AN: Not Beta'd. Thank you to anyone who is still with me. Life...it happens.
Previously:
"So you really didn't read them all?"
"No, Castle. I really didn't read them all. I don't know, I thought maybe getting them displayed was my priority." She was joking, but softened still, "Seriously, these are for you. For your family—" she placed a hand to his chest to halt him, "and don't even—I know…I also thought it might be fun to read them together."
"Wow."
Kate laughed. "Wow?"
He nodded dumbly and placed the tiny foil snowflake back on the mantle where he'd found it. "Yeah. Wow."
Kate smirked and poked the fire once more before turning back towards the couch. Alexis remained in her spot on the floor, but had dragged the giant snowflake quilt down with her. Kate tossed a couple of snowflake emblazoned pillows at her, eyebrow raised to indicate that it was NOT the start of a pillow fight. Alexis rolled her eyes back as if to say you should know me better, I'm not my dad and smiled, tucked the pillows around her and pulled the quilt tighter.
A mug appeared at her left hand and she smiled up at him as she accepted it. "I think that's a great idea," he said as he took his place beside her. "We should read them together. But not today. Let's leave them a little longer. I'm a fan of this whole 'Winter Inside' motif you've got going on."
Kate felt her shoulders relax. She hadn't even been aware of the tightness. The rigidity. But knowing that her efforts hadn't been in vain…it was like a weight was lifted and she could fully relax.
"Besides, I'll have plenty of time to take it all down when you're out tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" She startled, "What's tomorrow?"
Alexis sat up from her cocoon on the floor to join the conversation. "Tomorrow is Dad's 'Saint Nick Scavenger Hunt."
Kate turned to face him fully. "Your what?"
He smiled mischievously and replied, "Saint Nick Scavenger Hunt," before sipping from his steaming mug.
Chapter 28
"I didn't want to wait this long, you know?"
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Being smug. It's practically radiating off of you." Kate pushed against the back of his head with her palm but stayed close and trailed her fingers across his shoulder blades.
"I can't be smug?" he shrugged his shoulders, "I can't help myself."
Kate stifled a giggle and pressed a palm to the center of his shoulders. "Keep still," she commanded. She had to admit-he had every reason to be smug. This time. She drew her fingers across the bare skin of his back, knocking the sheet out of the way when she had to dip lower.
"You need to be more creative, it's 'Always.'" he laughed, "Again."
"I can't think right now. Shut up." She smacked his back but leaned in to soothe the barely stung skin with a kiss.
And a little bite.
Maybe.
"Ok, roll over," he instructed. "It's my turn." He drew the sheet down to her waist and she shivered. He rubbed his hands together and breathed out onto her exposed skin. "I give you air, from my lungs…"
"Thank you Doctor, how thoughtful. Now move it." She wiggled her hips impatiently.
"You know, being in bed with you and being instructed to 'move it'…miiiiight be a fantasy of mine." He rubbed his hands together and sighed, "this is fun too." Then he dragged his index finger across her delicate skin enjoying the shivers that indicated her body's awareness that he knew were most definitely not from being cold.
They had to get up soon. She had to start his scavenger hunt soon. He knew Alexis had probably already found her first clue. He was about to give Kate hers. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them furiously together to warm them up before taking his final turn. "Pay attention…the hunt begins…." he placed the tip of his index finger to the center of her back and drew carefully, "NOW."
Curiouser and curiouser... Beckett, feeling much like Alice, was knee deep in a snow drift, bent at the waist and peering into a hollowed out felled tree. She reached in, grasped the first thing she lay hand to, pulled, and found yet another wonder in his strand of strange little gifts. She opened the patchwork leather satchel he'd handed to her as he'd shut the door on her after a quick peck on the lips and mischievous smile.
She turned it over in her hand and smiled. A zombie apocalypse survival kit in a sardine can. This one fell in the less romantic, but VERY Castle category. That made 8 gifts total that she'd found thus far. Each very different and picked out specifically, she believed, for her.
Kate sat on the log and inventoried her haul. Her first clue from him had occurred while they were still in bed and still very much not clothed. He'd drawn the equivalent of the 'Bat Signal' for his final turn and then left her in bed to turn on the shower. She'd skipped the shower, knowing she'd've never gotten started on the scavenger hunt if she'd followed him in, opting instead to dress quickly and go for the coffee before heading out into the cold. Who knew how long this game of his would take. As eager as he'd seemed to be for her to play along, she'd felt herself growing increasingly more excited to find out what he had in store for her.
She'd gone to the batmobile and found her first gift sitting in the driver's seat. It had been wrapped in gold foil. She'd then unwrapped it carefully and found a note wrapped around a small laser cut wooden Christmas tree. The note read, "Yes, they still make wooden Christmas trees" She'd smiled. They'd watched A Charlie Brown Christmas together and she'd made fun of him for insisting that Linus' comment* didn't make any sense because OF COURSE they still made wooden Christmas trees. Trees were MADE OF WOOD. She'd patted his knee, rolled her eyes, and placated him with a kiss and "you're so right, trees are made of wood."
The clues that followed had led her to recycled wooden guitar picks, a POP Heroes vinyl Batgirl figurine, stuffed BookWorm, titanium spork, an iphone powered personal fan ('cause you're so hot...like...ALL THE TIME), gourmet dark chocolate covered Bing cherries, and now a zombie survival kit. There was still space in the satchel and she found her next clue taped to the bottom of the sardine can. She opened the flap of paper and grinned. He'd drawn a coffee cup with the word "smells" in the foam.
When she reached the porch she went to the spot she'd been standing at when she'd told him about some of her favorite smells. Propped up on the rail she found a foldable pocket whiteboard with a mini black dry erase marker that clipped to the top of it. He'd drawn a heart in the middle of it with a red dry erase marker that seemed to be MIA.
The heart was her only clue.
She added the mini board to her bag as she mulled it over. Heart...essence...center...nucleus...soul. She thought about Castle. About what he held close to himself. Family.
She smiled.
Bingo: Living room.
When she entered the house her host was nowhere to be seen. It was toasty and she removed her toque, scarf, gloves, and boots before making her way towards the fireplace. It only felt natural that the heat would serve as the nucleus of the house's heart. Sure enough, sitting on the mantle were two coffee mugs, male and female, with outstretched arms going in for an embrace, handles pointed outward as they reached for each other.** Tucked into the male's handle was a rolled up note declaring that "Time will tell".
Kate resisted the urge to make the little mug people kiss and left them as they were, turned and headed for the old grandfather clock that sat just off of the breakfast nook. Hanging precariously from the hour hand was a gorgeous Stuhrling skeleton watch. Its face was square-very different from her dad's old watch-and it had a black leather strap that kept it looking feminine but it had the look of sophisticated power that that she found herself drawn to. Gorgeous.
"I could say the same about you."
She must've spoken aloud and soon a pair of arms wound round her waist to accompany the voice that was now right next to her ear. "Having fun?" He pecked her cheek and she turned to face him while staying in the circle of his arms.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"You miscounted."
His face screwed up. "Huh?"
The tip of her pink tongue poked out from between her teeth. "I only count 11...if this is your play on the Twelve Days of Christmas you're-"
He interrupted her playful accusation with a finger against her lips and pulled a small pouch from his back pocket, teasing glint in his eye. He took her hand and unfurled her fingers one by one.
"This is a promise," he whispered and dumped the contents of the pouch out into her waiting palm.
The quick intake of breath was something he'd been prepared for. The knocking him backwards into the couch and mounting him to kiss him breathless...not so much.
When she finally let him up for air he laughed suddenly feeling sheepish, "You like it then?"
She dove back in for his lips but released him quickly. She gripped the ring between her thumb and forefinger and examined it more closely. The infinity design on it meant that she could wear it and not garner too much attention, but the inscription on the inside of the platinum band was hers alone. She slipped it on her right ring finger and kissed him again before pulling back.
"It's ok I guess. Good to know you can still do basic math."
Castle smirked, "Well I do know how many times one can go into ze-" Kate's palm slammed over his mouth as the sounds of his mother and daughter floated on the air as they descended the stairs.
"Oh, Katherine darling you're back! Lovely. Richard we really must discuss your attention to detail. This year all of my gifts were in my bedroom…." she laughed and waved her hand, "but really, that was hardly a challenge for me. I mean, I know I'm good, but it just seems that your effort this year was-"
Alexis interrupted and nodded her head toward the couple who were now sitting side by side and attempting to look innocent on the couch. "Ahem, Gram, I think Dad's creative juices we diverted to another path this year...you did great Dad. Thanks. "
Kate smiled when the color creeped up into Castle's cheeks. He'd probably spent the majority of his energy on her. She was grateful that Alexis was gracious in that. It had never been her intention for him to turn his attentions away from his family. He softly stroked up and down her arm where it lay between their thighs: soothing. This is not your fault. Uhg. This man. This beautiful, wonderful man.
"Thank you, Pumpkin. I love you. NOW…" he rubbed his palms together like an evil scientist, "Who's hungry?"
She hadn't even noticed. Not one of them had-the adrenaline of the hunt having fully saturated their senses.
But now she could smell bacon.
And fresh coffee and a hint of something sweet….homemade cinnamon rolls!
"Rick you made breakfast?!" she exclaimed.
He laughed—catching her use of his first name-and lifted her wrist with her new watch and held it up in front of her at eye level. "More like brunch now, but yeah. I rustled up some grub for you treasure hunters. Gotta keep your strength up!"
Martha let out a guffaw as she headed toward the spread that he'd laid out, ostensibly, while they'd been off finding treasure. "Darling really, I don't plan on doing any heavy lifting other than lifting one of these cinnamon rolls to my mouth. LORD they're huge." She took a dainty bite and closed her eyes, "Heavenly. Oh! Simply heavenly."
Castle winked at Kate as he ushered her toward the kitchen after Alexis. "Good thing I didn't inherit my cooking skills from her, eh?" He was rewarded with the THWACK of a dishtowel to his arm.
"Hush you. I have many talents that you inherited."
"Just not cooking. Thank goodness nature decided to be kind and passed along MY cooking skills to my dearly beloved daughter," he smirked.
Alexis blushed, "I'm not that great Dad."
"I'm sure you're good Alexis," Kate contributed as she helped herself to the bacon.
"I couldn't even begin to produce anything like that feast you made us…"
Kate looked up, bacon in the tongs poised just above her plate, "I could teach you. You know, if you wanted. A dish or two maybe? I mean I don't want to go stepping on any-"
"Oh yes, please," Alexis said hurriedly. "I'd really like that."
"Ok then." Kate tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Why was she feeling so nervous around his kid all of the sudden?
"Great," Castle said, oblivious, "Let's eat!"
Martha had taken her place at the foot of the table, Alexis sat in her spot at his right, and Kate waited until he'd taken the head to move into the space on his left. His smile was infectious and she had to ask, "What?"
He squeezed her hand beneath the table. "Best. Christmas. Ever."
Fire.
Running water.
Zambonis going round.
As of late it had been fire that had held her attention. The way it danced across the logs and cast shadows across the floor. She could fall asleep where she was-tucked up against Castle's chest with a blanket pulled up to her neck. His fingers playing with the ends of her hair as he told this story or that. Alexis giggling and correcting false information of days past. Martha surprisingly spoke little, but made little noises of agreement as she too was transfixed by the fire.
"OK your turn."
Kate blinked away the trance she'd found herself in and started to sit up only to be tugged back down. "My turn what?"
"Your turn to tell a story. C'mon. We've been talking your ear off I'm sure. Your turn."
Alexis nodded her enthusiastic agreement and Martha smiled a sly smile as if to say, 'surely you didn't think you could get away without sharing'.
"Story. Ehm. Ok. What kind of story?"
Castle released a breath of exasperation, "A Christmas story, of course! It can be real, of little Katie Beckett, or you can make one up. Storyteller's choice. I promise not to interrupt-"
"As if you're capable."
"Hey. I promise. He fingered the ring on her not quite ring finger beneath the blanket with one hand and mimed locking his lips with the other. "Goh," he said from his closed mouth.
"A Christmas story...ok…." Kate snuggled back into him and set her eyes upon the fire once more. " A Very Krampus Christmas….um...by Kate Beckett…"
*Linus Van Pelt: [after Linus and Charlie Brown discover the little tree] "Gee, do they still make wooden Christmas trees?"
**If you would like to see what the mugs look like, Google 'Cute Novelty Couple Mug'. **BE AWARE that one of the images that comes up is of a more mature nature-even though it's mugs**
AN2: Til next time...