Chapter 17
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Ryan and Esposito looked at the clock, then at Beckett, then at each other. A slow grin started to spread across their faces.
"Hey Beckett," said Esposito, rolling his chair until it stopped beside her desk, "You're late."
The boys didn't miss the kitten heels she wore today instead of her usual ridiculously high stilettos.
"Yeah, did you have some trouble getting out of bed this morning?" Ryan added, sliding up next to Esposito.
Kate glared at them. "If you guys have something to say, just say it."
Esposito elbowed Ryan when he noticed how gingerly Kate sat down in her chair. "So… busy night?" he said.
"Don't you guys have some work to do?" she shot back.
"Where was your date last night?" Ryan asked.
"I stayed at home."
"I beg to differ." Esposito grinned. "Somebody told me you took Zoey over to Castle's house last night."
"Who told you that?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is whether you took her over so Castle could babysit her or whether you left her there with Little Castle."
"Is there a question in there somewhere?" Kate looked back and forth between Ryan and Esposito. They only continued to smile knowingly at each other. "Okay, then. I'm going to leave you two girls here to gossip while I go see about that dead body from yesterday."
Kate walked swiftly down to the morgue and pointed a finger accusingly at Lanie upon her entrance. "You told them!"
Lanie looked as innocent as she possibly could given the sharp weapon she was holding in her hand. "So, how was your night?"
Kate jumped up onto an empty exam table. "Did you tell them it was Castle?"
"Are you seriously telling me that you want to keep your relationship a secret? Because, honey, I can guarantee you it is the worst kept secret in the entire world."
"No, I'm not purposely trying to hide anything but I also don't feel like I need to announce it to everybody since really, it's none of their business," Kate said, "I mean, if they asked me, I would tell them – like you said, there's no reason to deny it."
Lanie looked up mid-incision. "So, all they have to do is ask you?"
"Yup."
"Like, straight up, ask if you and writer boy are in an official relationship?"
"That's right."
"That is never going to happen."
Kate grinned. "I know."
Lanie smirked. "Okay so, where did you really go last night?" At Kate's raised eyebrows, Lanie gestured to her cellphone. "Esposito texted me saying that you claimed to have stayed at home last night."
"I told you, Lanie. I'm not lying about anything."
"But you had a date with Castle last night." Lanie phrased it as a sentence that was really meant to be a question.
Kate's smile was downright devious. "That's right."
Lanie's eyes grew wider and wider as her brain arrived at the meaning of Kate's words. "Do you mean to tell me that you and Castle—" Lanie made a slightly lewd gesture with the scalpel and clamp in her hands, "—all night?"
Kate nodded.
"Damn girl! It's about time!" Lanie exclaimed and then lowered her voice to a more conspiratorial level. "So, tell me. Are the rumours true? On a scale of one to ten – ten being the best you've ever had – "
Kate didn't even bother to hide the naughty glint in her eye when she responded. "Eleven."
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Castle arrived at the station with Zoey in his Santa hat. It was two weeks until Christmas.
"Wow Castle, don't you two look festive," said Esposito as he passed by him and Ryan.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Castle replied cheerily.
"Ohh, that is the most adorable thing ever," said Kate, having spotted Castle and Zoey herself. Castle's eye twinkled and Kate rolled her eyes. "I meant my daughter."
Zoey had on a bright red dress over white stockings and her purple winter boots. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in a reindeer headband. She twirled around for Kate. "Pretty, mommy?" she asked.
Kate picked Zoey up onto her lap and gave her a kiss. "You look very, very pretty, Zo."
"Are you ready to go?" asked Castle. He was picking her up from work today so they could do some Christmas shopping. There were still a few more people they had to buy gifts for.
Kate shut down her computer and tucked a few files away. "Now I am," she replied. Castle helped her into her jacket and she kissed him on the cheek – the extent of Kate's willingness to engage in public displays of affection – after she wrapped her scarf around her neck. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Esposito and Ryan staring at them. It was the second time that Castle had picked her up from work since they had officially started dating and they still hadn't asked her about their relationship.
Kate gave them both a little wave as she walked towards the elevator with Castle and Zoey. "See you tomorrow," she said with an impish grin.
"Still haven't asked you yet, huh?" Castle said as the doors slid shut.
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The stores were crowded, the lines were long, and all of the shoppers looked panicked and frazzled. Kate probably would have been a lot more annoyed at all of the madness had Zoey not been with her. She elicited a lot of smiles as she cheerfully skipped among the adults, holding onto Kate and Castle's hands. Even the overworked and underpaid sales associates became friendlier after Zoey charmingly handed them one of the candy canes that Castle had put into the little drawstring pouch she was carrying.
"Your daughter is just the most gorgeous thing," said the cashier as Castle was paying for some books at Barnes & Noble. Kate had lifted Zoey up onto the counter and was busy trying to detangle some of her hair from the left antler.
She smiled when she heard Castle reply, "Thanks. She takes after her mom."
"Well, you three have a wonderful holiday season," she said, handing Castle his receipt.
"Thank you," said Kate, "You too."
After they had walked out of the store and rejoined the bustle of the street, Castle turned to Kate and asked, "So, how serious were you last night?"
"About what?"
"About not spending any money on each other's Christmas present."
"What Castle? Are you having trouble?" Kate grinned. "I thought you were supposed to be creative."
"Hey! Don't attack my creativity," he replied indignantly.
Kate stopped her teasing. "Castle, I was very serious," she answered. "You always spend so much money on Zoey and I—" Kate held up a finger when it looked like he was about to interrupt, "—and I know you don't mind or care about things like that. I've even stopped getting angry with you for leaving me random gifts because by now, we both know that I don't need or want you to buy me anything. So, if it makes you happy to buy me a new coffee machine or get Zoey a reindeer headband then I'm happy, too."
"So what's wrong with getting you a present on the biggest present-giving holiday of the year?" Castle asked.
"I don't want you to buy me a gift. I already know that you could buy me anything I could conceivably want, that you would fly around the world in order to get it for me," Kate smirked, "Letting you buy a present for me would be way too easy."
"So, this is a challenge?"
"Well, it's a challenge for me, too," said Kate. She glanced sideways at Castle and gave him a small smile. "I just want our presents to mean something more than an expensive price tag and the prospect of owning another shiny new toy."
Castle shook his head and smiled back. "You always manage to keep me on my toes, Kate Beckett."
.
Three days before Christmas and Castle still didn't know what he was going to give Kate.
It wasn't that he didn't have any ideas – in fact, he had a lot. That was the downfall of being creative. He could come up with any number of gifts but not one of them seemed right. He was making dinner with Alexis that night, radio tuned to a station that played Christmas music 24 hours a day, when it struck him.
He quickly picked up his cellphone and scrolled through the contacts. He only had a day and a half before his annual Christmas party and he would definitely require some assistance.
.
"They will not be able to live that down." Kate was standing in the kitchen with one arm wrapped around her waist. She accepted the drink from Castle with her other hand.
"I didn't even know Esposito could sing," Castle replied.
They were both watching Lanie and Esposito singing 'Baby It's Cold Outside' while being serenaded on the piano by one of Martha's musical theatre buddies. The party was in full swing at the Castle residence and most of the guests were either buzzed or quickly getting there.
"Did I mention how gorgeous you look tonight?" said Castle. Kate was wearing a red silk A-line dress that made up for its demure neckline with a plunging back and Castle had been using every excuse he could that evening to touch the exposed skin.
"Maybe once or twice," she replied.
He pulled her back against him and she tilted her head to let him place teasing kisses on her neck. Kate laughed and pushed him away with he got a little handsy.
"Well, at least I'm not as bad as Lanie and Esposito. Those two are not shy about their public displays of affection."
"Let's hope Ryan doesn't give them any more reason to. Now that he's drunk, he's just getting gutsier at luring people to the mistletoe." Kate nodded at yet another unsuspecting couple wandering dangerously close to the little sprig.
As if on cue, Lanie approached and interrupted their conversation. Castle took the opportunity to excuse himself, ostensibly so they could chat. Kate got so wrapped up in gossip and conversation that she didn't notice what was being set up behind her until she heard a clearing of the throat over a microphone.
"What in the world?" Kate asked when she turned around.
"Excuse me everybody," Castle was saying as he stood on the bottom step. "Sorry to interrupt the festivities but I would like to share something special that I have prepared for an extraordinary person."
"No way." Kate muttered under her breath in disbelief.
"Yes, that's right. He's talking about you, girl," said Lanie. As her best friend pushed her through the group of people to the front of the room, Kate realised that the conversation they had been having had been a way to distract her.
Castle signalled to somebody on his right and he grinned at her when the opening notes to a familiar song filled the room. If people had still been questioning her and Castle's relationship status, all of their doubts flew out the window when he pointed right at her and sang:
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you...
Kate's face was turning red but she had to laugh when Esposito and Ryan suddenly appeared behind Castle and started doing the back-up vocals. He had even recruited Alexis and Zoey to 'play' the drums and the tambourine.
Eventually, everybody started to sing along when they realised that while Castle did manage to stay in tune, him and the boys weren't actually very good. Even Kate stopped being embarrassed and danced with Zoey in her arms when the little girl got bored with the tambourine.
Kate shook her head at a grinning Castle when the song ended and he made his way over to her. Amidst the clapping, Ryan got his kiss under the mistletoe when he held the plant over the two of them. Kate broke her own rule and pulled Castle in for a sizzling kiss.
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Kate waited until Christmas Eve to give Castle his present. She and Zoey were sleeping over so that they could open presents together in the loft (and so that Castle could slip a present to Zoey from 'Santa' underneath the tree).
Castle was already in bed, reading a book, when Kate walked out of the bathroom. She kneeled onto the bed and waited until Castle looked at her expectantly.
"It's my turn to give you your present," said Kate.
Castle rubbed his hands together ecstatically. "Is it naughty?"
Kate slapped his hands. "No!"
"I had to ask."
"No, you really didn't."
Castle grinned. "Okay. I'm ready."
"Well, you remember the first time we met?" she started.
"Of course. You were hauling me in for questioning at my own book party," he answered, "How could I forget?"
"Right." Kate nodded and then shifted a little on the bed. "Except… that wasn't actually the first time we met."
"What're you talking about?"
"I went to one of your book signings—"
Castle's gleeful gasp interrupted her story. "I knew it! You were totally a giggly, obsessed fangirl, weren't you?"
"Castle."
"Right. Calm." He tried to control his joy. "Continue."
"As I was saying, I went to one of your book signings with a friend – we lined up for an hour – and when we actually got to the front of the line, I was too shy—"
"—you mean star-struck?"
Kate glared at him, "—too shy to say anything so my friend did all of the talking. I was so glad to later discover that you could not possibly remember anything she had told you since you have the attention span of a cocker spaniel."
"I'm going to ignore that comment," Castle interjected and then smiled mischievously. "What did your friend say about you to me? Was it embarrassing?"
"It wasn't embarrassing," said Kate, starting to look uncomfortable, "Just really personal." Her voice suddenly became sombre. "I didn't really get into your books until my second year of college. When I was 19."
Castle sobered immediately. He knew, then, what the personal information had been.
"After my mom was—" Kate paused as if unable to say the actual word. She dropped her gaze and rephrased. "My friend was the one who told you that your words helped me get through something horrible."
Castle placed a hand on her knee and said with all seriousness. "I wasn't a jerk, was I?"
Kate's lips quirked up into a tiny smile. "No, you weren't a jerk. I don't think you even knew what to say to that. My friend kind of just kept talking, saying that I loved your gruesome murders more than I loved boys playing boom boxes outside my bedroom window."
"That's probably still true," he said, trying to keep the mood light.
Kate chuckled a little at that. "We ended up taking a Polaroid," she continued after a pause, "You offered to sign it but your pen had run out of ink."
Castle had an odd expression on his face then. "You had a marker, didn't you?"
Kate nodded. "In my purse." She leaned back and reached for her book on the side table. It naturally opened to a section in the middle. "This is my present for you," she said, handing him the Polaroid that had been marking the page, "The real first picture of us ever taken."
Castle looked down and saw younger versions of him and Kate staring back. He had looped his arm around her shoulder and instead of looking at the camera, they had been looking at each other with smiles on their faces. On the bottom of the photo, he had written: "I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen."
He looked up at her. "I remember this."
"Oh, you so do not!" she exclaimed. "That was at least ten years ago."
"Okay, I don't remember the actual conversation I had with your friend and obviously, I didn't remember that it was you specifically but I remember signing this," he said, waving the picture insistently. "You are still the only person who has thought of getting me to sign a Polaroid and the memory stuck because I had just done that whole 'standing outside my girlfriend's window playing music in order to get her forgiveness' thing a couple of days before that book signing."
"You're serious?" Kate asked in disbelief.
"Yes!" Castle looked amused. "Whenever I re-watched that movie, I didn't think about the fact that I didn't win my girlfriend back – all I thought about was the Polaroid Girl. I can't believe that was you!"
Kate shook her head. "This is… not possible."
Castle was completely excited. "See Kate? What did I say about you and me? It was absolutely—"
"—Castle, do not even think about saying 'fate'."
"Okay, how about 'meant to be'?"
"That's the same thing."
"This is magic."
"Coincidence."
Castle placed the picture carefully back between the pages of her book and dropped it on the floor beside him. "Whatever," he said, "I'm definitely getting that framed."
Kate smiled. "I have to admit. I probably would have never remembered that picture or thought about showing it to you if it hadn't been for the fact that I had no idea what to give you."
"I'm glad I wasn't the only one," Castle replied.
"Still, aren't you glad that we decided to do this?"
Castle nodded. "But next year, I get to choose the challenge," he said with a grin.
Kate slipped underneath the covers. "We'll see," she replied warily. She reached up to turn off her lamp and then rolled onto her side to glance up at Castle. "This has been a good Christmas."
"You sound surprised," he said.
"Usually my Christmases are quieter," said Kate, trying to sound nonchalant. "It's been just my dad and I for so long."
Castle slid down so that he could look Kate directly in the eye. "Now it never has to be."
Kate smiled softly and leaned forward to brush her lips against his. "Merry Christmas, Castle."
He surprised her when he refused to let her pull away, manoeuvring himself on top of her instead. She encouraged him to deepen the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer and parting her lips so that his tongue could tangle with hers. His hands started to stroke up and under her shirt and she wrapped her legs around him so that she could arch her body up against his. He parted away just long enough to murmur, "Best. Christmas. Ever."
A/N: The reference made about "boys playing boom boxes outside her bedroom window" and the subsequent line "I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen" are from the (classic) 1989 movie Say Anything.
Also, I'm posting this chapter a day early because I'm going to be laptop-less for the next few days as I am taking a little trip to New York City (for reals, yo) to visit family! This also means that there will be a slight delay in posting the next chapter (since I won't be back in time for my normal Sunday update…) I apologize! But, I will update ASAP after I return! :) Y'all rock my socks off with your reviews and I'm glad you guys liked both versions of their "first date"!