A/N: I know I should be working on Someone Like You and Hiding my Heart, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone. Guess I got attached to the "A Helping Hand" universe. This is a sequel to it and, while it's not strictly necessary to read "A Helping Hand" before this one, you'll understand what's going on here a lot better if you do. But it's up to you. This story is set five months after Sam's funeral. Hope you'll like it either way. Let me know?

Disclaimer: Castle is not mine.

It Happened at Christmas

Chapter 1

Snow was falling lightly over New York City when Detective Kate Beckett left her apartment that morning. It was December 19th and the Christmas spirit had taken over the city by storm with lights and decorations everywhere she looked. She remembered when she had walked into Rick's loft a few weeks ago and had been torn between amazed and shocked and a sudden need to laugh happily at the winter wonderland he had created there. She had always known he was a Christmas kind of guy, but for some reason this was the first time they were actually spending it together.

Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember why they had never been around each other during the holidays. It seemed weird that they spent the past four years attached at the hip, but they never actually saw each other for Christmas or New Year's Eve. Then again, with the exception of 2011, one of them always had a significant other during the holidays every year since they had known each other, so maybe that was the reason for her lack of knowledge of Rick's exaggerated Christmas spirit.

She teased him about it, but deep down she loved it. This was going to be the first year she was going to actually celebrate Christmas since her mom died. Of course she spent Christmas with her dad (or working sometimes), but it wasn't the same without her mother and they never felt like celebrating much.

Now, as Kate stepped into the snow covered sidewalk, she could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of her when she saw the house across the street covered in lights. It was barely light out, but murderers didn't tend to keep a banker's schedule and she was already used to it. She had called him on her way out and couldn't help but smile at his groggy voice when he answered the phone. She hadn't seen him in a few days and missed him terribly. She had never thought she would be this kind of girl, but she actually missed him so much that it felt like a piece of her was gone. And it had only been a few days, she thought wryly, shaking her head at herself.

What could she say, she was really a girl in love and couldn't help this kind of reaction.

The drive to his loft was slow as the streets were slippery and snow continued to fall relentlessly in tiny flecks. Parking in front of his building, she immediately spotted him holding two cups of coffee. He started towards her and she watched as a corner of his lips tugged up in a smile when their eyes met and she felt her own smile slowly curving her lips up. He circled around the car and got in, closing the passenger door with a shiver. She couldn't blame him; the temperature had dropped significantly in the past twelve hours.

"Hi." He turned to her with a smile and handed her the warm cup of coffee. The smell was heavenly to her caffeine deprived senses and she took it from him, using her other hand to pull him in by the lapels of his thick wool coat for a kiss. His hand touched her cheek and she sighed into the kiss.

"Morning." She whispered when he trailed down to her jaw, brushing his lips lightly over her skin, eliciting goosebumps in its wake. She pulled him back up, crashing her lips to his again in a deep kiss, before resting her forehead on his. "I missed you." She admitted and laughed quietly when he kissed the tip of her nose.

"Missed you too, Kate. So much." He said gently and she smiled, pulling back to take a sip of her coffee, but didn't sever their connection as he quickly found her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. "I swear, this trip to LA felt endless."

"Did everything go okay?" She asked, placing her cup in the cup holder and starting the car. Pulling onto the slippery street again, she gave his hand one last squeeze, before pulling it back to focus on traffic.

"Yeah, they're well into Naked Heat and it looks like the movie will be ready to premiere in the summer." He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. She knew he was probably tired. He had flown in late last night and it was not even 6am yet. "But things look good. We closed a deal for the next two books."

"That's great, Rick." She beamed at him, happy for his success. He was currently working on the fifth Nikki Heat book and she wondered when the series would end as she was sure he wouldn't be writing about her forever, even if he had already stated that he would be more than willing to do so.

"Yeah. Guess you really are my good luck charm." He touched her thigh and gave it a teasing squeeze, leaving his hand there. Kate welcomed the touch. After not seeing him for almost a week, she craved his warm hands on her, in whatever capacity she could have it. She knew they still had a long day ahead of them before she could do all the wonderful things to him she wanted to. Right now, though, they still had a crime scene to get to.

"Glad to be of service." She threw a teasing smile in his direction and felt his hand squeezing her thigh once more. "Sorry to wake you up so early. You didn't have to come, you know?"

"Hey, you know me. I never pass up an opportunity to spend time with you." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, an affectionate grin tugging at her lips. "Oh, by the way, do you think you can make it to the loft for dinner tomorrow night?"

"I guess so. It all depends on this case. Why?"

"Well, Aunt Margaret is coming down with the kids tomorrow. They're spending Christmas with us this year since… you know…" He trailed off and she touched the hand on her thigh comfortingly.

His cousin Sam had died this past summer and it was still painful for Rick to talk about it. Kate had met his Aunt Margaret – Sam's mother and Martha's sister – and his kids in July when they had driven up to Cape Cod for the funeral. Sam had left three kids behind and they now lived with their grandmother, since their mom had passed away a few years back. Kate had formed a bond with his oldest child, Julia, and had even come up to visit with Rick a couple of times since then.

"That's great that they're spending Christmas here. Maybe we can take the kids skating or something? Julia always says coming to New York was one of her dreams." She said, a little hesitant, not sure if she was overstepping. His smile told her a different story.

"She's going to love seeing New York with you." He lifted her hand up to his lips, placing a tender kiss to her skin. "So you'll come?"

"Of course." She replied, parking the car in front of a fancy building in the Upper West Side.

Uniforms had already secured the area and a young officer nodded at them when they made their way towards the entrance. Ryan and Esposito were probably up there and she hoped against hope this would be an open and shut case. It was too cold and she wanted nothing more than stay in with Rick, warming up in all the greatest ways possible. They took the elevator and Kate took that time to step into his arms and nuzzle against his neck, breathing him in.

God, she had really missed him.

He held her close, arms around her waist and kissed her chastely. They had rules – well she did, really – about public displays of affection while on the job. Nevertheless, the sixty second ride to the fifth floor was enough to quell her need for touching him for the next hour or so.

When they stepped out of the elevator, the hallway was bustling with activity. A yellow tape sealed the entrance to apartment 5A and Rick held it up for Kate to go under it, before doing the same, following her in. The body was sprawled in the living room floor, soaking a white Persian carpet with the victim's deep red blood. Whoever had done this to the poor woman had obviously been pretty pissed off at her, based on the eight gunshot wounds that had killed her.

"Hey, Lanie. What have we got?" Kate approached the medical examiner and crouched down beside her as she examined the victim.

"I'm still working on this one, haven't even checked the other vic yet, but I think cause of death here is pretty obvious." Lanie said and nodded at Rick with a smile. "Hey, Castle. Good to have you back."

"Yeah, man. Beckett here has been moping all week without you around." Esposito showed up behind them, nudging his shoulder playfully. Kate glared at him.

"I was not moping. I just wasn't feeling all that great, that's all." She narrowed her eyes at him, but the Hispanic detective only grinned at her knowingly. "Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes at him and stood up. "What can you tell me, Detective Can't-mind-his-own-business?"

"Well," He chuckled at the slightly pissed off look in her eyes. "It looks like a murder-suicide. The neighbors heard gunshots and called the police. When they got here, both were already dead."

"It seems like this guy was really pissed off at her." Rick commented and Kate nodded.

"You can say that again. Used her as shooting practice, really." Lanie shook her head sadly. "Anyway, we should go check the other one. GSW to the head, right, Javi?" She asked, but he shook his head.

"He put a gun to his mouth. It's not pretty." The detective said and led them to the master suite.

Kate felt her stomach roll sickeningly and had to swallow hard to keep its contents down when she saw the body. She had seen her fair share of dead bodies, but this one was a little more grotesque than most. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed again, closing her eyes for a moment. A warm hand touching the small of her back startled her and she found Rick looking at her with concern.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, after Lanie had already followed Esposito into the room, and she nodded, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Yeah, I just…" She breathed in deeply again. "I just haven't been feeling all that great this past week, is all. Probably the flu or something. It's been going around."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me." She offered him a small smile, praying that her stomach would settle so she could do her job. "Lanie?"

"Looks like suicide, alright. But I'll have to take them to the morgue for a full exam." She stood up and turned back to Kate. "Hey, are you okay? You're looking a little green." Her friend's concerned eyes met hers inquiringly and Kate shook her head. Before she could say anything, though, an unexpected sound came through the door across the hallway. "Did you guys hear that?"

Kate didn't even let Lanie finish before she was crossing the hall towards the sound. The door was closed and Kate took her gun out just in case. If it was what she thought it was, then she hardly would need it, but she still needed to go in armed. Opening the door slowly, she allowed her eyes to sweep the room, her gaze falling on the crib on the left side, the early morning light shining through the window. A baby boy was standing on his toes, his little hands gripping the bars of his crib tightly as he cried fiercely. His lament tugged at her heart and she immediately holstered her weapon, crossing the room in three quick steps to meet the toddler. He didn't look any older than 18 months.

"Hey, little guy." She said quietly, a small smile as peace offering as she approached him. His cheeks were tinged pink and his bright blue eyes were shining as fat tears escaped them. "Hey, sweetie. You're okay." Reaching for him, she lifted his small body up and cradled him close to her chest. His cries toned down to occasional hiccups as he gripped the lapel of her coat tightly in his small, chubby hands.

"Is he alright? Is he hurt?" Rick asked quietly from behind her and she turned to look at him, holding the boy close.

"I don't think he's hurt. Just scared." She brushed her hand gently over the boy's dark hair and couldn't help but press a tender kiss to his temple. "We should get him out of here." She whispered and Rick nodded, guiding her out of the room with a hand on the small of her back. They met Lanie and Esposito at the door and nodded at them. "Can you try to locate his next of kin, Espo?" She asked and he nodded, looking at the little boy sadly. "Hey, where's Ryan?" She had just now noticed the younger detective's absence.

"He'll meet us at the station later. Jenny wasn't feeling well and she's due any day now." He explained and Kate nodded.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." She said softly, looking down at the infant dozing off on her shoulder, a small smile playing on her lips. "Let's find someone to take care of you, little guy." She whispered to the boy and kissed his hair, the baby smell making her sigh with a longing she wasn't even aware she had in her.

"His name is Connor." Rick told her as they walked back into the living room and out of the apartment.

"How do you know?" She asked curiously, holding onto the boy with one arm and signing off quickly with her other hand. They were bringing him to the Precinct and she hoped someone would claim him.

"Saw a broken frame with his name on it on the floor in the hallway, just outside his room. Looks like it was hanging on his bedroom door." He explained, pushing the button to call the elevator. "I wonder what happened there." He commented, reaching out to run a finger gently over Connor's cheek.

"I just hope he didn't see anything." Kate sighed and entered the elevator, still holding on tightly to the sleeping boy. Having his warm little body cradled against hers was eliciting all sorts of feelings in her and she wasn't entirely sure what they meant. In fact, she wasn't even sure she wanted to know. Shaking her head at her thoughts, she looked up to find Rick smiling softly at her. "What?" She asked self-consciously. He shook his head, touching her chin to bring her lips up to meet his.

"You look good like this." He said quietly, nuzzling into her neck and Kate fought a shiver that desperately wanted to run through her body. "I love you." He whispered into her ear and stepped away when the doors opened, leaving her breathless and with so many emotions running through her heart and mind that she felt confused.

Around noon, Rick announced he was hungry and volunteered to go buy them lunch. Normally, Kate would have gone with him, but she couldn't make Connor let go of her; the boy had taken refuge in her arms and, whenever she stepped away for more than a couple of minutes, he would scream bloody murder. On the other hand, Kate felt like she couldn't bring herself to leave him either, especially because they still hadn't found his next of kin. Apparently both sets of grandparents were dead and they were still trying to get ahold of his mother's sister, who lived in Texas.

"Hey, Beckett?" She heard Ryan's voice and turned to him, prying Connor's fingers away from her hair with a chuckle.

"Yeah?" She asked as the little boy tugged on her hair again. "Connor." She tried to say sternly, but it came out softly. "No pulling, little guy, come on." He offered her a six tooth smile and she shook her head, holding onto him as she stood up and made her way to Ryan's desk.

"Look at you, all mama bear." The young detective teased and she rolled her eyes, grinning nonetheless. "Hey, little man." He tickled the boy's stomach and earned an excited laugh. "He's adorable."

"Is Jenny okay? I forgot to ask." Kate said, leaning against his desk, making Connor stand on her thighs.

"Yeah, it was a false alarm. But the doctor said it's any day now." He said with a small smile and Kate returned in kind. It was so good to see her friend so happy about his first baby. "Anyway, Richardson from Narcotics just called. One of their guys got shot last night and they need blood."

"Oh, so they want us to go give some blood?" She asked and Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, they're asking for AB negative, if possible. That's your blood type, right?" He questioned and she confirmed it, looking down at Connor, who was resting his head on her shoulder, playing lazily with her turtleneck. "Looks like the guy is in pretty bad shape and they need the blood right away."

"I'll do it, no problem. I just need someone to take care of him." She nodded towards the boy in her lap and Ryan grinned. "I think I might be coming down with something, though. Haven't been feeling great all week."

"Well, they do that pre-screening test, right? Just mention it when they take your blood for testing." Ryan shrugged and picked up Connor from her lap. "Hey, little dude." He said with a goofy smile. "I can look after him for a while."

"And it's good practice for you too, right, daddy?" She teased and he grinned happily with a nod. "Alright, you two behave. Any luck tracking down his Aunt?" She asked, walking back to her desk to grab her things.

"Not yet. Won't pick up the phone. Javi is still trying to find someone on the guy's side."

"Okay, keep trying. I'd hate to see him go into social services." She put on her coat and walked back to them. Connor was looking at her sadly. "Hey, buddy, don't look at me like that. I'll be back real soon, okay?" She pressed a kiss to his forehead and blew light raspberry on his cheek, making him giggle. "Hold down the fort." She told Ryan and made her way to the elevator. Hopefully she would be back before the boys cleaned out whatever Rick brought back for lunch.

Now that she thought about food, her stomach protested loudly, the nausea she had felt earlier all but gone. The drive to the NYU Hospital, where the Narcotics Detective was in, turned out taking longer than she expected. Snow had piled up a good two feet since earlier this morning and some of the streets were blocked or too slippery to drive faster than a freaking turtle. It was only thirty minutes later that Kate finally parked near the hospital and walked the rest of the way there.

Once inside, she asked at the reception where she was supposed to go to donate blood and a nurse took her to the second floor where she registered before being ushered into an office for a quick interview about her medical history. She mentioned feeling a little under the weather lately, but the doctor assured her that if anything came up in her blood test, they would let her know and her blood would only be made available after passing the screening test. They would rush hers because Detective Harper needed the type specific pretty badly.

After they took her blood, she sat in the waiting room to drink a glass of juice and eat a cookie that was being offered to donors. Just as she sat down, her phone rang.

"Beckett." She answered without looking at the caller's ID.

"I brought you lunch, but you skipped out on me." His voice brought a smile to her face and she chuckled, munching on a chocolate cookie.

"I'd hardly call donating blood as skipping out. What'd you get?" She asked curiously, her stomach protesting the lack of sustenance.

"Burger and fries at Remy's. Even got you a strawberry milkshake."

"Oh, don't let the boys eat everything. I'm starving." She nearly begged and he laughed on the other side.

"Don't worry, love. Your lunch is safe with me." He reassured her and she chuckled. "Hey, are you feeling better?" He asked and she could hear the concern in his voice.

"I am. Guess it was just something that I ate, I don't know. The nausea is gone, thank goodness." She bit on her bottom lip for a moment before continuing. "Hey, are you coming over tonight?"

"Why, Detective Beckett, did you miss me?" He asked teasingly and she rolled her eyes.

"You know I did."

"Are you going to seduce me?" He said huskily and, even though she knew he was teasing her, she couldn't help the shiver that ran deliciously through her in anticipation.

"You bet your ass I am, Mr. Castle." She said with a sultry tone to her voice and laughed quietly when she heard him take a deep breath. "So, are you coming over tonight or what?" She asked again.

"Oh, you can count me in, Detective." He said seriously and she laughed again. She had really, really missed him.

"Detective Beckett?" A nurse interrupted and Kate looked up at the young woman.

"Rick, let me call you back, okay?" She told him and tried to fight off the nervousness bubbling up inside of her as she hung up. "Yes, what is it?" She asked hesitantly and the nurse offered her a small smile.

"Dr. Lawrence wants to see you. If you'd please follow me?"

"Oh, is there something wrong with the test?" She asked, fear creeping up in her heart, making it slam forcibly against her rib cage.

"She'll let you know. Right through here." She directed her back into the doctor's office where they had taken her medical history earlier. Kate stepped in and closed the door, her hands shaking slightly.

"Detective Beckett, please take a seat." The young doctor smiled at her and Kate felt her shoulders sag a little in relief. If she was smiling, then it couldn't be anything bad, right? "So, we had a little surprise when we ran your blood test."

"What's wrong?" Kate asked and could hear her own voice shaking, despite trying to stay strong. What if it was something bad? Doctors were trained to break those kinds of news gently to the patients, weren't they? Oh, God.

"You know we run your blood for all kinds of things, right? Hepatitis, syphilis, HIV and all groups of antibodies that could possibly be found in your blood." She explained gently and Kate nodded. "When we tested you for Beta HCG, it came back positive." She said and Kate felt like all the oxygen had been ripped out of the room.

"Wait, you mean…" She started breathlessly, starting to feel a little faint.

"We still want to run it one more time to be sure, but it looks like you're pregnant, Detective."

A/N: So... thoughts?