December 23 - Skating

Castle greets her at her office door exactly eighteen and a half minutes before five with a grin on his face that tells her he's not just here to count down the time until her vacation officially begins.

"What's going on?" she asks, glancing up from the last of the paperwork she has to sign off on before she can leave. She only has a few more files to finish; she'll make it without incident if she doesn't let him distract her.

Her husband shakes his head, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. "Nothing's going on. I'm just waiting for you."

Kate rolls her eyes. She doesn't believe that at all.

"And where are the kids?"

"The kids?" he repeats, looking confused.

"Our kids, Castle. The children we've been working so hard to keep from sending to the circus these last few days. They're short, kind of mouthy, con you into lots of candy before bedtime?"

He chuckles. "Rings a bell. They're with Alexis at home. She's going to get them really sugared up while we're gone and then leave us with the fallout."

Her eyes narrow and her pen stills. "While we're gone?"

"Mhmm," Castle says, offering no other information. "You might want to finish up, Beckett. You only have a few minutes to get those in."

She huffs, waving him off and returning to the reports at hand. She'll need to log them on her computer in a few minutes to make sure it all gets in on time, but she's on her way to being done for the next week.

Any other day he would come into her office and make himself at home, but for whatever reason, Castle chooses to remain in the doorway with that damn smug secretive grin on his face.

"Okay, what is going on, Castle? Where are we going and why do you look like we're going to end up getting arrested for whatever it is?"

He doesn't even bother to disguise his laughter. "We're not going to get arrested, Beckett. And not just because you'll use your fear-inspiring captain voice on anyone who tries."

She rolls her eyes, scribbling her signature on the last of the reports and opening the lid on her laptop to input the official sign-off. The computer takes its time, giving her the opportunity to study her husband.

He's blocking the entire doorway, his broad shoulders taking up most of it, but even his legs are keeping anyone who might try from entering. He's bundled up, which is not surprising, given how chilly it is out there today, but it seems like he's wearing even more gear than normal; a pair of gloves sticks out of his pocket and he's added a scarf around his neck.

He shifts after a moment of her scrutiny and she sees the bag at his ankles.

Oh, now she is utterly intrigued.

"Are we going somewhere for the night?" she asks.

Castle grins. "The evening. I figured you would want to get home to see the kids, but if you're game to enjoy a night away, just say the word and I'll make a reservation. We won't have clothes, but I don't think that'll be a problem."

She laughs. "Tempting as that is, I'm sure I'll want to get home at some point tonight." Kate tilts her head. "But I'll let you know. Now, why don't you let me know what we're doing?"

This time he actually does lift the bag and come into her office. She eyes him again, noting the size and shape of the item in his hand. It's his gym bag, but it looks packed to the gills compared to usual, when all it contains is a change of clothes and anything he needs for his workout.

She blinks. "What's in the bag, Rick?"

"You'll see. Now, come on, finish your reports before the anticipation gets to you and you have to sneak back in tomorrow morning."

Kate grins, scribbling the last two signatures and turning to her computer to take care of the data entry. She's on her feet the moment the reports are accepted, and her computer is off and in her bag about twenty seconds later.

"Done. And I will not be sneaking back in here at all for the next week."

Her husband grins. "I am glad to hear that," he rumbles, offering her his arm. She takes it easily, looping her arm around his elbow and hugging it to her chest.

Kate lifts her head, intending to brush her lips over his cheek but getting the corner of his mouth instead.

"Hi for real," she says. "Now, tell me where we're going."

Castle hums. "Look in the bag, Kate."

He twists a little, giving her the opportunity to unzip the main compartment of his gym bag and inspect its contents.

She's nearly blinded by neon colors. Castle grins over his shoulder, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"How did you find these?" she breathes, reaching into the bag and drawing out a fluorescent purple ice skate. No doubt these are for her and the neon yellow ones that are still in the bag are for him.

God, she loves this crazy man.

Rick kisses her hair. "I called around. I know how much you loved your other ones. And I know they're not the same color, but…"

She shakes her head, wrapping and arm around his neck and drawing him into a hug. "No, these are even better. Thank you."

Her mouth touches his, a quick press of her lips to his in gratitude. "So we're going skating?"

He nods. "I thought about saving them for after Christmas, but then Lily would absolutely want to come and it kind of seemed like this was a good thing for just us to do. So, tonight is for you and for us to unwind and prepare ourselves for the insanity that the next few days will bring."

Hugging him once more, she returns her skate to the bag.

"Come on," she says, reaching for her coat before grabbing his arm and tugging him from her office. "Take me skating, babe."

Castle muses as they're stowing their things in a locker that he hasn't really been skating since Alexis was a pre-teen. Once she hit her teenage years, she had neither wanted, nor needed him to bring her to the rink at Christmas time; she did that with her friends.

"I'm surprised this was never part of your dating strategy, Castle," Beckett teases as they both wobble out onto the ice, steadying each other with gloved fingers. "Get a girl out onto the cold ice rink, try to warm her up afterward."

He covers her hand with his, squeezing her fingers. "Who says I'm not doing that now?"

Tossing her head back, she laughs. "Good strategy. Not sure it'll be successful, though."

Rick tosses a sly grin her way, pushing off a little bit to get them moving. "I guess I'll just have to work a little harder to make sure it is."

Kate slips her hand down his arm, catching his gloved fingers. "Well, and I'm not saying this will work, but if dinner happens to be a part of your strategy, too…"

"Have you met me?" he scoffs. "Of course dinner is part of tonight's adventure. And unless you're feeling something else, I figured we'd get Italian. Something homey and hearty."

She squeezes his hand. "Perfect. But let's skate for a little while first."

They're being lapped by ten-year-olds, but Kate doesn't care. She's happy to take it slow and get their skating legs back before they start trying to do tricks. Not that she knows any, beyond skating backwards in a straight-ish line; she's pretty sure Rick won't be doing triple Lutzes either.

(He surprises her with a mostly upright spin in a circle, which makes laughter bubble in her throat and spill from her lips.)

"Thank you," she says between bouts of giggles, taking his arm again. They glide around the ice a little faster, passing a group of kids who look like they could be on their first dates, for all the nervous smiles they keep sharing. "I hadn't even realized how much I needed tonight."

Castle steers them toward the wall, allowing for them to slow to a stop without crashing or falling. Once they're steady, she presses closer, wrapping an arm around his neck and drawing his mouth down to hers.

"I'm glad, Kate," he murmurs when she releases his lips, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm so glad."

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until tomorrow.