Running On Empty

Summary: Hi everyone. So this one's a little hard to explain. It's AU and it's based before any of the Derrick Storm books have come out, Beckett's still a rookie. This is about how his stories help get her through her mother's murder except this time he's there to witness it. Also there's a murder case that copies his books and they solve it together.

Also, I don't own anything Castle.

Richard Castle sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He had been staring at his computer screen for the last two hours and was getting nowhere. Why was writing so difficult when he actually didn't have something else he could be doing or somewhere else he could be?

After the blank document on his display taunted him for another fifteen minutes, he ran his fingers through his messy hair and powered it down. He hoisted himself out of his desk seat and realized how exhausted he was. It almost seemed impossible to get so tired when all he had done all day was mope around and sit in front of his computer.

Life had been unusually dull for Rick the past week. His daughter, Alexis, wouldn't be back from visiting her mother in Los Angeles for another day and a half, and Sofia Turner, the CIA agent he had been shadowing for a character in his current writing project, had officially cut off all ties to him. Being all alone was terrible. If he could only come up with a proper ending to his new book, he could write that last chapter and would let himself go out and do something.

Tomorrow would be easier, he mused. His most recent book, One Bullet, One Heart, was being released and he had a book signing for a couple of hours. He would be able to take some time away from his office and possibly get his mind off of Sofia. If he got the inspiration for Clara Strike out of his head, he could give Derrick Storm more attention.

Rick loved the idea of Derrick storm. The man was a badass. He just had to have a good enough story to make the bestseller's list if he wanted to be able to continue with his character.

Rick opened his bedroom door and made his way over to his bed without even bothering to flick on the light or change his clothes. After fluffing his pillow and slumping over on the mattress, he tried to close his eyes and let his mind wander.

That's when the thought hit him. Food. Man, he really should've eaten something. Now he was hungry, but he was tired and food was all the way in the kitchen. He could just fall asleep and eat in the morning. He closed his eyes to do just that.

As if on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly. Surrendering, Rick walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. The cool air made him a little bit more alert while he looked inside and decided on a leftover slice of pizza.

Plopping down on the couch, he reached for the remote. Maybe there was something good on TV.

Undoubtedly, there was nothing good on. It was so late at night that most of the good channels were either playing reruns or infomercials. Rick finished his pizza and fell asleep to an enthusiastic middle-aged man trying to convince him why he couldn't live without a complete set of indestructible kitchen knives.

. . . .

Officer Kate Beckett tugged at the collar of her uniform, getting as much extra air as she could in the mass of people. She didn't normally patrol at night, but there was a large crowd of people camping on the sidewalk, waiting for the release of a new book that was supposed to be hot stuff. The fact that the author of said book would be arriving in the morning to sign these books had brought out even more people. Even more people called for more patrol, and here she was on the street in the middle of the night.

There had been arguments about people cutting in line, who had been where and many things like that. It didn't take very long before arguments escalated into shoving matches, and Kate spent a long chunk of the night babysitting civilians. People tend to be slightly more frustrating when you're tired and crabby. She knew that being a rookie she would be taking some crappy shifts until she got her bearings, but things like this weren't exactly what she signed up for.

It was nearing six in the morning when another officer came to relieve Kate. It was in that moment that some of the people in the line were voting over who to send for coffee, which could only lead to more arguing. His problem now. As Kate turned away from him, a smile played at her lips and her eyes rolled slightly upward in a silent Thank God.

Separating herself from the line waiting outside the front entrance, she walked inside of the bookstore. The bookstore wasn't supposed to open for another hour, but the owner was setting up inside and he let her in to use the restroom.

When Kate went to wash her hands she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Yikes. She took off her hat and ran her fingers through her hair, but that didn't help very much. She still looked just as pale and thin, and the bags under her eyes just as prominent. She was a mess. What she really needed was to catch up on a week's worth of sleep and actually eat when meal times came around.

When she got home she had no plans to fall back asleep, though. She would just sit back down in her home office and open up the case file on Johanna Beckett again. She would stay up all night analyzing it, and get no sleep. She might see something new, something she hadn't seen before that made all the loose ends fit. Even a little sliver of information could turn the whole thing around and she had no intentions of overlooking it.

Kate picked up her hat and carried it underneath her arm as she exited the bathroom. She was hit with the smell of fresh coffee and a huge display of the hardcover One Bullet, One Heart. The store owner was looking distressed and making numerous phone calls, while workers buzzed around trying to make the store perfect and presentable. Apparently Richard Castle was supposed to have arrived fifteen minutes ago. Figures, Kate mused as she took in the life-size cardboard cutout of the author. He looked like the type.

. . . .

Rick woke up to the sound of pounding on his door. From the shouting loud enough to wake the dead, he concluded it was Paula, his agent.

"Richard Castle! I swear to God! If you don't open this door I am so done!"

Rick checked his watch and realized what time it was. Shit! He had to be gone right now. He jumped off of the couch and ran to his room without bothering to let Paula inside. Simultaneously brushing his teeth and throwing on a clean outfit, he almost fell toppled over on the floor. Then running into the bathroom to spit and rinse his toothbrush, he heard the banging on his door stop and his phone start to ring.

He took a quick glance in the mirror, and decided the stubble was no big deal. He looked presentable enough. Then, instead of answering his phone he bolted out the door and hooked on to Paula's arm. He hurriedly dragged her with him even as she started to scold him.

A/N: Hey everyone. This is my first time posting any of my writing on here, so I'm a tad nervous. I don't know if this is the kind of thing anyone would be interested in, but I have lots of plans for future chapters, so please let me know what you think. The next chapter will give much more away plot-wise as to where I want to take this story so I hope this is something you guys will enjoy.