One year later

Rick tiptoes through the apartment in the dark, feeling his way to the kitchen. It's early, and he doesn't want to wake Kate just yet. She was up with the baby three times last night, so he's making coffee and breakfast while she sleeps in.

The baby is still asleep, too, so the apartment is quiet, and pleasantly peaceful. The city is just beginning to awaken, and he opens the living room curtains, gazing at the rising sun peeking through the buildings of the lower Manhattan skyline. He misses the view of the park from their old apartment, but even after living here for nearly six months, the thrill of the new view hasn't gone away.

With Beckett's new job in the police force and his own royalty checks from his novel, they were able to afford to move when their lease on their old place was up in June. The new place is quite a step up from the old one- a two-bedroom, one bathroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights. It's one of the cheapest and smallest in the affluent neighborhood, but for now, it's perfect for their little family.

Rick makes banana pancakes- Kate's favorite- while the coffee's brewing. He's just taken the last of them off of the griddle when his wife shuffles into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, cradling their daughter in her arms.

"Hey, you two," Rick greets, kissing Kate's cheek. "How are my favorite girls?"

"Good," Kate murmurs, looking down at the baby. "I peeked in her room when I woke up, and she was wide awake."

"Of course she was," Rick says, holding out his arms. Kate passes him the baby, and his daughter nuzzles into his chest, letting out a contented sigh. She's a daddy's girl through and through, a fact that even Kate will readily admit. No matter how upset the baby is, Rick is always able to calm her or lull her to sleep.

Or maybe he's just a baby whisperer.

"I thought she'd be better at sleeping through the night by now," Kate says with a yawn, heading for the coffeemaker. "She's three and a half months old."

"She just likes to be awake," Rick coos, gently touching the baby's nose. "If you sleep too much, you miss all the fun stuff that happens in the world."

"At this point, I'd rather miss all the fun stuff," Kate says around a yawn. "Mom warned me that I wouldn't sleep much with a newborn, but I never imagined being this tired."

"Well, it may not be just the newborn," Rick says, passing the infant back to Kate. "This hasn't exactly been an easy year for our family."

Kate nods, a grim look on her face as she begins to strap the baby into her bouncy seat that she loves so much.

In January, Kate's mother had miraculously survived an attempt to take her life by a mystery killer. She'd been stabbed multiple times by what looked to be a professional hitman and left in an alley to die. A random passerby that happened upon her called an ambulance, keeping pressure on the worst of the wounds until the paramedics arrived. In an odd coincidence, the same passerby that saved her mother's life is the medical examiner for the precinct where Kate had just begun to work. His wife and Lanie have become fast friends over the past year.

Kate often says she owes her new friend everything, and Rick can't help but agree. He's seen how Kate has come to the brink of destroying her own life by pouring herself wholeheartedly into finding the man who had attacked her mother, and he can't imagine how she'd be doing if Johanna hadn't survived.

Johanna is wheelchair-bound now, paralyzed from the waist down due to one of her stab wounds hitting a crucial nerve. Rick knows it's hard on his wife to see her mother like that, knowing that their daughter will never know Johanna as she was, but they're both grateful that she's alive.

"So," Rick says a moment later, his voice filled with forced joviality. "I made pancakes."

"Banana," Kate says with a small smile, straightening and moving toward the table. She seems to appreciate the change of subject. "Thanks."

The card table wobbles under the weight of the plate filled with pancakes as Rick sets it down. They haven't bought a proper table yet- after purchasing the apartment, a real bed, a sofa, and all of the things for the baby, there isn't enough left in their budget for anything else at the moment. Rick is oddly attached to the card table, though. It's a reminder of how far they've come in the past year.

Kate murmurs an apology to the table when she drops syrup across it, laughing as she begins to wipe it up with a napkin. "I'm talking to the furniture. I must be insane."

"Or just tired," Rick counters. "But I'm sure Old Faithful appreciates the apology."

"This table really has been through a lot," Kate says. "Two apartments, lots of meals…"

"The occasional baby changing station," Rick adds.

"Making a gingerbread house…"

"Ooh, and the sugar cookies last year! My Vader was the best."

"You're kidding, right?"

They continue the playful banter as they finish breakfast, only stopping when Kate scoops up the baby to get her dressed for the day's outing. They've been planning this since last Christmas, the day Kate told Rick she was pregnant. The year seemed to pass slowly and fly by with lightning speed all at the same time, and Rick is excited that the day is finally here.

After bundling up, Kate places the baby into her carrier, holding her gently as Rick straps the carrier over Kate's chest. Kate prefers to wear their daughter when they go outside of Brooklyn, because changing trains with a stroller is a huge hassle. It's good to share body heat with the tiny girl, too, and Rick is always eager to take a turn when Kate's shoulders and back begin to ache from the weight.

Unsurprisingly, Kate doesn't ask him to take the baby once they reach Manhattan, instead snuggling the tiny girl even closer to her chest as they step out of the subway into the chilly December air. The rocking of the subway car lulled the baby to sleep, and she lets out a tiny sigh as he covers her with a fuzzy pink blanket.

Hundreds of people crowd the Midtown sidewalks, with annoyed New Yorkers bustling around the tourists that stop to admire the city's Christmas decorations. They're nothing new to Rick and Kate, but even so, they take their time as they walk, peeking into store windows and admiring the holiday displays as they pass. Somehow, the wonder of the season is even greater for them after their daughter's birth. Even though she won't remember this Christmas, they want to soak up every bit of it.

They finally make it to Macy's, grinning in tandem as they step down the familiar path leading to Santaland. The line is long, but not too long, and Rick certainly doesn't mind waiting.

"Want me to take her?" Kate's rolling her neck around, raising her shoulders as she tries to relax.

"I'm good." She smiles. "I may let you have her after we see Santa, though."

"Should we wake her once we get up there? I'd hate for her to sleep through her first meeting with Santa."

Kate laughs. "Babe, she won't remember this either way. You know that."

"I know," he acquiesces. "But it's the whole sentiment of the thing, you know?"

Kate nudges him forward as the line begins to move, her hand pressing gently at his back. "I know. I don't want her to miss it, either. I'm just afraid that if she wakes up, she'll be hungry, and she'll be grumpy for Santa."

"Makes sense."

They settle into a comfortable silence for several minutes, despite the buzzing of the room around them. The dozens of children in the room are eager to see Santa, the thrill of anticipation filling the air. Some of the kids are so excited that they are filled with energy, screaming and running around, and Rick watches as one mother has to chase after her young son for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"I'm starting to feel grateful that ours is asleep," he says, nodding toward the young mother ahead of them, and Kate chuckles in agreement.

They finally reach Santa, and as they draw closer, Rick realizes that it's the same man as last year sitting before them. The twinkle in the older man's eye is instantly recognizable, and Rick shares a grin with Kate. She must recognize him, too.

"Ho ho!" Santa greets as they approach. Unlike last year, Rick doesn't rush to the man's lap, instead gently lifting their daughter out of her carrier and passing him to Santa's waiting arms.

"Hello, little one!" he coos, running a gloved finger across her cheek. "What's your name?"

"This is Macy," Kate answers.

"She's beautiful," the man says with a smile. "And an appropriate name, too."

"We did name her after the store, actually," Rick admits. "I asked Santa Claus for a baby last year, right in this very room," he says with a wink. "And when we found out Kate was expecting, we just knew we had to name her Macy."

Santa's eyes widen at that. "I think I remember you two! You asked for a baby, and you," he says, turning to Kate, "asked for your husband to… get published as an author? Is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Kate says softly, stepping toward Santa's chair.

"Well, I see that one of your wishes came true," he says, giving a jolly laugh. "And the other? Did you get published?"

"That I did," Rick says, his voice filled with pride. "I even got a deal for more books to create a series."

"That's wonderful!" Santa says with a mischievous grin. "I'll have my elves be on the lookout for more of your books. Oh, I think we woke her up."

Sure enough, Macy is awake, her deep blue eyes staring up at the man holding her. She's completely calm, nestled in the man's arms, and lets out a small sigh of content.

"You certainly have charmed her," Rick laughs. "You must have a way with babies."

"I've been told as much," Santa says. "What would Macy like for Christmas?"

Rick turns to Kate, who smiles, stepping forward to squeeze her husband's hand.

"I think we have everything we need this year," she says, her voice soft. "Except… a picture with Santa."

"Ho ho!" Santa laughs. "I can certainly grant that wish."

Rick and Kate step aside as Santa positions their daughter in his arms, adjusting her glittery red hair bow before the photographer snaps the picture. He motions for them to join after the first photo. "A family photo," he says, patting his lap with his free hand for Kate to sit down. "So that you can look back one day and see how good this past year was too you."

"It certainly has been," Rick says, smiling at Kate. "And I think it can only get better from here."