A Force to be reckoned with...

Chapter 1

Kathrine Houghton Beckett came into this world on November 17th 1979. She was 21 inches long, weighed 9lbs 7 oz. and to her mother's delight she almost had a full head of chestnut brown hair.

The day started pretty much like every other day, but the weather forecast was one of a major nor-Easter spreading from D.C. to Boston this was a bit unusual for late April, but with global warming anything was possible.

Johanna Beckett had so badly wanted to have a certified mid-wife to help her have the most natural child birth experience, but with this coming storm and being so close to her due date, she was concerned that things might not turn out the way she had planned and began to make other plans for delivering her baby.

It was the night of November 16th and the storm was threatening to slam the eastern seaboard with winds equal to the force of a category 3 hurricane. She spent most of her time thinking about her baby, imagining she would look just like her father. She imagined she would be as strong and determined as she, even as soft sometimes, she thought to herself that when this baby was born she would be someone to look to when the times were unsure, whenever one of her friends needed help, she was the one they would go to, that was the kind of child Johanna planned to raise.

Jim Beckett came home, entering their small So-Ho apartment, shaking the water off of his coat and hanging it up in the closet, pulling off his shoes, he called out for her in the quiet apartment, "Johanna, I'm home!"

He walked through the living room and peered into the bedroom, a smile on his face, expecting to see her there caressing her belly, maybe reading their unborn baby a story or just talking to her. What he didn't expect to see was wife doubled over lying on the floor. He quickly ran to her side and noticed a large puddle of water near her, his heart raced in his chest, as he imagined something was very wrong. Her breathing was shallow, he checked her pulse, it was weak but there.

Quickly he dialled 911 gave his name and address to the operator, he told them what was happening and requested help immediately. He pulled his wife into his arms as the operator told him that they would send an ambulance to their apartment, telling him to remain on the line in case anything else went wrong.

He heard Johanna start to groan in pain and he looked down at her, holding her tightly with his free hand, "Are you ok?" he asked.

She replied, her voice weak and scratchy, she told him her water had broken and that she had blacked out afterwards. She then asked him what had happened and he told her, telling her that help was on its way. He hoped that the EMT's could get there as soon as possible, he didn't want anything to happen to either her or the baby, he tried to make Johanna as comfortable as possible and not let her feel his nervousness. She looked up at him and thought to herself "what have I done to deserve this understanding compassionate man?"

They didn't have to wait much longer as help came, the person on the phone indicating that he needs to open the door to them. He left her for a split second to open the door and came back to her side, waiting for them to arrive. The paramedics arrived in the next few seconds with a stretcher and gently laid Johanna on it wheeling her quickly to the ambulance, administering oxygen just to be safe and loaded the stretcher on the rig.

The ride to the hospital was the longest ride of Jim's life. Johanna noticed his worried expression and took his hand.

"Hey, don't look so worried, I'm okay." She whispered.

He smiled down at her, couldn't help but thinking it should be the other way around, him comforting her, telling her that everything would be okay, she was supposed to be the one freaking out about the baby. Nonetheless, Jim was grateful that his wife knew him so well, he felt her squeeze his hand and he leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead, trying to keep calm enough for the both of them until they arrived.

Growing up, Kate Beckett was a very disclosed little girl. Her mother and father had always wanted her to see both the good and bad in everyone in which she was in contact with. She would be the negotiator whenever there was a problem with her friends in her neighborhood and usually solved whatever that problem was.

Kate loved to read, when she was first able to sound out words her mom and dad knew that she was a child who did not really like picture books because they did not challenge her mind, but rather loved the more complicated ones.

She ended up skipping a grade in elementary school and then was able to move ahead from sophomore to senior in high school. She became interested in an author by the name of Richard Castle. She bought his very first book "A hail of bullets" and when she started it she could not put it down. It only took about 4 days for Kate to read it from start to finish.

One day Kate was skimming through the N.Y. Daily News and noticed an ad for a book signing for her now "new" favorite author Richard Castle at the Barnes & Noble on East 17th Street at 2 pm on Saturday. She waited for her mom to get home from work and tried to figure out a way to convince her to let Kate go to the book signing. Little did Kate know that Johanna actually was a fan too due to the fact that her daughter could not keep her nose out of "A Hail of Bullets" so after Kate went to sleep she "borrowed" her copy and actually finished it long before Kate did. She could see why her daughter was so in love with it, she herself was itching to go out and buy the rest of his books herself.

Her mom arrived home from work around 5:30pm on Thursday night and went through her routine after she got home. Kate spent the time wondering just how to bring it up with her mother. During dinner that her Dad prepared, good old fashioned meat and potatoes, Johanna noticed that Kate was pushing her potatoes around on her plate and trying to make a wall with her green beans. Jim knew something was off with her but he could not quite put his finger on it. Kate placed her fork down on her plate and said "Mom do you think it would be ok if I could go to mid-town on Saturday afternoon?"

"Johanna looked up at her husband who shrugged and then back at Kate, "For what reason?"

She took a deep breath and returned her attention back to the food on her plate, "Well I went to the corner book store and picked up a book by this author Richard Castle. It was so good I couldn't put it down, and he will be at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square for a book signing on Saturday at 2 pm."

Johanna looked directly at Jim searching for a little help.

Jim said " Katie I really don't have a problem with you going to that book store but being that it will be later in the afternoon I'd like someone to go with you, are there any friends who can accompany you?"

Kate thought long and hard but all of her friends were otherwise busy on Saturday. "Dad most of my friends are either busy or away."

Seeing the hurt in Kate's eyes her mom decided that she would go with her. She too was becoming a fan of the man anyways and would love to meet him.

When her mom told her of her plan she immediately ran over to her and wrapped her arms around her neck and gave her a really tight hug. Jim was always in awe of his wife and daughter and wondered what he did to be so blessed.

With the book signing taken care of it was time to clean up after dinner. All she could do was think about him and what she would say when they looked into each other's eyes. Kate lay in bed but could not fall asleep, because she was too excited about meeting him! She gave up on trying to sleep and dreamed about various different scenarios of the first meet and she could be very imaginative.

After Kate was fast asleep Jim and Johanna decided to sit down and have a heart to heart about their daughter's education. Seeing that she skipped the 11th grade and went right to being a senior, her options had opened up considerably. Jim was a corporate lawyer and seeing that his time at the firm had taken up a majority of his life he wanted Kate to go to a school to study law and become a trial layer like her mom.

Johanna Beckett was actually a pretty damn good lawyer and won most of her cases, but she was surprised that Jim wanted Kate to follow in their footsteps and actually study to become one. They both presented the pros and cons about going to any school and study to be a lawyer but they both agreed that a couple of days after the book signing on Saturday they would sit her down and ask what she thought of becoming a lawyer. With that settled they both got ready for bed and slept soundly.

Kate could not hold in her giddiness as she and her mother waited in line at the book store. They had made a day of it...slept in a little late, stopped off at a new restaurant called 'The House' for a light lunch and from there headed over to the book store.

Johanna was aware of her daughter's obsession with Richard Castle. She had spent most of her allowance purchasing his novels and when she was finished reading them, Johanna simply picked up the well read books and started reading them also. In a short time they both knew all of his characters and could not wait for a new novel to hit the book store. Now they were the next customers to meet the author.

They had a great day and Kate would not trade this day for anything. The author's aide had motioned to them to come up to the signing desk, when they did, that's when Kate forgot how to move her mouth to talk.

The first thing she noticed about Richard Castle was that he had the most beautiful piercing blue eyes. She stood there frozen staring at him, giving him the once over she noticed that he was about 8 or 10 years older than her. He obviously kept himself in great shape because his light blue button down shirt was tight fitting to his chest and biceps. She was stunned at the way he presented himself, something that took her mind in a totally different direction.

The next thing she heard was "Who should I make this out to?" Kate stood there totally oblivious to the question that he had just asked her. Little did Kate know her mom had had a word or two before they actually met the writer. She informed him that her 19th birthday was approaching and if she was dumbstruck when she met him to write something along the lines of wishing her a happy birthday.

The next few minutes were a blur for Kate, she had lost all conscious thought and could not figure out why they were walking away from the book store. Looking to her mother for some kind of explanation, Johanna told her "You completely froze Kate, you just stood there staring at the man!" Still unsure it happened at all they finished the walk home.

Upon arriving at their apartment Jim wanted to know how the book signing went. Johanna told him it was great right up until Kate lost her voice when she actually met her favorite writer. He needed to know what happened and sat down with a cup of coffee and listened to the whole event.

He knew that Kate had a crush on Richard Castle, and it had become evident when he was told what happened at the book store. Jim asked Kate if he could see how the author signed her book to her just then she realized that she never actually read what he wrote in the jacket of the book. Quickly opening the book to the jacket page she read "To my number #1 fan I hope you get everything you wish for on your 19th birthday. Happy Birthday...Richard Castle."

Kate looked up to her mother, her eyes starting to water, "Mom how did he know about my birthday?" Johanna looked to her daughter and said, with a wink, "Maybe he heard it from a little birdy."

Next up: Richard Alexander Rodgers