Very Castle Celebrations
Chapter 38
The sun is up, but Jackson beat the glowing orb to the punch. As usual, he was hungry and wet, but also tuned into Christmas excitement. As soon as he is dry and fed, Castle carries him to the fireplace, where Kate lifts the boy's now weighty stocking from its hook and puts it on the floor for the toddler to explore. There is a brightly colored piano Jackson can play with either his hands or his feet. Jackson goes after a spinner toy before studying the baby laptop with intense concentration.
Kate grins and shakes her head. "Like father like son."
Castle gazes down at his son. "Maybe not. He's going at it full bore, and he isn't facing a deadline or trying to make the rent. He's just banging on that thing out of pure joy. I hope it can always be that way for him."
Kate leans her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, I do too. But you have some joy of your own coming. It looks like Santa stuffed your stocking."
Castle glances back toward the fireplace. "And yours too. Ladies first."
The first gift that Castle sees Kate pull out is a Steiff floppy elephant that he stumbled on while shopping for Jackson. He knows that elephants hold special meaning for her, as his lion does for him, and he decided that she had to have it. She runs the tips of her fingers over the plush surface before giving it a little squeeze and setting it aside. He'd included an assortment of throwback stocking stuffers: a wooden paddle with a ball attached, a slinky, Christmas socks, an orange and handfuls of chocolate kisses in red and green foil. Kate finally reaches the velvet box he'd removed from the safe in the wee hours of the morning and carefully stuffed in the farthest reach of her stiletto boot. Her eyes sparkle at the sight of the rubies and amethysts. Rising on her unshod toes, she presses a kiss to his lips.
Castle wraps his arms around her. "Wow! Santa does all the work, and I get the benefits. I'll take that deal."
Kate urges him to check out his own treasure sack. Castle swallows at the image that has just come to mind but digs into the giant argyle sock and pulls out a Nancy Drew pencil box. "The girl sleuth?"
Kate flutters her lashes. "As you've pointed out, she solved every case. Keep going."
Castle surveys the next item. "A 221B phone cover. The Baker Street Irregulars will be jealous of this." The official game of the Mystery Writers of American and "The Poisoner's Handbook" follow. Finally, he digs out a deerstalker hat. He insists on wearing it immediately. Kate informs him that there's one more thing that goes with it. His fingers curl around a Calabash pipe, and his eyebrows rise. "Kate, you know I've never been into tobacco, even to emulate the world's most clever detective. Or did you have something less legal in mind?"
"Very legal," Kate assures him. "Look again."
Castle realizes that it's a bubble pipe and there's a tiny bottle of soapy solution to go with it.
Kate runs her finger over the flesh and light sprinkling of hair revealed by his robe. "I thought tonight we could see just what kind of fun might pop."
Castle wiggles his eyebrows. "Now how am I supposed to get through the day?"
Kate inclines her head toward the kitchen. "We could start with food. I'm starved. What about those Christmas waffles Alexis told me about?"
"Oh right. Those have been a tradition," Castle recalls, "but she's not going to pick up her stocking for hours. And Mother should be getting hers after she's slept in through the morning. Why don't you grab a quick shower while I do the prep work? I can get mine when you're done, and we can watch the waffles steam together."
Kate agrees to the deal and with Jackson in his high chair fingering dry cereal rings, Castle starts chopping nuts and mashing bananas. His unique touch to the batter is the addition of cinnamon and butterscotch bits, set off by vanilla, a combination that breakfast eateries have yet to hit on. Kate is very quick, and he's just finished when she strolls into the kitchen fully dressed, ready to keep her eyes on their son. Jackson has managed to create a circle of debris around his chair and seems quite proud of himself during the changing of the guard.
Castle half dreams through his own bathing process, with images of just what sorts of fun Kate is picturing with the bubble pipe, flitting through his mind. When he returns to the kitchen, he notes that the waffle iron is up to temperature and the Christmas Culinary Ceremony can begin.
With Jackson again busily engaged at their feet with his baby laptop and his other new loot, Kate and Castle curl up together for some relative downtime, just watching Christmas movies. Castle has always held a special affection for "Miracle on 34th Street," the original, with Edmund Gwenn. When he was a boy, he was drawn to Macy's, seeking the magic of the real Kriss Kringle. He was often disappointed by less than convincing Santa's helpers, but he kept trying. Even as an adult, he admired the fathers - not the rich ones, but the men who would blow an entire paycheck on presents for their children, regardless of what sacrifices they might have to make themselves. They made him feel lucky but also a little guilty that he could buy Alexis whatever she needed or wanted without feeling the bite himself. He'd always made sure he contributed generously to the toy donation boxes and red kettles to try to do his part to make the season as joyous as he could. He was proud when Alexis began to follow his example with her allowance money. He's hoping that when he's older, Jackson will get the message as well.
Kate is a fan of "It's a Wonderful Life." Castle can understand that. She fought so long and so hard to keep evil from triumphing in her own life - and she's still fighting the good fight. They both also love "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," for its inherent hopefulness.
After another day of being blissfully tuckered out by enthusiastic play with his recent acquisitions, Jackson is ready for bed and Castle is ready to find out what Kate had in mind for the bubble pipe. She starts with the familiar, filling the master bathroom's oversized tub with cherry-scented bubbles before inviting Castle to join her - complete with pipe. The bubbles rise, encircling them with glittering globes, like a miniature winter wonderland - without the freezing temperatures. Kate bats at the bubbles, the water splashing around her, her breasts gleaming with foam. Castle can't resist drawing shapes on them with his finger, and she reciprocates, tracing designs on his chest. Their hands stray lower, plunging beneath the warm water to find even warmer targets.
Kate slides between Castle's legs, the slick liquid easing their mutual passage. She wraps around him as they come together, the water sloshing up the sides of the porcelain vessel. Their bodies move effortlessly - almost too effortlessly - against each other, soapy lubrication lessening the sensation of skin against skin. They run their hands up and down each other's bodies, nerve endings firing at the contact. As the water grows colder, the heat rises within them, blood rushing to meet desperate demand. The waves set off within them translate to external ones, almost over-topping their watery playground. After emerging from the gradually dying tides, Castle wraps Kate in a Christmas themed towel, and he can almost swear that the reindeer pictured on it is smiling appreciatively.
