"What's this?"
Castle had placed the bag on her desk without a word, breezing right past her desk as he headed toward the elevator. She didn't get up to stop him, watching as the doors closed on his smile.
She waited to tip the edge of the bag toward her, the only view being of white tissue paper in the light grey bag. Her fingers shifted the paper aside, the crinkle filling the empty precinct as if a microphone was held against it. A quick glance told her she was still alone so she pulled the bit of tissue paper from the bag.
Nestled in the bottom of the bag was a piece of fabric. Her fingertips brushed the top as she pulled it out of the bag, shaking the cloth out. A scarf. The cloth was a cream color, black scrollwork along the end of it, the two colors twisting into the fringe.
As she ran her hand over the soft pattern, a piece of paper fell from the folds.
Kate –
This is made from alpaca wool. They're resilient creatures, able to adapt to almost any climate. In your own way, you are an alpaca. Times may be rough now, but they will get better.
It was silky and Kate had a hard time believing it was wool. She twisted the fringe around her finger, admiring the scrolls, curls, and twists that faded from black at the bottom to grey to cream, blending into the middle of the scarf.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, smiling at the scarf in her lap. She wondered how long he had been hiding this in the precinct, waiting for the right time to hand it over. The case had been difficult and he could read the fact she was emotionally and physically drained as if it were a novel. She shouldn't have been surprised that he had something ready to pick her spirits up again. She wouldn't be shocked to find out he had a whole stash of presents around the precinct for nights like this.
It was dark outside so she was willing to call it a night. The smile still on her face, Kate buttoned up her jacket, then wrapped the scarf around her neck, admiring the way the monotonous colors contrasted against the bright red of her jacket as she took the stairs down to head home.