A/N: Look out for the epilogue! Thank you to Alex from Castlefanfics for the Christmas ideas!

The End of the journey

24 December 2020

"Santa will come?" Joanna asks, her eyes almost squeezed shut. She is using all her strength to stay awake, afraid that she will miss the elusive Santa Claus. Raymond echoes her words, the same worry on his two-year-old face.

"Of course," Kate assures them. "You have laid out such wonderful cookies for him this year."

"He will like them?"

"He will love them." Joanna breathes a sigh of relief.

"You will look out?'

"Of course I will."

"Will you kiss him again?" she asks with absolute innocence.

Kate blushes and Rick bites back a laugh.

"No I won't," she says with the best straight face she can muster.

"Good," Joanna nods and yawns loudly.

"Night night Mum. Night night dad. I love you," she says and falls straight to sleep.

"I love you too," they says in unison and tucks her in.

"Night night," Raymond manages to say.

"Night Ray," they say. "I love you."

He falls asleep in the crib, sighing in bliss.

They sneak out of their room, taking extra caution to be as quiet as possible.

"Meet in ten," she commands and zips into the secret room where they store the presents.

"Roger that!" he whispers and dashes into their room and pulls out his Santa costume.

They meet once again in the living room, with Kate glaring at him.

"Really Castle? Again?" she hisses, burying her face into her hands.

"I look great in it!" he announces with pride.

"Don't you remember? Last year?" she groans as her face burns up at the memory.

24 December, 2019

Rick was wearing the Santa Costume that he claimed has been with him since Alexis was two.

Looking at him being all excited never failed to put a smile on Kate's face. Sure, her husband could be childish but it was one of the many reasons why she loved him. "Hi Santa," she purred, looking at him with eyes that she knew he can't resist.

"Hi Mrs Claus," he yelped as her hand wandered down from his chest.

She smirked and pressed herself closer to him, her other hand drawing up to caress his cheek. "Have you been naughty or nice, Mr Claus?" she murmured, her voice husky as she gives a small squeeze.

"I-Isn't that my role?" he gives a half squeak, his eyes widening with both surprise and arousal.

"Hmm… We shall think about that," she nipped on his right ear. He growled in response and captured her lips once they were off his ear. Their tongues met in passion, dancing dangerously as hands roam. They were lost in the heated kiss, oblivious to their surroundings.

"Mama?" A shocked wail tore them apart.

Joanna was standing in front of them, tears falling. "Are you kissing Santa?" she wailed, crying without restrain. Kate did not know what to say, did not know what to think. All she knew was that she wanted a big hole to appear right underneath her so she could disappear. A black hole wouldn't be too bad either.

"Do you not love daddy?" she sobbed.

"No, no darling. I love daddy," Kate fought to comfort her, feeling utterly lost. She shot a look at Rick, who shrugged and with a "Ho Ho Ho", disappeared.

How nice of him to leave her with their crying daughter who thinks her mother had cheated on her father with Santa bloody Claus.

It took a long while to calm Joanna down and convince her that it was nothing, and she would never leave them. Kate went back to her room, seething and embarrassed.

"I couldn't let her know Santa isn't real!" he explained.

She rolled her eyes. "You have to make it up to me," she growled and nipped his ears. She swore that if she saw that costume one more time, she would flip.

…

"You let her think I was kissing Santa Claus!" Kate groans, the embarrassment fresh.

"Weeell," he drags, "you diffused the situation really well and who am I? The grinch? I can't let her know that Santa isn't real!"

She rolls her eyes. "Come on then, Santa, time to stuff their stockings."

He nods with enthusiasm and proceeds to fill each gigantic stocking with presents. They laugh as he stumbles, as she stumbles, as they fumble in the dark, too afraid to turn on the lights in fear that Joanna will appear.

"Quiet," she laughs, as he loses his balance once more.

"You are the one laughing," he suppresses his laughter.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

They glare at each other.

And they giggle at their silliness, finding a way to grope in the dark without tripping over the various knick knacks. They are enjoying their tasks and the company. She misses their bickering and his laughter. They were all she ever wanted. They are soon finished and it leaves her with a gaping disappointment. These few days have been the happiest she has ever been the past few months. Seeing him laugh, seeing herself laugh have been liberating. She thinks she is ready now, to let go and find herself.

He trips, falling straight into her arms like a scene from a cheesy romance novel. She pulls him up straight, preparing to pull away. He holds onto her hand, his warmth burning through her as he pulls her into a hug.

"Merry Christmas," she whispers into his ears and pulls away from their embrace. Their eyes lock and it feels as though a spell has been cast over them, clouding their judgements and amplifying their tucked away emotions. For a moment, she feels as though they are going to kiss, his lips dangerously close to hers. Something draws them together, two unlike poles of magnets attracted to each other. Their lips meet, soft and sweet. They are lost in the kiss, allowing themselves to indulge in it. With a sweep of his tongue, Kate parts her lips and their tongues meet. It had been so long. She misses his lips, misses his taste, misses him, misses them.

Oh, she loves him. She will always love him.

The clock strikes twelve and like Cinderella, the spell is broken. The gown turns into rags, the horses and horsemen into mice and cats.

They spring away from each other, their lips tingling from their kiss.

"I have signed the papers. This Christmas, you are free," she whispers and instantly regrets them. She holds back her tears and hands him the papers. "See you."

She gives him a small wave and walks away, making sure that he can't see her face. Hot tears roll down her cheeks. She let them fall. She sucks in a deep breath, trying to collect her composure.

"Kate," he calls out. She spins around. There is a unreadable expression in his eyes. Love? Tenderness? Sadness? All three? "Can I hug you again tomorrow?" he asks, a blush creeping up his face.

"We will see about that Castle," she smiles.

He grins, his eyes sparkling with joy. "You know, I haven't filed the papers yet!"

She laughs.