Disclaimer: No these characters are not mine, however, I am thinking of deducting them from my taxes next year since they do appear to live with me. Title, Compliments of Miss Behavin.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, fav's and follows! You guys rock!

Miracle at the 12th Precinct

Chapter 5: Dirty Little Elves

Early the next morning Rick dropped Kate off at precinct, and then went back out to get them some coffee. On the ride over they'd both decided it would be better not to walk in together. Sure, Jordan had made it clear the night before, she was aware of the turn their relationship had taken, but both Kate and Rick agreed there was no need to call more attention to themselves.

Actually, that was a lie. The truth was, after their steamy love-making session in Rick's kitchen last night and Castle's I totally got laid last night demeanor this morning, Kate had been more than adamant on the way to the precinct about keeping things professional during work hours. Based on Jordan's remarks in the hospital elevator yesterday she was obviously prepared to tease them about being a couple, and Kate refused to add fuel to the fire. Although still experiencing some difficulty subduing his exuberance, Rick conceded her point and agreed to drop her off first, even though he was dying to start working on the case. After all, time was of the essence if they were going to save Christmas.

The elevator doors opened to a hubbub of activity. Kate took a deep breath and braced herself. It wasn't even seven o'clock in the morning, however, the noise level made it feel more like the middle of the day. Jordan's team was busy setting up Santa's Workshop with at least ten agents, bristling about, in their distinct FBI dark attire. They reminded her of little ants building an anthill, and she guessed they'd been at it for hours. Kate passed them unnoticed, deposited her purse in her desk drawer, then spotted Gates in her office, speaking to Jordan behind closed doors. They must have somehow sensed Kate's arrival because they both turned to look at her, and then Gates waved her in. Kate nodded and was headed towards her office when both Ryan and Esposito appeared.

"Hey." "Yo." "Hey." They said, exchanging their standard morning greetings.

"Where's Castle?" Esposito asked, looking around.

"On his way." Kate replied, casually. Brushing off their interest in Castle's whereabouts, she immediately changed the subject.

"How'd it go last night at the blast site? Come up with anything?" She asked them.

The boys glanced over at Gates' office. Iron Gates did not look happy.

"Not much, really." Ryan said, grimacing, his focus back on Kate. "We're still waiting on an update from Agent Happy over there." He said, nodding to the tall, stone-faced agent behind the glass structure. "Bomb squad reported directly to him last night, and he's not much of a sharer if you know what I mean."

Kate nodded back, unsmiling. Sometimes the Feds forgot they were all on the same team.

"The blast site was a mess; blown to smithereens." Espo added. "Not sure exactly how that old man managed to survive the blast, but I'll say this…he's one lucky bastard."

"Yes he is. Very lucky." She agreed. "Unfortunately, he's also…slightly delusional." She paused, taking in their blank stares. They had no idea what she was talking about. "I'm sure by now you've heard our key witness, suspect, whatever, has a...Santa Claus complex?" She shook her head and sighed, wondering, not for the first time, why they always attracted the crazies.

"Yeah, we did." Ryan said, grinning like a kid at Esposito.

"We just wanted to hear you say it." Esposito laughed.

"Oh, and don't forget about his little elves." Ryan added, with a chuckle before feeding the birds with his partner.

Kate rolled her eyes at their antics. "First of all, they're dwarfs or Little People, not elves. Second, get to work." She instructed them sternly. "Go see what you can find out from the feds over there." She pointed with her chin in the direction of the Workshop. "Now wish me luck." She said, blowing a strand of hair from her forehead while eyeing Gates' office. "I'm going in."

They watched her disappear into the small office, and almost felt sorry for her. The tension seeped from Gates office, even through the closed door. Iron Gates hated not being in charge, and judging from her scowl, she was less than thrilled to be working under the FBI's thumb again. For once, her team could relate. The Feds always made them feel like they were on the outside, looking in, and frankly, they felt they could manage the case on their own.

Ryan checked his watch. "Seriously, where the hell is Castle?" He asked Esposito. "I would have thought he'd be all over this one. Freaking Santa Claus, our witness thinks he's Santa Claus. Only in New York dude. You've gotta love it."

"Oh, he'll be here." Esposito told him. "He wouldn't miss this for the world. Those two, they're just playing it cool for the sake of appearances bro. They don't want it to look like they drove in together, but...an explosion, fictional characters; possible mob-related hit...no way Castle would miss out on this." Espo was getting impatient and checked his watch. "Ten bucks says he walks through that door in five."

"You're on." Ryan said, synchronizing his watch with Espos. "I call eight minutes." Even if he lost, he didn't care. They had to bet on something at least twice a day, so the odds were good he'd make his money back soon enough.

Three minutes later Castle walked through the door and beamed at the swarm of Agents setting the final pane of glass on the stand encasing their cool work station. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the stuff they'd brought.

The boys watched as Castle, his eyes starry, stopped to admire the shiny technical equipment through the glass. Ryan sighed, and handed over ten bucks to a gloating Esposito. Castle pressed his nose up firmly against the pane of glass and the agent behind it flicked at the intrusion from his side, before shooting Castle a dirty look. Castle wiped his drool from the glass with his sleeve, and mouthed sorry, but continued gazing at their display from a safe distance.

"Twenty..." Espo said to Ryan, "says Castle believes Henry Jenkins is the real deal."

"You're on." Ryan replied, only slightly hesitating. "Make fun all you want, but Castle's not as big a goofball as you make him out to be. He just plays you man. He's a grown up, of course he doesn't believe in Santa Claus. I'm going to enjoy taking your money." He grinned.

"It's like taking candy from a baby." Espo quipped, to Ryan's chagrin.

Castle reluctantly pulled himself away from his post, and made his way towards the boys. He glanced over at Gates' office. They looked pretty serious in there, and he was dying to know what was being said. Not fully paying attention to where he was going, he nearly collided with Ryan.

"Hey Castle." Ryan replied, bemused by his distracted friend.

"Sorry Ryan." Rick said, placing Kate's nearly spilled coffee down on her desk. She would have killed him had he dropped it. "Sorry I'm late guys. What'd I miss?"

"Actually, Bro, you're right on time." Espo replied. "Party's just getting started."

Castle was smiling like a kid at Christmas, not even trying to tamper down his excitement. "Excellent! This case is going to be awesome!" he grinned, before sensing something was off. They were too quiet. Ah, the teasing was probably about to begin. Well, bring it on boys, because he was ready for it, expecting to find himself adrift in a sea of non-believers. "Did Kate tell you guys about Jenkins yet?" he asked, calmly, attempting to take his enthusiasm down a notch.

Espo and Ryan exchanged glances. "As a matter of fact she did Castle." Esposito replied, raising an eyebrow. "You met him, what's your take on the guy?"

"Yah Castle," Ryan seconded, nonchalantly. "Tell us. What did you think of him?"

Both detectives patiently awaited his response, which was what gave them away. Castle eyed them both carefully, and guessed they were betting on him again. Too bad he was on to them. Let them laugh. They'd change their tune once they met Kris and witnessed the magic firsthand. Even Kate will come around eventually.

"Can you believe the guy thinks he's Santa Claus?" Castle snorted, rolling his eyes. What a nut-job." It was hard not to laugh over Esposito's immediate disappointment and Ryan's subsequent glee. Yup, they were betting on him. Esposito, disgusted, nodded and turned away, pretending to organize the files on his desk. It drove him crazy to lose to Ryan.

Ryan, on the other hand, smiled victoriously. It was to be short-lived. While Esposito's back was turned, Castle with eyes wide and glowing, shook his head, and silently mouthed "no" and "awesome" to Ryan before breaking out into a huge grin and wiggling his eyebrows. Ryan's face fell and his mouth hung open. Just as fast, Castle lost the grin before Esposito turned back around.

Satisfied he'd sufficiently messed with both of them, for now anyway, he changed his focus. "They don't look happy." Rick said, referring to the meeting still being held in Gates' office. "What do you think is going on in there?"

"Beckett was just going in when we got here, so we don't know much yet." Ryan muttered, confused. "But I can guess why Gates is pissed." he continued, happy to refocus on anything other than his fully-grown friend believing in Santa Claus. Castle couldn't be serious! "This case is high profile. The brass probably isn't happy the FBI's running the show; makes it look like we can't handle it, and then we're expected to play nicey-nice." Esposito and Castle both nodded. Rick could certainly see Ryan's point, although he personally had no qualms working with the Feds, as long as he didn't have to work with one of Kate's ex-boyfriends again, and besides, he liked Jordan.

"It's open and shut anyway." Ryan continued. "This has mob written all over it. We don't need the Feds, and their high tech equipment, to tell us that. You ask me, what's needed here is some good old-fashioned police work. We haul the Mangosas and their henchmen in for questioning, toss em' in lock up, and be done with it. Case closed, tied up all nice and neat. We got this."

"I don't know Ryan. I'm not so sure…" Espo said, hesitantly, and much to their surprise. "Look, while I agree with you about working with the Fed's, I'm not sold this as a mob hit yet. The bomb squad still hadn't finished their report before we left last night, but I talked to a guy I know on the crew and he told me he didn't think it looked like a sophisticated explosive was used. The Mangosa family's got dime. They did this; they'd be able to afford the expensive stuff."

"Interesting." Castle said, mulling it over. "All signs pointed to the Mangosas, but if it's not them, who else would have motive?"

"Who knows? It could still be them." Esposito offered. "Maybe they hired some idiots to plant it, and they botched it. Lanie's doing the autopsies now. Maybe she'll have something we can use." The doors to the Captain's office opened and Kate and Jordan made their way over to them, while Gates stayed in her office, shutting the door behind them.

"Hey." Castle said to Kate, handing over the coffee he'd brought her. "Hey Jordan."

"Hey Castle. Thanks." Kate replied, making sure to avoid touching his fingers as she accepted the drink and trying very hard to act as though she hadn't woken up wrapped around him earlier. She grasped the cup tightly, and then took a deep breath before beginning. As she spoke they could practically hear Gates through Kate's recitation. "The Federal Bureau of Investigations has jurisdiction on this case, and under Agent Shaw's direction the NYPD will cooperate to the fullest extent in every way possible, to bring this case to closure. Any questions?" None of them said a word. "Good. Agent Shaw…"

"Good morning gentlemen." Jordan said to the group. "Nice to see you all again." She checked her watch. "Glad you could make it. Now let's get down to business. If you'll step into my lair we'll review what we've got so far." She directed them over to the Workshop, and they dutifully followed. As they were walking Espo silently forked over a twenty to Ryan, who hesitated only a moment before pocketing the bill.

The team looked around the Workshop in wonder. The FBI had once again transformed their section of the floor into a mini-command central that would have made even J. Edgar Hoover himself proud. And although the detectives might not like reporting to the FBI, it was hard to ignore the amazing toys they too now had at their disposal.

Jordan nodded to Agent Happy who was seated at the computer, and he pushed a few buttons. A photo popped up on the transparent glass panel. Kate and Castle immediately recognized Henry Jenkins, aka Kris Kringle. Dressed in his Santa suit, complete with hat, Kris had been exiting his apartment building when the photo was snapped. He looked as though he'd popped off a greeting card.

"Henry Jenkins," Jordan stated. "Or as he prefers, Kris Kringle." She chose to ignore their snickers. "They're doing a psych evaluation on him as we speak. We took that photo a few weeks ago while he was under surveillance." Another photo appeared on the screen. "This is Timothy Jones.," she said, pointing to his picture. Timmy was dressed in his elf costume and smiling up at Kris. "He's who we've been tailing…for the most part." She said, turning to her agents, and giving them the evil eye. She nodded to the agent at the computer and he brought up another photo. "And this, well this would be the notorious Tommy Frost. Tommy's on the top of Santa's naughty list due to the company he's been keeping." She said, with a touch of sarcasm. "Notice anything?" she asked, catching their surprise, but waiting for the obvious answer.

"Um, they're nearly identical." Castle gasped. And they were. The resemblance was uncanny. At first glance, you couldn't tell Timothy and Tommy apart. Both had similar coloring and were dressed in matching elf outfits, but upon closer examination, you could make out their slightly different features.

"Very good, Mr. Castle," Jordan replied. "Nearly, being the key word here. We could have used you earlier." Jordan said, turning to her team members, who unable to meet her eyes, either lowered their heads or looked away. "Apparently, it's possible…" she said dragging out the last word loudly enough for her entire team to hear, "We've been tailing the wrong man on occasion. We didn't know Tommy Frost existed until Jenkins informed us about him last night. Mr. Jenkins is cooperating with authorities and identified Tommy this morning from surveillance pictures. Per Jenkins, he last saw Tommy at their apartment building, yesterday or the day before, but due to a head injury sustained in last night's blast Jenkins' memory's fuzzy at best. Frost might be the key to this entire investigation. Unfortunately, he's also an elf on the run. He has a history of gambling, so we're watching the tracks, and we've got a BOLO out on him now."

"Agent Shaw?" Kate asked, hesitantly. "Do you have any photos of these people not dressed in costumes?" The elf thing was sort of creeping her out and she found herself longing for a good old-fashioned murder without the cast of costumed characters.

Ryan and Espo eyed each other, amused by Beckett's unease, both mentally reserving the right to use her apparent aversion to elves to their advantage at a future date.

"Actually, they're kind of cute." Rick said, as he studied the elf pictures closely.

Ryan too moved in a bit to get a better look. Castle was right, they were kind of cute. "They're so little." Ryan said aloud, smiling up at Castle.

Espo suppressed the desire to smack both of them. "Dudes!" He said, causing them to jolt upright and remember where they were. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Yes, they're adorable." Jordan added, with a tone that told them she really didn't think so. "Now, if I may continue?" She asked, raising her brows indicating the need for seriousness.

Sensing they appeared properly chastised, she pointedly returned to Kate's question. "They were always dressed in their costumes, so no, not from when they were under surveillance Detective, but we did take a few shots of Jenkins this morning at the hospital sans suit. They worked together at Macy's, it's Christmastime…we assumed they were dressed for work. Let's move on to our main suspects, the Mangosas. We have re-verified that it was Tommy Frost, not Timothy Jones, who was connected to them prior to the explosion, but we've yet to determine how. Was it just his gambling problem or more that brought them together?"

Jordan hit a button herself and brought up some more pictures. These, however, were decidedly not as whimsy.

The Mangosa brothers were not adorable little elves, they would however, have made wonderful extras in any of the Godfather movies; unsmiling, scary, serious, and no doubt each a force to be reckoned with. These were intimidating men you would not want mad at you.

"Drago Mangosa," Jordan started, "The eldest of the remaining brothers and next in line to inherit the throne since Carlos' demise. He's a nasty, nasty man. Convicted on felony charges for racketeering about ten years ago, he's been out for the last two years thanks to a bevy of lawyers. Prior to that incident he was suspected of killing a patron in a bar fight, but got off on a technicality. He and Carlos were close, but he's always been in the shadow of his older brother. I predict he's going to be out to make a name for himself now that Carlos is gone. Drago's not as smooth as Carlos was, and far less bright. He'll screw up sooner or later, and we'll be there when he does."

She pointed to the other photo on the screen. "This, is Edmondo Mangosa, the youngest brother. We believe he manages the financial end of the family business. He's kept his hands clean by staying in the background. He's smart, graduated with honors, has a Masters in Business; not the type that likes to get his hands dirty. He'll be a little tougher to nail, however, if he does have one weakness it's that he idolized his big brother Carlos. Hopefully, we can find a way to use that to our advantage."

"You've have eyes on both of them, I assume?" Kate asked.

"Eyes, ears, and then some Detective." Jordan replied cryptically. "They're no Boy Scouts; they've been on our watch list for some time for drugs, gambling, and extortion, to name a few, but we ramped up our investigation after Carlos turned up dead. With management changing hands it could be easier to shut down their existing operation."

More photos popped up. "Beware of these two gems as well." Jordan told them. "Meet Vincent (Vinny) Costa and Bernardino (aka BB), Balboa. They used to run with Carlos, but word on the street is they're now on Drago's payroll. Vinny was Carlos' enforcer." Vinny looked like he would rip your head off if you asked him for the time. Big, burly, and in a seemingly bad mood when the photo was taken, he was 6' 5 and weighed in at around 300 lbs.

"His sidekick," she said pointing to the other photo. "Is Bernardino (BB) Balboa. Please note the wild, crazy eyes. They don't lie. He's a loose cannon, and his rap sheet reads like a Tarantino script. It's rumored he once shot a man because he'd told a bad joke. Fortunately for us, these charmers get caught…a lot. They've been in and out of jail, but always go back to the family. Use extreme caution; they are both considered to be armed and dangerous.

More pictures popped up, this time before and after pictures of the blast victims, including Timmy. It was standard procedure to look into each victim's background to see if there were any connections.

"We've interviewed the injured and the families of all the fatalities, except for Timothy's, and found nothing connecting them to the crime. It appears they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." Jordan told them.

"Why not Timmy's family?" Kate asked.

"That's a good question, Detective." Jordan replied. "The answer, however, is a bit more puzzling. We're still trying to locate Timothy's family. I assure you, we're working on it." She said, slightly mumbling that last part.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Castle asked, perking up immensely. God, he loved this case!

She sighed. Castle could be a real pain in the ass when he wanted. "What I'm saying, Mr. Castle, is that, at the moment, other than Jenkins identifying him from a photo, we are unable to verify Timothy Jones in the system, therefore, we do not yet know who or where his family is." She needed to get this over with so they could move on. "For the record, we're having the same issue with both Henry Jenkins and Tommy Frost. In fact, it's like the three of them…don't exist...on paper, of course."

Confused glances were shared by the detectives as they silently pondered how such a thing was even possible. Surely, the Feds and their high-tech data matrix, should have been able to come up with something on one of the three men in question. Castle, on the other hand, smiled and looking positively smug, stole a glance at Kate. "You can't find Henry Jenkins in your system." Castle stated, with a mega-watt smile. Completely ignoring Kate's warning glare he pointed to Jordan.

"So…let me get this straight..." He started. God, both Kate and Jordan hated when he gloated. Jordan rubbed at the back of her neck, and the boys held their breath. Kate debated going home for the rest of the day and starting over again tomorrow. This briefing was doing nothing to suppress Castle's wild imagination, and they all waited for his crazy theories to begin. "What you're essentially saying…" He drew out, adopting a pondering pose, and clasping his chin as if deep in thought, "Is you can neither confirm, nor deny, Henry Jenkins is, or is not, Santa Claus. Am I right? Or am I right?" Agent Happy's head popped up at that, and he turned pointedly to his boss who rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. "Fascinating, absolutely, fascinating." Castle muttered. The room grew silent, but for the sounds of Ryan pulling out the twenty he'd received earlier which he then handed over to his grinning partner, who in turn snapped it loudly before stuffing it in his pocket. Kate shot them a dirty look telling them with her eyes to knock it off.

"Really?" Jordan challenged. "Are we really going there, Mr. Castle? Rest-assured, we will continue our search on their backgrounds, and eventually will find something. Nobody evades the FBI for very long, including those masquerading as fictional characters. Now, if I may continue…" The detectives nodded, relieved to change the subject before Castle got himself kicked off the case. Castle waved his hand, as though politely allowing her to proceed. He would laughingly point out to Kate later how he'd made Jordan's ears turn red here. Once Kate was talking to him again that was.

"Preliminary findings suggest the bomb used appears to have been home-made, which is not what we expected to find." Jordan continued. Esposito shot Ryan a look at that screamed See, I told you. "Our analysts are still working on the full report, and we should have something more conclusive shortly, meanwhile, the victims are being autopsied by your medical examiner, Dr. Parish and her team."

Jordan turned to Kate. "Until these findings are in, I suggest Detectives Esposito and Ryan follow up at the hospital with Dr. Sawyer, the head of Psychology, for an update on Jenkins' psych exam results, and then check in on Jenkins, while we head over to Macys. I, for one, am interested to know what the personnel department has on file for their quirky little employees. The rest of my team will continue to watch the Mangosas, hunt for Tommy Frost, and complete the background searches. We can all meet back here later." Kate nodded, agreeing with Jordan's plan, which the boys then acknowledged in turn.

With the briefing ended, the detectives headed back to their desks to sort out the paperwork they'd been handed from Agent Happy and to retrieve their coats and keys before leaving on assignment. Lagging slightly behind Beckett and Esposito, Ryan tugged at Castle's sleeve and pulled him discretely aside. He made sure no one was in earshot. "Castle, you have to knock this shit off dude." He whispered. "Shaw's going to kick your ass off this case."

"What do you mean?" Castle asked, feigning innocence.

"You know exactly what I mean." Ryan replied, determined to keep Castle out of trouble. "Knock it off." He whispered.

"Still not following..." Castle replied.

"Seriously, Castle. This stuff about Jenkins being Santa Claus. You have to stop or Agent Shaw's going to toss your ass outta here. Stop clowning around."

Rick had come to his first crossroads. It was time to tell Ryan he was absolutely serious about his belief in Kris, and damn the consequences. He wasn't overly concerned. How hard could it be? Ryan, out of everyone, had the most open mind. Surely, he'd be the easiest to convince. He looked him in the eyes. "Kevin. I'm not fooling around here. I am serious. Wait until you meet him, then you'll see for yourself. This guy IS Santa Claus. I'm sure of it."

Ryan stared at him in disbelief. Exasperated, he pulled Castle around the corner and verified the others were still out of earshot. "Castle, get a grip. There is NO such thing as Santa Claus. It might, however, be the perfect time for you to take a day off…to relax, I mean, and possibly see a doctor."

Okay, so it might be harder to convince Ryan than he'd originally thought, but Rick knew how important it was to have him on his side if he was going to convince the others. He tried again. "I know it sounds crazy Kevin, believe me, I was skeptical too. At first, I thought he was just a nice old man with whiskers, but then something unexpected happened, something magical. Last night, when I shook his hand, and he looked into my eyes...he remembered me, Kevin." Rick said, the awe evident in his voice.

Ryan felt a headache coming on. He loved Castle like a brother, he really did, but sometimes even he became exhausted by all of the guy's crazy theories."Of course he remembered you Castle. Your face appears on millions of dust jackets. Be real."

"No. Trust me, that's not how he knows me. He remembered me from when I was a child." Ryan's brows knitted together, and his mouth opened like he was about to argue the point. Castle was losing him. "But wait! There's more!" Castle said, effectively cutting him off. Ryan took a deep breath and tried to be patient. "I remembered him too, but not fully, until I woke up this morning. I've been having flashbacks; memories probably embedded deep in my subconscious all these years. I caught him once when I was very young. I couldn't have been more than six. I guess I was so excited about Christmas I couldn't sleep and woke up in the middle of the night. Mother was asleep. I crept out to the living room to see if he'd come…and there he was, standing next to our tree.

"Hello young man," Kris said quietly, when he caught me watching him. "You should be in bed." He gently admonished, but with a twinkle present in his eyes, so I could tell he really wasn't mad at all. "Are you really Santa Claus?" I asked him. "Of course I am." He replied. "Who else would be dressed up in a suit like mine on Christmas Eve?" This seemed to make perfect sense, so I introduced myself. "I'm Ricky Castle." I told him, extending my hand. "Oh, yes, son. I know who you are. That's why I'm here." He said, chuckling and taking my hand in his. "You made the good list." I was happy to hear this, since I had broken one of mother's vases the day before, but some things still didn't add up. "How did you get in here?" I asked. "I saw Mother lock all the doors earlier." He let out a chuckle at that, apparently I amused him. "My, my, what a curious young man you are, Ricky." He laughed. "Well, I don't like to brag and I don't normally do this, but if you promise to keep it a secret, I'll tell you." He smiled, and then leaned down conspiratorially. "Why it's magic, son, magic." He whispered in my ear. "Magic?" I repeated. He seemed like a really nice guy, but I still didn't believe him. "I've seen magic tricks Santa." I told him. "But Mother said they weren't real. She said sometimes grown-ups can play tricks on you." He paused and scratched his chin. "Oh, I see. Well, I venture to say, your mother is one smart cookie, and she's raising a very bright little boy, but mark my words young man, magic is possible, if you believe. Someday… someday you will witness extraordinary things, wonderful things you simply can't explain, but they will bring so much joy, you will choose to stop questioning how they happened, and instead enjoy the fact that they did indeed happen." He seemed so sure he was right. "Well, I really must be going. Busy, busy, you know." He shook my hand one more time. "It was a pleasure meeting you." He said, picking up his sac and hauling it over his shoulder. Then he smiled at me. "Remember what I said son…you must believe." I nodded back and then turned around for just a second to get the tray of cookies we'd left out for him, but when I'd turned back around to offer him one, "poof" he was gone. He had vanished into thin air...

Ryan was at a loss for words. Castle had finally gone off the deep end, and although the trip into Richard Castle's psychosis was amusing, he could only, in good conscience, humor him for about another minute. "So then what happened?"

"Nothing. That was it. The next thing I knew, Mother was waking me up on Christmas morning. I'd fallen asleep on the couch. Oh, and that was the year I got my first toy typewriter. That thing was great. The label on it said it came from Sears, but Mother insisted it was from Santa."

Ryan was staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. This was much harder than he'd thought it would be. "I can't explain it better than that right now Kevin, but you have to believe me. Once you meet Kris you'll understand. There's this overwhelming, indescribable feeling. This man, the man the others will call Jenkins, but not you or I, he IS Santa Claus. Have I ever misled you before?" Castle realized, albeit too late, this was probably not his best defense.

"Um, Castle?" Ryan said. "I hate to break it to you, but how good is your memory on the following...the killer's a zombie, ice bullets, time traveling killer, evil twins... any of these ringing a bell? Dude, you've had more crazy theories than the X-Files."

"Okay, well, if you want to get nitpicky. There may have been a hole in one or two of my theories in the past, however, who's to say they won't be true…someday, but that's neither here nor there." He put a hand on each of Ryan's shoulders and leaned in. He looked him intently in the eyes. "Kevin. Listen to me. This time…this time I'm right, and you have to trust me. I'm not crazy."

"Castle? Are you coming or what?" Kate called from across the room, causing Rick and Kevin both to jump. She and Jordan were headed into the elevator.

"Yes! Be right there." He replied, before turning back to Kevin again. "I've got to go. All I ask is that you keep an open mind." Kevin looked skeptical, but decided to humor him.

"Okay. I'll keep an open mind." Ryan finally agreed. He watched as Castle grabbed his coat and bolted to catch up to Kate and Jordan. Kate was impatiently holding the door open for him. Once inside, Castle smiled at him and gave him two thumbs up before the doors shut.

"So, ladies..." Castle said, turning to them and gleefully rubbing his hands together. "Who wants to go shopping for clues?"

"What was that all about?" Esposito asked, sneaking up quietly alongside of Ryan. Now they were both staring straight ahead at the closed elevator doors.

"Nothing." Kevin replied, shaking his head, which was still spinning from his conversation with Castle. There was no way in hell he was getting into it again with Esposito. He sought solace in the fact that he'd only lost thirty bucks on his nutty friend earlier, when really, it could have been much worse, and tried to ignore the nagging little voices in his head reminding him of the times a few of Castle's crazy theories had been either not too far-fetched or spot on accurate.

"Yo. Come on dude, let's get going." Espo said, snapping his partner out of his reverie. Ryan looked upset, but obviously wasn't ready to talk about it. Espo knew he'd find out eventually what Ryan and Castle were holed up about, but until then they had an assignment to carry out. "Don't want to keep Kris Kringle waiting." He chuckled, noting his words did nothing to soothe Ryan's unease.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading and for your patience on the update! I hope you liked it. I realize it took awhile to post this chapter, but that's because I stopped to plot out the entire story through to the end, which I'd never tried doing before. It sure is harder than you'd think! This will be a long one and my first real case, so any feedback, good or bad would be appreciated. The next chapter is already in the works, but your reviews keep me moving! Karen