Day Two
"Ka-ate!" Rick called. He'd been trying to wake her up for the past half hour, to no avail. It was almost seven, and given that she had to be at work by nine, she wouldn't be able to get her gifts if she didn't get up, stat. "Is it gonna be like this every day?" He asked, but really didn't think she was listening.
"Perhaps if we could do this at night, it wouldn't be so hard." She said, her face still buried in her pillow. Mornings killed her, they always did. They were too bright, too cold, and happened way too early for her liking. Still, she managed to be on a good mood when she woke up, IF and only IF, she woke up by herself. Alarm clocks were fine too, but people… she just couldn't stand anyone that early.
"Oh, come on, cranky pants. Come see your gift." Rick took her by the hand and led her to the living room, only letting go of it when they reached the couch "Please sit, milady." He said, walking towards the study. Kate didn't protest, considering that she could take a nap on the couch.
He came back not two minutes later, holding a pile of seemingly old books. "Let me explain today's gift." He said, setting down the pile of books on the coffee table. "Remember when you told me what your favorite books were?" He asked, and Kate nodded. She was still half-asleep, but doing her best to pay attention to what he was saying. "Well, I know you already own them all." He said "But I wanted something special, so I narrowed down autographed copies of four of your favorite books." He said, picking up the first book from the pile. The Old Man and The Sea it was, Kate's all-time favorite. She almost lost her breath when she saw it. No, he couldn't have. The book did look old and used, but could it be? Could it be signed by Hemingway himself? He handed her the book, and she studied every part of it with her fingers. The leather cover, the beautiful letters, the yellowed pages. She slowly opened the book and there it was. Hemingway's signature, written in the fading paper. She flipped the pages carefully, making sure every page remained in its place.
"Castle, how did you get this?" She asked, amazed. It couldn't have been easy. It was probably expensive too, shit.
"I got it five years ago, bidding. I never thought I'd have the courage to give it to someone." He said "But when you told me you loved this book, I knew I was saving it for you all along." He continued, walking towards the book pile. No, it wasn't possible, Kate thought. It wasn't possible that there was more.
"Castle, I don't even know what to say, I mean…" She said, holding the book close to her heart, with both hands.
"Thank you is just fine." He said, planting a soft kiss on her lips.
"Thank you." She said, setting the book on her lap and watching him as he walked around the living room, carrying the second book of her series of gifts.
"Okay, round two. Round-faced little boy." Rick said, giving her a small paper cover book. She recognized it immediately. The hot pink cover with a blonde little boy was hard to miss. "My love, David says hello."
She looked at the book, not believing it. It was the first edition of David Copperfield – the Dickens novel, not the magician. It was gorgeous, but so old and ragged that the paint in the cover was already on her fingertips. She didn't even need to open this one to see the signature. She could see it, in delicate black letters, right in the cover.
"Oh my god, Castle." Kate said, looking at the two books he'd just given her. They would be enough for today, enough for this Christmas, enough for forever. But she knew better, so she waited for the next book.
"Here you go." He said, handing her a thin teal book. "The key to your heart." He joked. "Ed Beaumont meets the lovely Kate Beckett." He said, making his best impersonation of Alan Ladd he could manage.
"Good grief. Wow." She said, as her fingers slid through the title The Glass Key. Her favorite Hammett novel. "This is…"
"Wait for the last one, darling." He said, handing her the last book in the pile. The copy was old. Really old. Old as in you can't read the title. She opened the book, which revealed a signature she couldn't quite recognize. She turned another page, and there it was. The book title. Huckleberry Finn, signed by Mark Twain himself. Kate's eyes widened as she looked at the signature, then at the set of books she'd just gotten. There was no one in the world who knew her better than Richard Castle. And she couldn't be happier.
"Castle, thank you. I can't even say how grateful I am…" Kate said, her voice shaky.
"You don't have to say anything." He said "Our mouths work better together anyway." He whispered in her ear.
Author's Note: Catching up! Please review?