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Story: "Firsts"
Rating: K+
Words: 1,266
At this moment, Kate Beckett should be drinking eggnog
and/or hot chocolate and/or wassail, stuffing herself silly with cookies, and
opening presents with her boyfriend and his family.
Instead, she was sitting at her desk at work combing through
phone records. For the third time. On Christmas Eve. She sighed and ran a hand
through her hair, scraping it back from her face. It didn’t make any sense; there
should be something weird in here. At least three of their victim’s co-workers
had mentioned that for the last few weeks she’d been taking calls that would
cause her to run off and talk in private. But all of the numbers were ones that
she’d received calls from for months. So now they had to run down her entire
incoming call list and bring those people in for questioning. Why couldn’t this
one be easy? Why couldn’t it just be the boyfriend? (Who had already alibied
out.) Even better, why couldn’t people just not murder each other for one
freaking day?
It was supposed to be her first Christmas Eve with Castle.
Well, technically it still was since she’d yet to convince
him to leave. She tried to coax him out of the precinct to spend time with his
daughter and mother. He countered that he’d spent every previous Christmas Eve
with them but this was the first that he’d get to spend with her all the while surreptitiously
taking her hand and fixing soft, loving eyes on her. Any retort she had been
forming stuttered and died in her throat. In all honestly, she didn’t want him
to leave but it didn’t seem right that they should both be stuck staring at a
murder board all night.
Though she’d be lying if she said she felt bad that he
stayed.
Speaking of, where was Castle anyway? He had gone to get
them more coffee but should have been back by now. She needed to walk away from
these phone records for a little while and finding her partner seemed as good of
an excuse as any. Kate stood and was harshly reminded by the sharp stab between
her shoulder blades that she’d been hunched over her desk too long. She raised
her arms over her head in a stretch, turning toward the break room but didn’t
find Castle behind the espresso machine. It wouldn’t have been a surprise to
find him taking a nap on the couch but when she walked to the doorway, she
found the room empty.
As she turned to head back to her desk, he came around the
corner from the back hallway. She shot him a confused look and he only grinned
in response as he crossed the distance between them.
“I thought you were getting coffee,” she said as he
approached.
“I did, c’mon,” he held out a hand for her but she planted
her feet and regarded him skeptically.
“What are you up to?”
“You’ve been through those phone records how many times?
Three? Four? Have you even looked outside?”
She started to turn but he snagged her by the elbow and drew
her attention back to him. “No, don’t ruin it!”
“Ruin what?”
He took another step into her, the hand on her elbow
softening. “Come with me and I’ll show you.” His voice was low, meant only for
her and laced with affection. The shiver that ran through her had nothing to do
with the temperature in the building.
She slid her hand into his, not quite sure what possessed
her to do so without looking around first as she usually did. (Christmas spirit
maybe?) “Lead the way.”
A pleased grin broke across his face and he tugged on her
hand to draw her after him down the hallway. All the blinds were drawn, doors
closed; she couldn’t catch a glimpse of the outside. She smiled as she imagined
him going up and down the hallway, making sure that his reveal would be safe.
Castle stopped at one of the doors and turned to her, his eyes brilliant and
expectant. “Ready?”
Oh, this adorable man. This man that wouldn’t let her be
alone on Christmas and wanted to surprise her with something to give her a
break from work. She leaned in and captured his lips in a quick, warm kiss.
“Ready.”
He opened the door and indicated that she should enter with
a flourish of his hand. The lights were off but she could see two coffee cups
sitting on the small table, steam curling over the tops. They were lit by the
gold-orange glow from the streetlight right outside the window and…
Oh. That was the surprise.
Illuminated in the lamp’s light was a riot of snowflakes;
big, fat cotton balls that danced as the winter wind caught them. The display
drew Kate to the window; her hand rose almost of its own accord, fingertips
brushing the glass as though she could run her fingers through the snow. She
felt Castle’s warmth at her back; his hands settled on her hips for a moment
before he wound his arms across her stomach and drew her back against him. She
relaxed into him, dropped her head on his shoulder and tucked her temple against
his cheek. She laid her hands on top of his, laced their fingers together and
drew his arms tighter around her.
“Thank you,” she
breathed.
“No one should miss the first snow of the year.” He said it
like it was nothing, like he hadn’t gone to any trouble at all to set this up
for her. She was constantly amazed at how he could make loving someone seem so
effortless.
“Not just for this. For knowing what I need before I need
it. For wanting me to see things like this, for reminding me that there’s life
to live even as other people lose theirs.”
Castle widened his stance to bring him down a few inches,
correcting the slight height distance not addressed by his partner’s footwear,
and turned his head to press a kiss into her neck. “Anything for you, Kate.”
His breath was hot on her skin, branding the words there.
“I know. Just wanted to let you know that I see it. And
appreciate it.”
She felt him smile against her neck before he moved his head
to drop his chin to her shoulder. “Thank you.”
She laughed softly, more air out of her nose than any kind
of a sound. “Pretty sure I was the one thanking you.”
“Mutual thanking then.” He thought about a second before
adding, “And you’re welcome.”
In reply, she raised a hand to ruffle her fingers through
his hair before settling her palm against his cheek. A smile bloomed across her
face as he leaned into her touch. They lapsed into silence, the dancing
snowflakes providing a hypnotic distraction.
“Hey Castle?” Kate half whispered into the quiet of the
room. He hummed in acknowledgement of her question. “Merry Christmas.”
He stood and turned her in his embrace, one arm securely
around her waist, the other raising to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear
and cup a hand along her jaw. “Merry Christmas, Kate.”
He kissed her then, sure and sweet, and the joy of being
with her this first Christmas was evident. But there was also promise in it,
the promise of many more Christmases to come.
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