This chapter is based on a book I received for Christmas called "Casting Off", by Nicole R. Dickson, all the designs that are described are from her book. No copyright infringement is intended at all.
Once again the characters are not mine. :o(
It was the day after Christmas and a blizzard was making its way up the east coast. Kate and Rick had just dropped Alexis and Martha off at the airport and were on their way back by cab, when there had been an accident and traffic came to a standstill. Since it was only a few blocks from the loft they paid the cabbie and walked home through the snow and wind. By the time they got to the loft her feet and hands were numb. He took her coat and brushed the snow off of her hair, helped her off with her boots and then took her hands in his and put them under his arms to warm them.
"You know if you hadn't started a snowball fight I might not be so cold."
"Well, you know me, can't resist snowball snow, I'm sure we can find a way to get you warm."
She smirked at him.
He bent down and kissed her, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear and tracing her rosy cheeks with his fingers and then reached under her sweater to caress her back, she arched towards him and yelped.
"Hey, your hands are freezing."
"Just trying to warm them up."
"I think I'm going to change into dry clothes, no thanks to you."
"Well the least I could do is offer you some help?" He waggled his eyes at her.
"How about something to eat? I'm starving." She pushed him towards the kitchen.
He pulled her back towards him and wrapped her into a hug. "Sounds like a good plan, what would you like?"
"Surprise me." She sauntered off to the bedroom and he just chuckled and made his way to the kitchen.
A few minutes later he walked into the living room with omelets and cocoa on a tray, she was standing in front of the window wearing one of his dark blue dress shirts, a pair of leggings and the wool socks that had been in her stocking from 'Santa'. She'd pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail with a few tendrils escaping. The tree was lit, the fire was going and the stereo was playing Christmas music. He set the tray of food on the coffee table and came up behind her and handed her the hot cocoa with mini marshmallows floating on the top, she smiled at him as she took the mug and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Are you warmer now?" He nuzzled up to her and hugged her tight.
"Umhmm, much better. Thanks." She smiled at the marshmallows covering the top of the cocoa, and then took a sip. "The snow is pretty now that we aren't trudging through it."
"I'm just glad their flight to California got off without any delays, it looks like we may be snowed in for a day or two." He waggled his eyebrows at her and she chuckled seeing his reflection in the window.
He took her hand and led her back to the couch to eat.
She sat down and glanced at her plate and then at him. "Omelets?"
"What's wrong with omelets? You love my omelets."
She took her fork and started cutting it up and looked inside.
"What are you doing?"
"Just making sure there aren't any marshmallows in here."
"That is so not funny." He looked like a sad puppy with no little boy to play with. "I can't believe Alexis didn't like those; besides, I thought you liked marshmallows."
She tapped her fork on his nose. "Only in my hot chocolate; never…..ever in my omelets." She gave him a stern look and went back to her supper.
"Duly noted, Detective." He kissed her on the nose. "You will only find cheese and tomatoes in this omelet."
She rested back on the couch with her plate in her hand eating her omelet and looked over at him and smiled. Draped loosely around his neck was the dark gray cashmere scarf she had made him for Christmas. "Are you going to wear that scarf all night?"
"Maybe. I'm quite fond of it, not to mention the person who made it for me." He leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her forehead, then set his plate on the table and leaned back on the couch beside her, snaking his arm around her shoulders and gently touching her earlobe, "Besides, you're still wearing the earrings I gave you."
She shook her head. "Not the same thing at all, Mr. Castle." She put her plate on the table beside his and lay her head against his shoulder. She had been so surprised to see the earrings.
They had all gone to Midnight Mass and watched Alexis play the violin to perfection. And true to his traditions they had all gathered around the tree at 2 am to open presents. After everyone had gone to bed Rick had handed her one more gift. As she opened it she realized it was a lingerie box and was glad he hadn't given it to her earlier. She rolled her eyes at him as she opened the box. Settled on top of the tissue paper was a pair of sapphire earrings.
She looked up at him and then picked them up, taking a closer look she said, "These match the necklace my dad gave to my mom on their first Christmas together, how did you know?"
"Your dad gave me the stone and told me the story, he wanted you to have it and he thought it appropriate for me to give it to you, I thought it was a little presumptuous on his part and he just smiled at me and said, 'have a new setting made and give it to her.' So of course, I knew a guy and had a matching stone made and now you have earrings from your parents and me to celebrate our first Christmas together." She had been speechless and almost forgot about what was under the tissue paper putting the box aside so she could put the earrings in and then thank him properly for what was quite possibly the sweetest gift she had ever received.
Smiling at the memory from the other night she slowly came back to the present. "There's a story that goes with the scarf you know."
"Like you didn't really make it?"
"No, I really made it." She slapped his chest lightly. "You were with me when I bought the yarn, you helped me roll it into a ball and you watched me make it. Anyhooo…each stitch has a special meaning." She scooted over so she was leaning up against the side arm of the couch and her legs were stretched across his lap. She took one end of the scarf and held it in her hands. "My father's parents were Irish and my grandmother used to make sweaters. Legend has it that each family had specific designs for their sweaters so if a fisherman was washed ashore they would know who he belonged to by the design in his sweater. See these stitches here how they are different from the rest?" She pointed out the stitches. "They are called twisted stitches and they mean that the person this was intended for is... 'a little bit twisted'." She smiled at him and he raised his eyebrows at her.
He looked closer at the scarf. "Do the numbers of these so called twisted stitches have anything to do with just how twisted this person might be?"
She winked at him. "You catch on quick." She picked out the design along the edges of the scarf. "This is called a Jacob's ladder and this is so you have a way to heaven."
"In case I'm washed ashore when I take the boat out to fish for dinner?"
She rolled her eyes at him and continued to explain the stitches. "These are zigzags and these in between are bobbles. They are a specific pattern used by a family of storytellers which in Ireland are called shanachies and since you are a storyteller I thought it would be most appropriate to add it." She looked up at him, tugging on both ends of the scarf and pulling him towards her. "It also has another meaning."
He kissed her and let his hand roam up along her leg and said, "Which is?"
Still pulling him close with the scarf she said, "An unplanned journey with someone unexpected."
He pulled back slightly. "Seriously?"
She smiled, her head tilted to the side. "Seriously." She kissed him softly.
He moved back and pointed to another design. "What about this one that goes up and down?"
"That's called a chevron, and it is a single chevron because you are single."
He looked her in the eye and said, "And if I were married?"
"Then it would be a double chevron, however, according to legend if you make someone a sweater before you are married to them, then its bad luck and you won't end up together."
He raised his eyebrows at her and said, "Well, at least they would know who I belonged to if you threw me overboard."
She climbed onto his lap and straddled him. "That's why you have twisted stitches because you have a twisted mind." She leaned forward and kissed him, her hands around his neck and gently running her fingers through his hair. She sat back as he was inspecting the scarf.
"Okay so what is this last design here?" He pointed to the double zigzag with a pattern of knit and purl stitches in between.
She cocked her head to the side and bit her bottom lip, and then very quietly placing her hands on either side of his face she said "I can't tell you that one just yet." She slowly slid off his lap and stood, using the ends of the scarf to pull him up. She started unbuttoning his shirt then untucked it and looking him in the eyes she slid it off of his shoulders, dragging her fingers along his arms, he reached for her and she placed her hand on his chest to stop him and gave him a sly look and shook her head; she took his hands and placed them behind his back and slowly pulled the scarf from around his neck and then used it to tie around his wrists. She ran her fingers along his neck and then leaned forward and kissed him very softly tracing his mouth with her tongue and working her way to his neck, nibbling at first and the gently biting his earlobe.
He let out a low moan, "Kate."
She looked up at him with one raised eyebrow and her head to the side. She ran her tongue over her lips and said. "You like that?"
He started to move towards her and she pushed him back gently. She smiled at him, and without looking away she undid his jeans and slid them down his legs. He stepped out of them. She kissed him softly from his neck down to the top edge of the waistband of his boxers and slowly made her way back up to his lips. She moved back and unbuttoned her shirt, slowly letting it slide off of her shoulders revealing his other Christmas present; a dark sapphire blue camisole edged in lace; she slid her leggings down and stepped out of her socks to reveal matching lace trimmed bikini underwear. She reached up and pulled her hair out and shook the curls so they framed her face and hung along her shoulders. She inched closer to him so that she was as close as she could be without touching him, he didn't move, he didn't' speak and they didn't break eye contact. He knew if he tried hard enough he could probably remove his hands from her bondage, but truth be told he was enjoying this side of her. She stood up on her toes and gently placed her hands on his waist, her fingers working their way around the waistband of his boxers, she leaned up and kissed him very lightly, teasing him and letting her hands trail up his sides and around his neck and placing her body up against his as she deepened the kiss, pulling back and tracing her tongue around the edges of his mouth and towards his ear and then sucking on his earlobe until he was moaning again.
"You are being most obedient Mr. Castle."
Barely above a whisper he said, "Not usually one of my stronger traits."
She smiled and winked at him. "No it isn't but it is a quality I do look for in a man."
"I'm not sure how much longer I can be obedient."
She looked down at his boxers and smiled, "I can see that." She picked up her cocoa and slurped up the marshmallows and then drank down the rest of it, she set the mug down and placed her hands on his waist again and leaned into him, he bent his head down and licked the cocoa off her mouth and slowly slipped his hands out of the end of the scarf, wrapping it around her neck then placing his hands on either side of her face and kissing her sweetly and soundly letting his tongue explore her mouth until she she was the one moaning, her hands reached up for the scarf, but he grabbed the ends and pulled her away from the couch and into the bedroom.
"As gorgeous as you are in this outfit I do think I might have to remove it, but not quite yet, I believe you have one more stitch to explain to me. He took her hands and placed them behind her back and tied them up with the scarf. It was his turn to tantalize her. And tantalize he did. Much in the same way she had done to him. Running his fingertips up her arms and back down, then along her waist and slowly up under her camisole; his thumbs finding her breasts and slowly he leaned in and kissed her, her body fully against his.
He pulled back slightly. "So that last stitch you were going to tell me about?"
"I'm not sure you're ready to hear it."
"I'm not or you're not ready to say it?"
She was chewing on the inside of her lip, and slipped her hands out of the scarf and slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. She kissed him and then pulled back, his hands loosely around the bare part of her waist, his fingertips teasing the sensitive area. She looked at him and took in a deep breath and whispered slowly and very softly "Seeing someone as forever through the eyes of love."
He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, never taking his eyes from hers. He moved his hands to her face and kissed her, slowly and deeply for what seemed like hours, and when he pulled back he took his thumb and wiped away the small tear that was escaping down her cheek. He pulled her to him and held her tight and said, "Well Katherine Beckett I must say I do look forward to spending forever being in love with you."
She squeezed her eyes tight and smiled and held on to him and thought to herself. Best. Christmas. Ever.
A/N: For whatever reason, I had a really hard time writing this. I must have revised it at least a gazillion times. I have read it so many times that it is just gibberish to me at this point. I hope it makes sense. I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! :o)