn't sure if anything so when she stood in front of 447 she wondered what the hell she'd gotten herself into, eating dinner with the family who hadblasted Christmas carols the night before. She took a deep breath before carefully knocking on the door, not at all as harsh and fast as yesterday.

"There you are!" the man, Rick, said the second the door opened and he saw it was her.

He opened up wider and the small red headed girl came running towards them.

"Kate!" she yelled out and once Kate was inside Alexis hugged her leg.

What the...? Rick just chuckled and walked to what looked like to be their kitchen. Alexis let go of her leg only to grab her hand instead and pull her further inside. Kate just managed to close the door before she was pulled out of reach and she wondered why this little girl was so excited about her.

"Look!" Alexis said holding out a drawing Kate figured she must've made. "This is you, this is dad, and this is me!"

She pointed to each figure as she described who she'd drawn. Kate quickly noticed the girl hadn't drawn her mother, she looked around and focused on what she could hear but couldn't hear anyone else but the girl and her father in their apartment.

"Dinner's ready!" Rick called out and Kate looked towards him.

He was carrying the pasta towards the dinner table where he had set the table for only the three of them. So, no mrs Rick. Or at least not here tonight. The three of them sat down at the table and Rick served all of them as. Told them to dig in. It didn't take long before the girl had sauce all over her facebut honestly it came as no surprise the way she immediately stuffed her mouth with the pasta her father had made. Kate sneaked a glance at Rick and met his eyes as he was doing the same, which had her quickly looking down at her food. She took her fork and got some pasta with chili sauce on it to put it in her mouth. The second the food touched her tongue she let go of a surprised moan, oh he was good.

"You like it?" he asked and when she swallowed she bit her lower lip.

"Mhmm, it's good," she nodded, taking another bite.

"Told you he makes the greatest pasta with chili sauce!" Alexis said with her mouth full of food.

"Pumpkin, no talking with food in your mouth," Rick said with an amused smile on his lips and Kate chuckled.

"So'y," Alexis said with food still in her mouth and Kate chuckled even louder.

Kate still didn't understand why they had invited her but it was surprisingly a lot more fun than she had imagined. She could see Alexis suddenly chewed a little faster in order to swallow faster so she could open her mouth again.

"Kaate, why don't you like Christmas carols?" she asked and Kate's smile faded slowly.

"She never said she didn't like them Pumpkin, she probably just had a headache yesterday and the music was too loud," Rick offered as a save, giving Kate a look when the girl wasn't looking as if to say she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to.

Kate swallowed the past a she had in her mouth before she opened it anyway.

"They're just not really a good memory for me, I liked them when I was your age though," she offered.

"Why don't you like them anymore? I know my dad is a child but other grown-ups like them, not only kids so it's not something you grow up from?" Alexis reasoned and Kate was amazed by the little girl.

She could've been, what, five years? Six years? And she was already looking deeper into the fact that she didn't enjoy Christmas carols than any other kid she'd ever met had investigated in anything.

"Hey!" her father exclaimed at the note about him being childish and Kate couldn't hide the laugh that escaped her mouth. "I'm not a child!"

"Yes, you are! You bought a life sized R2-D2 and functioning lightsabers!" Alexis immediately came back and that just made Kate's eyes widenand her laugh louder.

Rick tried hushing the girl who had broken out in laughter as well.

"That was a secret!" he groaned and the little girl hid her mouth with her hand as if she was going to tell another secret towards Kate.

"They're right there in the corner of this room, some secret," she half-whispered half-said as she rolled her eyes.

Kate looked towards the corner and saw indeed two lightsabers along with one life sized R2-D2, and started laughing so bad her belly started hurting. God she hadn't laughed like this in years.

"Yeah yeah, keep laughing at the famous author slash nerd," Rick groaned and put more food in his mouth, sulking.

Kate wrinkled her forehead, famous author? She let it go when Alexis's voice sounded again.

"So, why don't you like them?"

She got a feeling the girl wouldn't give up until she'd gotten the answer so she figured she should just give one that she could live with her knowing.

"Something bad happened to someone close to me around Christmas a few years ago, and the Christmas spirit reminds me of it," she shrugged her shoulders in order to try not make a big deal out of it.

She didn't really want to talk about it more than she had to, so she hoped the girl wouldn't continue asking her about it.

"Oh," the girl said in a saddened tone, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, I'm good now," Kate lied, but she hoped the girl couldn't hear it, hoped the girl would believe her words.

They continued to eat in silence after that, and once the dinner was over she offered to help with the dishes. At first Rick said no, she was the guest, but she insisted and after some friendly argument he let her win. Alexis was close by, drawing, and kept asking Kate questions such as what her favorite song was, her favorite movie, her favorite animal, and so on. Kate found it fascinating how the girl kept asking her if there was a reason to the answer she gave. Take the favorite animal for example, she didn't only satisfy with the answer of it being elephants, she also wanted a reason as to how come elephants were her didn't terrorize her if she didn't have a reason but she still asked if she had one and what it was if she did. It was cute and Kate couldn't help but think the kid would make a beat detective or lawyer one day if she wanted to.

"What do you work with?" Alexis asked and Kate gave the last plate to Rick for drying before she drained the sink of water.

"I'm a cop," she answered and Alexis eyes widened.

"You're a cop! That is so cool!" Rick's sudden outburst had Kate jump a little and Alexis started laughing. "What kind?"

"Uh, homicide detective," she answered and his eyes only widened.

Kate dried her hands as Rick put away the last plate and she inhaled deep before she clasped her hands together in front of her.

"This has been great, thank you both for a wonderful dinner," she started but before she could finish her voice trailed off when she noticed the pouts on both the man and the girl.

"Don't leave yet, Kate, please. Stay for a movie," Alexis practically begged and Kate wondered why the girl looked so desperate.

"No, Pumpkin, we kind of promised she'd be free after the dinner, and she even helped us clean up, she's good to go if she doesn't want to stay," Rick said, even though his eyes were telling her something else.

"But we can watch Moana! Please Kate please," the redhead asked and Kate thought about it.

Maybe the girl would fall asleep during the movie, or she could leave as soon as the girl was too into the movie to stop her from leaving. With a small sigh Kate agreed, told them she would probably not stay for the whole movie but that she could stay a little while longer. To her surprise the small girl snuggled close to her when they sat down in the couch, putting her small arm around her as in to keep her close. Kate looked questioningly at Rick who just looked as surprised as her, even though he was better at hiding it. The movie began and Kate tried to relax in the couch, tried not to think too much about the little girl clinging to her and what laid behind that behavior. Where was her mother? Why did she invite her to dinner? It didn't take more than twenty minutes into the movie before Kate gave in and laid her own arm around the little girl, hugging her small body in a comfortable way, a way her mother used to hold her when she was small and they watched a movie. After that she slowly noticed how the girl's breathing started changing, from light awake to deep slumber.

"Give her five more minutes and we'll be able to move her without her waking up," Rick whispered and Kate looked at him, seeing he was watching his daughter with a loving expression.

Kate breathed out an 'okay', not sure how loud she could whisper without waking the girl. They waited the said minutes before Rick helped her bend out of the girl's grip and took her into his arms. He told her to wait there, that he would just get his daughter to bed and be right back. Kate decided to stay on the couch while she waited, didn't see the point of standing in case it would take longer than he thought.

"And she's sound asleep, thank you for staying, she hasn't had any female role models in a while," he said as he walked down the stairs that had led to another level.

Kate hadn't really noticed it earlier, but now she saw it clear and wondered how big this apa... loft really was.

"Where's her mother?" Kate asked carefully, knowing it was none of her business but not being able to keep down her curiosity.

Rick scratched his neck and made a face, "She uhm, cheated on me and in the divorce it was obvious she wasn't that interested of being a mom, I got full custody over Alexis and ever since she only visits when it suits her, not matter how long it takes between."

Kate felt awful, a knot clenching in her stomach as she finally understood the girl's clinging earlier. "How long ago?"

He shrugged, "Four years ago, Alexis was two."

She cursed under her breath, putting her hand over her mouth as if to stop it even though it was already too late. He gave her a faded smile before he gave her a careful look.

"What about you? What made you hate Christmas?" he asked and she guessed she should've known he was going to be bold and ask after her own bold question.

She looked down, pursing her lips at the thought of him knowing. There was no one she'd told who hadn't been involved in her work somehow, as someone related to the victim or a 'd found it quite useful telling people who doubted the police department could find the killer, by presenting how she knew their pain and assuring them she'd do everything in her power to find whoever had taken their loved one away from them.

"I don't hate Christmas," she said, trying to slither away from the question, but by the look he gave her he was still waiting on an answer. She sighed, "I know I'm not being fair, but... I can't, it's... it's too painful."

She didn't dare meet his eyes, because what he'd just told her was just as painful in another way. He had shared something deeply personal and she was so unfair for not returning the favor.

"Ah, well, if you ever need to talk I'm just a staircase away," he offered and she met his eyes with surprise all over her face.

"Why are you so nice to me?" she couldn't help asking with a much more vulnerable voice than she was expecting. "I mean, I came here yelling at you, cursing at you, and you invite me to dinner? Why?"

She felt her eyes water up, damn, how did she get so softened? Maybe it was the girl's fault, she'd made her soft with all her kindness and the way she'd clung to her. Being the detective she was she noticed he was biting the inside of his cheeks, and she wondered if she would get an answer to his kindness or not.

"Honestly we thought that maybe you were angered by the Christmas carols in case you wouldn't be able to celebrate the holiday with your family, and we wanted to say sorry for reminding you," he said and she had to bite her lip in order not to let her eyes tear up any more than they had.

"You did all this because you thought I was alone on Christmas?" she asked and he nodded carefully. "Thanks," she whispered.

She smiled at him as she went towards the door, putting on her shoes.

"Do you want me to walk you to your door?" he asked as he stood close to her.

She chuckled, "I live one staircase down, I think I'm good." She stood up, having knotted her shoes, and carefully stepped closer to him. In the amount of a few minutes she'd stepped onto her toes, kissed his cheek and left with a quick bye.


It only took two days before the next invite came, this time in the form of a handwritten letter which she presumed the redhead had been all over when it was made. To her big surprise the girl seemed to know her letters, and she couldn't help but wonder how much help she'd gotten from her father. The invite included dinner, dessert and another movie. Kate sadly had to decline due to her shift at work but sent a handwritten letter of her own saying she was free the day after if it worked for them as well. Before she had gotten back to her door she heard panting behind her and when she turned around she saw Alexis coming out of the door to the staircase, breath in her throat and a wide smile on her lips.

"We can do tomorrow! Can you come by five?" she'd asked excitedly and when Kate answered yes with a big smile the small girl threw her arms around Kate's legs in a hug before running back to her father, who was standing in the open staircase door observing his daughter.

The night after was amazing, dinner was amazing and to Kate's delight she would be able to help out with the dessert. Her and Alexis took over the kitchen, throwing out Rick in order to be able to work in peace, and she could both see and sense the gratefulness Rick was feeling towards her. It looked like he was smitten by how his daughter had finally found someone else to look up to, someone she turned to. Just like last time it didn't take long before the girl had snuggled into Kate and fallen asleep after they put on the movie they'd chosen, Finding Dory this time. Just like last time Rick carried the little girl to bed and came back down as soon as he'd tucked her in. This time Kate stayed on the couch and waited for him to join her to finish the movie. She hadn't really thought of watching the Disney movies but now that she'd been halfway forced she admitted to herself of missing the magic behind them, she'd never admit it to anyone else though. Since she didn't say anything or did any attempt to move she figured he got the memo, especially since he himself didn't say anything but just sat back down on the couch. They sat quiet until the credits started rolling, that's when Rick broke the silence.

"Never figured you for a Disney girl," he teased and she rolled her eyes with a smile on her lips as she turned her head towards him.

"Woman," she corrected him, "and I'm not."

"Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that," he huffed with a chuckle in his throat.

She joined his chuckle and as their laughter died out they found themselves sitting there staring at each other. Kate was the one to break eye contact when she looked down at her hands in her lap, her fingers fidgeting with her nails.

"It was my mother," she offered and he hummed in question. She looked up at him to see his curious and confused expression. "My mother was killed around Christmas, murdered, and when me and my dad finally got around to take down the Christmas decorations it was like we closed that box for good. That's why I got so angry when you were playing Christmas carols so loud, she used to do that too and I just..."

"You miss her," he finished her sentence when she couldn't.

She only nodded, suddenly noticing the tear that had slipped past her quickly wiped it away and hoped she would be able to stop the rest that threatened to spill.

"I'm sorry, we had a great night and I'm ruining it," she half-whispered half-said as she took a deep breath in order to collect herself.

"No, don't be sorry! You're not ruining anything. I'm honored you're telling me," he insisted, putting a careful hand on her knee closest to him.

A small smile entered her lips, he was too sweet. His little girl was too sweet.

"I gotta say, you and Alexis has made these past few days a little lighter, with the dinner and the letter, the joy in Alexis's eyes when she talks about Christmas," she admitted without really knowing why, but knowing it was the truth.

"Well, you're welcome to join us for dinner tomorrow too, and you're definitely more than welcome to join us for Christmas, I know Alexis wants it too," he offered and she shook her head gently,

"Oh no, I couldn't invade your Christmas traditions."

She observed as he looked at her for a moment in deep thought, and she could tell he was definitely up to something.

"How about I make you a deal, I promise to get you coffee at work every day at lunch and if I don't miss a single day you'll join us for Christmas?" he narrowed his eyes in the waiting of her answer.

Kate thought about it. The coffee at the precinct did really not taste good at all, and she was tired of having to walk to the nearby Starbucks every time she needed real coffee. She narrowed her eyes back at the man of the deal. Why did he have to make such an irresistible offer?

"And how do you know I don't love the coffee at the precinct?" she challenged.

"Come on, I've been to plenty of precincts, the coffee 99 percent of the time tastes like a monkey peed in battery acid," he stated confidently.

Fuck.

"Fine, but if you miss one lunch, I will not suffer the celebration of Christmas," she half-joked but she could see he got afraid.

"You don't have to..."

"No, God, Rick, I didn't mean I would suffer like that. But I won't crash your Christmas Day if you miss one lunch," she stated, holding out her hand.

He looked at it and got a smirk growing on his lips as he took her hand.

"Deal," they both said simultaneouslyas they shook hands.


"Lanie, I don't have anything to wear!" Kate whined to her best friend the day before Christmas.

"Well, if you had went shopping with me this wouldn't have been a problem," the Latino-woman said, crossing her arms over her chest with a meaningful glance.

Kate sighed, "I'm sorry! But how should I know that he wouldn't miss a single lunch! I thought he'd be too busy with sleeping at least one day!"

Rick had, as promised, delivered coffee during every lunch for the past weeks. He had even delivered coffee in the afternoon and sometimes he had come in early in the morning to give her a cup of her daily dose of caffeine. She found it sweet but at the same time she wasn't sure of their deal, she didn't want to ruin their Christmas with her grumpy mood. Then again the last couple of days they had been watching Christmas movies and she hadn't freaked out, yet. It was actually refreshing seeing the holiday through another family's eyes, considering her own family consisting on only her and her father didn't celebrate it anymore. The day before Rick had made sure she was not uncomfortable by the thought of spending Christmas with him and the little redhead, said he didn't want her to feel forced no matter the deal they'd made.

"Good thing for you I actually have an early Christmas gift for you then," Lanie interrupted Kate's frantic pulling of her clothes in her closet.

She turned around and looked at the woman who was now pulling something out of a bag she'd brought, a bag which Kate had missed in all her worry about not having something good enough to wear.

"Merry Christmas," Lanie said holding out a present for her to take.

Kate fry carefully accepted the gift and sat down on her bed, beside her best friend. After a few minutes of complete silence her friend groaned.

"Come one Kate! Just open it already!" She complained with a wide smile on her lips.

Kate did as she was told, carefully unwrapping the present and was surprised to find a box inside, one of those boxes which usually contained a dress. She gave her friend a surprised face but only got narrowedeyes in return along with some encouraging to the kid was off Kate's jaw dropped, it was a beautiful red dress with just the right amount of glitter down the neckline, a dress she would normally not wear but she had to admit it was absolutely... stunning.

"I think it's gonna look absolutely perfect on you," Lanie said and Kate looked at her friend.

"How did you...?"

"Oh shush, I know you're not the dress kind of girl and I hoped your deal would work out," she revealed. "You're totally smitten by the guy and I figured you'd want to shock him, show off your amazing curves."

Her friend smirked naughtily at her and Kate groaned, even though she was grateful she would never let Lanie know her inner thoughts.

"Come on, try it on! I need to see if my vision is right!"

She didn't have to be told twice about that, herself dying to see if it would be good enough for the Christmas celebration she was invited to several weeks ago.


When Rick opened the door his eyes almost popped out at the sight of her. She felt her cheeks get hot at the reaction she got from him, she'd spent a whole hour on her fixing her hair and doing her makeup and she was so so thankful the dress Lanie had given her the day before had fitted her perfectly.

"Ka-te, youlook," he paused to swallow, "great."

"Thanks," she bit her lip and Rick stepped aside in order to let her in.

The second Alexis came down the stairs she yelled out in excitement before she came running towards her.

"Wow!" she called out when she saw Kate's full fashion for the evening.

"Hi to you too kiddo," Kate chuckled and bent down to put her arms out for the girl to step into.

Alexis hugged her tight and Kate could swear the girl was secretly sniffing her hair before she let go. Kate picked up the bag she had brought with her, holding it up she smirked at the small girl.

"Where would you like the presents?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Under the tree! Under the tree!" Alexis jumped up and down with joy before she took Kate's free hand and dragging her towards the beautifully decorated Christmas tree, the very same one she'd helped them decorate only a week earlier.

Kate laughed at the girl's excitement and she could hear Rick join her laughter from behind. The second she was by the tree she smiled at all the presents her dad had put under there, he was truly spoiling his daughter. Kate took out the three gifs shewas going to add to the big pile and hoped the two would be pleased by them once they opened them.

Rick observed the way the woman was playing with his little girl, the way she was tickling Alexis until she couldn't breathe and how she easily stepped into the character of the doll she was handed from her. He was so amazed by how quickly Alexis had taken liking to the woman, how fast the woman had attached herself to his girl. Never in his little girl's life had he seen Alexis create a bond to a woman like she had with Kate, not even her own mother. He'd never seen her so happy either, hell he'd never felt this happy before!

"Daddyyy, comeplay with us!" Alexis interrupted his thoughts and he shook his head in order to stop staring before the woman could see he'd been watching them the whole time.

"I'm making the dinner, I can't just leave it Pumpkin," he chuckled and his daughter came up to him.

He quickly picked her up in his arms and she pouted with her puppy eyes on display. Noticing Kate sneaking up to them he started tickling his little girl who immediately started squirming in his arms, trying to get away from his tickling fingers. The second she noticed Kate being close behind she started reaching for the woman who didn't think twice before saving the redhead.

"Hey! You're supposed to help me!" Rick complained and Kate raised her eyebrows while Alexis stuck out her tongue in mock.

"Why'd you think that?" Kate questioned, trying her best not to laugh at the fake hurt his whole face expressed.

"We're adults!" he said and she couldn't hold in the laugh then, and Alexis was quick to join her.

"You? Adult? Ha! In your dreams," she said through her laughter.

Rick pretended to be offended, but Kate could see the amusement in his eyes. Suddenly he pretended to pounce at them and Alexis yelped in excited fright. Kate was too fast for him though, quickly putting enough space for them to be out of his grasp. Just before he could re-try his attempt his alarm set off, the dinner was ready. Kate set down the girl so they could all help putting out the food so they could sit down and start eating the delicious food. If it was one thing Kate had learned it was that Rick was an amazing cook, because of all the times they'd eaten dinner he had outdone himself every single had thought about returning the favor but sadly she hadn't had the time, yet. She was hoping she could invite them over for a dinner at her apartment once the year was over, when she would get an early day from work.

"This is so good," Kate said after her second plate, her stomach completely full.

Alexis hummed, her hands on her belly as she looked like she wouldn't be able to eat anything more ever. Kate totally felt with the girl, there was no chance she would eat more for days.

"Pumpkin, you can't fall asleep now, it's time for the presents," Rick said when the girl almost looked like she was going to snooze off.

Kate almost laughed out loud at the reaction of the girl, immediately widening her eyes and jumping out of her chair with a joyous scream.

"Come on Kate!" she called out taking her hand and dragging her out off her seat.

That did make her laugh as she stumbled behind the littlegirl, who didn't let go until they stood in front of the Christmas tree. Kate heard the girl's father follow after them while chuckling at his daughter's excitement, "Easy Alexis."

The girl turned only to grin at him before she returned to the presents. She took one out and by the looks of it Kate had a feeling it was a present the girl had wrapped herself.

"This is for you Kate!" she said with a big smile as she turned to Kate and held out the present.

"For me?" Kate asked surprised and accepted the gift.

"Yep! I chose it myself!" the redhead said with a proud expression.

As the girl turned around to go back to gift hunting Kate sneaked a glance at Rick, who only nodded with an almost equally excitement as his daughter. Rick told her she could sit down wherever she liked while he helped his girl sort out all the presents. Once all the presents where out Kate felt rather shocked to have four presents by her side with her name on it. She'd specifically told Rick she didn't want or needed any presents when he asked her what she wished for, had told him that he should focus on his little girl instead. Apparently he hadn't listened to her, even though she was pretty sure he had focused well on his daughter as well.

"So, which would you like to open first pumpkin?" Rick asked and she immediately went for one of the gifts Kate had put under the tree earlier.

"This one!"

Kate bit her lower lip, wondering if the girl would like the gift she'd gotten her or not. As Alexisopened the gift Kate found herself holding her breath in participation, she had asked Alexis a few days earlier what she wished for in Christmas but had gotten the answer that she would be glad for anything, which hadn't exactly helped Kate through her search of a good enough present. She didn't let go of the breath until Alexis unwrapped the gift and let go of a string of loud 'thank you's. She took out the stuffed elephant and hugged it tight to her chest as she raised from her seat in order to run towards Kate. The little girl threw an arm around Kate's neck and Kate let go of a relieved chuckle as she hugged the girl back.

"You're welcome Lex," she said, kissing the top of the girl's hair.

"Your turn! This one!" Alexis said as soon as she let go, picking up the first present she'd handed to Kate earlier.

Kate chuckled giving into the girl's demand, she opened the gift and couldn't stop the open mouth smile she got when seeing what Alexis had gotten her.

"Oh my god," she whispered as she looked down at the bracelet in the box.

"I chose the charms myself! The cuffs is because you're a cop, the elephant is because you said it was your favorite animal, the ring is for your mom, the small watch is for your dad, the half heart is because you're my best friend and I have the other part, see?" she explained each charm in the bracelet before holding up the charm she'd put in a necklace around her neck.

Kate knew she had tears in her eyes but didn't care, she just reached for the girl to pull her into a hug and kissed the girl's temple, whispering 'thank you sweetie' in her ear. Feeling his eyes on her she glanced up only to meet his eyes, the adoration in his blues had her cheeks blushing. She couldn't believe how comfortable she'd become with them for the past weeks she'd known them, she was showing so much emotion for crying out loud. She'd never shown this type of strong emotion to anyone before, not even Lanie had seen this side of her. They kept opening presents, Alexis got plenty and Kate was finally getting back the Christmas spirit she'd lost those years ago. She was moved by the other two gifts she got from Alexis, one being a painting the girl had made herself and the second being a candle-holder she'd decorated one day. She was down to her last gift when Rick decided to open the gift she'd gotten for him, of course she'd gotten him a gift even though both of them said they wouldn't. It didn't feel right coming into his home, eating his food and not bring a present for him, especially considering how much he'd done for her without really knowing. Kate looked carefully at him as he opened the gift, not as worried about his gift as she'd been with Alexis's since she knew his childish ass would love it.

"Oh my god!" he yelled out as he'd unwrapped it. "Where did you find this?!"

She laughed at his reaction, knowing he was looking at the Star Wars collector pop figure he'd been looking for in over a year and never found. He'd told her about it when she'd stumbled across his now full collection of the figures and was overjoyed when she'd gotten the opportunity to buy it for him.

"I had a suspect who knew a guy that imported them and he was more than happy to help me out when I threatened to hold him in lock up for twenty-four hours if he didn't," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"You blackmailed him? For me?" Rick said with fake tears in his eyes, but truly she could see how touched he was behind the faking.

She grinned at him, and Alexis was rolling her eyes as she continued to snuggle the stuffed elephant and colored in the color book her father had gotten her.

"Your turn," Rick suddenly said with a smug smile on his lips.

Oh, that's right, she got one present left. She looked at it and saw this one was from Rick himself. What had she gotten herself into? Carefully she started opening it, not knowing what to expect. Once she could see what was inside she felt her heart flutter. In it laid one ticket to what looked like a baseball game along with a baseball, signed by Joe freaking Torre.

"And how the h... did you pull this off?" she asked, refraining herself just in time remembering the small girl who did not need to hear curse words just yet.

"Well, when you know the man it's not hard getting them to do a few favors," he shrugged his shoulder and Kate's eyes widened.

"You know Joe Torre?! How?!" she was in absolute shock.

"My mother and he used to uhm... date," he explained with a scrunched nose.

Kate couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a little as well, didn't matter if she was a fan or not, she understood his small disgust.

"So, you like it?" he asked with an uncertainty in his eyes. "Of course I got a ticket for myself and Alexis too, thought we could make a day out of it," he added with more care in his tone.

"I love it, thank you so much!" Kate immediately wanted to chase away any doubt he might've had.

Kate suddenly felt another pair of eyes watching her and turned her head to find Alexis looking at her with a thoughtful gaze.

"What's wrong Lex?" she asked but the girl just snapped out of it and got a smile on her lips.

"I wanna show you something in dad's office, you too dad," was all she said as she jumped up on her feet and took a hold of their hands as she passed, dragging both adults into Rick's office.

Kate observed the girl who was oddly looking up at the ceiling and seemed to be strategically staging her and Rick in specific positions beside each other. When she seemed satisfied she started giggling, as if she couldn't believe her plan actually worked.

"What are you up to?" Rick questioned with narrowed eyes aimed at his daughter.

She only continued to giggle and said 'Look up' as her finger pointed up at the ceiling. Kate wrinkled her forehead in wonder as she followed the girl's gaze. That sneaky little girl had placed them under a mistletoe, a-mistle -toe!

"Oh," Rick tried to swallow as quiet as possible but given how close the girl had placed them Kate could head it.

"Come on! You know the ruuuules!You're supposed to kiss," Alexis said matter-of-factly.

Kate glanced at the man beside her and noticed he was looking at her with a questioning expression, as if he was asking permission. Taking a deep but quick breath Kate stood on her toes and pecked his lips, not wanting to make a big deal of it but to her surprise the small girl groaned in disappointment.

"Noo, three seconds, the rule is three seconds," she said in determination. "I can count."

Kate couldn't help but chuckle at that, and when she looked at Rick he had a small, almost not visible, grin showing in his eyes and lips.

"Okay, fine, start counting," Kate said, not really knowing where the newfound confidence came from.

Perhaps from the way his lips had made hers tingle even though the quickest touch ever. Kate locked eyes with Rick and she was relieved to see him leaning closer to her, putting a hand on her waist as their lips touched in a tender kiss.

"Oone," Alexis started counting. "Twoo,"she paused a little and then said, "Two and a half."

Both Kate and Rick started laughing at that, their lips automatically parting in the process.

"I didn't say three!" Alexis complained but Kate could hear the little girl was only teasing now.

"You cheated," Rick said as matter-of-factly as his daughter had stated they had to kiss only minutes earlier.

The girl only shrugged her shoulders with a sweet grin before she ran back into the living room. Looking at him Kate could see he was trying to make a quick decision, knowing this thanks to all the times the suspects had tried making the same quick decision in interrogation.

"I-uh, I hope you know you didn't have to, I mean, we could've... not," he said, stumbling over his words as he looked at her to meet her eyes.

"Oh I know, I didn't mind," she assured him. "You know, I think she's been trying to set us up,"Kate said in a tease, trying to ease up the mood.

"You think?" he said with a chuckle. "Honestly?" he added, waiting for her to nod before he continued, "I'm not even mad about it."

A giggle slipped past her lips before she managed to bite onto her lower lip and stop it. The thought of his lips on her again had her heart skipping a beat because, damn, that had felt so right. She was suddenly so aware of how close they still were, only mere centimeters away from their bodies to touch.

"Me neither," she answers out on a breath and kept looking back and forth his blue eyes.

She couldn't stop her eyes from quickly flicking down to his lips, wanting to taste them again, and when she met his eyes again she knew he'd seen the change because he was leaning down again. This time, when their lips touched, it wasn't as careful and unsure, it was forceful and urgent with tongues quickly finding a rhythm to taste each other. Kate felt his hands land on her hips, pulling her body closer to his and she by automatic let her arms go around his neck, fingers slipping into his hair.

"Yes!" thesmall quiet cheer had the two of them immediately pulling apart to snap their head towards the redhead smiling with her whole face.

Kate shook her head as she giggled, the little girl was getting her way with them way too easily. Rick took off towards his girl with a 'I'm gonna get you!' and she let go of a scream as she set off towards the living room. Kate followed the duo laughing at the childishness.


With Alexis asleep Kate found herself sitting on the couch, looking at the bracelet she'd gotten from the little girl. She kept thinking about their kiss earlier, couldn't help but think about what it meant for them. If she was honest with herself she'd felt it coming. She liked him, a lot, and she was scared of how comfortable she felt with him and his little girl.

"Hey," the man of her thoughts said in a low tone as he came down the stairs.

Looking up at him she smiled with a 'hi' back. He was smiling at her with a gentleness in his eyes and she had a feeling he was thinking about the same as she did. When he sat down in the couch beside her she held up the hand with her new bracelet.

"I thought we said no presents," she said meaningfully.

He only chuckled, picked up his pop figure she'd gotten for him. "I thought so too," he teased.

She pursed her lips in a smile, "Only seemed fair considering I've been eating a lot of your food lately."

"I definitely don't mind, and neither does Alexis," he said and she chuckled.

"Yeah, about her, you think this was her plan all along?" she asked and he joined her chuckle.

"Think so," after a couple of seconds of silence he said, "Kate?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you-uh, are we... do you want to try?"

His voice was careful and she could see the way he was trying not to show too much of his own emotions, his own thoughts. She wondered if it was a way to let her decide or a try not to let his emotions go too far in case she said no. Good thing she had a feeling she was too far gone now after they'd kissed.

"Yeah," she said shyly, "I'd like to. I have to warn you though, I don't let people in too easy," she admitted, wanting him to know what he got himself into.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not scared easily," he said and she laughed as quiet as she could with the thoughts on the sleeping girl upstairs.

"I've gotten that feeling," she said, thinking back at how she'd yelled at him that first time they met.

He reached for her hand and once holding it she let their fingers intertwine with a small gasp. It felt like static were running from her fingers onto her arm and straight to her heart.

"So, what do you now think of Christmas? Wasn't that bad?"

She smiled and moved closer to him. "Feels like a Christmas miracle, meeting the two of you like I did, you inviting me today. Wouldn't have had it another way."

The two of them leaned closer until their lips could touch in yet another kiss, this one as sweet as she'd ever felt a kiss, and she had a feeling this one amazing Christmas would only be the beginning of many more to come.


The End.


A/N:
Hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading and leave a comment if you want.
xxxx