See Author's Note at the end.
Strangers
After the week she had been having, Detective Kate Beckett had felt the need to give in to the cliché of having a drink after a bad day at work. Her plan was to go in, have just one drink, then go home and go straight to bed.
But two hours later found her seated at the bar, still nursing her first drink, and cursing the man who she had been trying to catch for the past nine days. Her team knew he was responsible for the death of those twin girls, but they still could not prove it. The killer was staying two steps ahead of them and the stress of the case was finally taking its toll on Kate. She needed a break, but she wouldn't let herself take one, not while that murderer was still out there. She could still see the murder board in her head, her mind searching it for some hidden clue, some tiny detail that she may have overlooked.
"You look like you could use something stronger," said a husky male voice to her left as a glass of what smelled like whiskey was pushed into her field of vision.
"No thanks," she said stiffly.
"To what, the drink or the company?" the stranger questioned.
"Both."
Kate felt him shrug. "More for me then," the guy said as he took the drink back. "Must have been some day if you're turning down free alcohol. Want to talk about it?"
"No."
"They say that confession is good for the soul."
Kate tried to focus on something other than the man next to her; the ice in her glass, the wood grain on the bar, something. But for some unexplainable reason, she found herself saying, "You ever have one of those days when you just wish you had a different life?"
"Sometimes. But I like where my life is at the moment."
"Well that makes one of us," Kate said as she finally knocked back the rest of her drink. "I could do with a re-write of my life."
"Well now that I can do."
Kate finally turned to face the mystery man and saw the last person she would have ever expected to run into at a bar. Bright blue eyes, a charming smile, and, dare she say it, ruggedly handsome good looks. The most shocking thing was that Kate knew him. Or rather, knew of him.
"Rick Castle," Rick said as he held out his hand.
Kate took it, desperately trying to control her surprise and to school her features into something other than shock. "Castle…you know, that name rings a bell." Not knowing what was coming over her, she threw him a wink.
"Tease," he murmured.
Kate laughed. "I'm –"
Castle held up a hand to stop her. "No, no. You said you wanted a re-write, and I have been known to spin a good story."
Kate gave him a measuring look. "You think you can come up with a good enough second life for me?"
"Is that a challenge?" Castle asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.
"Only if you want it to be," Kate responded.
Castle grinned. "Challenge accepted then."
Author's Note: Ok, so the idea behind this is simple. Each time Rick and Kate meet, he'll spin a different story for her, about who she could be. But he's also trying to guess her real story. Now here is where you guys come in. Submit an idea for a "second life" for Kate, and I'll write a chapter around it. One of my New Year's resolutions was to write more, so what better way to work on that than a prompt fic? This story won't go anywhere without your help, so send me those ideas!