A little late with this, but oh well. I'm a little sick of Christmas at this point, but they just had to have a kid.

For Jess, who's always been the biggest champion of my little divorcefic world. Loveyou.

"Mommy!" the little blue-eyed boy is breathless with happiness as she wraps him up in her arms, pressing a kiss to his sticky cheek.

"Hi baby," she breathes, nudging her nose against his. He giggles, looking adorably rosy in the Santa pajamas Castle had picked out for him weeks before.

"We're baking cookies." Tommy slips his little hand in hers and tugs her into the kitchen where her husband's waiting, spots of flour covering his face, wooden spoon in hand.

"Looks like Daddy's wearing most of it," she teases, smacking a parting kiss to his head as she lifts him easily onto the stool. He immediately snatches up a cookie cutter and goes to work, his small tongue poking out the corner of his mouth.

She lifts her hand to Castle's face, swiping the flour away from his nose with a chuckle. He wraps his fingers around her wrist and tugs her into him, slipping his arms around her waist.

"Hey," he greets her warmly, smudging his thumb against her cheek.

"Hey yourself," she parrots, leaning in for a soft kiss. She hums a little into his lips, warm and loved, her fingers brushing over the skin of his neck. She leans into him as he pulls her into his side, his floured fingers caking the bottom of her black turtleneck.

"How's the little man?" she asks him, her mouth tipping into a grin as she watches their little boy wonder cover his cookie canvass with a shower of colored sprinkles.

"A little cranky when you weren't there to cuddle with him after he woke up from his nap, but good otherwise."

"Did you fill in for me?" she teases.

"I got the job done," he says with a touch of pride. She rolls her eyes, nudging his side.

"Mommy, does Santa Claus come tonight?" Tommy's eyes are bright with hope and excitement that she almost can't bear to extinguish. She considers changing the subject, but she knows she'll only be able to distract him for a minute or two before the question rolls off his tongue again.

"Soon, my man. Two more nights." She holds up two fingers, hopes the visualization will keep his disappointment at bay. At least for now.

He sighs, his whole body heaving with it. "Okay."

She can't help but smile as she cards her fingers through his short brown hair. "It'll be here before you know it. Promise." She bends over so that she's eye-level with him. "And until then," she reaches for a sugar cookie from their first batch, a multi-colored gingerbread man, and takes a bite of his foot, "Your Dad and I have a ton of fun things planned."

She holds the treat out for him. He bites off the other foot, a green shoe. He props his head onto his fist, pondering her words. "Like what?"

She touches her nose to his. "Gotta finish making these cookies for Santa. And Daddy and I promised to take you ice skating tomorrow, remember? And it wouldn't be Christmas without his movie marathon."

He purses his little mouth. "Okay. All three Santa Clauses, though?"

She wrinkles her nose. "But the third one-"

"All three Santa Clauses, buddy," Castle interjects, pressing his lips together to suppress a laugh. She pulls back to throw him a glare.

"I'll raise you 'The Escape Clause' for a 'Grinch,"" she bargains.

Tommy's eyes narrow. He's never been a big fan of the green creature, but it's one of Kate's favorites.

"All right," he draws out. "Three Santa Clauses and a Grinch."

"Don't I get to pick one?" Castle asks, propping himself against the island to rest his chin on his palm in a gesture matching his wife and son's.

"No time in the schedule, I'm afraid," Kate winks at her son. He hides a smile behind his hand.

"Guess we'll have to reevaluate that other marathon then," Castle drops, his hand sliding across the table to slink away. Kate snags one of his belt loops with her fingers and pulls him in for a swift, curling kiss.

"Not a chance," she huffs, her words trailing hotly across his cheek. "Wouldn't want to break tradition."

"Daaad," Tommy whines. Castle laughs as his son gently pushes him away, out of their little space.

"Someone wants you all to himself."

"Would that be you or our son, Castle?"

"Touche, Detective."

They lay in bed that night, a tangle of limbs and sated kisses, listening to the sound of Tommy's deep, slow breaths over the baby monitor, more of a comfort than a necessity anymore.

"Sounds like his cold is mostly gone now," Castle observes, his lips vibrating against her forehead.

She sighs. "Took those antibiotics long enough." He'd been pretty sick the last couple of weeks and they'd both been worried that he'd still be coughing when Christmas Day rolled around. Their sweet boy on his favorite holiday.

"I'm really glad we decided to do this," he blurts out.

She frowns. "Take him to the doctor?"

"No, I mean-" he sighs, a little out of self-deprecation. "I'm glad we had him, Kate."

oh.

Her breath hitches in her throat. "You said you wanted-"

He silences her with a soft kiss. "Not what I meant," he murmurs against her lips. "I wasn't sure we'd make it here," he confesses.

She palms the side of his face as his forehead falls to hers. He doesn't know, but-

It still scares her. She still thinks about it. Almost losing their life together. Falling down again, some other way.

But he hasn't left her side since.

She tugs on her lip. "I wasn't sure we would either, Castle," she admits. "But I'm glad we did."

Complete