- Kate Beckett: [whispering] You guys, I completely forgot. He said that it wasn't a big deal, but I think it actually kind of is.
- Alexis Castle: It's a very big deal. We even get a little competitive.
- Martha Rodgers: I started working on mine in July.
- Kate Beckett: Wh...
- Alexis Castle: Welcome to the family.
- Martha Rodgers: Yeah.
- [chuckles]
- Kate Beckett: So what do I have to do again?
- Alexis Castle: Write six funny, poignant, and eloquent lines describing highlights of the past year for you.
- Kate Beckett: [relieved] Oh, yeah.
- Alexis Castle: And they must rhyme.
- Martha Rodgers: Yeah.
- Kate Beckett: [worried again] What word rhymes with "I'm screwed"?
- Kate Beckett: Hey. Okay, so I, um, I've got my draft of the poem for the family Christmas card. Wanna hear it?
- Richard Castle: Yeah.
- Kate Beckett: Okay. "This has been an epic year / Life's been full of joy and tears / Solving crimes and catching killers / Just like Castle's famous thrillers / We share a passion every day / As partners go, we're here to stay"
- Richard Castle: It's great.
- Kate Beckett: Thank you.
- [seeing his expression, unaware he's just been banned from consulting with the department]
- Kate Beckett: Something wrong?
- Richard Castle: [covering] What could be wrong? You're here.
- [first lines]
- Richard Castle: All right, ladies of the Castle household, just a reminder that your portion for the holiday poem is due in less than... seventy-two hours.
- [Beckett is freaked out a little]
- Alexis Castle: I just have to do a polish.
- Richard Castle: I can't wait to see it.
- [to Beckett]
- Richard Castle: How's yours coming along? Are you ready for your big debut in the Castle family Christmas card?
- Kate Beckett: [covering] Yeah, absolutely.
- [Castle and Beckett arrive at the crime scene]
- Javier Esposito: So get ready for a murder with a little holiday spirit. It went down around 10:30 pm. Witnesses saw a black Mustang, no plates, chasing after this guy.
- Kate Beckett: This was a drive-by? But he looks like he was shot close range.
- Javier Esposito: Yeah, and the shooter capped him in the head to finish him off.
- Kate Beckett: So this wasn't random. Did anyone get a good look at the assailant?
- Javier Esposito: Yeah, when he drove by like a bat out of hell. Fuzzy red hat, big white beard.
- Kate Beckett: Seriously? Our killer is Santa Claus?
- Javier Esposito: Three witnesses, all told the same story.
- Richard Castle: Guys, squeezing down countless chimneys? Delivering millions of presents in one night? It's bound to happen... Santa finally cracked.
- Javier Esposito: Or... our victim was naughty instead of nice.
- [he and Castle share a laugh]
- Richard Castle: That's... tasteless.
- Kate Beckett: Or our killer just wore a Santa suit because that was the perfect disguise at this time of year.
- Kate Beckett: It's just that rhyming isn't exactly my thing.
- Richard Castle: This coming from the woman who skipped prom to crash a poetry slam.
- [Castle is watching a group of strippers perform]
- Kate Beckett: Castle, you keep staring like that, you're gonna have to pay for the two-drink minimum.
- Richard Castle: I'm sorry. What were you saying?
- Kate Beckett: I wasn't saying anything. You were talking. About Dino. About how he's a nice guy in spite of the fact that he's a mobster.
- [while Beckett is talking, Castle turns to check out a stripper as she walks by]
- Kate Beckett: Really?
- [meeting with Dino to discuss the victim]
- Richard Castle: So you're admitting he was your doctor?
- Dino Scarpella: I don't like that word, "admit."
- Richard Castle: Acknowledging?
- Dino Scarpella: Wow, Rick, me and you... we had a good relationship once, huh?
- Richard Castle: We still do, don't we?
- Dino Scarpella: Well, I don't know. I need to know I can speak freely. That you're not gonna turn around and repeat what I say to the authorities.
- Richard Castle: Dino... you can trust me.
- Dino Scarpella: Eric was family. My cousin Bruno's kid. By a girl he had on the side. Bruno, he died in the slammer, so I looked after Eric. I sent him to the best schools. I didn't want him to work for the family, but... you wanna hear God laugh, you tell him... You tell him all your plans, right?
- Richard Castle: So what happened?
- Dino Scarpella: Few years back, one of my guys got shot. It happens. He would've croaked, but Eric stepped up. Next thing I know... Next thing I know, he's got a taste for the life. I need to find out who did this to him.
- Richard Castle: Don't take this the wrong way, Dino, but I think you already do know.
- Dino Scarpella: It was not Christopher.
- Richard Castle: All the evidence says that it was.
- Dino Scarpella: He was framed. He's innocent. When it comes to this, anyway. I know... because I was with him.
- Richard Castle: Dino, if that's true, all we have to do is call Beckett. You can alibi him.
- Dino Scarpella: Mmm, no, that's no good. See, at the time, me and Christopher, we were, uh, engaged in a sensitive business transaction.
- Richard Castle: And by sensitive, you mean "illegal".
- Dino Scarpella: I don't like that word either.
- Dino Scarpella: I need you to prove Christopher's innocence and find Eric's killer. Hey, nobody connected's gonna talk to the cops. But if I vouch for you... give you access no cop has ever gotten...
- Richard Castle: Dino, I don't know if I'm the guy...
- Dino Scarpella: I could crack a joke about making you an offer you can't refuse. But you cannot refuse.
- Richard Castle: Understood.
- Dino Scarpella: Good.
- Richard Castle: But if I figure out who did this, you *have* to let *me* bring the killer to justice. And by justice, I mean *legal* justice, not just taking him out. When the time comes, I need to call Beckett.
- Dino Scarpella: We will swear by the code of silence.
- [Dino picks up a dagger and slices the palm of his hand]
- Richard Castle: Omerta?
- [Dino slices Castle's palm]
- Richard Castle: Ow!
- [Dino claps their hands together in a sign of bonding]
- Richard Castle: Ow!
- Dino Scarpella: You're blood now, Rick. You're family... Do not let me down.
- Captain Victoria Gates: As he was being transferred to Central Booking, Detective McBride was shot and killed by unknown assailants. The D.A. learned that you were cooperating with members of organized crime in your investigation. People who might have wanted McBride dead. Uh... This doesn't look good. especially for you. I am so sorry, Mr. Castle, but... the D.A. spoke to the Mayor and...
- [sighs]
- Captain Victoria Gates: You are no longer permitted to work with the NYPD.
- Kate Beckett: So, let me get this straight. You wanna re-investigate Eric's murder on behalf of *your* friend, Dino, the mob boss?
- Richard Castle: Okay, well, when you put it like that, it sounds bad.
- Kate Beckett: Dino is playing you.
- Richard Castle: Mobsters get arrested. It-It's a cost of doing business. Dino knows that. So why go through the trouble of asking me to look into it unless Christopher was innocent?
- Kate Beckett: Firstly, he didn't exactly ask you. And secondly, he just wants his number two back.
- Richard Castle: Well, there's more to it than that.
- [Castle shows her the cut on his palm]
- Richard Castle: Omerta. We made the blood oath. It was not my idea, and I did not have a choice.
- Kate Beckett: So you believe Dino because he gave you a paper cut?
- [after dinner with Lanie's parents, pretending to be engaged]
- Javier Esposito: But... you know, it made me think seriously about us. And where we are.
- Lanie Parish: Javi, I-I don't think we should do this here.
- Javier Esposito: No, I have to say this. Lanie... being faked engaged to you... made me realize how great we are together. But not the way that your parents are. Or Castle and Beckett, or Ryan and Jenny.
- Lanie Parish: I know. I-I feel it, too. I mean, I'm crazy about you.
- Javier Esposito: Oh, I'm crazy about you, too, but just, you know, not... not in that way. And you deserve what they have.
- Lanie Parish: We both do.
- Javier Esposito: So the first time I meet your parents, you're asking me to lie to them?
- Lanie Parish: I'll be lying to them too, but I've been doing it longer.
- [last lines]
- Kevin Ryan: All right, everybody. Let's light this baby up!
- [lights dim in the precinct and the Christmas tree lights up]
- Kevin Ryan: Merry Christmas! Looks great this year.