One Thousand Coffees
A Castle Fanfiction
A very distraught Katherine Beckett sat in a lounge chair by the window in a coffee shop in New York City after a long day at work. It had been one of the more trying days at the Twelfth Precinct of the NYPD, and all that the female detective wanted to do was get home, yet she was sitting at a coffee shop instead. That very coffee shop was the same place that she caught sight of a man after work one afternoon, just like this one. He was ruggedly handsome with brown hair and blue eyes, but he was nameless. She sat at the coffee shop every evening hoping that the man would show up again. New York was a big city, he could be anywhere.
"More coffee, Detective?" the barista asked.
Kate shook her head as she continued to look at the door. Sighing, she decided to give up. It had been weeks. The man was obviously not coming back. After collecting her things, she turned around and began the walk to the door. She looked down for just a second and ended up running into someone, causing the coffee she still had left to spill all over both of them.
"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry," Kate began, trailing off after she realized who it was.
It was him.
"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. Here, let me help you with that," he offered as he walked her back inside. "I'm Rick Castle by the way."
"Kate. Kate Beckett," she replied, sliding into her leather jacket and zipping it up to hide the stain.
"I guess I owe you a coffee for that," he chuckled.
Kate looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.
"How do you suggest you'll get it to me?" she asked.
He shrugged as the two of them walked to the door.
"Well, I guess I could just meet you back here. Tomorrow?" he suggested.
Kate nodded, trying to conceal her feelings, but most likely failing at it.
"Show up around noon, I'll treat you to lunch while we're at it," Castle smiled as he walked in the opposite direction.
When Kate arrived home again, she went over the day's events. She wondered what it could lead to, if she was in for something more than just a lunch date. Unhooking the chain of her necklace which bared her mother's ring and taking off her father's watch, she sunk into her bathtub as the soapy bubbles absorbed into her skin. She picked up a copy of the book she was reading, Heat Wave, by… Richard Castle. Rick Castle. Coffee shop guy. The man who had shadowed her for years before.
"This isn't even real," she gasped.
How in the world was she supposed to go to lunch with the man that had practically written her life? She couldn't even believe she didn't recognize the name, or the face. She'd been in love with Castle before, or she thought she had. He ran off with his publisher, Gina, before Kate had her chance to say something to him. After that, Kate had erased everything about Castle from her memories. She wondered if he had recognized her. Had he erased her from his memories too?
Richard Castle unlocked the door to his loft, remembering when it used to be filled with excitement. The door stood for so much. It stood for the relationship he once had. He still kept a picture of his old partner, his muse, tucked away in a copy of his Nikki Heat novels. He picked up Heat Wave and opened the front page. He'd forgotten about the picture, but the memories came flooding back when it fell into his lap. The face seemed familiar, like it was someone he'd seen that day. He turned over the piece of paper and on the back the name Katherine Beckett was written. Katherine Beckett. Kate. Coffee shop girl. The woman who he'd shadowed years before. He loved Kate, he even told her that when she was shot. Castle waited for her, oh, he waited. He was in love with a woman that he swore didn't love him back. He realized he had no chance with her, so he ran away with his publisher and ex-wife, only to return to New York weeks later, remembering why he'd divorced her in the first place. Ever since then, he swore to block out everything about Kate, and he did. He cursed himself for not recognizing her today, for falling back down the same road he'd been down all those years ago. Then he realized that Kate hadn't recognized him either. Maybe she never would. This could be his second chance, a chance to make things right with her. He waltzed through his office and into his bedroom, where he fell into slumber, a new found excitement awakening inside of him to prove himself worthy to the female detective all over again.
Kate woke up the next morning, forgetting about work. All she could think about was Castle. She wondered if he'd made the connection like she had. Rolling out of bed, Kate struggled to find the will to go back to the coffee shop. She worried that she'd screw it up again, that maybe she still wasn't ready. It had been years, yes, but she'd convinced herself that he was gone and had forced herself to fall out of love with him. She hooked the necklace back around her neck and slid on the watch yet again. The one thing that hadn't changed about Kate was those two things. She wore them every day, even back when she and Castle had known each other. Looking at herself in the mirror, she straightened the collar of her white oxford shirt one last time before walking out the door. Would he even show?
Castle had spent the morning pacing around the loft trying to convince himself that this was a good idea. When he'd invited Kate to lunch, he hadn't even realized it was her. It was just another girl at a coffee shop. But no, Kate was so much more than that. Kate was… Kate. She was that one woman who had managed to capture his heart and held it tighter than any of his ex-wives had. He wanted Kate, but would she want to get back into what they could've had those three years ago? As he stood in the mirror, he found that all he really wanted was the remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating brunette back in his life. No matter how many times she'd hurt him, for some reason, he'd always come running back. After Demming, he was there. He even stood by her after the long term relationship with none other than Josh Davidson. Castle watched her drown herself in unhappiness every time she was with him for the longest time. He was there for her through it all. He didn't know why he stayed, but it was just something about her that kept him planted by her side. Maybe it was the fact that she smelled like cherries, or that to this day he still remembered her coffee order.
"This is a good idea," he told himself, just for reassurance.
And with that, Richard Castle was out the front door.
Kate waited at a table for two by the window. It was raining that day. She was still unsure about the whole idea of seeing Castle again, but when she saw him walking across the street to the shop, all of her fears were lifted away.
"I didn't think you'd show," she said after they sat down.
His face lifted a little at her statement.
"So you know then," he replied.
Kate nodded, taking a few moments to recognize how familiar his face was, how his features hadn't changed a bit.
"Yeah, Castle. I know," she said finally.
The former partners stood up and walked to the counter. Right as Kate was about to speak her order, still the same as all those years ago, Castle interrupted her.
"No, let me. One grande skim latte, two pumps of sugar free vanilla for the lady," he said.
Somehow, Kate was surprised that the writer still remembered.
"You didn't have to pay for it, I could've handled that myself," she smirked as they sat back at their table.
"You'll have many chances to repay me, Beckett. You do owe me about a thousand coffees after all," Castle smiled.
It had been years since the female detective had heard her last name roll off of Castle's tongue, and oh, how good it sounded to hear it once again. The pair began talking, and they sat at the table for hours, catching up and finding the differences and similarities between the people they were and who they had become. Castle said that Alexis had gotten her own place but came back around to the loft every once in a while and how his mother had gotten a great opportunity to run with a theatre group that toured year round. He was all alone, but maybe… just maybe this would be the turn around.
The next day, Kate woke to the sound of her alarm. She quickly threw on some clothes, barely bothered with her hair, and before even ten minutes had passed, she was out the door.
When she arrived at the Twelfth, Detectives Ryan and Esposito greeted her warmly. Everything was the same as it had been when Castle was around, except for the obvious.
"So you two won't believe what happened yesterday after I left," Kate said, making sure to keep her voice low so that their Captain wouldn't overhear.
Captain Victoria Gates was the only one who was happy to see Castle leave, as she'd never been a fan of having the writer in her precinct.
"Please tell me you're not stalking that guy from the coffee shop again, Beckett," Ryan joked.
She rolled her eyes at him, continuing to tell them of her encounter with Castle.
"Funny you mention that, Ryan. I know who he is, only minimal stalking required," she laughed, still attempting to keep her voice low. "It's Rick Castle. Rick Castle is coffee shop guy."
Both of the detectives stopped and stared at her.
"You're kidding, right?" Esposito muttered.
"The guy chooses now to waltz back into your life. Come on, Beckett, you know he's bad news. Or must I remind you of what happened three years ago?" Ryan sighed.
Kate's heart dropped a little. Obviously, the boys hadn't forgiven Castle for hurting her all those years ago. She hadn't even figured out how she'd forgiven him yet. Maybe it was the blue eyes, or the perfection of his hair; just the little things that she hadn't noticed before.
"I know you're not going to back away from this now, but please, for all of our sakes, be careful this time," Esposito warned.
Kate sulked through the rest of the day, just waiting for it to send so she could call Castle. They'd re-exchanged phone numbers again the day before, but she'd refused to use it until he did, though all she wanted at that moment was to hear the writer's voice. She wondered if he was thinking the same.
Castle woke up in the middle of his bed at the loft, rethinking the day before with Kate. It had been perfect, something he'd been wanting since day one. Keys jingled on the other side of the door to the Castle loft, his daughter stepping through the door.
"Dad?" she called. "I know it's early, I just felt bad for having not stopped by in a while. Are you here?"
Castle looked up at his daughter who had made her way over to his bedroom, her flaming red hair shining in the light.
"Hi, sweetie," he greeted her, patting down a space on his bed for her.
"Oh, Dad, you look like you've been to hell and back," she whispered.
"To be honest with you Lex, that's just about accurate," Castle muttered.
The red-haired girl curled up next to her father, resting her head on his chest. Alexis may have been in her twenties, but it didn't matter to her.
"What happened?" she asked, concern covering her face.
"It's nothing really, sweetheart. Just thinking about some things," he attempted to assure her, but to no success.
"Dad, please. I know you better than that. What's going on?" Alexis pried.
Castle sighed, giving in.
"I saw Kate Beckett yesterday. Ran into her at a coffee shop for the first time in three years two days ago… asked her to lunch for the next day before I realized who she was. I can't tell if this is bad, or very, very good."
Alexis' eyes got darker at the mention of Kate, and Castle knew exactly why. The thing was that Alexis didn't know the whole story of when her father ran away with Gina. Castle had spared her the dirty details. She knew that her father had been in love with Kate Beckett for years, convinced that she didn't love him back. She knew that her father was tired of waiting, but she also knew that Kate wanted nothing more than to be with him. She wasn't stupid. She watched them together; she knew what they could've had.
"Alexis, I know this is insane, but I think this is just the universe's way of telling me that Kate may just be the one. I mean, she was the one who said third time's the charm, right? Who knows, Lex? Maybe I just didn't wait long enough."
Castle's eyes lit up as he talked about Kate, and Alexis took note.
"Go for it, Dad. Just do it," Alexis smiled.
Castle smiled back at his daughter, who kissed his cheek and was back out the door within two minutes.
After one of the longest days, Kate fell into her bed and retrieved her phone from her pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she finally found the one she was looking for. Dad. Almost reluctantly, she pressed the call button. Jim Beckett answered on the third ring.
"Jim Beckett," he answered.
"Hi, Daddy," Kate replied slowly.
"Katie," Jim breathed.
The older Beckett hadn't heard his daughter's voice since Castle had left her.
"Yeah, Dad. I hate to call you out of the blue like this, if you're busy, I'll just… call again tomorrow," Kate said as she fumbled with her words, instantly regretting the decision to call her estranged father.
"We both know you won't call me back tomorrow, Katie. Either way, I'm not busy. Why did you call?" he said, sounding slightly frustrated.
Kate thought for a minute. Why did she call?
"I just… I needed you, Daddy. I saw Rick Castle again two days ago. Three years and we run into each other at a coffee shop, how ridiculous is that?" she sighed.
There was a small silence on the other end of the phone.
"Not this character again. Do you or do you not remember what that son of a bitch did to you? I haven't heard from you in three years and this is what you call to tell me, Kate?"
Jim Beckett's voice was rising, making Kate even more tempted to just hang up and have done with it, but she stood her ground.
"I just needed someone to talk to about this, Dad. You know, everyone's walked out on me. Even Kevin and Javier don't look at me the same. But fine, if this is how you want to act, maybe I'm better off without you. I've been fine for the past three years, haven't I?"
And with that, she pressed end, and the line was dead. She regretted it, but she just couldn't hide her anger. It was true though, everyone had walked out on her, even Castle. But now, here he was. Richard Castle, in all of his glory, just a phone call away. Just a car ride to his loft, where she could be with the one person who had walked back into her life and treated her the same way, as if he'd never left. Without thinking, the phone was back in her hands, and Castle's number was being dialed.
"Rick? I need you."
A/N: Like what you read? Multi-chapter if you want more. Let me know! x