"Kate?"
She looks up when he taps on her office door but quickly looks back to her computer screen. "Give me like five minutes, okay?"
"Okay. but, Kate? Four hours." His instant reply only forces her to type faster. They only had four hours to shop before needing to pick up their kids from friend's houses and their various activities.
"I'm almost done, babe."
He leaves her and steps further into the bullpen, watching the hustle and bustle of the Homicide division at work. He wasn't as regular of a presence anymore, and his usual chair had been removed from his spot next to Beckett's desk.
Well, it wasn't her desk anymore, now was it?
A lot of change had happened in the last few years. Beckett had become Captain of the 12th, Gate had accepted a position over at 1PP. Ryan and Esposito were both promoted to sergeant and LT, their adored uniformed officer, after much prodding from all of them, passed his Detective exam and took over Beckett's old desk.
"Hey, Castle! You picking up Beckett?" Ryan asks, crossing the room to him.
"Yeah, we're doing a thing tonight."
"Oh yeah. Angel Tree shopping, right? Beckett was telling us about that the other day."
It was their way to give back. To use some of his hard-earned wealth to help families have the magical and special Christmases they got to have.
"Yeah. We try to do it every year, but you know how it is. Some things just get left out this time of year," Castle says with a shrug.
"I know," Ryan replies, with an air of knowledge in his voice.
"Hey, this your current case? Mind if I look?"
"Yeah, sure," Ryan leads them over to the murder board.
Still in the same place it always is, still covered in photos and notes and evidence samples. It's one of the constants in a place that regularly changes.
"Oh gross!" Castle exclaims, seeing the gruesome crime scene and autopsy photos.
"Yeah, he was found in a vat of motor oil."
"Again?" Castle remarks, reminded of a similar body dump from years and years ago.
"Criminals love the classics, what can I say," Ryan shrugs.
He launches into more details on the case when a loud snap has them turning their heads.
"Come on, Castle. Let's go!"
Beckett's announcement divides his attention and his friends watch him look between his wife and the enticing case.
"Beckett, this case looks so cool!"
"Ugh, Castle! We have to go. You can come back tomorrow. Four hours, remember? Come on." She hoists her messenger bag further on her shoulder and starts for the elevator, knowing he'll follow.
"I'll be back tomorrow," Rick says to Ryan, already excited to help out.
"See you then," Ryan chuckles, turning for his phone when it chimes.
[][]
The department store is buzzing with noise and activity and they have to skirt past a long line of disgruntled customers to find the Angel Tree. Decorated with simple white lights and handwritten tags of gift requests, the green tree looks almost out of place in the large warehouse.
They each take three, six in all, one for each of their kids, of varying ages and genders. After grabbing carts and taking off their heavy winter coats, they set off in search of the perfect presents.
"Okay, so this girl wants a make-up kit and new sneakers," Kate says, reading off one of the tags. "Ah, here we go." she drops an all-in-one kit into the cart and reaches for a set of better brushes. "I'm adding these because the ones that come with those kits are always shit," she explains.
"I get it. You need the good stuff," Castle agrees, going further down the aisle to find the requested perfume for one of his kids. "Here, I grabbed some for your other girl. It's not exactly the one she wanted, but I think it will work.
Kate pops the top and smells the spray, nodding her head in satisfaction. "Yeah, that will be good."
They weave through the other personal care aisles, adding more items for their kids before turning to the fun stuff: the toys.
"Okay, I got these Legos for my boys," Rick says with a smile. "This one for the little guy and then this one for the teenager. It's one I would have wanted, so I guessed he would too." The larger set is a model sports car and the smaller one features jungle animals.
"Those are perfect! What about these for my older girl?" Kate holds up two Lego sets of her own. "Se wasn't specific on what she wanted, but I think this will work."
"I agree. When did they come out with a new treehouse? That is so cool!" Castle says, admiring one of the sets.
"Babe, we're shopping for these kids, not you, remember?"
"I know that! But it doesn't mean I can't look."
They pick out a few crafting kits for one of Castle's girls and a new bike for Kate's little boy.
"Now all we need is clothes," Kate says, pausing at the boy's section and checking off her lists.
"Clothes? Boring," Castle rolls his eyes. "Oh! Dinosaurs!" He announces, distracted. "Kate! How cool is this? They would love this!"
"Alright, put it in," she resigns, watching him toss three matching shirts into the cart.
They make quick work of the clothes and with a little help from their teenage daughter to find the right outfit, finish everything on the lists and head for the front.
"Hi!" Kate says, approaching the tired clerk behind the desk. "We have some Angel tree gifts to drop off?"
"Oh, yeah. Let me go grab some bags for you guys."
Together, the three of them sort the six piles of gifts into large plastic bags, tag them appropriately, and seal them up to be collected later.
"Thank you so much. Merry Christmas!" Kate smiles as she turns away. "Oh, that was nice."
"Yeah, it was," Castle agrees, taking her hand.
