Work Text:
Kate Beckett's Christmas
Usually Kate Beckett worked on the holidays, mainly because she tended to volunteer for duty to give the married personnel the chance to be with their families on Christmas. This year however, the Captain had decided that she, Esposito and Ryan all had two days off - his Christmas present for their improvement in closing rates this year. Beckett hadn't known of that fact when her father had decided to go and visit his sister in Virginia for the holidays and since the blizzard last night, it had become practically impossible to get out of town and follow him there.
The snow was a lovely sight to see, especially when you were sitting in your warm home after breakfast, however, as she watched the scenery outside of her apartment, she wondered what to wear without landing flat on her ass once she stepped onto the street.
Rummaging in her cupboard for a while, she finally found something suitable for the weather. She grabbed her purse and went to go shopping for a few groceries for her Christmas dinner.
* * *
Shopping right before the holidays had been hell. Of course, she should've expected it, still, it always surprised her. Laden with the bags in her hands, she started to open her apartment door when she heard the phone inside ring.
Cursing, she quickly got inside, but was too late. The moment she took the receiver from the handset, it stopped ringing.
"Damn!" Beckett cursed, wondering who it had been. For a moment she considered calling the station and then calling her aunt to find out who it had been, but then didn't. Whoever it had been would try again if it was urgent. She was off-duty and she was going to enjoy it, Murphy be damned.
* * *
Having prepared her Christmas dinner, she sat down to eat.
It was rare that she had the time to actually make something fresh, which was no surprise considering her work schedule, so she had made it a habit to do so regularly whenever she had a few days off from work. One thing though, which she never could get quite right was cake. Thankfully, she had found a small bakery a few blocks from her place that had the best cakes she had ever tasted. Usually she didn't indulge, but on Christmas she always went to buy at least *something*. This year, she'd found a German Christmas cake, something she never had eaten before but which reminded her a lot of fruitcake, although was far lighter in texture. Considering the sample she had tasted at the bakery, she knew she would probably end up eating the whole cake over the holidays, and then be annoyed at herself afterwards because she'd have gained a few pounds.
Finishing her meal, she put the dishes into the washer, cut the cake and made a fresh pot of coffee. As she brought over the cake and the coffee to her festively decorated living room to sit down on the couch for her traditional movies marathon, the doorbell rang.
"Hello, girlfriend," Lanie Parish said, as Kate opened the door. Lanie, Kate's co-worker and BFF, her face rosy from the cold outside was wearing something that looked like a ski jacket, jeans and shoes that oddly resembled moonboots. Aside from that, she was carrying a bag in her hand.
"Lanie!" Kate exclaimed and let her friend in.
"Brought you pretzels," Lanie said, as Kate closed the door.
"I thought you were working," Kate added, as they both walked back to Kate's living room.
"Nope," her friend corrected her. "The dead decided I could take an evening off." She handed Kate the bag and started to take off her jacket. "Is that coffee?" she asked and dropped her jacket on Beckett's couch.
"Yeah, help yourself," Kate said. "You know where the cups are." She picked up Lanie's jacket from the couch.
Lanie grabbed Kate's cup, holding her hands around it and sipped the hot liquid delightedly. Kate grinned and left the room to put Lanie's jacket on her bed, then went into the kitchen to get a plate for the pretzels and herself another cup. Just as she returned to the living room, the doorbell rang again. She glanced over at Lanie, who shrugged.
"Don't look at me. I didn't invite anyone." She sat down on Kate's couch.
Peering through the peephole, Kate frowned and opened the door. Ryan and Esposito were standing in front of her door, one of them with two six-packs in his hands, the other with a bag of what looked like Chinese take-out.
"Yo, Beckett," Esposito said.
"Food and booze," Ryan added, and they both stepped inside before Kate could even say so much as 'hello'.
Closing the door, she turned towards her guests and guided them towards her living room. "Guys, not that I mind, but...," she started when her door bell rang once again. "Sorry. Throw your jackets on my bed. Lanie knows where it is." She left her living room and went back to her apartment door. Not bothering with the peephole this time, she opened the door immediately, intent on sending anyone else away.
"Castle!" she said, surprised at seeing him. This was one visit she definitely hadn't expected.
"I bring gifts, Beckett. Don't shoot, " he said, holding out the two bags in his hands. "Alexis thought I should come over with Christmas dinner since the roads outward are closed and you couldn't meet your dad. All in Tupperware, so easy to warm up." He walked in as Kate had stepped aside.
"Come on in, apparently everyone had the same idea," Kate said. At Castle's startled look, she added, "Lanie, Esposito and Ryan are in my living room."
Castle grinned. "Cool! An impromptu Christmas party!"
Kate just rolled her eyes.
END