The usual disclaimer that I don't own Castle :-( Merry Chrismas if that's your thing:-) On with the show

But when she opened the door, there hadn't been any time to talk about underwear. Martha and Alexis were both up, all smiles and hugs, forcing her to eat three chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. It put her in such a good mood (after all it had been fresh whipped cream not that canned stuff) that she had all but forgotten until her phone rang around noon. Noting the caller she stepped into the vacant break room

"Are you wearing them Detective?" Not even a hello, just that stupid teasing voice of his.

"God, Castle you are such a creep."

"Whoa, sorry I'm just kidding, okay?" There was definitely more venom in her words than his little ribs usually warranted, but he wasn't sure why.

"You went through my stuff and took them!"

Now this was getting ridiculous. "No way! It is not my fault you forgot you still had clothes in the washer!"

"Nice try Castle, I wash those by hand."

"Beckett," He put all the force he could muster behind her name "listen to me. I wouldn't do something like that, and I think you know it. They were probably caught up in your pant leg and you didn't notice."

"I…" He sounded a little hurt, but she was worked up and not quite ready to back down "You still should have given my stuff back."

"You got it Beckett," his voice dripping with sarcasm, "next time you leave your underwear at my place, I'll give them right back. Would you prefer I hand them to you in the precinct or would it be best if I left them on your desk with a note?"

"You're impossible! I have to get back to work."

"Fine. I'll see you tonight"

It was faint, but she could still hear a twinge of annoyance in his voice. Probably if it were any other day, she would have left it like that. Misunderstandings and messed up feelings were their hallmark. But it was Christmas. She could suck it up.

"Wait, Castle…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I do know better." She bit her lip anxiously during the silence that followed

"Apology accepted. Although, I can think of something you could do to make it up to me."

"What?"

"Answer my first question." And moment over.

She wished she still had a flip phone so she could enjoy the snap as she hung up on him.

Xxx

By the time Jenny and Lanie showed up at the precinct they were still nowhere on the case. But it was nearly five, and Gates had left hours ago with an uncharacteristically cheery 'Merry Christmas,' so they gathered up their stuff to worry about it another day. They rode the elevator up to Castle's floor and strode down the hall together, chattering about anything but work. The warmth of having her friends surround her was gradually lifting the weight of the day from Kate's shoulders. Until—

BANG!

Three guns were drawn immediately. From their proximity to the door, it was obvious the sound had come from Castle's loft. Lanie had seen enough to know to back off but Ryan had to move Jenny out of the way.

Heart pounding, Beckett reached for the handle as Esposito aimed his gun where it would open. In the split second the team prepared, a thousand horrifying scenarios played through her head and somehow she found herself wishing she had just answered the damn question.

She gave the nod. The team flowed into the apartment in perfect synchronization scanning sweeping across the room with guns raised before the door even had a chance to slam against the wall.

There was nothing, only the refrigerator door hanging open and three confused faces staring at them from in front of the oven.

"Uh, hi guys?" The confusion in Alexis's voice mirrored the expression on all their faces.

The three detectives only looked at each other and holstered their guns.

"Just so you know, that's more of a Halloween party entrance than a Christmas one."

Beckett didn't acknowledge Castle's joke, still focused on the possibility of danger "What the hell was that? We thought we heard a gunshot."

Now everyone looked lost. They stood around staring stupidly at each other until finally—

"Oh!" Martha gestured to the open oven, "the yams exploded."

"Excuse me?" Kate didn't really think that answered any questions.

"Just come look."

All six of them crowded in front of the open door. They weren't kidding. Most of the inside of the oven was covered in slightly charred orange goop. The ceramic lid had shattered, the shards mixing with what had remained inside the pot. For a while, everyone silently admired the impressive food carnage in front of them.

"I swear," said Castle looking a bit embarrassed, "this has never happened to me before."

It started low. They were trying to stifle chuckles for his sake, but it couldn't be contained. This whole holiday was just too absurd. Soon everyone was gasping for breath between laughs, gripping whatever surface was handy to keep upright.

"Um, excuse me!" Lanie had appeared in the doorway, "You guys starting the party without us?"

When everyone recovered from their fits of laughter, they decided to deal with the mess when it cooled off and settled down to a yam-less, but still rather impressive feast. Anyone would have said they looked like one big happy family.

"No, no I can do you one better." Esposito shouted cutting off the end of his partner's story. "When I was five my dad got us this dog 'to protect the house', a giant Rottweiler mix." He flexed his muscles and puffed out his cheeks to emphasize the dog's size, earning him a gentle slap from Lanie.

"Anyways, we only had him about a month before Thanksgiving so no one's really used to having him around. When the turkey's done my mom takes it out and puts it at the head of the table, just like she always does. Everything's going great. Most of the family is sitting in the living room waiting for the rest of dinner to be done, and my mom and aunt are in the kitchen just putting the finishing touches on everything. Then we hear this big thud, and the dog comes into the room, dragging the whole damn turkey, leaving a trail of grease through the entire house!"

The table erupted with laughter once again. The stories had been flowing freely and almost everyone was wiping tears from their eyes.

"Yeah we laughed too, but my mother, she was furious. She made the dog stay outside for every holiday after that, 'til the day he died." He chuckled and shook his head.

"I don't know Javi, I think I can top that." Their heads snapped to Jenny, who hadn't said much since the startling entrance.

"Really? Do tell?"

"Oh I've heard this one," Ryan gazed at his girl with a knowing smile, "she may have you beat, Espo."

"Well, my grandmother always insisted that she cook for Christmas, said it was her duty as the 'matriarch.' Even at she was 85 she was still determined to do it on her own. So, one year we show up and all these people are standing outside. Then a fire truck comes blaring around the block."

"Oh my goodness!" Martha had voiced the worry that had settle over the whole table. "Was she alright?"

But Jenny was just chuckling. "No, no, she was, but she had fallen asleep with the turkey in the oven and set off the sprinklers on the whole floor. The dinner was definitely ruined though."

"Okay, you may have the worst Christmas mayhap ever," conceded Esposito

"Yeah, but we had fun anyways. My grandma felt so bad we ended up taking half the apartment complex with us to a Chinese Buffet. Sometimes the unexpected things are the most fun."

"Now that's the Christmas spirit I'm talking about." Castle grinned and slung his arm around his daughter.

"I'd like to propose a toast." He lifted his wine glass with his free hand. "To making the best of a bad situation. I know this isn't what you were all expecting this year, but it's wonderful having you here. Thanks for making this another perfect Misfit Christmas"

Everyone but Kate looked bemused but raised their glasses to the sentiment just the same.

"Merry Christmas!"

Okay so I'm a little late but it is still Christmas here . The story got away from me a bit, but I hope you enjoyed it.