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November—Rockefeller Center

On Kate's twelfth birthday, she walked into school not knowing what to expect. Every year during elementary school, her mother had sent her to class with at least two boxes of cupcakes to share with her class, but now she was in middle school and she couldn't very well carry cupcakes all throughout her day. For one thing, having to share cupcakes with every single one of her classes was far too much and, for another, it was for kids. That's why this year, all her mother did was hand her one big chocolate chip muffin and pack her favorite lunch before sending her off to school with a kiss and a promise to have a special dinner out when she got home.

By the time Kate got to school, she'd finished her muffin and threw the foil wrapper into the trash before making her way to her locker.

She was not prepared for what met her. Castle, Javier, and Lanie were all standing there with giant smiles on their faces, each holding a tiny gift-wrapped package and wearing cheap purple party hats. Castle was holding a balloon and had a noise maker in his mouth, which he blew as soon as he saw her. Kate chuckled, shaking her head.

"What's all this?" she asked, grinning.

"Your own little birthday party!" Castle announced. "You know, since you refuse to have a real party."

"Birthday parties are for little kids, Castle," Kate said, rolling her eyes. Castle gave her a look but let it go, handing her the first gift.

"Whatever," he said, "just open your gifts already so we can get back to pris—I mean, class." Javi snorted next to him.

Kate took the gift, ripping into it and smiling when she saw the Lieutenant Chloe action figure. Castle had learned just how much she loved the horrible, short-lived scifi a few months ago when he caught her watching it during one of their group hang outs.

"Where did you get this?" Kate asked, looking up at him. She didn't even know they made Nebula 9 action figures.

Castle shrugged. "I know a guy." Kate snorted, shaking her head, before opening up her locker and placing the doll on the top shelf, next to Edgar, her prized crow. Castle smiled upon seeing it, remembering the day he gave it to her, years ago.

"What's next?" Kate asked, turning to her other two friends. Lanie handed her an even smaller package. Kate opened it, smiling as she saw a twenty-five dollar gift card to their favorite nail salon. "Thanks, Lanie!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend. "We have to go there later this week!"

Lanie nodded. "Definitely," she agreed.

Javi's gift was last. He handed her a bigger package, but not by too much. Kate ripped the paper off of this one, too, and grinned at the small, purple journal in her hands. She'd been meaning to get one for herself but never got around to it.

"Thanks, Javi!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend.

"No problem, Kate," Javi replied. "It's from Kevin, too. He says happy birthday and he'll see you at Rockefeller next week for the lighting."

Kate nodded. Kevin's school had given him a week off for Thanksgiving so he and the rest of his family were going down to Virginia to visit their extended family. They would be back once school started up again.

"You guys are going to the tree lighting this year?" Castle asked. Kate nodded.

"You wanna come, Castle?" she asked. Castle shrugged. "I dunno; my mom might not let me. Not unless somebody's parent is there, as lame as that might sound."

"Not lame at all," Kate replied. "My parents are coming, actually, so we won't be alone."

"Oh," Castle said, smiling, "then that shouldn't be a problem. I think my mom has a show nearby there anyway."

"Cool," Kate said, just as the bell rang. "We should probably go now; Gates already hates you. She'd do anything to give you another detention."

Javi snorted. "Or suspension."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that you can't erase permanent marker?" Castle whined.

"Well the word 'permanent' might have been a clue," Lanie retorted.

"Details, details," Castle groused, following his friends to their first class.

x-x

They were all gathered in the middle of Rockefeller Center, squeezed in with about a million other New Yorkers and tourists, all waiting for the first performance to begin. Ariana Grande was supposed to perform some Christmas song with some rapper and Pink was long overdue to arrive. People were starting to get impatient.

Kate's parents stood nearby with a few friends and coworkers of theirs, looking over every couple of minutes to check on the kids. They were all fine, if just a little short, all trying to see over the shoulders of the adults around them. Rick, however, didn't have much of a problem, already being as tall as he was. Next to him, Javi was second tallest, but still about four inches shorter. Lanie was the shortest of the group, right after Kevin, and Kate was somewhere in the middle of all of them. Not as tall as Javi, yet not shorter than Kevin. She gave her two shorter friends sympathetic looks. Castle caught this and motioned to Javi, leaning forward to whisper something in his ear. Javier grinned, nodding, before reaching behind them and pulling on Lanie's hand, bringing her around and instructing her to jump on his shoulders as he kneeled.

Lanie hesitated, unsure if he could lift her weight. Javier smiled reassuringly at her.

"Come on, Chica," he said, "I'm not gonna drop you, I swear."

"You better not," Lanie threatened, before cautiously climbing up his back to settle with her legs on his shoulders. Javi grunted slightly as he stood, but once he was standing straight, Lanie's slight weight was easy to take. Castle did the same with Kate, allowing her to climb onto his back and up onto his shoulders, giving her a much better vantage point. She could see everything clearly from where they stood.

"Hey!" Kevin whined. "What about me?" He still couldn't see anything.

Javi and Castle looked at each other, shrugging, causing the girls to squeak at the sudden movement, before motioning for him to come between them. He did and they each knelt down, hooking one arm each around each of his legs and lifting as the girls caught his arms, making sure that he didn't fall. Kevin laughed as he was lifted into the air, resting on his friends' biceps and hooking his arms around the girls' waists. The girls, in turn, each kept one arm firmly around their friend's arms and the others holding on to their other friends' hands to stay balanced.

They looked like a circus act.

Johanna Beckett looked over just in time to see the entire thing come together and she nudged her husband, pointing at them. Jim Beckett laughed and snapped a few photos of them, his smile growing larger as he saw Castle's face light up when Kate laced their fingers together.

Castle looked up at the girl on his shoulders, watching her eyes sparkle as she watched the performance in front of her, her smile wide, showcasing her much-loathed braces. She looked so beautiful and the fact that she was holding his hand…Castle never wanted to let it go.

He knew, of course, that eventually he would have to because Kate didn't see him like that…

But maybe one day she would. One could always hope.

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