78. Chapter 78

Chapter 78

On Friday, Thanksgiving was officially past and Christmas was fair game. The day after Thanksgiving was the day Castle and Alexis had always picked out a Christmas tree; and for them, it had always involved a trip to a tree farm outside the city.

As Castle was getting dressed, Kate teased, "Where are you going?"

"It's tree day. I know you remember that," Castle reminded her unfazed. "But you were working last year. This year you can go with us…if you feel up to it. How is your neck? Is your head still feeling okay? Too pregnant? I don't want to push you if you don't feel like going, but it would be even more fun with all three of us. Then he patted her stomach and amended with a proud smile, "All four of us."

The little boy enthusiasm Kate loved sparkled in her husband's blue eyes, and she smiled, too.

"Well, it's supposed to be cold, and I haven't had a chance to try out my new winter coat yet…the one with room for your son to keep growing. If you two…you three…wear me out, I can always go back and sit in the car. We can take a couple of blankets just in case." Castle looked at her as if she had just given him an incredible gift and kissed her enthusiastically. She cupped his cheek lovingly with one hand and said. "You really do love Christmas, don't you?"

"Always did," he answered.

"I love you so much."

"Not that I'm complaining, you understand; but what brought that on?"

"You," she answered and wrapped her arms around his middle. Then she released a resigned sigh. "I'm not going to be able to do this much longer. This baby of ours insists on growing; and before much longer, I won't be able to reach you."

"We'll figure it out," he assured her. "You know, I think it's past time to start setting up the nursery. We have the walls painted, but we should have the furniture we picked out delivered, start finding places for what we have so far."

"Yeah, we should. It feels like there's still plenty of time; but it isn't that far away, and I'm probably not going to start feeling that much more active as it goes by."

"You know we'll pitch in and help with anything you need if baby boy here is wearing you down."

"I know. And I love you all for it."

"I'm looking forward to Christmas with you this year. You actually have a couple of days off."

"Gates insisted. I didn't even have to ask. She saw how many consecutive years I'd volunteered for Christmas duty, and heard that you'd come in with me the last couple of years; and she said it was somebody else's turn."

"It was fun, though. We always have our big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve. It was different when Alexis was little and there were all the toys to play with. Now all we do on Christmas Day is open presents early and goof off and take naps the rest of the day anyhow. We can still take lunch for everybody at the precinct if you want to."

"I'd like that," she said from where her face was still kind of smashed into his chest and gave him an extra squeeze.

"So, go get dressed. Alexis will be so excited that you're coming with us. Mother bowed out after one trip."

"Are you sure? It's always been just the two of you."

"She'll be dressed and downstairs any minute. You'll see."

Sure enough, right on cue, Alexis came bounding enthusiastically down the stairs. "I'm ready when you are, Dad." Her face fell when she saw that Kate was still in her pajamas. "I thought you were going with us this time, Kate. Is the baby making you too tired?"

"Told you so," Castle stage whispered in her ear.

She backhanded his arm and told him, "You sound just like my mother." Turning back to Alexis, she said, "Your little brother wears me out sometimes; but a lot of the time, he just makes me slower. I was just going to get dressed. I'll hurry."

Alexis perked up right away. "Oh, good. You're going to love this place."

"Go on and get dressed, Castle encouraged. "We'll tell you all about it in the car."

"Okay. Okay. I'm going." Looking over her shoulder at them, she said, "I think I'm excited, too. It feels good to be excited about Christmas again. Be right back."

After Kate was in the bedroom, Castle told his daughter, "She was having little doubts again…not wanting to be a fifth wheel in something that had always been the two of us. Don't worry. She doesn't doubt you. She just doesn't want to feel like she's intruding on dad/daughter time."

"It's nice that she cares about that, but I like the three of us. We're good for each other."

"And, my perfect child, the way you responded just now was exactly what she needed to be sure of that."

Alexis laughed and gave him a little hug.

Kate was back in just under five minutes, dressed as the other two were in jeans and a warm sweater, and warm, flat heeled boots. They were waiting for her with her new winter coat and the hat, gloves, and scarf Alexis and Martha had insisted she needed to go with it when she bought it.

As they were leaving the building for the parking garage, JD was called to see if Alexis wanted to meet him for coffee. His response when she reminded him of their tree finding trip was a groan followed by, "Oh yeah, I forgot. My great aunt is driving me crazy. You were going to be my out for a little while."

"Hang on," she answered, covering her phone. "Dad, could… I know it's a family trip, but JD's crazy great aunt is visiting, and…"

Castle laughed. "If he wants to come along, tell him to dress for cold weather and be waiting for us. According to the weatherman this morning, a cold front came through and the temperature dropped twenty degrees overnight. Tell him we'll swing by and pick him up."

Alexis gave her boyfriend the message and told him to be ready, and he happily agreed. "Thanks, Dad," she said as she got into the seat behind her father's. "He sounded kind of desperate."

Castle chuckled as she closed her door. Before he opened Kate's door for her, his wife gave him a little peck on the lips and said, "I'm proud of you."

She got a quick little kiss in return and he answered with a grin, "Me, too. Sounds like he needed a rescue. He's grown into a good man, and I do like him…respect him. It's just…"

"You're afraid he's going to steal your little girl?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

"Then let's go pick him up so you can keep a close eye on him," she answered mischievously.

"I like the way you think, wife." He opened Kate's door for her and let her settle into the seat before closing it and walking to the driver's side. As he closed his own door, he gave a little shiver and said, "It was so warm when we were walking yesterday…no jackets or anything. Today it's winter. Brrrr!"

"Mother Nature must have heard we're going Christmas tree shopping. She's setting the stage," Alexis answered.

They picked JD up a few minutes later, and he got into the car saying "None of you will ever know how much I appreciate this." And all of them laughed.

They drove through the gnarly traffic out of the city and into the countryside. The tree farm was about an hour's drive away.

"So now that you have your two initiates as a captive audience, are you ready to tell us about this place Alexis said I'll love?" Kate asked.

"It's more than a tree farm," Alexis started. "They have a Christmas store that's open all year 'round. Ornaments, and yard decorations, and tree stands, and cookie making supplies…everything you could want."

"Some of the ornaments are good quality, well made; but there are some pretty gaudy ones, too.. And they have several people on staff who can personalize things for you." Castle added. They're craftsmen, do nice work."

"They have Christmas music playing everywhere," Alexis told them, and there's a little place where you can have lunch or snacks or get coffee or hot chocolate."

"So you won't have to wait in the car if you get tired. And there's a little Santa's village," Castle said with a smile. "We have a picture of Alexis with Santa there for every year since she was three."

"Except the year we got married?" Kate asked, looking apologetic.

"Totally worth missing it that year, Kate," Alexis assured her. "I wouldn't change a thing."

"Me, either," Castle answered, giving her the look that told her how much he loves her, and without having to say a word. And she gave them both an appreciative smile.

"You pick out your tree and then someone comes out with a saw and cuts it down, and you can either tie it down on top of your car and take it with you, or they'll deliver it the next day," Alexis explained. "They have a truck that delivers to apartments in the city every day."

"They'll even set it up for you if you want them, too," Castle chimed in. "Full service operation. Hey, Alexis, we should see if they still have those glass icicles we saw last year. When we got home and didn't have them, I regretted not buying them." Then he and Alexis talked about previous trips and things they had at home already.

"Well, JD, I don't know about you, but I think I'm more excited now than I was before." Kate stated.

"I was excited just to get out of the house," the young man answered. "Yesterday I did what my parents wanted me to and spent time with Dad's aunt and put up with all the stuff she dished out; but this morning, I just couldn't do it anymore. I asked my granddad if he thought I could get away with meeting Alexis for coffee. Then, when he found out you'd take me with you on this trip, he went into his cowboy posture and used his old western movie accent and said, 'Run fer the hills, boy. If she warn't ma sister, Ah'd come with ya.'"

Everyone else laughed. Then JD told them about his Thanksgiving, including a blessedly rare visit from an eccentric and annoying great aunt. Given his natural dry sense of humor, after an approximately twenty minute accounting of her eccentricities and examples of her behavior, he had everybody else in stitches.

"Feel better now?" Kate asked, still chuckling and wiping a couple of tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Yeah. Sorry," JD said with a grin. "I didn't mean to go on that long."

"I'm so glad you did," Castle answered. "She makes my mother sound tame, and you've met my mother."

"I feel even better knowing she'll be gone by the time I get back home," JD answered good-naturedly. "Where is Ms. Rodgers today? My granddad said to give her his regards."

"Grams came with us once when I was about twelve." Alexis answered. "That's all it took for all of us to know this is not her thing, so it's been Dad and me ever since, except today. I can't wait for both of you to see everything."

"Wow. We're almost there," Castle said, suddenly recognizing a landmark. With an amused smile he added, "JD's Aunt Eugenia made the trip seem much shorter this year."

"It's a good thing it's cold out," JD grumbled. "It'll cover for what might be permanently red cheeks after all the grabbing and pinching."

"Poor baby," Alexis said with a giggle and kissed his cheek.

When they pulled into the parking area at the tree farm, it was everything Alexis had described, and Kate and JD looked around, appearing to be soaking in the atmosphere.

"I can see why you like this place so much…even without being close enough to see the shops. It's beautiful. Peaceful." She got out of the car to look around. "And cold," she added as she took her coat from the warm car and put it on, pulling the edges tight around her.

"Definitely cold," Alexis agreed, following suit. "And that breeze doesn't help."

"Some of it isn't always peaceful. Santa's village is usually kind of noisy, but it's happy noise. We should have our pictures taken with Santa. They let adults do that, too, and nobody has to sit on his lap if they don't want to. We have to at least get one of Kate, though…so one day we can show our little boy that he was here this year, too."

"We'll see, Castle," his wife answered, sounding skeptical.

"He'll talk her into it, won't he?" JD asked Alexis mischievously.

"Probably," she answered with a grin. "Come on. Tree first, then there's a lot more to see."

Castle took his wife's hand and led her to a shed where they were temporarily protected from the stiff breeze and the cold, and they picked up a couple of tags. He insisted that they get a small tree for Jim's apartment, too. Kate wasn't sure at first, but Castle was determined; and she knew her father would appreciate the gesture from his son-in-law.

Alexis and JD waited for them to pick up the tags, and then she took his hand and tugged him into the rows of various evergreen trees, explaining what they were looking for.

Castle and Kate followed them at a more leisurely pace, with Castle also explaining. As they walked behind the younger couple, Kate observed, "She's so excited about this. It's fun to watch."

"When your mom was still with you, were you that excited?"

She looked surprised but answered without hesitation. "Maybe not as much when I was eighteen. I thought I had to act like I was too cool for that. But I was excited. A lot more when I was younger."

"If you think Alexis is excited now, you should have seen her when she was little. When she fully realized why we were here, she wanted to look at every single tree before we decided." He laughed as he remembered. "I had to show her the different varieties of trees they grow here and show her which kind we were looking for. She nodded, looking very wise for someone of the advanced age of five…and then we looked at every single one of those trees."

Kate laughed. "I can almost see it. She must have been adorable."

"She was. My completely unbiased opinion, of course."

"Sometimes I wish…" She sighed deeply. "No. We wouldn't have worked then. I barely worked well enough to take care of myself then, let alone a child. Or maybe all I did was work. When I was at work, I was a dynamo, I blazed trails. But on the inside…"

"I didn't mean to make you sad." He put his arm around her shoulders as she still clutched the sides of her coat across her chest."

"I'm not sad. I'm frustrated with my old self." She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm actually happier than I've ever been…because of you."

"I'm about to embarrass my child, and possibly her boyfriend, and seriously kiss you right here in the middle of the tree path." He turned her around to face him and kissed her long and slow.

As that was happening, Alexis turned to see why her parents weren't right behind them. "Dad!? What are you doing?" she demanded as she rushed toward him. "There are little kids all over the place around here."

"Well I don't see a one of them at the moment, and you and JD have seen me kiss my wife before."

"But it went on and on and…"

"It wasn't that bad," her father answered with a grin as Kate hid her face against his chest. "No tongue or anything." He never looked away from his wife as he spoke.

"Daaaad! Eeew."

JD was smirking behind her.

"My wife just told me she's happier than she's ever been…because of me. I couldn't help myself. What would you do, JD?"

"I'd kiss her where we stood, Sir…wherever that might be."

"JD, don't encourage him," Alexis scolded.

"Alexis when the woman you love, especially when it's a woman like Mrs. Castle, says that to a man, it's big. It's gonna get a response."

"Just understand," Castle said to JD, palming the back of her head and never looking away from Kate, "no man can single-handedly make a woman happy. He can only help when she's ready to be happy. And it isn't me. It's us. We've both worked at this. What she said tells me we're there." He said all that while taking the edges of Kate's coat from the fingers that were clutching them close, and gently and child appropriately, he buttoned them for her.

"Castle, I can button my own coat," Kate told him. "My middle isn't that big yet."

"Consider it buttoning the baby in. I'm his daddy. It's my job to keep him warm and safe and loved."

She put a hand on his arm for balance, stood on tiptoe, and gave him a quick kiss. Then she took his hand and said, "Come on. Let's stop embarrassing your first child and find a Christmas tree."

"Thank you, Kate," Alexis answered. "He's acting like he's in high school…even though he might have a good reason."

Kate smiled at Alexis understandingly. But as the younger couple moved ahead of them again, Kate turned to her husband and said suggestively, "Babe, you are so much better than high school."

Castle answered with a smile and a low sexy chortle that Kate usually heard only in the bedroom.

Then they turned their full attention to finding the perfect tree. When they had narrowed their choices down to four, they discussed the pros and cons of importance…perfect height, perfect shape, perfect openings to hang decorations, etc. When they finally decided, they tagged the tree and Castle went to find someone to help them cut it. In the overall process, they had also found a tree that got the Beckett stamp of approval for Jim's apartment.

The tree farm had employees who would cut down the tree with a chainsaw and have it down quickly, but they also had old fashioned crosscut saws for the customers who wanted the entire woodland experience. Castle and Alexis, of course, always wanted the whole enchilada; so Castle was already familiar with what to expect. Generally, an employee manned one end of the saw; but Orin, an older man who was helping them that day, was a longtime employee who had enjoyed Castle and Alexis for years. He cut a wedge from the tree and then worked with Castle to start cutting.

"Does the young man over there want to help?" he asked. "Looks like he's itching to try."

"Hey, JD? You want to help?" Castle called to him.

"Sure." The younger man jumped at the chance. "How do I do this?"

Orin gave him some simple instructions and warnings, then Castle and JD cut through the remainder of the trunk under Orin's watchful eye. Kate and Alexis watched from far enough away to be safe when the tree fell.

"Your dad really does like JD, you know," Kate told her stepdaughter as they watched. Anything you hear otherwise is just a dad hating the thought of another man taking away his daughter. He told me that he respects JD, that he's a fine young man."

"Well, that's good to know…if we ever get that serious,"

"You've been dating for months. Do you think it might get that serious?" Kate asked, swinging her arm around the girl's shoulders. "You don't have to answer if it feels like I'm too far into your business."

"I really like him…a lot, but I'm not ready for that yet. I mean, I'm eighteen, just started college, and my classes are pretty demanding. I'm not ready to be too serious about anybody. I guess Ashley discouraged me from that."

"Does JD know that? He's looking pretty smitten lately."

"We haven't had that talk, so I don't know." She looked concerned.

"I think he's a lot like your father, Honey. If he's ahead of you in that department, I think he'll be willing to give you the time to work it out for yourself, and I think he'll honor your decisions. I respect him, too. I think you can trust him."

"Thanks Kate. It means a lot that you both feel that way.

The two men whooped as the fourteen foot tree fell with a cracking sound, followed by a thud and the rustling of the branches and needles. Orin was grinning with them, a momentary boys' club forming as they welcomed JD into the tree felling brotherhood. The trunk of a fourteen foot tree is a little larger than some of the shorter trees…not exactly a lumberjack experience, just a small taste of the feeling. In spite of the brief nature of their adventure, though, manly pride was rising from Castle and JD like steam.

From their vantage point, the women chuckled and Kate observed, "You might need to think through some of those things we just talked about…before your dad and JD decide that they can't live without each other." She gave Alexis's shoulder a little squeeze and said, "Come on. Let's go and see to the egos of our manly, saw wielding men."