Much to Be Thankful For

A Caskett AU

"Mr. Castle, are you married?"

It wasn't the first time he'd been asked that, and he had no doubt that it would be the last, but still Rick chuckled.

Miranda and Ben were the last ones out on the last day of classes before Thanksgiving, but he could see the shadows of their friends lurking in the doorway, waiting for his answer. Cocking his head to one side, he met the girl's wide eyes, noting the way her cheeks flushed under his scrutiny. Her companion shifted beside her as well, looking less confident than he had just a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have – it was a dare – I'll just go. We'll go. Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Castle."

This time a full-blown laugh spilled from his lips. "Guys, it's okay. You didn't offend me. To answer your question, no, I'm not married. I have been, but it didn't stick for some reason."

Well, one very large reason, but he had learned to recognize that there were many issues with his short-lived marriage to Meredith, beyond coming home to find her in bed with her director.

His students stopped in the doorway, sharing a look before turning back to him. He could see the curiosity in their eyes.

"Oh," Ben started, his voice low. "I'm sorry."

Rick lifted a shoulder, shrugging off the sympathy. That part of his life was over a long time ago. "It is what it is, Ben, don't worry about it." Off their skeptical looks, he added, "She said I corrected her grammar too much, so I would say it's for the best. Wouldn't you?"

That got a laugh out of the kids. He smiled too, getting up from the desk he'd perched on during dismissal and moving to gather his things at his own.

"What about a girlfriend?" Ben continued.

"Why do you ask?"

Again, the kids shared a look. Interesting. He was used to the curiosity – he had heard all the variations on the question before, after all – but this seemed to go beyond that.

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Miranda asked quickly, rising on the balls of her feet. The heels of her boots tapped the linoleum in quick succession as she dropped back down.

"I–" he started, closing his mouth while he tried to make sense of their intentions. "Guys, if you're trying to invite me to dinner, I appreciate it, but I'll be having a wonderful feast with my mother and some friends of ours. You don't need to worry about me."

Closing his lesson planner, he glanced up to find them looking out in the hall, mouthing something to the stragglers waiting for them. Rick watched Miranda's lips purse, saw her head bob up in confirmation.

"Why don't you head home, guys?" he suggested, sliding the book into his satchel. "Enjoy your break to the fullest. Make some mischief – wait, no, that's Halloween."

Miranda giggled, nudging her friend with her elbow and mouthing "now" to him. Clearly it was the boy's turn in whatever scheme they'd cooked up.

"You should ask Ms. Beckett out," Ben blurted. "I mean, obviously not for Thanksgiving since you have plans–"

"–And she has plans too," Miranda added, helpful.

"–and that might be weird anyway, since it's a holiday. But maybe on Friday?" Ben finished.

"But she totally likes you, everyone can see it!" Miranda insisted, picking up where her friend left off.

Ben nodded in agreement, removing his hands from his pockets to reveal two flat plastic cards, not dissimilar to the ones in Rick's wallet. "Anyway, we got these, and they're for you. So, here. Take her somewhere nice."

Rick stared at the pair of cards Ben placed on his desk, stunned. They were… okay, they were trying to set him up with a fellow teacher. That was nice. Odd, especially considering the timing, but still rather touching nonetheless.

"Ben, I can't take these. I – thank you for the gesture, but I really can't take these from you. You should use them." He peeled the gift cards from the desk surface, offering them back to his students.

Shaking their heads, both Ben and Miranda stepped back, scurrying to the door.

"It's a gift. You can't give back a gift, Mr. Castle. That's just rude," Miranda quipped, glancing over her shoulder. "Have a good break – and ask Ms. Beckett out!"

Rick laughed, waving goodbye to them, nodding to the other juniors who were still loitering outside his classroom.

"Go home," he ordered, allowing the corners of his lips to tick upward, betraying his attempt at sounding stern.

Once they were gone – really gone this time – he allowed himself to glance down at the gift cards in his hand. It wasn't the first time his students had tried to set him up with a woman he worked with, it wasn't even the first time they'd suggested gorgeous Kate Beckett from the history department as his date, but none had ever been so forward as to provide money for the meal.

His laughter bounced off the empty chairs.

"Crazy kids," he murmured, pocketing the gift cards and going back to packing up his desk. As much as he hated to bring work home over the break, he had a pile rough drafts to be graded and handed back the day they returned to school.

"They got to you too, huh?"

Spinning, he found Kate Beckett leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, her messenger bag already on her shoulder. She lifted an eyebrow at his surprise, glancing around the empty room.

"Did I startle you?" she asked, amused, pushing away from the door. Rick allowed his eyes to drop from her face to trace the long lines of her legs, the sway of her hips before his gaze drifted back up her body. Kate smirked at his less-than-casual perusal. He'd never been subtle when it came to checking her out.

"Ah, no." Kate smirked at his unconvincing denial. "But I'm glad to see you," Rick added, watching her brighten at that. "You ready to get out of here?"

His girlfriend's head dropped back as a groan fell from her lips. "God, yes. But we have to go straight to the store if you expect to be able to get a turkey that will thaw in time."

Shit, she was right. He'd been putting off shopping, but if they wanted to have a chance in hell of the bird being ready to cook by Thanksgiving Day, it had to be done today. Otherwise, he would be using the gift cards to help pay for dinner for everyone in his house.

"Right, yes. Okay, let's go," he swore, zipping his bag and lifting it onto his shoulder. He caught her hand on the way up the aisle between desks, squeezing her fingers and releasing them before they reached the door. Rick gestured for her to walk ahead of him as he killed the lights and closed his classroom for the rest of the week.

"You didn't answer, you know," Kate reminded him once they were on the subway, sitting shoulder to shoulder, their groceries (massive Butterball turkey included) in eco-friendly bags at their feet.

Rick blinked. "What didn't I answer?"

"Did you get the talk from your kids?"

Rick grinned. "The talk? No, I got that from my mom when I was in the seventh grade."

She rolled her eyes, bumping his shoulder with hers. "You know what I mean, wiseass. Miranda and Ben? Was that the same talk I got from Lucy and Brynn?"

"I don't know," he said, leaning in to brush his mouth over hers. "Was it about whether you're married or dating, and then an order to ask me out?"

Kate barked a laugh. "Something like that. You might have come up once or twice."

He leered. "Yeah I did. Did they give you gift cards too?"

She shook her head, grinning.

"Huh." He patted the pocket where he'd stashed the cards. "They're so working hard to make this happen, I would've expected them to cover all their bases."

Kate hummed, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Well, they're obviously expecting you to make the first move and woo me, Mr. Castle, not the other way around," she teased.

"If they only knew how backwards they had it," he mused, remembering the shyness in her eyes when she'd asked him out the first time, the softness of her hands on his cheeks and her breath on his lips at the end of their first date. They were nothing if not equals in their relationship, always had been; he wouldn't have it any other way.

His girlfriend smiled, nodding against his jacket. "They'll learn."

Rick made a noise of agreement, lowering his chin so his cheek brushed the crown of her head. "But oh, while you were grabbing the stuff for the gravy, I picked up ingredients to make that mixed berry espresso cheesecake you adore. How's that for wooing?"

She chuckled, slipping her fingers down the suede sleeve of his jacket to tuck her hand into his. Their palms kissed, fingers bumped before interlocking, and he dusted a kiss over her hair in reply.

"You woo me just fine, Rick," Kate assured after a moment, lifting their joined hands to her lips. "But the cheesecake will totally help."

Well, that was good to know. Of course, he had more than a dessert for her, but the rest was a surprise for when he woke her on Thanksgiving Day and made it clear to her how grateful he was to have her in his life.

Prompt from anonymous: we're both high school teachers and our students ship us but little do they know we're already secretly dating Caskett AU.

A/N: To my prompter, I am so incredibly sorry that it's taken me so long to write this for you. I hope you're still out there, and I hope you enjoy it if you are.

I am so thankful for all of you, for the friendships I've made, and for the fact that you all still allow me to share my words with you. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this.