a/n: i just had write a 'tis the damn season (caskett's version) fic, i really did

Why was she even going? There were plenty of reasons she left and never came back, so why would she go back now? She didn't know, but as she crossed state lines and drove north, she decided it was too late to turn back now.

She blasts the car stereo as the winter sun quickly disappears below the horizon, muscle memory steering the wheel as she starts to zone out. It's not until her phone rings that she realizes that she hadn't been paying attention to the road. She snaps back to reality and fumbles to answer the call.

"Dad? Hey, I'm driving," she says.

"Hi Katie. I was just checking on you to make sure..."

"Make sure I was actually coming?" Kate cuts in sarcastically.

"No, no," Jim argues. "Just wanted to make sure you got out of the city okay."

"Right," Kate chuckles. "I did. Got a rental car and left straight from the airport. I'm crossing into Vermont in probably fifteen minutes."

"Oh, great, so you'll be here for dinner, then," Jim cheers.

"I suppose so, yes."

"Wanna pick up some burgers for us on your way in? From Remy's?" Jim asks.

Kate sighs dramatically.

"You remember burgers, don't ya Katie? I know you probably haven't had one since you've been out in California," Jim jokes.

"They have burgers in California, dad," Kate says with annoyance.

"I'm just joking with you, Katie," Jim laughs. "Relax a little."

"I'll see you in an hour," Kate says before hanging up. She tosses her phone onto the passenger seat and takes a deep breath.

She did need to relax. She hadn't relaxed in a long time. In fact, this was the first vacation she's taken since she moved to Los Angeles, the first Christmas she wasn't spending at work, finishing case notes to impress the higher ups at the firm. She honestly didn't remember what it felt like to relax. That's why she was doing this. That's why she was going back. She needed to take time to relax.

Kate exited the interstate, the same exit she'd taken a million times, drove past the same farms that had been there long before she was born, made the same turns down the same roads, before she arrived at Remy's diner. Remy's was a classic slice of small town America, a bustling destination for locals and tourists alike. It also happens have the best burgers Kate's ever tasted.

"To-go order for Kate!" The teenage worker at the pickup counter announces over the loud speaker.

Kate promised herself that she would disconnect this weekend, but checking her work emails just this once wouldn't hurt. Before she knows it, she's so engrossed in litigation drama she barely clocks that her food is ready.

"Order for Kate!" The worker calls again. This time she notices. She walks through the crowd with her phone in her nose as she finishes typing. She thanks the worker and grabs her bag before turning back to her screen to send the email. Just as she hits the paper airplane, something hits her. Like actually hits her. And it wasn't so much something as it was someone.

"Hey, watch-" she catches herself before noticing the man she collided with was carrying a bowl of chili and she was now wearing it.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry," says the man, in a voice that's a bit too familiar. "Although, you were the one who walked into me."

She looks up from the mess on her coat and meets the man's eyes. His deep, beautiful blue eyes.

"Kate," the man says as soon as she looks up. "What are you...what are you doing here?"

"I'm spending Christmas with my dad," Kate replies with her arms folded across her chest. "What about you? Here with your mom?"

"Well, you know how mother loves a holiday party," the man smiles. "She's right over there, actually." He turns and points to a table in the corner.

Kate immediately recognizes Martha with her flaming red hair and posh fashion sense. In the booth next to the older woman was a little girl, not more than five, with the same red hair and undeniable blue eyes.

"Who's that with her?" Kate asks even though she already knows the answer.

"That's Alexis," the man says with a beaming grin. "My daughter."

Kate tries not to let her inner disappointment show on her face. "Right, of course," she smiles. "Well, um, it was really nice to run into you."

"Literally."

"Right," Kate laughs. "But I should probably go." She starts walking away, but the man stops her.

"Hold on," he says. "Don't you think we should do something about that chili? I've got some wipes and stain remover in my car."

Kate smiles and follows him out to the lot. "You still have your old truck," she says when she sees the pick up that's probably just as old as they were.

"It stays up here," the man says. "This thing has no business driving around in New York rush hour."

"I suppose not," Kate laughs. The man opens the back door and pulls out a pack of wipes and a stain remover pen, which Kate realizes are probably a futile attempt at saving her coat. Still, when he hands her the pen, she can't help but smile at his kindness.

"So, what's it been? Ten years?"

"Yeah, wow," Kate says.

"Time flies, huh?"

Or crawls at a torturous pace, Kate thought before she smiles and nods.

"Well, we'll have to catch up sometime while you're in town," the man says.

"You and I both know that's not a good idea, Rick Rodgers," Kate says with a raised brow.

"No?" Rick asks. "Come on, Kate, didn't we used to have fun?"

"Used to do a lot of things," Kate retorts as she takes a few steps toward her car. "But thank you for the wipes, and for ruining my coat."

"Ah, Kate! Where's your holiday spirit? It's Christmas, tis the season for reconnecting, remembering old times," Rick calls back to her.

"I think that's with friends and family," Kate says.

"Or old flames," Rick responds.

"Bye, Rick," Kate waves as she gets in her car and shuts the door. She watches Rick walk back inside Remy's and rejoin his family in her rearview mirror. She starts the car and makes her way down Main Street toward the family cabin. The street is cloaked in twinkling lights and the shoveled sidewalks are full of people bundled in winter clothes doing their last minute shopping. It was practically a scene from a Hallmark Christmas movie that would make Kate sick.

She drives down the gravel path to the cabin and sees her dad waiting for her on the porch with a beer in his hand. "Tis the damn season," she whispers as she puts her car in park and braces for the weekend.