See the Joy - Chapter 7

Christmas now surrounds us, happiness is everywhere. Our hands are busy with many tasks as carols fill the air. - Shirley Sallay

A lazy day is exactly what they've needed.

Their Saturday had been crazy, punctuated by a Christmas parade at Lily's school (cheesy, but also adorable), shopping as a family for Alexis, Martha, and Jim, and a tour of the neighborhood to see the Christmas decorations. They had returned home well after dark and flopped on the couch to watch movies until the kids fell asleep. (She and Rick had followed them to sleep not long after, embarrassingly enough.)

Today, though, they've had nothing to do all day and have taken complete advantage of that fact. With Eva in the sling on her chest, Kate had made brunch for everyone, and they had eaten in the living room before curling up and watching Christmas movies. They've been here ever since.

At least some of them have. Castle is nowhere to be found at the moment. He'd taken Eva to put her down for a nap in the office and hasn't returned since.

Kate exhales when yet another movie ends, brushing her fingers over Jake's forehead and giving his head a delicate kiss.

"Hey guys, let me up for a second. Mommy has to stretch her legs."

And pee, but she doesn't need to announce that to the kids.

They groan but nod, squirming to the side so she can slide out from underneath them and off the couch. Kate tickles Reece's neck on her way toward her bedroom, grinning when he squirms.

Once she takes care of business and walks around a bit to get feeling back in her legs, she finds Castle at his desk with his brow furrowed.

"What's going on?" she asks gently, moving to his side. It's a good sign that he doesn't reach to change the page on his computer when her hip bumps his shoulder, and she slips her arm around him.

"It's going to rain tonight."

Kate nods slowly, wondering why that would cause this level of pensiveness from her husband. Then again, he has been dealing with a lot since his mother had announced at Thanksgiving that she's been in treatment since late August for an illness they'd had no idea about. (Martha had sworn she'd only not told them because they were still adjusting to Eva's early arrival, but Rick has been overcompensating in small ways ever since they found out.)

He sighs, dropping his head to her side. "I booked a sleigh ride for all of us through the park. It's just one of the horse-drawn carriages, but they made the carriage look like a sleigh. But it's going to be disgusting tonight, and the last thing we need is to take the kids out in the rain and get sick."

Stroking the back of his neck, she hums quietly. "That sounds like fun."

"I thought so, too," he sighs again.

"Can you reschedule it?" she knows she's probably pointing out things he's already thought of; he's Rick Castle, he probably not only rescheduled it, but managed to sweet talk the owner into throwing in hot cocoa for free.

"I already did, I just… wanted to do it tonight. Before Christmas is so close and everything is insanely busy."

Kate kisses his hair. "I know, babe. But we can make it work. When did you get it rescheduled for?"

"Next weekend; Sunday like tonight, so we won't have to worry about the precinct party on Saturday and getting there late."

"That's not bad," she hums. "You know the final week before break at their schools is pretty relaxed; even if they're a little tired on Monday, it'll be fine."

He nods at the logic.

She thumbs his ear. "Rick, you don't have to go crazy for them; they're happy with exactly what we're doing today – watching movies and eating too much sugar."

"It's Eva's first Christmas, though. I don't want her to find out that we did less for her than we did for Jake or Reece, or even Lily. You remember how much we did the year Lily was born?"

"Uh huh, but she doesn't. Neither do the boys. And neither will Eva."

"We will."

She squeezes him. "We're doing enough, Castle. She's happy, she's healthy, she's mesmerized by the décor; there's nothing else we need to worry about. Everything else is a photo-op for a cheesy Christmas card, and that's never been us."

His hand lifts to rest on her hip. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Kate tweaks his ear. "Of course I am. Now come on. Come back and finish the movie with us; I promised them Polar Express next, and they're expecting your spicy hot chocolate to go along with it."

Her husband smiles finally. He bumps his head against her side and pushes back from the desk. Her arm drops from around his shoulders but lands on his waist, pulling him close enough to draw him down to her for a quick kiss.

"They're happy little goofballs, Rick; don't put so much pressure on yourself to make everything amazing and magical every single day."

His forehead lands on hers and he nods.

"Your normal days are pretty great, you know," she adds, pecking his mouth once more.

"Thanks, Kate," he breathes, lifting his palms and cupping her cheeks, drawing her closer. "I know I'm going overboard, but-"

"When are you not?" she teases, bumping another kiss to his lips. "But there's something so damn charming about your lack of moderation."

Castle laughs. "Always happy to help my case instead of hurt it."

Kate rubs his hips once before stepping back. "You have exactly three minutes to get out there, Rick Castle," she warns. "After that, I'm sending in the monsters."

"I love you, too, Kate. And I'm on my way, but first I gotta grab something." Off her look, he continues, "I bought everybody fuzzy socks for the occasion tonight. But I'll give them to you now, and then get you guys something else next week." He grins, darting into their bedroom and leaving her to join their children in the other room.

Thank you for reading! I meant to have an update yesterday, but I was at a work event all day and I was just so completely wiped out when I got home, writing didn't happen at all. I hope you liked this chapter, though. Until next time.

Prompt: Sleigh Ride and Fuzzy Socks