FIVE - Garland

Setting: Castle, post-show

Planting his fists at his hips, Castle stood in the foyer, observing décor on the stairway that swopped towards the second floor of the home, trying to determine if the decorations were sufficient. He tilted his head left and right, scratched his fingers against the stubble on his chin, and then shook his head. "No, it's still not right," he muttered to himself as he walked over to adjust the right side of the "Merry Christmas" sign he'd hung beneath the banister.

He had thought it would only take about half an hour to decorate the stairs, but that had been over two hours ago. Wrapping the garland around the banister alone had taken forty-five minutes, but he just wanted everything to be perfect since this was the first time they were spending Christmas in the Hamptons house.

Christmas-ing outside of Manhattan hadn't been in the cards at all until about a week earlier. Kate had unexpectedly received not just Christmas day off of work, but Christmas Eve and the day before as well. That set up the perfect opportunity for a mini holiday vacation for the family, and what better place to spend it then at their beach home, which never did get enough use in the summer, especially with Kate's schedule even busier now that she was dipping her toes into the political world.

Kate agreed to the change in setting but pointed out to him that it was the apartment that was fully decked out and the Hamptons home had nary a sprig of green anywhere. Obviously appalled by this notion, the writer suggested that the two of them go out the weekend before Christmas and deck it all out so it would be ready for them when they arrived with the kids. Thought it was a bit daunting to think about doing all that in less than twenty-four hours, Kate agreed and their plans were set.

Castle spent the days after their decision buying tons of last-minute décor, loading it in bags and storage containers, and stuffing the Mercedes absolutely full. They'd purchased a tree on the drive out that morning and had it delivered just after lunch. They divided their decorating tasks with Kate doing the second floor and him working on the first. Due to the size of the home coupled with the tight timeframe, it would not be quite as festive as the apartment, but Castle was pleased with what they were able to achieve. Other than the tree, the staircase was the last thing that needed decorated, so while he finished that up, Kate ran out to get them takeout for dinner.

He was just finishing up the last bit of décor when she arrived home and proclaimed, "Wow! Looks great, babe."

Smiling at her he said, "Thanks. I think it really came together well. Getting that garland to stay wrapped was the most challenging part."

"I'm sure. C'mon—let's eat while its hot. Then we'll tackle the tree."

Ten minutes later they were sitting at the kitchen table, sharing parts of each other's meals while they sipped on some red wine.

"You know what I realized while you were out?"

"Hmm?"

Castle set down his fork and laced his fingers together as he spoke, "This will be our first full night away since the twins were born." Jake and Reese had turned two back in October and while they had spent several evenings away from their kids, they had always been there the following mornings when they woke up. This would be the first time that wasn't the case.

Kate hummed and sipped her wine. "Yeah, I realized that as we were driving out here."

"And…how are you doing with that?" he asked, knowing that the first time she spent a full night away from Lily she had cried for about an hour. Then again, she had only been about ten months old at that point.

She pressed her lips together tightly for a moment then turned to him asking, "Ah…is it wrong to say that I'm relieved?"

Castle let out a loud laugh, "No, because I am too." He loved his boys dearly, but he wasn't sad about not having to spend another night trying to prevent them from wrestling each other—or him—while trying to get them to bed.

When they first learned that Kate was having twins, they'd both become a bit delirious from how funny an unexpected it was. Then, as reality set in, she grew concerned, while he remained joyous. It was just another adventure for them, and they were amazing parents; they could totally handle twins. He'd held that resolve, too, right up until the time the boys discovered the joys of running—and climbing. Then, it became a bit more challenging. They were such delights most of the time, but when they were in mischievous moods…it sometimes made him want to pull his own hair out.

Her expression softening, Kate said, "I mean…I'm really going to miss Reece's morning snuggles, but… I can't believe how long it's been since we had a morning to ourselves!"

He reached out across the table to take her hand sighing, "I know." Now that the boys had figured out how to climb out of their cribs, it was rare that they woke up without one or both of them in bed with them. They tried their best to discourage it since they'd learned with Lily that habit was hard to break so it was best not to let it begin, but it was hard. The boys were getting toddler beds as part of their Christmas gift so they hoped the next year would be better, which would give them more time to themselves.

"So…you want to talk about having that fourth kid now?"

It took a fraction of a second for Kate's expression to morph into a glare. "Not funny."

Chuckling, Castle picked up her hand from the table, kissed her knuckles, and then went back to eating. Due to both their ages, they had pretty much decided that Kate's second pregnancy would be her last. When they found out they would be getting two babies out of it, that choice was even more solidified, but nothing quite wrote it in stone like the sleepless night they had with both boys shrieking and Lily vomiting when the boys were about four months old. With bloodshot eyes they'd looked at each other across their chaos-filled bedroom and decided for sure they would have no more children.

After they finished eating and were cleaning up, Castle remembered the idea he'd had about how to decorate their Christmas tree. "Oh, hey I had a thought about the tree. I was thinking—what if we divide the tree in sections vertically? All the boys' car and truck ornaments hang at the bottom. Then Lil's pink stuff in the middle and ours around the top. That way when the boys inevitably rip things off, it's just their unbreakable stuff."

Kate laughed and nodded. "That's a good plan; I like it."

"Great. I'll finish putting this stuff away. Why don't you get the ornament boxes out?"

"Okay." she agreed.

He finished the clean up then grabbed their wine glasses from the table, pouring a little bit more into each before walking into the living area and handing her the glass with, "A little more wine, m'dear?"

She hummed as she took the glass. "Mmm it's almost like you're trying to get lucky tonight."

He chuckled deeply. With a night away from the kids that seemed an almost given, but he still felt it was important to woo her, even if they had been together a little more than a decade. "Is it working?"

"Maybe," she replied coyly. Then she winked at him.

He crouched down on the floor and helped her pull the newly purchased ornaments out of their packages, then paused and looked up at her saying, "Hey—just because I feel like I haven't said it in awhile – I love our life."

A beautiful smile blossomed on her face as she said, "I love our life too, babe. Always."