He should have known better, but he let his heart rule out his brain as usual. He would do anything to give his career a boost upward, even help out his ex-wife, but this was ridiculous.

Flashback to 10 days ago…

He sits in the conference room at Black Pawns headquarters at Park Avenue and East 61st Street. His second ex-wife called him, rambling frantically about something he could not understand. The only information he gathered was that she needed to see him as soon as possible. He moved things around in his schedule for later this afternoon, and now he sits here.

The door swings open, and Gina rushes in. Being all business, she gets right down to what she needs.

"Richard, I need to ask you a favor, and I'm asking you to do this for me out of the goodness of your heart. You are the most generous man I know, and I know that your current contract has expired, but I need you to help me out. Look, I'm on the hook here for promising something I had no right to, and I know that it's very close to the holidays, but this is a crucial three-city tour. Black Pawn has invested a lot of time and money in many advertisers, vendors, and retailers to let this slip by, not to mention the fans." Gina pleaded maybe she could appeal to his good nature.

"Gina, when is this three-city tour you need me for?" Rick asked.

She doesn't know if she should blurt it out all at once or mumble something to him under her breath, but either way, she knows that he will turn her down.

"The tour starts in Miami, goes north to Jacksonville, and ends in Orlando." She tells him very quickly and almost unintelligibly.

"Dates, Gina, I need the dates the tour is going to take place," Rick asks, hating that she is stalling.

"December. Miami on the 21st, Jacksonville on the 22nd, and you'll finish in Orlando on the 24th." She gets out, hoping for the best.

Rick sits there, working out everything in his head before speaking. He knows that he and Kate have plans for the kids, which puts a roadblock in the way of those plans. But he knows that saying anything would get him into serious trouble with his wife, so he tells Gina,

"I have plans for the holidays. Gina, Kate, and I were taking the children to see Santa and other holiday events to show them the magic of Christmas. I can't promise you anything because I need to run this by Kate first. I will be in touch, Gina. I'll give you a call soon." Rick gets up from the chair, noticing that Gina is still sitting there looking apprehensive. He won't be drawn in by helping her out on a whim.

Reese and Jake were both in the playroom when she heard it. At first, it sounded like they had always sounded when they were trying to play with a toy that one had and the other had wanted. But when the arguing became louder, she should see what was wrong.

"Jakey, Santa is make believe! He don't exist." Kate hears Reese tell his brother as she walks into the playroom.

"No, he ain't, Santa's real!" Jake replies.

Just before another round of arguments started between her twins, Kate entered the room.

"All right, you two, you both need to calm down. Reese, what makes you think that Santa isn't real?" Kate asks her son.

"He's not Mommy! I heard two of my friends telling me that their mommy and daddy were talkin bout how Santa couldn't get everywhere on the planet in one night." He explained.

Jake leaned into his mother as she knelt before her two boys. She wrapped both of them in her arms and said,

"Well, if you believe that, Reese, then Santa won't stop and drop off any gifts for us."

"But mommy, we don't haf a chimmney for Santa to come down," Reese said to prove his point.

"You know, Santa doesn't need a traditional chimney to come down. He just makes his own if he finds a house without one."

Both Jake and Reese say at the same time,

"He does?"

"He does. And as for getting across the whole world in one night, you know that his reindeer eat magic feed that enables them to fly at supersonic speed, right?"

Kate sits there and watches the awe on her children's faces, who have now decided to sit cross-legged in front of her. It wasn't until she heard something behind her that she turned around and saw Lily standing there, listening with rapt attention to her every word.

"Mommy, do you think Santa got the letter I sent him this year?" Lily asks.

"I can guarantee it, Little Flower," Kate assures.

"Mommy, can we go to da mall and talk width Santa? I want to tell him what I want for Chrissmass." Reese asks.

"I'm sure that can be arranged. But for now, we have to wait until your dad gets home." Kate supplies.

When Rick gets to the lobby, he decides that taking a car service would require more time to think about what he needs to decide by the time he gets home. Black Pawn is located on the corner of Park Avenue and East 61st Street, so he decided to walk. Bundled up his jacket and started on the walk that would take him about an hour and twenty minutes. On the way, he had weighed both good and bad outcomes. He was done helping his ex-wife and could simply decline her offer. But if he does take it, he will be stuck in Florida until Christmas Eve. He doesn't think that Kate would be that disappointed knowing that this is his job, but he doesn't want to make her job any harder than it should be. He was blessed when they had Lily, and he is even more happy to be the father of twins. If there were anything he would want most this year, it would be to give Kate the break she desperately needs. He does his part in taking care of the kids, but he can see some days that when she comes home, she just wants to sit and vegetate on the couch without having to hear every little thing that their children tell her. That's not to say that she doesn't want to be a part of her children's lives, but there are times when that can be just a little extreme.

She would never admit it, but he's sure she would appreciate just one day to pamper herself. If that means sleeping in late while he takes the children out for brunch, then so be it. But either way, you will have to tell her what Gina wants to do. He made the mistake once of accepting a book tour for two weeks without talking to her about it first when he was still under his old contract, and even though he could tell that Kate didn't want him to go, she still supported him. It's time that he pays her back.

His hands are buried deep in his pockets, trying to keep them warm as he passes the Fotografiska Museum on the corner of Park Avenue South and East 22nd Street. He's never been there, but he thinks it might be a place to bring Kate one lazy Saturday. During his walk, he decided only to do something concerning Gina's request once he spoke with Kate. He was never one who was good at hiding how he felt and he knows that this time will be no different. She'll know something's happening before he hangs his coat in the closet. And that memory brings a smile to his face.

They played hide and seek one Sunday and couldn't find Jake anywhere. After searching the loft, Kate opened the closet door to get her coat and found him fast asleep on the floor. He must have fallen asleep waiting to be found.

As he passes in front of the Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery, he thinks bringing home some pastries for tomorrow morning's breakfast would be an excellent treat. He orders assorted ones and walks out with his purchases. He's only about eight blocks from the loft, and as he climbs the stairs, he lets the worries of the day leave him as he takes the elevator up to the 4th floor.

He slides his key into the lock and opens the door. Before he can even put down the box of pastries, two sets of arms are wrapping themselves around his thighs.

"DADDY!" Jake and Reese shout at the same time.

When he kneels to give them each their own hug, Kate and Lily are walking through the great room. The second they make eye contact, Kate can tell something's up.

A/N: In all the years I have been writing for Castle on fanfiction, I have never written A Christmas Story. This idea was given to me by a very dear friend of mine who made it clear that this story should be written following my wife's recent experiences regarding a canceled flight when she went down to visit our grandchildren in Florida. So this will likely be a multi-chapter, and I might not have it done by Christmas, but as they say, Tis the season.

Tom
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