December 14 - Ugly Sweater

Kate Beckett has never been one to comment negatively on Castle's clothing, save for the early days of their partnership when she felt like giving him hell for his expensive tastes, but this may be the moment she has to make an exception.

"You're not serious. Tell me you're not serious."

Her husband blinks, his face the epitome of innocence. Yeah, right, she snorts.

"What do you mean?" he asks. He looks around, searching the room for anything else she might be talking about, like he has no idea that he's wearing the sweater equivalent of 1970s waiting room couch upholstery with the added bonus of graphics. Kind of.

"Did you happen to lose a bet with Patterson at your last poker game?" she asks. His brow furrows.

"A bet?"

Her finger taps the center of his chest, right between the eyes of the monstrosity that some might call a reindeer (she's truly not sure of that, nor about the disfigured face that could be Santa if one squints and tilts their head). Castle's head dips, his eyes following her finger. Kate plucks at the sweater just to be sure he gets her. And maybe a little bit to make a point.

"Oh, my sweater?" He laughs, tugging on the sleeves until they cover his wrists. "Lily picked it out. Hideous, isn't it?"

Well, that explains it. Part of it, anyway. "God, it's awful. Why would you let her choose something like that for you? And why would you wear it while she's not here to see?"

Castle lifts a shoulder. "She was excited about it and I don't want her to think I only wear it when she's around to appease her."

"She's four, Castle. I think that's a little beyond her comprehension right now."

He makes a noncommittal noise. "Come to think of it, I did take her to school in it, so technically she did see me wear it earlier."

She snickers. "Well, that's one way to get the moms at the preschool to back off of you," she murmurs, patting his chest. "Maybe I should thank Lil."

"Ha ha." He slips an arm around her waist and draws her closer, the move entirely too smooth coming from a man wearing that beast of a sweater. "Besides, it's not like anyone else is going to see me in-"

"Knock knock, Richard, Katherine, I hope you're both decent."

"-it," he finishes as his mother pushes into the loft with her hand over her eyes.

Beckett winces, both at the reminder of the many times Martha has arrived at their place when they haven't been and at the fact that someone else is absolutely going to see her husband in that atrocity. "I forgot to mention that your mom was coming over today while Lily's at school so we can talk about her present, didn't I?"

"Uh huh."

"Sorry."

"Oh well, Mother's seen worse."

"Not by much, Richard," Martha says, garnering their attention once more. "Darling, that thing is godawful."

Castle smooths the sweater over his belly. "Lily picked it out and I actually kind of like it. It grows on you."

Kate snorts. "Like a fungus, babe."

He shrugs, leaning over to kiss his mother's cheek. "Can I interest you in a coffee, Mother?"

Martha smooths the terrible sweater over his shoulders, nodding. "Thank you, dear. Before we get started, I'm going to run upstairs and see my beautiful boys. I've missed their shining, happy faces."

Kate nods. "They woke up around six and dropped back off about an hour ago, so if they're awake, call me and I'll come help you bring them down."

Martha, of course, doesn't call for her or Rick. Instead, she emerges from the top floor of the loft a few minutes later with a grandson on each hip, talking to the sleepy boys as she takes the steps on careful feet.

"Now, you need to make sure you don't tell your sister about her present. It's going to be a surprise. Do I have your word?" she asks, looking between them.

Reece exhales, pressing his cheek against Martha's shoulder. Jake does the same, curling his fingers in the collar of Martha's dress.

"I think that's as close as you're going to get to their bond, Martha," Kate murmurs with a wry grin, curling her fingers around her coffee cup, taking one last sip before moving to take Reece from her mother-in-law. "The good news is that even though they get chatty, they only know a few words at a time."

Martha chuckles. "Fair enough, kiddos. Fair enough."

She sways with Jake for a minute or two before sliding onto the bar stool and taking the coffee Rick puts in front of her with one hand. "Now, about our darling girl's gift…"

Kate grins, dusting her lips over Reece's hair. "Wait, wait, before we start," she turns to her husband and gestures to his sweater. "Babe, I'm going to need you to take that thing off; it's terrible. Please."

"Mommy, you're weawin' Daddy's sweater."

Kate licks her lips. So much for her daughter barely noticing the thing. Lily has the observation skills of a hawk.

"Uh huh, I am," she says, hoping to leave it at that. She hadn't meant to grab the godawful thing, but after Martha left and the boys settled in for their afternoon nap, she'd found herself nuzzling her nose against her husband's neck, enticing him to play hooky from his latest chapter.

"Why?"

Castle coughs from behind her, no doubt hiding his amusement that they'd nearly been caught tangled together on the couch when Kate's father brought Lily home after school.

The awful sweater had been the first thing she'd been able to get her hands on after pulling on her undergarments.

"Well," she starts, gathering her thoughts. How does she tell a four-year-old that the sweater was the last thing she'd wanted to grab, but it was the preferable option to getting caught in the act of indulging in an afternoon of canoodling?

"Mommy loved it so much," Rick jumps in, scooting past her (narrowly avoiding the pinch she tries to land on his butt as he does) and scooping Lily up. "She loved it so much that she wanted to try it on and see how it looked on her."

Lily laughs, throwing her head back against Rick's t-shirt. He pretends to flip the girl upside down, blowing a raspberry on her neck when she squeals.

"What do you think, Sprout? Does it look good on Mommy?"

"Uh huh!"

He grins, wiggling his eyebrows in Kate's direction. "Should we get her one, too?" he asks, turning back to Lily.

Her daughter cackles. "Ya!"

Castle hefts Lily a little higher, blowing Kate a kiss and giving her a wink when she scowls at him. "Well, then that's what we'll do."

Thank you! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!